Another Tales Game, Another TimeI'm a loose fan of the Tales series. I haven't played all of them, but I have a loose understanding of the general theme of the games, and just let me take the time to say this. I am a fan of the series.
From what I have seen, they seem to all follow the typical JRPG narrative. Main character (you) go from Location A, to B, to C, fighting numerous monsters unrelated to the plot, until you get to Boss Fight A (Or B, or C, or so on) and learn more about the ever evolving story.
As time goes, your party grows (though normally, your party gets to you pretty quickly, save a few exceptions) and you gain new skills (in this game you have active artes like attacks, and passive abilities.)
Essentially, it's a typical JRPG. However, what sets the games apart is how the game is presented to you. On the surface, it is typical, but beneath the surface, it is something better. An experience to enjoy.
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Graphics - 6
I wasn't blown away, for the most part, these graphics are par with what you could have seen out of a late gen PS2 game. What boosts the score for me is mostly how things are designed. They may not be the most graphically incredible scenes, but the locations look varied and different (BIG PLUS in JRPGs. Repetitive environments can be a drag), character design is incredible (even if low resolution), and the anime style graphics during special cutscenes are incredible. I've always wanted a Tales of _______ anime series, because they have such a refined anime style.
Sound - 8
I may be tossing the game a bone here. The music is always something I never really "focus" on in a game. If I come away and barely notice the sound, it's because it fits the game and it is natural. If I come away disappointed saying, "Oh, well this theme stood out..." then it shows a mismatch on the part of the sound designers. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that I barely noticed the theme until I finished the game. I got the limited edition, so I got the music CD with the game. The tracks on it are pretty fantastic, and I can definitely see why the sound felt right. However I have to take points away for some shoddy voice acting. Teepo's voice actor is particularly grating at first, Elize can be annoying, and sometimes Milla's also tends to wear thin on my nerves. However, excellent voice acting from Alvin's VA really saved the voice acting portion of this score.
Addictiveness - 9
Addictiveness, to me, is fun. What is fun? I didn't stop playing this game for very long once I started it, and I played two playthroughs (Jude and Milla are separate characters with slightly different stories. To see everything you need 2 playthroughs) and I had fun doing it. The grinding in the game isn't that bad, and really, you can thank the, as always, incredible battle system the Tales series is known for. The varied combat styles you can choose from should leave everyone satisfied, and it can be pretty addictive to punch lizards in the face with nothing but your fists of fury. When a JRPG doesn't have repetitive grinding (like Final Fantasy or Ni No Kuni) then you can say that the devs did a good job. The devs did a good job here.
Depth - 6
I came away pretty disappointed here. The game lauds several side quests you can do, and admittedly, there are more than a few of them. However, this is where the typical gamer may not enjoy how they are set up. As you get to each town, new sidequests pop up at different places. They are easy to find, and a fast travel system you can use at almost any time makes it even easier to find something. However, some side quests are on a story progression based timer of sorts. If you don't start some quests right away, you can lose them forever, and require a second play through to get to. I've never been a fan of events that close themselves off. That said, aside from the side quests they offer, there really isn't much to this game beyond the base story and I don't recommend trying to play all the side quests. Some offer flavor to the characters, but several of them are equally pointless.
Story - 8
This may be one of the most underwhelming stories I've seen in a Tales game. However, that's not neccesarily a bad thing. The Tales series is notorious for giving several excellent stories, and while Xillia has a good story, it just isn't as good as some of its predecessors. It's still fantastic for a JRPG, but some of it can be a little... demeaning.
I played through Milla's story, and then Jude's. When I played through Milla's I was prepared to give the game a 9, because while the game never fed you the answers, it made it pretty clear what was going on. It was the perfect blend of story telling from her point of view, "The Lord of Spirits". But then I played through Jude's and thought how vastly different it felt. The story itself wasn't any different, but the way they told it gave away all the answers before you are questioned. I may have read too much into it, having already played it once before, but Jude's story felt entirely too giving, and didn't make me think "this is something different". It just made me think "they really want you to play as Milla".
Ignoring those faults, it's a pretty compelling story that follows Jude (a medschool student), Milla ("The Lord of Spirits"), Alvin (A mercenary for hire - and my favorite character in the game), Elize and Teepo (a mysterious little girl and her talking creepy doll), Rowen (a retired military commander, who oversees his lord of state), and Leia (Jude's impatient obnoxious childhood friend). The dynamic between the 6 of these characters (well 7 if you count Teepo) grows through a book end in the Tales series, skits. They pop up regularly and offer more laughs than anything said during the actual story of the game, which is not to be missed. I fully recommend taking every opportunity to explore and hear these skits, as they are what makes this game so charming.
Difficulty - 2
The Tales games, like all JRPGs, are not hard, just time consuming. The most difficult thing this game will teach you is probably linked arte chains, which I never bothered with anyway. Basically once your linked arte bar is filled you can do consecutive linked artes in a chain. The damage it does to bosses is incredible, but if you are like me, you will hardly need them to fight most bosses, as very few offer any sort of challenge.
Overall, the game is very simple, and anyone can beat this game with any sort of effort.
GRADING
Graphics - 10% (10% of 6 is .6)
Sound - 10% (10% of 8 is .8)
Addictiveness - 35% (35% of 9 is 3.15)
Depth - 20% (20% of 6 is 1.2)
Story - 25% (25% of 8 is 2)
Difficulty - 0% (0% of 2 is 0)
Total - 7.75
I will also give out .25 bonus points, as I never found a glitch in the game, and that doesn't really fall under any of the above categories.
So what we are left with is...
Overall - 8
Tales of Xillia is a fantastic game, one you should definitely play if you have a PS3, and are a fan of the JRPG genre as a whole. This could well be the last good JRPG of the current generation of consoles, as Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns, may well be a flop, and I don't count remasters (Like Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster) as new games. Leggy recommends the purchase of Tales of Xillia from anywhere between 20-40 dollars. It's great,but not 60 dollars great.
The hardest part of any review is the end :(
Graphics
6 Sound
8 Addictive
9 Depth
6 Story
8 Difficulty
2
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