Tales of Xillia: Playthrough and Discussion

ChickenGod · August 2013

Hey everyone, I thought we've had a lack of game specific threads lately. Why not convene here to talk all things Xillia while we're playing through the game?

Feeling kind of lazy right now, so I won't say too much. Just got through the Deepwood yesterday, and my general impression of the game is very positive. Already I can tell that its going to be competing between Eternia, Vesperia, and Graces for my favorite Tales. Ended up picking Milla to start out with. Someone mentioned that she has a weird lisp in another topic, and its definitely noticeable. At first I didn't like her voice at all, but it grew on me immensely as I began to understand her character. Combat is really fun as usual, but one thing that is kind of infuriating is that pressing up can make your character jump when you don't intend to, at least with Milla. Its like playing Melee/Brawl without using tap jump, and if anyone knows how to change the controller setup then by all means let us know. Like Graces, I started out picking hard and was pleasantly surprised to find Xillia somewhat difficult, but as I've been leveling and getting accustomed to the flow of battle it's become easier. Feels like I've played enough battles to unlock the next difficulty, but maybe not, so I'm left wondering if additional modes like Chaos are unlockable.

As I've said with Graces before it, there's nothing like good ol' Tales on a console.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

Personally I feel that, especially if you're exploring everywhere that shear amount of combat can be a bit much. I enjoy fighting as much as the next person damn does it feel like a slog when you get heavy into exploration. As for the slight lisp never really noticed it even after some one else mentioned it. I'm already up to the point of going to

Spoiler:

Jude's hometown

. Like the shop leveling system. Like the character leveling system, lots of little side quests.

Now wife is playing Milla and I'm playing as Jude so it's interesting seeing the scenes that missed if you play as the other so definately has more replayability then your average Tales game just from that

DarkRPGMaster · August 2013

Is it just me, or does Jude look perfect with the glasses attachment on? I really wish they had kept them permanently on him with the full black color for them.

ChickenGod · August 2013

You don't mess around do you Anime? Just finished Bermia Gorge over here.

The boss there had to be one of the most annoying in Tales I can remember fighting. All it did was fly up high so you couldn't hit it, and made a mockery of trying to physically attack it beyond 10 hits, at least on hard. Makes you feel forced to just run away and spam spells. My own party ended up being more dangerous due to confusion than most of the boss' attacks. Not a big deal though, I'm sure future bosses will be more enjoyable than that, not to mention that the gorge itself was actually a rather fun dungeon climbing and dropping for chests.

Its weird, I really love Xillia and it may well become my favorite Tales, but at the same time its making me realize how special some of the things Graces brought to the table were.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

I went back there, saw I missed a monster that is a secret boss and got whooped. Didn't get much play time in during Thursday as I had to go to work. Wasn't feeling well Wednesday so I stayed home though my wife played more then I did.

As for that boss I think I had the skill Immunity by then which reduces the chance of being hit with status ailments by 50%.

So wife and I are in the same area with our respective playthroughs It's neat cause we can talk about what we see differently.

Also all my shops are sitting around lvl 30

ChickenGod · August 2013

So, I've made my way to Xian Du now and the story has been steadily picking up. The characters are really growing on me, particularly Milla and Rowen. In general I enjoy how most of them can be silly in skits but still not overly exaggerated like in Graces or other games.

Combat is also getting to be loads of fun now that everyone's orbs have grown and I've gotten a healthy amount of skills and abilities. Normal battles in particular are very fun, and I often find myself using a wide arrange of moves and stringing together really long combos just for the fun of it. One enemy had so much HP I was able to get 230ish hits before it died which just felt magnificent. Hard mode probably makes all the difference here. Milla's black sphere and whirling slash artes are some of my favorite, and I'm almost at the point where aerial combat isn't going to be a detriment any longer. All Xillia needs now is a few more linked artes between characters tandems other than Jude + Milla.

At the same time though, the past few "major" boss battles have been kind of crappy. For example, the

Spoiler:

Lord of Lakutam

fight basically consisted of whittling the boss' health down and then getting blown up once it got tons of buffs and allies. On one hand I do like that I had to specifically gear my group to use water attacks (Aqua Sweep!) in order to win. At the same time however the fact that you basically have to pot shot and can't string together a reasonable number of hits just isn't that fun. Graces had some of the best boss fights I can remember, so it's a shame that Xillia's bosses haven't been nearly as enjoyable thus far.

Ryan Radcliff · August 2013

k, might as well resume my Xillia talk here. lol

Tales of Xillia: Day 2

We got our first wipe screen. Yay! I am ever the explorer, and right when we entered Milla's home town I told my gf to explore the other areas. That one path that leads out of town in the upper right section of Nia Khera was accessible at some point so we went there. The first fight we got into wiped us. Granted we had just started and I actually forgot to turn on my controller so she was playing with one statue, but she did die really quick...so I didn't try our luck again. I guess that area is off limits for now. We might have to check that place out later, or just deal with it when the plot demands us to travel through it. Who knows!

