![Tales-of-Zestiria-2[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/gwoOqFt.jpg "Tales-of-Zestiria-2[1].jpg")
Is this game actually worth playing? Most of the reviews I see aren't all that positive, especially from long time Tales fans, who often say its one of the worst in the series.
A lot of the criticisms I see are things like blandness, it feels too much like a diet Tales game, you can't enter any buildings in towns besides the inn, bad characters, too much backtracking. It just seems like too many deal breakers for me to warrant spending 50$ on it.
Tales fans will say any game that isn't their favorite is the worst in the series.
In a nutshell it's an ok game, not great but not bad. It has a great idea for a story, wonderful characters, and god tier music but falls short in terms of content and execution. Dungeons aren't very inspired and there isn't all that much to do along the journey. It's as if they put in the main elements and story points but didn't go back through to flesh out the inbetween. I'd rate it a 68/100 with 50 being average. Worth playing if you enjoy JRPGs, potentially a stepping stone into the franchise if you want to start with something simpler, but probably worth more around $30-35.
It may not be an ultra top tier JRPG but it does hit your emotions pretty hard when it wants to.
There are no great tales games. It's always been an also ran. Always lacking in production values compared to it's peers at the time.
It is what it is. I'd like Tales a lot more if the temporal/monetary budget was spread more evenly in game, they tend to peak and valley super fucking hard.
It is in no way the "worst of the series" but it isn't great either.
Combat is decent, but not as good as Graces or Xillia. Story is down right dumb.
>Hey hero since you're going to the next town can you deliver this package for me?
>NO HERO YOU CAN'T IF YOU START DOING SMALL JOBS LIKE THIS FOR PEOPLE EVERYONE WILL DEPEND ON YOU
*Literally 10 in game minutes later*
>Hey hero since you're going to the next town now... can you take this package with you?
>Sure!
It also tries to hype up a choice and consequence plot that often doesn't even give you a choice and effects nothing when it does. Except if maybe you get a hat or not.
I played this as my first tales game. Long story short: Combat is amazing and fun, story and exploration is bad.
The problem is with the exploration is you run too slow, there's a lot of nothingness, and sometimes you run all the way to a chest defeating enemies just for a fucking useless cosmetic item.
The equipment is extremely confusing. For example you could find a helmet that's clearly better than yours but your old one synergies with your other equipped items better so using the new one will negate these benefits.
I would say two things: I wish there were more bosses and actual side quests that are clear and give rewards. (There are "side quests" but they are shit....just shit.) They don't tell you where to go and have pretty much no rewards.
Also the fast travel is too expensive just saying
It's pretty good from what I've seen, not the best in the series by a large margin but my friends have enjoyed it
I'm waiting for a sale though
>>315353053
The worst Tales game is Tales of Tempest, then Symphonia 2 is above that, and Zestiria is above that. The rest of the entire series is above those.
>>315353053
As you play the game, it becomes glaringly obvious that you were meant to choose between Rose and Alisha near the beginning of the game, and the choice would split your game into two unique takes on the story. Rose represents a much different attitude and ideology than Alisha.
Stores continue to sell Alisha's weapon, Rose and Alisha have each other's costumes, a character is killed off and replaced with another character who uses an identical playstyle (I imagine this was to be reversed if you chose the second route), and other details, point to Alisha being a choosable "route" instead of Rose.
From what I have gathered, they were doing several experimental new ideas with Zestiria (branching path, seamless battles) to celebrate the series anniversary.
But their producer realized late into development that both routes could not be finished (even though they'd been developing the game assuming both routes would eventually be written and voiced), and began to panic. He brought in Mikako Komatsu (Rose's seiyuu) at the tail-end of development, if that tells you anything.
Then there is the skits. More evidence of a rush job;
>skits are almost entirely unflagged and were therefore just queued up at save points if not immediately relevant to the plot. (we're talking solid 10-15 minute queues of skits in some places).
