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Which is better; Tales of Xillia or Tales of Graces F?

R

ryan13ts

Member
I bought both of them in the bundle deal on PSN (Fucking awesome deal btw) and now I'm wanting to start one of them. Trouble is, I don't know which one I should pick? I'm only going to go with one, since I've already got way too many games in my backlog and starting 2 new RPG's of the same series would be overkill.

So basically, which is the better game to start with, Xillia or Graces F? I've played tons of Tales games, so I'm no newbie to the series if that's any issue.
 
adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Xillia ..

but as first post said> Vesperia is better than both of them. Much prettier than Xillia too.
 
J

jimi_dini

Member
Tales Of Graces F was the first JRPG I played after years. and I love every aspect of it. The characters of that game weren't sexed up. Cheria wears a skirt, but that's basically it and there are a few skits about exactly that, which were really nicely done. Music was also really well done, I bought the soundtrack because of that.

I bought Xillia because I hoped for something like Graces. Sadly I was really disappointed and stopped playing after a few hours in. Bad characters. Terrible and miscasted voice acting. And the story is boring. And the main female character is 100% sexed up. It's embarassing. And the music in the game sucks as well (except for the intro track).
 
M

Mauricio_Magus

Banned
Xillia bored me to death.

Graces F has one of the best gameplay systems I have ever encountered, I loved to get into random battles and setting the difficulty to Chaos or whatever the most hard one was.... but everything else about the game is crap haha.

So I'm going with Graces.
 
E

Eudaemonium

Member
Tales of Graces f has a really, really good combat system (and you spend a lot of time in the combat). The plot and characters, however, are balls of the highest anime cliche ever. That said, I enjoyed it a lot when I played it. I felt the plot was a refreshing break from all the grimdark saturating the games I'd been playing at the time.

Tales of Xillia has better characters and a much better world and plot, but falls short in other ways. The combat is alright, but not great, and there's a lot of running through large, bland areas without much in the way of interesting stuff. It also feels somewhat unfinished, thus why it got a direct sequel (which I still haven't played).

Overall, I'd actually say to play Graces f. Despite preferring the cast and art of Xillia, I actually enjoyed my time with Graces a lot more.
 
Z

ZeroX03

Banned
Unpopular opinion, but I feel Graces f is superior in every way.

I'd just play them in chronological order if I were you. As in Graces first. That way once you've beaten Xillia, the sequel should be dirt cheap and Zestiria will be around the corner.
 
D

Dezzy

Member
I liked Graces F a lot more. I really loved the characters and story, the combat was great, the world was nice to explore.
I thought Xillia 1+2 were just ok. Story didn't grab me, the characters were boring, combat was worse, and the world was really drab and boring. Also, Xillia 2 has the worst final dungeon ever.
I know I'm far in the minority though.
 
Z

Zafir

Member
Liferebooted said:
Tales of Grace wins in combat system.
Tales of Xillia wins at everything else.
Click to expand...

This.

If you value gameplay above all else and don't mind the story/characters really suffering for it, then Graces F. Otherwise Xillia, and Xillia's combat is far from bad, just not quite as good.
 
W

Why would you do that?

Member
Graces f, because it is way more fun to play.

It also has a better overworld than Xillia, which often feels like randomly generated masses of empty space for the sake of creating a bigger game. Other small things also make Xillia kind of fall behind Graces, such as the shop upgrade system and the fact that they all sell the same exact things. Oh, and this isn't really a spoiler, but Xillia has no
Katz
! I mean, what is that? lol.

I mean, Xillia is definitely fun too (I mean, it's Tales), but Graces is really one of the most fun... er, fighting games out there.
 
G

Ganondorfo

Junior Member
Tales of Symphonia and Vesperia are the best. Xillia series is okay, its better than Tales of Symphonia 2 and Graces F but still worse than Tales of the Abyss and Phantasia.
 
R

ryan13ts

Member
Sounds like a mixed bag. Overall, I would prefer the game with better gameplay, which everyone equivalently seems to say is Graces F. Story/characters are pretty important in a RPG too though, which Xillia seems to be better at. I hate when there's no clear cut winner.

And also, I've already played Vesperia on 360 and loved every minute of it. Probably one of my favorite Tales games, behind Symphonia
 
U

Usual Suspect

Member
Finished both games and enjoyed Graces F so much more.

I know it's not a common opinion but even the story i found it more appealing.

And the skits are some of the best of the series!
 
R

ryan13ts

Member
One other question, what are the settings like in each game? ie, futuristic, old sword and sorcery, modern day, ect.

Settings are a big part of whether I can really get into a game or not.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
I preferred Graces F to Xillia, much more enjoyable battle system for one thing, a knock against Graces for some will understandably be related to plot and a few characters being weaker even by Tales standards but I didn't find Xillia to be that much more interesting on that front.
In the end I just found Graces to have been more enjoyable to play through factoring in the battle system and dungeon design (at an all time low in Xillia I might add), plot is more engaging in Xillia I suppose though it takes time to get going but I actually found some of the sillier points of Graces unintentionally amusing if nothing else so it still gets close to balancing out, well it's Tales after all so I doubt you're expecting much but a run through of series tropes anyway.
 
D

Datschge

Member
ryan13ts said:
So basically, which is the better game to start with, Xillia or Graces F? I've played tons of Tales games, so I'm no newbie to the series if that's any issue.
Click to expand...
Do you plan to get and play Xillia 2 down the line as well? If so do Xillia 1 first so Graces F can fill the gap, while the changes in Xilla 2 may make you feel more at home after Graces.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
Liferebooted said:
Tales of Grace wins in combat system.
Tales of Xillia wins at everything else.
Click to expand...

