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1!![[center: [- [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/TalesSeries Alternative Character Interpretation]] | [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/TalesSeries And The Fandom Rejoiced]] | [[AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries Awesome Bosses]] | [[BrokenBase/TalesSeries Broken Base]] | [[Monster/TalesSeries Complete Monster]] | [[DieForOurShip/TalesSeries Die For Our Ship]] | [[GameBreaker/TalesSeries Game Breaker]] | [[MoralEventHorizon/TalesSeries Moral Event Horizon]] | [[Narm/TalesSeries Narm]] | [[PlayerPunch/TalesSeries Player Punch]] | [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap/TalesSeries Rescued From The Scrappy Heap]] | [[ScrappyMechanic/TalesSeries Scrappy Mechanic]] | [[ThatOneAchievement/TalesSeries That One Achievement]] | [[ThatOneAttack/TalesSeries That One Attack]] | [[ThatOneBoss/TalesSeries That One Boss]] | [[ThatOneLevel/TalesSeries That One Level]] | [[ThatOneSidequest/TalesSeries That One Sidequest]] | [[TheScrappy/TalesSeries The Scrappy]] | [[Woobie/TalesSeries The Woobie]]]]-]
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4* {{Adorkable}}:
5** Milla's innocent lack of understanding towards normal human social graces, and her enthusiastic joy at experiencing feelings we take for granted (such as hunger) is ''very'' endearing. She's particularly excited to experience a runny nose for the first time.
6** Jude has his moments. Like his awkwardness at liking Milla, him gushing over various "cool facts", and just by being so genuinely nice and honest.
7* AmericansHateTingle: Milla is a BaseBreakingCharacter on the Western side of the fandom for a multitude of reasons, ranging from her voice acting to claims of CharacterShilling. In Japan though she's fairly well liked enough to where she made it into the top twenty in the popularity polls.
8* AnticlimaxBoss: [[spoiler: The Real Maxwell]] in Milla's story, since her version of the fight skips past the two HopelessBossFight segments to the actual winnable part, and due to the boss's huge vulnerability to the Four Great Spirits, which in her story you've had a while to get used to using. It's probably intentional though.
9* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
10** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofd4gcFiQg8 Battle for a Future to Believe in]].
11** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXrk2GOI6mM progress]]'' by Music/AyumiHamasaki.
12* BaseBreakingCharacter:
13** Milla is either one of the best female characters in the series and a solid example of an [[ActionGirl action girl]] done right, or she's hardly developed and [[CharacterShilling shilled to the Nth degree.]]
14** Alvin is either seen as a backstabbing traitor, who [[KarmaHoudini nearly gets off scot-free]], or as a JerkassWoobie, who's trying hard to redeem himself.
15** Fans are also divided on whether Gaius is one of the best villains in the series, or way too boring and another KarmaHoudini.
16** Ivar is either a funny screw up with poor judgement or an annoying idiot who ends up [[UnwittingPawn making everything worse]] for everyone in a moment of EpicFail and deserves to die.
17* CaptainObviousReveal: This game has a couple, especially for veteran ''Tales'' series players:
18** [[spoiler:Alvin has every aspect of the ObviousJudas trope written all over him. It's his reason why he's one that is the main twist.]]
19** A larger example is the twist [[spoiler:that Milla isn't really Maxwell, which many players figured out thanks to how often it's mentioned in-game that she is. TheUntwist is that Milla ''does'' become Maxwell by the end of the game, rather than simply staying the way she was after the original reveal is discovered, meaning that technically, she was right all along (in that ultimately, she embodied the concept of Maxwell better than Maxwell himself did by the end, if his officially bequeathing his title to her is any implication).]]
20** The fact that Karla Outway from the History of Auj-Oule sidequest [[spoiler: is Gaius' sister. It's not revealed until the final part of the quest, at the very end of the game, but it's obvious to most players from the first part. And the fact she has the exact same hair and eye colour as him makes it even more obvious.]]
21* DemonicSpiders: From the BonusDungeon, Megistus Mandragoras. Suffer as they proceed to petrify your whole party in the blink of an eye. [[spoiler: Easily preventable by equipping everyone in your party with Krona Symbols, which grants immunity to all status ailments, except stun]].
22* DieForOurShip: Shares a page with the rest of the franchise [[DieForOurShip/TalesSeries here]].