>Everyone is extremely mean to Alisha as soon as she leaves and Rose replaces her. I imagine there was probably an inverse, similar thing if you ditched Rose and kept Alisha.
>>315353564
>>315356185
You know what else felt like it was scrapped midway through? When you get your Armatization. Am I the only one that felt like it was really sudden in the first dungeon? "Oh shit, these slimes I 2 hit are too fucking tough!"
"Sorey, use this thing you suddenly have without warning!"
Then, much later in the game you get to the trial dungeons. After you beat each trial boss, Sorey is just randomly Armatized. Like it was supposed to be your true reward, rather than just a mystic arte. Which would have been much better. 80% of the battles are just Armatizing something elemental weakness and just spamming.
>>315356185
You know, this is first I've read of the possibility of a branching path but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
As a side point - the three human characters are your melee options. Sorey is the balanced warrior, Rose is the speedy rogue, Alisha is the heavy knight. Only the game removes Alisha about 1/4th through, despite her having her own developed move set.
On an somewhat unrelated note, Alisha's DLC was far more cringeworthy than anything else in the game. Jesus christ she and Rose have some of the worst on-screen chemistry I've ever seen.
Game is asking me to get the rest of the Earthen Historia. How much of the game is left?
>>315357464
Not much
>>315357464
You're approaching the end dungeon, but there's optional shit you could do.
It's okay. Not great, but not the abomination that some people make it out to be. This is coming from someone who has played every mainline Tales game, even the unlocalized one.
The skill and equipment system is one of the most fucked things in a while though. Even more so than the camera in my opinion. Whoever thought it was a good idea needs to be fired. Even once you understand it it's still pretty much a crapshoot that relies more on RNG and grinding than anything else and completely removes the thrill of finding new weapons and armor.
>>315354226
Fast travel works on % of what you got.
>>315356185
The whole Alisha/Rose thing is pretty interesting, really. Maybe one day we'll find out what exactly happened behind the scenes.
Alisha's life is hilariously pathetic. Nothing goes right for her.
>>315357347
Because it feels like Hideo Baba is trying to mash these two incompatible characters together in an effort to make people like both of them. But we can't enjoy them butting heads because Alisha's route does not exist; we know almost nothing about Alisha and she spends most of the game doing something inconsequential, elsewhere. If you chose Alisha (as early promos and trailers and the fucking OFFICIAL ART depicted her as the MC's #2, until whoa where did this Mary Sue bitch come from? Why's she voiced by that seiyuu that Hideous Baba slobbered all over in interviews calling her a goddess and shit? Why does the character she voices suddenly get the entire spotlight, completely overshadowing everyone else?
but this is exactly why i can;t wait for berseria. every couple of years there is a dud Tales game and they always come back really strong.
>>315356185
Use the new image anon
My suggestion for the next Tales games. Stop me if this plot sounds familiar:
Two brothers who hunt monsters as bounty hunters stumble upon a plot to end the world by the planet's gods, only to learn that they are only part of a bigger picture involving an all encompassing creature from beyond their dimension that is responsible for all the vil in the universe. Somewhere along the line, one of the gods, who has rebelled against his brother gods and has been mostly been depowered as such joins them in their quest to stop this all encompassing evil. Also, one of the brothers has been corrupted by that evil and is forced to deal with the dichotomy of his loyalty to his brother and his friends and the evil which possessed him for so long.
>>315356970
never played a tales game, but abyssfags sound fucking hilarious, can someone explain to me the argument there?
>>315358195
Where are the two kingdoms locked in war?
>>315358252
The main character is a huge dick at the beginning of the game and everyone hates him, some people don't like that I guess.
Zestiria is the best Tales game. Looking forward to Berseria.
>>315358346
The gods trying to end the world are secretly at war with another faction that wants to corrupt mankind for its own benefit, but at the same time has certain member who believe in steering humanity towards freewill. Its leader is prophesied to be the one to end the world.
