So, I finally played a Tales game and what better one to start with than a game that barely got a North American release, Tales of Xillia.
Tales of Xillia
Drop-in/drop-out co-op is actually a feature I think was an original thought in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time as, way back when, my friend and I tried for a bit to get it to work only to discover that the only multiplayer aspect of the game was in a specific battle arena mode (which was disappointing to say the least). Tales of Xillia takes this concept almost exactly the same way the developers of Star Ocean seemed to have planned it only they actually utilized it (which I'm very glad that they did, even if I did have no one to play this game with).
Unlike any of the Star Ocean games, this game runs very smoothly; very rarely slowing down. This was a frustration that made Star Ocean: The Last Hope particularly bad as that game would freeze up very frequently. There were a few times when a lot of animations were going on in a battle and the game would slow down a bit but it wasn't a very big deal.
Tales of Xillia makes the most improvements through its combat. In Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the combat was stiff, at best. Star Ocean: The Last Hope improved on it a little bit but there still wasn't that much there to be utilized. Tales of Xillia takes it up another notch by mastering the basic fighting mechanics that should have been there from the beginning. With the addition of fluid dodging controls, improved blocking controls, and the utilization of button combinations for attacks, this game feels more like a fighting game than any of the Star Ocean games ever had. On top of that, the game incorporates a feature called "linking" where you can link up with other party members and fight in tandem with them (more as a team). You'll find that you will want to do this most of the time because it allows you to fill a meter that will periodically grant you the ability to do a special move called a "linked arte." Later on in the game, this will also allow you to do what's basically an equivalent of a limit break. Basically, it seems a bit overly complex but it's a lot simpler than it seems when I try to explain it verbally.
The leveling system works with EXPs (no surprise there). The skill leveling system works on skill points and a choice system that is very similar to the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X. It's neither good nor bad, just typical.
The art design is pretty good but animations can be kind of wonky at times, especially when people are talking. The lip movements just seems so stiff; and even small, light-weight, characters seem like they lumber around. The English voice acting is atrocious. It will definitely make hardcore JRPG fans wish for an option to use Japanese voices. However, poor English voice-acting isn't particularly unusual for a JRPG or anime so I wouldn't get too hung up on it.
The music is pretty good. To say it's great or fantastic would be a stretch but I would say it's a slightly above average score.
The plot in this game is good as well, but not great. There are a few good plot twists but you'll have trouble remembering the story a few weeks after completing the game. The characters are decently developed and unique. Despite not remembering the plot, you'll probably remember the characters in a positive light as these characters are well-written and truly a joy since the beginning. Unlike other JRPGs, this game will frequently allow you to view short skits that further develop characters. This was a feature in the game that I really enjoyed because it allows the player to learn more about the characters without having to wait all the way until the next cut-scene. It makes level grinding or dungeon exploration a little less tedious than it inherently is. The game also allows you to select a main character at the beginning of the game (similarly to Star Ocean: The Second Story) in which the main plot is mostly the same but the story plays out a little differently as it is told from the perspective of the character that you chose as the "main character."
Overall, if you like Star Ocean or generally like JRPGs, you'll love this game. It does the action-JRPG genre better than Star Ocean does (except for the main plot which is still pretty good). Also, be careful with this one because it's a bit difficult to put down!
Tales of Xillia 2
Obviously, the game has new story. The game also has a new main character, Ludger. The game added a few new locations but it's mostly the same ones from the first game. This is a bit of a problem since you already explored all of these places in the first game, it gets pretty dry, pretty quick.
All of the main cast of the last game make an appearance and some others also make an appearance. Actually, it's mostly just the same people from the last game. The only new character other than Ludger is Elle: a wandering little girl that happens to run into Ludger at the beginning of the game. Basically, if you liked the characters from the previous game, you'll like the characters in this game because they are mostly the same.
I really liked how they revamped the side-questing. First of all, side-questing is much more prominent in this game than the last one and is something that you will basically be required to do from time to time. Instead of running all over the place looking for people with exclamation points above their head like in the first game, all of the side-quest jobs are on a billboard in every town. Also, no matter which town you're in, the billboard will have all the jobs posted from every town so you don't have to check the billboard of every town in the world every time you want to do all of the jobs available. However, side-questing can be a bit tedious as there isn't very much deviation in quest types. Most of the side-quests either involve slaying a certain number of a certain type of monster or collecting a certain number of items. There are some other story-type quests which are a little more interesting, but they still boil down to the same goals. The elite monsters are cool though. They're basically optional boss fights for large amounts of money and experience. These are much more interesting than the regular, tedious, side-quests.
