Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht Cheats & Secrets for PlayStation 2

Originally released February 28, 2002, Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht is the first part of a planned 6-part game series developed by Monolith Soft. Monolith Soft was founded by Xenogears creators and husband and wife duo Tatsuya Takahashi and Kaori Tanaka after the two left Square. Following the founding of Monolith Soft, the pair would successfully pitch the Xenosaga series to Namco, securing publishing for the games and beginning development on Episode I in 2000. Notably, the Xenosaga games were intended to be spiritual successors to the cult classic Xenogears and feature several members of that game’s core development team.

Xenosaga Episode I was generally well-received at the time of its release and very commercially successful, selling almost 250,000 units in just a week and topping Japanese sales charts. The game’s North American release a year later would prove to be similarly successful, as well as seeing the game earn plenty of critical praise for both its gameplay and story. While the Xenosaga series was eventually preemptively canceled halfway through its runtime, the first two games in the series received a Japan-only port to the Nintendo DS.

Xenosaga Episode I Premise

The plot to Xenosaga Episode I begins thousands of years before the game’s events take place when a group of archaeologists uncover an artifact known as the Zohar — an interdimensional artifact that creates a conduit between the corporeal world and a perceived divine realm, allowing humanity to tap into god-like energy it dubs U-DO. Roughly 4,000 years later, humanity has established a galactic Federation that is spread out across hundreds of thousands of planets and solar systems, which begins to come under attack from a strange alien force known as the Gnosis. This first part of a planned hexalogy follows a military scientist and her creation; a sentient battle android built to combat the Gnosis who has a strange connection to the Zohar.

In terms of its gameplay, Xenosaga Episode I is a traditional JRPG not too dissimilar from Xenogears. Players can engage in turn-based battles either on foot or within humanoid mechs (which, instead of “Gears” are called “Anti-Gnosis Weapon Systems”, or AGWS. Battles play out with characters being able to use different attacks tied to each of the PS2 Dual Shock 2’s face buttons, connecting strings of attacks into devastating combos when players conserve ability points (AP) across multiple turns. In addition to combat, players will spend a lot of their time in Xenosaga exploring the game’s environments, interacting with NPCs, taking on quests, and participating in mini-games.

Xenosaga Episode I Main Characters

The story of Xenosaga begins on Earth sometime in the 21st century when an archaeological expedition uncovers an ancient artifact that helps to advance human civilization into a spacefaring society. Thousands of years later, the entirety of mankind is spread out across hundreds of thousands of galactic systems and in an age of apparent utopia when an ancient alien force known as the Gnosis begins attacking their settlements. To combat this threat, arms manufacturer Vector Industries develops two weapons that will change the course of history — the AGWS mechs and KOS-MOS androids. Main characters in Xenosaga Episode I include:

• Shion Uzuki: Shion Uzuki is the main character of Xenosaga and a Vector Industries scientist who creates the KOS-MOS battle androids designed to combat Gnosis.
• KOS-MOS: The other main character of the Xenosaga series is the battle android KOS-MOS, whose developing sentience signals a connection to more powerful forces at play.

Games in Monolith Soft’s “Xeno” Saga

After developing Xenogears for Square Enix, creators Tetsuya Takahashi and his wife Karoi Tanaka would depart Square Enix to start their own studio, Monolith Soft. For the most part, Monolith Soft has continued to produce RPGs that share similarly complex and thought-provoking themes as Xenogears, each of which shares the same “Xeno” prefix in all of their naming conventions. While these games are not necessarily directly connected, they are all part of a sort of shared continuity of games that tackle similar ideas. Games in Monolith Soft’s “Xeno” saga include:

• Xenogears (PlayStation, 1998)
• Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PlayStation 2, 2002)
• Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse (PlayStation 2, 2004)
• Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra (PlayStation 2, 2006)
• Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii, 2010)
• Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U, 2015)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Nintendo Switch, 2017)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo Switch, 2022)

Xenosaga Episode I Cheats & Secrets

While there are no official cheats for Xenosaga Episode I, there are several exploits players can utilize as well as some secrets to uncover that can trivialize more challenging sections. Additionally, there are Action Replay codes players can utilize either on native PS2 hardware or via emulation.

