TALES OF XILLA REVIEW So I FINALLY beat Tales of Xilla! It only took me about 3 1/2 months to do it! (Dang big girl job)! :p So I wanted to write a little review (well, rather a HUGE review) on it like I did with Tales of Graces. Dont worry, there will be no spoilers! So as most of you know, not too long ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Tales series by Bobby Pennell, a friend of mind. So I picked up Tales of Graces from my local Gamestop, and immediately fell in love with the game the moment i started playing. It made me laugh, cry, and rage at the TV screen. The game was amazing. So I got super excited when the next game in the series came out, Tales of Xilla. Graces was amazing, so this had to be just as great! Well...I was kind of wrong. I know a lot of people who have played the game and would greatly disagree with me. *dodges tomatoes being thrown*. However, i wouldnt go as far to say the game was god awful, but it definitely could have been better. So here is a slight breakdown of the games different elements: Plot: Okay, so this game had one of those stories where it had so much potential, but the writers ended up dropping the ball partway through. It was a very elaborate story to the point where I had no idea what was going on or WHY I was even fighting the bad guys. The story was very scattered, and it took me awhile to finally understand what the heck was going on, and honestly, even after beating the game Im still not 100% sure if I interpreted the game correctly. Characters: Overall, the game has some pretty likeable characters. There were a few that were quite bland and forgettable, while others you just couldnt help but love. JRPGs have a habit of making that one single annoying character that you simply cant stand, but luckily this game had no characters like that. I prefer video games that give me characters that are complex and interesting. I need to be able to develop a bond with the characters and feel for them in whatever situation they may be in. In Xilla, I found it very hard to have any sort of emotional attachment to the characters, which was very disappointing. Voice Acting: JRPGs are also notoriously guilty of having terrible English voice acting tracks, and this game is no exception. The voice acting was horrible, but it was tolerable once you got used to it. However, my biggest complaint is with the voice actor chosen to play Milla (one of the games main female protagonists, meaning you get to hear this character talk A LOT). The voice actor just could NOT pronounce the letter S correctly, meaning it sounded like she had a lisp when she talked. I am not saying this in a mean way, as maybe the voice actor does have a legitimate medical condition such as lisp, and if thats the case, I am happy to see the developers give her a chance at voice acting. However, it literally made me cringe every time she talked, and it was hard to take her character seriously. Overtime it got very annoying, but I sucked it up so it wouldnt deter me from playing the game. Music. This was on of the games strongest points. Tales of Graces had amazing music as well, and Xilla did not disappoint me in this category. The opening theme is sung by Ayumi Hamasaki, one of my favorite Japanese singers (so my opinion may be a little biased :P ) Its very catchy and fits the opening animation sequence perfectly. Evey boss battle music was upbeat, so listening to the same tune over and over again was not an issue. They used the perfect beat and tone for every situation. Battle System: LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! Did I mention i loved it? There were so many different attacks and combos to choose from! The game allows you to link with other characters in your party to give you new abilities and combos. The leveling system kind of reminded me of Final Fantasy 10 with the grid system. I was able to customize my characters the way I wanted them. There is also limit breaks and skills you can learn and equip. There are so many different styles and ways to fight, that even level grinding wasnt so tedious! No battle was ever boring! Cut Scenes/Animation: My opinion is a little biased on this as well, since I love when games incorporate anime style sequences in the game. The art was beautiful and brightly colored. Cut scenes were kept to an acceptable duration, and there was a perfect balance of fighting and watching cut scenes. So yeah...thats my review. Not the most eloquently written, but I think I got my message across. If you are a fan of the Tales series, then play the game, just dont expect it to compare to the other games in the series. Overall, I dont regret playing it, but it was a shame that this game did not hold up to the expectations the other games provided. I just recently picked up Tales of Symphonia, which I am told is the best game in the series. Im keeping my fingers crossed :)
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 04:04:19 +0000
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