>>315358252
Read the panel with the Abyssfag >>315356185 or >>315358176
>>315358252
Pretty much the entire main cast of Abyss and even a lot of NPCs are complete assholes. A lot of the events in the game and the MC's grief could also have been avoided at certain points if some characters would have actually taken the time to talk to him and explain things instead of being smarmy fucks. Almost everyone has some kind of hidden agenda that they keep quiet about that only ends up making things worse in the long run and there's not really much of a sense of unity in the main cast for the majority of the game.
A lot of people argue that it gives the characters depth but they really aren't written that much better than in any other game. It gets bonus points for having a plot that's slightly above average and a main villain that has a goal that isn't completely convoluted or stupid.
People always make their favorite game in the series sound better than it actually is, so it's not like it's exclusive to Abyss though.
>>315358195
>>315358629
No racism?
>>315357168
The Armatization system in general feels unfinished. Both characters use identical animations, and there is no reason NOT to be Armatized, since it's much stronger than you are normally.
Again, another thing that points to the route split-- Alisha is suddenly (in the same abrupt way they tell you to Armatize) a danger to Sorey's health, and this is held against Alisha as if it's her fucking fault.
The favoritism and disrespect Baba shows toward one character or another is really glaring when you look deeper.
Any character designed by Okumura, for example (like Alisha, or Ludger and Elle in Xillia2) just gets shit on all the time, life just doesn't stop hurting them
>>315358719
Racism is against monsters, who are sentient, intelligent beings that hide in the form of humans, but not all necessarily evil.
![ToS-R_Cover[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/i5pt112.jpg "ToS-R_Cover[1].jpg")
>>315353053
Bought it but haven't had time to play through.
I hear it's not a very good 'Tales' game, try looking at critic scores.
The fact that it's a Tales game on PC though, was enough to sell me.
The worst Tales game I've played so far was this pile of shit.
>>315356185
> a character gets killed off
>Earth is the only one that has 2 playable seraphim
Pls, dont tell me Edna has to die.
>>315358912
Where are the elves?
>>315358827
>and there is no reason NOT to be Armatized
You have more action while not Armatized and sometimes it's better to have 4 characters out at once because it makes it easier to keep combos going. While your Armatized you're also locked into one element which can be an issue in certain battles. I preferred to fight un Armatized in a lot of battles and never had trouble, so it's not like it's mandatory to use it.
I do agree that they got pretty lazy with giving Sorey and Rose the exact same animations though.
>>315355037
Legendia is worse than all of these
>>315359072
Theres are no elves. There are humans, monsters, gods, and demi-gods (antigod faction)
>>315353053
I would probably be playing it if Second Chapter hadn't come out
>>315359069
It's not earth that has 2 playable Serephim
>>315353053
This is the only tales of game I have played. The combat is boring and equipment/skill system is grindy if you actually want to do something with it so I didn't even bother. Story is your generic jrpg story. Finished the game in ~40 hours and haven't touched since
>>315359195
isnt that faggot zaieed or whatever with his gun earth?
if its dezel that dies then i dont give a fuck. Fucking sharkteeth edgelord
>>315356185
In the end it really does feel like this was the case. You could also look at how underused Maltran was and how late Symonne comes into the picture, you had so much more that could have been done with Maltran and Alisha while Symonne is so insanely powerful yet doesn't intrude until the very last bit of the game.
Perhaps each one was meant to be more prevalent depending on which route you chose.
>>315359087
Any fight where you would need 4 people can just be circumvented with Mikleo Armatization and spamming his longest range attack and guarding with the aggro dropping guard. The only time not using Armatization is better is when enemies are only weak to physical attacks. Even then you can just have Rose Start the combo to cause a power hit and then go about as normal.
>>315359492
Wouldn't that just make the boss beat up your other characters whenever he inevitably gets free?
