Nailed it. I kind of sort of liked episode 1, but wasn't satisfied ultimately. Didn'tplay part 2 until after episode 3 came out, in which I basically rushed through it in order to play. I WAS SO HAPPY.
Honestly Saga needs more than that. A FF7R style remake restructuring the story based on the DS rewrite would be ideal since it can be messy with plotlines that never got resolved and retcons due to the series being cut in half.
Xenosaga 3 is my all time favorite game right there with MGS3. Back in 2008 or 09, a friend had just bought it but was playing something else at the time (we were still rocking our PS2s), so he borrowed me his pirated copy without me even asking, let's say I wasn't too excited so it took some days until I finally decided to play it. The only thing I knew about the series was a review of ep II I read on a magazine some years before (even though the score was a 9/10, the screenshots looked so awful that I couldn't care less) so I gave the database a good amount of attention and loved the lore so much I had a lot of fun just reading through all of it. I love how snappy the battles are and there's no need to grind specially if you can end them with finish strikes, art style, character designs, the soundtrack that I still listen to this day... hell, I even love the menu sound effects and how echoey the voices and footsteps get in certain areas, something that seems so little but it really adds to the whole aesthetic. Well, it's not perfect because of the censonship with the NA version, but everything else was so good that for me it just became an annoyance rather than something that would put me off like it did to so many people. I went back to play the other games but episode 1 was so "stiff" in comparison that finishing it was a chore, and I lost interest in episode II midway through (though I have to say the soundtrack is amazing too and the cutscenes are really cool).
Fuck yes. I just beat it in these past couple of days, and it shook me to my core. Immediately one of my favorite games of all time. So grateful through inner turmoil they were able to finish the series and give us one of the greatest rpg stories told.
Really interesting to hear that from a Xenoblade fan! I played and fell in love with these games when they were brand new. And my perception of them is vastly different. I've been begging fans of JRPGs and good stories to play them for years, but only some of my closest friends actually trusted me to not only give them a try but to actually finish them and fall in love with them too. But when years later Xenoblade was developed and even came out in the west thanks to Operation Rainfall and there was an all new generation of new Xeno-fans on a completely different platform who never came into contact with Xenogears or Xenosaga, it was a way tougher uphill battle to convince them to play Xenosaga due to multiple reasons. - The platform - The linearity vs. the open world which fans of Xenoblade fell in love with And that comes on top of the reasons many people might not like the games to begin with: - The anime style - The many cutscenes - The heavy emphasis on philosophy - The dense world-building you just get thrown into And of course most people see turn-based battles and linear stories as a drawback, not a strength. So it varies heavily from person to person. But for the most part it felt to me like most Xenoblade fans aren't really interested in playing Xenosaga. Or Xenogears as well for that matter. But that is too sad because especially the Xenoblade fans who love these games for their story and world would be in for a treat if they tried out the older games. So hearing so much praise from a Xenoblade fan really warms my heart. Thank you for that!
You raise some good points. Xenosaga and Xenoblade are very different from one another in some key aspects, particularly pertaining to structure and gameplay. So I totally agree that not every Xenoblade fan would be likely to fall in love with Xenosaga if they tried it. I personally had the "advantage" of having been a long-time JRPG fan who has played tons of linear, turn-based games. I also live for good stories and have no issues setting my controller aside for 15 minutes at a time. So Xenosaga was right up my alley, to be honest, particularly as a fan of science-fiction. It was really only the lack of availability and my reluctance to resort to emulation that had kept me from playing it for so long. But I'm glad I finally played both Saga and Gears. :)
I still listen to this games soundtrack regularly. This game has more emotion tied to it than the others, specifically with the Testsments. However, it doesn’t hit the same if you skip the other 2. I remember Episode 2 being very short compared to the first one. The third game hits just right in length and pacing. I still go back to this one every couple years to play again. Definitely one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
Storywise 2 might be the most important. The only who is kinda left out is Ziggy because Pied Paper is difficult to get nowadays and without it the Voyager Battle would prolly be less impactful of a showdown. Nethertheless he still gets moments but one cutscene about Voyager killing his family would've been good.
