Heyo guys today I'm reviewing a game I played and finished recently! That being Tales of Xillia which is super underrated in my opinion but I'll jump right into the review!

Also worth noting I played through the entire game as Milla but I might eventually update the review when I finish replaying the game as Jude.


Graphics 7/10 -
The graphics in this game are what I'd call okay most of the time but there were a few areas where the art design for areas really left an impression on me despite not being on the most powerful graphics engine so I felt like the game earned getting a 7 for graphics so just good. While the in-game graphics for the most part isn't super impressive the opening is amazing and has some differences depending on who you decided to play as and if you told me a large amount of the budget was used paying for the opening I wouldn't be surprised at all the fight scenes have wonderful effect works and choreography.


Sound 6/10 -
I feel like giving the sound a 6 is underselling a lot of the music in this game but I'll get to what held it back in a minute, for what the game does well I'd easily have to say Milla's battle theme is one of the best battle themes I've heard in an action RPG. Though that said the battle theme changes later in the game and I really wish it didn't cause the song that replaces it isn't nearly as good as the song that you start the game with. The different areas throughout the game all have fitting music for the location I'm quite a fan of the music in the final area in the game but I don't wanna spoil anything. As for what holds the game back in the sound department besides the battle theme changing it's all Teepo's fault the doll's voice is super annoying and a good 90% of the time Teepo talks I just question why.


Addictive 9/10 -
Based on what the site says to rate Addictive based on that being how likely you are to replay the game I felt inclined to give it a 9 since I already started the game over to play as Jude and see all the story bits I missed when playing the game as Milla, that said after I finish the game as Jude I doubt I would replay it again anytime soon so if you think addictive is rated higher than it should be I won't disagree.


Story 9/10 -
Trying to talk about the story without spoilers is apparently quite the challenge for me with this game so instead, I'll just say the main thing that makes this game for me is the characters and their interactions I believe this cast is one of the overall better casts I've seen in a game. I should mention that Leia and Teepo are the exceptions to that but I'd say they aren't enough to make me not wanna listen to the conversations that the party shares together.


Depth 6/10 -
The combat system in this game was quite interesting in a fight you can only move towards or away from the enemy unless you use the free run button but when you're just moving towards or away in a way it reminds me of a fighting game which I thought was a unique way to handle action rpg combat. While I find the combat unique and interesting I ended up feeling while it was fun it was just barely missing the last ingredient to make it perfect but I'll admit it's possible that I missed something that would have made me enjoy the combat more. As for the maps in the world, they have lots of chests but the highlight in the world is definitely the treasures you can find if you are paying close attention to the world which award you with attachments you can put on your character to add to their attire stylishly! Or use it to make a character you dislike absolutely silly. The last thing I wanna mention for depth is that the Lilium Orb offers you choices on how you want to go about upgrading the party and not really related to the game but it definitely reminds me of the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X.


Difficulty 6/10 -
For most of the game, I was just casually making my way through the game but that changed when the bosses started using mystic arts which most times would straight up KO whatever party member it hit which got worse at times when I had to fight a boss solo and a mystic art would wipe me out.


Overall 7/10 -
I really wish the gameplay was just slightly better where I could feel like it should be rated higher however a 7 is where I think the game falls which is still good! I'm glad this was my first Tales of game cause it really hooked me on the series and after some of the other tales of games I've tried I consider myself lucky to have started with Xillia.