Last year, the first Tales of Xillia traditionally releases to the west and many other people are loving it. When it comes to Tales of series, Xillia was the latest game that celebrates the 15th anniversary. This year, the sequel has finally came to the US that takes place a year after the first game. How great is it? Well, time to find out when reading a review.
Tales of Xillia 2 is a sequel to the original one that continues the storyline with a new generation, the next level and the next generation. The first game's cast of characters wear different clothes on.
The Story:
The game is about a young man named Ludger Kresnik, a protagonist who works at an office and living with a pet cat Rollo and a young girl named Elle Mel Marta. His world turned upside down when a stopwatch contains magic. The stopwatch was a tool to his brother Julius Kresnik. With it, he'll possess the power of time to unleash catastrophes upon the new setting, Elympios, a country that lacks spirit artes and not as huge as Rieze Maxia, which produces spirit artes. It's more like a rustic country to the story. After planning a new adventure, they are going to the sacred land where it can grant people wishes, the Land of Canaan. To get there, it requires the 5 keys in the fractured worlds.
The Gameplay:
Tales of Xillia 2 uses a 3D world like the first game, and you can gather materials outside of town. You can view the world map by pressing the R3 button and it allows you to get there to any place directly. If you see a star, it's the progress of the main story. The red "!" is a character-specific story, which are not a part of the main story. They are sub stories that doesn't affect the story. However, once you cleared a chapter of the character's story, a bonus scene will be viewed.
Paying the Debt:
The money to the debt is 15,000,000 gald. Here, the woman of the bank named Nova will walk you through on paying the debt. She can notify you once your payment is due or you can press the R2 button to open up the debt menu. When you reached a certain amount of gald, you can proceed the story. There's one way to earn a lot of money. You can search for giant monsters or elite monsters. Once you killed one, report to the board in town and it'll earn you a lot of money and points.
The Kitty Dispatch:
It's a resource that can collect data on cats you found so far. You can find as many cats as you can. Once you find one, the dispatch fills up. There's a special reward you'll be getting when you captured all of the cats... It also allows you to ask one of the cats to scout a specified area to gather some materials.
The Skits:
They are mini scenes that has some craziness. To view one, press the Select button when the title appears on the lower left corner of the screen. The title appears at certain times. All of the series have skits. In the sequel, you will choose which text using the L1 or R1 on the skits, too. Most of the text choices are unlimited, but some are timed, but not on the skits.
The Combat System:
Tales of Xillia 2 has the return of the Assault Counter and Link Artes. First and foremost, the AC gauge depletes on every attack with the X button. As mentioned before, when it reaches 0, the AC refills instantly and you will not step back like Tales of Graces f. Also, special moves or artes can deplete not just the AC gauge, TP gauge as well, which can be depleted by using artes with the Circle button.
Harnessing the Power of Linking:
Let's talk about linking. Linking allows you to partner up with another character and work together defeating enemies. As mentioned before, you can link up with another character by pressing the direction on the D-pad. Linking basics aren't the only part, but Link Artes are returned. The Linked gauge is located on the left side of the screen. When it reaches a milestone, the top part of the gauge flashes. That means the Link Arte is ready to go. To perform one, press the R2 button when the swords icon appears on the character. After the gauge is full, you go into Over Limit until the gauge runs out. During Over Limit, your AC and TP will not drop.
The Weapon Change:
Ludger can change weapons by pressing L1 and R1 at a same time. The battle system is getting a little .hack since he can change weapons. He can change from dual swords to sledgehammer to dual guns. That's the cycle to the weapon change. You can reverse the cycle by pressing L1 and R2 at a same time.
The Allium Orb:
Since the weapon was destroyed in the first game, the Lilium Orb stopped working and have evolved into the Allium Orb. On the Allium Orb menu, you can assign the character to an elemental type. Depending on the type you're assigned, you will earn Elemental Ore to learn skills and artes. You can find some Ore in battle and outside of battle. When you earned a certain amount of Ore, you learn a new skill and a new arte.
The Chromatus:
Ludger possess the power of time. The transformation allows him to possess the power of the Time Awakening. To turn on Chromatus, simultaneously press the L3 and the R3 buttons. During that state, Ludger won't get knocked back and attack rate is increased greatly. Depending on the level, the attack rate increases. The time limit to the Chromatus decreases over time or by taking damage. The circle gauge is located at the lower right corner increases over time, but stops increasing during free run, which is performed with L2 + left analog stick.
The Conclusion:
Tales of Xillia 2 is an excellent game that fans will believe in. Its storyline is epic and the combat system is upgraded. In fact, it's a big of a hit that everybody will love it. It looks great. It has a .hack-esque battle system that causes Ludger to change weapons and I'm loving every part of it! The parts of the story have any tragedy. So if you own a Collector's Edition, then you had a statue of Ludger, a CD containing the game's soundtrack, an artbook and the game.
Pros:
+Excellent improvement over the first game
+Perfect gameplay quality
+Excellent plot
Cons:
-Tragedy parts of a story
Although Tales of Xillia 2 is an excellent game. Playing it makes me think about the original game, which I miss so much. Because of that, I'm giving it a perfect 10 because I feel the way how the game has a few tragic events and the battle system gets improved. One of the best RPG games that get me excited to the bitter end.
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