The plot of Tales of Xillia the most devastating atomic bomb . And like the arms race that consumed the foreign policy of the USSR and the United States for some four decades, the Lance of Kresnik has upended a delicate peace in the world of Rieze Maxia, causing an environment of strife and violence. Trust between countries has eroded as humanity finds itself in existential peril, all because of an all-new super weapon that no one quite understands.

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Milla Maxwell.

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Jude, protecting Elize.

Tales of Xillia sends us headlong into this dangerous situation, but its beauty – one of its most tantalizing features – is on display long before you understand anything about the story. Xillia allows you, right off the bat, to choose from one of two main characters: a young doctor named Jude Mathis and a supernatural entity named Milla Maxwell. That choice changes your perspective on the story, giving you some special cutscenes, side quests, and more. The overall arc doesn’t waver, but Xillia immediately invites you to play it twice simply to see everything it has to offer. Its assumption that you’ll want to play it again, and the confidence it exudes with such an offer, doesn’t exactly belie Xillia’s quality. It outright expresses it.Xillia is the thirteenth primary Tales game, so even with the choice of a main character, there’s a lot that series veterans will find familiar and welcome. New systems and approaches are combined with tried-and-true, traditional Tales staples to create a product that complements an already-extensive catalog of PlayStation 3 RPGs. Tales of Xillia is in no way, shape, or form the best Tales game to date, but it’s likely to appeal to both franchise loyalists and newcomers alike, even if the latter group might have a bit of a hard time wrapping their heads around some of Xillia’s complexities.Apart from beautiful, sparsely used anime-style cutscenes, Tales of Xillia presents itself almost entirely in-engine. This keeps things moving along quickly, since load times are extremely brisk, but also makes it look a tad bit dated. (Remember: Tales of Xillia launched in Japan some two years ago, and the series has never really been known for its graphical fidelity, so it doesn’t quite look like a late-gen game.) But that didn’t distract me from enjoying it, even if object pop-in can, at times, be quite severe, especially in certain towns. Thankfully, its pleasing soundtrack acts as a nice aesthetic smokescreen.Xillia’s core party of six characters is impressively diverse and, for the most part, likeable and well acted. Milla and Jude are about as different from one another as you can imagine – she’s stiff and awkward, he’s unsure and shy -- adding an extra layer to their interactions with one another. The elderly (and mildly pervy) warrior Rowen, the young Elize with her amazing talking stuffed animal Teepo, and the confused nurse Leia are all interesting characters in their own right. So, too, is the shady mercenary Alvin, though his particular story arc is downright perplexing and annoying to bear witness to at times.The entire cast of core characters, as well as various antagonists and a majority of the NPCs you meet, come packing great voice acting. Considering Tales of Xillia goes to lengths to fill in its story – including scores of detailed side conversations catalyzed with the press of the select button – the quality of voice acting is especially important. Unfortunately, Milla’s in particular is downright weak, and considering she’s one of Xillia’s main protagonists, listening to her side-by-side with the likes of Jude, Alvin, and Rowen really makes that weakness stand out all the more.Nonetheless, Xillia will begin relentlessly putting its claws into you as soon as you start exploring its combat and character upgrade systems. For veterans of the franchise, Xillia will have a familiarity that welcomes you into the experience, what with its fierce, action-packed combat. Each character has a litany of special skills called Artes that can be unleashed in battle, and a tactical approach is required, especially when you jump into the nitty-gritty of set AI tactics, swapping characters in and out of battle on the fly, and more. Interestingly, Xillia also totes an added layer in combat, linking players together in order to unleash devastating special moves that vary depending on the permutation in use. Putting everything together, from basic attacks and Artes to powerful linked attacks gives Xillia, like many of the Tales games before it, the feel of a rudimentary fighting game.Things start getting even deeper when you jump into the Lilium Orb system. Tales of Xillia doesn’t contain a simple leveling scheme wherein experience points level you up and make you stronger. Instead, when you level up, you’re given points to disperse on a massive grid that allows you to carefully tailor the development of each party member. If you want to make them all renaissance men (and women), you can do that, but if you want a powerful magic user or two accompanied by some brutes, you can also arrange for that. Not only do I love the Lilium Orb system, I love that if it’s too overwhelming or annoying for certain players, they can opt to auto-level.Deeper yet, characters each have a roster of skills that they learn from the Lilium Orb. Skills, like Artes, give party members new powers, but unlike Artes, they can’t be used in battle. Instead, they give you statistical buffs and the like, such as reinforcing a base statistic, strengthening you against a certain variety of attack, and much more. Since skill points used to equip skills (as well as the skills themselves) are all unlocked in the Lilium Orb, the Orb and each character’s skillset intertwine with each other intimately. This setup in particular defines Tales of Xillia’s depth and will give micromanagers plenty to play around with.Another great feature of Tales of Xillia is its equipment system. In a typical RPG, simply visiting a new town or backtracking to an old one unleashes a set of new armor, helmets, swords, and more to buy. This isn’t so in Xillia, though. To unlock new gear, you have to donate items found during battle and in environments, or some of your hard-earned Gald. This system is appealing on so many levels, not the least of which is the ability to unlock things at your own cadence, giving you the leeway to take your time, grinding out pertinent loot for new gear. Like the Lilium Orb, this thoughtful approach gives you even more ways to completely control customization.Xillia’s lack of a world map might at first seem stymying – and in some ways, it certainly is – but its quick-travel system is a marvel that makes getting around a breeze by taking advantage of the amazingly quick loading times. Even though the main narrative advances linearly – a main narrative that, by the way, sometimes evokes themes from Final Fantasy VI – the quick-travel system is further useful with Tales of Xillia’s extensive side-quest system, known as sub-events. These side-quests are constant, and to see them all, you’ll be required to visit old locales, talk to people you’ve already met, and more. This may seem like a chore at a glance, but in reality, I loved having a reason to go back to explore while learning more about the people around me.There are a lot of reasons to keep playing, too. Tales of Xillia took me 38 hours to beat, but I could have very easily tacked on 15 or 20 more hours to that if I went back to complete the side quests I missed, max-out each character’s Lilium Orb, competed in the in-game coliseum, earned all of the in-game Titles and PSN Trophies, or spent time with Tales’ traditional post-game dungeon. Considering I played through as Milla and not Jude, it also means that my time with the game – and the possibilities of what I could accomplish in 60 hours – could very well be multiplied by two.