Tales of Xillia 2 (PlayStation 3)


Warning: This game and the review both assume you've played the first game and so both the game and the review will be packed full of spoilers for Tales of Xillia. If you haven't played the first Tales of Xillia and don't like spoilers, I'd advise you to play that one before undertaking the second one.

Story:
Following the conclusion of Tales of Xillia, Rieze Maxia and Elympios are in the delicate position of trying to learn to live together. A young Elympion man, named Ludger, is about to begin a job as a cook after failing yet another test to enter the flourishing Spirius company in which his brother works. After meeting a strange little girl by the name of Elle, Ludger ends up in the middle of a terrorist attack, where he finds out that his brother has more going on than he thought.



Thanks to the experience, Ludger is recruited in to Spirius as a special agent. His job? To destroy "fractured dimensions", alternate realities that shouldn't exist. With the help of the original Tales of Xillia cast, Ludger must find out more about his job at Spirius, the fractured dimensions, his brother, and the lost little girl named Elle.

Gameplay:
This game plays very similarly to Tales of Xillia and many of the more recent Tales games. You bring up to 4 characters with you in to battle of which you control one. You attack by pressing X, which charges your TP. TP allows your characters to use artes (this game's version of magic), by pressing the O button along with pointing the analogue stick in a certain direction. As you progress, you'll be able to assign artes to other commands, allowing you to use more abilities in battle. By pressing a directional pad, you can link with another party member, which allows for linked attacks when your link bar fills. You can also use items in battles, defend with Square, and set a variety of skills outside of battle on to your character which grant a variety of benefits in battle and out. Allium Orbs are used to learn new skills and artes as well, and they can easily be equipped and unequipped from any character you choose whenever you want. As you accumulate points by having it equipped, you will be alerted when a character learns something new or upgrades an arte.



Unlike in the first Xillia game, Ludger will be mandatory in your party throughout the whole game and your other characters can only be swapped in towns. Aside from the game being divided in to chapters, the supporting cast also gets their own side stories for you to explore if you wish. During most main and story missions, you'll have mandatory party members to accompany you. Also by linking Ludger with certain people, and choosing certain dialogue options, his relationship with them will increase which grants items and skills. Aside from that, you'll also have a mountain of debt to pay off (yay), be able to accept requests for money and rewards, and find 100 lost cats and dispatch them on item seeking missions.



World:
In Xillia 2, you'll be revisiting the areas present in the first game. You'll explore Rieze Maxia, which has many diverse areas, and Elympios, which looks mostly the same. You'll also gain access to a few new areas, although there aren't very many. So if you liked the world of Xillia, you'll like this one just fine. You'll also be exploring fractured dimensions, which are a one time only deal, but they allow you to view the world in a different way. As usual there are treasures scattered about, giving you something to search for as you explore the areas (not to mention finding kitties).



Characters:
(Ordered from favourite to least favourite):
Elize: Starting to overcome her shyness, Elize is now in school and making friends. She's doing better in her life overall, but still struggles with knowing how to make difficult decisions.
Leia: Leia has since moved on from nursing and is trying to make a name for herself in journalism. Still as spunky as ever, but she has a lot to learn when it comes to how to do her new job.
Rollo: Rollo is a fat cat belonging to Ludger's family. He helps find items and other cats.
Rowan: He now has responsibilities as the Prime Minister of Rieze Maxia and is an integral part of the peace talks between Rieze Maxia and Elympios.
Gaius: Still as serious as ever, Gaius now occupies the position of King of Rieze Maxia. He can't get a hang of the whole technology business though.
Jude: Since the end of the last game, Jude has been hard at work researching how to get humans and spirits to coexist in peace.
Ludger: Our mostly silent protagonist, his first day on the job is wrought with difficulties and he finds his life forever changed.
Milla: Went on to become the new Maxwell, Lord of Spirits. But is this really the Milla we know?
Alvin: Trying to clean up his life, Alvin is attempting to make a name for himself as a salesman.
Elle: A young girl who got lost after her father was attacked. Promised to go to the land of Canaan, which is said to be able to grant any wish.
Muzet: Trying to relinquish her previously evil ways, Muzet still struggles to fit in among the humans.

Overall:
So did you play Tales of Xillia and think, "Man, this would be so much better with millions of dollars of debt and an annoying kid?" No, I'm joking, but seriously, I quite liked Xillia 2. I wasn't as impressed with it as when I first played it, but it was a solid game that held my interest the entire way through. I really liked having the character specific stories, although I wish they had more variety in who accompanies these characters in their stories. The kitty dispatch was adorable and useful, and it was nice to see the cast again after what they'd been through. I liked all of the characters and the game did a good job, as most Tales game do, of allowing each to have their development and turn in the spotlight. On the other hand, having so much focus on Ludger and Elle felt rather odd and out of place, and the way they added details to the original story makes me wonder if they just expanded on the lore, or if they changed too much. The original Xillia is definitely the better game, now that I've had a chance to play both twice, but this one is worth your time if you liked the first one and want to catch up with everyone again.

Verdict:
LIKED IT A LOT