Jamie Briggs, Analog Addiction: "Tales of Xillia 2 doesn’t quite live up to the excellence of the original, but it certainly provides an excellent adventure for those wanting to spend more time with the beloved cast of characters. Though Ludger feels bland as a main hero, he is surrounded by an array of colourful characters that provide some excellent character interactions, alongside some heartfelt Character Missions.
Fans of the original game will find themselves right at home, with many of the same locations, music, enemies and characters all making an appearance. Though new players may find themselves out of the loop, due to the fact many details are assumed to be known by the player. Unfortunately many of the new systems actually provide some of the weakest moments of this extensive journey, with the new upgrade system, combat additions and new narrative providing some of the bigger low points.
Tales of Xillia 2 is a fine JRPG, one that looks to extend on the original. Though these additions don’t always succeed, experiencing another adventure through the world of Xillia with the beloved original cast made the journey an enjoyable one."
Today it was announced that the gaming and anime industry has lost another beloved artist and creator. Mutsumi Inomata has passed away.
The Tales Of series are some of the best RPGs I've ever played, and the characters are a big reason for that. I don't think I played a single game in the series that I didn't enjoy. Rest in peace.
We're 3 months into the year and I feel like we're taking nothing but L's.
Wow she was the character designer for Tales of Destiny one of my favorites of all time =(
I love the Tales games. Phantasia will always be my favorite. Ironically I felt like as the series progressed the character design became too “anime cliche.”
The Tales games may be less recognizable than the Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games, but that doesn't mean that they aren't worth playing!
“Tales series is considered one of the top three Japanese RPG series next to RPG giants like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.”
How you gonna talk about the top three JRPG franchises and not mention Pokémon, the top selling series in the genre?
This is how the top JRPG series stack up
1. Pokémon - 340M
2. Final Fantasy - 144M
3. Dragon Quest - 78M
4. Monster Hunter - 52M
5. Kingdom Hearts - 30M
6. Souls - 25M
7. Tales of - 20M
Lots of great Japanese games have major Japanese rock and pop singers providing the theme songs for them. The Final Fantasy series had Gackt providing "Redemption" for Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus and Hikaru Utada always provides the theme song for each Kingdom Hearts game. But if there is one series that reliably brings out the best singers and songs, it is Bandai Namco's Tales series. It routinely brings the bangers.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has one of the best soundtracks ever and the first Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack is even better.
