Xenosaga I Will Be Finished Part 3
Jr., Albedo has kidnapped MOMO and he's traumatizing her in rather comical ways. You need to go save her immediately, Jr., the fate of the universe depends on it!
Jr. can't be reached currently. He's in the casino, wasting his life's savings on poker.
Let's start with something that I can't understand and that I can't get over because it's bugging me so badly. I found this item that everyone says is the cure to all your troubles, battle-wise. It's called the Double Buster. When you fight enemies, you have 6 AP. You're allowed 4 AP each turn, which means that you can use two attacks. If you guard or attack once, you save up an extra 2 AP, which allows you to use a third attack in your up-coming turn. This is called a Deathblow Technique. It's a special attack that does extra damage, deals out status ailments, or hits all the enemies. With the Double Buster, you simply save up 6 AP and can use TWO Deathblow Techniques. You can't choose though, you use the same one twice. This would be great. And wonderful. If only it weren't nigh impossible to use.
I have tried equipping it on Jr. I have put it on KOS-MOS. I have tried it on everyone. I've leveled up techniques to HI, I've placed HI techniques in my triangle-triangle spot and LW techniques in my square-square spot. I've read FAQ's, I've searched message boards, I've watched Youtube videos just to learn how to use this item. I've decided it's absolutely impossible. And you know what? I was about to quit playing this game because of that. Why would you give me an item, tell me what it does, and then not allow me to use it? How could you make it sound so simple and then make it utterly complex to a point that it is pointless to even hand it out? So I took my anger out in the casino.
Poker, in Xenosaga, is an incredibly easy game to play. The odds are in favor of you, the player. As such, I have fun playing it. Now, it so happens that if you accrue enough coins, you can purchase the all-mighty Bravesoul. All you have to do is spend all your savings on coins and play until you can afford it. I'm not too ashamed of this, considering that KOS-MOS' weapons are sent to you and Jr.'s ultimate weapon is found in a Segment Address. No shame whatsoever. So this Bravesoul allows you to do more damage as your health decreases. Jr. has a rather high attack stat. Equip it on him. Right now. Do it. And then never take him out of your party.
I started to rationalize that perhaps the Double Buster is too abusive of an item to actually use in battle. Considering how abusive the Bravesoul is, would I really want to equip Jr. with the Double Buster as well? That would make the game horribly unbalanced, Erde Kaisers ignored for now. My set-up consists of KOS-MOS with the deadly X-Buster technique, Jr. equipped with the Bravesoul, and chaos as my healer seeing as he heals for more points than Shion. I keep Jr. in my party because I like characters with high agility. They may not do as much damage as a tank, but if the battle is long enough, they end up dealing out more damage than a tank. Well, what if you could have the agility of Jr. and the strength of KOS-MOS or Ziggy all in one? Enter the Bravesoul.
All you have to do is let Jr.'s health decrease. Let go of the fear that he will possibly die. If he's about to die anyway, he'll probably kill off whoever is left. With the Bravesoul, I've seen Jr. do up to 1,000 points in one round. And it's possible for him to do this to all enemies on the field if you're using Storm Waltz. Combine this with KOS-MOS, who will take out any survivors with X-Buster. Really, I don't need a third party member. Before, I was afraid to see Jr.'s health lower. Now, whenever the enemies attack him, I go into a different mode. "Yes, yes! Attack Jr., attack! He who survives shall have a calamity befall them! Provoke him! AHAHAHAHAHA!" It was great fun to have Albedo kill Jr. twice only to have him revived for around 100 hit points and deal out 500 points of damage per turn.
Speaking of Albedo, he's finally entered the plot and it is a glorious entrance. It also showcases just how dumb the protagonists are. The Gnosis attack the Kukai Foundation, Shion and team decide they're going to search for survivors and take them to the Durandal. As they're leaving Kukai, MOMO stops to help some of the wounded. Shion turns around and insists MOMO comes with them. MOMO says she's going to stay behind. What is everyone's response? "Okay." Okay? Okay?! To a robot with important information imbedded in her hard-wiring that is wanted by both the Galaxy Federation and Albedo? Okay?! Do I need to inform you of what happens next?
