#8 Tales of Xillia
The sequel to Tales of Xillia is already out in Japan, but the first game is only being released in English next year. Like all the other games in the "Tales of" franchise, Tales of Xillia is a standalone title with its own story to tell.
For the first time in the series, players take on the roles of two main characters, Jude and Millia, from different character designers. The two character designers previously worked on their own Tales games, but never together. It's also the first time that the game will be played from an over-the-shoulder viewpoint rather than a top-down view. Rather than exploring abstract locations, players will be able to walk through the entire game, exploring life-sized structures.
Unchanged (or at least minimally changed) is the game's real-time combat system, which remains one of the best in role-playing games. As an active, twitch-based combat system, players must chain attacks and perform skills (called Artes) to increase their damage, weaken enemies, or support their allies. Players control a single character supported by party members.
What is it? It's a JRPG with a real-time combat system. In other words, it's a Tales game.
