The video previews the "choice" theme where players can make decisions using the R1 and L1 buttons to change the course of the game as well as R-LMBS (Cross Double Raid-Linear Motion Battle System). The main character uses a "gun/sword/hammer" fighting style that allows the players to "weapon-shift" between dual swords, dual guns, or a hammer nearly instantaneously.
The game, which is set one year after the ending of the first Tales of Xillia, will arrive this winter.
First impressions:
At the end of the actual trailer, before the gameplay commentary, the line delivered by the protagonist (?) is "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
Where is the main cast from the first one?
Not sure if I like the new battle system mechanic. The double swords looks really awkward, and the hammer much more so.
OH GOD I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO READ.
Looks like they're using the exact engine from the first game for animations and world graphics, with a new combat system (though how different this may be is likely low).
Hopefully, Tales of Xillia save data will impact the game in some way and they've improved on some of the issues consumers were complaining about (game length, arte variety, character development outside of Jude/Milla, etc).
You can click the logo at the top to view the Tales Series thread which should have the most up-to-date information available. I'd rather not copy-paste everything from there.
2012-06-02, 08:15 PM
Justin
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
I have mixed feelings on this one. I'm curious about the other characters, because the two that were shown don't interest me all that much at a quick glance.
2012-06-02, 09:33 PM
Hanabira.Kage
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Are you kidding me? The Dual Swords animation looks really cool. The Dual Guns though...could still be improved on.
The "What? Thank You" was said by the guy presenting the video to the crowd watching it.
Anyway, what intrigues me is the logo. The guy on the left is obviously Ludgar, but the guy on the right looks like a demonic version of Ludgar. Does it represent a morality system or multiple endings or something along those lines?
In any case, if he wants to destroy the world, he'll have to kill Milla first since she's practically its goddess. Oh the horror.
2012-06-02, 09:55 PM
FelixTM
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Looks amazing! I think the battle system looks good so far, and I'm VERY happy about the branching paths/choices addition. I love that kind of thing.
I'm really happy and excited I have two more Tales games to look forward to. Still feeling the void in my chest from finishing Graces f.
2012-06-03, 02:27 AM
Hanabira.Kage
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by FelixTM
Still feeling the void in my chest from finishing Graces f.
This for me. With the addition of finishing Xillia and seeing its oh-so-rushed ending.
2012-06-03, 09:14 AM
Sarah
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
I've seen people all over the internet complaining about how "dark" this looks, and that it looks "western" because it's not incredibly colourful. Those people are obviously idiots. I really, really like dirty/gloomy feeling I got from the video. was getting kind of tired of every jRPG these days being beautiful, vibrant cell-shading. This is still cell-shaded but it's far more subdued and kind of sleek. I love it.
2012-06-03, 11:56 AM
Kizo
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
More appeal to the Western gamers? I have yet to played the 1st game.
I hope both games get releasee in the US..
2012-06-03, 05:11 PM
JoeTang
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
It looks dark and western because the part of Xillia it takes place in looks like that durr.
I'd elaborate on what makes the story interesting, but it's rather large spoilers in my opinion.
2012-09-28, 01:13 AM
JoeTang
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Thought I'd update this thread. Yesterday/Today (I think?), they announced that Jude and Milla are playable characters for your party, meaning the full cast from the original game is available.
Pre-orders appears to come with a "Tales of Xillia 2 -Before Episode-" Light Novel prequel, custom themes for your PS3, and the following costumes
Ludger: Emil Castagnier (Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World)
Jude: Yuri Lowell (Tales of Vesperia)
Milla: Asbel Lhant (Tales of Graces)
They also invoke the respective game's battle music, much like every other cameo costume in each game. I didn't particularly like the Cress/Stahn costumes from the first one, but these look pretty good. I believe the costumes and custom themes fall under a "first order" type thing, where the first batch of games will automatically come with them on a first come first serve basis, and pre-orders obviously guarantee getting them, but aren't necessary?
Given that, only the previous cast and Ludger are confirmed as playable characters, and every other character seen thus far is likely to only remain as an NPC, which includes Elle, who was announced as an NPC since the beginning, Julius, Ludger's brother, and Lulu the cat. There is still seemingly enough room in the "Party character" page on the website to have more though.
This video is dated Sept 19, and you can clearly see Jude and Milla in the party, so I don't know if that was something they forgot to edit out, or they just didn't care.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ufF5f27TTfw
A series of new TV spots. Not really sure what the catch says since my reading ability is very poor.
