Tales of Xillia

[Eusis]

Should've done this earlier, but with new trademarks coming in discussion might end up too mixed in the mega thread.

I'm liking it so far, given how overworlds were being treated I kind of like the change to just field areas connecting it all. Kinda drab so far though.

[Andrew]

Hearts did the interconnected fields too. But that scenery was kind of dull.

I'm only a couple of hours in, but generally enjoying it. Milla's voice is, uh, off. It's the recording quality, I think? The graphics seem a bit underwhelming compared to other PS3 releases, but I'm being pretty picky.

Overall, enjoying!

[Eusis]

Milla's voice is, uh, off. It's the recording quality, I think?

The recording quality is completely awful for a modern PS3 game where it's a significant part of the experience, I'm baffled at how they messed this up relative to basically any other game that wasn't either a retro release or a handheld title. It definitely sticks out most with Milla since it makes it sound as if she has a lisp.

[Klutz64]

I'll say it again, I somehow find Milla's "lisp" endearing. Yeah, it's a huge oversight, but when life gives you lemons...

I also agree that so far the environments between dungeons feel kind of drab, and even the dungeons lack the charm of some of the more unique locales in previous titles. That being said, the treasure hunting is an incredibly fun distraction.

Despite the horrid battle theme, the actual battles are picking up nicely, and I'm looking forward to experiencing it with a full party. Oddly enough, I'm having a harder time getting used to jumping again than I am dealing with TP.

Shop system and "cooking" mechanic (or lack thereof) unfortunately feels lazy and makes me think the team wanted the focus of the game on the combat, a very unfortunate trend in JRPG's of late. Everything seems to lack soul, accentuated by the fact that it's 2013 and Namco has given us a game with NPC's you can't interact with.

Ultimately, I'm having fun but I'm really wondering why everyone was clamoring so loudly for this one to get localized, with all the hype I was expecting the absolute best in the series.

[Annubis]

In Growlanser 2, I avoided Carmaine as much as possible because of his lisp =|

Well that... and here in Quebec, Carmaine is an old woman name.

[Dice]

Milla's voice is, uh, off. It's the recording quality, I think?

The recording quality is completely awful for a modern PS3 game where it's a significant part of the experience, I'm baffled at how they messed this up relative to basically any other game that wasn't either a retro release or a handheld title. It definitely sticks out most with Milla since it makes it sound as if she has a lisp.

Yeah, it sounds like the foam on the microphone is like two feet thick, it sounds muffled.  Tales games might be using a crappy studio?

I love the inter-connected maps actually.  World maps can be nice, but it's nice we actually get some exploring. 

I actually find the reviews for this game on major sites have been way too high.  It IS a good game, but missing a lot.  I find this cast a lot less endearing -- I wonder if they changed writers or something.
I've heard much of Xillia 2 is better.  But I'm surprisingly not crazy for the new cutscene directions.  I liked the lengthy "chatting" of Vesperia, Abyss, and Symphonia; now it feels like a lot more drama is trying to be ringed through as opposed to more lenghty chat dialogue that sort of helps build relations a bit more slowly.  Also, while I hated the story/characters otherwise, Graces f had ballin' 'win-quotes'.

And lisp or not, Milla's VA is really not up to snuff compared to the rest of the cast. 
End Chapter 1 Spoilz

Code:

The whole scene(s) where she got her legs injured were pretty damn tame reactions for a woman whose only control of her legs were as limp noodles.

I like a lot, dislike or shrug off a lot else.  But while I *love* the Tales series, I always found that even if their games DO have shortcomings, they're too much fun to ever dislike.  The world's are pretty, the music is usually decent, the characters are bright and colourful (and skits are a genius waste of time to establish better connections with your favorite characters), and the battles are great. 

The graphics are ok.  Milla's body is a disaster proportions-wise, but I doubt that's graphical sloppiness and more just following Inomata's emaciated designed (I wanna feed the woman a burger every time she's on screen).  But I've always found Tales games excel at backgrounds and scenery than character models.

[Klutz64]

Also, while I hated the story/characters otherwise, Graces f had ballin' 'win-quotes'.

I could watch "We are--" "PASCAL!!" on loop for hours.

[Klyde Chroma]

While I've been pleasantly addicted to Dragons Crown, Tales is beckoning to me something fierce. I was going to focus strictly on DC til I was through but I think come this weekend I'm starting up Tales. I've been musing over whom to pick for my playthrough too much... only one way to exercise the demons so to speak...

And on that point. I've read that picking Jude has a plot advantage over Milla but I really wanted to go with Milla. Jude, just doesn't seem the type I can relate to in any sense (though I'm not saying milla is). Anyhoo, Tales vets, I ask, is there truly a disadvantage to picking Milla??

