Tales of Xillia was the first “Tales of” game that I ever imported. It’s hard to believe that it has been 14 years since then, and diving back into Reize Maxia and revisiting the beloved cast with Tales of Xillia Remastered makes me marvel at how much can change, and how little, at the same time. I still remember the days when it would take months, perhaps even years, for the English-speaking audience to get games, if we got them at all. Bandai Namco’s “Tales of” series is one of those that, if we got them at all, would arrive a good while after the Japanese release. Xillia is the second title to get the remaster treatment as a part of the Tales of Remastered Project, and it has been great to see how well it holds up against more modern entries. And even though the remaster itself is solid, I found it a bit uninspired.
Tales of Xillia features dual protagonists Jude Mathis and Milla Maxwell, with you given the choice at the start as to whose eyes you will be viewing events through, though the main events of the game are largely the same. Nefarious forces have built devices capable of killing spirits -the source of power and magic in the world- and it is up to the party to uncover how far their plot extends, save the spirits, and even discover truths of their world that have long been hidden. It’s a story that is about as “Tales of” as you can get, and it pulled it off back when it first came out, and still does.
Xillia is the second title that is part of the Remastered Project after last year’s Tales of Graces F and shares all the associated improvements and tweaks that it did. The Grade Shop, the special menu that allows for different modifications and gameplay tweaks like bonus experience or dealing extra damage, is once again available from the get-go in Xillia Remastered, no longer locked behind needing to have beaten the game already. New markers also now appear on your screen and mini-map, pointing you in the direction of where to go next, and now all the interactable items and chests have their locations displayed on your mini-map at all times to help you track down all those pesky Black Feathers and Aifread’s treasures. Thankfully, you are able to turn off all these icons if you want to keep that sense of discovery.
With two games now having the Grade Shop unlocked from the outset, with plenty of points to spend before your first playthrough, I’m still on the fence as to how exactly I feel about it. It isn’t the fact that it is available since it’s completely optional, but I have always found the shop to be a great incentive to beat and replay the game, and some of that drive and excitement I feel is lost when I can access it right when I boot up the game the first time. I don’t think that I want this to become the norm, though, for brand-new Tales games. Or if it does, something else needs to take up the void left by the shop as the reward for beating the game.
From a visual standpoint, even nearly 15 years later, Xillia and its anime aesthetic hold up incredibly well. At least on the PS5, where I played it, Remastered is a buttery-smooth 60fps experience, in and out of combat, which is great because Xillia has some of my favorite systems in the series. Its sphere-grid-esque Lillium Orb leveling system provides enough flexibility to allow you to have some say in how you build out characters, but the combat is where Xillia really shines.
In combat, with a quick button press, you are able to pair the character you’re controlling with another member of your active party, which will impart a bunch of effects to help you out. Each character has a special support ability, such as Milla freezing enemies in place with a shield or the dashing merc Alvin breaking an enemy’s guard, leaving them stunned for a short time. Paired characters will also be able to combo specific Artes together (Artes being the Tales’ series special attacks each character has), into more powerful versions that utilize both participants’ strengths! The fact that you are able to quickly and freely swap around this connection at will adds just another layer of depth and excitement to fights that I fell in love with back in 2011 and am still head-over-heels for now in 2025. This all says nothing about the unique talents each character has on their own, too, such as Jude teleporting behind an enemy when you backstep at just the right moment. Xillia remains one of my favorite combat systems in a Tales game, easy.
For as much as I have enjoyed my time revisiting Jude and company and the world of Rieze Maxia again in Xillia Remastered, it has also left me a bit underwhelmed. It’s a very solid, albeit rather barebones, remaster that has actually removed some content from the original PS3 release, including some crossovers, thanks to rights and licensing shenanigans. Perhaps the biggest blemish is the fact that Xillia’s sequel, the appropriately named “Tales of Xillia 2,” wasn’t included here. It’s already been announced that Xillia 2 is coming, which is great, but I wish that this remaster had been delayed, and instead Bandai Namco opted for just a Xillia Remastered Collection. An approach that wouldn’t be new for the series, with both Symphonia and Xillia itself seeing collection releases back in the PlayStation 3 era. It would have helped set the Xillia remaster apart from Graces F Remastered, considering both share nearly all of the same “updates” and new features. It also would have meant that the next “Remastered” project wasn’t just another PS3 release.
When the “Tales of” Remastered Project was announced, I was thrilled by the prospect that hard-to-play games, or even gasp ones like Tales of Rebirth that never saw an official localization, would soon be available to the masses. While things haven’t quite progressed to that point yet, with the releases being exclusively the PlayStation 3 entries so far, it still makes me smile to know that I no longer have to bust out my old system, hoping it and its special Cell processor still function just to play these games. Tales of Xillia Remastered is a great time, and easily the best way to experience the tales of Jude and Milla, even if the package isn’t the most inspired.
Tales of Xillia Remastered is available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Irrational Passions was provided a PS5 review code to cover.
