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[Yuterald]

Man, this game got fairly dark all of a sudden...Chapter 2 spoilers...

Spoiler

The introduction of the Exodus organization, the human/child black market trafficking stuff with Elize, the presence of "boosters" which are essentially performance enhancing drugs, etc. Pretty cool stuff for a Tales game, actually.

I guess these are some of the reasons why people dig this game's world/characters/narrative more so than the other titles? I mean, it's still trope-central in most regards, but it's nice to finally play a Tales game with a bit more adult/mature themes.

Only thing that can ruin this game now is if it ends up being an elemental quest near the end of the game (looks at Eternia, Vesperia, and probably many other Tales games). For some reason, given the focus on "The Four", I'm thinking this game's going to turn for the worse at any moment, lol!

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

Going through the

Spoiler

Tatalian Abyss

before I finish up the rest of the game. How much do I have left to go?

Also, crossing my fingers that the protag in the next Tales of game (TGS showing maybe?) is at least half as cool as Yuri.

 

[Cheska]

Going through the

Spoiler

Tatalian Abyss

before I finish up the rest of the game. How much do I have left to go?

Also, crossing my fingers that the protag in the next Tales of game (TGS showing maybe?) is at least half as cool as Yuri.

You could honestly beat the whole thing in less than an hour if you skip all battles outside of the main event ones. It took me about two hours to beat everyone that came along as well as some optional bosses in the area.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

You could honestly beat the whole thing in less than an hour if you skip all battles outside of the main event ones. It took me about two hours to beat everyone that came along as well as some optional bosses in the area.

Alright, I'll probably be finishing it up tonight then.

 

[Cheska]

Well, while I'm waiting for Final Fantasy XIV to come back up, I figured I would sit down and formulate some thoughts on Tales of Xillia now that I beat it.

First of all, let me say that I never ever expected to enjoy the game so much. I had my reservations based on the thoughts and preferences that some of my friends had, and despite excitement about playing a new Tales game, I still had lingering doubts in the back of my mind. Even after every chapter I was sure to run into something that would sour my mood and change my feelings. However, the complete opposite happened, I just found myself falling in love with the world and characters tremendously more each time the story advanced.

Most surprisingly to me were Rowen and Elize, two characters that are each at opposite ends of a spectrum but both brought an equal amount of charm to the group. Jude was a likeable protagonist, who I felt displayed both true intentions and realistic behaviors. Milla's not so bad herself, and I'm sure I'll end up liking her more once I decide to play through her side of the story.

Speaking of the plot, it's honestly the most consistent and interesting of the series IMO. I'm trying to refrain from digging too deep into Tales of Xillia 2 facts, but I only hope they continue the trend and expand more on the lore of the world.

The OST felt so on track (hehe), instilling moments of peace and tranquility when needed, as well as quickly building up hype for certain battles and events.

I'd hate to classify the battle system as the weakest component to the game, but I think everyone deserves the right to know that the game is a complete cake walk. You could literally mash buttons and spam moves and beat even the toughest of bosses with little strategy involved. This may come as a turn off to plenty of people, but I personally loved the aspect of linking with characters and chaining moves.

All in all, this game is shining brightly in my eyes and will easily be in my top 10 games completed this year. If you've never played a Tales game, this is an excellent entry point.

 

[Bladenic]

What difficulty were you on? Tales games are always easy on Normal. You definitely can't just mash on Hard (at least not for most of the game).

 

[MogCakes]

You could literally mash buttons and spam moves and beat even the toughest of bosses with little strategy involved

Unless you go hard mode on manual and you keep getting stunned/turned away from your opponent/paralyzed/MA'd and are underleveled. RAGE RAGE RAGE

It is fun though.

 

[Cheska]

What difficulty were you on? Tales games are always easy on Normal. You definitely can't just mash on Hard (at least not for most of the game).

Unless you go hard mode on manual and you keep getting stunned/turned away from your opponent/paralyzed/MA'd and are underleveled. RAGE RAGE RAGE

It is fun though.

Yes, but how often will a beginner to this game select Hard starting out? They're most likely going to choose Normal/Moderate.