23* DisappointingLastLevel: [[spoiler: Elympios.]] An interesting case in that it's disappointing because it should've been so much more that just a "last level". See TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot.
24* DracoInLeatherPants: Gaius. It says a lot that an overlord who nearly committed genocide (immediate or otherwise) could have so many fans.
25%%* EvilIsCool: Gaius.
26* EnsembleDarkhorse: Driselle. Despite being a relatively minor character, her sweet and kind personality on top of her becoming almost an older sister to Elize, quickly made her someone fans wanted to see more of. Combined with her good design and being implied to have taken training lessons from Rowen, and many wanted her to join the party, especially in the sequel.
27* FakeDifficulty: The FinalBoss's time stopping, considering there's nothing you can do to stop it and they can use it whenever they feel like it.
28* FanNickname: There's an NPC vendor who can be heard screaming about fresh mutton in almost ''every single town'' that you go to. He gets called "The Mutton Man"; sometimes [[http://divinesabers.tumblr.com/post/59691703118/oh-do-you-know-the-mutton-man-the-mutton-man in direct reference to The Muffin Man]], other times simply because he's, well... a man who sells mutton.
29%%* FanPreferredCouple: Despite Jude and Milla being the OfficialCouple, getting much ShipTease in both games, Jude/Alvin is significantly more popular.
30* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Xillia'' has been remarkably well-received by American audiences, arguably even more than in Japan. So much that ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' had its American release announced immediately after the release of ''Xillia''. If ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is the ''Tales'' series' answer to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', then Xillia is the answer to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''.
31* HarsherInHindsight: All of Teepo's jabs at people like Alvin and Leia, such as calling them names and accusing Leia of being TheLoad, become a lot less funny when [[spoiler: it's revealed that Teepo is a booster that speaks Elize's true thoughts.]]
32** Ivar's [[EpicFail constant failing?]] Hilarious. Ivar failing in ''the most epic way possible'' by [[spoiler: activating the Lance of Kresnik]]? Not funny in the slightest.
33** This victory conversation between Alvin and Rowen becomes one later in the game, when [[spoiler: ''both'' Rowen and Alvin fall victim to DidNotGetTheGirl]]. Later [[spoiler:Alvin ''shoots'' Leia (a lady).]]
34--->'''Alvin''': We never miss...\
35'''Rowen''': Our targets!\
36'''Alvin''': Especially the ladies!
37* HoYay:
38** Alvin often lays an arm across Jude's shoulders. One of his battle quotes (mockingly) laments Jude giving him said shoulder ["Ouch, the cold shoulder~"]. There is a subverted moment of this with Jude saying he wouldn't care if [[spoiler: Maxwell had chosen a male form for himself]] to which Alvin asks "You swing both ways?" to which Jude only says "That's not what I meant..."
39** On the [[HoYay Les Yay]] side, there's Teepo repeatedly ''{{m|arshmallowHell}}otorboating'' Milla. This may not seem that much at first, but it's eventually discovered that [[spoiler: Teepo has no mind of his own. He just voices and acts on Elize's innermost thoughts and desires, including the ones she's not consciously aware of.]] Teepo is also always the most enthusiastic about Milla growing bigger Bazongas...
40* HilariousInHindsight:
41** An NPC at Fenmont's medical school says he imagines Maxwell as a wrinkled old man with a beard. At the time, it's funny because that's nowhere near what Milla looks like, especially if you're familiar with Maxwell always looking like that in previous Tales games. [[spoiler: Then you find out she isn't really Maxwell, and the real Maxwell really ''does'' look like that.]]
42** The skit where Rowen talks about how annoying cat lovers can be becomes an unintentional BrickJoke in ''Xillia 2'', where you meet Ms. Kitty Cat, who acts nearly '''exactly''' the way he described.
43* IKnewIt: Two examples were figured out pretty easily by ''Tales'' series players:
44** No one was surprised that [[spoiler:Alvin would be the one to do all of the [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder chronic backstabbing]] that usually happens in the series.]]
45** Most people saw [[spoiler:the reveal that Milla ''wasn't'' Maxwell coming, or at least had a feeling something like it was going to happen, mainly because 1) the fact that she is supposedly Maxwell at all seems like something that should have been a major twist in its own right and 2) it was casually revealed not long after the game was announced and discussed heavily in the game itself from the very beginning, alerting players that there had to be something more to it. It doesn't help that players who've played other games in the series with Maxwell in them will already suspect if not outright know that Milla isn't him.]]
46* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: While the story is supposed to overall reference the previous Tales titles' stories, implementing various aspects of them into one, fans have complained that this caused all sorts of plot twists to be too obvious and lacking the intensity they had in the previous games, claiming the story isn't well-balanced and ultimately feels like a rehash.
47** Some players have accused the soundtrack to be too similar to Sakuraba's previous works, especially taking a heavy lean on ''Graces''' music, which wasn't considered that great to begin with.
48* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
49** Alvin has been paired with Leia, Elize, Jude, Milla, and Presa; and that's with the primary cast more or less.
50** Jude. All three of the female party members have romantic feelings for him in canon, but in addition to that, he also gets shipped with Alvin, Gaius, and Muzet.
51* MagnificentBastard:
52** [[TheManBehindTheMan Maxwell]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist Lord of the Spirits]], masterminded the entire plot comfortably on his throne within the Temporal Crossroads. Distressed by the rapid death of spirits due to spyrix use, Maxwell cautioned the denizens of Elympios against it. When [[IgnoredExpert his warnings went unheeded]], Maxwell created the Schism and the second world of Rieze Maxia in hopes of keeping spirits alive on the better one. When Exodus breached the schism, Maxwell created his "daughters" Muzet and Milla, fashioning the latter to draw out Exodus and fulfill his plans unsuspected. Successfully getting rid of Exodus despite twenty years of inaction without a hitch, Maxwell was open-minded enough to listen to Jude and Milla's viewpoints and [[MyGodWhatHaveIdone changes his ways]]. Despite betrayal from Muzet and Gaius, Maxwell successfully holds them off while casting the heroes to Elmypios as a contingency. When agreements are made, Maxwell [[FaceDeathWithDignity peacefully passes on]] while abdicating his title of "Lord of Spirits" to Milla to usher in a better, unified world.
53** [[WorldsStrongestMan King Gaius]] is the leader of the Auj Oule kingdom and one of Rieze Maxia's most challenging antagonists. Aspiring to unite the world under his leadership, he addresses the complaints of his people and abolishes unnecessary lethal traditions. When Milla Maxwell presents the possibility of his ideals dying with him, Gaius only barely flinches and vows to alter the course of history. Able to adapt to any situation, he chooses to team up with the heroes in order to defeat the mysterious group Exodus. Later, Gaius exploits Muzét's [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife unrelenting desire for a purpose]] and recruits her. Together, they overthrow Maxwell and attempt to save Rieze Maxia from Elympios by destroying its spyrix technology, which would force them to use a safer way to live. After being defeated in the end, Gaius is convinced to stand down and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 eventually]] travels to Elympios to better understand its people.
54* MemeticMutation: Due to that one skit, it seems that the word [[BoobBasedGag "BAZONGAS"]] are now used a lot to refer to ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''.
55--> "Teach me about Bazongas!!"
56* {{Moe}}:
57** Leia, Elize.
58** Many a {{fangirl}} would argue that Jude is incredibly adorable as well.
59* MoralEventHorizon: Go [[MoralEventHorizon/TalesSeries here]].
60* NightmareFuel:
61** [[spoiler: Upon finding the Professor having his mana drained, his face is gaunt and looks like it's ''dissolving''. Then he ''does'' dissolve. Then you meet {{A|xCrazy}}gria.]]
62** [[spoiler: Jude's HeroicBSOD to end all Heroic [=BSODs=]. He just sits there completely apathetic and dead to the world for god knows how long. And then Alvin, who's completely lost it, bursts into the room, rants for a little bit, and then grabs Jude by his jacket and presses his gun to Jude's forehead, fully intending to splatter his brains all over the wall. And Jude doesn't react at all. Not a word, not a blink, not even a, "Go ahead. Do it." He truly doesn't care anymore. Seeing Jude and Alvin reduced to this is terrifying.]]
63* ObviousJudas: The game really doesn't try to hide the fact that Alvin is the resident mole of the group.
64* OneSceneWonder:
65** [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Tales veteran]] Creator/SoichiroHoshi as an [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Asbel]] expy... whose only real purpose is to make one empowering speech before handing the B-plot off to his younger sister.
66** And in the English version, it feels strange to have Creator/KeithSilverstein (who voiced, out of all ''Tales'' characters, Lambda, the main antagonist of Asbel's game) voice said expy.
67** And if you're playing Milla's story [[spoiler: his death is completley off-screen, and you only really learn about it by talking to random [=NPC=]s and visiting areas you have no business going back to.]]
68* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap:
69** Elize was disliked early in the game by many, but by the midpoint, most people swapped opinions and praised her for being one of the few young Tales of characters who actually acts her age.
70** Leia likewise was seen as a generic GenkiGirl at first, but the scene where she [[spoiler: saves Jude from Alvin after Milla dies]] really made her stick out.
71** The English dub did this for Jude among a particular subset of fans. It seems that Creator/TsubasaYonaga's performance as Jude was {{Lost|InTranslation}} on some western players, who found him whiny and annoying, while Creator/SamRiegel's take on the character is considered a bit more mature.
72* RewatchBonus:
73** Knowing that Teepo [[spoiler: has no will of his own and is just a voice for Elize's inner thoughts]], a lot of his earlier lines make a whole lot more sense.
74** Rewatching when you know that Milla [[spoiler: really is just a human woman who was duped]] is a fascinating and unsettling experience. Particularly anytime she mentions [[spoiler: her mission, 'you humans', her role as Maxwell etc]].
75* RootingForTheEmpire: Some fans of the game side with Gaius over the party and support his actions.
76* StrangledByTheRedString: Jude and Milla's OfficialCouple status has earned some criticism for this. The game doesn't really do a lot to develop it on Milla's end, and Jude's comes across as more like he idolizes her, but the game very heavily confirms they have feelings for each other. The fact they don't verbally confirm their feelings for one another also comes across as a LastMinuteHookup.
77* SurpriseDifficulty:
78** In general, the game's bosses leap up in difficulty compared to the normal enemies.
79** In terms of non-bosses, if you're playing Milla's story, Fort Gandala comes as a pretty big DifficultySpike. You go from having a 5-person party to Milla fighting ''solo'', against enemies that clearly were designed to be fought with a full party. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Milla has no healing skills, and that her charged spells are nearly impossible to pull off without someone to cover her.
80* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
81** ''Xillia'' got some hatred because unlike other ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' games, you can't just be good at comboing and stun-locking bosses to death in one endless SpamAttack combo. You ''will'' have to block and dodge in this game. If you haven't learned from ''Graces'', then it's a good time to learn now.
82** Some are also rather annoyed over the weak SFX direction, with Overlimit lacking the traditional SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound.
83** The fact you need a link to go into overlimit (and thus mystic arte), possibly a case of ScrappyMechanic. It should be noted that bosses can have all the perks of the twin system and none of the downsides, and are able to use their mystic artes without being linked.
84** The link system also locks out any other player controlling the character. Expect much annoyance from accidentally linking with the wrong character and locking out your ally.
85** Also, the lack of item synthesis and cooking was not received well by the fans, as many felt it took away two of the main mechanics that had been in the series since the start.
86* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
87** Early on in the game Jude is branded a criminal for helping Milla. Despite this being a good way to potentially develop Jude as a character, the event is only used for comedic moments and never effects any of his interactions, not even when he returns home. Imagine Jude having to face his parents for dropping out of medical school, and being now a wanted criminal! Nope, apparently nobody in Fennmont bothered to spread information beyond the [[MythologyGag extremely poorly drawn wanted pictures]].
88** [[spoiler:Elympios. It starts off with promise, especially with the first city but it's all a waste as it has four allowable locations to visit; and there's hardly a reason to go there after you get the ability to visit both worlds, save for side quests]]. Fortunately, the world is explored more thoroughly in the sequel.
89** The booster storyline sets up a possible backstory for Elize and Wingul, as well as setting up an explanation as to how boosters work. Instead the storyline is overshadowed by Elize's backstory, with the booster plot being dropped, resulting in Wingul's backstory being AllThereInTheManual.
90** A frequent complaint of the branching paths the choice of protagonists gives, is that while both characters are central to the plot, Jude's path gets a lot more of the plot points, while Milla's path tends to skip around. This is immediately visible from the start: Jude gets a build up as to why he shows up at the research facility, establishing who he is and why he's there. Milla just teleports there, and her reasons are explained during the exploration - something both protagonists get to see because they tie in the main plot. This leads Jude's path to feeling built up as a story, while Milla's feels like you were just dropped in the game and said game trying desperately to backfill who Milla is and why Milla's there. The game could be best summarized as "It's Milla's story but Jude sees all the plot points."
91* UglyCute: Teepo. It's downright creepy but cute.

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