Ludger?: "She's important, isn't she? Then it's a given that I'll protect her."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=tDN8RQDXqEI
Second of the new trailers showing Jude and Milla. The catch says "Those two and a new journey." referencing Jude and Milla.
Milla: "Distort the world?
Jude: "I'm going too. I have a responsibility in this."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo10f...layer_embedded
Third of the new trailers showing Julius. The catch says "A battle with his brother and..."
Julius: "Don't waver, Ludger. Once you've lost it, it's too late."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
From what I've seen on the website, outside of some screenshots of what appear to be new artes (HOORAY), it appears the old characters will function nearly identically to the first game. The game will continue using the AC and TP system, where AC is like CC in Graces, so you're limited from spamming, and TP functions like it would in any other game.
The weakness system is improved with the addition of Slash, Strike, and Shot, whereas the original only had the elements Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Light, and Dark. The elements Lightning, and Ice did Fire/Wind, and Water/Earth dual element damage respectively.
The Partner Skills are stated to be the same, and function the same way. Ludger's Partner Skill is "Mirror Link", which mimics the same Partner Skill of the Master character when Ludger is the Slave. There are a new set of Link Artes, called "Common Link Artes" which I believe can be used by any character linked with Ludger, and it just depends on his weapon type which Link Arte appears. I think it's activated by using "Weapon Switch".
It appears they've further branched away from multiplayer support (ToX sucked for that anyways), with Ludger's Bone Husk Gauge, where the other party members disappear.
One of the new systems they've added is a relationship type system that improves through Linking. This is hopefully going to be similar to Tales of Heart's Soma Link Relationship system, where characters who participate in battle with each other will strengthen their relationships and provide passive bonuses, such as stats, and even passive skills. You got Grade in ToX from using Link Skills/Link Time with different pairs/Partner Support Skill activation, but this would be much more rewarding.
There also appears to be a more in-depth Quest system, which was one of the things ToX touted when it was first announced, Sub-Events.
I also saw a scan of what appears to be the box art, and it has Ludger, Elle, Jude, Milla, Leia, Alvin, Rowan, Elise, Musee, and Gaius, so hopefully they're playable as well... but as I say that, I reach over and grab my Xillia box and see that Musee and Gaius are on the cover of that too so...
Also, if I haven't clarified this, the title line "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?" means "how far are you (Ludger) willing to go for the sake of one girl (Elle)? Do you have the same determination that it would take to destroy the world?"
Anyways, my hopes are that they add a TOOOOOOOOOOON more stuff, and if they keep the Liliale Orbs (which I spent a pineappleton of time mapping out on Aselia Wiki for ToX), they expand it by two orbs, more rows, etc. (though that will be a peach to map) I also really really really really REALLY hope they add something that tells you what pineappleing bonus you get for arte usage counts. There's stars next to artes , 1 = 100, 2 = 200, 3 = 400, 1 gold star = 1000, 2 = 2000, 3 = 4000, MASTER = 9999, but it doesn't tell you ANYWHERE what bonus it gives to a skill. I had to google it that you eventually get +Link Gauge Rate, reduced TP Cost, etc. for every skill, but some skills like Demon Fang gets +Range, +Projectile Speed, +Penetration, and it's just stupid that you get some hidden bonus the game doesn't tell you about that's usually hardly noticeable. I spent a lot of time testing a lot of different skills to find out what they did, and a lot of skills don't get anything special at all... Even JP guides don't know all of it since it's so... insignificant? At least you guys can make use of it when ToX comes out if they don't have some guide book.
2012-09-28, 04:51 AM
CarrionCrow
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
I can't begin to say how much i want an Eu release. The first Xillia is at least bound to get released here. Guess it will depend on the sales on the first if we are to get the sequel. Then again every other jrpg series have crashed like a drunk F1 driver on the PS3 for SUCK reasons. This is our last hope!
2012-09-28, 05:23 AM
Scaeva
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
I hope Xillia does well enough so that this one gets localized too. It looks really cool.
2012-09-29, 12:07 AM
Derosis
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah
I've seen people all over the internet complaining about how "dark" this looks, and that it looks "western" because it's not incredibly colourful. Those people are obviously idiots. I really, really like dirty/gloomy feeling I got from the video. was getting kind of tired of every jRPG these days being beautiful, vibrant cell-shading. This is still cell-shaded but it's far more subdued and kind of sleek. I love it.
You should play Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne / Digital Devilsaga (I & II). Dark Cell Shaded through and through.
I really liked Xillia I. Hopefully this cross-branching style will be fun. Kinda like a Visual Novel to a degree even.