>>315358252
The "charm" of Abyss' cast is that they're all belligerent assholes to one another. They're varying degrees certainly (Guy is an incredible bro, for the most part), but they all have some kind of ulterior motive that drives them to be mean to each other.
I found it quite unique, myself. Didn't really care for Luke as a character but I did find his plight (that of a replacement person struggling mightily to even be halfway decent as a human being) to be engaging.
Got 3 hours into Symphonia earlier. Pretty fuckin weeb. Combat is ok, but it's really damn weeb.
I got actually got embarrassed when they were having their little conversations where their faces show up and my roommate walked in the room.
I'll keep going, but seems like this blonde bitch is way too ok with her dad showing up once to bang her mom and then again to tell her "lol your the chosen one"
>>315359918
Abyss cast are assholes. The MC is a literal 7 year old that doesnt know shit about anything.
They treat him like shit, dont tell him anything about anything, then his teacher comes along and tells him he can be a hero, gets tricked into destroying a town, and then the cast is all like THIS IS ALL YOUR AND ONLY YOUR FAULT, WE ARE TOTALLY NOT TO BLAME FOR KEEPING THIS VITAL INFORMATION FROM YOU.
>>315359393I got good news then... Zaveed is wind
>>315357347
Alisha also has a Mystic Arte portrait with Sorey that is left unused on the disc. In the final game, Sorey has the same pose but is flanked by Rose instead.
>>315360058
Shit gets really dark really fast, don't let the cute faces fool you.
>>315359492
Cast time arts speed up if struck with armatized form. It gets to be a problem on high difficulty or bonus dungeon, which is where you need to be smart about it. For low level main story playthrough, you're right though.
>>315353053
Things I didn't like: No world just 2 countries, Mention 5 spirit lords that might new people take the title only get to see one at the end, Mention 8 Dragons don't get to fight any of them, No backstory on Siegfried the gun. Why can't you get/make more bullets, who made it and why?
>>315360101
Atleast zaveed had amazing music.
>>315360058
It gonna take a turn in a whole other direction. Is your coffee hot?
>>315360058
dude just wait til things get real fucked up
I played it for about 2 hours which probably isn't long enough to really get to the core of the game but from what I saw
>level design is large and for the most part boring to accommodate for the battle system
>battle system itself is quite born and slow, feels like too much is done for you
>voice acting is fine but the timing between lines is fucked up, a character will say something and there is a 2-3 second gap before a response
>>315360058
It's Wapanese, what did you expect some realistic story with actual logic? It gets better, just stick with it.
As a tales fan I can safely say most tales fans are whiny faggots that will bitch about every little flaw and claim a game is shit based on the shallowest of reasons.
That said, Zestria is pretty average. Not one of the best tales games but also not one of the worst.
>>315360058
>Symphonia
>Weeb
It has to be one of the least weeb of the entire series. Play something like Graces if you want to see weeb.
And what the fuck, the skits are one of the best parts of Tales games.
>>315356970
>tfw you are a rebirthfag
Fuck you.
>>315360492
I played and beat Symphonia about a year ago due to so much rave. It doesn't live up to the hype at all. Must be a nostalgia thing for people who grew up with it.
>>315360058
>WEEBS KEK
Then why are you playing this series you American faggot?
>>315360520
You can turn off the auto stuff in the combat skills menu. The top ones punish you for enabling them anyway. The true free run option makes it great.
>>315358696
>and a main villain that has a goal that isn't completely convoluted or stupid.
But Van's plan was both those things. I don't have a picture of Van. Here's his sister almost naked
>>315357767
I seriously don't understand why they made the skill/equipment system so convoluted.
>>315360586
I don't know, they got this blondie tripping everywhere and shit, gettin all moe. If this is the least weeb, I'd cringe to see how cheesy the other stuff gets
>>315360705
Sorry didn't realize I wasn't allowed to play grorious nippon bideo gamusu. Fuck off.
