Overall 8.9 Graphics 7.3 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 8.7 Depth 7.3 Difficulty 5.3
8
Another Tales Game, Another Time legacyme3
I'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 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 2
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 12-01-13
Review Replies: 2
7
This game should be talked about more often! claytune
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.
Graphics 7 Sound 6 Addictive 9 Story 9 Depth 6 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 10-28-22
Updated: 10-28-22
Review Replies: 0
9
Tales of Xillia - Yet Another Tales Title Mynamescox44
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 :)
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 9 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 07-05-16
Review Replies: 1
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