Xenosaga Episode III

Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. It is the final entry in both the Xenosaga trilogy and the larger Xenosaga series, which forms part of the Xeno franchise. Concluding the narrative of Xenosaga Episode I and Episode II, Episode III sees Shion Uzuki and the battle android KOS-MOS search out the origins of the hostile alien Gnosis while being hunted by Shion's former employers and four powerful humans called the Testaments. Gameplay is carried over from the first two games, featuring exploration of environments through a linear narrative, while battles follow a turn-based system featuring multiple leveling systems and combat with both a human party and mecha.

Concept work for Xenosaga Episode III began during the later development of Xenosaga Episode II in 2004. The development team's aim was to address issues raised by fans and staff with the previous two Xenosaga games, along with bringing the story to a satisfactory conclusion. Due to the decision to turn the intended six-part series into a trilogy, the original draft for Episode III was substantially reworked. As with previous Xenosaga titles, the subtitle was drawn from the work of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Upon release, the game was praised by critics, and went on to sell over 340,000 copies worldwide. The mixed response to the Xenosaga series left Monolith Soft staff in a state of low morale, partially leading to the development of Xenoblade Chronicles.

Xenosaga Episode III is a role-playing video game where players take control of a party of characters; during the game they explore a variety of environments from towns and cities to dungeons. During the course of the game, a Database is filled out which holds entries on terminology, characters, story events and earlier events from past Xenosaga games. The game features a variety of quests including the main narrative and side quests accepted from non-playable characters. The party can purchase items and equipment from shops found in friendly environments throughout the game. Gameplay segments are separated by story sequences, which are told through both traditional full-motion cutscenes and segments with voiced text boxes within the game environments. Enemies such as monsters can be seen in environments, to be avoided or engaged as wished; the party can also place traps which temporarily immobilize an enemy unit. When the party makes contact with a monster, the battle is initiated. Triggering a battle with a trapped enemy grants a boost in battle. Combat is split into two types; one with the human party members, and one using combat mechs dubbed E.S. units.

When battle begins, the player and enemy parties fight in a dedicated combat arena. The combat is governed by a turn-based battle system. The player party is restricted to three members, but at the cost of one turn an active character can be switched out for a reserve character. Each character has a certain number of health points (HP) and Ether points (EP). If all HP is depleted, a character is defeated. Turn order is governed by a character's "Agility" statistic. Each character can take a variety of actions, ranging from attacking, performing special attacks called "Arts" and using Ether abilities that each consume EP, using items, taking defensive positions that reduce damage, and escaping the battle. Both the player party and enemies have Break gauges, which fill up when either side successfully lands an attack. When the gauge fills, that character is stunned and cannot act for two turns, in addition becoming more vulnerable to a high-damage Critical attack. The Break gauge can be reduced by using Ether abilities, which can also be used along with items to recover HP.

Each player character has a "Boost" gauge that builds up during battle, which can be used to either perform two actions in a single turn, or deliver character-specific special attacks. If an enemy is killed with a special attack—an action labelled "Finish Strike"—at the end of a battle, they are granted a boost to their experience points (EXP), in-game money and skill points (SP) used to upgrade abilities. EXP raises a character's health and basic statistics. SP are invested in skill trees for each character, with each tree having a different emphasis in its skills to unlock; some trees include powerful Ether attacks, others Break damage, and others defensive or supportive abilities.

Combat in E.S. mecha is governed by similar mechanics to normal battle. Some dungeons in the game are only navigable with mechs, while others enable the player to switch between navigating on foot or in mechs. Three mechs can be active at any one time, with a fourth in reserve to replace one which is knocked out in battle. Mechs can perform standard and special attacks, with the type of attacks available determined by that mech's equipped weapon. Each mech has a finite energy level, which their equipped weapon draws upon to perform an action. Each time a mech strikes an enemy with an attack, their Anima gauge will fill up. When full, the mech can enter "Anima Mode", a temporary state where attack power is raised and energy costs for actions are lowered. E.S. units are customized and upgraded in five different areas, with each area granting different status buffs to the mech, such as raising health regeneration during charging periods or increasing EXP awarded at the end of a battle.

Like the rest of the series, Xenosaga Episode III takes place in a science fiction universe. In the year "20XX", the Zohar—an artifact dating from the beginning of the universe which connects to the realm of a god-like energy dubbed U-DO—was unearthed by an archeological expedition in Kenya; the Zohar is key to enabling humanity to travel in space beyond the Solar System. Over 4,000 years in the future, humanity has left Earth behind to colonize the galaxy following a terrible event. This resulted in Earth's location being lost and the planet being dubbed "Lost Jerusalem"; by the game's events, humanity has adopted a new calendar system dubbed "Transcend Christ" (T.C.), with the game's events taking place in T.C. 4768—equivalent to A.D. 7278. Humanity is now spread across 500,000 planets, with their governments forming the Galaxy Federation. Planets are connected through a warp travel network called the Unus Mundus Network (U.M.N.). The U.M.N. is managed by Vector Industries, which also controls interests in the Federation's military. Existing alongside humans are Realians, synthetic humans who hold equal status with natural humans. The Federation has come under attack from an ancient alien race called the Gnosis, which begins decimating Federation worlds. As normal weapons are ineffective, Vector develops two different weapon systems designed to fight them: humanoid mecha dubbed A.G.W.S. (Anti Gnosis Weapon System), and the similar but more powerful KOS-MOS battle androids. There also exist more advanced AGWS models called E.S., powered by Lost Jerusalem artifacts called Vessels of Anima. Important organizations include the Kukai Foundation, a group that acts as a shelter for enhanced humans; the U-TIC Organization, a once-scientific group that now wishes to gain control of the Zohar; and Ormus, a secretive cult from Lost Jerusalem which secretly funds U-TIC and operates through a political faction called the Immigrant Fleet.