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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tox1cover.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:A tale of unwavering belief.[[note]]Left to right from the bottom-up: Jude Mathis, Elize Lutus, Milla Maxwell, Leia Rolando, Alvin, Rowen Ilbert, Muzét, Gaius.[[/note]]]]
3
4->''"Even if you present them with a more noble way, humans won't change. I've been watching them for two thousand years."''
5
6''Tales of Xillia'' is the thirteenth mainline entry in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''. The game was released on September 8th, 2011 in Japan, exclusively on the Platform/Playstation3. It received an international release on August 6th, 2013 in North America and August 9th, 2013 in Europe.
7
8In the world of Rieze Maxia, humans and monsters co-exist with the Spirits, who grant their power to humans in exchange for protection. The most basic form of this is the ability to channel {{mana}} as Spirit Power, which can be used to [[MundaneUtility power everything]] from street lamps to magical spells. Two countries vie for supremacy of Rieze Maxia: Rashugal, an empire whose extensive use of Spirit Power has granted it incredible prosperity; and Auj Oule, a developing country whose power comes from the control of monsters.
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10Jude Mathis is a bright young medical student studying in the capital of Rashugal. When a large number of patients are suddenly admitted to his hospital, he investigates the cause and encounters a mysterious woman called Milla Maxwell. Milla claims to be "Maxwell", the legendary Lord of Spirits, and has come to investigate a recent wave of spirit deaths within Rashugal. Together, she and Jude discover a [[AwfulTruth horrific secret]] lurking in the heart of Rashugal, and are soon forced to flee from the military.
11
12Other characters include Alvin, a smooth-talking mercenary [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder with a secret agenda]]; Leia Rolando, Jude's childhood friend and [[CombatMedic trainee nurse]]; Elize Lutus, a [[ShrinkingViolet timid but gifted]] Spirit Summoner with a talking doll named Teepo; and Rowen J. Ilbert, the dedicated [[CoolOldGuy butler of a respected noble family]] within Rashugal.
13
14The battle system is a fusion of the ''Destiny'' (Capacity Points) and ''Symphonia'' (TP) styles featured in previous Tales games, allowing for constant combos as long as "Assault Counter" points remain. The most notable addition is "Link Mode", which allows two characters to coordinate their actions far more closely, protecting each other, attacking together and executing powerful tag team attacks called Resonance Artes. The Skit System from previous Tales games has also been expanded, now including more inter-party banter during battles and casual dialogue while wandering through the overworld. Since there has been an official name for them, but the game doesn't differentiate between the two "long" and "short" skits, the short skits [[FanNickname have been called "chats"]].
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16A direct sequel to the game, ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', was released on November 1st, 2012 in Japan, and internationally on August 19th, 2014 in North America and August 22nd, 2014 in Europe.
17
18'''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned You have been warned of]] very critical spoilers!'''
19
20----
21
22!!Trope associated with this game:
23[[foldercontrol]]
24[[folder:Tropes A-D]]
25* 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 Elympios plot threads (The Otherworld Reactor Project, human experimentation, etc.) to voiced-over sub-events, or outright no resolution.]]
26* ActionGirl: Milla is the most noticeable example of this in the game. She refuses to stay down or fail in her mission to protect Rieze Maxia from those who would seek to control the spirits and use Spyrix technology, believing it to be her duty as the Lord of Spirits.
27* AlienSky: As seen in the game's opening and the night-time party chats before the final battle, there are two moons orbiting the world of Rieze Maxia [[spoiler:and Elympios]], one smaller/farther than the other.
28* AlwaysWithYou: [[spoiler:It is hinted in the ending for Jude's side that even though Milla now lives in the spirit world as the new Maxwell, she still watches over him and their friends.]]
29* AmplifierArtifact: Boosters. They work by forcefully extracting more mana from a person's mana lobe that is normal (or healthy), thus allowing the user to cast more powerful Spirit Artes. The drawback is that it [[CastFromHP shortens the user's lifespan]].
30* AnimeThemeSong: ''progress'' by the queen of [[JapanesePopMusic J-pop]], Music/AyumiHamasaki.