2012-09-29, 12:11 AM
Sarah
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derosis
You should play Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne / Digital Devilsaga (I & II). Dark Cell Shaded through and through.
>implying I don't own all of those games.
2012-09-29, 12:16 AM
Derosis
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah
>implying I don't own all of those games.
I don't live with you Sarah, I don't know what you own or don't own.
Start:
Elle:
"The land of Canaan?"
"A place that can grant wishes..."
"Okay, I promise"
Solider: "She's down below! Stop running!"
Elle: "Papa's pocket watch..."
"Where's papa?! Papa!"
1:10
Bisley: "I've been waiting for you."
"I want you to go meet with an Agent from my company."
Jude: "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Bisley: "The destruction of the Fragment World (分史世界)" (Terminology is new to this game, not sure what it is at this point, 分 means part, particularly in terms of time it means "minute", 史 means history, but I'm going to omit it because it sounds stupid)
Milla: "When the Fragment World is created, the energy from the souls existing in the Correct World (正史世界) will scatter
Jude: "And if we leave it alone, what will happen?"
Bisley: "Souls from the Correct World will perish. Humanity will become extinct."
-scene change-
Milla (1:34): "You seem pretty relaxed. You're being chased and you still have the time to be humming some song."
Julius: "It's a habit. An old song from my home..."
-scene change-
Julius (1:40): "Stop. The result will be bad for everyone involved."
Milla: "What is it that you know?"
Julius: "The heartlessness of Origin's judgement"
-scene change-
Reporter (2:04): "We're reporting that the terrorist known as Julius Will Kresnik is wanted on a national level"
Jude: "Why was the Fractured World born?"
Milla: "Some being pulling the strings"
(I assume the guy in the fight)?: "A member of the Kresnik family"
"Searching the Fractured World for the "?" are we?" (I cannot make out what the quoted kanji is).
Bisley(?): "Bone Husk is something that family was given... no... cursed to live with"
Milla (2:23): "You've tricked me!"
Elle: "Stop, Milla! This is Ludger's job!"
Milla: "As if a job to destroy the world could exist-"
Julius: "Ludger!... If it's important, protect it to the end, no matter how it changes" (Not 100% sure on the last part)
Elle (2:40): "It's a promise okay? Me and Ludger are going to the Land of Canaan! Promise!"
Skit!
Elise: "I wonder if something romantic could happen..."
Alvin: "Ooh. Princess Elise's finally grown up to the point where she has some lady-like conversations?"
Elle: "Geez, Alvin, you're annoying!"
Tipo: "It can't be helped. Alvin's at the age where he wants young people to look after him now" (i.e. senior citizen style look after implication)
Elise: "He's an old-man after all"
Elle: "Old man, old man!"
Milla: "Well, you're an old man now"
Alvin: "I am not an old man! Hey, Ludger, say something to these rude ladyfolk.!"
L1: "No, you're really an old man now"
R1: "Something..."
>R1
Alvin: "Hey Ludger... That's an old man joke you know..."
Lulu: "Meow"
Alvin: "Oh Lulu... You're the only one who understands a grown man's sorrow"
Julius: "The city, the peace, the people you know... If you lost it all..."
-There, now and [if]'s world-
Jude: "If it's destroyed, this world will disappear."
-Mixing, "Correct" and "Fragment"
?: "You've come to destroy this world, isn't that right, Ludger?"
-Determination and Conflict- (same determination in title catch)
?: "To grant that wish, your power is necessary"
-Character cuts-
Elle: "That's why I need to go to the Land of Canaan! Please, it's to save papa!"
Alvin: "I don't want to lie."
Leia: "I want to believe."
Elise: "Don't worry, they'll understand."
Rowen: "An old man doesn't have the time for regrets anymore."
Jude: "I want a world where humans and spirits can coexist together."
Milla: "Don't casually call my name like that"
-system demos-
woman: "Those with something to protect are strong."
-The thing before the choice is-
man: "You can't Ludger. That power will (do something to you)" (implied)
man: "If you continue to fight alone like this, one day your loneliness will consume you"
Elle: "It's okay! So don't come over here, Ludger!"
