i will defend this game for literally ever. a lot of people feel that the silent protag doesn't work for tales, but they made it work, all the while giving ludger plenty of personality and creating one of the best protagonists in tales. that, or they simply don’t like the debt mechanic, which i feel makes more sense, but it’s truly not that bad. however, the love i have for this game makes it easy to overlook any issues. the story is riveting, especially with the addition of so many well done plot twists - chapter 12 in particular gave me chills. this game took me completely by surprise, with the previous game not being nearly as intense, nor as soul-crushing. in my personal opinion, tox2 has very few flaws, those particular flaws not even being major enough to take away from the 5 stars i gave (just my little squicks with some writing or characters, minor gameplay issues). the main party has so much variety, and while it was frustrating at times with the locked members during the story, i liked that it encouraged the player to experiment with their party formation.
gameplay wise, they kept what i loved about xillia 1 and made it even better with the chromatus. i found some of the bosses a bit trickier than those of the first game, particularly victor, chronos and a few others, but they weren’t difficult to the point of not being fun and i like that in a game. some of the gameplay had issues for me at times. i really loved xillia 1’s battle system, especially with allowing characters to switch out mid-battle. this is a feature i was sad to see left out of tox2, but what is frustrating about it is that you can only change your main 4 party members in towns. nothing major, but i still wish it was a bit different. the linked combat was still super fun and is definitely part of what makes xillia and xillia 2 superior in tales. i do think what really makes the gameplay shine is ludger himself. he can equip 48 artes at once, something unique to him and his arsenal of dual blades, dual guns, and a hammer. this plus his chromatus ability makes him extremely versatile and very fun to experiment with.
while the tales series’ soundtracks are never lacking, it feels important to mention music when it comes to tales of xillia 2. not only does the soundtrack enrich the experience, music is even used as a motif throughout the game. this is shown with the hymn of proof, a song that julius is seen humming quite a few times and is also used in a few other tracks in the game. the use of music in this game is definitely my favorite in the series; it enriches battles, worldbuilding, cutscenes… the soundtrack is flawless.
in terms of characters, the original party of tales of xillia was already amazing - the dynamic was so fun and they truly seemed like a family, which i adored. however, i love what tox2 did to expand it. aside from what ludger, elle and rollo have to offer, the addition of gaius - tales of xillia’s final boss - as a party member is one of my favorite things tales has ever done! gaius is one of the series’ best antagonists, and it was such a wonderfully unique approach to make him playable in the sequel. also, while it is easy to miss the original milla at the start of this game, having fractured milla made for some of the most heartbreaking moments in the game as well as introducing the themes of this game incredibly well. this is where some of the best writing of the game comes into play, truly.
the side stories make some of the pacing a bit awkward, but i find that doing all of them gives a lot more depth to the characters that i really love and look for in a game. tales is great at making compelling and wonderful characters; it’s one of the things that makes this series my all time favorite. in all of the series though, tales of xillia 2 really shines in this aspect. the main party and elle, the antagonists, even the side characters are (for the most part) easy to love, or in bisley bakur’s case, easy to hate. i love antagonists that you can really feel for and understand, like symphonia’s final boss, or more relevantly, gaius and the chimeriad. in tox2, i found that i could empathize with chronos much, much more than bisley. this was especially true when bisley’s real intentions were revealed after manipulating elle to help him reach canaan: the truth of his goal to turn the spirits into mankind’s tools. at this point, i was so full of hate for him that i was more than ready for the final boss. it is done so well, especially with the version of “song 4 u” used in the second phase, that i was actually excited to do it again to get the 3rd ending rather than dreading it.
speaking of the different endings, all three of them were done incredibly well. in my personal experience, having played bad first, then “good”, then the true ending, i believe it’s the best way to experience it. bad end is gruesome, it’s shocking, and it’s pretty difficult too. while, of course, it’s my least favorite of the endings, i still think it was very nicely done. to even make the choices that give you the ending is difficult. everything including the game is telling you not to do it, but you have to. then, it throws you into the hardest fight in the game, solo at that. ludger vs. all of his new allies, for the sake of his brother. it’s tragic. it’s painful. it’s made even worse by the fact that julius is doomed regardless, and ludger is going this far just for a little more time with his brother. to leave elle behind is not very in character for ludger, but at this point he knows just how deep his brother’s love for him goes, and he feels the need to protect julius just as he always protected ludger. at this point, tales of xillia 2 is no stranger to sacrifices, with the core theme being just how far humans will go, just what they will sacrifice to protect those they love.
this core theme truly comes out in the final chapter, when ludger has to make his wish to origin. will he protect the world? protect elle? both the good end and true end are tragic in their own ways. no matter what you choose, this game will break your heart.
this is my favorite game of all time for a lot of reasons. it makes you feel safe and then rips your heart right out of you. this is the most emotionally painful game i’ve ever played. it’s a perfect example of a great sequel, even better than the first game, which doesn’t happen all too often. there is so much to love about tales of xillia 2 - it truly deserves 5 stars.

(watched, not played but i plan to play it in the future)
in general this was a good experience for me, it had some really funny moments and some of the story elements really blew me away. but i think what takes away from this game is some of the humor and characters. there was way too much creepy sexual humor that crossed a lot of lines. it made for some really uncomfortable moments that i can't overlook. pretty much all of the dirty humor was gross too & generally in bad taste.
it's not an amazing game, but the characters besides those that were incredibly uncomfortable were really well done, i feel. i had no idea where this game was going for most of it which was honestly thrilling. it does its job well for a game of its length, but there are a lot of glaring issues with it.