Tales of Xillia

- Choosing Jude at the very beginning is apparently the more classic JRPG story approach.

- The tutorial system says that as long as one segment of the linked artes gauge (On the left side of the battle screen) is full, you can pull off a linked arte. However, they mean that as long as one segment has been filled during the current battle. Any segments you've filled in previous battles don't count, unless you filled the segment and then didn't use it in that battle. The crossed swords icon at the top of the gauge must be flashing for you to use a linked arte, basically.

- Random treasure (Blue and white bag icons, on the mini map, or sparkling points and sacks, in the game world) have a chance of respawning when you re-enter an area, which is why they're marked on the mini map for you.

- Expanding shops applies to all shops of that type (Weapon, armour, etc.), so feel free to expand a shop in any location - the benefits will apply at every shop later in the game.

- It seems that materials are only used for expanding shops and side quests. In the cases of side quests the materials you need can usually be found in the surrounding area, so there's not much need to hold on to all the materials the game throws at you. Just use them to expand shops.