Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Tales of Xillia 2 Announced!

While the west is still waiting/hoping for Tales of Xillia to make it overseas, Japan has finally moved on and announced their newest Mothership Tales of title. So what is this new game? What system is it going to be for? Well that answer might just shock you.

Instead of bringing us a completely brand new game with a brand new world/characters/story, Namco Bandai has decided to release a sequel to Tales of Xillia titled "Tales of Xillia 2!" Although not much is currently known about this sequel, it has been announced that, like the original, it will be released on the PS3, it'll feature the same style of graphics, it'll still have a fully 3D world, and it's battle system will remain mostly the same; however there is one major change.

Like Tales of Graces' alternate fighting styles (A arts and B arts), Tales of Xillia 2 will feature different combat styles for each character, but in the form of different weapons. Although characters have been able to use different types of weapons in the past (such as how Yuri in Tales of Vesperia could use both swords and axes), their combat style never really changed. Although in Vesperia Yuri might be holding an axe, his combos and attacks are still the same as if he were still holding a sword. Well that's no longer the case. During battle, Rudger, one of the new main characters, has the ability to switch between three very different types of weapons, dual swords, a hammer, and dual guns, and each have their very own unique combat style
Tales of Xillia 2, like with almost every other Tales of game, is also being with the theme, but this time it's a bit different. "An RPG where your choices spin the future." Just like the theme suggests, a brand new feature has been added to the game which allows you to change the outcome of the game's story. During cutscenes quick time events will prompt you to make choices, all of which will actually change what happens in the game. Although this isn't the first time players have been able to change the story in a JRPG/choose their own roots (Chrono Cross, Star Ocean, and even the newer Final Fantasy XIII-2 had similar features), this is the first time something like this has been seen in a Tales of game. To what extend they'll actually use this feature is currently unknown, but it appears to be a major part of the game.

Sadly as of right now information is very limited, but I'm sure we can expect to hear more in the coming months. Still here's the basic run down of the features that have been announced.

- Two new main characters (Rudger Will Kresnik, and Elle Mel Marta)
- I will be released on the Playstation 3
- It features the same Art Style and 3D world as seen in the original
- Currently characters have been shown to switch between three unique weapons with their own unique combat styles.
- Cutscenes now include quick time events that can change the outcome of the story depending on how you react.