History VideoGame / TalesOfXillia

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Jude literally does this to [[spoiler:the real Maxwell]] through sheer [[{{Determinator}} determination.]] And yes, it is [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome incredibly awesome.]]

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything:
** In Nia Khera, walking around normally gets you the [[ApatheticCitizens apathetic treatment]]. But if Milla is at the front of your party, all of the [=NPCs=] will bow as you pass.
** Milla's status image changes, once she obtains the aspirix on her right thigh. Her character sprite also retains it throughout the game [[spoiler: even when, much later, the gem inside of it has fallen out]]. Subverted with all of her alternate outfits, that remove the aspirix on her leg. Including the color variation of her default attire.

Another entry in the ''TalesSeries'', released in Japan for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 on the 8th of September 2011. It currently holds the record for the fastest-selling ''TalesSeries'' title and the second fastest-selling [=PS3=] title with approximately 525,605 copies sold in the first week. It was released on August 2013 in North America and Europe... where it dethroned ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/11/bandai-namco-say-theyre-paying-attention-fans/ as international best-seller]], and thanks to some math, would mean it is now one of a handful of ''Tales'' games to sell a grand total of a million-plus units worldwide. In short: this game's pretty successful.

*** It's a bit of a shaky comparison, really. [[spoiler:Even though Elympios is the more technologically-advanced nation, it's in a period of sharp decline because of its critical mana shortages. And while ''Gaius'' certainly believes that one world should be destroyed to save the other, the heroes are actually presented with a viable third option from the very start]]. If anything, ''Xillia'' features the plot elements of previous ''Franchise/TalesSeries'' games but approaches them in new ways.

** Milla's status image changes, once she obtains the aspirix on her right thigh. Her character sprite also retains it throughout the game [[spoiler: even when, much later, the gem inside of it has fallen out]]. Subverted with all of her alternate outfits, that remove the aspirix on her leg. [[FridgeLogic Including the color variation of her default attire]].

* DualBoss: [[spoiler:The FinalBoss]].

* [[GagBoobs Gag Bazongas]]: Not in a direct way, while Milla has big knockers, they instead uses Jude's lack of knowledge about that for humor ('''TEACH ME ABOUT BAZONGAS!!!'''). After all, 'Bazonga' is a slang word for 'boobs'.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: After the events in Labari Hollow, Elize becomes sulky and Teepo [[spoiler:loses his memories and personality]]. They still act like their old selves in post-battle celebrations and skits.
** Likewise when the party is reunited in the final arc, on Jude's side. In the narrative [[spoiler: Alvin is feeling shunned for what he did to Leia, and she herself can barely look at him. However, their fun hi-five victory pose will still trigger sometimes.]] On Milla's side, the party have some unique post-betrayal victory poses.

* HeroicBSOD: A Tales game wouldn't let its protagonist get away without having one.

** Inversely, Rowen is the oldest playable character [[spoiler:who ''isn't'' ReallySevenHundredYearsOld]] in the main series, being 62 years of age.

* OfficialCouple: Jude and Milla, natch.

* SayMyName: By the boatloads.

** Also Jude in the German version is spelled as Jyde. Somewhat justified as Jude is the German spelling for jew.

* TearfulSmile: [[spoiler: Milla in the ending.]]

** Some missions have a very spefic timeframe they must be done or the quests become LostForever. The most jarring part is that while some skits tell you what you need to do, they don't tell you WHERE to go, meaning you can end up wasting a good while searching for a NPC and miss out on some very good interesting side quests.
** There's another side to this too. While the skits that hint at sidequests are an attempt to avert this, the hint skits themselves count for [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% Completion.]] The GuideDangIt here is that doing certain sidequests ''too early'' can result in some hint skits being LostForever. And is it's often not obvious which sidequests can safely be put off until later and which will disappear after a certain point.

* ContrivedCoincidence: It's a little lucky that Jude's father [[spoiler: just so ''happens'' to have technology that could heal Milla's paralyzed legs, even though it's painful stuff]]. For anyone else the plot would've stopped right then and there, but in ''her'' case, it saves a lot of time and effort spent dragging herself forward.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Thank goodness that Jude's father [[spoiler: just so ''happens'' to have technology that could heal Milla's paralyzed legs]]! Otherwise, Xillia's plot would likely have stopped after Arc 1.

** The game is a deconstruction of the UndyingLoyalty aspect you see in RolePlayingGames by showing us what happens when someone becomes so loyal they become blindly loyal and also shows that you can't always rely on pure loyalty to make it in life and that everyone needs to find a GoalInLife of their own.

* AbortedArc: [[spoiler:Act 4 ends when Gaius hands Jude the key to the final dungeon and says "see you there," immediately ending the group's journey in Elympios and leaving the rest of that storyline (The Otherworld Reactor Project, human experimentation, etc.) to voiced-over sub-events.]]

