Tales of Xillia slated for September

It has been a while since gamers have played a Tales role-playing game, with the last in the series--Tales of Vesperia--released back in 2008. Now, Namco Bandai wishes to remedy that, at least for fans residing in Japan. Tales of Xillia, the latest in the series, will be out on Japanese shelves this September 9 and will be on the PlayStation 3 (via Famitsu).

As an added bonus, Sony and Namco Bandai announced that they will release the Tales of Xillia X Edition, which is a hardware bundle that contains the game and a custom-painted PS3. This bundle will retail at 37,980 yen ($470). Gamers who preorder the game will get one of the four mascot charms featuring main characters Jude Mathis and Milla Maxwell. The first print copies of the game will include a code for 10 PS3 custom themes for players to use on the XMB dashboard and 15th anniversary in-game costumes for the main characters.

Gamers in Japan can also purchase the Tales of Xillia Kyun Kyara pack. This set contains the game, character figures for Jude and Milla, and a Tales of Xillia calendar wrapped up in one special box. Fans will have to fork out 12,980 yen ($160) on the LaLaBit online store.

The story of the latest game is set in Liese Maxia, where humans and monsters live together with spirits. The main characters are Jude Mathis, a medical student who defends himself with his fists, and Milla Maxwell, a mysterious female who has to recover her lost ability to summon spirits. The game features the Double Raid Linear Motion battle system, which has two characters teaming up for coordinated attacks and pulling off powerful special moves called Link Artes.