<s>
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
a	O
2006	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
co-developed	O
by	O
Monolith	O
Soft	O
and	O
Tom	O
Create	O
,	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Namco	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
spin-off	O
of	O
the	O
Xenosaga	O
trilogy	O
and	O
forming	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Xeno	B-Application
metaseries	O
,	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
retells	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
Episode	I-Application
I	I-Application
and	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
Episode	I-Application
II	I-Application
while	O
expanding	O
on	O
its	O
characters	O
and	O
narrative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Displayed	O
from	O
an	O
angled	O
two-dimensional	O
perspective	O
,	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
makes	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
turn-based	O
battle	O
system	O
with	O
elements	O
carried	O
over	O
from	O
the	O
main	O
Xenosaga	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
Monolith	O
Soft	O
's	O
first	O
portable	O
game	O
,	O
began	O
development	O
in	O
2005	O
following	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
Xenosaga	O
:	O
The	O
Animation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
a	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
which	O
retells	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
Episode	I-Application
I	I-Application
and	O
its	O
direct	O
sequel	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cutscenes	O
and	O
the	O
in-game	O
environments	O
and	O
character	O
sprites	O
are	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
(	O
DS	B-Device
)	O
console	O
's	O
top	O
screen	O
,	O
with	O
events	O
outside	O
still	O
animated	O
cutscenes	O
taking	O
place	O
from	O
an	O
angled	O
top-down	O
perspective	O
using	O
two-dimensional	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
information	O
is	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
DS	B-Device
's	O
bottom	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
original	O
versions	O
,	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
features	O
random	O
encounters	O
within	O
the	O
environment	O
,	O
with	O
enemies	O
only	O
appearing	O
in	O
the	O
battle	O
arena	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
battle	O
,	O
the	O
battle	O
arena	O
is	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
DS	B-Device
's	O
top	O
screen	O
while	O
commands	O
and	O
party	O
status	O
is	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
bottom	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
development	O
work	O
for	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
began	O
following	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
Xenosaga	O
:	O
The	O
Animation	O
in	O
2005	O
,	O
although	O
plans	O
existed	O
while	O
the	O
anime	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
co-developed	O
by	O
Xenosaga	O
series	O
developer	O
Monolith	O
Soft	O
and	O
external	O
studio	O
Tom	O
Create	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Character	O
designs	O
were	O
redrawn	O
by	O
Hiroshi	O
Takeuchi	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
done	O
artwork	O
for	O
Cowboy	B-Application
Bebop	I-Application
and	O
My-HiME	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
music	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Kousuke	O
Yamashita	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
both	O
Xenosaga	O
:	O
The	O
Animation	O
and	O
the	O
Nobunaga	B-Application
's	I-Application
Ambition	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Takahashi	O
created	O
the	O
draft	O
based	O
on	O
his	O
original	O
plans	O
for	O
the	O
Xenosaga	O
storyline	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
needed	O
substantial	O
alteration	O
for	O
the	O
original	O
Episode	O
I	O
and	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
due	O
to	O
both	O
design	O
and	O
time	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
more	O
substantial	O
alterations	O
were	O
made	O
such	O
as	O
rearranging	O
flashback	O
sequences	O
so	O
the	O
story	O
would	O
maintain	O
an	O
uninterrupted	O
flow	O
,	O
and	O
greatly	O
expanding	O
information	O
concerning	O
the	O
Immigrant	O
Fleet	O
faction	O
and	O
the	O
origins	O
of	O
central	O
character	O
Jr	O
..	O
During	O
the	O
"	O
beta	O
"	O
period	O
of	O
script	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
scenario	O
for	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
only	O
made	O
up	O
30%	O
of	O
the	O
whole	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
drastic	O
imbalance	O
requiring	O
rewrites	O
to	O
address	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
better	O
connect	O
the	O
two	O
storylines	O
,	O
characters	O
from	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
were	O
given	O
minor	O
cameos	O
within	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Episode	O
I	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
change	O
was	O
the	O
shift	O
to	O
the	O
viewpoint	O
of	O
main	O
protagonist	O
Shion	O
Uzuki	O
,	O
as	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
originally	O
portrayed	O
events	O
from	O
the	O
perspective	O
of	O
Jr.	O
,	O
a	O
concession	O
that	O
enabled	O
events	O
to	O
be	O
fleshed	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
these	O
changes	O
,	O
keeping	O
the	O
narrative	O
consistent	O
with	O
the	O
in-development	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
Episode	I-Application
III	I-Application
was	O
a	O
necessity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
the	O
scenario	O
came	O
close	O
to	O
what	O
Takahashi	O
originally	O
intended	O
for	O
Episode	O
I	O
and	O
Episode	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
total	O
writing	O
work	O
on	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
lasted	O
over	O
six	O
months	O
,	O
with	O
Takeda	O
needing	O
to	O
visit	O
Monolith	O
Soft	O
's	O
offices	O
once	O
a	O
week	O
to	O
discuss	O
the	O
script	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
announced	O
in	O
December	O
2004	O
under	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
DS	I-Application
alongside	O
a	O
DS	B-Device
game	O
in	O
the	O
Baten	O
Kaitos	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
official	O
title	O
and	O
release	O
window	O
were	O
announced	O
in	O
September	O
2005	O
alongside	O
reveal	O
of	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
Episode	I-Application
III	I-Application
and	O
Baten	B-Application
Kaitos	I-Application
Origins	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
the	O
mobile	O
spin-off	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
:	I-Application
Pied	I-Application
Piper	I-Application
,	O
Xenosaga	B-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
remains	O
exclusive	O
to	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RPGamer	O
's	O
Michael	O
Baker	O
positively	O
compared	O
the	O
story	O
to	O
"	O
a	O
particularly	O
well-organized	O
season	O
of	O
Star	B-Application
Trek	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Next	I-Application
Generation	I-Application
"	O
in	O
spite	O
of	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
read	O
the	O
in-game	O
encyclopedia	O
to	O
keep	O
up	O
with	O
its	O
terminology	O
,	O
but	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
text	O
could	O
be	O
off-putting	O
,	O
also	O
citing	O
the	O
game	O
being	O
in	O
Japanese	O
as	O
a	O
barrier	O
to	O
importing	O
the	O
title	O
.	O
</s>
