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Infernal Mass
Jun 2nd, 2003, 03:20 PM
i'll be updating this thread as i find more info. feel free to do so also.

Here's a good read about the future of Namco's Monolith soft.

30-MAY-03
Although Namco and Monolith Soft have finally admitted up to Xenosaga Episode II existing, they still aren't being fully upfront about what's no with the game. In an effort to shed light on these matters, the editors of Famitsu sat down with director Tetsuya Takahashi and producer Hirohide Sugiura to talk about the series and where it could be headed in the future. Could an anime be that far in the future? Episode I has enough cutscenes to make an entire anime season, after all...



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Q: In Xenosaga Episode I, Sugiura served as producer while Takahashi handled direction and writing duties. I’d like to ask you about the direction the Xenosaga series will take in the future.
Hirohide Sugiura: Well, first off, our roles will be very different from before. To be more exact, I’ll be stepping down from the producer role, Takahashi will drop the heavy-sounding job of executive vice president [of Monolith Soft], and another person will handle the direction this time.
Q: So both of you are leaving the front lines of development?
HS: This transition has everything to do with both Monolith’s structure and where we want to take the Xenosaga series in the future. I’ve begun to feel recently that game creators are getting older and there aren’t many younger ones coming out. You see developers in their mid-thirties to early forties in magazines all the time, even in the case of brand-new products. If this keeps up, we’ll never see a shift to a new generation, which I don’t think is very healthy from an industry standpoint. So I decided that I should change this structure starting with Monolith Soft, my own company. I wanted to free Takahashi of his old position and let him work more freely as a creator, so he’ll be acting as the supervisor and provider of the original story.
Q: So Mr. Takahashi will still play a central role in the series.
HS: You could compare this to producing an anime show for TV. Even if a series goes on for 26 episodes, it’s not like the same person directs every episode. There’s a general director, and then a different director builds the story in each episode.
Tetsuya Takahashi: When you deal too long with a single project, I feel like it becomes harder to chase after new possibilities. I don’t want to limit the Xenosaga series to its current state; instead I’d like to explore other genres and other possibilities.

Q: How long do you think Xenosaga is as a series?
TT: If you want to make a single game, that basically means you need to spend two or three years of your life completing it. However, with the world we’re trying to display here, that’s really nowhere near enough time. With Episode I, we’ve only managed to show about 20 percent of the complete scene.... and, of course, I always come up with new things I want to present in the middle of development, so it’d probably take me decades to finish everything if it keeps going like this.
That’s why I’m in the position I am now—I can work on presenting the world of Xenosaga in all sorts of different ways, unfettered by company management or anything else that doesn’t have to do with creation.
Q: Is it possible we could see a non-RPG Xenosaga game, then?
HS: It’s a very distinct possibility. At one point we had a product document for a simulation RPG, although it never became a reality.
TT: We are thinking about developing the series in all sorts of completely different genres, not necessarily involving games. For example, I’d love to try creating a novel or anime series. In my mind, there are still lots of Xenosaga characters that nobody else in the company knows about. There really isn’t enough time in the world to present all of them.

Q: Now I’d like to turn the topic over to your newest work, Xenosaga Episode II, the game your fans are probably looking forward to the most.
HS: I guess the first thing Takahashi and I should do is thank them all for waiting so long. (laughs) I know a lot of them were worried sick that it wasn’t going to come out at all, but don’t worry—we are making the game.
Q: Is the story related to Episode I?
TT: You could call it a basic continuation; it starts right where Episode I ends. As a result, most of the cast is borrowed from the first game. Jin, Shion’s brother and the guy that appeared in Episode I’s ending, will also make an appearance.
In Episode II I’d like to reveal some of the interpersonal relationships in the story, especially those involving Jr.—how he’s connected to Gainan, what is between him and Albedo, and so forth. We’ll be painting out his past and show why he feels so much attachment to Momo.
Q: Will some of the riddles left unanswered in Episode I be answered here?
TT: I think they will gradually be made clear. However, Xenosaga is still packed with riddles: the Zohars, the struggles surrounding them, how they’re connected to KOS-MOS, the true form of chaos [the Xenosaga character], and so on. Episode II will feature some new riddles of its own, too, but as far as the RPG Xenosaga goes, the story is mainly about KOS-MOS and the Zohars. However, we likely won’t be dealing with the exact same KOS-MOS for the whole story... We’ll also probably explore the inner emotions of Shion as well.