And it's terrible, because Shion is one screen away, one screen away from MOMO in the god damn Durandal and she decides, "No, I want to go back. I'm worried about MOMO." SHH - MMMMMM - AGH - MMRGH - WORD FAIL. UTTER WORD FAIL. OH MY GOD. YOU MORONS. So, they turn around, go ONE SCREEN BACK and see that MOMO is gone. Oh no. I'm so shocked. And who was that ominous shadow hovering over MOMO previously? Santa Claus?
I guess Dark Helmet was right. Evil will always triumph because good is dumb.
This is where I begin to question you, game, because this is the point where the protagonists get even dumber and the antagonist, Albedo, who's supposed to be completely insane, makes the most sense any character in this game has ever made. MOMO has been kidnapped. Jr. is well aware of who might have taken her, in fact he knows who it is immediately. One wonders why he didn't think of this BEFORE, but whatever. As Jr. is ready to go and face Albedo, Ziggy stops him. He says perhaps the most intelligent thing any character has said in this game: "When someone close to you is in danger, you lose your objectivity. And it almost always ends in tragedy." Oh, good point Ziggy. Albedo is simply using MOMO to get to Jr. emotionally; this will allow Albedo to always have the upper hand while MOMO is with him. Very good point, I hope Jr. considers this and decides to - "You're really something, you know that? You think you're such a hardened soldier compared to me. Tell me then . . . how can I become cold and detached like you?" Um. Jr., maybe you should listen to Zi - "The day numbers and battle strategies replace people . . . it'll be game over, cyborg." So, screw it, go in guns blazing? Why does this sound so familiar? Take Jr. into MOMO's subconscious, it's a good idea . . . good idea . . .
A new dungeon appears, the Song of Nephilim, because calling a spade a spade isn't cool these days and it is the song that must not be heard, as chaos finally says something of use. The dungeon consists of a labyrinth and a puzzle that are quite fun to figure out. I like it when the game finally gives me the opportunity to play in an area that isn't a long corridor.
Albedo has MOMO and he's torturing her in comedic ways, such as leaving about dead robots for her to find that move like dolls. And ripping off his arm, having it grow back and shouting "Boo" at her, which is exceptionally funny. And then ripping off his head and making fun of her relationship with Jr. I can't tell you how hilarious it all is. I know, I know, bad touch, mind-rape, what have you. Supposed to be all freaked out by his hammy voice acting. However, it's in this utter lunacy that Albedo provides clarity.
While throwing around dead female robots, Albedo says, "The human race, fearful in its weakness, built this world in a futile attempt to elude the abyss they call mortality. Culture . . . civilization . . . all delusions created by a powerless race, and of little use, like a barren woman. But amidst all this, you [MOMO] continue to exist as an unfettered soul, free from the shackles of flesh and blood . . . A completely pure consciousness . . . An eternal spiral, undefiled by impurities . . . a fusion of fire, breath, and spirit . . . What can we call you . . . but angels? New, unadulterated psyches . . . But what you lack is reality." I think that deserves an applause. Really. Essentially, what Albedo is saying is that humans create structure and create the illusion of immortality through buildings, art, creations like robots, to elude the concept of death. That nature owns us. And he's right, we are powerless to nature. The robots that are created by humanity though don't have a sense of morality, they don't have a sense of ethics. So for MOMO to have a moral code . . . doesn't that make her better than the humans who created her? Albedo makes so much sense in this moment that I forgot entirely that he was torturing MOMO.
There's also the fact that Xenosaga is fond of the more sinister angels. Rather than showcase what we tend to associate with angels, Xenosaga prefers creatures like the Nephilim, spawns of angels that copulated with humans. These Nephilim are carnivorous beast who eat their own. I appreciate this play on concepts as much as I appreciate Albedo's French word-play.
He goes on to make more sense, mocking the fact that MOMO is mourning for the dead robots, insinuating that beings like them shouldn't be allowed to mourn. That's solely for humans. This plays into the fact that Albedo, as shown in Xenosaga II, has a need to mourn despite the fact that he's a clone. I think what Albedo is really doing here is projecting his issues onto MOMO and forcing her to live through them. For example, he's upset that his consciousness wasn't created out of nature, but by human hands. He plays out this issue by going through MOMO's database by merging his hand with her head. And MOMO, being made by Dr. Mizrahi, who is presented as a prophet in the Miltia flashbacks, looks as though she was made by the hand of god, though it is truly through the hand of humans, acting as god.