 

[Bladenic]

Yes, but how often will a beginner to this game select Hard starting out? They're most likely going to choose Normal/Moderate.

That's why you can change difficulties at any point if you thought it was too easy you should have went up a difficulty.

 

[Cheska]

That's why you can change difficulties at any point if you thought it was too easy you should have went up a difficulty.

I'm not necessarily complaining about the difficulty, I'm just pointing out that in general, the game is easier than previous installments Hard in Xillia didn't feel as bad as Hard in Graces.

Either way, I loved the hell out of the game and wouldn't really change anything about it.

 

[thepotatoman]

Enemies are so easy to avoid in this game, so what I've been doing is avoiding all battles that I possibly can, but while playing on normal instead of hard. So boss battles are now quite difficult but doable, and I'm able to avoid much of the boring non-boss battles. It's pretty much the perfect mix for me.

But I do admit even underleveled the normal enemies are easily mashed through still. This game doesn't do enemy level scaling does it?

 

[Kasumin]

I played it around 1 hour on launch date and finally tried it again today, I'm about 5 hours in and not much has happened, I heard it gets good so I'll continue.

I am enjoying the battle system but damn the game's easy, I miss playing Graces in the hardest difficulty and having a blast.

Same here. The battle system in this feels like it's missing something I can't quite put my finger on. Besides the awesome evasion-based mechanics in Graces.

It took about 15 hours for the game to get interesting for me? I'm slow, though, and I think one could easily get to that point in 10 hours. I just got to chapter 2 and things seem to be really picking up (17 hours). But a lot of Tales games start slow. I remember Abyss taking about 14 hours to get good.

I'm not sure if I'd want to play past Hard in this game. Graces is the only Tales game where I enjoyed higher difficulties. With the way bosses have been so far in Xillia, I don't think I'd want to deal with them on higher difficulties.

 

[Bladenic]

I'm not necessarily complaining about the difficulty, I'm just pointing out that in general, the game is easier than previous installments Hard in Xillia didn't feel as bad as Hard in Graces.

Either way, I loved the hell out of the game and wouldn't really change anything about it.

Oh yeah it's definitely easier than Graces IMO. Easier than Vesperia too I think.

 

[Memento_Mori15]

Well, finally beat the game along with the ex dungeon which I hated since the enemies petrified my whole party and had to redo most of it late in the dungeon. But overall, I really enjoyed the game so much, I imported Xillia 2 even though I will only understand perhaps decent chunk of the storyline. I will buy it again when the western version is release.

Really, I enjoy the voices in this game, not of them were annoying as the past tales of games and the cast were really great. The battle system was enjoyable and I liked the story despite using some story elements from past Tales of games. I felt they executed it much better than the others and I think it's probably the strongest among them. I've only played from symphonia and onwards though. My only disappointments lie in the slowdown during battles and bosses stopping your combos early on/breaking links. Oh, and Jude being really annoying in the start of chapter 4. Never did I want to punch a character so much in a short period of time.

Also, I'm also kinda surprised that i got 60% of the trophies in this game even though I wasn't really trying to attain them.

I really loved Vesperia (one of my favorite rpgs this gen) but found Graces f to be meh, mostly due to the stories/characters. Would I like this one?

I would say yes. Graces was awful. The only thing that kept it decent was the battle system. The story was terrible and the characters beside Pascal and Malik were terribad. This game has an enjoyable cast and a good story, with the story being better than Vesperia imo. But that's not really saying much since I've found Vesperia's story decent. Though Vesperia probably has a better cast only because of Yuri.

Is there a list of battles you're supposed to lose? I know

Spoiler

Gaius was one of them in chapter 2 thanks to someone posting that here

.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I also like how this game doesn't seem to be a partial dub. Every scene is voiced aside from basic npc text and a few sidequests but you can always tell when something is going to be voiced or not based on how the dialogue is displayed.

A few rpg's I've played recently only had partial dubs so it's good to see one that doesn't leave anything out.

 

[Bladenic]

The battles you can lose and continue are the one you mentioned and the one at the beginning of chapter 4. That's it I believe. Oh and the very first boss battle, the first part anyway.