My gf doesn't like to go into the menu right after a character levels up to add extra skills or artes through the grid system, so by the time we end up playing we have a nice cash of orbs to distribute. It's annoying to me, but the end result means I get to add a huge amount of abilities the next play through. Such is life.

We got that annoyingly young character to join us! Elize is at least quiet, but ugh...her doll is annoying. It's not funny, it's not smart, it's not endearing, it's just annoying. Maybe they will expand his role in some skits or something. We did find some side quest that started some sort of sub event about other annoying doll things like him. Also, TIGER POW HAMMER! I seem to recall that being in an older Tales, but right now I can't remember which one. It's looks real funny.

That said I started linking Alvin with Elize because I got a Alvin <3s Jude title or something. There might have been a second title I need to get after that one, I guess I got to check on that. Title hunting is fun, but this time there isn't any real advantage I have seen either.

Oh, I've also notice the Stars next to the abilities. I have three stars on my Demon Fang. I switched it out to try some new artes I just got, but I am curious how many stars pop up or if they fill out or shade to gold or something after you reach a certain number. Curious.

Anywho...we stopped playing after the forest. Uh, I saw a flying cube looking monster, but my gf hesitated when she saw it and it ran off before we could fight it. What the heck was that? Shame that when my gf was going to call it quits, I was going to check back and search for it some more, but the game wouldn't let me go back into the forest at that point! Ah well, until next time.

ChickenGod · August 2013

Scar wrote: »

Oh, I've also notice the Stars next to the abilities. I have three stars on my Demon Fang. I switched it out to try some new artes I just got, but I am curious how many stars pop up or if they fill out or shade to gold or something after you reach a certain number. Curious.

Anywho...we stopped playing after the forest. Uh, I saw a flying cube looking monster, but my gf hesitated when she saw it and it ran off before we could fight it. What the heck was that? Shame that when my gf was going to call it quits, I was going to check back and search for it some more, but the game wouldn't let me go back into the forest at that point! Ah well, until next time.

Yes, I too am curious about the stars next to artes. In other Tales the more you used certain artes the stronger they became, or perhaps you would even learn a new one. Who knows what if anything they do here in Xillia?

The floating block is a monster that gives lots of XP. It hurts pretty badly, you can't really combo it, and your attacks do practically nothing. Its really easy to guard against though and if you're willing to waste a couple minutes whittling it down you'll likely be rewarded with a level up.

DarkRPGMaster · August 2013

From what I read on the forums, you get up to 5 gold stars, but getting them requires 9999 uses, and the boosts coming from them are the same across the board. Most you'll want is 2000 uses for the 2/3 TP cost (which also gets you all the power and crit boosts)

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

I'm currently returned to Fennmont and am stuck trying to find a certain someone in the city. Currently sitting around level 30 my stores are sitting around 40. I'm really enjoying exploring and trying to find all the Aifred treasure boxes for the different acessories, skill books, and of course money.

My wife and I are using the exact same party. Milla, Jude, Elize, and Leia.

So far though Linking has annoyed me. Cause I notice that with linking certain members won't move till the other attacks which annoys. I will admit my wife and I just use auto battle most of the time cause the game probably has a better idea of skill usage then we do. Now admittedly I think the skits involving Rowen are just mad awesome. And Elize's Negative gate is awesome.

My wife would like to state this game is really long, we're still in chapter 2 at around 20 hours. She does admit Tales games tend to be longer then most rpgs but this one actually FEELS longer and not that it is long. She is enjoying the leveling system. "This is what the Sphere Grid Shoulda been"

Ryan Radcliff · August 2013

Jeez 9999 uses. I had played Graces for 140 hours and I don't think I have any of those artes at 9999 uses. lol

~

Ok, I was wondering if the blocking thing was a glitch. I will try and get back and fight him because I assume there is a monster title or something.

DarkRPGMaster · August 2013

The floating block is a level 80+ monster, from what I saw on hard mode. It 1-shotted my level 25 characters...so I don't suggest fighting it.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

The Blocks are listed as Bosses in the Enemy book

DarkRPGMaster · August 2013

TheAnimeMan wrote: »

The Blocks are listed as Bosses in the Enemy book

Friend of mine confirmed you get 5K exp whenever you kill them.

Ryan Radcliff · August 2013

I like a good challenge. Guess I will try my luck on it after work!

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

There are actually different ones. There are bronze ones too in a zone but I don't know which one

Ryan Radcliff · August 2013

Well I have seen the stone looking one in the forest. That's the only one I have seen so far. Can't say how hard it is because I haven't fought it myself. Would be fun if we collectively kept track of all the rare monsters we come across. Could be useful for other players and the late comers to the game as well.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

Well any monster can "rare" according to game as those are stronger then the regular version but you get 2x xp and money for them

So once you complete the first Lilium Orb (Level 39) you get a second one to work on thats pretty cool

DarkRPGMaster · August 2013

Hard mode isn't that hard for the regular fights. Bosses however, become as challenging as they were in Tales of Symphonia, but are still doable once you notice the various things they do, and come up with counters for them. For example, one boss is a flyer and loves to go high in the air. Either use earth spells to knock it down, or bring Jude, Milla, or Alvin to the air to bring the fight to him.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

So in Chapter 3 and things have hit the fan ... with a bazooka. I will send the last boss fight of Chapter 2 gave me issues ON EASY. My god he was the first boss I had to break out healing items for heavily.