Jude: "There's no such thing as a mistake you can't correct. That's what I believe"
Milla: "I no longer have any meaning..." (lit. I no longer have anything to accomplish, context is from ToX, where Milla was all about her "mission" and her reason for existing, being Maxwell)
Elle: "LUDGER!!!1111one"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ozh77ry8Q1Q Ludger: Probably all seen this in the demo, but Ludger's ability is his weapon switch, between Dual Swords, Hammer, and Dual Pistols. It's activated by pressing L1 and R1 at the same time, and will switch to the next weapon. Pressing L1 and R2 will switch backwards. With each weapon, the artes activated from them will differ. Dual Swords have short reach, but focus on fast slashing type attacks which can pin enemies back. Hammer has long range and area of effect, but sacrifices speed. Dual Pistols do not deal a large amount of damage per hit, but have good supporting qualities, with high speed and shot-type damage; however, while using them, movement speed is reduced.
Ludger's link ability is Mirror. He copies the link ability of whoever he is linked with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=_QHWwW_bgBk Alvin: Alvin's Charge ability functions identically to as it did in ToX. After using an Arte, hold down the Arte Button to Charge up. You can see the Charge ability in action in the video, where he charges what I assume to be spirit energy into his pistol, and then put the pistol into his sword. If you have a Charge available, you spend it to perform a stronger version of the same arte you're activating. You unlock skills that allow you to hold more Charges at once. On the character page in Alvin's section, the second screenshot with the red flash shows Shunjinken - Houga, the charged arte version of Shunjinken (AKA Sonic Thrust). Shunjinken causes Alvin to dash forward a short distance and thrust at the enemy. Shunjinken - Houga would cause the thrust to pierce the enemy, and then lift them up before shooting them with his sword. They appear to have reworked the animation, as I don't recall that much red for the arte.
The first screenshot shows a new arte that was not in ToX, Charged Blow. It appears to be a new set of artes that are only available when you have a Charge, judging by the last line in his description.
Alvin's link ability is Guard Break. When Alvin is the Slave character, he has the ability to break the guard of a monster that's defending from the Master character's attacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=NaYFG2Fbof0 Leia: Leia's ability is 活伸棍術 (Kasshinkonjutsu, Expanding Staff Style). Her staff becomes enveloped in light and extended when Leia correctly dodges an enemy attack by backstepping, as visible in the video. This is a lot more difficult than ToG's dodging, and requires really good timing since the dodging itself is slow. The extension lasts a short duration, improvable through skills in ToX, and can also be activated from Flash Guard later on, which is a lot easier to achieve. Of the artes displayed, 円閃打 (Ensenda) is new. It appears to be Yuri's Shining Fang (円閃牙) except with a blunt weapon flavour to the text (打, Strike), instead of a sharp weapon (牙, Fang). One of the biggest complaints I (and presumably everyone else) had for ToX was that Leia had very few air-to-air combos available, despite having many ground-to-air attacks, i.e. ones that started on the ground and caused her to end up mid-air, and they've addressed this specifically, stating there's more aerial combo variety, as well as many new Martial Artes. She also had the same number of artes as everyone (except Jude and Milla since they're special), and since 8 her artes were single target healing/support spells, she ended up with fewer attacking (Martial) artes.
Leia's link ability is Item Steal. If the targeted monster is knocked down and Leia isn't doing anything as the Slave character (i.e. you're not in the middle of a basic link combo, or she's not casting a spell) she can run up to a monster and steal an item from it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=oiFfoHRzjLU Elise: Elise's ability is Switching Tipo. It is activated by pressing R3, and changes her combat style between two modes, Tipo ON, and Tipo OFF. Elise's Martial Artes use Tipo as the weapon, rather than her wand which is used as the basic attack. Tipo will usually change shape to attack the enemy depending on the arte. Elise's Spirit Magic focuses on area of effect healing like Cheria from ToG, whereas Leia takes care of single target like Sophie. She also has access to Dark-type attack spells.
With Tipo ON active, Tipo latches onto Elise's back light a knapsack (KAWAII), increasing her INT and Spirit Magic damage. Her Martial Artes focus on a ranged style as this mode is designed to use Spirit Magic. In ToX, Tipo ON would improve the pulling effect of Negative Gate, increase the chance of OHKO for Black Guide, and increase the number of hits on Flatters Dim. Her wand also releases projectiles with her basic attack instead of meleeing.
With Tipo OFF active, Tipo flies around Elise and is prominently used as a weapon, usually to bludgeon things, increasing Elise's STR. Most of her Martial Artes gain area of effect bonuses with Tipo OFF. Her basic attack uses her wand to melee.
