Find out more about our reviews policy. The Tales series can usually be counted on for big-eyed characters with larger-than-life personalities. This sequel is a frustrating mixture of progress-gating and arbitrary limitations.
As you travel throughout the overworld, the debt narrative morphs into one of the many methods the game employs to ensure you're kept busy with a seemingly endless slog of chore-like missions.
Initially, however, the long road to paying off your debts feels rewarding because the world map is large and teeming with treasure to pilfer and enemies to fell. Completing an abundance of quests feels organic in the beginning of the game, where you naturally earn enough cash to unlock the next area and make payments as easily as can be. Despite a cast of largely uninspired characters, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who take the plunge in Tales of Xillia 2: the return of fan favorites Jude and Milla from the first game.
But there comes a time in Tales of Xillia 2 where you realize your debt payments continue to grow in size, while the quests and the amount of money you receive for completing them remains the same. This traps you in a loop where you must replay the same content over and over again to earn enough cash.
Even worse, Tales of Xillia 2 blatantly palette swaps areas you've already seen and tries to pass them off as new. While traveling throughout Elympios, Ludger and company occasionally explore bizarre alternate dimensions.
