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Post by Kai Yamato on Aug 13, 2013 2:48:19 GMT -5
I HATH RETURNED.
So, I got Graces. Kickass game.
And now I got Xillia. Lookin' great so far. The characters don't seem bad to me as Tales Namco Forums claims.
So... To anyone who got the game. What's your thoughts so far?
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Post by AokiShizuku on Aug 13, 2013 5:37:18 GMT -5
People only hated Jude (pre-US/PAL release) because his Japanese voice actor made him seem over-obsessed with Milla when in reality he's not THAT obsessed with her.
Xillia has one of my favorite stories in a Tales game and one of my favorite battle system in the series too. As for characters, most are very likable. The only characters I don't like as much as the others is Elise and Tipo though to be fair I haven't experienced their English counterparts but the two were irritating at times in the Japanese version. Elise was redeemable by the end of Xillia though.
Difficulty wise, the game is a mixed bag. While yes you can't combo bosses into oblivion like Vesperia or Graces, bosses in Xillia have taken the Vesperia PS3 route. Meaning that they tech out of every hit you throw at them and hit really hard. Flying bosses/enemies still have a weird hitbox too.
Overall though, people may say Xillia is an incomplete title compared to previous Tales games but it doesn't mean it's still a quality game.
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Post by goulmania on Aug 13, 2013 10:12:44 GMT -5
Having put about 35 hours in the game so far, My impressions so far were:
voice acting: Very good for the most part, like Aoki mentionned teepo can get annoying. Milla was kind of bland as well, it seems she never breaks her monotone even with the more expressive skits. That much I can forgive though as it fits her being a spirit, like she's stays unphased given any situation. Oh and Gaius exudes badassness everytime he opens his mouth!!!
story: Great compelling story with intersting twists and turns, It's been a long time since I got invested this much in a game. The characters are likable most of them with rich backstories. Very satisphying in this regard!
Gameplay: Mixe of Vesperia and graces. Love the new dual artes. Leveling system is very good it really feels like you have a choice as to where you want your characters to grow. Bosses where varied and it was fun to devise strategy to beat their brute force. Difficulty-wise I found that moderate was quite easy even as I was learning the game and getting used to the mechanics I had little difficulty beating bosses.
level-design: I found the "in-between city" areas pretty linear and boring, they felt like palette swap. I miss the old world map where you could move freely around the world instead of being confined between two cliffs. The dungeon and citys were very nicely desinged though, Loved the "spirit-clim effects".
overall it's a great game, despite it's flaws I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. 8.5/10 sorry for long post I got carried away.
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Post by sukotsuto on Aug 13, 2013 15:47:13 GMT -5
Love it! Story: I usually come into an RPG expecting some sort of cliched, overdone RPG story of saving the world from the bad guys. With that said, the story won me over quickly enough, with the plot twists and turns that surprises me here and there. Voice acting: Absolutely no complaints there. One of the key things for me about voice acting is that if you don't notice it's bad, i's good. Great job on this one! I came in thinking I'd be annoyed by the voices of the child characters and Teepo, but I that never happened at all. I'd choose Teepo >>>>>>> Mieu Gameplay: The bread and butter for Tales games as far as I'm concerned, and this did not disappoint! If I seek out battles more than I avoid them just for fun, it's a great battle system, and never had there been a Tales game where I can use all the characters with ease (even the spellcasters and healers, which I rarely control in any tales games). I wish I've gotten that particular item where you get to put in more skills in the shortcuts early on, because unlike a some previous tales games with their abundance of what I call "filler" artes (ie extra artes that are to be superseded by a better arte, and artes you won't use later in the game), I find a use for nearly every arte within the game, and it's all balanced throughout all the characters. Environments/Level Design: The towns are nice-looking, nothing too extravagant, so it all loads up quickly. Most towns are relatively small, so there's not much in terms of exploration. The path in between towns (which serves as the "world map") isn't too exciting though. Tolerable, but could have been done better. To me, it's a great game, and all this time, I thought I couldn't get back into JRPGs again (thanks to the lack of good releases of recent years, and post-FFX Final Fantasy games just being a disappointment to me one after another), this got me back for marathon hours!
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Post by sithlorddahlia on Aug 14, 2013 0:28:56 GMT -5
This game took my breath away last night... Literally.
My first impressions of this game, however, were mixed. Story: The reason why I almost quit Gameplay: The reason I stayed
For the first 30-40 hours of this game, I was so bored. I felt that all of the characters were very lack-luster. Development of each character is mainly explored through the sub-events. This had made me want to blow my brains out every time it got serious. The comical part of the game kept me a little bit more interested, but I can't handle some of the voice acting and the scenes. They speak bland and with no character (remember, first 30 hours of the game). This is the second time that a Tales game has had a min character bore me to tears. For a long while, I didn't care for Jude or Millia. Jude being a goody goody didn't sit well with me. It wasn't... interesting. In fact, I only thought that Alvin was the most interesting character (even though he can be read like a book, I liked that he seemed mysterious to the other characters). With Elize and Teepo, I wanted to shoot myself. I do find that diversity usually helps keep an interest in an RPG because, let's be honest, if all the characters had very similar personalities, wouldn't it get boring after a while? They would all seem like the same person. Elize and Teepo are the innocence of the group. Most of the Tales games I have played has sort of an "innocent"/little kid character: Symphonia-Collette, Vesperia-Karol, Xillia-Elize, Abyss-Anise. None of their character development interests me. The shrill voice of Teepo made me want to skip all the skits and cutscenes. Don't get me wrong, I do think they did the right thing with both of them. Elize being the little shy girl she is has to rely on Teepo to be her mouth is a good idea. Just doesn't interest me. Rowen and Alvin are the only two I thought were interesting.