 

[Finalow]

Enemies are so easy to avoid in this game, so what I've been doing is avoiding all battles that I possibly can, but while playing on normal instead of hard. So boss battles are now quite difficult but doable, and I'm able to avoid much of the boring non-boss battles. It's pretty much the perfect mix for me.

But I do admit even underleveled the normal enemies are easily mashed through still. This game doesn't do enemy level scaling does it?

yes you can outrun pretty much every enemy unless you're in a really narrow space.
enemies scale with the difficulty, more hp and other stats but the level is the same.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Beaten. Wasn't sure I'd make it through that last boss battle (I echo the sentiments about the bosses being kinda crappy spongefests). I was focusing

Spoiler

Muzet, so I missed the damage I was doing to Gauis, he ended up going down before her. I thought they were going to pull some Graces stupidity with Jude at the end, but they managed to swerve it at the end.

 

[RetroMG]

So my PS3 got the YLOD. Debating if I should try to get it fixed, buy one of the $200 slims, or just hope this becomes available at some point on the PS4.

 

[Bladenic]

So my PS3 got the YLOD. Debating if I should try to get it fixed, buy one of the $200 slims, or just hope this becomes available at some point on the PS4.

The last point will never happen, so might as well do the first 2 if you really want to play it. Or borrow from a friend or something

 

[Rhapsody]

I didn't realize that the loot titles actually meant the number of unique loot locations you've found. No wonder I thought the counter went up slower.

I think I can get the platinum for this game. Only annoying ones left are the link ability ones and beating the game again.

 

[Bladenic]

I didn't realize that the loot titles actually meant the number of unique loot locations you've found. No wonder I thought the counter went up slower.

I think I can get the platinum for this game. Only annoying ones left are the link ability ones and beating the game again.

Which link abilities are you missing? It's super easy to get just about all of them provided you fight the right enemies.

 

[nintendoman58]

I forgot to mention this a while back after I beat the game, but there was something bugging me after the ending.

Spoiler

Is there a sub-event that deals with the side effects of the boosters with Elise? They foreshadow it at one point when it's revealed that extended use of the boosters can be fatal and there's a skit about it, and...that's it for the main quest. Actually, was that a sub-event skit or a main event skit? It was right before chapter 2 IIRC. Or is this an issue that gets resolved in Xillia 2?

 

[Bladenic]

I forgot to mention this a while back after I beat the game, but there was something bugging me after the ending.

Spoiler

Is there a sub-event that deals with the side effects of the boosters with Elise? They foreshadow it at one point when it's revealed that extended use of the boosters can be fatal and there's a skit about it, and...that's it for the main quest. Actually, was that a sub-event skit or a main event skit? It was right before chapter 2 IIRC. Or is this an issue that gets resolved in Xillia 2?

Xillia 2 may address it, but in the ending

Spoiler

she puts Teepo away anyway. Although in Xillia 2 she's using him again so it's a moot point lol

 

[Rhapsody]

Which link abilities are you missing? It's super easy to get just about all of them provided you fight the right enemies.

Jude's, Milla's, and Alvin's. I suppose it shouldn't be too bad. I just need to grind it out in the right battles.

 

[FSLink]

Xillia 2 may address it, but in the ending

Spoiler

she puts Teepo away anyway. Although in Xillia 2 she's using him again so it's a moot point lol

I thought it had something to do with

Spoiler

Wingul being the guinea pig so future experimentees didn't get the side effects or something.

Haven't finished all the sidequests myself so not sure if it's accurate.

 

[thunder_snail]

Xillia 2 may address it, but in the ending

Spoiler

she puts Teepo away anyway. Although in Xillia 2 she's using him again so it's a moot point lol

That ending cutscene made me a little sad for some reason.

Spoiler

Good to know Teepo's gonna be back for Xillia2. Knowing the truth about Teepo really made Elize more endearing on new game plus.

 

[Rhapsody]

I forgot to mention this a while back after I beat the game, but there was something bugging me after the ending.