Xenosaga Episode I Secrets

Skip Cutscenes

Whenever you are viewing a previously watched scene, press Start then press Triangle. You will then skip the entire scene until you are in quest mode again. Also, pause the game and you will be prompted if you want to resume or skip the scene. This is useful when you have saved a game before a scene and get killed afterward.

Game Completion Data

Once you complete Xenosaga Episode I, the game will ask if you want to save after the end credits. Answer “Yes” and the game completion data will be saved. Although you cannot load this saved game data with the Episode I game disc, do not delete it. This game completion data affects starting stats in Xenosaga Episode II.

Easy Money

Get the Casino Card from the Durandal’s Casino (north and east of Shione’s room on the Durandal). Then, play Poker. Start with 100 coins (900 bucks) and play level 1 until you get about 200. Then, move straight to level 3 until you get about 700. Then, play level 4. The way to always beat the house is as follows. Always hold a pair or any other scoring combo. After you win, always do double or nothing. If the number is greater than 7 bet low, if the number is 8 it is your choice, and if the number is 9 or above it is best to go low. After accumulating about 45000 coins, get 99 starter decks of cards and sell them for 20,000. It takes a total of two hours to make about 100,000 (and all the prizes and art.)

Alternate Method 1

When you get the Casino passport from the casino on the Durandal, buy some coins so you can play. Select Level 1 Poker and play that until you get about 1,000 coins. After, move up to the next level. When you get between 2,000-3,000 coins, move to level 4. When you earn roughly 15,000 coins, buy 99 Recovery Sets for approximately 9,900 coins, leaving you about 5,000 coins in the bank. Sell the items that were in the Recovery Set for about 11,000 gold. Repeat the process as many times as you like.

Alternate Method 2

Playing the Slot Machine in the casino can earn even more coins than playing Poker. Spend a few minutes playing at Level 1, betting one coin only in one of the payout lines. This is mostly for practice to get used to the timing of when to press Circle. Carefully look to notice the pattern of 7 repeating in each reel. Two 7s are sticking together in the first reel, one in the second reel, and three with one separated (e.g. 77XX7X) in the third reel. Once you learn the pattern repeating in the reel and get used to it, try to get good timing with them.

Try counting a quick one, two, three, and four to get the 7. When you can make three 7 in a row — good. You are now ready to get the Special reel of Super 7. The pattern for Super 7 is the same as the ordinary 7, which is an advantage for you once you have gotten used to the 7s. Now is the best opportunity once you get into the Nine reel, with only X and O. It’s the easiest among the reels. Get all Os without any Xs to win more than 100,000 coins. Trade all the coins and you will get A-05 as soon as possible or any desired items.

Alternate Method 3

After finishing the Encephalon stage, return there using the EVS and run into the spotlights. After defeating all the enemies on screen, exit using the EVS and repeat the process. Every time you do this, you get 8,000 and precious stones which you can sell at the shop plate for some extra money. The enemies here also give good special points; make sure to end every battle with the points bonus icon.

Easy Tech, Skill, and Ether Points

Use the following trick at the very beginning of the game for easy Tech, Skill, and Ether points. Note that this trick only works with Shion. Go to the Gear hanger and talk to the man who is working on a Gear. He will ask if you want to do a simulation. Say “Yes” and go into battle. Winning this battle will earn you 16 to 180 points depending on if you got a x2, x4, or x10 multiplier.

Alternate Method 1

One of the best places to gain AP and money is in the EVS in the Encephalon. Here, you will fight the enemies in the searchlights, which consist of four Dirlewangers and one Kubel. Each battle rewards 1,600 gold and several dozen Tech, Skill, and Ether points. Use an attack that hits the entire enemy group on a turn when the character has the bonus points icon in the Event Slot. If you can successfully kill them all in one hit, you can get about 60 Tech and Skill points and about 40 Ether points (with the 2x multiplier). Defeating the group like this with a 4x or 10x multiplier rewards 100 to 200 points; more if you have ability-increasing items or skills equipped.