I wonder how the environments and characters will looks if they have been overhauled completely in next-gen. I've got them all 3 up and running, fully functional. Such a beautiful jewel of rpg in the PS2 era. 💙💙💙
Episode 3 was EPIC and I've beaten it more than once. The ending emotionally destroys me every time! I'm currently replaying it and Final Fantasy 12. I think I'll replay Legend of Dragoon as well.
It's honestly one of the best sci-fi jrpgs of all time. I was astounded playing Xenosaga 1-3 as a teenager, but especially with the third game with the much better battle system, even though they had to cut down the 6 planned games into just three games it still left a major impact on me. Yuki kajiura is also an amazing composer, the music is incredible in these games.
never heard of the xenosaga games before o.o they seem quite cool though!!! and in this video u can feel your passion for those games!!! great video!!!
Damn, when i was a child i thought i blamed XENOSAGA EP II being difficult on the fact that my English was terrible LOL. I'm glad to see that everyone had a hard time dealing with that battle system and never ending fights XD
Going to play it soon, Xenosaga 3 was the one I never got to play so ~20 years later I want to understand this story. Especially after Xenoblade ended with the blue light.
I really regret not emulating the game but at least I was able to experience a playthrough thanks to Enels Streams. Maybe if Xenoblade 3 turns out as a sucess it gets support similar to the a few years ago almost dead Fire Emblem series. And that would at least increase the chance of ports from these games altgough a remastered that combines everything would be the most desireable outcome. Or at least two games where 1+2 are combined because storywise I felt that everything from part 1 builds so heavily on 2 that it would've worked better as a single product. But who knows if 3 would've been as great as it is without that descision? I'll definitely play Xenogears in the future because I feel I'd regret experiencing it not by myself as well
Im so glad I have been able to have a working ps2 slim and all 3 parts never did i sell them. I kept these 3 copies in the best condition to date. Just hope one day that they port this onto the ps5 or any of the new gen consoles. This game would do so fantastically wonderful i just know it.
That's what I get for researching this title. Two chunky bites to get to the good part. And I started from playing NDS game but not having full translation is not fun. Now I have to make time for this marathon, maybe this Christmas? Cheers ;)
I will just say too despite this is a old Xenosaga video!, that Xenosaga V is coming in 2025!. Its a new live action production that I am working super hard on, not like the previous one!. That in my mind did not do that great!. Plus the famous Vic Mignogna will be part voicing one of the villains in Xenosaga V!. And yes Xenosaga V will more focus on the main characters like Shion, Allen and the rest and the story takes place on Lost Jerusalem!. Better plots and story too for the New Xenosaga movie!.
I LOVED this game! 3rd best JRPG I’ve ever played for me. This game just put the series on a whole other level. I knew it was a good game going into it. But I didn’t think it would be THIS good. It’s not perfect, the story does take a few liberties that are laughable when you think about it such as Shion’s dream suddenly becoming a reality with hardly any explanation. But despite that this game and trilogy is a must play for all JRPG fans.
Still need to get to 3. Finally got emulation running after my copies of the series and PS2 died. Suffering through xenosaga 2 rn. I like a lot of the ideas/what they're going for but it physically hurts me lol and I'm only at the start.
Thanks. I love a lot of different games. Some of my favorite series are Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear and Resident Evil. But there's a lot more.
Nice. It is a wonderful Furturistic JRPG with Tron like colors and levels/ Robotech battles/ and character level progression. When you finish it, then you will know how to play and start again. Prepare for a fun long 40-70 hrs game
Great video! While I personally think that Xenosaga 3‘s story feels a bit rushed towards the end (mostly because it wasn‘t supposed to end where it did) I still think it‘s an amazing experience, especially compared to 1 and 2 who I thought were either kind of meh (Xenosaga 1) or just alright (Xenosaga 2) Also appreciate your pronunciation of „Also Sprach Zarathustra“
...I'm so, so sorry. EU never got a "Xenosaga" release? What injustice. "Xenosaga" was and still is a light in the dark for me, and I would not be where I am today without it and KOS-MOS. Bless you for being such a dedicated fan. Nintendo underestimates the old "Xeno" title fans. It's very sad.
In less than 5 mins and a half you've explained the burning question every Gen Z/Gen A kid has after finishing Xenoblade, "Should I play Xenosaga or watch the cut-scenes for the lore." I have to call you out for using Ep. II sound track music then saying that Ep. III has the most iconic music of the series.
