Tales of Xillia [Jude Side Review]

Posted on December 2nd, 2011 by Momo Orihara

Just yesterday, I managed to finish Tales of Xillia, albeit only the first half of the game.

You probably may have not heard of this game, but Tales of Xillia is the latest mothership title of Namco-Bandai’s Tales series game. Coincidentally, it is also the 15th anniversary title of the series.

The two protagonists: Mira Maxwell and Jude Mathis

The two protagonists: Milla Maxwell and Jude Mathis. Image from here..

Because this is the 15th anniversary title, Namco thought it would be better to have two protagonists this time around, hence, having to play the game two times, either of which from Jude or Milla’s side. As I like Jude better, I chose his side first.

Jude Mathis, a fifteen year old medical student, was an ordinary individual who went through what most students did until he met Milla Maxwell by accident. Milla, claiming to be the Master of the Four Great Spirits, was currently investigating the reason why the Spirits were behaving strangely and Jude, who was simply retrieving a paper that flew from his hand, had gotten involved in all of this.

In their journey, they meet four more people. Alvin, a traveling mercenary who had saved Jude, Rowen J. Ilbert, a servant of a noble household who seems to be some kind of war veteran, Leia Roland, Jude’s childhood friend and a nurse-in-training, and lastly, Elise Lutus, a young girl whose magical abilities are advance for her age. Along Elise is her talking doll, Tipo, who seems to do the talking for Elise at times.

The complete party

The gameplay is totally addicting. I won’t go into the boring and technical details, but this time around, you’ll need to link up with the other members in your party (4 people are needed during the battle, unless you opt to go solo, which is possible as well) to dish out more damage . Hi-Ougi, called Mystic Artes in the West, is also back, though slightly less flashy than its predecessors.

I clocked in around 55 hours in Jude’s side, since I did level grinding, as well as doing sub-events to get more attachments and accessories to make the game less boring. As a side note, DLCs (downloadable content) in the form of costumes were also available for purchase. I got all Star Driver costumes for my party, bringing so many laughs in supposedly serious scenes.

President, Head and Ginga Bishounen

So what can I say about this game?

I had fun. I really did.

But the problem with this game was that it felt rushed. Everything, from character development to the towns, was rushed. It was simply sad and shocking that Hideo Baba, the producer of the Tales series, admitted that it was rushed because of time constraints, as they had to release the game before September 8, 2011. And with the announcement that a new Tales series title will be announced for next year, many wonder if that would be the announcement for Tales of Xillia: Director’s Cut.

Not to worry. Despite the rush, the lack of character development and such, Xillia is good enough for me that I consider it a close second to my ultimate favorite Tales game, which is Tales of the Abyss. Currently, I’m playing Milla’s side on New Game+ on Hard mode, so I’ll get back to all of you again and deliver my review, complete with spoilers!

As of now, there has been no localization announcement for Tales of Xillia.

Extra Content:

Fun things you can do with attachments