Tales of Xillia Remastered – Review

Bandai Namco has once again given us a classic masterpiece out of the Tales series. As many Tales fans know, Tales of Xillia was one of the most popular Tales games released in 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and was awarded the Gold Prize from the PlayStation Awards 2011 and the Award of Excellence from the Famitsu Awards. Though there were criticisms about the game, it created a huge fan base that expanded outside of the gaming world, and now, players will get a chance to experience it in a newly remastered game.

Tales of Xillia is a story of two protagonists. Jude Mathis, a medical student searching for his missing professor, witnesses a powerful weapon called the Lance of Kresnik that absorbs his teacher. Upon being ambushed, he is saved by Milla Maxwell, who is known to be the successor to the Maxwell lineage. However, the lance suddenly activates, which absorbs the spirits contracted to Milla, and they have no choice but to recover them and learn the truth about the world they live in alongside their allies.

The story of the game is quite interesting, especially at the beginning, when we get to choose who we want to be as the protagonist. Either Milla or Jude, learning more about the other from their perspectives. For those who are new to this game, I would recommend first playing as Jude and, after finishing the game, choosing Milla’s story, as it will reveal many important parts where it manages to fill in plot gaps. This feature is one of the most standout features among the Tales series and provides great motivation.

The visuals of this remastered game are better than its original release. The character models appear more detailed and enhanced, with a contrast that makes their color palette more lively than ever. Because of this, the game has managed to keep itself updated with other active Tales games like Arise, Zestria, and even Berseria. However, despite playing it on the PlayStation 5, there have been mixed feelings about playing the game on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, as many gamers have a hard time seeing the upgraded graphics of the game, and I was expecting that it would be something to get on with a portable device.

An example is when exploring the maps in the game, PS5 players can actively see where the path of the forest leads and can see obstacles in 4K quality. However, in the case of the Switch and Switch 2 ports, the rendition time of the map takes a while as you need to move constantly to see where to go, and I think that would be something that should be addressed to the developers, especially if they want to bring the Tales game outside the usual consoles.

Whenever playing a Tales game, there would be a certain feature that would give us a funny conversation among the characters, and that would be the Skit System. These features consist of short mini-chats between the current party members. These skits are typically brief, but they add so much to the overall story and help the world feel much more alive. Not only that, we can see how we interact with one another and love to joke around, giving a sense of entertainment, and this is one of the reasons I love playing the series.

The combat system of this remaster is more enriched and has a quality of challenges to master, as it features the classic side-view battle system. Those who were first introduced to the PS2 era of gaming will be familiar with but those who are new to it will face quite some trouble. Luckily, the visuals for this game have improved, making it easier to navigate. The Link Gauge feature is one of the most important combat features for this game, as it allows players to trigger special attacks known as Linked Artes. These moves combine the powers of two of your chosen characters in the party and unleash a series of powerful attacks that can defeat even the hardest bosses or high-level enemies in the vicinity.

The quality of life improvements of Tales of Xillia Remastered have been seen from the beginning to the end of the game. With the chance of getting more materials at the beginning of the game to either build or upgrade the Shop system to get better items and weapons, these iconic settings will give a chance to returning players and fans of this game to play once more when choosing a high difficulty. Plus, the DLCs added to this game are totally worth your buck as we get to use iconic costumes from previous Tales games and other costumes that lift one’s spirits.

Tales of Xillia Remastered is a good game despite being released on the PlayStation 3, and being remastered all the way to the major consoles of today, the game feels more modern, and the remastered features add a great complement to today’s gaming experience. Though it would be recommended that this game be played on either the PC or the PlayStation 5, and not on the Nintendo Switch, if you want high-quality graphics on your screen.