[Dice]

While I've been pleasantly addicted to Dragons Crown, Tales is beckoning to me something fierce. I was going to focus strictly on DC til I was through but I think come this weekend I'm starting up Tales. I've been musing over whom to pick for my playthrough too much... only one way to exercise the demons so to speak...

And on that point. I've read that picking Jude has a plot advantage over Milla but I really wanted to go with Milla. Jude, just doesn't seem the type I can relate to in any sense (though I'm not saying milla is). Anyhoo, Tales vets, I ask, is there truly a disadvantage to picking Milla??

Yeah I heard for plot it's better to stick with Jude, you get a lame reskinned dungeon with Milla -- but you get a cooler "completion outfit" for her (Jude just gets his doctor gear).  I like Jude's battle theme a lot more too so I went with him.  Knowing me I'll be playing both sides anyways eventually.

[Prime Mover]

Nerding out here (and haven't played the game yet), but from what it sounds like, someone really fucked up a de-esser. That's what makes people lisp. If you set a de-esser incorrectly, it cuts out the wrong frequency range and makes people sound like they have a lisp: S's become Th's and you're screwed.

Seriously, as a recording professional, now I'm weary of playing this came. Sound has destroyed games for me before, and though I love the Tales series, maybe I'll leave this one alone for now (I haven't had time to play games for a while, anyway... still haven't finished bioshock).

[Nel]

You could just pick the other character with a new game plus, yes? That's usually when I make a different choice in a game; when I get to play it again with extra bonuses.

[Klyde Chroma]

While I've been pleasantly addicted to Dragons Crown, Tales is beckoning to me something fierce. I was going to focus strictly on DC til I was through but I think come this weekend I'm starting up Tales. I've been musing over whom to pick for my playthrough too much... only one way to exercise the demons so to speak...

And on that point. I've read that picking Jude has a plot advantage over Milla but I really wanted to go with Milla. Jude, just doesn't seem the type I can relate to in any sense (though I'm not saying milla is). Anyhoo, Tales vets, I ask, is there truly a disadvantage to picking Milla??

Yeah I heard for plot it's better to stick with Jude, you get a lame reskinned dungeon with Milla -- but you get a cooler "completion outfit" for her (Jude just gets his doctor gear).  I like Jude's battle theme a lot more too so I went with him.  Knowing me I'll be playing both sides anyways eventually.

Grrrr.... this is gonna prove to be one of those instances where I gotta try both or do some you tubing to decide... I don't know why jude doesn't appeal to me. I actually always wanted to go to medical school and become a doctor as an alternative to tattooing (oddly enough). Particularly, nutritional sciences and biochemistry fascinate me.

[Eusis]

I'll say it again, I somehow find Milla's "lisp" endearing. Yeah, it's a huge oversight, but when life gives you lemons...

This works better when it makes sense with a character (I guess you CAN stretch it here, but I don't think so) and when it's not just highlighting a problem that exists with everyone. I'm admittedly playing with pretty good headphones, but the VA recording quality sounds awful and it drives me insane that this is happening on a PS3 game and not one where technical capabilities and space limits are a serious concern. Plus there does seem to be some audio issues otherwise, like a crackle when leaving battle.

It's undoubtly what Prime Mover said or at least very close, for some reason they just dropped the ball when it came to audio mastering, and that's one of the areas that really should be at high quality for any game these days. Apparently Graces f had similar issues though I didn't play enough to really notice I guess.

[ultra7k]

I'll say it again, I somehow find Milla's "lisp" endearing. Yeah, it's a huge oversight, but when life gives you lemons...

This works better when it makes sense with a character (I guess you CAN stretch it here, but I don't think so) and when it's not just highlighting a problem that exists with everyone. I'm admittedly playing with pretty good headphones, but the VA recording quality sounds awful and it drives me insane that this is happening on a PS3 game and not one where technical capabilities and space limits are a serious concern. Plus there does seem to be some audio issues otherwise, like a crackle when leaving battle.

It's undoubtly what Prime Mover said or at least very close, for some reason they just dropped the ball when it came to audio mastering, and that's one of an areas that really should be at high quality for any game these days. Apparently Graces f had similar issues though I didn't play enough to really notice I guess.

Actually, now that you mention it, there were instances in Graces f where that happened! I had totally forgotten about them. They pretty much happened in the skits, particularly if you were in a cavernous area, I suppose they the idea was to replicate the echoing sounds. However, it just came across as really faint and I couldn't hear about 80% of what was being said. I'm fairly certain I missed out on some decent voice acting during those parts.

Anyways, I'll be hitting Xillia again soon after I beat Dragon's Crown for the first time, either today or tomorrow.

[Cyril]

It wasn't incredibly frequent in Graces f, but there was one area where I remember it being really bad.  I wish I remember which.