* ArtificialBrilliance: When you partner with someone, the AI is actually smart enough to wait to attack until after, or during your attacking. This means you'll do more damage and also keep the enemy busy. Not only that, they'll make sure to heal you or buff you as soon as they can and even when not partnered, they will often move in a way that allows them better usage of their artes.
** They'll also do things like get you out of dizziness; and if you're knocked out on the ground and stunned, they'll snap you out of it usually right away. They also will guard attacks for you if a enemy is relentlessly attacking you.
* ArtificialStupidity: Despite the above, characters have a glaringly stupid tactic of running closer to the enemy when they use artes. [[SarcasmMode Yes Rowen, stand closer to the guy with the sword]].

* CastFromHP: The Lance of Kresnik seems to be the most horrific version of this. [[spoiler:It sucks out the life energy of everyone around it so it can fire a WaveMotionGun. Even worse, Nachtigal is experimenting on his own people to ''improve'' the process']]

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Averted for the most part... until you get to the boss battles. See below.
** MyRulesAreNotYourRules: The bosses in ''Xillia'' blatantly ignore the rules of the game's battle system. For example, according to the in-game tutorial, you have to link in order to enter [[SuperMode Overlimit]] and must link [[LimitBreak Mystic Artes]] from an Arcane Arte. Prepare to grit your teeth in frustration as bosses freely enter Overlimit ''without linking'', and relentlessly spam their Mystic Artes. Ivar, in particular, can whiff his Arcane Arte completely and still perform his Mystic Arte as though it had connected. While [[spoiler: Wingull]] skips using an Arcane Arte altogether and simply spams his Mystic Arte; ofttimes back-to-back.
** Particularly obvious when you fight your own party members in the Arena, and they can use their Mystic Artes without linking. The ''exact same ones'' you need to be linked to use.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The game is a deconstruction of the UndyingLoyalty aspect you see in RolePlayingGames by showing us what happens when someone becomes so loyal they become blindly loyal and also shows that you can't always rely on pure loyalty to make it in life and that everyone needs to find a GoalInLife of their own.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: In Nia Khera, walking around normally gets you the [[ApatheticCitizens apathetic treatment]]. But if Milla is at the front of your party, all of the [=NPCs=] will bow as you pass.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler: In the end, much to the sadness of both Jude and Milla, they cannot stay together.]]
** Also, [[spoiler:Alvin and Presa]]. As well as [[spoiler: Rowen, who was going to get married to Nachtigal's sister, but she was presumed dead during a great flood. While she's eventually found to be alive and healthy, she has suffered amnesia and completely forgotten Rowen]]. Xillia seems fond of this trope.

* DubNameChange: Gaius' Fauves get renamed as the "Chimeriad" in the localization.

* DuelBoss: [[spoiler:Jude versus Alvin, Milla versus Muzét, Jude versus Ivar.]]
** The last one counts as a WakeUpCallBoss as well if [[spoiler: Milla]] is your main character, as it's highly unlikely you've used [[spoiler: Jude]] much up to this point.
* DrJerk: Jude's dad is a combination of this and JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** He does care for his son, but because of his professional and strict demeanor he comes of as rather hard-hearted. (It also doesn't help much that one of the people Jude's traveling with is responsible for him becoming a wanted criminal, and another is someone that Jude's dad is implied to have a bit of a history with and knows is bad news.) If you go purely by the main story, he's simply a jerk, but multiple supplementary side-quests show him [[DefrostingIceKing privately proud of his son growing a spine, and taking responsibility.]]

* {{Gotterdammerung}}: [[spoiler:Maxwell's creation of Rieze Maxia was this for Elympios, effectively leaving them with no alternatives to Spyrixes for basic necessities where once they could rely on help from Spirit Arte users.]]
** But then, in the ending, [[spoiler:the Schism falls and TheMagicComesBack]].
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Since the game has players choose between Jude and Milla, certain portions of the game won't be seen in either route. For example, in Jude's side [[spoiler:you get to see what happened to the team when Milla pulled out a HeroicSacrifice, the last fight with Ivar, and what happened to Agria and Presa at the Hollowmont]] while in Milla's side [[spoiler:you'll find out that, around that time, she had revived as an empty shell thanks to the spirits]]. Generally speaking, Jude's side revolves around the many characters that stand in their way while Milla's side focuses on her mission and the nature of spirits. You do get explanations from other characters about what happens during splitting paths.

* GuideDangIt: Some missions have a very spefic timeframe they must be done or the quests become LostForever. The most jarring part is that while some skits tell you what you need to do, they don't tell you WHERE to go, meaning you can end up wasting a good while searching for a NPC and miss out on some very good interesting side quests.

* KidHero: At 15, Jude is one of the younger protagonists that the ''Tales'' series has seen along with [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Kyle]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Ruca]]; the standard ''Tales'' hero age seems to be 17.

* LastLousyPoint: For those going for 100% skit completion, "The Gel Abstainers" is likely to be this. While most of the other "Misc" skits are fairly obvious and easy to get through normal playing (have the party all reach a certain level, have the main character's stats exceed a certain number, eat a certain food item), this one requires you to never use a single Gel until you reach Xian Du, which is roughly one third of the way through the game.