Q: Is there anything new with the game system?
TT: Wow, you’re fast. (laughs) We haven’t even shown the game yet and you’re already asking about that. I can’t really go into any specifics right now, but it’s a marked improvement, right down to the little details. We’ve used our experience and regrets from the last game to improve the gameplay.
Q: Were there a lot of regrets or things you couldn’t do with the first episode?
TT: There were a lot, but I think most of them stemmed from the fact that we didn’t have a real grasp of the capacity we had. Monolith Soft had just been founded at the time, and we hadn’t established a firm knowledge of how to make a game on the PlayStation 2 hardware. The whole project, including the business end, was a feeling-out process, so we did have to cut out some things in the end. This time, though, we’re starting production with a firm grasp of all these issues, so I imagine that this will be an even better polished game than the previous one. Our programming and visual skills have improved, too.

Q: Finally, do you have any message for Xenosaga fans?
HS: We couldn’t have begun work on a Xenosaga sequel without the fervent support our fans have given us. Our plan is to continue with Episode III and IV later on, so please visit us during our public gathering in July.
TT: The future is always filled with uncertainties, but I’d love to present Xenosaga in other forms besides Episode II. I think we’ll be able to show a different type of Xenosaga around next year. I hope you’re all looking forward to Episode II, too!

digimortal
- :greed:

ssjtrunks13
Jun 3rd, 2003, 06:03 AM
Nice, but I guess it won't have anything more to do with
U-DO.

I still would like to know more about Jr, Gaignun, and Albedo's connection. It's great to me that we'll actually see more of Shion's brother.

DragonSphere
Jun 4th, 2003, 08:43 PM
The future of the series does look like an interesting one...

legion
Jun 5th, 2003, 10:15 AM
Originally posted by ssjtrunks13

Nice, but I guess it won't have anything more to do with
U-DO.

I still would like to know more about Jr, Gaignun, and Albedo's connection. It's great to me that we'll actually see more of Shion's brother.

Well, he is fairly connected to Jr., Albedo, Kosmos, the Zohars, and others for obvious reasons. There may not be any actual 'conversations' with it, but it's guaranteed to be an existing force behind the storyline.

Chaos
Jun 5th, 2003, 07:19 PM
thanx i really wanna get the 2nd episode! oh yea heres all u xenosaga fans a lil sumthin!
i want to learn more about Ziggy, Chaos, and KOS MOS, and Jr. is kool too. im not too fond of shion, and least of all, MOMO!!! *stabs MOMO with a gigantic knife* eh shes cute though:disturb:

http://www.namco-xenosaga.com/

have fun with it!:laugh: if u want more stuff then u have to sign up! dun worry! its FREE!!!:shock:


i hope you like the site!;)


~*Chaos*~

ssjtrunks13
Jun 10th, 2003, 09:44 AM
Have you played the game? The 2 characters I hate the most are chaos(yes his name is all lower-case) and Ziggy, I just don't like the way they look so don't ask.

Anyway, I find it interesting that they'd like to make them different genres. Does anyone think it would be a good idea to make one of them a fighting game? It's just a thought. Oh yeah, keep the info coming.

Infernal Mass
Jul 22nd, 2003, 02:34 AM
http://www.namco.co.jp/cs/ps2/xenosaga2/

"Beyond Good and Evil" ..

Mitsuda is gone..i guess that sorta explains the rest of the changes going on with the game. I'm already getting diffrent vibes from the screenshots alone..the music will no doubt be just as diffrent.