The debt-repayment plot device is also a positive, in my opinion. In most RPGs, to prevent you from getting too far off the plot railroad, they just won't let you travel to certain places for seemingly no reason or for a very poor excuse. However, at the beginning of the story Ludger ends up in a lot of financial trouble and owes the bank a ton of money. As a result of this, Ludger is a flight risk and isn't allowed to leave certain areas without the proper authorization. As you pay off the debt, more areas become available to you as Ludger becomes less of a flight risk. It's pretty innovative of an idea and I thought it was a good change of pace from the standard JRPG formula. It also basically requires you to do side-quests at certain points in the game, as well. So, if you don't like side-quests, well, I guess you'll hate it.
The game also implements decision making into the game. Unfortunately, it doesn't really add to the game much as stuff will usually end up the same no matter what you choose. The only time choices matter are a couple of times towards the end of the game. The other times, the choices really don't do anything. This is actually a real letdown because the back of the game case really advertises this idea but it really just falls short of what has already been done in other games like Fallout: New Vegas; where the game's main plot plays out completely different depending on who you decide to ally with, make enemies with, or stay neutral with and when you make these decisions.
"Every choice can change the future," if every choice means about 4% of them.
Also, of the few endings in the game, none of them are really particularly good. The ending of the first game was pretty good but all of the endings in the second game (even the best ending) don't tie up very many loose ends even for the ending that is supposed to be a 'happily ever after' kind of ending. A little disappointing but I guess it doesn't really ruin the game either so it's not like it's horrendous.
The most bad-ass improvements to the game lie in the combat. On top of all of the features from before, Ludger has the special ability to change weapons in the middle of combat. He can dual-wield swords, dual-wield pistols, or use a giant hammer. Similarly to elemental magic, you can use different weapons types to exploit different weaknesses of enemies. It also allows for an even more diverse selection of attacks in-battle. On top of being able to do linked artes and limit breaks, Ludger also has a separate gauge that periodically fills while battling called the "chronos gauge." When this gauge fills, Ludger can enter a state where he becomes more powerful. Later on in the game, Ludger can wait to fill the gauge multiple times in order to make his attacks even more powerful.
Overall, it's mostly better than the already solid first game despite the lack-luster endings. I don't mean to pick on the endings too much as I've seen worse. At least the bad endings in this game don't leave you feeling like a failure; well, except for one of them but you really have to be trying to fail to get that ending. When I played through the game, I didn't even know it was a possible ending. I found out about it by researching the various endings online. But yeah, I've played other games where you play through the whole thing to find out at the end that you were fucking up the whole thing without even knowing. Then you get a shitty ending and that's it. I hate games that do that! If you can make it to the end of the game, you should at least get a decent ending. I'm not saying the best ending. Just a decent one is all I ask. For instance, the "bad" ending to Silent Hill may have bad things that happen and isn't very ideal but at least it's interesting plot-wise and somewhat satisfying.
Anyways, if you can't get enough of JRPGs, particularly action-JRPGs, I would recommend both of these games as they're both pretty good. However, if you are new to the genre, there are better ones out there such as Final Fantasy VII, Chronotrigger, or action-JRPGs like Phantasy Star. or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.
But the interesting thing about the JRPG genre is that I generally don't hear that much about them so it feels like every new JRPG I pick up is completely foreign since people don't really talk about them much. So yeah, you can play it safe by playing the well-known Final Fantasies and such but the real fun with JRPGs is discovering the ones you haven't heard of and not knowing what to expect when you start it up. When I picked up Phantasy Star Portable, I had no clue what I was getting. When I first picked up Valkyria Chronicles II, it was a great day because I hadn't played a game that was even remotely relatable to that game and I still haven't found one that's similar to that game. Sure, I've already talked about those games on this site so you probably know about them already but maybe I'll talk about some of the others that I've picked up over the years in the near future.
Tales of Xillia Cover: http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/aselia/images/e/e5/Cast_of_ToX.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110804233036
Tales of Xillia 2 Cover: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/6/66/20141027100635!Tales_of_Xillia_2.png
Tale of Xillia 2 Back: http://86bb71d19d3bcb79effc-d9e6924a0395cb1b5b9f03b7640d26eb.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ps3-boxart-tales-of-xillia-2-back-of-case-usa-2014.jpg
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