Other: Xenosaga Episode 2, it’s my least favourite of the Xeno-games, but I enjoyed it more than any other game that year. #2 is probably Shadow hearts 2, #3 Cave Story, and #4 is Dragon Quest 8.
While Xenosaga Episode 2 is undoubtedly a decline from the first game in most ways, it was actually the first one of this series I played. The characters were fairly good, but after playing the first one I began to see its shortcomings more clearly: the character art style was not nearly as good as the original by Kunihiko Tanaka (Xenogears, Xenosaga Episode 1, and Xenoblade Chronicles X), the cutscenes were shorter and less spectacular than the first game, features were removed (such as the UMN, which is great in the first one). Xenosaga Episode 1 felt like a work of art, the second was more gamey and less interesting to me.
That said, I still liked the game quite a lot, the world was interesting, as were the characters, and I liked the villain - although that final battle against the Patriarch was madness - a gigantic difficulty spike.
This is certainly not the intended sequel to the first game - missing staff, missing features, different pacing and feeling - but it’s still one I felt was enjoyable. If you’re looking for a game that is more gamey and less arty, then you might even like XS Episode 2 more than the first - but for those who see the potential of the first game unfulfilled in the second (which wasn’t my first experience with it), then it’s much more likely the second won’t be as enjoyable.
Nevertheless, it’s the one game released from this year I’ve played multiple times through and is overall my favourite.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
