Tales of Xillia 2

After the events of the original Xillia, the world of Tales of Xillia 2 is in disarray. The magical barrier keeping the continents of Elympios and Rieze Maxia separate is no longer in place, allowing the two nations to coexist with each other. Due to the vast differences between each nation, political strife and general uneasiness permeate any interaction between the two. You play as Ludger, a resident of Elympios. After Ludger fails to join the Spirius Corporation, an organization that his brother Julius has been employed by for years, he struggles to find a purpose in his life. Before long, however, he finds himself dragged into events that send his life careening out of control. With the help of Elle, a headstrong young girl in search of her father, and the cast of Xillia 1, Ludger must unravel a plot that could mean the end of the world.

The main plot of Xillia 2 will seem familiar to anyone who’s played JRPGs regularly in the past: typical anime-styled tropes, character motivations you can see coming a mile away, and an ending eerily similar to at least half a dozen other titles. While the story doesn’t feature any plot holes or annoying characters (but a few annoying voices), it does little to differentiate itself from the other titles in the genre. Where Xillia 2 does manages to distinguish itself is with its character relationships, particularly the one between Ludger and Elle. They start out as two complete strangers, with Ludger trying to be as comforting as he can without angering the stubborn and cautious Elle. Over a steady series of events, their relationship grows in an natural way through scenes that resonate in a lifelike manner. By the end of the game, I didn’t need the game to tell me they loved each other--I just knew it. It’s a relationship that feels earned and sincere in a way that I have rarely experienced in a video game. This growing affection between Ludger and Elle is easily the best part of Xillia 2’s story, making up for all its faults in the main plot.

There’re a lot of good things to say about the returning cast of Xillia as well. Everyone playable from the first game returns, along with non-playable characters Gaius and Muzet as new party members. These characters aren’t the same as they were at the end of the original Xillia, as they’ve moved on with their lives and found new goals to shoot for. I was surprised at how much some of them seemed to have grown, and it’s enjoyable seeing what they are up to a year or so later. Each character also has optional side stories in Xillia 2 that build them up even more. Some of these, such as Jude and Milla’s stories, bring a lot of interesting fiction to the world and give better context for relationships between your party members. A few characters get the short end of the stick, with boring plotlines that do little to advance their characterization, but these stinkers are few and far between. None of the stories have quite the emotional resonance as the relationship between Ludger and Elle for me, but they are still absolutely worth seeing, especially for fans of the original Xillia.

Gameplay in Tales of Xillia 2 is typical for the series at this point. You move about on an overworld map, going from town to town via monster-infested roads and dungeons. Running into a foe in the overworld sends you into a battle. Combat is fast-paced and addictive, moving in real-time and even featuring action game-style mechanics like juggles and parries. You can wail away on foes with your three types of base weapons (which can be freely switched between in combat, a new addition) or utilize TP to cast Artes, special abilities that do additional damage. By “linking” with party members, your controlled character shares traits and abilities with that character. This also allows access to the even more powerful Linked Artes. An Over Limit meter charges with every successful attack, allowing you to enter a special overcharged mode where you can spam Linked Artes with boosted damage. Finally, you eventually unlock the Chromatus, another meter-based mode that makes Ludger faster and stronger and gives him access to special artes. It all works together to create one of the best action-based RPG systems to date.

This is only my second Tales game, but I’m already in love with the series--mostly due to the combat. I cannot stress how much fun I find simply battling in this series. Everything from movement to attacking feels tight and responsive, doing exactly what you want it to do. Mixing up your artes and weapons to create new combos that keep your enemy stunned and juggled for the entire length can make combat against a dangerous foe much easier. Each party member has a special ability they share when you are Linked, giving you tons of combat options. It’s the perfect balance of accessibility and depth, with a solid core design that is just a blast to play. I never skip fights, as I enjoy them too much to want to do so. Grinding isn’t a tedious chore here; instead, it’s an activity that I willingly seek out. Best of all, it moves with a blinding speed that keeps you engaged, making it nearly impossible to put down. If you’ve never played a Tales game before, I can’t recommend the series enough. Be warned--you may not want to stop playing once you start.

Xillia 2 is a game packed with content. Every new town is bustling with NPCs to talk to, shops where you can buy better gear, and side quest boards with plenty to do. Leveling comes quickly, as does earning new Artes and skills. There’s plenty of side locations to explore, with hidden treasure chests and crafting materials to uncover. All this comes together to form an addictive treadmill that you likely won’t want to step off of once you begin. Side quests are mostly used to earn gald, but you can earn some nifty rewards for completion as well. There are also special elite monsters you can test your combat skills on, and a deep arena mode packed with creative fight layouts against some familiar foes (especially for fans). After your first playthrough, the options just become more numerous. A bonus dungeon opens up to challenge you further with some of the hardest fights in the game. Tales games are also famous for their excellent New Game + mode, which is still present here. Everything you do in your original playthrough can earn you Grade, a spendable currency that can be used at the start of a new game to carry over skills and items, unlock content early, or even unlock boosts like five times experience! For your money, there are few games with as much content on offer here.

Sadly, there are a couple negatives to be pointed out. First, I had some issues with the difficulty curve. I chose to play on the default difficulty, as I often do, and found the game to be absurdly easy. Nearly any random encounter in the game can be overcome by hammering on the attack button and throwing in a few Artes for good measure. While there are some foes that are more easily defeated by switching things up and exploiting weaknesses, this is far from necessary 95% of the time. Boss encounters make up the remaining percentage. Most of these are also quite easy, although they do require a good deal more healing than your average fight. A few of the tougher boss fights, however, spike the difficulty through the roof. Two of these encounters in particular, easily the hardest parts of the game, featured bosses that could power up and two-shot my equally leveled characters. It felt like a cheap way to make these fights harder and highlighted just how poorly balanced the overall challenge of the game is by comparison.

My bigger complaint has to do with Xillia 2’s debt system. Early on, Ludger and Elle find themselves in debt to the degree of 18,000,000 gald. Throughout the game, you are expected to earn enough gald to make a specific payment before being allowed to progress to the next story beat. This debt is essentially the game’s way of preventing you from going places you aren’t supposed to yet. While paying off this debt is a simple matter of doing some side quests or grinding in between story missions, the way it barrs player progress is far too arbitrary and gamey. The fact that you don’t even have to pay back the entire amount (doing so actually unlocks a secret ending) shows just how pointless it is to the game’s story. I had little trouble earning the necessary amount for each payment, but I would have preferred a more natural way of limiting player travel instead of an obvious game mechanic.

Tales of Xillia 2 is a fantastic JRPG. While it missteps in its main story and parts of its game design, the core gameplay systems are still some of the best in the genre. I was shocked at how touching I found the relationship between Ludger and Elle, managing to wring the same level of emotional resonance from me as Lee and Clementine from The Walking Dead series. Revisiting the world of Xillia was also a lot more fun than I expected, even getting me to like a few of the characters I couldn’t stand in the original game. Tying it all together is a solid combat system that has me itching to play all the Tales games I can get my hands on. Tales of Xillia 2 sticks a little too close to tradition for its good at times, but there’s plenty of enjoyable gameplay and engaging relationships to make up for its faults.