GaryGodblood said:
on the money
Click to expand...

Except not really?

Grace F has some decent dungeons, Xillia dungeons are non-existant.

Grace F over-world while linear is x10 more interesting than Xillia putrid shit.

Grace F has sub-quests and optional content, Xillia has like 1 extra dungeon.

So yeah, fuck Xillia. One of the worst Tales of.
 
T

ThatRandomCliff

Member
Personally I liked Tales of Graces F more than Tales of Xillia. The areas in between cities and towns in Xillia feel really generic to me. Not to mention how all the sea ports in the game are all the same basically. I still love the game though.
 
H

Heyt

Banned
Graces F has one of the most refined and fun systems in any RPG ever, if not the flat out best. BUT the story is pretty bad with terrible moments, the map and dungeon design is awful, the soundtrack can be very bad at times and it's a Wii port.

Xillia has better story and music but the maps' design is as bad or worse. System-wise is fun but not too brilliant. It has it's virtues more balanced out across the board (except the horrible subquests) but it doesn't achieve anything special. while Graces' system design is amazing at the cost of most of the surrounding elements.

I honestly liked Graces more. Gameplay is a blast and, even if the story is not good, I liked the characters more. Xillia's party feels very forced in the way they join, but Graces' characters made much more sense for them to be together and had much better interactions and relations that Xillia. That being said Xillia's Rowen it's the best written character in the series in a looong, looong time.

The thing is that I liked Xillia 2 more than Graces f, but you have to go through Xillia 1 to get a grasp on the plot. I would blast through Xillia 1 first, take my time with Xillia 2 and then play Graces. But if you're not interested in going for Xillia 2 because it's not on sale I would just play Graces for now and then wait for a future sale, pick both Xillias and play them in quick succession.
 
Z

Zankou

Member
Graces F.

It's the better package. The characters are great, they're very entertaining especially in skits. The story is very simple but not as bad as everyone is saying (Theme is friendship and protecting). The battle and skill system is excellent, one of the best in the series. Besides of that it has more extra content than Xillia.
 
W

whiteninja

Member
Graces f. I actually prefer the story in it as well, although Xillia has better characters. I'm just starting xilla 2 and right away i'm not getting it. Does the story get any better in this because Im finding it hard to continue on.
 
J

jb1234

Member
Both games are very flawed. Graces' battle system is decent but everything else is crap. The story and characters are especially agonizing. Xillia is a bit better on the writing front (just barely) but it's very by-the-numbers. If you have to play a Tales game, I'd go with either Vesperia or Abyss.
 
J

jimi_dini

Member
ryan13ts said:
One other question, what are the settings like in each game? ie, futuristic, old sword and sorcery, modern day, ect.
Click to expand...

There are castles in Graces, but it's not really medieval. And it goes beyond that, I don't want to spoil the game. It's a fantasy world.

Maybe watch the first 15 or 20 minutes of Graces to get a feeling about it.
Please note that it's starting at the really short childhood arc. The characters don't stay at that age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SntzmhuRkSc

There are quite a few fantastic locales and most of it is a really large overworld that you can travel in.
 
W

Why would you do that?

Member
Usual Suspect said:
Finished both games and enjoyed Graces F so much more.

I know it's not a common opinion but even the story i found it more appealing.

And the skits are some of the best of the series!
Click to expand...

I agree about the skits being funnier overall in Graces. I feel like the group had a better group dynamic, if they make sense. Too many of the characters in Xillia I felt were kind of boring. Not that Xillia didn't have its moments...

ryan13ts said:
One other question, what are the settings like in each game? ie, futuristic, old sword and sorcery, modern day, ect.

Settings are a big part of whether I can really get into a game or not.
Click to expand...

In Graces, you play in a world with three main areas:
Forest/Grass country
Desert country
Snow country
Each area is further distinguished with unique music, overworld AND battle music. It is actually pretty neat.
And you also have
the good ol' hidden, ancient race with lost, advanced technology.
Towards the end of the game, you also
go to an abandoned area which has plenty of ancient robots and electric traps and whatnot.
Honestly, it's the same or similar as every other Tales game, lol, or at least the same as the ones I've played. I think it has a pretty good variety.

Xillia, at least in my opinion, felt like it had much less variety. It has the same kind of sections, but it felt like things the desert and snow areas were made smaller to make room for lots and lots of grasslands and marsh land.
 
I

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Graces F has better combat, but everything else is horrible.

Xillia has pretty decent story, characters and combat.

So for me, Xillia wins overall
 
M

Memento_Mori15

Member
The only merit Graces has is the combat system. Everything else, Xillia wins easily. Graces probably wouldn't be in the low end of my list if that last dungeon wasn't so boring and annoying with those cut scenes.

So basically this:

Liferebooted said:
Tales of Grace wins in combat system.
Tales of Xillia wins at everything else.
Click to expand...
 
H

Heyt

Banned
Xillia's overwold was terrible. Sometimes I just could tell each segment appart form the monsters and the sky boxes. Is that bad.
 
J

jimi_dini

Member
Why would you do that? said:
I agree about the skits being funnier overall in Graces. I feel like the group had a better group dynamic, if they make sense.
Click to expand...

Yes. You feel that the voice actors had actual fun playing those roles. In Xillia the voice actors especially the female lead - Milla Maxwell - sound really bored out of their minds. It also feels like the voice actors didn't have fun at all and were just doing their parts.

Just listen to the Sophie crab winning dialog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUEuQvJAlCU&t=6m45s
I love it.
 
K

Kresnik258

Member
I preferred Graces F to Xillia overall, but I preferred Xillia 2 to either of them and pretty much requires you to have played Xillia 1 first.
 
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