Kosmos horology5/28/2023 ![]() ![]() But I’m talking emotional cowardice here. I don’t hold his physical cowardice against him, as I said-he’s not a fighter, and he gets involved in some highly dangerous situations against his will, so him comically wailing like Shaggy from Scooby Doo is tolerable to me. No, the reasons I dislike the whole Allen and Shion thing that Xenosaga 3 decides to make canon are as follows.įirst: He’s an emotionally gutless coward for literally more than 99% of the series. Mildly annoying at times, but in his cowardly way he’s dedicated, he’s got a good heart, and.well, that’s about it actually, since his character is rather flat, but he’s alright. And I don’t begrudge him his interest in Shion (although I sure as hell don’t understand it good lord is she a pill). So what I’m about to say is, honestly, me being objective, not letting my personal biases get in the way of the issue.Īlright, another note I’d like to make before I continue. I try never to let what I want override my ability to recognize what is, you know? It seems to me like the entire series is implying that KOSMOS and Shion are in love, but I concede that you can argue, probably effectively, that every instance of proof for this idea has some other intention, some other meaning. Then there’s all the implications of the previous lives thing, the way KOSMOS acts once she’s regained her lost ankly, if the game had just outright acknowledged that KOSMOS and Shion loved each other at some point, and left it at that, it would have been one of the few aspects of Xenosaga’s plot that was understandable and concluded well.īut although I personally believe that there’s a connection of love between them, I DO try to stay objective, both when I’m playing a game and when I’m ranting. To me, that is, all things considered, basically a statement of love, right there. Shion interprets this as essentially meaning that KOSMOS’s very heart wants to protect her, and it seems like a pretty legit understanding to me (though I am, granted, hardly knowledgeable about the way proposed AI behavior programming and such would work). Hell, there’s a scene where KOSMOS even seems to say she loves Shion, in as much capacity as she can-when Shion asks why KOSMOS watches over her in ways far beyond her programming, KOSMOS’s response is basically that protecting Shion is her highest priority, not as a part of her programming per say, but as a direct, interrupting value that comes from her core, able to supercede every other behavioral directive. Shion’s interactions with KOSMOS seem to personally focus Shion in a way that doesn’t happen with her interactions with anyone else, and she’ll allow KOSMOS in without a thought even when she shuts everyone else out. KOSMOS is extraordinarily protective of Shion far beyond the scope of her programming keeping Shion safe can be considered the ultimate priority for KOSMOS, and she will, and does, break the laws of her own construction to make that happen. I think there’s some real romantic potential there, and I swear, it cannot possibly just be my imagination that the games themselves hint at it. I personally have advocated, since Xenosaga 1, the idea of Shion and KOSMOS being involved romantically. Before we begin, let me just get this out of the way, to be fair and honest. Oh, I know what I’ll rant about! Allen and Shion. How about making half the main cast overall unimportant to the game’s events? Or continuing the decision of Xenosaga 1 and especially 2 to give Ziggy no significant relevance to the story? Maybe the fact that an entire game’s worth of events happened between Xenosaga 2 and 3, and is only related to the player through vague references and an in-game glossary? Perhaps the lack of background and depth for almost all of its villains, whether major or minor? Oh gosh, I should do a rant about one of the problems with Xenosaga 3’s story decisions. (Many thanks to my friend Jolt for his part in making this rant possible, and my sister for bouncing my ideas right back in my face and forcing me to get my shit together with my arguments.)
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