In Tales of Xillia, you have to level up shops to get better equipment. This includes Weapons, Armour, Accessories, Items and Food Vender. In Xillia 2, you have to pay back a loan of 20 000 000 gold, bit by bit, in order to progress through the story. (Don't worry though, at a certain point in the story, this loan will be cancelled and hunting elite monsters gives you a ton of cash.)