Having been shackled to the PS3 ever since its launch all the best way again in 2011, it is nice to see Tales of Xillia make a deserved comeback by way of Tales of Xillia Remastered.
A part of Bandai Namco’s ongoing mission to re-release nearly each Tales title on as many platforms as potential, Xillia Remastered is a predictably strong providing.
Its visuals have been cleaned up a bit with a lift to color saturation and backbone, it runs at 60 frames-per-second on PS5, and it boasts quite a few welcome high quality of life enhancements, like goal markers, a dash toggle, and even a useful autosave.
However for many who have performed Xillia earlier than, maybe the most important addition is the Grade Store being open proper from the beginning. Sometimes saved for New Recreation+, the Grade Store options gameplay modifiers that may alter the expertise fairly dramatically.
You may enhance expertise level and forex positive factors to hurry the journey alongside as you want, making replays a breeze if you happen to’re simply right here for the nostalgia. Considerate stuff.
And we do assume {that a} sport like Xillia wants a bit of additional incentive lately. The RPG hasn’t aged badly, however elements of it do really feel barely misguided right here in 2025.
For instance, there’s quite a lot of backtracking by way of same-y environments, the aspect quests are decidedly boring, and normally, the sport simply takes some time to actually get going.
Story and character-wise, although, Xillia holds up moderately properly. The twin protagonist method of Jude, a pointy however timid teenager, and Milla, the incarnation of what’s primarily a demigod, nonetheless works, with each leads bringing utterly completely different views to the occasion.
The opposite members, in the meantime, are likely to bounce off the twosome brilliantly. There’s an virtually prickly, unsure dynamic to the group, and the stress helps maintain the broader plot fascinating.
The fight system’s nonetheless good and punchy, too. Many followers will let you know that Xillia’s acquired a few of the most balanced battle mechanics within the collection, they usually’d be proper — it is a refined combine of huge combo harm and distinctive character skills.
So, whereas there are parts of Tales of Xillia that do not fairly measure as much as in the present day’s requirements, the core journey stays rock strong, and the remaster brings some welcome additions and extras to the desk. This PS3 RPG deserved a very good re-release, and it is acquired one.
