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Developed by Namco's subsidiary, Monolith Soft, Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht is neither a sequel nor a spin-off of SquareSoft's Xenogears. Tetsuya Takahashi--who directed Xenogears and is now the vice chairman of Monolith's board of directors--claims that "Xenogears ended up differently from how I envisioned it. So we [Monolith Soft] have decided to hit the reset button and start all over again with a science-fiction [story], which will be presented through a series of episodes encompassing the beginning to the end of the universe." Either way, fans must be rejoicing--this role-playing title for the Sony PlayStation 2 both does his visions justice and gives birth to the Xenosaga series.
Takahashi adds, "There will be six episodes planned in all, all of which are divided into three major parts. I already have the story plotted until the middle of episode five in my mind, but certain ideas may be perceived as old-fashioned as time goes, so we'll try to be flexible to changes." The series is certainly in good hands under the talents of Monolith Soft, which is mostly composed of former Xenogears development staff, with Takahashi himself as the director and scriptwriter. Returning to their roles in the upcoming game are character designer Kunihiko Tanaka, mech designer Junya Ishigaki, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda. Some new additions also include both Kouichi Mugitani and Takumi Sakura as supporting mech designers. Mitsuda's gorgeous compositions will be performed by the talented London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the game will be produced by Hirohide Sugiura, chairman of the board of directors.
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The theme of Xenosaga Episode 1 lies in its subtitle, Der Wille zur Macht, which is German for "will to power." It is taken from the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche (a 19th-century German philosopher) and basically means that "human beings are always attempting to inflict their wills upon others." Based on Nietzsche's words, the reasons for each character's actions in the game are due to the will to power, which will be a running theme throughout the game. In the year 20xx, Zohar--an unknown entity that was in existence since the birth of the universe--was discovered. The story unfolds when Zohar, later classified as an infinite energy generator, is drifting in outer space. Xenosaga's actual story takes place few thousands of years into the future, well after the human race had abandoned Earth for a "certain reason" in favor of the frontier of space. Earth was considered the "Lost Jerusalem," and humans were forgetting its actual existence due to their long journey in space. The game begins just as Zohar (a keyword that will be mentioned throughout the entire series) is discovered. This is also during the era in which the Unus Mundus Network (U.M.N.)--a time warp navigator that connects the star systems--and the Galactic Federation (a federation alliance formed by more than 500,000 planetary governments) are established. The Galactic Federation's main enemy is the Gnosis forces, whose identity is shrouded in mystery.
Copyright © 2001 Radical Project (The Chicken Klan). All rights reserved.