31* AnotherSideAnotherStory: The game allows you to choose either Jude or Milla at the beginning of the game as the "main character". Whoever you choose will get more scenes, their own set of BattleThemeMusic, and you get to see their version of events when the party splits up. While Jude is a more traditional AudienceSurrogate whose scenes focus on CharacterDevelopment, Milla is more involved in the events of the plot.
32* AnthropomorphicPersonification: The party theorizes that [[spoiler:the Golden Mage Knight is the physical form of bloodlust]].
33* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Shares a page with the rest of the franchise [[AntiFrustrationFeatures/TalesSeries here]].
34* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: While the party is limited to only four characters, the player can switch in any off-screen character during battle.
35* ArbitraryMissionRestriction: Of the optional objective variety. The player can earn a title for not using any [[HealingPotion Gels]] until a certain point in the game.
36* ArcWords: [[Literature/SherlockHolmes "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."]] Often followed by someone saying "Howe's Egg Principle", which is the name for the phrase.
37* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Milla gives one of these to Gaius during his MotiveRant. [[spoiler:Gaius reveals that his plan is to gather and store all of the world's superweapons not only to gain strength, but to protect the weak from those who would seek to abuse them.]] Milla counters with a speech to the effect of "But you'll eventually die one day. And who's to say the next guy who takes the throne in your place will have the same ideas you do?" Gaius [[NotSoStoic briefly falters at that]].
38* 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.
39* ArtificialStupidity:
40** 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]].
41** Leia has a buff spell that gives a [[LuckBasedMission random]] elemental attribute to an ally's physical attacks. Not only does her AI fail to realize how unreliable this is, but she'll even cast it against enemies that ''resist all elements'', where it will drastically lower your damage output. [[note]]However, like with all artes, you can turn this off so that she doesn't use it.[[/note]]
42* AscendedExtra: In a sense, Driselle. She's a minor NPC character, and yet she gets to be part of a few skits on Milla's side of the story, [[spoiler:during their imprisonment at Fort Gandala]].
43* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Both King Nachtigal and King Gaius are extremely tough bosses, with Nachtigal in particular being a HopelessBossFight when you first meet him. (Gaius is arguably also a HopelessBossFight the first time you fight him -- the game proceeds in the same way whether you win or not, and suggests that your entire party is more or less equally matched with him.) Both, however, also have a certain degree of [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for this -- Nachtigal fought in the army in his younger days, working his way up from foot soldier to general on merit alone, despite his noble birth (which, in fact, is the main reason he's king by now -- when it came to a civil war between him and his older brothers, the army backed HIM.) Gaius, meanwhile, rose to power on a philosophy of AsskickingLeadsToLeadership, and effectively formed his kingdom from a bunch of scattered [[BarbarianTribe Barbarian Tribes]] by virtue of being able to kick everybody else's ass -- in a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy culture that greatly honors personal strength]].
44* AutomaticNewGame: If there is no savefile present, the game starts up by letting the player check the settings and then proceeds immediately into the animated cutscene intro. A proper title menu appears once the player has viewed the Jude or Milla opening, depending on which route they picked.
45* BigNo: From [[spoiler:Jude, when Milla appears to die]] at the end of chapter 3.
46* BigDamnHeroes: During the final boss battle, each party member that isn't Jude or Milla comes into the battle to assist them one by one, using their Mystic Arte for a DynamicEntry.
47* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The two worlds are saved, the well-intentioned antagonists are redeemed and Maxwell steps down, dispelling the schism. However, Milla turns down the opportunity to be reborn as a human, as she feels it is her responsibility to stay in the Spirit World as the new Lord of Spirits.]]
48* BlackMagic: Spyrix machines. Unlike Spirit Power, which essentially recycles the mana by giving it to spirits in exchange for magic, a Spyrix burns up the mana completely and risks depleting the finite mana supply of the world, as well as killing the spirits used in the process by mana starvation. The most dangerous Spyrix machines (such as the Lance of Kresnik) even suck up the mana from every living thing around them (including Spirits) to power themselves.