Spoiler

Is there a sub-event that deals with the side effects of the boosters with Elise? They foreshadow it at one point when it's revealed that extended use of the boosters can be fatal and there's a skit about it, and...that's it for the main quest. Actually, was that a sub-event skit or a main event skit? It was right before chapter 2 IIRC. Or is this an issue that gets resolved in Xillia 2?

iirc they say that

Spoiler

boosters drained the life of the user, which is why Wingul died. As for the side effect on Elise, I don't think it was even addressed in ToX2 or if it affected the generation of boosters that Elise was in.

 

[thunder_snail]

iirc they say that

Spoiler

boosters drained the life of the user, which is why Wingul died. As for the side effect on Elise, I don't think it was even addressed in ToX2 or if it affected the generation of boosters that Elise was in.

Spoiler

The game mentions how she's the most compatible with boosters. Plus Wingul had his implemented in his head and used it to become super saiyan on you while going "gbrbareagerad"

 

[nintendoman58]

Xillia 2 may address it, but in the ending

Spoiler

she puts Teepo away anyway. Although in Xillia 2 she's using him again so it's a moot point lol

And that's another thing. Teepo is actually one of the more interesting characters in this story.

Spoiler

The whole Teepo being "A device that verbalizes thoughts" was really confusing to me at first. That would mean that he's not a sentient device. He even states it at the abandoned laboratory place that he's not his own person. But then again on that note why would he say that if he's not sentient? Elize would have to be thinking that for him to say it. So that means deep down, Elize knew that Teepo was just a toy, making everything Teepo says come from Elize's subconscious.

That alone could make for a very interesting character study if done right.

 

[PKrockin]

"No breaks?"
"Always one step ahead."
"Right on point."

I don't understand this.

 

[Videoneon]

"Go, Teepo!"
"Sharing is caring!"

"I have your back!"

 

[Memento_Mori15]

The battles you can lose and continue are the one you mentioned and the one at the beginning of chapter 4. That's it I believe. Oh and the very first boss battle, the first part anyway.

Interesting, thanks. If I ever do a second playthrough, I'll lose to them on purpose to see the cutscenes or just go on youtube and watch them.

 

[demidar]

Hey guys did you know sharing is caring?

 

[FSLink]

Hey guys did you know sharing is caring?

Go Teepo!

Gave my copy of Xillia away to my bro, any CEs in stock anywhere? Otherwise I will just purchase another Limited version.

 

[Bladenic]

Jude's, Milla's, and Alvin's. I suppose it shouldn't be too bad. I just need to grind it out in the right battles.

Do Jude's against the horse enemies behind Milla's house. The rest I'm not sure since I got both during my playthrough pretty easily and early.

 

[Hyunkel6]

I'm glad to see that the game is a lot longer than I expected. I was a bit distressed when I heard some people finished it in 35-40 hours. I'm at 50, and something crazy always happens when I expect the game to end. For me, there were at least 3 or 4 "Wait, that was not the last boss?! There's more?!" moments. So awesome.

 

[Rhapsody]

Do Jude's against the horse enemies behind Milla's house. The rest I'm not sure since I got both during my playthrough pretty easily and early.

I'll try that. I just got Alvin's and Milla's which wasn't as bad as I thought. Did it while getting the title involving hitting enemies with weaknesses 4050 times. Elemental weapons and minimum damage made that title a breeze.

 

[kewlmyc]

Quick question. I'm starting my Vesperia playthough today and was wondering if starting on Hard mode is recommended. I played Hard Mode on Graces f and somehow managed to beat the game with that (changed to normal for the Future Arc final boss) and beat Xillia on Moderate with a little difficulty. I've heard Hard on Vesperia is pretty brutal and doesn't provide any exp bonus. Just wondering if Hard mode is worth it for a first playthrough.

 

[FSLink]

Quick question. I'm starting my Vesperia playthough today and was wondering if starting on Hard mode is recommended. I played Hard Mode on Graces f and somehow managed to beat the game with that (changed to normal for the Future Arc final boss) and beat Xillia on Moderate with a little difficulty. I've heard Hard on Vesperia is pretty brutal and doesn't provide any exp bonus. Just wondering if Hard mode is worth it for a first playthrough.

Hard is all right, especially since you played other Tales on harder difficulties before... and makes you have to go for Fatal Strikes more often, whereas Normal mode enemies die too quickly to make it worthwhile.
There's a few enemies that are hell on Hard though, so just beware and be prepared.

