Tales sequel is 50 hours long, has high levels of freedom.

Tales of Xillia 2 scored a 35 out of 40 in Famitsu this week. Here are the magazine’s impressions from the game, in handy bullet form:

Takes 50 hours to clear. 100 hours with side quests, etc.

High degree of freedom.

However it might not be easy to understand without playing the previous title.

In the first playthrough, Ludger doesn’t have very many spoken lines.

It felt like earning gold might be difficult, but if you do quests and level up you can earn it.

The flexibility of battles has increased.

Personally, I liked that paying back debt was relevant in the scenarios, but some people may not care.

The previous title is summarized by the digest movies, but I want to play it in advance.

I was able to drop in without progressing the story, even if the conditions to do so were met.

There are a lot of random choices.

The battle style introduction is the most refreshing so far.

I felt that many of the choices you make are reflected in the story.

In the early stages, I was concerned it was a bit monotonous, but the scenarios and characters were charming.

Since the character’s were drawn with so much care, it’s easy to become attached to them.

I felt that a limit of 5 quests at a time was too small.

I think it’d be easy for an inexperienced player to pick up, but they might be perplexed in the early stages.

There is a lot of room to fight in battles.

The option to make a choice appears everywhere, which raises the degree of empathy for the characters.

The contents fulfill the expectations of fans.

Players who haven’t experienced the previous title can enjoy it, but they’d enjoy it even more if they played it.

In related news, Dengeki PlayStation this week also reviewed Tales of Xillia 2. Its four reviewers scored the game a 90, 85, 95, and 90.

Thanks, Game Nyarth.