Xenosaga Volume 1 DVD Review

By sothis Published: September 23, 2007

PACKAGING AND MENU

5.5 / 10

It’s generally apparent which releases are funded better than others – usually the packaging and special features are a prime indication of deep pockets. Xenosaga is definitely not one of these titles, and the packaging and menu make this abundantly clear. The front cover is a perfectly fine image by itself – Shion, KOS-MOS and the rest of the gang are placed in front of or near the Zohar. The problem is, the colors are very washed out and the image looks very flat because of it. The back cover is decent as well, but nothing really stands out. There are scattered screenshot boxes atop a black background, with overlaid and easy-to-read white text that describes the series. The same washed-out colors apply to the back cover, too.

The menu is the biggest problem; it has a static space picture behind it that looks like it was taken from the Hubble telescope (but a little more cheesy, and definitely not something that would come out of anime). In the center of the screen is the Zohar, with 4 skinny screenshots and bulky thick white text for navigation. It looks busy and in general, like 10 minutes was put into the design. Definitely not a favorite by any means.

The languages menu is easily one of the worst I’ve seen, ever. I’m not sure what the goal was with this design, but it’s a sideways shot of a blank spaceship corridor (with no fancy details or anything – this looks like something a 1st year 3D modeling student would make), with what appears to be red and blue ink stains all over it. It’s like what a shirt would look like if it was washed with two markers on accident. Now, there’s nothing in Xenosaga which looks even remotely close to this (and the Gnosis materializing sure as hell don’t look like red and blue ink stains), so I’m not sure what’s going on here. Whatever it is, it’s bad.

FEATURES

1 / 10

Like many of the recent ADV releases, this DVD has no special features except a clean opening and closing animation. Honestly, there could have been more material here. Even a page that described how the anime relates to the games would have been fantastic, since I’m sure the core audience of this series (people who have played the games) would want to know that right off the bat.

VIDEO

6 / 10

Xenosaga V1’s video quality is definitely not in the top tier of ADV releases. There’s a general noticeable static appearance in most scenes, not just dark scenes (though it’s far more noticeable in the dark scenes). Then again, there are some scenes which look pristine, so it’s a bit confusing.

AUDIO

6.5 / 10

The English 5.1 track seems good enough, though there isn't much use of the back channels.

As far as the dub, it seems a little forced across the board. Cardinal sins of good dubs, such as adding "you know?" on the end of a sentence, take place right and left from secondary and main characters alike. Shion’s voice actress in particular, though delivering a much better performance in Welcome to the NHK, seems inexperienced in this role and could use some practice. The most hilarious aspect of the dub is the screams that characters give just before being killed by the Gnosis – they sound TERRIBLE and unconvincing to the point of being laughable. There are a few exceptions to the bad dub, with the Lieutenant and Little Master, as well as some secondary characters, being some of the rare cases.

CONTENT

6.5 / 10

Xenogears is one of my favorite console RPGs of all time; thus, when Xenosaga was released, I jumped on the chance to play it. Though I wasn’t wooed by any means, I’d like to think I enjoyed it well enough. Thus, seeing the anime version of Xenosaga has interested me for some time now.

Though it’s been awhile, the anime does seem to follow the game pretty damn closely. I recognized most of the scenes, such as the target practice that KOS-MOS underwent, the initial attack of the Gnosis, and KOS-MOS’ flight through space. Though appropriate for fans of the game, the rate of introduction to characters and situations seems pretty rushed to me. Newcomers to the Xenosaga franchise would probably be overwhelmed and confused by everything happening; though admittedly, this might get better as the episodes continue.

The animation is gorgeous, with plenty of vibrant colors. I love KOS-MOS’ design, though the addition of the garter and enormously accentuated breast cups on her suit are a bit strange. I like the depiction of the Gnosis, too. Audio is also decent, though the theme song is overplayed a little too much.

Overall, Xenosaga seems like something fans of the game would enjoy, but might not appeal to the general population. If you like watching sci fi and either have played the games or don’t care, this might be a good title to check out.