Two new artes are exhibition-ed in this video. The first is a Spirit Magic Arte called Serpent's Bite (Bite appears to be written incorrectly though?). It appears to be very similar in style to Reap Will from ToG. The second arte is トランティポリ (Torantipori), though I don't understand what it means, it leaves her in mid-air and it shows she can use Serpent's Bite while mid-air. In ToX, none of her spells were castable in the air, only Milla had that available through a skill. Near the end, Switching is shown, along with Negative Gate, which appears to be larger in ToX2 (perhaps due to Tipo ON).
Elise's link ability is Tipo Drain. Elise will occasionally drain energy from enemies and recover HP and TP for both her and the Master.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Evj6Rp79qgg Rowen: Rowen's ability is called 術後調律 (Jutsugochouritsu, Magic Aftertuning). Playing off his Conductor background, many of his Spirit Magic Artes can be improved through the use of this ability. If used, it will return half of the TP cost to Rowen, which is interesting because in ToX, he had a skill that removed TP Costs if he used Magic Aftertuning for an arte. To execute Magic Aftertuning, a button will appear near Rowen or around the target area, indicating what needs to be done. The button is not random, and is tied to the spell. Rock Tri, for example requires you to press X (arte button) at the correct timing (not hard at all) to activate an extra hit. Spread in the video allows you to control its movement. Bright Bell allows you to control the swinging of the bell to deal more hits.
Rowen demonstrates one new Martial Arte in this video, Prelude which appears to be fire based. The page states that he has new Martial Artes, and increased speed.
Rowen's link ability is Auto Magic Guard. If an enemy casts a spell on him or the Master, he will activate a Magic Guard for both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=H6d0c1CPh6w Jude: Jude's ability is called 集中回避 (Shuuchuukaihi, Concentrated Evasion). Activated by using back step to dodge an attack, he will appear behind an enemy afterwards with a short time of invulnerability, and a longer increased AGI, which is Jude's main stat, improving his damage and movement speed notably. With additional skills, he can extend the duration and activate it with Front Step. Judging by the video, it appears they've made it easier to activate. In ToX, it required really good timing and only ever worked against the monster you're targeting. It states in the page that it is good for 1v1, but it makes no mention of if they've adjusted it to work for other monster's you're not directly attacking.
Jude displays one new arte here, 砕氷刃 (Saihyoujin, Asbel's Frost Breaker) as he activates it in mid-air. This is another aspect that has been improved upon; like Leia, Jude's mid-air combat has been improved. He previously had very few attacks that could continue a mid-air combo, most were designed to end them, but the video displays his basic attack up launching monsters into the air, and following it up by using Majinken (Demon Fang) in mid-air which was previously not possible. His Hienrenkyaku (Swallow Dance) keeps him in the air instead of slowly falling as he kicks now which makes it actually useful.
Jude's link ability is Restore. When the Master is knocked down, he will appear next to them to recover HP. He also has a chance to revive the master if they are KOed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=VtYKm14FNDY Milla: Milla's ability is called 魔技 (Magi, Magic Artes). It's an inherent ability that provides her with alternate artes for her Spirit Magic. Milla has access to several Spirit Magic. Spirit Magic requires a cast time, and you need to hold down the arte button to begin casting. She can, however, activate an alternate arte by not holding down the arte button. i.e. just pressing Circle will activate an arte called "Fire Bomb", while holding it down will begin the incantation for "Fireball". In this video, Milla demonstrates a Spirit Magic "Burn Spread", as well as a skill "Spell Charge", allowing movement while maintaining the spell's full incantation by holding the arte button. She later demonstrates a Magic Arte "Particle Rondo (II)" after "Assault Dance" where she transforms into a streak of light, that cuts forward, and then boomerangs back and leaves her in mid-air.
The significance of the (II) I put is for each element (Fire, Wind, Lightning, Light), Milla has multiple Spirit Magic, and each spell invokes a different version of Magic Arte, though they all have the same name. This Particle Rondo is activated from "Glare Cage", the second Light Spirit Magic she learns. It differs from Particle Rondo from "Divine Streak" her first Light spell, which only dashes forward and does not have the second hit.
Milla displays two new artes here, a Martial Arte called マジェストホウィール (Majest Howl? possibly incorrect spelling of Majesty Howl, also unvoiced so far), where she spins in a circle with her blade, and Spirit Magic, Prism Saber, a new Light spell. Also, a new version of Round Edge is shown, from what I recall. It looks fairly big now.
