The second installment of the science-fiction role-playing game series Xenosaga, titled “Jenseits von Gut und Bose,” is a direct sequel to the first episode of the series.
The events of the novel take place in a far future, thousands of years from now, when humanity has long since abandoned the planet, which is now referred to as Lost Jerusalem, and established a star empire. The appearance of a super-powerful extraterrestrial race known as the Gnosis is the primary danger that humanity must contend with. The next part of the story begins right after the previous episode’s climactic confrontation and resolution. Shion Uzuki, the teenage engineer who was responsible for designing the strong android KOS-MOS, travels to the planet Second Miltia with her companions. Their goals are to get further insight into the legacy of the brilliant scientist Joachim Mizrahi, who passed away, and to thwart the plots hatched by the two unknown adversaries, Albedo and Margulis. In the second episode, Shion’s brother, Jin Uzuki, who had previously only been mentioned in the first chapter, emerges as a significant controllable character. The background and the origins of Jr., as well as his link to Albedo, are also topics that are extensively investigated throughout the course of the plot.
The gameplay, as well as the combat system, is very similar to that of the first game. All of the adversaries may be seen on the screen, and players have the option of destroying field items to either draw the attention of an enemy or produce a zone that would cause the enemy to take more damage. Once more, the battle is turn-based, and it incorporates two distinct sorts of basic attacks. These attacks now do differing amounts of damage to foes of varying heights. The use of special attacks can knock an opponent into the air or cause them to fall to the ground, both of which leave them more open to assault. It is also possible to “break” enemies by the use of particular combinations of attacks, which, in many instances, are the only path to victory. Another new feature is the option to save up energy for a more powerful assault by waiting two or three turns during a fight. This strategy can be employed if the opponent is in a vulnerable state in order to take advantage of the situation.
The AGWS (giant mech) battles are still a part of the second episode, but unlike the first game, it is not possible to convert to AGWS at any point during the fight. These fights, on the other hand, are predetermined by the story and require the player to make use of the special skills possessed by the various mechs. Money, stores, weapons, and armor of any type were also taken out of the initial game, which was another facet of the game that was deleted. Healing supplies and keys that unlock the ability to master high-level skills are the only kind of objects that may be found in the game. The mechanism for acquiring skills has been overhauled, and now each playable character has their very own “tree” of specialized abilities that they can gradually level up. The dungeons, much like the first episode, feature challenges of both an environmental and logical nature for the player to overcome.
The second episode continues the first episode’s emphasis on plot development and also includes a sizeable number of cutscenes that do not involve the player in any way. An aesthetic update was made to the character graphics; as a result, the characters now have an appearance that is more grounded in realism and has less of an anime-inspired aesthetic.