I find it interesting though that Albedo would project his problems onto MOMO and Jr. rather than deal with them on his own, especially considering his name. Albedo, Jr., and Gaignun (I think I finally spelled it correctly) all have names that are actually Jungian terms, created by the psychologist Carl Jung. It starts with Nigredo (Gaignun), which is a darkening of the soul. The being falls into a deep depression when they begin to realize their faults. It is a humbling of the ego. And seeing what happened to Gaignun in Xenosaga II, I'd say his ego got humbled. If by humbled I mean taken over completely. The next step in this process is Albedo, which is the whitening of the being. The being takes the lessons learned from the nigredo period and begins to come to terms with the world around them. This is considered a tranquil period for the being. A meditative period. Then comes Rubedo (Jr.), which is the "blood" of the process. The being takes everything they learned from those previous processes and gives it life, action. This makes sense for Jr. because he takes everything he's learned from his past to move forward into an identity he's forged for his own sake.
In terms of Albedo, I think the name is supposed to be ironic. There was a wrench thrown in the process. Nigredo knows that death exists. Albedo takes that one step further and realizes that death exists, so mourning must also exist to compensate for that feeling of mortality. Rubedo realizes that death exists, so he must move forward in spite of death. Life is precious, and he punches Albedo when his twin sibling appears to mock life. But with Albedo, something has weaseled in the way of progression. Jr. says that Albedo was contaminated by U-DO. Evolved, Albedo insists. In the past, Albedo appeared to be aware of his fears but the connection with U-DO has made him turn his fears onto others. Rather than reflect on what bothers him, he casts them out onto other people. Thus, he holds Jr. accountable for his anger towards Dr. Yuriev and his perceived immortality. Thus, he projects it onto MOMO. There's a moment where Jr. and Gaignun communicate telepathically. I think the translation was wonky, but Jr. basically tells the group that the communication he and Gaignun share was perverted in Albedo's case. Rather than use that ability to facilitate communication, he uses it to muddle others' communication. He uses it to take MOMO's memories. Unfortunately, this means that MOMO is left with bits of Albedo in her hard-wiring.
Jr. informs the group that Albedo is his dark half. Since we're on Jungian terms, let's take this one step further. Albedo is Jr.'s shadow, except there are no "you're not me" moments here: Jr. has always known that Albedo was a part of his consciousness. He's had to live with the fact that he could be Albedo. And, when Albedo points this out later, referring to Jr. as a "monstrosity," I think Jr. understands this quite clearly, which is why he reacts with fear. As we learned in Xenosaga II, Jr. has feelings for the girl MOMO was based on. In turn, Jr. is projecting those old feelings onto MOMO, who will never be Sakura. Albedo's actions against MOMO are the id fantasies of Jr. That's where murky emotions like lust and destruction exist. Albedo treats MOMO as an object to sexualize and destroy. Even Albedo's readings of Jr.'s feelings for Sakura in Xenosaga II feed into this. For Jr., his relationship with Sakura was child-like. Albedo later insists that Jr. was seduced by her, the word "seduced" having that sexual connotation.
After another annoying boss, I was asked by someone why do I keep playing this game when it seems apparent that I dislike it so much? I play it because of this Rubedo-MOMO-Albedo interaction because it's fascinating and it's deep. Even Jr.'s character has so many nuanced qualities. Even in the production sketches, it's stated that Jr. was intended to have more expressions than the other characters, which speaks highly of his "freed consciousness." I said that he believes life is precious. Jr. takes this to the extreme and treats all objects as if their non-existent life is precious. What you discover in Xenosaga I is that he's a collector of old objects. Especially old books. He has a tendency to quote from novels such as The Wizard of Oz and, of course, The Bible, but this is a Xeno-series game. Jr. treats the books as if they have a life because he's also an inanimate object who desperately clings onto the fact that he has a life. Or maybe I'm just projecting. Everyone's projecting!