Milla's link ability is Bind. When attacking a stunned or "Speed"-type monster, Milla can Bind the target with magic, stopping their movement while the Master is free to attack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=SUCv59WHN1w Gaius: Gaius's ability is called Revenger. When you guard an enemy attack, if you Front Step afterwards within 1 second, Gaius will unleash a powerful strike instead of a Front Step. The activation opportunity is indicated by a glowing red light around Gaius for one second. There is a Skill that enables the use of [L1 + O] to activate a different attack instead of using Front Step. (O is the default for basic attack in the Japanese version, and L1 + O activates a strong, non-continuous hit or something like that. There is a skill that transforms this into an attack with a small sidestep.)
Gaius's weapon is a 長刀 (Naginata, though the appearance resembles the Chinese changdao or choutou rather than the traditional halberd style naginata)
Gaius's link ability is Spread Force. Gaius will guard himself and the master against certain attacks from enemies, and the following conditions will be applied
Next link combo will cost 25% less TP
Next basic attack will be an element/type the enemy is weak to
Next basic attack will break super armor/penetrate and cause stun
Gaius demonstrates the following artes in the video
獅子戦吼 Shishisenkou [Beast]
皇光破斬 Koukouhazan [New Original Arte, looks very similar to Alvin's 地竜閃 except with what appears to be a Light Element instead of Earth]
飛燕瞬連斬 Hienshunrenzan [New Original Arte, he uses it 3 times in a row]
魔神剣・翔牙 Majinken Shouga [Demon Fang variant that has appeared for Stahn Aileron in ToD:DC and Kunzite in ToH]
覇道滅封 Hadoumeppuu [Asbel's Incineration Wave, which has an obscenely long attack time now]
He also displays his Revenger at the end where the camera shifts angles. Gaius appears to be wearing a Fire elemental weapon as well, which is why the tone of most of his artes are red, though Incineration Wave would be Fire element regardless. This can be indicated from Beast, a non-elemental arte, having a red tone and basic attacks providing "Weak".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=zXBNFi-DBLk Musee: Musee's (pronounced Musé) ability is called Reave Assault. When you're stunned (flinched even?), you can use Front Step or Back Step to teleport away from an enemy, becoming invulnerable, avoiding all attacks for a short time. After warping, you have the ability to counterattack (i.e. there's an opening now since you're not being targeted). There are skills available to reduce the cast time of spells, and the TP cost of artes when used with Reave Assault.
Musee's weapon is her hair.
In Milla's video, Musee displays the following arte names.
スタンブリッツ [Stun Blitz]
オールアウト [All Out]
シーズスロー [Seize Throw]
In Gaius's video, Musee displays the following spells
Wind Lance
Burn Spread
In her video, she begins with attempting to cast Gravity, but is interrupted by a monster. She then uses Reave Assault to escape. She displays a new arte, エザリィウィップ [Ethery Whip?], followed by what appears to be a Reave Assault in midair to cut through an enemy. Presumably, this requires a skill equipped to activate as the base description says you need to be hit by an enemy first to use Reave Assault.
Musee's link ability is Tractor Move. When the Master Front Steps, Musee will also move, causing the two to land immediately in front of the targeted enemy. Back Step causes the targeted enemy to be unable to move.
2012-10-10, 03:04 PM
JoeTang
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
This post will be dedicated to the TVCM spots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbyPM...layer_embedded
1st CM
Narrator: "A new Tales series story"
Text: "You've come this far, are you going to look away?"
Elle: "There's something more important than that promise!"
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=pPYfe1qEcU8
2nd CM
Julius?: "I don't want to have to sacrifice you."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
Bisley: "Your power is needed."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ufF5f27TTfw
3rd CM #1: Character Introduction 1
Catch: "Allies who pull together fate"
Ludger?: "She's important, isn't she? Then it's a given that I'll protect her."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=tDN8RQDXqEI
3rd CM #2: Jude & Milla
Catch: "Those two and a new journey." referencing Jude and Milla.
Milla: "Distort the world?
Jude: "I'm going too. I have a responsibility in this."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo10f...layer_embedded
3rd CM #3: Julius
Catch: "A battle with his brother and..."
Julius: "Don't waver, Ludger. Once you've lost it, it's too late."
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuNTTrsDEfo&feature=plcp
3rd CM #4: Ludger's Decision
Catch: "Can you point your blade at them? Your allies?"
Jude: "It can't be... Ludger!"
Milla: "Is this your decision then?"
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztC4O...layer_embedded
3rd CM #5: Redau & Khronos (Names, possibly the antagonists)
Catch: "Can you protect it, betting everything on the line?"
1?: The hidden ingredient is... a sacrifice
Gaius?: I'll be the one to watch over your actions.
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
#6
This video feels spoilery, so I've spoilered it and the translation. i.e. it feels like this is a rather important plot line, and I don't understand why it's a CM, but it is.