49* BoobBasedGag: The skit about "Bazongas" [[note]]'Bazongas' is a slang word for 'boobs'.[[/note]]. The "bazongas" are first alluded to in a random conversation between Elize and Teepo, the latter claiming she has to eat properly or she'll "[[BuxomBeautyStandard never get big bazongas]]". Later, Jude asks about what Teepo means by bazongas, Rowen and Alvin tease him for his lack of knowledge, leading to Jude exclaiming '''[[LargeHam TEACH ME ABOUT ]][[https://youtu.be/xmKR_DziomM BAZONGAS!]]'''. Just as Rowen and Alvin leave, and within Leia and Milla's earshot. Milla brushes it off as Jude experiencing puberty (according to a book), but that does nothing to mend Jude's wounded pride.
50* BoyMeetsGirl: Jude encounters [[ActionGirl Milla]] when he gets curious and sees her walking on water, then ends up pulled along into her mission. [[spoiler: Milla gets eventually lost due to a HeroicSacrifice but she comes back.]]
51* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: After Alvin apparently sells the party out to Cline, Teepo offers this when confronting him:
52-->'''Teepo''': You jerk! You tattletale! You... tattle-jerk!
53* BroughtDownToNormal: Milla loses her elemental abilities early into the plot.
54* CallBack: At one point in the story, [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia very badly-drawn wanted posters are put up for Jude and Milla]].
55* TheCameo: Amongst other DLC were costumes based off of previous Tales series characters much like Graces had prior to this, complete with said outfits changing the battle music and even adding cameo win-quotes. The pre-order costume set for the game had a [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Cless Alvein]] costume for Jude and a [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn Aileron]] outfit for Milla. There were also Japan-only costumes based off of ''Anime/StarDriver'' and an internationally available set based off of ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster''. As for the publicly available cameo costumes, all playable characters got one each. Jude has a [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Leon Magnus]] outfit complete with earring prop and "Leon - Irony of Fate" battle music, Milla gets [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Dhaos]]' outfit as well as his headband as a hairstyle item and the Narikiri Dungeon X remix of "Conclusion", Alvin fittingly has [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Kratos Aurion]]'s Judgment outfit and hairstyle and "End of a Thought", Elize gets [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Mint Adnade]] along with her nurse hat and "Take Up The Cross", Leia gets [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Farah Oersted]] as well as her hairstyle along with "Inferia Battle" and Rowen oddly enough gets [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Barbatos Goetia]] complete with hairstyle and the Destiny 1 Director's Cut remix of "Coup de Grace".
56* CastFromHP:
57** 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.]]
58** On the smaller scale, Boosters are this as well, dramatically increasing an individual's mana output - at the cost of their life energy. However, as a soldier puts it, this cost is mainly only after long periods of use, and even then, how much depends wildly among the afflicted. After hearing this, Rowen is worried for [[spoiler:Elize, knowing full well that Teepo is a unique booster prototype]].
59* ChekhovsGun: There are quite a few events that foreshadow [[spoiler:the development of Spyrite technology]]. When Jude and Milla search for a [[GreenRocks Spirit Fossil]] to [[spoiler:power the device that will allow Milla to regain the use of her legs]], they are [[spoiler:carrying out the exact steps needed to make a Spyrite device]].
60* CombatMedic: Jude, intentionally, but his small pool of healing moves makes his status as one disputable. Leia, on the other hand, is a true qualifier, snice she has more traditional ''Tales'' healing spells.
61* CombinationAttack: Link Artes. Several between characters, depending if they have the artes that compliment each other.
62* 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. [[spoiler: Of course, it's justified due to plot reasons, such as hinting that Derrick is from Elympios, and the entire situation ends up being plot important later on.]]
63* CrapsaccharineWorld: The beginning of the game messes up the viewpoint of the entire game's struggle.
64* DeconstructorFleet:
65** UndyingLoyalty is deconstructed heavily in the game by essentially asking a simple question: at what point does ones loyalty become a problem? What happens when someone forms their entire identity around loyalty to someone or something, like a cause? It ranges from showing us someone becoming unhinged and borderline mad when the one they followed [[BrokenPedestal breaks the image they had of them]] or dies, to showing a person becoming a YesMan who lacks free will of any kind, to another [[TheDogBitesBack finally having enough of their loyalty being taken advantage of]] and trying to get revenge on the person they feel is responsible for it. Without a GoalInLife beyond blind loyalty, such dedication is unhealthy and leads to someone becoming a tool rather than a person.
