Tales of Xillia Review: Does this Tale tell it all?

Welcome back friends to another edition of my esteemed blog.  The Tales series is celebrating its 15^th anniversary, and what better way to ring in the year then with the release of another Tales title.  This time around they have brought Tales of Xillia to our Playstation 3 console.   Let’s see if this tale is as telling as the others.

Graphics:  These days a lot of people are interested in soulless polish.  Although Xillia does feature anime style characters and interesting environments, the graphical quality is not up to snuff with other titles such as Ni No Kuni.  However, despite its lack of graphical muscle, it still delivers a visual experience.  Score:  8.5/10

Sound:  The music is pretty well done.  Fans of previous Tales titles will enjoy this wonderful work from Motoi Sakuraba.  This soundtrack tends to draw you into the game, especially towards the climax.  The voice acting is well done overall, except for the voice actress who plays Milla.  I found her voice to be slightly substandard and performed with little effort.  Score: 8/10

Gameplay:  The story of Xillia takes place from the perspective of two protagonists, Jude Mathis, a medical student trying to discover the reasoning behind the absence of the spirits, and Milla Maxwell, lord of the spirits on a quest to regain the “four” that have been stolen from her.  Even though you have the choice of playing one of the two protagonists, they’re individual quests intertwine with one another. 

The combat system is as fun as ever, with a few new additions to it, that being the new link system.  The link system allows the character your controlling to link with another character.  You and that character work together as a team, one character will hack and slash at an enemy, while the other attacks or binds them from behind.  There are also special attacks that can be performed with each linked character combination to deal an even more devastating and flashy blow to your opponents.  The status leveling system is more than just gaining a level and increasing most of your status attributes automatically.  This time, there is a grid leveling system similar to that of Final Fantasy 10.  While not as diverse and robust as FF 10, it is still a nice addition that adds depth to the process of level grinding.  There are also numerous side quests that add to the journey.  All in all, a good blend of depth that adds to the amazing adventure.        Score: 9/10 

Tales of Xillia is a great way to ring in the 15^th anniversary of the series, and with the sequel already in the works for a state side release, we can only wait in anticipation for the sequel to an already amazing adventure.

 

Final Score: 8.5/10