;_; The pain of the no EU release still hurts me and drives me to rage. We were cheated out of the best game ever made. Looking back on these cutscenes also reminds me how beautiful Xenosaga Episode 3 is.
For me the issue remains that the series was planned as six parts and that they needed to compress the remaining 4 parts of the story into one game, because Nintendo was buying the studio.
I can't believe they didn't port these to Switch. There isn't anything the SMT series does that Xenosaga doesn't do just as well if not better and with a more intelligent story. SMT sold like hot cakes and with the Xenoblade popularity on Switch it's a no brainer.
I just play the first one and I got turn of because of such a painful combat system, the tutorial is so confusing and every thing is just reading and remembering things, but I heard the 3rd is much batter, because after all RPG are only about good gameplay, mostly JRPG story are just stupid edgy teen age saving world, so if anyone reading the is it worth playing this, because this video is amazing and also very positive, I'm also huge fan of FFX since that's the only RPG I played when I was a kid and that game story is just excellent also the gameplay is amazing as well
Profit margin = Put it on Gamepass and let Xbox fund it in part. I'd love for that to happen because I like 3 that Much and if they fixed the first 2 by making it like 3 it would be great
That's how most people feel. About the entire games as well. "Xenosaga II" is a disappointment. But it's so worth it to at least watch the cutscenes JUST for "Xenosaga III".
Yes Xenosaga was wonderful!. But something you guys might not know. I am the producer of Xenosaga IV!. A fanfilm that is a sequel to the series. That was released in 2020!. Yes I admit its not a perfect Xenosaga movie but I did what I could with it!.
I love the Xenosaga Episode 3 but the fact that you have to play through two mediocre games to get up to the Xenosaga 3 makes it really hard to recommend, it took me weeks of forcing myself to finish episodes I and II to get through it, if Xenosaga II was the same length as the first one I think I would've dropped the franchise right then and there.
The story and lore of the first two games was still there and good. You are basically talking about pacing and some gameplay aspects. Which really isn't what's first and foremost of a role playing game. It's in the name...
Xenosaga 3 is undoubtedly a masterpiece. But my only gripe is uou can tell budgetary constraints led to alot of cutscenes, the majority even, being done as reading text boxes. This wasnt a major gripe as theyre fully voice acted, but it lost some of the epic feel the first game had. Xenosaga 2 on the other hand i thought was a genuinely bad game. X3 genuinely benefits from Takahashis involvement. X3 had the same director as 2 but Takahashi helped ensure it was the best climax anyone could have hoped for.
![Xenosaga Episode 3 Review [An Epic Conclusion to the Series]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7P4so-5grxI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #30 ДВА В ОДНОМ [Один человек]• Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nrXy15orKhY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Ranking the Xeno Series [ Xenogears | Xenosaga | Xenoblade ] The best from this AMAZING JRPG series](/img/n.gif)
Such an underrated masterpiece... I wish I could talk about this game with people LOL...
Fucking same
Yasss I feel you and I wish it was a bit harder lol but omg amazing game. I am gonna replay it soon, I wish they made Xenosaga 4 and more.
@@ICgay4 I'm kind of glad they didn't. They didn't keep "remaking" it.
@@matronmalice9867 awww but Momo and Jr.
Same
Nailed it.
I kind of sort of liked episode 1, but wasn't satisfied ultimately. Didn'tplay part 2 until after episode 3 came out, in which I basically rushed through it in order to play. I WAS SO HAPPY.
Totally agree, we need the whole trilogy remastered for the Switch
Honestly Saga needs more than that. A FF7R style remake restructuring the story based on the DS rewrite would be ideal since it can be messy with plotlines that never got resolved and retcons due to the series being cut in half.
@@reshi606 Based. Have Monolith develop it with Namco and Nintendo's help. That would be something great!
Xenosaga 3 is my all time favorite game right there with MGS3. Back in 2008 or 09, a friend had just bought it but was playing something else at the time (we were still rocking our PS2s), so he borrowed me his pirated copy without me even asking, let's say I wasn't too excited so it took some days until I finally decided to play it. The only thing I knew about the series was a review of ep II I read on a magazine some years before (even though the score was a 9/10, the screenshots looked so awful that I couldn't care less) so I gave the database a good amount of attention and loved the lore so much I had a lot of fun just reading through all of it.