>>315360796
Nope, Van is the best Tales villain, maybe one of the best in any jrpg. He has perfectly logical justification for his actions and is not in the wrong with his reasoning, he just came to different conclusions than the party. Van's plan would literally save the world from the Score, something you don't even manage to do when you end the game.
>>315360796
Good enough.
>>315360579
the most disappointing thing is just knowing what it could have been as opposed to what baba decided on instead. Knowing you are experiencing the characters suffering through a butchered plot makes you feel bad for them, and annoyed at the devs
>>315360929
>I don't know, they got this blondie tripping everywhere and shit, gettin all moe. If this is the least weeb, I'd cringe to see how cheesy the other stuff gets
Son, on a scale of 1 to Weeaboo, clumsy moe registers as fucking Carl of Duty Black Cops on the weeb scale.
You should see what some of the other entries give you.
>>315358912
>>315358195
>>315358629
>>315359162
btw, in case you didnt pick up on it, this is the plot for Supernatural, cuz apparently Eric Kripke unconsciously harnessed the power of a standard Tales plot when writing that fucking series.
>>315361048
he wanted to kill everybody and replace them with clones.
>>315360929
This is literally Anime in video game form. Why don't you fuck off if you're going to just be WEEEB?
Tales stories never meant to be serious 2deep4u shit.
>>315360919
The basic rule set for it isn't that hard to pick up, its just the UI makes it tedious to compare stats and the fusion system makes it frustrating to get the build you want.
>>315360796
here anon
>>315360929
If you can't appreciate the cheese then this may not be the series for you
>>315356970
what if i like pretty much all of them
what does that make me
>>315356970
>Phantasiafag
I'm cool with that. And you ARE indeed underage if you don't agree.
>>315361243
A normalfag.
>>315360796
It wasn't though. His motivation and goal was easy to understand and was a solution to the world's problem even if he was kind of a dickhead about it.
>>315361192
Which would save the human race from it's predetermined path. He's the villain because he doesn't have the right to make such a decision, but his plan WOULD save his race.
>>315361305
suck my dick senpai i bet you don't even eat your own cum
>>315359048
We don't talk about that game.
It was horrendous.
>>315360929
there's an entire hidden town of people in cat costumes and it is amazing
also boy howdy. if you want weeb. tales of graces, man. that is damn near as weeb as shit fuckin GETS.
>>315361204
whoa got me there trooper
>>315361213
sometimes the cheese is good, sometimes it's just plain sour
>>315361383
>Which would save the human race from it's predetermined path.
They'd be dead. That's where it falls apart. Replicas aren't the same as the people they're replicated from just look at Luke and Asschole
He wouldn't save anyone he'd just kick the board over and start again
>>315357347
>>315360118
It's a shame we will never get to see what a fully realized Zestiria would have been. If they pulled off these other elements the game really could have been special.
>>315359048
>>315361440
what's wrong with it?
i got the hd collection recently to replay symphonia and for the intention of finally getting to play that game
>>315361494
Is it truly possible
to hit every single branch
of the trope tree
>>315353053
>it just seems like too many deal breakers for me to warrant spending 50$ on it
That's why I pirated it.
>>315361623
They're literal clones, replicas ARE the same as people. The entire game showed that Luke was just as human as anyone else.
And yeah, the irony was that Van's plan to break free of the score would simultaneously fulfill it. I thought that was pretty neat
I loved Zestiria
Really there are very few games in the Tales series I did not love though. Symphonia 2, Tempest, and Innocence DS are the only ones I can think of I did not care for.
My favorites are Phantasia PSX and Hearts R.
>>315361623
Not entirely. The Score already determined that humanity will fuck over the world and it will end in the near future, the minute details are just left out. Van was trying to bypass the score, creating a future where humanity decides its own fate. He wasnt a true villain persay, but more an antihero.
