Tales of Xillia

Tales of Xillia (テイルズ オブ エクシリア) is the thirteenth main title in the Tales series. It was released in Japan on September 8, 2011, and its characteristic genre name is RPG of Unwavering Convictions (揺るぎなき信念のＲＰＧ). On March 28, 2012, Bandai Namco Games trademarked Tales of Xillia in the United States and Europe, and the game is released on August 6, 2013 and in Europe on August 9, 2013. A sequel to the game, titled Tales of Xillia 2, was announced at Tales of Festival 2012, set one year after the original story.

Characters

 * Jude Mathis: A fifteen-year-old medical student currently studying at a hospital in the metropolis city of Fennmont, capital of Rashugal. He has a calm and composed attitude but also has impulsive moments, and often gets in trouble due to his meddlesome nature. He uses his fists in battle, similar to Senel Coolidge. His "Snap Pivot" ability allows him to evade an attack and move behind the enemy in a single motion. He is voiced by Tsubasa Yonaga.


 * Milla Maxwell: A mysterious 20-year-old girl who can control or summon all four types of elemental spirit, Efreet, Gnome, Sylph, and Undine. She claims to have traveled from a hidden shrine in the mountains after sensing the destruction of a vast number of spirits. She is ruthless when it comes to her goal of protecting the world. She will do anything to protect the world without showing any hesitation and is disgusted by those who feel they bear no responsibility to the world. She is very honest and straightforward. Though claiming that she has the most superior spirit intellect, she has no idea of how to live as a human being and has moments of airheadedness. She uses swords in battle. Her "Spirit Shift" ability lets her convert her regular spells into special altered artes that can be cast instantly. She is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro.


 * Alvin: An 26-year-old mercenary who has been travelling the world for some time. He has a very good reputation for getting the job done and delivering what is needed of him. Though very friendly, mature and composed, he has some moments where he only thinks about himself. He always tries his best to keep low profile about him. However, It has been known that he is secretly very calculating and manipulative. He dual-wields a sword and a gun in battle. His "Charge" ability lets him combine his gun and sword to boost the power of an arte. He is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.


 * Leia Rolando: A fifteen-year-old apprentice nurse and childhood friend of Jude. She is very bright and mostly seen happy, She will always try to cheer everyone up and help them get rid of their problems. Leia is employed at a clinic owned by Jude's family in his hometown of Leronde, and she also works as the "poster girl" for her family's inn. Her kind demeanour and cute appearance contrasts sharply with her rabid love of sports and fighting competitions, though she values effort over victory. Her favoured weapons are staff-types. Her "Elongating Staff" ability lets her extend the reach of her weapon by increasing its length. She is voiced by Saori Hayami.


 * Elize Lutus: A twelve-year-old from the mountain village of Hamil in Auj Oule. She is a master of Summoning Spirit Artes despite the fact that she is still very young but is incredibly shy due to the eerie and strange environment in which she was raised. She carries a purple doll called Teepo, which does most of the talking for her. Though she dislikes the company of most people, she extremely adores Jude, who rescued her from the persecution she suffered in her home town, In fact, she states that Jude is her first very best friend. Her special ability is "Teepo Switching", which has two modes. During "Teepo On" Teepo rides on her back, enabling ranged attacks from her staff and increasing the strength of her summoning artes. During "Teepo Off", Teepo hovers around her, enabling melee attacks that are delivered through Teepo and allowing it to protect Elize while she is casting. Elize is voiced by Yuki Horinaka and Teepo is voiced by Haruna Ikezawa.


 * Rowen J. Ilbert: A 62-year-old butler in the noble, high class Sharil family and his Master, Lord Cline Sharil. He is the oldest of all the playable characters. Rowen has a very calm demeanor about himself. At tense moments, he tends to use humor to calm things down. He believes time is precious and it should not be wasted. He is a specialist at long distance spirit based attacks but also an expert at using a saber for melee attacks. His special ability is "Tuning" which powers up his spells in various ways. Rowen is voiced by Mugihito Terada.

Plot
The game is set in Rieze Maxia, a world where humans and monsters coexist with spirits. The spirits support human civilization by granting wishes, such as the ability to channel mana as Spirit Power, and in turn are protected by those wishes. The most powerful of these spirits is a being called Maxwell, though its true nature is unknown. In Rieze Maxia, there are two main countries vying for supremacy. Rashugal is an empire with a long history whose free use of Spirit Power has granted it incredible majesty and prosperity. Auj Oule is a developing country whose power is derived from the control of monsters and the might of its military.

Jude Mathis is a young medical student studying in Fennmont, the capital of Rashugal. After a large number of patients are admitted to his hospital following a failed Spirit Arte at a military base, he decides to investigate the cause and meets Milla Maxwell, a mysterious girl who is investigating the recent deaths of a number of spirits. Inside the base they discover a terrible secret and are forced to flee, pursued by Rashugal's military. Milla discovers that she has lost the ability to summon spirits, and the two are only saved thanks to the intervention of Alvin, a wandering mercenary. Safe for now, the three of them decide to travel to the shrine Milla claims she originated from in order to redo a ritual that will help Milla regain her lost powers. On their way, they meet Elize Lutus and Rowen J. Ilbert, who join their party. Stopping by Jude's hometown of Leronde, they meet Jude's childhood friend, Leia Rolando, an apprentice nurse. She joins them to search for a valuable ore that is needed to cure a particular sickness within the town.

Presentation
Tales of Xillia is the first game to have an over-the-shoulder camera, as opposed to the top-down camera of previous Tales games.

Battle System
The battle system is known as the Double Raid Linear Motion Battle System (DR-LMBS), which involves two characters teaming up in combat for maximum effectiveness. The character directly controlled by the player is known as the "Master", while the AI partner supports the Master by taking actions such as surrounding the enemy or protecting the Master's rear flank. In addition, both characters can team up and perform powerful unified attacks called "Link Artes" by filling up a gauge during "Link Mode" and then performing certain prerequisite moves. For example, Jude's Demon Fang and Milla's Wind Lance trigger the Link Arte Final Gale. Characters can also share support skills through Link Mode. Technical Points (TP) are included, and normal attacks are performed using a new system called the Assault Counter, a system similar to the Chain Capacity system in Tales of Destiny and Tales of Graces, where attacks remain connected as long as AC points are available. Each character also possesses a ability called a "Special Characteristic" that influences his or her combat style, such as Jude's "Snap Pivot" ability.

Leveling System
Instead of the traditional leveling systems used in the other games the series, players use a grid system to level up their characters by spending Growth Points (GP). GP is used to enhance one of six stats: strength, vitality, intelligence, spirit, agility, and dexterity. The grid also contains nodes with artes and skills between the core six stats. Players can reveal those by connecting to adjacent nodes. There is an additional flower under the grid, which grows based on the level of the grid.