Have you ever seen the "Wrap-it-up light" sketch from Chappelle's Show? It's the one where Dave brings out a blinking light that says "Wrap It Up" whenever somebody is telling a story and includes details that make the story longer than it needs to be. Though it is certainly a hilarious bit, it speaks quite a bit of truth about storytelling. If I had to pick out a single game that could use one of those lights, it would have to be the final chapter in the Xenosaga series.

On paper, it sounded like Xenosaga Episode III had a lot going for it, as developer Monolith tried to balance things out, making Episode III the most accessible title in the series. The story itself sounds pretty solid as well when you consider all of the elements that were integrated: femme fatale robots, giant mechs, space ships, time travel, awesome fight sequences, swords, guns, and of course, big explosions. What's not to like? Well, the story is so long-winded and full of little details that are really unnecessary, it becomes something that's really tough to hang with.

Throughout the game, you'll see the cast of characters that you've grown to know over the past three years -- Shion and KOS-MOS remain the key players of the series, but you can expect to see all of your favorites like Jr., Ziggy and Captain Matthews throughout the adventure. You'll find yourself jet setting all over the galaxy, visiting locales like Miltia, Fifth Jerusalem and Vector factories as you see bits of Shion's past, how the current state of disarray came to be, and discover the truth behind KOS-MOS and her replacement cyborg, T-elos.


When the main plot points are unveiled through full-motion videos, the story is entertaining, dynamic and succinct, making for a decent experience. However, when you get to the real-time portions of the storytelling, things slow down significantly, causing a tedium that is really brutal to deal with. These parts of the game literally put me to sleep, and that isn't exactly a testament to a compelling story. Rather than sitting back and taking in the information, the real-time portions of the story are presented in text boxes, forcing players to constantly tap a button to progress the dialogue, and after doing it for 40 minutes at a time, things wear thin. On the bright side, if these parts become too unbearable for you, you can skip them entirely by pausing the game and choosing the "Skip" option.

If you're worried about missing some major plot points or even what your next goal is, it can easily be remedied by accessing the game's database. The database does an exceptional job of keeping you informed in all matters of the world of Xenosaga, covering everything from various locations, characters and the story so far, and telling you what your next goal is. It's a handy feature to say the least, giving some leeway to those who skip through the movies or simply zone out when it becomes too boring to deal with.