I love how snappy the battles are and there's no need to grind specially if you can end them with finish strikes, art style, character designs, the soundtrack that I still listen to this day... hell, I even love the menu sound effects and how echoey the voices and footsteps get in certain areas, something that seems so little but it really adds to the whole aesthetic. Well, it's not perfect because of the censonship with the NA version, but everything else was so good that for me it just became an annoyance rather than something that would put me off like it did to so many people.
I went back to play the other games but episode 1 was so "stiff" in comparison that finishing it was a chore, and I lost interest in episode II midway through (though I have to say the soundtrack is amazing too and the cutscenes are really cool).
Good to hear that you were still able to fall in love with it despite it being your first Xenosaga.
I spent a lot of time reading the database myself. It's one of the best parts. What an amazing game. I just love it.
Fuck yes. I just beat it in these past couple of days, and it shook me to my core. Immediately one of my favorite games of all time. So grateful through inner turmoil they were able to finish the series and give us one of the greatest rpg stories told.
Also T-elos was so hot
Really interesting to hear that from a Xenoblade fan!
I played and fell in love with these games when they were brand new. And my perception of them is vastly different. I've been begging fans of JRPGs and good stories to play them for years, but only some of my closest friends actually trusted me to not only give them a try but to actually finish them and fall in love with them too. But when years later Xenoblade was developed and even came out in the west thanks to Operation Rainfall and there was an all new generation of new Xeno-fans on a completely different platform who never came into contact with Xenogears or Xenosaga, it was a way tougher uphill battle to convince them to play Xenosaga due to multiple reasons.
- The platform
- The linearity vs. the open world which fans of Xenoblade fell in love with
And that comes on top of the reasons many people might not like the games to begin with:
- The anime style
- The many cutscenes
- The heavy emphasis on philosophy
- The dense world-building you just get thrown into
And of course most people see turn-based battles and linear stories as a drawback, not a strength. So it varies heavily from person to person. But for the most part it felt to me like most Xenoblade fans aren't really interested in playing Xenosaga. Or Xenogears as well for that matter. But that is too sad because especially the Xenoblade fans who love these games for their story and world would be in for a treat if they tried out the older games.
So hearing so much praise from a Xenoblade fan really warms my heart. Thank you for that!
You raise some good points. Xenosaga and Xenoblade are very different from one another in some key aspects, particularly pertaining to structure and gameplay. So I totally agree that not every Xenoblade fan would be likely to fall in love with Xenosaga if they tried it. I personally had the "advantage" of having been a long-time JRPG fan who has played tons of linear, turn-based games. I also live for good stories and have no issues setting my controller aside for 15 minutes at a time. So Xenosaga was right up my alley, to be honest, particularly as a fan of science-fiction. It was really only the lack of availability and my reluctance to resort to emulation that had kept me from playing it for so long. But I'm glad I finally played both Saga and Gears. :)
I loved the positive complexity of the Episode 1 story filled with mysticism, philosophy! That is my favorite game of all time.
I still listen to this games soundtrack regularly. This game has more emotion tied to it than the others, specifically with the Testsments. However, it doesn’t hit the same if you skip the other 2. I remember Episode 2 being very short compared to the first one. The third game hits just right in length and pacing. I still go back to this one every couple years to play again. Definitely one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
Storywise 2 might be the most important. The only who is kinda left out is Ziggy because Pied Paper is difficult to get nowadays and without it the Voyager Battle would prolly be less impactful of a showdown. Nethertheless he still gets moments but one cutscene about Voyager killing his family would've been good.
Extremely thoughtful. Your enjoyment of the game really comes through.
I wonder how the environments and characters will looks if they have been overhauled completely in next-gen. I've got them all 3 up and running, fully functional. Such a beautiful jewel of rpg in the PS2 era. 💙💙💙
WE NEED MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS BRAVO. Loved the game at release love it many years later and nothing else compares to Saga.
Great video! I came here by way of DavidVinc's comments section.
I'm glad you liked it. :)
We’re getting the end to another excellent trilogy from monolith lads. Xenoblade 3 is out on the 29th and I’m buying it!
