I just finished playing through the Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra Demo. Thoughts about it:
-It covers one area and takes about 30 minutes to finish.
-Everything is on foot, meaning that there are no E.S. battles in the demo.
-There are the FMV-style widescreen cutscenes and then there are the talking
heads-style cutscenes, akin to something you'd see in a visual novel or dating sim. The image I linked is not in the demo, it's just an example.
-The playable characters are Shion, Miyuki, Caan, KOS-MOS, Jin, and Momo. They start at levels 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, and 4, respectively. HP/EP are 297/99, 256/95, 472/94, 516/88, 540/94, 252/105, respectively. Those Ether Point numbers seem a bit high to me, so I assume they boosted them for the demo. By the end of it, my characters were about level 8.
-Characters gain exp even if they aren't in the active battle group. It appears that they were getting 80% the experience points.
-The only Ethers they start you off with is Medica S (4 EP), which only Miyuki and Momo have. You find various other Ethers during the level.
-Outside of battle, the square button is still used to destroy obstacles and objects.
-In battle options include: Attack, Arts, Ether, Item, Finishing Technique, Defend, Change, and Escape. Arts are special attacks that require Ether Points. Finishing Technique requires Two Boost Bars.
-The stock system is gone. The boost system is still in place. In general, I'm not a big fan of the new battle system because they took out the event slot system. I can see the battles becoming mundane really quick.
-In the demo, you encounter Segment Address No. 8, but you don't have the key to open it.
-There is no save point in the demo.
-The boss at the end is kind of hard - it had a lot more HP than I had anticipated. It also did an attack that was ~250 dmg to all.
-The sound of Shion's shoes is really loud and is probably the most annoying part of the demo. You change her out and make Momo, KOS-MOS, or Jin the party leader. I found that the sounds of Jin and Momo running to to be the least annoying. Miyuki and Caan cannot be party leader.
-On the other hand, the transition to and from battle is VERY smooth. I was very impressed by this.
-Miyuki is one of my new favorite characters.
-After finishing the demo, there is a long trailer for the game (one that I had not seen before). It's pretty cool.
-The above images are courtesy of
IGN, but are scenes/battles/enemies I saw in the demo. Jr. was NOT in the demo.