Although they do not do the whole "Oh you beat this dude wait new guy." They actually set it up beforehand. Plot wise very interesting.

Edit: Also the game makes no distinction between Easy and Hard and you get the same XP and Gald for winning no matter the difficulty

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

So gotten to the end of Chapter 3. Having a good time now and things have gotten interesting.

Spoiler:

Milla is dead and not the TRUE Maxwell, Alvin is in a pit of dispair, and Milla's sister Muzet is tearing up the place.

. Last fight for Chapter 3 isn't as bad as the one for Chapter 2

Typho · August 2013

Just started this yesterday so I'm a little behind most of you.

Anyways, I just got to Nia Khera and did some of the events there. Now I'm off to the shrine to perform a ritual. I will echo some of the sentiments about the amount of monsters on the field. It seems a bit much. Although I will say that the rewards for exploring are pretty nice. Also, I love the way that the map automatically marks the gathering points for next time you run through the area.

The only thing I will say is that the game kind of started a bit slow. I'm playing as Jude, and I'm not sure if starting as Milla makes a difference here. Here's to hoping that the story picks up a bit. It doesn't really have its hooks in me quite yet.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

Typho wrote: »

Just started this yesterday so I'm a little behind most of you.

Anyways, I just got to Nia Khera and did some of the events there. Now I'm off to the shrine to perform a ritual. I will echo some of the sentiments about the amount of monsters on the field. It seems a bit much. Although I will say that the rewards for exploring are pretty nice. Also, I love the way that the map automatically marks the gathering points for next time you run through the area.

The only thing I will say is that the game kind of started a bit slow. I'm playing as Jude, and I'm not sure if starting as Milla makes a difference here. Here's to hoping that the story picks up a bit. It doesn't really have its hooks in me quite yet.

You get different views on events while playing as one or the other

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

My wife is says the if any one wants to start this up play as Jude first, the events in Milla's story really only make sense after playing as Jude.

DarkEiraStar · August 2013

I don't play a lot of tales games, but I can say that I am enjoying this one. I'm playing as Milla but I feel for a first play through you should really start with Jude. My husband is playing as Jude and I can honestly say that there is quite a lot that you miss out on. Granted Milla story allows you to understand her better as a character. You get to see the entire story with Jude and for Milla its just summarized for you after the fact.

Spoiler:

Chapter 3 is much shorter for Milla than Jude.

riulyn · August 2013

I'm only 4 hours into the game with Milla, so I may take your advice and start a playthrough with Jude.

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

Sadly so much spoilers now. In other none spoiler news. Beat 4 of the 6 Devil Beasts (Fel Arm Beasts)

Spoiler:

So got into a fight with true maxwell, kicked his *** and proceeded to convince him that the Schism is wrong. However Gaius interrupts and decides to attack Elympios to destroy all Spyrix's so they will stop threatening Reiza Maxia. Also found the great spirit Volt which is a fun fight. And they have found that Spyrite is a comprimise that won't kill spirits but will produce energy for Elympios.

ChickenGod · August 2013

I know this is unintentional Anime, but can you try to put a couple sentences before using the spoiler tags please? The 'Whats New?' and "Latest Post' features don't cover up spoilers. :(

TheAnimeMan · August 2013

ChickenGod wrote: »

I know this is unintentional Anime, but can you try to put a couple sentences before using the spoiler tags please? The 'Whats New?' and "Latest Post' features don't cover up spoilers. :(

Was totally not aware of that CG. I'll keep that in mind for future

Confessor Rahl · August 2013

I am having a blast with this one. Love the characters, especially the little doll (drawing a blank on the name). I also love love love the shop system. The story is epic so far, and I have logged 11 hours in the last two days. That's a recent record for me!

ChickenGod · August 2013

Its good to see everyone else is enjoying Xillia as well. I agree with Rahl and others that the shop system is very well done. Gald isn't super easy to get, and even if you manage to buy the team a good set of equipment at once, expanding it constantly always ensures that the player will be balancing gold and equipment options for most of the game. Its far too easy these days to reach a shop, buy everything without a second thought, then move on all the while never having to pay any heed to the amount of money earned.

Myself, I just reached Chapter 3, and at this point I think it may well supplant Vesperia as my favorite Tales. Lots of interesting stuff has happened, and this is the one time where it may be a little difficult to guess what happened from Jude's point of view as a Milla player.

In particular I'm finding many of the skits attempts at humor to be pretty good for a JRPG.

Spoiler:

The skit about bazongas, Teepo motorboating Milla, Milla mentioning her favorite animals are humans, Jude and that new person "Tethering",

and some other gems in there from Rowen are really refreshing. The cast of characters is just fantastic, with Milla and Rowen leading the way. Speaking of which, their Linked Arts appear to be the most devastating in the game thus far. Raging Mist that I just recently got access to can literally wipe some encounters on hard with just one cast.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

Tales of Xillia: Playthrough and Discussion

Comments