Episode 3 was EPIC and I've beaten it more than once. The ending emotionally destroys me every time! I'm currently replaying it and Final Fantasy 12. I think I'll replay Legend of Dragoon as well.
Legend of Dragoon
....thanks for reminding)
Can't stand yet that i've lost one of my beautiful characters of the series. Blue hearts in case you know 💙💙💙
It's honestly one of the best sci-fi jrpgs of all time. I was astounded playing Xenosaga 1-3 as a teenager, but especially with the third game with the much better battle system, even though they had to cut down the 6 planned games into just three games it still left a major impact on me. Yuki kajiura is also an amazing composer, the music is incredible in these games.
I heard no lies in this video. Xenosaga is number 1
never heard of the xenosaga games before o.o they seem quite cool though!!! and in this video u can feel your passion for those games!!! great video!!!
Damn, when i was a child i thought i blamed XENOSAGA EP II being difficult on the fact that my English was terrible LOL. I'm glad to see that everyone had a hard time dealing with that battle system and never ending fights XD
I wish Xenosaga was back.
Awesome! I love XS3! Now if only Bamco could put it along with the other games on the Switch so we can have all the games in one place!
Xenosaga IV!. I also made most of the costumes for Xenosaga IV.
Going to play it soon, Xenosaga 3 was the one I never got to play so ~20 years later I want to understand this story. Especially after Xenoblade ended with the blue light.
I really regret not emulating the game but at least I was able to experience a playthrough thanks to Enels Streams. Maybe if Xenoblade 3 turns out as a sucess it gets support similar to the a few years ago almost dead Fire Emblem series. And that would at least increase the chance of ports from these games altgough a remastered that combines everything would be the most desireable outcome. Or at least two games where 1+2 are combined because storywise I felt that everything from part 1 builds so heavily on 2 that it would've worked better as a single product. But who knows if 3 would've been as great as it is without that descision?
I'll definitely play Xenogears in the future because I feel I'd regret experiencing it not by myself as well
Xenosaga 3 is a great game and KOS-MOS is my favorite because she's iconic!
Im so glad I have been able to have a working ps2 slim and all 3 parts never did i sell them. I kept these 3 copies in the best condition to date. Just hope one day that they port this onto the ps5 or any of the new gen consoles. This game would do so fantastically wonderful i just know it.
I played and beat all three of these games upon their first release. I was surprised to find out later on that only episode 1 sold well.
That's what I get for researching this title. Two chunky bites to get to the good part. And I started from playing NDS game but not having full translation is not fun. Now I have to make time for this marathon, maybe this Christmas?
Cheers ;)
Have fun. :)
I will just say too despite this is a old Xenosaga video!, that Xenosaga V is coming in 2025!. Its a new live action production that I am working super hard on, not like the previous one!. That in my mind did not do that great!. Plus the famous Vic Mignogna will be part voicing one of the villains in Xenosaga V!. And yes Xenosaga V will more focus on the main characters like Shion, Allen and the rest and the story takes place on Lost Jerusalem!. Better plots and story too for the New Xenosaga movie!.
I LOVED this game! 3rd best JRPG I’ve ever played for me. This game just put the series on a whole other level. I knew it was a good game going into it. But I didn’t think it would be THIS good. It’s not perfect, the story does take a few liberties that are laughable when you think about it such as Shion’s dream suddenly becoming a reality with hardly any explanation. But despite that this game and trilogy is a must play for all JRPG fans.
Still need to get to 3. Finally got emulation running after my copies of the series and PS2 died. Suffering through xenosaga 2 rn. I like a lot of the ideas/what they're going for but it physically hurts me lol and I'm only at the start.
Stay strong!
I'm at disc 2 of xenosaga 3 now.
You nailed it man!! But I’m curious what are some of your other favorite games?
Thanks. I love a lot of different games. Some of my favorite series are Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear and Resident Evil. But there's a lot more.
Nice. It is a wonderful Furturistic JRPG with Tron like colors and levels/ Robotech battles/ and character level progression. When you finish it, then you will know how to play and start again. Prepare for a fun long 40-70 hrs game
I agree with you 100%
Great video!
