Yes, and there is a huge difference. Xenogears was hard, but awesome; Xenosaga is just plain fucked up.
To explain about the womb laser: I was talking to someone about the game, asking if it got better, and if the totally obvious "mystery" about KOS-MOS' development was supposed to be a shocking twist later in the game. That started the person I was talking to off on KOS-MOS' "womb laser", as she called it. Apparently late in the game, or ever a later game, KOS-MOS' abdomen opens up and fires some doomsday beam that wipes out the aliens. So I said something like, "Well, you can't have a combat gynoid without internal weaponry, I guess" and she just went on a tear about how awesome it would be to have a 'womb-laser' and, mind you this is a direct quote, "Every lesbian should have one so they can vaporize men."
At which point I was scared to say anything else.