Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra - Development

Development

In September 2005, it was officially announced that Episode III would mark the premature end to the series, which was originally planned to span six titles. The cast from Episode I and II will return; minor protagonists Allen Ridgeley, Canaan and Miyuki Itsumi are playable characters for the first time in the series, albeit only briefly. The keyword database, is still present just like Episode I and Episode II, it also has enhanced features like images and the ability to view in-game models of characters, enemies and mecha. The database has a new feature called "Memory Code" in which any cut scene can be viewed, provided it has already occurred during gameplay in an existing save file. Episode III takes place one year after Episode II, with E.S. units from Episode II and the Zohar Emulators and "techs" from Episode I making a return.

Censorship

The North American release of the game was briefly censored, the majority of these edits were for scenes of violence and blood that would have elevated the game beyond the "Teen" rating given by the ESRB to the "Mature" level. The storyline however, remains identical in both the original Japanese release and the North American versions.

For example, a noticeable instance of the editing of a scene is when a child reacts to the death of another character by "putting (the blood) back" in the dying individual. In the North American version, the child has nothing in her hands, even though she says and acts like she does.

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