66** Also, the game deconstructs the {{Determinator}} trope you see in the ''Tales'' series when it comes to following your beliefs. What happens when you become so determined to follow your beliefs that you're willing to become the very thing you despise? Also, it shows just how empty simply focusing your entire life is when you follow your beliefs and nothing else. [[spoiler:Gaius' goals and motivations lead him to nearly becoming the very thing he despises, all because he is strong willed and refuses to back-down from his views, leading him to be the games FinalBoss.]]
67* DidNotGetTheGirl: ''Xillia'' seems fond of this trope.
68** In the end, much to the sadness of [[spoiler: both Jude and Milla, they cannot stay together. She must become the new Lord of Spirits to oversee the world continues on the correct path]].
69** Also, [[spoiler:Alvin and Presa]].
70** 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]].
71* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Jude does this to [[spoiler:the real Maxwell]] through sheer [[{{Determinator}} determination.]]
72* DieselPunk: Everything about [[spoiler: Elympios. Trigleph especially feels like it was ripped straight out of a hardboiled detective movie.]]
73* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Direct-tethering, a method of channeling spirit artes, takes on a rather... naughty tone in a skit about it. Muzét's experience with Jude in that method made Milla jealous, and the following line didn't help matters.
74--> '''Muzét:''' "Jude was able to fill me up with loads of mana."
75* DualBoss: The FinalBoss is between two entities who also use the Link System like the player does. [[spoiler:It's with a powered-up Gaius and Muzet.]]
76* DubNameChange:
77** Gaius' Fauves get renamed as the "Chimeriad" in the localization.
78** The shell becomes the schism.
79** The Origin become Spyrites.
80* DuelBoss: [[spoiler:Jude versus Alvin, Milla versus Muzét, Jude versus Ivar. The last one counts as a WakeUpCallBoss as well if Milla is your main character, as it's highly unlikely you've used Jude much up to this point.]]
81* 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 off as rather hard-hearted. (It also doesn't help much that one of the people Jude is 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.]]
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Tropes E-L]]
85* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Regular enemies tend to be fairly easy. The bosses tend to be a huge step up in difficulty.
86* EliteFour: King Gaius has the Chimeriad, all of whom are faced as bosses at various points in the game. They are Jiao, Wingul, Presa, and [[spoiler:Agria]]. They also double as a ClassicalElementsEnsemble, since Jiao specializes in [[DishingOutDirt earth]], Presa specializes in [[MakingASplash water]] and [[AnIcePerson ice]], Wingul specializes in [[BlowYouAway air]] and [[ShockAndAwe electricity]] (and dabbles in [[PlayingWithFire fire]]), and [[spoiler:Agria]] specializes in [[PlayingWithFire fire]].
87* EpilogueLetter: [[spoiler: During the ending, the characters tell their current condition after the final battle by writing letters to each other, with the exception of Milla, of course.]]
88* EternalEnglish: [[spoiler:Despite being separated for two thousand years, Elympions and Rieze Maxians can understand each other so perfectly that the only giveaway that the stranded Elympions aren't Rieze Maxian is their inability to channel spirits. There is a subversion in that Rowen needs Alvin to translate a poster in Trigleph... but the CypherLanguage of the Elympion and Rieze Maxian written languages are ''identical'', only that one is in a serif font and the other isn't.]]
89* EvilIsHammy: The hammiest characters in the game (namely Nachtigal, Agria, and [[spoiler: Muzét]]) all happen to be antagonists.
90* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:Each of the party members went their separate ways after the ending, though they still keep in touch with one another.]]
91* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler:Jude versus Alvin, after Alvin accidentially shoots Leia.]]
92* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
93** 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.
94** 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.
95* {{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]].
96* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold:
97** 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.
98** Nearly at the end of their routes, they have exclusive parts where the event is radically different while it takes place in the same location. Namely, on Jude's side [[spoiler:you fight Gaius for a second time]] while in Milla's side [[spoiler:you fight Muzét instead]].
