Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol. 1

This is a sub-page of Proto:Xenogears.

To do:

Record localisation differences.

An English demo for Xenogears was included with the North American version of Parasite Eve, which was released in September 1998. The disc that contains the demo, titled Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol. 1, also included videos of Bushido Blade II, Brave Fencer Musashi, and Final Fantasy VIII.

The demo covers the opening section of the game, ending just before the destruction of Lahan, when the Kislev gears spot Timothy returning to rescue Dan.

Trailer#

After selecting the demo, a trailer plays, which features footage from the Japanese version and some early versions that are also documented here.
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Gameplay Differences#

In the demo, Fei has access to a set of Deathblows and spells that are normally obtained throughout the game as he levels up. Additionally, his HP is set to 999 and EP is at 99.

Demo	Final

Demo	Final

As shown in the above screenshots, the Deathblow menu uses "Skills" as a heading compared to "DeathBlows" in the final release. This indicates that "Deathblow" was a term coined later into localization, which is reflected through the sidebar in the Status menu still using "Skills" in the final North American version.
Like the Japanese demo, Bart and Elly join the party in the Mountain Path towards Citan's house, triggering two demo-exclusive conversations. Like Fei, they also have 999 HP, 99 EP, and an assortment of Deathblows and spells. They leave once you reach the end of the path.

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The save point in the Mountain Path appears and pressing X when coming in contact with it will open the menu, but saving is still disabled.
The File menu is inaccessible.
As was the case with the Japanese demo, all characters start with 7 AP. This includes party members outside of Fei, Elly and Bart when put into the party via the debug room.
The Sound option cannot be opened in the title screen.

Translation Differences#

There are a few translation differences in the demo, though many, if not all of them, are minor changes.

Opening Text#

Demo	Final
Eventually, after continuous swings in the state of the war, Kislev gained the upper hand. The major factor behind this lied in the enormous difference in the amount of resources buried within their ruins. But suddenly a mysterious military force appeared in the continuent of Ignas. Called 'Gebler', this force decided to make contact with Aveh.	Eventually, after continuous swings in the state of the war, Kislev gained the upper hand. The major factor behind this lay in the enormous difference in the amount of resources buried within their ruins. But suddenly a mysterious military force appeared in the continuent of Ignas. Called 'Gebler', this force decided to make contact with Aveh.
With the assistance of this Gebler military force, Aveh was able to recover from being hopelessly out- numbered to being back on an even standing with Kislev. Then, taking advantage of it's newly gained momentum, Aveh started to capture one territory after another from Kislev, showing no indication of slowing down in their invasion campaign.	With the assistance of this Gebler military force, Aveh was able to recover from being hopelessly out- numbered to being back on an even standing with Kislev. Then, taking advantage of its newly gained momentum, Aveh started to capture one territory after another from Kislev, showing no indication of slowing down in their invasion campaign.

Opening - Lahan's Destruction#

Demo	Final
Fei "Huff...,huff... Damn you...!!"	Fei "Huff...huff... Damn you...!!"

Memory of Fei Being Left at Lahan#

Demo	Final
Chief Lee "Who are you? ...... What? You want me to look after the boy?"	Chief Lee "Wh, who are you? ... What? You want me to look after this boy?"

Village Conversations#

Woman#

Demo	Final
Sometimes I wish I were born a man so I could travel the world and live an everchanging life...	Sometimes I wish I were born a man so I could travel the world and live an ever-changing life...

Barflies#

Demo	Final
It's said that, in the southern desert of Aveh treasure lays buried all over the place!	It's said that, in the southern desert of Aveh there is buried treasure all over the place!

Demo	Final
South of here is the 'Black moon Forest'. If you can make it through there, you'll come to Aveh, the great land of fire!	South of here is the 'Blackmoon Forest'. If you can make it through there, you'll come to Aveh, the great land of fire!
In reality, it's an incredibly hard task to get through the Black Moon Forest...	In reality, it's an incredibly hard task to get through the Blackmoon Forest...

Citan's House#

Demo	Final
Citan "Oh yes. Timothy and Alice's wedding is tomorrow, right...?"	Citan "Oh yes. Her wedding is tomorrow, right...?"

Cutscene Differences#

Interestingly, the demo runs in the game engine itself, as opposed to being a top menu that plays videos and launches into a separate game. As such, some of the game's FMVs were replaced with the demo's promo videos.

The escape pod FMV is replaced with the Final Fantasy VIII trailer.
The first FMV where Fei watches Grahf fight his father is replaced with the Bushido Blade 2 trailer.
The second FMV where Fei watches Grahf fight his father is replaced with the Brave Fencer Musashi trailer.
The FMV where Weltall turns into Weltall-Id is replaced with the Xenogears trailer.
The only two remaining FMVs are the opening sequence and Fei seeing child Id inside Weltall's cockpit. The others have been replaced with a still image of Elly using Stars of Tears as audio. The FMV lasts for a second.

Ending#

Upon completing the demo, a preview for the "next episode" of Xenogears plays, depicting some scenes from the game.

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Debug Room#

Enter the following GameShark code: 80050AA4 0000

The main room functions near identically to in the final game, with some minor functional differences.