 

[Cess007]

Finally finished the game with the Jude story. Man, i haven't been this hooked with a Tales Of games since... well, i think Destiny. Not eveny Symphonia, Abyss or Vesperia hooked me the way Xillia did.

I think it was the superb fighting mechanic, the best in the series without doubt... and yes, and Alvin, oh you beautiful Alvin. He should have his own spinoff or some kind of drama-CD 'cause he's an awesome character, and i would love to know (more detailied, i mean) about all the events in his life prior the game.

Hey guys did you know sharing is caring?

I've hear that thing so many times, that sometimes i hear it suddenly in my head while at work D:

 

[FSLink]

I've hear that thing so many times, that sometimes i hear it suddenly in my head while at work D:

We were at a restaurant and the waitress said "Sharing is caring", and it took a lot of my friend's and my willpower to avoid yelling out Go Teepo.

 

[Liferebooted]

After playing through both stories I really don't feel that the Jude side offers more to the story than Milla's side. In fact I kinda think that her side has more into her back story with her being the main character.

 

[demidar]

We were at a restaurant and the waitress said "Sharing is caring", and it took a lot of my friend's and my willpower to avoid yelling out Go Teepo.

Do you sound like a super deep black guy? Then you should've went for it.

 

[Bladenic]

We were at a restaurant and the waitress said "Sharing is caring", and it took a lot of my friend's and my willpower to avoid yelling out Go Teepo.

I'm screaming. You should have done it

 

[Papercuts]

We were at a restaurant and the waitress said "Sharing is caring", and it took a lot of my friend's and my willpower to avoid yelling out Go Teepo.

Should have just tried to order FRESH MUTTON.

 

[MogCakes]

After playing through both stories I really don't feel that the Jude side offers more to the story than Milla's side. In fact I kinda think that her side has more into her back story with her being the main character.

I consider Milla's side to be the true canon since in Jude's story

Spoiler

he dodges the arrow shot at him in Bermia Gorge by tilting his head in cheesy action flick fashion, where in Milla's story he gets scared shitless and falls over when the arrow just misses him.

 

[FSLink]

Do you sound like a super deep black guy? Then you should've went for it.

Negative. I'm asian.

I'm screaming. You should have done it

Yeah should have. Definitely would have done it if I had the Famitsu DX Teepo plush. (Psst, anybody know where I can get one of these?)

Should have just tried to order FRESH MUTTON.

Olive Garden doesn't have fresh mutton.

 

[demidar]

Negative. I'm asian.

Even better, you can attempt to emulate it horribly.

Also I have never heard "MUTTON, FRESH MUTTON" guy.

 

[thepotatoman]

I'm almost 20 hrs in.

Spoiler

just finished the mine where Alvin and Eliza ran to looking for Teepo

.

Overall, I like it. I'm a sucker for classic JRPGs, so this is hitting the sweet spot. But, I gotta say I liked Graces F a lot more. The combat system was better, the level up and equipment systems were better as well, and Graces F was a lot funnier overall (the skits were hilarious. In this one, they're cute, but not as funny) .

My biggest gripe with this is definitely the half-assed dual character system. I'm playing through Milla's side, but it may as well be Jude's. Milla is a great character, but she's definitely getting the narrative short-end, even though it's allegedly her side of the story.

But, the game def. has its hooks in me despite the many flaws. Looking forward to seeing how the story develops. Sadly, reading up on Xillia 2 gave me a major spoiler, but it'll be interesting to see how everything ties together.

I was actually really liking playing as Milla, as she's the more interesting character and you could easily fill in the gaps of any missed story beats by just assuming Jude couldn't help but to help and wouldn't take no for an answer.

However I just finished one section later in the game where you get separated for a good amount of time. I actually really enjoyed that section with Milla, but once I reunited I find out that Jude has apparently done about 50 different things including some major character development, while I've only done one thing, and only developed some backstory, and that's when I kinda got annoyed. I just wish I at least got a little more detail on what went on without me for that one section.

Spoiler

But at least I got to avoid that annoying handmaid what's his face. So maybe I'll just call it even.