Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra Review:

Generational, simply incredible game that not only marks a bittersweet and beautiful sendoff to the Xenosaga series as the last title they were able to develop, but also a moving love letter to Xenogears and everything that came before created by Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, that is simply breathtaking in every single one of its aspects making for an astoundingly profound and simply incredibly fun to play experience. There probably are not enough words for me to convey all of my feelings towards this phenomenal passionate work properly but before anything else I can foremost say I absolutely love and adore it to bits just like the whole Xenosaga series in general and to this date Xenosaga Episode III stands strong as my favorite video game of all time.

Both in the way the characters are written, the story is brought to a sort of finale, and how this game feels to play with the amount of polish and refined graphics that feel like as if it shouldn't have been possible to exist in the way it does and have been developed within the time and budget they had, especially after the point they were with the second game, mostly every single aspect is so unbelievably and utterly outstanding in a beyond comparable way that always sort of manages to put me in awe when thinking and talking about this game that I can hardly properly explain. It truly can't be understated how this game manages to succeed in nearly every way, with it not only improving on and refining many systems of the previous games but also managing to bring the story of this initially planned first arc of an even greater, longer story that was beyond ambitious to such a beautiful closure that feels like it shouldn't have been possible within a single game and perfectly hits the mark with its entire ending. This is of course not to say the game is entirely without its faults and there certainly are things that could've been improved upon and other things that could've profited a lot from giving them more time, in fact most of the series is probably far from being perfect, but I do believe considering where they were after having to end the series with this game, it's simply astonishing what they achieved to do within this single game and managed to make a sendoff in one of the possibly most beautiful ways that hits all the important and emotional notes while also just being impressive in so many ways and feeling like all the developers that worked on this game gave it their all for one final time and poured all their heart into this work.

To say the least about the fact how this game has possibly one of the finest and most realistically written representations of depression and trauma with such a character as Shion Uzuki who feels so genuinely and extremely well written like not many other fictional characters out there with how authentic she comes across due to all her actions throughout the game and series which are simply so human, all too human, with all the flaws and imperfections a person might have. As well as the other characters featured throughout this series who are just as compelling in the way they are written and go through their respective emotionally moving character arcs over the course of this whole series, while not only being extremely engaging with their respective backstories, struggles, and personalities but also receiving fantastic final moments in this game that make each of these main party members stand out as something special in their own way and have something fascinating and sort of inspiring going for each of them. There's in general this kind of insane amount of attention and detail to every little thing in this game and series that can be especially felt through the enormous database it has to provide, and I simply adore how much love and passion went into this incredibly ambitious series with these kinds of things. It really feels like as if all of Tetsuya Takahashi's and Soraya Saga's interests and passions went into this series and bore fruit in a very special work on its own.

Only complemented and further enhanced by the incredible soundtrack that has so much emotional weight to every single song and track composed by possibly one of the greatest composers and talents regarding music, Yuki Kajiura, who has genuinely delivered possibly one of the greatest and most memorable soundtracks with this game that is so moving with every single one of its respective tracks that stands out as being something truly exceptional. It's insane considering the sheer amount of tracks this OST has and the at the same time fantastic quality of each track that beautifully blends into the game and feels like it's composed with so much love and passion, with both cutscenes and area themes that feel like they beautifully melt together into this one single work while at the same time beautifully fitting within the whole series and each one of them being more than memorable and recognizable.

It's hard to express one's feelings towards a work that means an incredible amount to someone and has a deep and very special place in one's heart but I can say I genuinely feel like this work manages to be one of the most beautiful things out there due to the message of hope it sends out, reflected in both its themes story and even its development history itself, that even if you might fail, even if you don't succeed at everything, it's still a great thing you have tried in the first place and what you have achieved is simply irreplaceable even if you didn't reach all the things you initially aimed for. Having tried, to keep going, even if there might be hurdles in your way that seem to be insurmountable, to keep believing is something precious and something to be proud of. This game gives me strength like very few other works do and for that I'll forever deeply love it.

"The moon is gone

and the night is still so dark

I'm a little bit afraid of tomorrow

for this day was so long and hard for me

and I've lost some of the things so far I have trusted

now I will close my heart and sleep a while

bless my dream with gentle darkness

until I could have my strength

to wait for the light

maybe tomorrow...."