Clearing the area two to three times rewards about 8,000 gold, 1,000 Tech and Skill points, and 500 Ether points, depending on your multipliers and the ability to clear entire groups in a single attack.

Alternate Method 2

Go to the Cathedral Ship, then go to the mall just after the second save point. Go to the room on the lower level with the two Unicorn battles. One of the battles will be against a Unicorn and two Ogres and the other against a Unicorn and two Cerberuses. During either of these fights, kill one Cerberus or Ogre on the Bonus Point turn, but only one. Wait for the Unicorn’s turn and defend or weaken the other Cerberus or Ogre until then. Once its turn comes, he will revive the Cerberus or Ogre you just killed.

Then, kill another Cerberus or Ogre on the Bonus Point turn (only one, again). On the Unicorn’s turn, the Cerberus or Ogre will be revived again. Keep doing this repeatedly. If the Unicorn does not revive the Cerberus or Ogre, then you cannot do the trick anymore for the rest of the battle. Just kill the last Cerberus or Ogre and the Unicorn (preferably on the Boost Point turn). By the end of the fight, you have a chance of accumulating anywhere between 50 to 500 Tech Points, Skill Points, and/or Ether Points, depending on how many multipliers you get and of what caliber they are.

Alternate Method 3

One of the best places to earn Tech Points is the Encephlecon. Get caught in one of the searchlights and the warning sign will appear. Take out enemies with strong attacks and they should all be defeated in about two or three consecutive actions. Use the same tactics for the other searchlights. You must use the EVS platform to return and get back. Avoid using your AGWS unless you want to spend 100G every time you are low on health. Additionally, use any Ethers you want. Use the EVS at the Dock Colony up the small flight of stairs to quickly return to the Dock Clinic and restore HP and EP.

Play Mini-Games At Any Time

To play mini-games, you must have the game passport. You can get them by talking to certain people in the game. Once you have the passport, go to a save point with “EVS” above it. Once there, you go to the menu and select key-item. Choose the game passport you want to play and press Action.

Decoder #8

When you visit the Dock Colony for the first time, a woman in front of the clinic tells you of a Fish Detector that her husband lost. Go to the Kukai Foundation’s cleaning place and inspect the tuxedo to find the Fish Detector. Talk to the girl in the Iron Man bar sitting at the lower left table. She says that she lost an important ring and asks you to find it. Go to the Private Beach and go in the water where the fish show up on the radar screen.

Run up to every fish and press Circle. Sometimes you will get an item, and sometimes you will not. You can get a Med Kit, a Speed Stim, and the Engagement Ring. If you return to the beach on any return trips, the Med Kit, and Speed Stim will be there again. Give the ring back to the girl in the bar. She will give you the Decoder #8 to open the red door.

Hazardous Area Map

On board the Elsa, you will see the pilot walking around in Hangar 1 (A.G.W.S. hangar), looking for a map. He does not give any concrete details, except to look everywhere, and that the captain wants it. To get the map, speak with the captain on the bridge. He will give it to you to take to the pilot.

MOMO’s First Transformation

Go to the Cathedral Ship (inside the Gnosis). When you get to the stairs to go up (not the ladder), have MOMO as your lead character and search near the boxes. It should be there.

Shion/MOMO Swimsuit

When you are saving the people at the Kouki Foundation, there is a chest in the hotel. When you get it, it will say “Swimsuit”. You can equip it to Shion or MOMO. This allows their TP reward to increase by 25%. Also, when they are fighting they will be in a swimsuit. If you saw the intermission sequence where they are at the foundation’s beach, you will see MOMO and Shion in a bathing suit. That is how they will appear when they fight with the swimsuit equipped. Also, the same item can be won by completing Mission 4 of the Driller Game. A third and final swimsuit is to be found by defeating Great Joe. Note: Jr. and Chaos can also wear the swimsuit, and can be seen in swimming trunks.