99* GreenAesop: The [[spoiler:spirit-consuming spyrixes]] are a pretty clear reference to the conflict between nature and industrialization. [[spoiler:Spyrites are basically renewable energy, offering hope to Elympios, which would otherwise die due to completely depleting its natural resources.]]
100* GreenEyedMonster: Ivar becomes increasingly jealous of Jude, a flaw that continually bites him [[spoiler:(and, eventually, the entire world)]] in the arse.
101* GuideDangIt:
102** Some missions have a very specific timeframe they must be done or the quests are [[PermanentlyMissableContent gone]]. 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.
103** 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. The GuideDangIt here is that doing certain sidequests ''too early'' can result in some hint skits being [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost]]. And it's often not obvious which sidequests can safely be put off until later and which will disappear after a certain point.
104* HandshakeSubstitute: Alvin and Leia [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-cx3ism5qw do a complicated one]].
105* HeelFaceDoorSlam: After his defeat, Nachtigal [[spoiler:listens to Rowen and genuinely seems to be interested in joining his friend together to lead the country again, when he's abruptly killed by Gilland]].
106* HeroicBSOD:[[spoiler: Jude has one, bordering on a DespairEventHorizon, when Milla sacrifices herself to save the party. He only snaps out of it when Alvin shoots Leia.]]
107* HoldingHands: [[spoiler: Jude and Milla in the ending. They have to say goodbye because of Milla becoming the Lord of Spirits of Rieze Maxia.]]
108* {{Homage}}: Howe's Egg Principle? That's really something Creator/ArthurConanDoyle of Franchise/SherlockHolmes fame said. Verbatim.
109* HopelessBossFight: The first few rounds of the fight against [[spoiler:the real Maxwell]] is one, as no matter how strong the party is the boss will hit them with his Mystic Arte (which ironically doesn't do much damage to a properly equipped party) during the fight to result in a cutscene of the party getting back up and attacking again a total of 3 times before the fight the player can actually win begins.
110* HotterAndSexier: The skits seem to have taken this route. From Milla asking if Jude has an Oedipus Complex, to a discussion between Jude, Alvin, and Milla about bondage, and even [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking acknowledging that orientations other than straight exist]], this is definitely one of the more risque Tales of titles.
111* InnocentInnuendo: Milla comments, in one of the post-fight commentaries, that Jude has [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything really big hands.]] She's just commenting on [[HeroesFightBarehanded how strong his unarmed attacks are,]] but Jude clearly [[BiggerIsBetterInBed picks up an entirely different subtext.]]
112* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: The Tatalian Abyss sidequest late in the game introduces miasma, a toxic gas older than the world. In this game it's just a random sidequest that doesn't affect anything else except for getting Milla's Devil's Arm, but miasma ends up being very important in [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 the sequel]].
113* InstantExpert: Milla, very much so. With just a bit of instruction from Alvin, she goes from an inept fighter that can't even swing her sword more than once in a row, to an extremely skilled swordswoman the equal of any Tales protagonist. In a skit shortly afterward, she comments that she's finally getting the basics of swordplay down, and that the trick is to view the sword as an extension of her body. A flabbergasted Alvin informs her that's not the basics, but rather the final part of mastery.
114* InstantRunes: While typical of a ''Tales'' game at this point, this iteration makes the runes from ''Abyss'' look like preschool art projects. Milla's "Elemental Mastery" in particular forms four gigantic runic circles that she blasts the enemy with.
115* InMediasRes: As compared to the previous game's ProlongedPrologue, this game's story dumps you into the action immediately, with explanations of what's actually going on and how we got to that point coming later. This is to the point that the game actually skips over the OP and title screen when starting up until you pass a certain (very early) point in the game. This is even more apparent if you're on Mila's story: while Jude gets a bit of time to wander around Fenmont Medical School and talk to [=NPCs=] for some backstory, Mila's throws you right into the middle of an action sequence.
116%%* IntendedAudienceReaction: Alvin being an ObviousJudas, according to the writers.
117* IntimateHealing: "Direct tethering" is apparently this, as it allows a human to provide a Greater Spirit with mana. Naturally, Jude fails to realize this.
118* 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.
119* LastLousyPoint:
120** 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.
