Xenosaga Episode I Reloaded
| Xenosaga Episode I Reloaded | |
|---|---|
 Box art | |
| Developer | Monolith Soft |
| Publisher | Namco |
| Platform | Sony PlayStation 2 |
| Release date |  20 November 2003
|
| Units sold | 35,000 (as of 2006)[1] |
Xenosaga Episode I Reloaded (ゼノサーガ エピソードI リローディッド) is a Japan-exclusive re-release of Xenosaga Episode I - Der Wille zur Macht for the PlayStation 2. It notably includes the English voice acting from the North American release of the original game, along with a few other features. This version is based upon the internation version of Xenosaga Episode I that was released in North America in February 25th 2003.
Development[edit]
Xenosaga Episode I Reloaded was developed with the intention of letting Japanese players experience the international version of Xenosaga I, since it was essentially the North American version reimported to Japan.[2] Hirohide Sugiura, producer of Monolith Soft, wanted this version to only have the English dub because when he saw Shion and KOS-MOS speaking in English, he thought it suits them better (even if it was strange at first), so he wanted to share it with Japanese fans.[3] The Namco Japanese website states this version is like watching a foreigner science fiction movie.[4]
On May 23th 2003, Namco announced Xenosaga Episode I Reloaded as a “reverse import” from the occidental version, alongside a DVD video. It was stated the development of the game was 40% complete and the release date would be in October. Additionally, the Monolith Soft New Product Presentation -EPISODE 2003- (モノリスソフト新作発表会 -EPISODE 2003-) was announced, and was going to be held on July 21th 2003 at the Ebisu Garden Hall, Meguro City, Tokyo.[5][6] In said event, the game release was set to November 6th 2003 (however, it was delayed to November 20th), Baten Kaitos was announced too.[7][8] Finally, the game was released on November 20th 2003 for the price of ~5.040¥.
CHOCO designed the logo for this game and Xenosaga Episode II so they can be easy for publicity in magazines.[9]
List of changes[edit]
While the core game is the same and the story is unchanged, there are some changes compared to the original version. This list mentions changes that are not simply minor bug fixes.
- The game now features English voices rather than the original Japanese ones. This is a full replacement - no option to switch to Japanese voices is available.
- A slightly older version of the dub is seemingly used in Reloaded, as some takes or lines are slightly different to the final English release. A notable example is that Realians are inconsistently referred to as "Synths".
- Two new outfits are obtainable: an Archetype outfit for KOS-MOS, and a Kirschwasser outfit for MOMO.
- A cutscene viewer can be accessed from the main menu, allowing the player to rewatch cutscenes they have viewed on their current save file. If the player has an original Episode I save file, they may load that to access the cutscene viewer; it uses the censored cutscenes of the English version, rather than the original Japanese version.
- The Bunnie save icon in the Memory Card is colored differently
Additionally, the game comes with a bonus DVD featuring a trailer for Xenosaga Episode II.
Gallery[edit]
Promotional screenshots[edit]
KOS-MOS's new Archetype outfit.
Another screenshot of KOS-MOS's new outfit.
MOMO's new Kirschwasser outfit.
A screenshot from the Episode II trailer.
Another screenshot from the Episode II trailer.
Models[edit]
KOS-MOS's Archetype outfit.
MOMO's Kirschwasser outfit.
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References[edit]
- ↑ ＰＳ２ 「ゼノサーガⅢ 〔ツァラトゥストラはかく語りき〕」広告宣伝予
- ↑ DengekiOnline article
- ↑ Bsky post
- ↑ bandainamcoent.co.jp
- ↑ Only 700 persons could attend to this event, and those interested had to send a postcard to the Post Office in Shiba, 105-8799 between May 23th and June 30th.
- 【実施概要】
- 会場：恵比寿ガーデンホール
- 時：7月21日 12：30開場 13：00開演(予定)
- 応募方法：ナムコワンダーページ内の応募フォームもしくは官製はがきにより応募（はがきのあて先）郵便番号105-8799 芝郵便局留モノリスソフト新作発表会－EPISODE 2003－事務局係
- 募集期間：5月23日～6月30日（はがきの場合必着）
- 当選発表：招待状の発送によって発表のかわりとする
- 問合せ先：モノリスソフト新作発表会-EPISODE 2003-事務局 03-5777-1424（月～金10:00～12:00/13:00～17:00
- 【実施概要】
- ↑ game.watch.impress.co.jp
- ↑ game.watch.impress.co.jp
- ↑ DengekiOnline article
- ↑ Xeno Emission E2, page 92:
- "I was allowed to handle the title logo design for "EPISODE I Reloaded". [...] I [...] made something for EP2 and Reloaded that would be easy to use for publicity in magazines and the like."