Infernal Mass
Jul 25th, 2003, 02:46 PM
30 sec trailer stream

mms://mms.gpara.com/movie/monolith/episodeiitra.wmv

FinalFantasyX-2
Jul 25th, 2003, 03:15 PM
Yo Beetlejuice you signature sometimes freaks me out when i look at it:shock: . Well I don't know anything about xenesaga II yet because i got stuck at the part when you'r at the garbage ship collector or something, and this machines come. But I got to the boss well I could have beaten him, but he always kept reahealing himself ahhhhh, I got all of my robots out I forgot how you call them(Xenesaga I im talking about). Well thanks for the information!

Infernal Mass
Jul 26th, 2003, 07:30 PM
that's just a temp sig until i find a better one..:laugh:

Infernal Mass
Oct 7th, 2003, 06:00 AM
30 second trailer:
mms://mms.gpara.com/movie/monolith/episodeiitra.wmv

here is the mo cap of Jin VS Margulis trailer.
mms://mms.gpara.com/movie/monolith/episodeII_motion.wmv

http://www.zdnet.co.jp/games/gsnews/0307/21/images/nam2.jpg

-Maybe completed this Winter
- No Price yet
- Couple of puzzles in Episode 1 will become clear in Episode 2
- As we know already, new staff members


Roles:

Maeda Ai - Shion Uzuki
Rumi Shishido - MOMO

http://www.zdnet.co.jp/games/gsnews/0307/21/images/nam04.jpg

From a guy that's been on the show:

- Music has the Universal feel... [Star Ocean feel?]
- Female host is KOS-MOS's VA
- Male host [he has no clue, LOL]
- Episode 2 is set for Winter 2003
- Episode 1: Reloaded contains a 3 Minute trailer of Episode 2
- More on story, direct continuation, It begins when the crew heading to Second Miltia; Story centers around Jr,
and surprisingly, Jin Uzuki is controllable right in the beginning...

They also said that the load times between field maps and from field maps to battles was improved significantly.Hmmm what else?

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep212.htm
http://www.zdnet.co.jp/games/tgs/2003/screen/ps2/xeno/images/01.jpg

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep236.htm http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep237.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep238.htm http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep239.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep254.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721/ep216.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030721

http://ruliweb.intizen.com/data/news4/10m/06/ps2/xeno01.jpg


http://ruliweb.intizen.com/data/news4/10m/06/ps2/xeno04.jpg

http://ruliweb.intizen.com/data/news4/10m/06/ps2/xeno02.jpg

ssjtrunks13
Oct 7th, 2003, 06:44 AM
Alright, you've managed to change my mind about this game. Looks like they've got what I was hoping for in the first game, someone on your side with a sword.

Infernal Mass
Dec 6th, 2003, 07:19 PM
trailer for Episode II (http://www.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_xenosaga_ep2_jp.wmv)

Vic Viper
Jun 17th, 2004, 01:15 PM
PS2 Xenosaga Episode II 8 / 8 / 8 / 9 - 33 gold


http://www.game-science.com/

Reid
Jun 17th, 2004, 08:59 PM
That's good news.

Are there any English reviews floating around that anyone's seen?

Vic Viper
Jun 17th, 2004, 10:42 PM
That's good news.

Are there any English reviews floating around that anyone's seen?

the games not coming out here till 2005, i think. but its coming out in japan this month, so watch out for ign or gamespot to do a import review of the game.

Urahara Kisuke
Dec 2nd, 2004, 08:32 PM
the games not coming out here till 2005, i think. but its coming out in japan this month, so watch out for ign or gamespot to do a import review of the game.

Thats good news. Hopefully it doesn't get delayed or anything like that. Overall the Xenosaga Universe is really cool and KOS-MOS is awesome.

IcyMourdor
Dec 7th, 2004, 12:02 PM
Quick update: The release date has been placed for a US release. It is scheduled for February 2005.

Urahara Kisuke
Dec 9th, 2004, 08:01 PM
Quick update: The release date has been placed for a US release. It is scheduled for February 2005.
Yeah, that is pretty close, hopefully I can get it ASAP. Just an awesome game for an awesome series.