Games Database
PS3
Adventure: Role Playing
Tales of Xillia - PS3
Also known as: Tales of Xillia: Day 1 Edition', 'Tales of Xillia: Milla Maxwell Collector’s Edition
| Viewed: | 3D Third-person, floating camera | Genre: | Adventure: Role Playing |
| Media: | DVD | Arcade origin: | No |
| Developer: | Namco Tales Studio Ltd. | Soft. Co.: | Namco Bandai Games Europe |
| Publishers: | Namco Bandai
(JP) Namco Bandai Games Europe (GB/GB) |
Released: | 9 Aug 2013
(GB) Jun 2011 (JP) |
| Ratings: | PEGI 16+ | ||
| Connectivity: | Network Features, Network Players | ||
Video
Summary
JRPG fans the world over will be pleased to have another game in the acclaimed series to sink their teeth into. Tales of Xillia is sure to keep established fans of the series happy with its tried and tested style, while still throwing in a few new additions to keep things interesting.
Perhaps the biggest new approach taken by this entry to the series is the incorporation of a pair of main characters, rather than just one. At the start of the game you choose between idealistic student nurse Jude or assertive warrior woman Milla, who is also the incarnation of the spirit god. The game’s prelude leads your chosen character into the adventure until the two meet up shortly into the game. At later points in the game when you’re split up, you’ll again follow the character you decided on in the beginning until reunited with the rest of your party again. It’s an interesting way of telling a story from two different perspectives, and that means there's tons of replayability to be had as you play through with each character to unearth more of the story.
There’s another direction the series has taken which makes a fairly big difference – there’s a notable reduction in the amount of exploration you’re allowed/forced to undertake. The areas between towns simply consist of massive wide-open fields packed with armies of enemies. And the dungeons are far more streamlined than those of past games in the series.
Combat has always been the thing that the Tales games do best and for better or worse Xillia once again does little to change that. On the surface everything feels very similar to the game’s predecessors, but that’s not to say that more advanced veterans won’t find plenty of differences - there are noticeable tweaks to the combo and combination skills systems, for example.
One new addition is the Lilium Orbs system that lets you tweak your characters stats and abilities somewhat. In a similar vein to the Sphere Grid system of Final Fantasy X, characters earn points from levelling up that can then be spent to unlock nodes around the map in order to increase their stats. Activating all the nodes in an area unlocks hidden skills that have a variety of beneficial effects in combat.
Tales games have a tendency to look very pretty and Xillia only improves on its predecessors. There are some beautiful landscapes to witness and the overall design style is very easy on the eye.
All in all, Tales of Xillia presents a happy blend of the old and the new sure to keep fans happy.
Perhaps the biggest new approach taken by this entry to the series is the incorporation of a pair of main characters, rather than just one. At the start of the game you choose between idealistic student nurse Jude or assertive warrior woman Milla, who is also the incarnation of the spirit god. The game’s prelude leads your chosen character into the adventure until the two meet up shortly into the game. At later points in the game when you’re split up, you’ll again follow the character you decided on in the beginning until reunited with the rest of your party again. It’s an interesting way of telling a story from two different perspectives, and that means there's tons of replayability to be had as you play through with each character to unearth more of the story.
There’s another direction the series has taken which makes a fairly big difference – there’s a notable reduction in the amount of exploration you’re allowed/forced to undertake. The areas between towns simply consist of massive wide-open fields packed with armies of enemies. And the dungeons are far more streamlined than those of past games in the series.
Combat has always been the thing that the Tales games do best and for better or worse Xillia once again does little to change that. On the surface everything feels very similar to the game’s predecessors, but that’s not to say that more advanced veterans won’t find plenty of differences - there are noticeable tweaks to the combo and combination skills systems, for example.
One new addition is the Lilium Orbs system that lets you tweak your characters stats and abilities somewhat. In a similar vein to the Sphere Grid system of Final Fantasy X, characters earn points from levelling up that can then be spent to unlock nodes around the map in order to increase their stats. Activating all the nodes in an area unlocks hidden skills that have a variety of beneficial effects in combat.
Tales games have a tendency to look very pretty and Xillia only improves on its predecessors. There are some beautiful landscapes to witness and the overall design style is very easy on the eye.
All in all, Tales of Xillia presents a happy blend of the old and the new sure to keep fans happy.