So Jr. finds Albedo and MOMO, Albedo uses Jr.'s feelings for MOMO against him, SHOCK. What depresses me is that they didn't learn their lesson in the second game and by that time, Ziggy learned not to say anything. Jr. plays into the enemies hands, he has a "get your stinking paws off of her" moment, Albedo has what he wants from MOMO and realizes that everything makes sense now. I hope by sense you don't mean convoluted sense. The best part is when MOMO intercedes on Jr.'s behalf/health and says, "So now . . ." Albedo mimics this exactly, with a higher-pitched voice. I mean, can he get any better? By the way, that's Crispin Freeman hamming it up for your pleasure.
This was at the time that I stopped playing, right before you fight the blue-hooded man, because I ran away with my tail between my legs, despite my omnipotent Bladesoul, so that I could save. After this boss, it's the final dungeon and I will have finally, finally, beaten this game. But there are a couple other things I'd like to mention first. For example, the scene with Dr. Mizrahi falling from the building while Miltia is going up in flames. It's an extremely Biblical scene. Mizrahi appears as a prophet while his Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed. Only the "pure" make it out of the city alive. Perhaps they know not to look back. Albedo makes it a point to continually point out MOMO's pure consciousness, which is to say that she was one of the pure who was able to escape. Shion was a child at this time, and children are categorically pure of heart. Rubedo and Nigredo were pure as well. Everyone else who makes it out is aided by other forces.
The word Gomorrah is translated as "deep, copious (water)." Deep as in . . . unconsciousness? Thus what was buried in the unconscious part of our psyche had to be wiped out by god. But this is not true for the characters of Xenosaga. Their unconscious parts can't be wiped out, that's not how a human being exists. We exist either by accepting our id parts (though understanding that we don't always act on them) or by denying them entirely, leading to repression. As such, Jr. can never divorce himself from Albedo. Perhaps MOMO is the third part in this equation. If Albedo is Jr.'s id, then MOMO becomes his super ego, as she is a robot who wants to do enough good deeds to see her father in heaven. This scene between Jr., Albedo, and MOMO becomes all the more potent then. It's only when all three characters are present that some sort of peace or stability is achieved.
So yes, some parts of Xenosaga really do anger me. Some parts of it piss me off. But if I had dropped it entirely, look at the characters I would have missed out on. Look at the interactions I would have never seen. Unfortunately, it takes a very long time for Xenosaga I to make its mark on the player, but it is as potent as it's exceedingly obvious Jungian names.
And at this point, I'm just ignoring Shion's presence.
Jr. can't be reached currently. He's in the casino, wasting his life's savings on poker.
Let's start with something that I can't understand and that I can't get over because it's bugging me so badly. I found this item that everyone says is the cure to all your troubles, battle-wise. It's called the Double Buster. When you fight enemies, you have 6 AP. You're allowed 4 AP each turn, which means that you can use two attacks. If you guard or attack once, you save up an extra 2 AP, which allows you to use a third attack in your up-coming turn. This is called a Deathblow Technique. It's a special attack that does extra damage, deals out status ailments, or hits all the enemies. With the Double Buster, you simply save up 6 AP and can use TWO Deathblow Techniques. You can't choose though, you use the same one twice. This would be great. And wonderful. If only it weren't nigh impossible to use.
I have tried equipping it on Jr. I have put it on KOS-MOS. I have tried it on everyone. I've leveled up techniques to HI, I've placed HI techniques in my triangle-triangle spot and LW techniques in my square-square spot. I've read FAQ's, I've searched message boards, I've watched Youtube videos just to learn how to use this item. I've decided it's absolutely impossible. And you know what? I was about to quit playing this game because of that. Why would you give me an item, tell me what it does, and then not allow me to use it? How could you make it sound so simple and then make it utterly complex to a point that it is pointless to even hand it out? So I took my anger out in the casino.
Poker, in Xenosaga, is an incredibly easy game to play. The odds are in favor of you, the player. As such, I have fun playing it. Now, it so happens that if you accrue enough coins, you can purchase the all-mighty Bravesoul. All you have to do is spend all your savings on coins and play until you can afford it. I'm not too ashamed of this, considering that KOS-MOS' weapons are sent to you and Jr.'s ultimate weapon is found in a Segment Address. No shame whatsoever. So this Bravesoul allows you to do more damage as your health decreases. Jr. has a rather high attack stat. Equip it on him. Right now. Do it. And then never take him out of your party.