The gameplay of this game... just, words can not describe how impressed I am with it. They have made it so fast, so flashy, and so... right. The ability ti quickly get in and out with other team members. The vast collection of Link Artes that all have devastating power. Just, everything about the combat had me so hooked to this game in the very beginning. I have never wanted to sit there for hours just to have fun with the combat. Usually, I would get bored and go complete the story. All the combinations and the uniqueness of each character... if all the combat turns out to be like this in the future, they can take my wallet. No, my bank account...
The difficulty for this game.... I don't know if it is because I have played other Tales games or what, but I feel this is a very easy Tales game. I got a warning from a friend of mine a head of time saying what he thought about the difficulty. Due to his warning, I have started the game on hard and have had no trouble at all. It is still fun. The further I got along the more I felt like game was increasing in difficulty, which has felt nice. Link Encounters have helped in the difficulty department. More enemies, more challenges.
The environment didn't bother me too much. Sure I was disappointed that there wasn't a free-roam world map like most of the previous Tales games, but I wasn't complaining too much. The addition of being able to climb had sparked for me. I think it made up for not being able to free roam.
Now, when it comes to NPCs, I think they have made quiet the improvement. It feels as if the NPCs are actually doing something in the background. Maybe the next advancement will be that the guy will start to say more than "Mutton! Fresh Mutton!"
Granted, this is merely my FIRST impression of the game. If it wasn't for my persistence, I probably would have stopped playing. Last night... I didn't want to put the controller down. I played from 3pm-6am mainly because the story picked up. Way UP. I was at the edge of my seat. Not since the first time I played Vesperia that I had chills from a story in an RPG. I am now at the point where character development really shows in story. All of the characters have kind of grown on me in some way. My favorite is still Alvin while next is Jude. The Gameplay still astounds me every time I level up. 58 hours in, level 62. Probably going to level to 65 before I go to bed.
An idea that me and a couple friends of mine share when it comes to an RPG: A good villain always helps make a good game. The villains were the reason why I got so interested in this game. I can't wait to reach the last boss. Despite all of my complaints, I still give this game a 9/10.
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Post by nitoh on Aug 18, 2013 17:32:59 GMT -5
I beat the game yesterday. For my, is the 3r best Tales in the series. It's not at the level of Symphonia or Abyss, but very close to those. Also, the only characters I hated were Jude (More for his delevoping than his personality) and Ivar. I really hated Ivar.
Besides of that, the is a 9/10 for my.
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Post by Ryusuke on Aug 18, 2013 20:31:29 GMT -5
Sadly, I don't have a PS3, so I pretty much spoiled it all through Youtube videos. After all the horror stories about this game prior to the release, I actually found the story pretty fun, and the characters were pretty well developed. If I had one nitpick, it's the game's final chapter. The whole Gaius plot at that point felt really, really forced and out of nowhere. Other than that, it's my favorite Tales story. The voice acting is pretty good, too, except for a couple. Elize's VA sounded like she had a really difficult time getting the voice down, but she eventually came through. Milla's voice actress was pretty dull throughout, and it really sticks out. But, besides the lisp, she has a really good voice for the character. Hopefully, she'll improve in Xillia 2.
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Post by sithlorddahlia on Aug 24, 2013 17:32:56 GMT -5
Honestly, after beating the game, I give this game a 7/10. Too cliche and dull.
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SummerWolf
Half-Elf
Playing Tales of Xillia
Posts: 48
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Post by SummerWolf on Sept 1, 2013 7:29:09 GMT -5
the story was fun and grabbed me from the start and the skits were sometime moronic but hilarious "barrel of fun" loved the battle system an the surroundings truly a great entry in the mother line of "tales of" games
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Post by sithlorddahlia on Sept 2, 2013 4:45:02 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, am I the only one who thought this game became a let down in the Tales series?
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SummerWolf
Half-Elf
Playing Tales of Xillia
Posts: 48
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Post by SummerWolf on Sept 2, 2013 5:33:49 GMT -5
i found it more gripping then tempest and felt it worked very as a mother title definitely not a let down
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Post by AokiShizuku on Sept 2, 2013 5:48:26 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, am I the only one who thought this game became a let down in the Tales series? A huge majority of people who imported felt that the game was lacking in a lot of areas. I feel that story and gameplay wise it's very good. Content wise, it definitely is lacking compared to other Tales games in the series. I personally feel this way too but it's by no means a bad game. Side quests were boring but at least they're all linked together and timed like Vesperia's. Vesperia side quests. Oh so painful.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Sept 2, 2013 13:57:21 GMT -5
i found it more gripping then tempest and felt it worked very as a mother title definitely not a let down Why are you comparing the game to Tempest, of all things? That's like pointing to some movie star and saying that they're a more expressive actor than Nic Cage.
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SummerWolf
Half-Elf
Playing Tales of Xillia
Posts: 48
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Post by SummerWolf on Sept 2, 2013 17:15:06 GMT -5
i found it more gripping then tempest and felt it worked very as a mother title definitely not a let down Why are you comparing the game to Tempest, of all things? That's like pointing to some movie star and saying that they're a more expressive actor than Nic Cage. as soon as i saw this i laughed myself till i was on the floor
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Post by Phone Master Ion on Sept 3, 2013 12:12:14 GMT -5
Well, having finished one side of it by now, I have to say I really liked it. On top of the awesome battle system, I really appreciated the story, setting, and characters. I felt the new cutscene format really helped illustrate interactions and the free camera made the world feel fuller. Some of the scripted combat scenes later in the game were incredibly well choreographed.
My only bad impression is that nearly every connecting route seems to be in a canyon. Stone walls at the edge all the way around. Despite a somewhat awkward overworld, Graces in particular did a good job with varied environments in a similar format. Otherwise, the cities and dungeons were loaded with detail
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