Tales of Xillia

Tales of Xillia
Japanese Cover Art
Developer(s)	Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai
Designer(s)	Hideo Baba
Artist(s)	Daigo Okumura Kosuke Fujishima Mutsumi Inomata
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba[1]
Series	Tales
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	JP September 8, 2011[2]
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single Player, Multiplayer, Co-op
Rating(s)	CERO: B
Media/distribution	Blu-ray Disc

Tales of Xillia (テイルズオブエクシリア, Teiruzu obu Ekushiria^?) is the 13th mothership title in the Tales series, for the PlayStation 3.^[3] Its characteristic genre name is RPG of Unwavering Convictions (揺るぎなき信念のRPG, Yuruginaki shinnen no RPG^?).^[4] The game was released in Japan on September 8, 2011 and features a theme song called "progress" sung by Ayumi Hamasaki.^[5] The animated cutscenes were produced by Ufotable, the studio behind the Tales of Symphonia OVA series instead of Production I.G, who have worked on the previous games in the series.^[1] It is the only Tales game with two separate anime openings: a Jude version and a Milla version, respectively.

Gameplay

Tales of Xillia utilizes the DR-LMBS, or Dual Raid Linear Motion Battle System. Characters can freely chain regular attacks and TP-consuming Artes together through the use of Assault Counter (AC) points. Furthermore, a new Link feature allows for two party members to attack together and utilize powerful dual-character Link Artes. Overlimit, a returning feature from games such as Tales of Vesperia and Tales of the Abyss, enables the use of Mystic Artes.

In a first for the mothership titles in the series, players will experience the game through a behind-the-back viewpoint, rather than the standard over-head viewpoint. Buildings and structures in towns are actual size, as compared to the character, as a part of the game's more lifelike experience.^[6]

Characters

The game will feature two main characters, one male and one female, from different character designers. Both characters live in the world of Liese Maxia, where humans, spirits and demons are able to reside together in harmony. The game will mark the first time both character designers have worked together on a single game. Both designers have previously designed characters separately for different Tales games, with Fujishima working with Team Symphonia and Inomata working with Team Destiny.^[5]

Jude Mathis

Age: 15; Height: 163cm

Voiced by: Tsubasa Yonaga (Japanese)

A male who attends a medical school in the royal city who excels and gets things done. Of his own volition, he left his hometown and is now training in a hospital at the metropolis Il Fan. He is usually a calm and composed boy, but may tend to be suddenly impulsive at times. He usually finds himself in little disputes due to his somewhat meddlesome behavior. One day, a number of people are sent to the hospital due to a backfiring of a Spirit Arts. Upon doing an investigation on what may have caused the failure at a military laboratory, he meets Milla. He feels great adoration for Milla, who seems to have some sort of special mission, so he believes he can be of use to her. He is designed by series veteran Kōsuke Fujishima, who had previously designed characters for Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Vesperia.^[5] He seems to use his fists as his choice of weapon, similar to Senel Coolidge from Tales of Legendia.

Milla Maxwell

Age: 20; Height: 168cm

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese)

She is able to summon all four spirits of earth, water, wind and fire, and actually claims to be the Maxwell. She claims to have been enshrined in the mountains, but has come to the military lab upon sensing the annihilation of large numbers of spirits. When it comes to fulfilling her duty of watching over the world, she shows no hesitation and is disgusted by those with no sense of responsibility. Though being someone of the spirits' intellect, she has no idea how to live as a human, making her quite interested in matters about humans and its civilization. In fact, she feels no hunger because Mana is basically her energy source. Normally though, she is an honest person and a natural airhead. She is designed by series veteran Mutsumi Inomata, who had previously designed characters for Tales of Destiny, Tales of Eternia and, most recently, Tales of Graces, among other Tales games.^[5]

Alvin

Age: 26; Height: 182cm

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese)

A competent mercenary that has been wandering many places around the world. He is quite sociable with everyone and constantly displays such a mature composure. He can deliver what is needed of him, though he doesn't talk much about himself and can easily hide his feelings effectively. Though it seems that he only acts for himself at times, he can be in fact pretty calculating. He is designed by Kōsuke Fujishima.

Leia Rolando

Age: 15; Height: 158cm

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese)

A bright and energetic girl who's a childhood friend of Jude's. While she serves as a "show girl" for the inn run by her family, she was also working as an apprentice nurse at the clinic run by Jude's parents. She feels sympathetic with her companions, but takes it upon herself to raise their spirits and get rid of their worries. She's passionate about competitions in things like martial arts and sports, but thinks effort is more important than winning. She is designed by Mutsumi Inomata.

Elise Lutus

Age: 12; Height: 145cm

Voiced by: Yuki Horinaka (Japanese)

A master of spirit summoning artes despite her young age. She was apparently raised in a strange and unique environment, so she becomes very shy whenever she engages in conversations. Though she has a dislike for other people, she dearly adores Jude, whom she considers her very first friend. She is designed by Kōsuke Fujishima.

Tipo

Age: N/A; Height: N/A

Voiced by: Haruna Ikezawa (Japanese)

Elise's stuffed doll that she carries around. It is animate and can apparently speak. Since Elise is poor at conversations, Tipo is usually the one who follows up on what to say. It is designed by Daigo Okumura.

