The direct sequel to JRPG Tales of Xillia uses elements of choice and explores areas not seen in the first game.
The Tales of series makes direct sequels infrequently, choosing to focus on new characters and new universes in the franchise; however, Tales of Xillia 2 will build on the structure set in the first Xillia. It will also bring back the cast from the first game to fight alongside the new, quiet main character.
Producer Hideo Baba said the team originally had no plans to make a sequel for their 15th anniversary game, Tales of Xillia. “But the 15th anniversary is a special title, and we made a very detailed history set in the Tales of Xillia world,” he told Gematsu in an interview at New York Comic Con. “This includes many pieces not described in Tales of Xillia.”
The game, like a few other titles in the franchise, has two worlds. The first Xillia sends the characters to the second world, Elympios, but the gameplay in the second world is brief and relegated to a short section near the end of the game. “We decided to make [Elympios] the main stage in Tales of Xillia 2,” Baba said.
Elympios is a “kind of modern and futuristic city,” Baba explained. “You can compare the previous games’ worlds as something of fantasy.”
The battle system still uses Link Artes, special cooperative attacks that were first implemented in Xillia. The main character of Tales of Xillia 2, Ludger Kresnik, can switch between weapons during battles, and the player will also need to make choices as Ludger for the story.
Previously, Baba expressed interest in bringing over the original Japanese audio for the Tales of games. It appears, like Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2 will not have the Japanese voices for localization, as Baba says there are “many problems with implementing it in the localized version.” Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, the HD remaster of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, will include the Japanese voice-overs.
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles and Tales of Xillia 2 have no official launch dates yet, but they will both be released in the west in 2014. An attendee uploaded footage of an English trailer for Tales of Xillia 2 shown at NYCC.
Source: Gematsu
Update: Namco Bandai uploaded the English trailer called “The Pocket Watch.”
