Tales of Xillia shipped on the PlayStation 3 in Japan on September 7, 2011, and reached North America and PAL regions two years later, in August 2013. It is the thirteenth main entry in the Tales series, developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is also, by the numbers, the most successful thing the series had produced to that point. We score it 6.9 of 10.
Trailer, via IGDBcom.
Jude Mathis and the Lance of Kresnik
The setup is strong. Jude Mathis is a medical student in the capital of Rashugal, searching for a missing professor. He finds the man at a military research facility, and watches a spyrix-powered weapon called the Lance of Kresnik absorb him. The military prepares Jude as the next victim. Milla Maxwell, successor to the spirit Maxwell, pulls him out.
The two then set off to confront Rashugal’s king, who endorsed the Lance’s creation. They pick up Alvin, Elize Lutus, Rowen J. Illbert and Leia Rolando along the way. You choose Jude or Milla at the outset, and the journey runs through Rieze Maxia, a land where humans and ethereal spirits live in harmony.
The world holds up. Two millennia ago, humans built spyrix, a power source that absorbs spirits. Maxwell gathered spirit-linked humans behind a barrier and left the rest of humanity, in Elympios, outside it. Rashugal and Auj Oule look peaceful and run black operations against each other. Exodus, a terrorist group formed from Elympion castaways, wants the barrier down. That is a real spine for a genre that often settles for a chosen one and a dark lord.
Here is the release timeline, since the two-year gap between regions matters to how the game was received.
| Region | Release date |
|---|---|
| Japan | September 7, 2011 |
| North America | August 2013 |
| PAL regions | August 2013 |
| Tales of Xillia 2 (Japan) | November 2012 |
| Tales of Xillia 2 (North America, PAL) | August 2014 |
The Lilium Orb and the Skits
Combat is the Dual Raid Linear Motion Battle System, a variation on the series’ Linear Motion Battle. Four party members fight; the ones you do not control run on instructions you set beforehand. Deplete the enemy’s health points, or lose. A downed member stays down until revived by an item, a healer, or an inn. Wipe and it is a game over.
Progression runs through the Lilium Orb, a hexagonal web of nodes. Level up, get GP, spend it along a uni-linear path. It is tidy and it is thin.
The field map is a realistically scaled 3D space where you cross paths with non-player characters, items and mob avatars. Skits — animated portraits with voice acting — carry the party’s smaller exchanges. The skits are where the cast lives.
Where It Holds and Where It Slips
Japan’s reception was highly positive. At release it was the most preordered Tales game in the series, sold half a million copies in a week, and eventually shipped over 1 million worldwide. It took awards from Sony and Famitsu.
The English localization drew praise for its battle system, neutral-to-positive notices for plot and characters, and criticism for map design. We side with the map complaints. A realistically scaled field sounds generous until you are walking it.
Our verdict: the battle system and the skits are the reason to play, and the Lilium Orb is the reason to stop caring about the numbers. The premise does more work than the pacing. A sequel, Tales of Xillia 2, followed in November 2012 in Japan and August 2014 in the West, which tells you the series agreed with the sales more than the skeptics.
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