I started to rationalize that perhaps the Double Buster is too abusive of an item to actually use in battle. Considering how abusive the Bravesoul is, would I really want to equip Jr. with the Double Buster as well? That would make the game horribly unbalanced, Erde Kaisers ignored for now. My set-up consists of KOS-MOS with the deadly X-Buster technique, Jr. equipped with the Bravesoul, and chaos as my healer seeing as he heals for more points than Shion. I keep Jr. in my party because I like characters with high agility. They may not do as much damage as a tank, but if the battle is long enough, they end up dealing out more damage than a tank. Well, what if you could have the agility of Jr. and the strength of KOS-MOS or Ziggy all in one? Enter the Bravesoul.
All you have to do is let Jr.'s health decrease. Let go of the fear that he will possibly die. If he's about to die anyway, he'll probably kill off whoever is left. With the Bravesoul, I've seen Jr. do up to 1,000 points in one round. And it's possible for him to do this to all enemies on the field if you're using Storm Waltz. Combine this with KOS-MOS, who will take out any survivors with X-Buster. Really, I don't need a third party member. Before, I was afraid to see Jr.'s health lower. Now, whenever the enemies attack him, I go into a different mode. "Yes, yes! Attack Jr., attack! He who survives shall have a calamity befall them! Provoke him! AHAHAHAHAHA!" It was great fun to have Albedo kill Jr. twice only to have him revived for around 100 hit points and deal out 500 points of damage per turn.
Speaking of Albedo, he's finally entered the plot and it is a glorious entrance. It also showcases just how dumb the protagonists are. The Gnosis attack the Kukai Foundation, Shion and team decide they're going to search for survivors and take them to the Durandal. As they're leaving Kukai, MOMO stops to help some of the wounded. Shion turns around and insists MOMO comes with them. MOMO says she's going to stay behind. What is everyone's response? "Okay." Okay? Okay?! To a robot with important information imbedded in her hard-wiring that is wanted by both the Galaxy Federation and Albedo? Okay?! Do I need to inform you of what happens next?
And it's terrible, because Shion is one screen away, one screen away from MOMO in the god damn Durandal and she decides, "No, I want to go back. I'm worried about MOMO." SHH - MMMMMM - AGH - MMRGH - WORD FAIL. UTTER WORD FAIL. OH MY GOD. YOU MORONS. So, they turn around, go ONE SCREEN BACK and see that MOMO is gone. Oh no. I'm so shocked. And who was that ominous shadow hovering over MOMO previously? Santa Claus?
I guess Dark Helmet was right. Evil will always triumph because good is dumb.
This is where I begin to question you, game, because this is the point where the protagonists get even dumber and the antagonist, Albedo, who's supposed to be completely insane, makes the most sense any character in this game has ever made. MOMO has been kidnapped. Jr. is well aware of who might have taken her, in fact he knows who it is immediately. One wonders why he didn't think of this BEFORE, but whatever. As Jr. is ready to go and face Albedo, Ziggy stops him. He says perhaps the most intelligent thing any character has said in this game: "When someone close to you is in danger, you lose your objectivity. And it almost always ends in tragedy." Oh, good point Ziggy. Albedo is simply using MOMO to get to Jr. emotionally; this will allow Albedo to always have the upper hand while MOMO is with him. Very good point, I hope Jr. considers this and decides to - "You're really something, you know that? You think you're such a hardened soldier compared to me. Tell me then . . . how can I become cold and detached like you?" Um. Jr., maybe you should listen to Zi - "The day numbers and battle strategies replace people . . . it'll be game over, cyborg." So, screw it, go in guns blazing? Why does this sound so familiar? Take Jr. into MOMO's subconscious, it's a good idea . . . good idea . . .
A new dungeon appears, the Song of Nephilim, because calling a spade a spade isn't cool these days and it is the song that must not be heard, as chaos finally says something of use. The dungeon consists of a labyrinth and a puzzle that are quite fun to figure out. I like it when the game finally gives me the opportunity to play in an area that isn't a long corridor.
Albedo has MOMO and he's torturing her in comedic ways, such as leaving about dead robots for her to find that move like dolls. And ripping off his arm, having it grow back and shouting "Boo" at her, which is exceptionally funny. And then ripping off his head and making fun of her relationship with Jr. I can't tell you how hilarious it all is. I know, I know, bad touch, mind-rape, what have you. Supposed to be all freaked out by his hammy voice acting. However, it's in this utter lunacy that Albedo provides clarity.
