Tales of Xillia is one of the more modern Tales releases, and still sticks to the formula we know and love. It has your typical JRPG elements, though it does feature a real time battle concept. There are no random encounters, instead the enemies show in the field and can be avoided for the most part when you want to. You can control any party member you choose in combat (or even set them to show on the field as your party leader), and can have up to 3 friends play with you and control your allies, though the AI does a pretty good job as well. There's no overworld, only a map that lists locations to pick from, but that doesn't take away from the experience hardly at all. Anyway, on to the review!

Graphics 9 / 10 -- I loved the graphics in this game. Everything has a great amount of detail and looks great with a slightly cartoony / cel shading feel to it. The graphics really shine in the anime cut-scenes for the big events of the game, as well as combat. The effects used for all of the spells, or artes, look fantastic. My favorite of these would be a spell that creates a square of giant chains made of light, and then crash inward onto your foes, though the fire, wind, and water all look impeccable also. Another thing of note is the enemy designs. Though there are a few palette swaps that take place, for the most part the enemies are all unique and beautifully designed, especially the Bosses and Devil's Beasts you'll hear more about later.

Sound 10 / 10 -- The sound is everything you could ever want in a JRPG. All of the background music is phenomenal, always providing the perfect ambiance for what location or situation you are currently in. My favorite of these tracks would be the boss battles for their fast pace and intensity, though the soothing tracks deserve just as much praise. Though even beyond the music, my favorite part audio wise would be the voice acting. In my opinion, every voice was perfectly spot on for the character, and acted extremely well for each given situation. If a character felt remorse or anguish, you could really hear it in how they spoke. I couldn't get enough of Alvin's (or rather his voice actor's) sarcasm and wit, though he was my favorite character as well. The sound effects were also very well done, but nothing about them really sticks out off the top of my head.

Addictiveness 9 / 10 -- This is an extremely fun game to play if you enjoy the genre. The characters are fun and relatable, the combat is fast paced and fun, and the story is gripping. It's unlikely you'll find everything the game has to offer on the first play through (actually it's impossible in a way). What I mean is that the story focuses on 2 different main characters, and depending who you choose, it's told from their perspective. When they get split up at times, you stick with who you chose in the beginning, so to experience everything, you literally have to play through the game at least twice. Another incentive for a second play through is the New Game Plus option. Depending on well you do in fights, and how many you participate in, you get GRADE points. At the start of your New Game Plus, you can spend said points on options like 2x or 5x EXP gain, 2x Gold gain, carrying over items / gear, artes, or optional appearance accessories, or even things like increasing your maximum item limit. The more it breaks the game, the more expensive it'll be, so really grind your way through if you plan on buying a lot (the 5x EXP gain makes the game a breeze lol). There's so much to love about the game, I had to go above and beyond and actually give it a third time through myself.

Story 9 / 10 -- The game's story is pretty huge, and follows a similar formula to one it's recent predecessors, though I can't say much without spoiling something for you. Keep in mind what I'm about to explain occurs in the first 20 minutes of play, so I hope you'll forgive me for even giving that much away. The Lord of Spirits, or Maxwell, is the guardian of all spirit-kind, and the protector of the world's balance in a sense. She is on a mission to destroy a weapon of great power. As she starts to infiltrate the lab it's being held, a medical student happens to notice what she's doing. Out of curiosity (or maybe infatuation?), he follows her, and ends up being forced to infiltrate the lab with her, As they make their way through and find the weapon, it ends up being activated. Due to it's power, Maxwell has been completely drained of her power, but through her resolve, refuses to quit her mission to destroy said weapon. So Jude (the medical student) decides he will help her accomplish this mission for his own personal reasons. And that pretty much sums up the intro. The plot is full of twists and turns, and always keeps you guessing what will happen next. No matter what genre of game you're into, this is definitely a story worth experiencing. The characters are all vibrant, and don't fit into your typical JRPG archetypes either. Another nice touch is the game has optional "skits" of dialogue that adds another level of character interaction and development, as well as insight into the characters themselves, the story, or sometimes just for humor.

Depth 10 / 10 -- This is a huge game in terms of what it has to offer. There is a plethora of side quests, and they vary greatly in your objectives to complete them. Some are as simple as giving someone the right item, others will require you to scavenge every corner of the world to complete, and some are your simple "go kill / fetch / deliver something" type that are so common in RPGs. That said, there are around 100 of them, so there's plenty to do just in that regard. There is also a merchant leveling system in the game as well. It is based on items you find through defeating enemies. Each individual levels up separately (Items, Weapons, Armor, Accessories, etc). You will unlock more options and better prices as the levels increase, but like most things gained through EXP, each new level becomes harder to obtain. Another cool aspect is the Devil's Beasts side quest, in which you can find the (potentially) most powerful weapons in the game. There are a total of 6 Beasts to hunt down, and they are among the strongest foes in the game. The main story in itself will provide 50+ hours of game play, if not more. There's even more to do than listed, but I think I've explained enough for you to understand the game is packed to the brim with content.

Difficulty 8 / 10 -- The game follows your typical learning curve, where enemies gradually get stronger as you go, though, there are points where you can stray from the path and get overwhelmed if you're not careful. You can change the difficulty at any time, allowing you to raise or lower the difficulty to your liking. A good tip is to lower the difficulty when grinding in a higher level area, then put it back when you're ready to continue. The game features a huge variety of enemies, so you will have to get good at exploiting their weaknesses and the best way to take them down, or just power-level like crazy (which is my preference). Most enemies until late game are of average toughness, though you may struggle with quite a few of the boss battles. Some of them can be overwhelming with their artes, be it physical or magical. It can also be a challenge to collect parts for upgrading your shops, considering the drop rates for them are completely random. 

Overall 9 / 10 -- This is yet another masterpiece in the Tales franchise, and deserves to be played by everyone who can get their hands on it. It follows the formula for greatness so very well without being cliché in any way, which is something that's hard to come by.

Hope you enjoyed the review

I've heard of this game from people. I can't really play it I do like some or most tales of game. Anyways this is a very good review as usual I don't have much else to say. I look forward to your next review.