Tales of Xillia

The thirteenth title in the Tales franchise for PlayStation 3.

Overview

Tales of Xillia is the 13th main line entry in the Tales series of action RPGs by Namco. The game was developed for the PlayStation 3 and was released in Japan on September 8, 2011 to celebrate the franchise's 15th anniversary. Tales of Xillia was released 2 years later in North America on August 6, 2013 and in other Western territories soon after.

A direct sequel, Tales of Xillia 2, was released in Japan on November 1, 2012, with a slated 2014 release for North America and Europe.

Development

Tales of Xillia was announced under the working title "Next Tales of" on August 2, 2010 as the 13th mothership title in the Tales franchise.

The game's staff stated during Xillia's development that the game would break new ground and that players would be stunned when they saw the game running in real-time on PlayStation 3. The game promised to retain all the good points of the Tales franchise as well as introducing new play elements to create a title like never before.

The game featured a different visual approach compared to past games in the franchise with a focus on contrasts between light and shadow. The character design for the game were done by both of the Tales series' main character designers, Kousuke Fujishima (Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia) and Mutsumi Inomata (Tales of Destiny, Tales of Graces). Studio Ufotable animated the cut-scenes in Xillia instead of Production I.G, who traditional did the animation for the series.

Tales of Xillia is the first Tales game to feature two different main protagonists. You can follow either the story of Jude Mathis, a med student, or Milla Maxwell, who is the master of all spirits.

Story

In the world of Rieze Maxia humans and spirits live in perfect harmony. Humans use spirits to channel useful arts, while the spirits feed on a special mana lobe situated in human brains. When this delicate balance comes in danger, because of the machinations of the Rashugal king Nachtigal, the master of all spirits (in the human form of Milla Maxwell) sets out to prevent the extinction of humans and spirits alike.

On her journey she encounters Jude Mathis, a med student, that at first only wants to find out what happened to his professor, who stood in Nachtigal's service, but soon finds himself drawn to Milla and her quest.

Together with, Alvin, a seemingly easygoing mercenary, Elise Lutus, a child prodigy and her trusty sidekick in the form of an animated toy called Teepo, Rowen J. Illbert, a former military strategist, now butler for a noble household and Leia Rolando, Jude's childhood friend, they set out on a journey to stop Nachtigal, and the shadowy forces behind him.

Characters

Jude Mathis

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Jude is a young teen who has ventured away from his hometown to become a med student at the capital.

For better or worse, he has a tendency to involve himself with other people's problems. As a result, he gets wrapped up in a journey far beyond his control. Generally, he is a quiet, book-smart person that doesn't like physical violence. However, he posses highly competent melee fighting skills that greatly help his allies in combat.

He looks up to Milla for her strength and conviction, traits he feels he lacks, and so he travels with her to learn form her ways.

Milla Maxwell

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Milla is Maxwell the Lord of all spirits. She is accompanied by the Four Great Spirts of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.

She is bound by her strong sense of responsibility and duty. She will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Though is incredibly wise beyond her years,k her lack social capacities has left her void of basic social etiquette. Even the most trivial customs of humans are of great interest to her.

Through her travels with Jude, she slowly gains a greater understanding of humanity and their emotions.

Alvin

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Alvin is self proclaimed "freelance mercenary".

Having traveled across much of Rieze Maxia, his boasts are backed up by real skill. He interacts with everyone in a good-humored and frank manner, always at ease and acting with maturity.

Although he can appear to be operating without much forethought, he actually tends to calculate things quite carefully. He is skilled at sensing other people's feelings. He doesn't speak much about himself, and uses his charming facade to carefully hide what he is truly thinking. He is a an excellent fighter, both with a gun and a sword.

Though he claims to be working for money, there seems to be a more complicated reason for his actions.

Elize Lutus

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Elize is a young girl capable of high powered summoning far beyond her 12 years of age.

She is constantly accompanied by Teepo, a strange animated doll. She was raised in isolation and has had very little experience interacting with other people, seriously lacking conversational skills. She is especially nervous when meeting someone for the first time.

She has a strong longing for the very existence of friends. For that reason, she quickly comes to trust Jude and the others, who accept her as a friend and take her out into the world, where she does the best she can to help them out with her powerful channeling.

Rowen J. Illbert

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Rowen serves as a butler in the House Sharil, one of the high houses in Rashugal.

He is renowned war strategist who supports the group trough intellect, rather than brute force. Despite his intimidating battle record, he often carries himself with exceptional grace and finesse.

Rowen posses great skill in the world of spirit artes to help complement his fencing prowess. His analytical ability allows him to always be one step ahead of his opponents.

Leia Rolando

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Leia is Jude's childhood friend and has a very bright and spunky personality.

She's a hard worker who, not only helps at her resident inn, but also acts as a nurse at Jude's family clinic.

As an outdoor person, she delves heavily into martial arts and sports. Regardless of what she's doing, she believes giving it your all is the most important thing. She tends to beat herself up for her mistakes and shortcomings, but that won't stop her from standing up and trying again.

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