121** The sub-event skits might end up being this too, since doing certain sidequests ''too early'' can cause you to miss some.
122* LethallyStupid: Ivar. He constantly gets in the way of protagonists and causes trouble solely due to his own massively overblown ego and trusting information that has been shown false before, and even activates the Lance of Kresnik very nearly killing everyone in the area including Milla which [[spoiler:leads to the situation that requires Milla's HeroicSacrifice.]]
123* LevelUpFillUp: Anyone who has learned the skill "Level Restore" gets the benefit of this.
124* LimitBreak: The fan favorite Mystic Artes attacks return once again; introduced via full-body cut-ins (ala ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'').
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Tropes M-Z]]
128* MagicalIncantation: Incantations act as proof of a contract between Spirits and Channelers, allowing them to use their arts... [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments except for Milla, who simply infuses her desires with the mana she offers, which is more of a threat.]]
129* MagicKnight:
130** 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.
131** Rowen is also a MagicKnight, though on the sliding slide of magic versus melee, he skews closer to the former.
132* {{Magitek}}: 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]].
133* MacguffinDeliveryService: Milla tries to avoid being this. [[spoiler: Unfortunately Ivar doesn't.]]
134* MegatonPunch: Milla can smash people around with giant summoned fists made of stone.
135* MoneyIsExperiencePoints: you can level up shops by spending money on their items. You could also donate money to give a higher portion of experience than you would by buying items.
136* MoodWhiplash:
137** 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.]]
138** On Jude's path, there's the scene of him and the Lord of Sharilton talking, who is offering his help however he can, while asking for Jude help against Nachtigal, shortly after his sister and Elize drag Milla away for some shopping. [[spoiler: Cline is shot by an arrow, just as he offers his hand to Jude, and dies of his injury.]]
139* MultipleGameOpenings: Depending on whether you choose to play as Jude or Milla the story starts at different points, and later on which branches you'll take and what bosses you'll meet.
140* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Alvin, after accidentally shooting Leia. However, [[NeverMyFault Alvin then blames Jude]], leading to a DuelBoss battle between them.]]
141* 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.
142* MythologyGag: Shares a page with the rest of the franchise [[MythologyGag/TalesSeries here]].
143* NewGamePlus: Once you beat either Jude's story, or Milla's, you get access to the New Game Plus option. Based on how many Grade Points you received in the first completed playthrough(which you get from getting titles), you can give new attributes to your new save file, such as XP boosts, regaining the levels your party had at the end of your last save file, etc.
144* NoOntologicalInertia: [[spoiler: If Maxwell dies, the schism will disappear.]]
145* NPCRandomEncounterImmunity: Justified by the existence of Lilium Orbs, which give humans enough power to combat monsters ([[GameplayAndStoryIntegration and facilitate]] the CharacterLevel system). People are ''strongly discouraged'' from leaving town without one; Jude wasn't allowed to go to medical school without one, and he'd have been safe on a boat for his whole journey. Luckily, Lilium Orbs are fairly common.
146* NumberedSequel: Not in the conventional way. Xillia is the thirteenth title in the mothership series. And if you're familiar with Roman Numerals the first for letters in Xillia is the the Roman Numeral for thirteen(XIII).
147* OfficialCouple: Jude and Milla.
148* OlderThanTheyLook: Jude's mother Ellen is 51 years old, yet could easily pass for her forties or even thirties.
149* OtherworldlyTechnicolourHair: The humans in the setting largely have normal hair colours of blond, brown, black, and grey from aging, with all odder colours associated with the supernatural spirits, like the Great Spirit Muzét, who has teal hair. Milla Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits [[GodInHumanForm temporarily taking human form]], is otherwise blonde with an errant strand of hair styled green by the Great Spirit of Wind, Sylph. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Milla was HumanAllAlong, and when she dies and reincarnates into a spirit herself, her blonde hair turns entirely green]].
150* 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 experience points in a single battle. Add XP-adding dishes to the mix, and, [[GameBreaker well...]] Xagut Floodmeadow too, if you go there as soon as you reach Nia Khera.
151** TheWarSequence at Fezebel Marsh. The game counts the entire fight, those dozens and dozens of soldiers, as one battle. And there is a food that increases experience gain by 100% for a single fight. You do the math on that.
