New Leveling System
For the past ten or so Tales title, we were somewhat burned out with the automatic leveling system that the game gets. With RPG games giving its gamers a chance to allow them which base stats to choose, Tales of Xillia somewhat implements that. Every time you level, you will get these points that you can use in your Lilium Orb. Think of this orb as a grid sphere or the crystarium in Final Fantasy games. The points that you get can be used in improving your base stats from strength, agility, intelligence and agility. Since every character is unique, you will have to think which path you have to go through, making sure your characters will be strong enough and balanced. As for learning skills, it’s also done through the Lilium Orb.
In addition to character progression, the game also receives a major overhaul in shops. Unlike in past Tales games where you collect points to increase the wares of each shop, you now have to level them up through the means of using items that you find throughout the game. Wherever you go, you will see a search point and loot bags that contains random items. These items are usually materials that each shop will ask for. Every time you give these shop owners material, you will increase the level of their shop up to 99. Every level you get will give you new items and discounts. So if you are looking to get that powerful weapon, armor and accessory, getting that level to 99 will be one of your main objectives.
Not-So Linear Anymore
One of the biggiest improvements in Tales of Xillia is the shift from linear to a not-so-linear gameplay. Aside from the main storyline, you have option to do a plethora of sidequests, do some treasure hunting or just hunt down hidden bosses. The type of things that you can do can add up to ten hours of extra play time. There are roughly 102 sub-events that you can unlock that both include rewards and additional storyline, 61 rare treasures to collect that gives you all sorts of items, around ten hidden bosses, an extra dungeon, and a lot more. Not to mention, you will be spending hours listening to the funny skits of the game, which is known the series to have.
NOT
Somewhat Dated Visuals
For a game that was released two years ago, the visuals are not something to be desired. Between Graces f and Xillia, you will see no improvement when it comes to the graphics. Sure, the environments, characters, and bosses remains colorful but when it comes to quality and judging them by how much the game improved, you will not see much in the game. However, the game remains beautiful especially the in-game cutscenes, just don’t expect the visuals to blow you away or at least be on par with the beautiful visuals Ni no Kuni offered earlier this year.
Much Easier Compared to Graces f
When I played Tales of Graces f, I noticed how some of the boss fights can get quite tough, even the regular enemies. In Tales of Xillia, it seems that the difficulty is toned down a bit. To those who will notice the toned down difficulty, there’s an option to increase it a little bit to match your preference. When you increase the difficulty, you will see that their HP will increase and will learn to dodge more often, thus giving you more time to take down the bosses.
Still Have Some iffy Voice Acting
The overall presentation in Tales of Xillia is quite impressive when it comes to visuals and art. One thing that somewhat bothers me when I was playing for the first five hours of the game are the voices. When it comes to the voices of Jude, Milla, Alvin, Elize, Rowen, or Leia, they are quite fun. In fact, all of them have superb voice acting but, there’s one character that kinda threw me off and that’s Teepo. In Xillia, Teepo is a puppet that says the most annoying stuff in the game. The voice is always in the high pitch but once you get used to it, you will learn to love Teepo and have a laugh with him whenever he joins the conversation.
VERDICT
Fans of the JRPG genre in both Europe and North America will be pleased with Tales of Xillia. From all of the Tales game released, I must say that my favorite game in the series, which was Symphonia, has been replaced with Tales of Xillia. From the storyline to its improved linear motion battle system, the game offers a lot of improvements that redefines the genre and puts the Tales series back on top again. To those who are seeking a real JRPG game that has a great storyline, well developed characters, an addicting battle system, and a plethora of things that you can do, Tales of Xillia is the game you’re looking for as it’s the total package that every JRPG has been looking for.
[Editor’s Note: Tales of Xillia was reviewed on the PlayStation 3. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