Translation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xS2GLrCvtZo
3rd CM #6: Milla's Fate
Catch: "Can you make the decision? To <verb> the one you're supposed to protect?"
Where the <verb> is left out, as is the syntax of Japanese in this sentence. The implication of this context would be something "bad" i.e. hurt/kill
?: "You're too late"
Milla: "Please! It's fine!"
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
Elle: "You can't give up, Milla!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYulnGc1mSk&feature=plcp
3rd CM #7: Characters Assembled
Catch: "Spinning the future"
Alvin: "Let's acknowledge it. His choice to protect that lone girl"
Narrator: "For the sake of one girl, do you have the determination to destroy the world?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXo4kUDWqU8&feature=plcp
30s Commercial
Narrator: "Sometimes we have worries, lose our way, and struggle."
Runner: Challenge yourself/Give up
Narrator: "Even still, people will make choices, wishing for a happy ending."
Student: Go for it/Stop
Businessman: Object/Shut up
Milla: "Are you still going to waver, Ludger?"
Jude: "There's no such thing as a mistake you can't correct."
??? Can't hear this line clearly
Tales of Xillia 2 blah blah
Narrator: "Your choices can change the future"
2012-12-01, 01:51 AM
JoeTang
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
K. I beat the game about a week or so ago, and I've just tried the bonus dungeon and Arena EX modes today, so I'm going to sum up a few of my thoughts without spoilers, and if anyone has any questions, ask away.
Story:
The overall story was a lot better than Xillia, which felt rushed nearing the ending. The use of quests is significantly better as well, since you get somewhat meaningful rewards instead of attachments. (MONEY, and a few quests give Absorbers, equips, books) Character Episodes actually develop characters, really makes me appreciate the characters from Xillia a lot more. The major twist in Xillia felt a lot more dramatic and surprising though. The post-game content seems a lot better than Xillia's bonus dungeon. I cleared one stage, and it automatically put me in the next stage, where I got OHKOed because the monsters were suddenly 11x instead of 8x, which was weird, but encourages me to get closer to the level cap rather than stopping. The same thing happened in the Arena EX modes. The EX section is level ~120+. Cleared the game at 70s? Maybe 80. I'm 85 right now. I really want to get to the cameo battle, but it seems a long way off at this rate.
Fights:
Fights can be challenging if you're not overleveled. I played through the entire game on Hard, except for one boss that just kept OHKOing me despite me being the same level (18). I had to level up for a very small number, but that didn't make them easy. I'd imagine it's not too difficult if you're playing on Normal though. High level monsters' damage scales ridiculously highly, so they'll end up just OHKOing you if you think you can get by on pure dodging skill alone. If your link partner gets a status effect, you get it too, which is trouble. It makes it a bit dynamic so you can't just tank through everything with a link arte mule. There's also a large number of Gigantos. A lot more than Vesperia. There's even one that spawns randomly in a random map... I walked into one that was 40 levels higher than me thinking it was around my level. It's immune to damage. Splits itself into 3, where the original is still immune. The other two are weak to Fire/Wind/Light, and Water/Earth/Dark or something to that effect. Kill them, original loses HP. They get stronger as the battle progresses. Got it down to 150k/800k HP before it started using some OHKO combos. And on the retry, since my last save point was really really far away, my characters auto-fleed or something after dealing a bit of damage, which was odd. I'm not sure why that happened, but I found out the Giganto will respawn when you reenter the map until it's defeated, so I didn't have to load.
Battle System:
The battle system is significantly improved over Xillia's. They added side-steps, like Graces, without the perfect dodge invulnerability. I rarely use it since the action is L1 + Up/Down + Attack to go left or right, but it would be extremely useful if I were to get used to it. Elemental weakness stacks like in Graces where you get extra % damage for adding more elements. Killing certain monsters a number of times can earn characters skill points. They also added a ton of useful artes and skills to every party member. Xillia had a rather limited set since the Lilliale orb could only have so many abilities on it and everyone had the same number. One of the particularly useful ones is High Chain Spell, which lets you cast spells faster if you use them after a large string of other attacks, like in Graces. Encourages things like playing Elise in combat instead of spamming Negative Gate in the back (which they nerfed so you can't infinite combo with it). Spell effects have to end before you're allowed to move now. Ludger's weapon switch is really neat, but I find his Hammer artes to be lame. Also, their names are retarded. Ludger's Corpse Shell is broken as pomegranate though. I think the game is designed around using it too much. It's perfectly doable without it, but it adds a ridiculous level of easy. Ludger is required for your party until you clear the game, which is interesting. I think of all the characters, Leia was improved the most and she's even more enjoyable to play. Everyone (except Ludger, who has the exact number) has so many artes, you can't fit them all on the shortcuts. Especially Milla, who is still brokenly OP. I wish you could save a "profile" for a set of artes, and then be able to switch between them. You can save a profile for a costume...