* MagicKnight: Milla is what happens when a MagicKnight is designed to excel in both swordplay and magic without CompetitiveBalance holding him or her back. The only thing stopping her from becoming a [[OneManParty One Woman Party]] is her lack of a self-healing ability.

* MoodWhiplash: If playing Milla's path first, [[spoiler: sometime after she returns to life and rejoins the party, you will get a skit that casually informs you that the rest of the party fought and killed Agria/Presa in her absence. Oh, and that Alvin nearly killed Jude and Leia.]] This skit triggers quite randomly, dampens the levity of her return and may leave the player saying ''"what?"''.
** And because the skit is optional and doesn't always pop up, you'll get awkward interactions between characters for seemingly no reason. The most jarring is probably the after-battle skits featuring [[spoiler:Leia and Alvin, because their friendly banter and secret handshakes have turned into awkwardly avoiding making eye contact or directly speaking to each other, and if you missed that skit this appears to be happening for no reason whatsoever.]]

* MulticoloredHair: Milla's hair is red, blonde, and green.
** With something sorta blue-ish at the end of the green. Now remember who she claims she is and which Spirits that would entail ruling over.

* MythologyGag

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Certain characters had the spellings of their name changed for the western version, but not the pronunciation. For example, Elise and Tipo are now Elize and Teepo.

* ShoutOut

* XanatosSpeedChess: Wingul and Rowen play an almost literal one, reenacting [[spoiler: The Battle of Fezebel Marsh]] to see if things could have gone differently if Wingul was the enemy tactician.

Another entry in the ''TalesSeries'', released in Japan for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 on the 8th of September 2011. It currently holds the record for the fastest-selling ''TalesSeries'' title and the second fastest-selling PS3 title with approximately 525,605 copies sold in the first week. It was released on August 2013 in North America and Europe... where it dethroned ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/11/bandai-namco-say-theyre-paying-attention-fans/ as international best-seller]], and thanks to some math, would mean it is now one of a handful of ''Tales'' games to sell a grand total of a million-plus units worldwide. In short: this game's pretty successful.

Another entry in the ''TalesSeries'', released in Japan for the {{PlayStation 3}} on the 8th of September 2011. It currently holds the record for the fastest-selling ''TalesSeries'' title and the second fastest-selling PS3 title with approximately 525,605 copies sold in the first week. It was released on August 2013 in North America and Europe... where it dethroned ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/11/bandai-namco-say-theyre-paying-attention-fans/ as international best-seller]], and thanks to some math, would mean it is now one of a handful of ''Tales'' games to sell a grand total of a million-plus units worldwide. In short: this game's pretty successful.

* HandicappedBadass: [[spoiler: Milla, when she loses the use of her legs.]]
** [[spoiler: Even once she has the aspyrixis to help her walk again, it causes her constant pain, which she [[{{Determinator}} powers through]] because she has to complete her mission.]]

* [[spoiler:{{Gotterdammerung}}]]: [[spoiler:Maxwell's creation of Rieze Maxia was this for Elympios, effectively leaving them with no alternatives to Spyrixes for basic necessities where once they could rely on help from Spirit Arte users.]]

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: The two worlds are saved, the well-intentioned antagonists are redeemed, and Jude and Milla finally admit their feelings to one another. However, Milla turns down the opportunity to be reborn as a human and live HappilyEverAfter with Jude, as she feels it is her responsibility to stay in the Spirit World as the new Lord of Spirits]].

* BoyMeetsGirl

%%* ActionGirl: Milla, Leia and eventually Elize.

* [[spoiler:DidNotGetTheGirl: In the end, much to the sadness of both Jude and Milla, they cannot stay together.]]
** Also, [[spoiler:Alvin and Presa.]]

%%* {{Badass}}: Milla, Alvin, Jude, Gaius, Agria, Nachtigal
%%* BadassAdorable: Leia, Elize

* {{Magitech}}: All technology in Rieze Maxia can be explained as applied Spirit Artes. A Spyrix is a more nefarious example. [[spoiler: Spyrite, which is developed during the events of the game, is basically a spyrix without its one glaring drawback]].

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: Old Vicalle Mine. A somewhat early sidequest is likely to send you there: while the enemies are strong, they're far from impossible to beat at level 25 and can give over a thousand of experience points in a single battle. Add XP-adding dishes to the mix, and, [[GameBreaker well...]]
* PenultimateWeapon: Despite what the game tells you, the unawakened Devil's Arms are far from the strongest weapons in the game. By the time you're strong enough to defeat the [[BonusBoss Devil's Beasts ]]guarding them, it's possible shops may be selling stronger stuff, and you can't awaken their full power until after beating the game, making them more of a BraggingRightsReward.
* PluckyComicRelief: Ivar. He's hyper, he moves like typical western cartoon characters, and has comical SFX going in for him.