While throwing around dead female robots, Albedo says, "The human race, fearful in its weakness, built this world in a futile attempt to elude the abyss they call mortality. Culture . . . civilization . . . all delusions created by a powerless race, and of little use, like a barren woman. But amidst all this, you [MOMO] continue to exist as an unfettered soul, free from the shackles of flesh and blood . . . A completely pure consciousness . . . An eternal spiral, undefiled by impurities . . . a fusion of fire, breath, and spirit . . . What can we call you . . . but angels? New, unadulterated psyches . . . But what you lack is reality." I think that deserves an applause. Really. Essentially, what Albedo is saying is that humans create structure and create the illusion of immortality through buildings, art, creations like robots, to elude the concept of death. That nature owns us. And he's right, we are powerless to nature. The robots that are created by humanity though don't have a sense of morality, they don't have a sense of ethics. So for MOMO to have a moral code . . . doesn't that make her better than the humans who created her? Albedo makes so much sense in this moment that I forgot entirely that he was torturing MOMO.
There's also the fact that Xenosaga is fond of the more sinister angels. Rather than showcase what we tend to associate with angels, Xenosaga prefers creatures like the Nephilim, spawns of angels that copulated with humans. These Nephilim are carnivorous beast who eat their own. I appreciate this play on concepts as much as I appreciate Albedo's French word-play.
He goes on to make more sense, mocking the fact that MOMO is mourning for the dead robots, insinuating that beings like them shouldn't be allowed to mourn. That's solely for humans. This plays into the fact that Albedo, as shown in Xenosaga II, has a need to mourn despite the fact that he's a clone. I think what Albedo is really doing here is projecting his issues onto MOMO and forcing her to live through them. For example, he's upset that his consciousness wasn't created out of nature, but by human hands. He plays out this issue by going through MOMO's database by merging his hand with her head. And MOMO, being made by Dr. Mizrahi, who is presented as a prophet in the Miltia flashbacks, looks as though she was made by the hand of god, though it is truly through the hand of humans, acting as god.
I find it interesting though that Albedo would project his problems onto MOMO and Jr. rather than deal with them on his own, especially considering his name. Albedo, Jr., and Gaignun (I think I finally spelled it correctly) all have names that are actually Jungian terms, created by the psychologist Carl Jung. It starts with Nigredo (Gaignun), which is a darkening of the soul. The being falls into a deep depression when they begin to realize their faults. It is a humbling of the ego. And seeing what happened to Gaignun in Xenosaga II, I'd say his ego got humbled. If by humbled I mean taken over completely. The next step in this process is Albedo, which is the whitening of the being. The being takes the lessons learned from the nigredo period and begins to come to terms with the world around them. This is considered a tranquil period for the being. A meditative period. Then comes Rubedo (Jr.), which is the "blood" of the process. The being takes everything they learned from those previous processes and gives it life, action. This makes sense for Jr. because he takes everything he's learned from his past to move forward into an identity he's forged for his own sake.
In terms of Albedo, I think the name is supposed to be ironic. There was a wrench thrown in the process. Nigredo knows that death exists. Albedo takes that one step further and realizes that death exists, so mourning must also exist to compensate for that feeling of mortality. Rubedo realizes that death exists, so he must move forward in spite of death. Life is precious, and he punches Albedo when his twin sibling appears to mock life. But with Albedo, something has weaseled in the way of progression. Jr. says that Albedo was contaminated by U-DO. Evolved, Albedo insists. In the past, Albedo appeared to be aware of his fears but the connection with U-DO has made him turn his fears onto others. Rather than reflect on what bothers him, he casts them out onto other people. Thus, he holds Jr. accountable for his anger towards Dr. Yuriev and his perceived immortality. Thus, he projects it onto MOMO. There's a moment where Jr. and Gaignun communicate telepathically. I think the translation was wonky, but Jr. basically tells the group that the communication he and Gaignun share was perverted in Albedo's case. Rather than use that ability to facilitate communication, he uses it to muddle others' communication. He uses it to take MOMO's memories. Unfortunately, this means that MOMO is left with bits of Albedo in her hard-wiring.