152* 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 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.
153* PluckyComicRelief: Ivar. He's hyper, he moves like typical western cartoon characters, and has comical SFX going in for him.
154* PokemonSpeak: In the Japanese version, the Gentleman enemies exclaim "Gentleman!" upon noticing you. (In the English version, they say "Hello there!"). Also a case of GratuitousEnglish.
155* RedHerring: When the party is aware of side effects from booster overuse, the camera pans to [[spoiler: Elize]] for a few seconds, and a skit has Rowen suspecting possible side effects in [[spoiler: Elize]]. [[spoiler: In the end, Wingul is the one who succumbs to overusing his booster.]]
156* RelationshipValues: A mild case. [[spoiler: The order your four remaining party members enter the final boss battle depends on their total link time.]]
157%%* SayMyName
158* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
159** 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.
160** Jude in the German version is spelled as Jyde. Somewhat justified as Jude is the German spelling for jew.
161* SceneryPorn: The game is really beautiful, whether it's the anime cutscenes or in game scenes. Then again, the anime cutscenes were produced by Creator/{{ufotable}}.
162* ShipTease: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by some of the titles you can earn going through the game, to earn [[NewGamePlus grade]]. ''"Jude and Milla have spent so much time linked together that people are beginning to gossip"'', for example. They have a title for '''every''' pairing of the main characters, and each involves their names with a heart between them.
163* ShoutOut:
164** Professor Haus (pronounced Series/{{House}}) is a highly accomplished doctor at Jude's medical school. He performs unethical medical experiments and doesn't like to see patients. Sound familiar?
165** One of the skills Elize learns allows her to cut the party's battle-escape time by 80%. It's called [[WesternAnimation/ChickenRun Chicken Run]].
166** Jude quotes Franchise/SherlockHolmes at one point: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Milla and Rowen later repeat the quote.
167* SignificantReferenceDate: Supplementary material marks the creation the Schism as occurring in the year 2011 of the Elympios calendar, the same year the game was released in Japan.
168* SpockSpeak: Milia's speech is extremely formal, avoiding contractions and expressions of speech, and she constantly refers to human behavior with a mixture of wonder, bewilderment and, occasionally, disappointment.
169* SuaveSabre: Rowen is a MagicKnight who uses almost exclusively [[RoyalRapier Rapiers]] and Sabres in battle. This fits heavily with his Battle Butler theme, accentuating his intelligence and his elegance in battle.
170* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: Usually there are save points at the ends of the areas between cities and dungeons. Then, in the middle of the Lakutam Highroad, there's a save point for no apparent reason. Following that is naturally a small event and a boss.
171%%* TearfulSmile: [[spoiler:Milla in the ending.]]
172* TrueCompanions: The main characters.
173* TheUnreveal: At the end of the Pretty in Pink sidequest, the player never gets to see what the cute pink thing is.
174* WalkAndTalk: The first time you arrive in Nia Khera the party walks through the village during some exposition, with the camera following behind them.
175* WaveMotionGun: The Lance of Kresnik. [[spoiler:Except it's not the type that blows stuff up.]]
176* WhamEpisode: The start of Act 3: [[spoiler: "It wasn't a weapon."]] The end of Act 3 ([[spoiler: Milla's death]]) and [[spoiler: the party's confrontation with the real Maxwell]] also qualify.
177* WhatTheHellHero: Subverted. Alvin's attempts to snap Jude out of his HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:while suffering from a breakdown of his own lead to him almost killing Leia]].
178* WhiteAndGreyMorality: All the antagonists in the game are varying degrees of sympathetic, and all tend to either have a HeelRealisation or AlasPoorVillain moment after being defeated by the party.
179* WholesomeCrossdresser: Milla's Stahn and Dhaos costumes.
180* XanatosSpeedChess:
181** 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.
182** Jude's uncanny ability to see things and plan at a moment's notice may be the first stages of this.
183* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler: Muzét]] tries to pull this in the Temporal Crossroads on Milla's route. Appropriately, after you win, Jude and Milla say "We shall pass!"
184[[/folder]]

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