[Flawless]

According to 1UP interview this is set to release in the Summer.


Previews:

IGN

Quote:

For the first time in the Tales series, there are two main characters to choose from. What's more, it's the first time a woman has taken the lead role. At the beginning of the game, you'll be given the opportunity to choose between the two, and will follow them in cutscenes and in conversation. That's not to say choosing one or the other will change the story dramatically. It's more that you'll be given a different perspective on the same events. The pair may split from time to time, with slightly different events happening to each depending on the path you're on, but the overall story will remain the same.

Quote:

Each character has a huge spiderweb-looking upgrade tree, creating a series of loose rectangles. Filling the corners or lengths of the rectangles with Lilium Orbs gets you stat bonuses and the like, but what you're really trying to do is fill out the entire rectangle. Then, you get new Artes to lay down on your next unsuspecting foe. Each of the characters has an absolutely absurd number of possible builds, so expect to be staring at that upgrade screen for quite some time.

Gamesradar

Quote:

Much of the game involves the theme of having two character teams. To reflect that, a new linking system has been implemented into the combat. At any point during a battle, you can change which character you're linked to in your party, which is indicated by a colored line between the two. Each character has unique abilities and passive bonuses that activate when you are linked. Once a character is attached, they will automatically target the enemy you are facing, make strategic maneuvers like flanking enemy units, and activate extended combos. While in combat, you can pull off critical hits and long string combos by timing your attacks correctly. For example, starting a combo off with a Artes attack activates a visual cue that notifies you when to activate the Artes attack again. Each time you time the attack correctly, it creates a longer and more powerful combo. Furthermore, the link ability allows for two characters to use double-teaming, Link Artes attacks for huge damage bonuses. Also, pulling off Link Artes can activate your partner's unique ability, which could include an automatic resurrection if you fall in battle.

Quote:

Rather than the series standard overhead viewpoint, Xillia will feature a behind-the-back third person perspective with all elements of the environment to-scale with the characters.

...

Tales of Xillia Director Hideo Baba on the Ever-Changing RPG Landscape

Quote:

Now, in Tales of Xillia, during a battle you can switch out members any time you want. Rather than staying with the traditional skits that you see on the world map, we also include skits in the battle scenes as well. You'll see the character portraits appear and talk amongst themselves. Another consideration is the dimensions of everything. We wanted to make sure that we presented more realistic proportions, rather than a more super-deformed aspect. The character models and their environments are designed to provide a more realistic feel. That's another aspect that we paid close attention to.

Quote:

I personally don't receive any pressure when we try localizing the Tales franchise for the west. What we try to do is maintain the true essence of the Japanese game and bring it to the west in its purest form. We try to compete in the marketplace that way. We try to make sure beforehand that that's a plausible model we can push. I've never had any encounter with having to alter our games in any way to try and cater to a western audience. This is not something I would ever go through with, but there have been some instances where people will say something like, "Well, western audiences really enjoy Skyrim. Maybe we should try to make a Tales installment that's very similar in its style of gameplay to Skyrim." This isn't something I would ever agree with. I feel like doing something like that would be betraying our loyal fan base. We'd be creating a game that isn't what they're looking for. We feel like we want to maintain the flavor of our franchise. If you look at the Tales franchise, or the Elder Scrolls franchise, they all have their own flavor, and we feel like it's important to maintain doing what we do best.