Jr. informs the group that Albedo is his dark half. Since we're on Jungian terms, let's take this one step further. Albedo is Jr.'s shadow, except there are no "you're not me" moments here: Jr. has always known that Albedo was a part of his consciousness. He's had to live with the fact that he could be Albedo. And, when Albedo points this out later, referring to Jr. as a "monstrosity," I think Jr. understands this quite clearly, which is why he reacts with fear. As we learned in Xenosaga II, Jr. has feelings for the girl MOMO was based on. In turn, Jr. is projecting those old feelings onto MOMO, who will never be Sakura. Albedo's actions against MOMO are the id fantasies of Jr. That's where murky emotions like lust and destruction exist. Albedo treats MOMO as an object to sexualize and destroy. Even Albedo's readings of Jr.'s feelings for Sakura in Xenosaga II feed into this. For Jr., his relationship with Sakura was child-like. Albedo later insists that Jr. was seduced by her, the word "seduced" having that sexual connotation.
After another annoying boss, I was asked by someone why do I keep playing this game when it seems apparent that I dislike it so much? I play it because of this Rubedo-MOMO-Albedo interaction because it's fascinating and it's deep. Even Jr.'s character has so many nuanced qualities. Even in the production sketches, it's stated that Jr. was intended to have more expressions than the other characters, which speaks highly of his "freed consciousness." I said that he believes life is precious. Jr. takes this to the extreme and treats all objects as if their non-existent life is precious. What you discover in Xenosaga I is that he's a collector of old objects. Especially old books. He has a tendency to quote from novels such as The Wizard of Oz and, of course, The Bible, but this is a Xeno-series game. Jr. treats the books as if they have a life because he's also an inanimate object who desperately clings onto the fact that he has a life. Or maybe I'm just projecting. Everyone's projecting!
So Jr. finds Albedo and MOMO, Albedo uses Jr.'s feelings for MOMO against him, SHOCK. What depresses me is that they didn't learn their lesson in the second game and by that time, Ziggy learned not to say anything. Jr. plays into the enemies hands, he has a "get your stinking paws off of her" moment, Albedo has what he wants from MOMO and realizes that everything makes sense now. I hope by sense you don't mean convoluted sense. The best part is when MOMO intercedes on Jr.'s behalf/health and says, "So now . . ." Albedo mimics this exactly, with a higher-pitched voice. I mean, can he get any better? By the way, that's Crispin Freeman hamming it up for your pleasure.
This was at the time that I stopped playing, right before you fight the blue-hooded man, because I ran away with my tail between my legs, despite my omnipotent Bladesoul, so that I could save. After this boss, it's the final dungeon and I will have finally, finally, beaten this game. But there are a couple other things I'd like to mention first. For example, the scene with Dr. Mizrahi falling from the building while Miltia is going up in flames. It's an extremely Biblical scene. Mizrahi appears as a prophet while his Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed. Only the "pure" make it out of the city alive. Perhaps they know not to look back. Albedo makes it a point to continually point out MOMO's pure consciousness, which is to say that she was one of the pure who was able to escape. Shion was a child at this time, and children are categorically pure of heart. Rubedo and Nigredo were pure as well. Everyone else who makes it out is aided by other forces.
The word Gomorrah is translated as "deep, copious (water)." Deep as in . . . unconsciousness? Thus what was buried in the unconscious part of our psyche had to be wiped out by god. But this is not true for the characters of Xenosaga. Their unconscious parts can't be wiped out, that's not how a human being exists. We exist either by accepting our id parts (though understanding that we don't always act on them) or by denying them entirely, leading to repression. As such, Jr. can never divorce himself from Albedo. Perhaps MOMO is the third part in this equation. If Albedo is Jr.'s id, then MOMO becomes his super ego, as she is a robot who wants to do enough good deeds to see her father in heaven. This scene between Jr., Albedo, and MOMO becomes all the more potent then. It's only when all three characters are present that some sort of peace or stability is achieved.
So yes, some parts of Xenosaga really do anger me. Some parts of it piss me off. But if I had dropped it entirely, look at the characters I would have missed out on. Look at the interactions I would have never seen. Unfortunately, it takes a very long time for Xenosaga I to make its mark on the player, but it is as potent as it's exceedingly obvious Jungian names.
And at this point, I'm just ignoring Shion's presence.