Items:
The itemization is good and bad, but mostly good. I found that the Cat Dispatch was interesting for some reason, especially with the number of quests that required items from it. You find cats in every map, like Aifread Treasure in Xillia, and you can go into your menu to tell the cat to go look for items. They'll come back after a few minutes and you'll get some items from a predetermined list you can see. Mostly, it's used for quests, but also equipment crafting. I think the equipment crafting was almost perfect, but there were a few instances where I could just buy better equipment instead of crafting it, despite them both unlocking at the same time. That being said, crafted equipment has special effects like +stats, or reduce TP cost, or reduce cast time, which can make up for the slightly lower attack/defense. The worst thing about items though is treasure chests, in my experience, almost never contained anything worthwhile. They might as well have been the same thing as random treasure, except they don't respawn. They should at least have contained the rare Cat Dispatch items. I wanted to ignore them, but I found a few Absorbers in them, which means I have to open all of them or my characters grow slower...
One of the things that annoyed me was not knowing what city sold what set of items. Instead of progress unlocking items for all vendors, items are unlocked based on how far the city is into the story, and there was no way to tell what they sold unless you went there, unlike Graces.
Growth:
The Arrowcell orb is a lot better than the Lilliale orb. There's a lot more stuff to get out of it. I kind of wish it were bigger. There's like 15k points in each element, you get between 2~10 for regular battles most of the time, and you can pick up maybe 5 at the start of the game, and it gets towards 40 at the end? I maxed it out before the last chapter, since I was on Hard and I guess I abused a few loot spots a bit too much.
Anyways, how it works is you equip a thing called an Absorber. It will convert Elemental Cores into Points (like exp) for whatever element the Absorber is for. Get more points for an element, learn skills, artes, mastery levels for artes (up to 4). Some of these require two elements to be learned. It's pretty interesting. I prefer it over getting Grow Up Points (like skill points in an MMO) on a level up and having to go into the menu to invest so often in Xillia.
Decisions:
Despite the game revolving around decisions, I don't actually think any of them before the final chapter affect the outcome. They only affect the dialogue you see, and the intimacy level of other characters, so while it's a good thing to make good decisions, you won't break your game and require a new game to get everything, which I am very thankful for. It works in a VN since there's no actual input from the player, other than the choice, and you have skip buttons, etc. There's even options like Skip Read Text nowadays. You need level 8 intimacy for the final dungeon, and level 9 for Dual Mystic Artes, and you can also get it from doing Link Artes with that character in battle (oh god this takes forever), so not all is lost. It's just a shortcut I guess. Also, their character episode outcome might be affected, not sure.
Overall, my order of ranking of Tales games for this console generation are
Graces f > Xillia 2 > Xillia > Vesperia
I hope there's an Xillia 3, but I doubt that would work. I think it would be really interesting though. Looking forward to clearing the end game content, new game+ to hear Ludger's voice (HE HAS TWO NON-COMBAT LINEs IN THE ENTIRE FIRST PLAYTHROUGH), and the next Tales game. Hopefully, it'll be one with a battle system as good as Graces.
2012-12-01, 02:34 AM
shouri
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
I'm glad that graces f places so high up on your list of favorites. Almost makes me want to get it. But I'd get it in english.... and the english VAs (just for graces) make me cringe. No I'm not getting in japanese because I want to actually understand it without having to look down to read every few seconds. Which is pretty bad. Oh well. Hopefully Xillia's english VAs will be decent if/when we get it localized.
2012-12-01, 02:47 AM
JoeTang
Re: Tales of Xillia 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by shouri
I'm glad that graces f places so high up on your list of favorites. Almost makes me want to get it. But I'd get it in english.... and the english VAs (just for graces) make me cringe. No I'm not getting in japanese because I want to actually understand it without having to look down to read every few seconds. Which is pretty bad. Oh well. Hopefully Xillia's english VAs will be decent if/when we get it localized.
I only really had a problem with Sophie's VA. Thought everyone else's were fine for a dub. But I didn't play the English version much so, I'm not too sure. Xillia was announced for early 2013, if I recall correctly.