Rowen J. Ilbert ^[7]

Age: 62; Height: 175cm

Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese)

An elderly man who is the butler of a wealthy noble family. Though he usually has a gentle expression on his face, he can occasionally give off a sharp, intense feeling through the glint of his eyes. He is very knowledgeable about everything and is very good at making rational judgments depending on the state of affairs. He is by appearance the oldest playable character ever made in Tales' history. He is designed by Mutsumi Inomata.

Development

The first piece of concept art released for the game, showing a new type of art style for the series.

The title was first announced in an issue of the Japanese magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, in July 2010^[8] before it was officially announced by Namco Bandai at a press conference a week after.^[3] In June 2010, at the 2010 "Tales of Festival", an annual event held by Namco Bandai for fans of the Tales series, Namco Bandai announced that a new mothership title in the Tales series will be announced in Q3 2010.^[9] The game was officially announced on December 15, 2010 with the end of a countdown clock on the game's official site in the Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu.^[5]

An issue of Famitsu containing an interview with the development staff claims Next Tales of will break new ground. He also revealed that the team is aiming for a different visual approach in comparison to Tales of Vesperia's anime style or Tales of Graces' watercolor style. The development staff are reportedly "blown away" by the game running in real-time on PS3.^[10] On December 27, 2010, a handful of screenshots were released ^[11] depicting some of the environments and characters, as well as the general direction of the art style. There has been no official announcement for a North American or a European release as of yet, but a scenario trailer was shown at the Japan Expo in Paris on June 30th, 2011, followed by Hideo Baba asking if attendees wanted the game, which was met with applause.^[12] A localization was further hinted at by Tales Series producer Makoto Yoshizumi, who said that a localization was possible if fan demand was strong enough.^[13]

Reception

Tales of Xillia received a score of 39/40 (10/9/10/10) from Famitsu, overtaking Tales of Graces F as the highest-rated Tales title by the magazine.

Namco Bandai previously hinted that Tales of Xillia was on track to see record pre-orders for the series. Now Tales series producer Makoto Yoshizumi has confirmed it via Twitter. Two weeks ahead of release, and the PS3 title is officially the most pre-ordered Tales game ever,with 200,000 pre-orders, the game would already have sold near the equivalent of the Xbox 360 version of Vesperia and half that of the PS3 version.^[14]

Namco Bandai has revealed that its has already shipped over 500,000 copies, just a day after its release in Japan.^[15]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} a745 (December 15, 2010). "Next Tales Of Officially Revealed - Tales of Xillia Site Opens With PV". Abyssal Chronicles. http://www.abyssalchronicles.com/?fn_mode=comments&fn_id=539. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
2. ^ "Tales Festival 2011 detailed by 4Gamer". 4Gamer. http://www.4gamer.net/games/117/G011720/20110528003/. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Anoop Gantayat (August 12, 2010). "Namco Bandai Confirms New Tales Games". http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/08/02/tales_games_confirmed/. Retrieved August 2, 2010. 
4. ^ a745 (December 15, 2010). "More Tales of Xillia Information From The Tales 15th Anniversary Party". Abyssal Chronicles. http://www.abyssalchronicles.com/?fn_mode=comments&fn_id=540. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Anoop Gantayat (December 15, 2010). "PS3 Tales Game Confirmed as Tales of Xillia". Andriasang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/12/15/tales_of_xillia/. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
6. ^ Sal Romano (December 20, 2010). "Tales of Xillia detailed in Famitsu". Scrawl. http://scrawlfx.com/2010/12/tales-of-xillia-detailed-in-famitsu. Retrieved December 21, 2010. 
7. ^ http://www.talesunion.com/news/tales-of-xillias-last-playable-character-revealed--1618.html
8. ^ Anoop Gantayat (July 28, 2010). "Tales of Graces, New Tales Game Set for PS3". Andriasang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/07/28/new_tales_for_ps3/. Retrieved July 26, 2010. 
9. ^ Sal Romano (June 5, 2010). "Major Tales announcement coming this summer". Scrawl. http://scrawlfx.com/2010/06/major-tales-announcement-coming-this-summer. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
10. ^ Sal Romano (August 4, 2010). "Tales PS3 to break new ground; new Tales of Graces F details". Scrawl. http://scrawlfx.com/2010/08/tales-ps3-to-break-new-ground-new-tales-of-graces-f-details. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
11. ^ Jonathan Leack (December 27, 2010). "Get Ready for Tales of Xillia with Fresh Screenshots". http://playstationlifestyle.net/2010/12/27/get-ready-for-tales-of-xillia-with-fresh-screenshots/. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
12. ^ Tales Union (June 30th, 2011). "Tales of the Abyss 3D hits Europe this November". Tales Union. http://www.talesunion.com/news/tales-of-the-abyss-3ds-hits-europe-this-november--1713.html. Retrieved June 30th, 2010. 
13. ^ Kingdom of Tales (July 4th, 2011). "Interview with Makoto Yoshizumi (from Japan Expo 2011, in French)". Kingdom of Tales. http://kingdom-of-tales.net/news-480.html. Retrieved July 4th, 2011. 
14. ^ http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/08/26/tales_of_xillia_preorders/
15. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37131/Japans_Tales_of_Xillia_RPG_Ships_Over_500K_Copies_In_First_Day.php

External links

• Official website (Japanese)