Wikia

Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur MachtEdit

Welcome, one and all, to BlackAlbedo's Xenosaga Episode I walkthrough! I have a couple of things to say before I get at the heart of the matter for this page. First, I have never contributed to or used wikipedia. I've read plenty of them, however, reading and editing are two completely different things, so if I fuck up too much release your internet rage on me so that I will understand what not to do next time. It is important I understand these things. Second, I don't know if this is the best place to spill my walkthroughing wisdom, but I figure since the page that was supposed to be attached to the link for the walkthrough didn't exist until now, combined with the evidence that this site is sparse for visitors and contributers, that nobody would get too upset at me for taking off with this. Again, please just tell me if I'm fucking stuff up. Third, until Johnny Law says I can no longer do it, I will be using colorful language to express my damn love for this damn game. Tastefully though. Fourth, if you are going to vandalize this I can't really stop you. Just remember that a lot of hours and effort are going / have gone into it, and if you do vandalize, your parents will no longer love you.

NOW! With that minor disclaimer out of the way, lets cover the basics shall we? Xenosaga Episode I is a fairly standard RPG. It has characters whose lives you meddle with, it has traditional turn-based battles with some cool tweaks, and it has a menu screen, to which you will refer frequently. If you've played any Final Fantasy, you can grasp Xenosaga's functionality pretty quickly.

The game is played by running your on-screen character from point to point triggering various events, messing with options in the menu when you need to, and transitioning to and successfully completing battles which will occur when you make contact with on-screen enemies or at certain parts in the story. That's all there is to it. Oh, and if you want to watch the entire cinematics (which I highly suggest you should, you could get lost pretty quick if you don't) you should remember to play this only when you have a couple of hours to spare or sacrifice. Hey, I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life... well... technically since this is a walkthrough, I WILL be telling you how to live your life, but if you need to turn off your PS2 and get back to real life all of a sudden, it's probably wise to skip the cinematics, find a save point, and get out there. You can always watch them on Youtube later.

Gameplay / How To Play Xenosaga Episode IEdit

I'm looking at my PS2, I have the game in it already, all I want to do is play, but no, I have to explain to YOU how to play as well. You're all like the little sister tagging along, trying to be cool like me. Alright, listen up. To interact with objects/people/aliens and to confirm decisions or make commands you need to know where your Circle Button is, because that's the button that does all of that. It looks like this . If you want to generally cancel out of certain menus, look real hard for the X Button. It looks like this . To open the main menu while running around, locate the Triangle Button () at the top of the right side of your controller and press it. When you gain the ability to blow stuff up with your wrist, you will see targets appear on certain items. At this moment, press the purple Square Button () in order to obliterate your target. You may also use the and Buttons to change between multiple targets. Holding while moving will make your character walk, which can help you sneak past some enemies from time to time.

In battle, the controls are thus: , , and are now your attacks. will bring you to a battle menu where you can select A.G.W.S. to use or adjust your position on the battlefield, as well as use Items or Ethers. and will change the information displayed over your moves in case you need to remember if a move is Piercing or Fire or what have you. and will bring up your available Boost options.

will pause your game outside of battle, and you can even pause cinematics in order to shake a piss once in a while. Or press to skip them entirely if you're one of those people who dislikes movies or anime or the particular combination of both. Now you know how to navigate the various stages of gameplay. Lets discuss basic strategy, shall we?

BattleEdit

Oh no! You came in contact with the enemy! GAME OVER! Wait, what's this? We can fight?!

Take your time to think, since it's turn-based and nothing will happen until you make a move. I will make a valiant effort to explain specific combat scenarios and their accompanying strategies when we get there, but for now you will need to accept that from time to time you will need to make your own decisions. Here's how you make the good ones:

I don't think I need to lecture you on rock-paper-scissors, just learn what is weak to what and use those attacks. The real finesse of battle comes from using Boost wisely and often. Boost accumulates by dealing damage to enemies, and will stop at 3 levels standardly. You'll see in the bottom-right corner of the battle screen that it tells you which characters are going to move next. Cutting in front of your enemy by utilizing Boost (Hold / and press , , or can often save you from a world of hurt, if you can finish off the foe before its next turn. However, using Boost in excess can leave you up shit creek without a paddle in some of the longer fights. It is wise to conserve your Boost for when you know the shit is about to hit the fan. Also, Boost will not carry over into the next battle. When your fight is over, so is your Boost, so use it use it use it!

One final Boost tactic that I consider very wise to follow involves timing your Boosts so that you finish your enemy off when the Point Bonus Event Slot is showing. Just left of the character turn window you'll see a small window that keeps rotating its images every turn. That's the Event Slot. The picture that looks like a large gold coin is the Point Bonus, and if an enemy dies while that is showing, you'll get either x2, x4, or x10 (!) Tech, Skill, and Ether points after battle for that one enemy. Get this every time you can manage to. It has a HUGE effect to get x4 or x10 on Bosses. By the way, the other pictures are a firey looking one, and a Boost ring. Boost ring obviously gives you more Boost that turn, and the firey one increases critical hit chance, for you AND for your enemies. Watch out for that.

At some points you may use A.G.W.S. (pronounced "eggs"), AKA Anti-Gnosis Weapon Systems, AKA Big Fucking Robots. Some battles require the use of A.G.W.S. I personally found little use for them, but if you like them, by all means, have at it. A.G.W.S. have their own equipment and abilities which can be purchased at shops on the appropriate tab and equipped in the menu. As a matter of fact, the E.S. Giant Robots you get in the next episode are infinitely more useful, if mostly out of necessity.

Remember to always watch the turn order, it's critical to successful strategy.

I think I've laid it out pretty well. Are you ready to play some Xenosaga? I certainly am. If I forgot to mention anything, I'll cover it as we go. As for the color coding, I've conveniently labeled things such as STANDARD ITEMS, KEY ITEMS, SEGMENT ADDRESSES, CHARACTER EQUIPMENT, and A.G.W.S. EQUIPMENT. Now for my first walkthrough ever! You're probably not as excited as I am, but that's ok, you will be once you see how fun I am. --BlackAlbedo 16:29, October 26, 2011 (UTC)