Game Info Platform PS3 Publisher Namco Bandai Developer Namco Tales Studio Release Date Aug 6, 2013

To say that Tales of Xillia feels familiar is an understatement.

It's a game packed to the brim with a bloated, banal story and a cast I've encountered in many previous lives. But its world is fleshed out by inviting environments and engaging combat. Everything the game does, good and bad, echoes with the voices of those that came before it.

Tales of Xillia is the ghost of every JRPG I've ever played — and that's exactly why I like it.

Tales of Xillia's plot follows the stereotypical path of Milla Maxwell and Jude Mathis, strangers whose fates become intertwined. Their journey embroils them in a political struggle that eventually balloons into saving the world itself. They're joined by an oddball band of heroes, and together the cast learns the importance of friendship, being true to yourself and standing up to injustice. I learned through casual side conversations that a few important plot lines had been resolved without me

You start the game as either Milla or Jude — a choice that actually matters. During my time as Milla, I was able to play specific scenarios and watch cutscenes that pertained directly to my character. This is has its faults, as I only got one side of the game's story. During a particularly long deviation as Milla, I returned in the middle of a major event with no idea what was happening. The impact of the scene was completely lost on me, and I learned through casual side conversations that a few important plot lines had been resolved without me. However, it's a credit to the game's mechanic that the swap never feels forced or awkward. As I watched Milla struggle, I became more attached to her than Jude. More importantly, I never felt like I was playing a secondary character.

The game's plot is a slow burn with some pacing problems. I was dumped into the middle of the conflict with little explanation and a lot of in-game lingo. This is frustrating because Tales of Xillia is practically overflowing with information. I sometimes felt like I was simply running from one cutscene to another, and the game's side conversations add hours more to sit through. Until it hit its stride around 15 hours in, I was disinterested in the political conflict it haphazardly sets up. Even when the plot isn't making sense, Tales of Xillia's world is a pleasure to explore, thanks to the game's variety of field and dungeon areas. The game takes you to forests, mountains, snow peaks, caves, beaches and more, and no area overstays its welcome. I had just enough time to level casually and move on before I got bored or frustrated. I rarely had to backtrack — and even when I did, returning to locations couldn't be easier. Fast-traveling through my map made it less of a chore and more of an enjoyable way to break up the game's long-running narrative. You can also search for helpful optional side conversations that develop characters and expand on the game's sometimes confusing plot — if you have the patience to sit through them. These conversations are held through voice-overs and character portraits — no fancy, fully-acted cutscenes here. While stopping my progress to watch each new scene became less and less appealing over time, I appreciated the goofiness and referential humor they provided. They sometimes poke fun at ridiculous story or character inconsistencies in the genre while being well aware of how much they fall back on those same tropes.

the cast fills a checklist of traits I've seen before

Tales of Xillia relies heavily on character archetypes I've seen in more JRPGs than I can count. In my party alone, I had the enigmatic and strong young woman, the youth who is wise beyond his years, the charismatic-but-troubled gunslinger — the entire cast fills a checklist of traits I've seen before. There's even a character with a bout of amnesia. This is a fine tactic to use to help players instantly grasp new characters' motivations — it certainly worked with me — but it starts to feel lazy. Tales of Xillia is full of lengthy, character-building cutscenes, but each character's growth follows an obvious path. They never breach the familiar parameters they've been contained in. By far Tales of Xillia's best aspect, combat is more like a brawler than an RPG. You control one character through frenzied button mashing. Enemies appear on the field, attacks happen in real time and each move is based off of different control stick or button combination. Switching characters prevented boredom with any one moveset. Milla's melee-based attacks feel completely different than the more healing-centric or defensive roles of other characters.