Shion’s Ultimate Ether Skills

At the bottom of the Gear Shop in the Kukai Foundation, you can meet a strange professor who wants you to find parts so he can build a giant robot. Finding the six different parts (2 arms, 2 legs, a torso, and a head) will reward you with four different Ether attacks for Shion. These parts are located in the various Segment address rooms, which you find through exploring.

The first attack is the reward for finding both arms and is called the Throni Blade. Next, you will find both legs, which reward you with the Ether attack called the Dominion Tank. The head is the next item you can get, unlocking an attack called the Seraphim Bird. Finally, you will find the body which combines with all the other parts to create the summon of Erde Kaiser. This is the most powerful attack in the game, causing 9999 damage, but it requires twelve Skill slots, making it the only Ether that Shion can use.

Slide Deck Key

When you are aboard the Elsa, before the ship is attacked, you can speak to the repair robot in the A.G.W.S. hangar. He mentions that he is the hardest worker, and that while he was cleaning one of the cabins he lost his key to the Slide Deck. The key can be found on the couch in the lounge of Cabin 2 (the southernmost cabin).

Keep Shion Safe During the Gnosis Attack

During the Gnosis attack on the Starship Woglinde at Shion’s second encounter with the Gnosis, as they chase her she must run through the partition and quickly press the red switch on the other side to close it to stop the Gnosis from touching her. As this is difficult to do, there is a second, easier option. Have Shion keep running. Ignore and pass both red switches. Go through the open door into the empty room a few steps further down the hallway. Wait a few seconds in the room. The Gnosis will lose track of Shion. Then, give up and return to where they were before the chase. The coast will be clear and Shion can go safely to her next stop.

Fast Sneaking

If you do not want to alert the enemies with your loud footsteps, you can walk by pressing R2. Additionally, if you want to save time, repeatedly press R2 while moving behind or out of the range of the enemies’ view.

AWGS at Dock Colony

Aside from the three standard ones you get with Shion, Junior, and Chaos joining your crew, you can also actually buy three other AWGS units at the Dock Colony. They are a category in the shop “Talk to Me”. Each one can equip its own specific weapons bought at the same place. The best one is a Super Heavy Weight that starts at 6000 FHP. However, these units are not cheap. They are priced from the weakest at 50,000g to the medium at 80,000g, to the strongest at 300,000g.

Quick Reset

While playing the game, hold L1 + L2 + R1 + R2 + Start + Select.

Xenosaga Episode I Action Replay Cheats

Players can use any of the following cheats as long as they have an Action Replay MAX. Alternatively, players using an emulator can input the cheats into the emulator’s “cheat” menu, though it may require converting the codes to an applicable format.

General Cheats

All Character Cheats

Character Speed Cheats

Enemy AI Codes/Battle Codes

Item Cheats

Developer Options Cheats

Xenosaga Episode I Cheat FAQs

Does Xenosaga Episode I have cheats?

There are no official cheat codes for Xenosaga Episode I, but there are several Action Replay codes available for the game. To use these cheat codes, players will need an Action Replay MAX device if using native PlayStation 2 hardware. Otherwise, players will need to upload the cheats into an emulator, which might mean needing to convert and download the cheats in .pnach format.

Is Xenosaga Episode I a sequel to Xenogears?

While there are similar thematic and story elements that are shared between Xenogears and Xenosaga, the two are not directly connected. However, the planned 6-part Xenosaga series would have potentially led into the events of Xenogears. Many of Monolith Soft’s RPGs are loosely connected as part of the “Xeno” series even though their stories and characters are entirely separate from one another.

Do I need to play Xenosaga Episode I before playing Episodes II and III?

While there are some story recap moments available at the beginning of Xenosaga Episode II and Episode III, it’s definitely worth playing all three games in order to experience the entirety of Xenosaga and its impressively sweeping narrative.

How long to beat Xenosaga Episode I?

Compared to a lot of other RPGs of the era, Xenosaga Episode I is relatively short. Players can expect to complete the main story of Xenosaga Episode I in about 40 hours. Taking the time to fully complete the game and max out character levels only slightly increases the total playtime to an estimated 55-60 hours.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.