Title: Tales of Xillia 2
Console: PS3
Genre: Action RPG, Fantasy
Language: Japanese
Company: Namco
Summary: Direct sequel of Tales of Xillia.

The original ToX was so easy to platinum that I started going back to Graces F and Vesperia to attempt to platinum those too, but those titles are going to require me extra gameplay/s. They will take me longer than I first anticipated.

Just got my ToX2 in the mail (11/13) and I ended up starting it that night! I got to the end of chapter 3 in just a couple hours… I’m assuming the rest of the game isn’t going to that fast. I do worry that this whole “choice” system is a soddy excuse to make the game seem longer when you replay it instead of actually providing more content, but I could be utterly wrong and get a pleasant surprise. Best to lower my expectations and then get something better out of it :P

Cleared the game with both normal and true ending, still need to get the bad ending in a second playthrough (I can’t bring myself to get a bad ending first time through and I forgot to keep a seperate save for it– Got that bad ending… Also, I found out recently that the bad ending is required for 200 grade points, which I find lame). In the end, I would pretty much say this is a gameplay improvement compared to the first game (which is honestly not hard to do). Mostly because of 3 additional playable characters, which provides for a much wider spectrum of link artes–and possibly more once I get through more of the post-game material. Story-wise, I generally preferred the first game for personal reasons, however.

Story:
Characters:
Graphics: Not nearly as many animated scenes from ufotable this time, which disappointed me. The 3D cutscenes are still beautifully done, however. But the fact that the ending for ToX was completely ufotable animated, I don’t think they made it to the bar they set themselves.
Gameplay:
Replay Value:
Overall: 9. Gonna give it the same score as the original for now because while there are a good array of gameplay improvements, I don’t feel the story or other parts of the game in general really overdid the original in any way. Another BIG hit to the score to keep me from bringing it up is all the lag in battles. I know the PS3’s 512mb ram is weak, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for game developers to make laggy games. Despite all that, ToX2 is a very solid and enjoyable, worthwhile experience!

I forgot to check EXACTLY how many hours it took to clear the game since I did a bunch of hours of post-game after it, but it was DEFINITELY under 30 hours, even with doing all the character episodes. The skits feel skimpier this round as well, though there are still some nice gems in there of course. Pretty disappointing length-wise… XD;;

I do find it rather intriguing how they purposely do not have Ludger speak his lines during the first playthrough (it’s unlocked with a 0-grade option in a new game+). It could be what’s giving me this empty feeling, so I will definitely use it in my second playthrough. Unfortunately, since I already know the full story already, I’m afraid it won’t change my overall first impression in the end. :\ Not a favorable decision to force the voices off, imo.

12/2015 comments: Fiance’s comments about Ludger’s playstyle have brought to my attention how awesome that playstyle is, lol. Having 16 different action keys for artes on 3 different weapons, for a total of 48 different artes accessible to you with good ease… It’s amazing and definitely the best gameplay point about Xillia 2, and one of the best points within the Tales series in general. I absolutely can’t believe they would bring the 16 artes down to 4 for Zestiria… I hope they bring the 16 back in the next mothership title.

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