While I personally think that Xenosaga 3‘s story feels a bit rushed towards the end (mostly because it wasn‘t supposed to end where it did) I still think it‘s an amazing experience, especially compared to 1 and 2 who I thought were either kind of meh (Xenosaga 1) or just alright (Xenosaga 2)
Also appreciate your pronunciation of „Also Sprach Zarathustra“
...I'm so, so sorry. EU never got a "Xenosaga" release? What injustice. "Xenosaga" was and still is a light in the dark for me, and I would not be where I am today without it and KOS-MOS. Bless you for being such a dedicated fan. Nintendo underestimates the old "Xeno" title fans. It's very sad.
We only got Episode 2 in Europe. :(
In less than 5 mins and a half you've explained the burning question every Gen Z/Gen A kid has after finishing Xenoblade, "Should I play Xenosaga or watch the cut-scenes for the lore." I have to call you out for using Ep. II sound track music then saying that Ep. III has the most iconic music of the series.
;_; The pain of the no EU release still hurts me and drives me to rage. We were cheated out of the best game ever made.
Looking back on these cutscenes also reminds me how beautiful Xenosaga Episode 3 is.
For me the issue remains that the series was planned as six parts and that they needed to compress the remaining 4 parts of the story into one game, because Nintendo was buying the studio.
PCSX2 Emulated to HD for Xenosaga is the way to go
A Switch port would be the dream but that doesn’t look like it’s happening unfortunately
I can't believe they didn't port these to Switch. There isn't anything the SMT series does that Xenosaga doesn't do just as well if not better and with a more intelligent story. SMT sold like hot cakes and with the Xenoblade popularity on Switch it's a no brainer.
I just play the first one and I got turn of because of such a painful combat system, the tutorial is so confusing and every thing is just reading and remembering things, but I heard the 3rd is much batter, because after all RPG are only about good gameplay, mostly JRPG story are just stupid edgy teen age saving world, so if anyone reading the is it worth playing this, because this video is amazing and also very positive, I'm also huge fan of FFX since that's the only RPG I played when I was a kid and that game story is just excellent also the gameplay is amazing as well
Profit margin = Put it on Gamepass and let Xbox fund it in part.
I'd love for that to happen because I like 3 that Much and if they fixed the first 2 by making it like 3 it would be great
I actually liked the game play of the first one not so much the second
That's how most people feel. About the entire games as well. "Xenosaga II" is a disappointment. But it's so worth it to at least watch the cutscenes JUST for "Xenosaga III".
Xenogears > Final Fantasy in PS1 era. Xenosaga > Final Fantasy in PS2 era. I swear if I come across one more "Is Aerith dead?" video...
I loved episode 1 but wasn’t happy with the next 2
2 I stopped half way through and just watched the cut scenes on UA-cam
real
I blame America why we didn't get more.
Yes Xenosaga was wonderful!. But something you guys might not know. I am the producer of Xenosaga IV!. A fanfilm that is a sequel to the series. That was released in 2020!. Yes I admit its not a perfect Xenosaga movie but I did what I could with it!.
Let’s just hope Namcos cool with a switch port to get the blade fans on board!
I love the Xenosaga Episode 3 but the fact that you have to play through two mediocre games to get up to the Xenosaga 3 makes it really hard to recommend, it took me weeks of forcing myself to finish episodes I and II to get through it, if Xenosaga II was the same length as the first one I think I would've dropped the franchise right then and there.
X1 was good. X2 gameplay was torture and X3 was just hella fun.
But the characters 😂
The story and lore of the first two games was still there and good. You are basically talking about pacing and some gameplay aspects. Which really isn't what's first and foremost of a role playing game. It's in the name...
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep The first half of XC2 is really good but disc 2 is pretty bad. XC1 has a good story but mediocre gameplay
@@MILDMONSTER1234 This is Xenosaga not Xenoblade.
If this is perfection then why is Xenoblade 1 so bad.
Xenoblade 1 is even better than the whole Xenosaga series....
Xenosaga 3 is undoubtedly a masterpiece. But my only gripe is uou can tell budgetary constraints led to alot of cutscenes, the majority even, being done as reading text boxes. This wasnt a major gripe as theyre fully voice acted, but it lost some of the epic feel the first game had. Xenosaga 2 on the other hand i thought was a genuinely bad game. X3 genuinely benefits from Takahashis involvement. X3 had the same director as 2 but Takahashi helped ensure it was the best climax anyone could have hoped for.