>>315356970
>tfw Vesperiafag
>tfw 2nd favorite game is Xillia 2
>tfw this image is 100% accurate
>>315356970
>tfw vesperiafag and haven't played the ps3 version
>>315361278
My nigga. Phantasia is and always will be my favorite, and yes it seems the only people who can't appreciate the game are underage whose only real complaint is the battle system being "clunky"
Nothing will top Phantasias sense of adventure, like you really were, the characters all developed nicely and were memorable, the story wasn't overly complicated while being very strong, and I honestly enjoyed the battle system, while it can be unfair and simple at times.
>>315361698
>what's wrong with it?
It'd be faster to say what isn't wrong with it. Which is Tenabrae. Because being honest? T-dog is kind of awesome.
The hero is a massive pussy, like no hyperbole the game starts with him having a near panic attack because he's told to leave his room.
Fuck he gets hung up on a clear psychopath he knows is gonna kill his girl because he was nice to him like once. and by nice I mean "casually polite"
It has a stupid pokemon monster raising system to it instead of actual party members save the two. (Sadly Tenebrea is not playable which is another strike)
All the characters you love and are excited to see from TOS? Yeah they're one note jokes with shitty new non union voice actors. YOu can't level them or equip them.
The plot is even retarded for anime and the game likes to flash back to events that happen minutes ago, get used to hearing "Courage is the magic that turns dreams to reality"
>>315361903
Hearts R is probably the best tales game we've had in a while man, its only real negatives were Kor/Shing being a shitty MC, random battles and the poor translation.
It was painful playing the game knowing moonrunes, hearing one thing but reading something completely different.
>>315362305
what the fuck does that even mean
>>315362192
>>315361874
>They're literal clones, replicas ARE the same as people. The entire game showed that Luke was just as human as anyone else.
But at the end of the day he was a very DIFFERENT person than Asch was. They're only the same genetically. As far as personalities go they're night and day.
If you make a replica and then kill the person he's a replica off that dude's just plain dead, The fact that he has a clone is irrelevant as the clone is for all intents it's own unique person
>>315362362he has a small dick
>>315353053
Disclaimer, I'm a sucker. I bought every tales game since symphonia.
I am enjoying this simply because it isn't xillia and has decent music, despite the shit camera. And yeah, it's not as open as I would like, but that's how xillia was too, so I don't care too much. Also I'm only a few hours in so I doubt what i say matters much to anybody.
The only thing that truly bothers me more than anything, is not being able to change my field character, although once I got the shephard outfit it stopped bothering me quite so much since I didn't have to watch sorey's waist flopping around like an inflatable tube man anymore.
People compare this to graces. Graces is probably better honestly. but at least it isn't the story of graces.
it might not be worth 50 to someone who hasn't played a tales game before, but to me, a guy who has played almost every game at this point (I have to play everything between Destiny 2 and Legendia still) it was worth it enough, to not be xillia 3.
>>315361698
it is a nonsensical plot that they spend the entire opening dialogue retconning into the very conclusive ending of Symphonia 1.
everything it adds is stupid (some people like tenebrae i guess) and the stuff it brings back from the original is mishandled and shit. cameo party members from the original are levelcapped at 50, as the game wants you to do the stupid Monster-taming/training bullshit.
I'm still fairly early into the game but here are my thoughts thus far. The item and Artes systems are very poorly explained but it's pretty okay. I love the cast but obviously that is entirely subjective. The voice acting and music are both top notch. The combat system is fun and armatization system is really cool and overpowered. I'm not sold on the plot yet but that could change as tales is well known to a have a few twists i'm hoping that this is the same.
>>315362305
What? Kor was great man. He was far from a beta and that shit he pulled in the ending where he stabs his own goddamn foot to anchor himself to save his girl? dudes aces
>>315362362
>what the fuck does that even mean
dub-titles.
>First tales was Legendia
>Have the same age as Senel back then and decided to work out and learn martial arts to imitate him and his shape
>mfw when I found out about his weight later on
Fucking Anime I swear, no way he could pull be that adapt fist fighter with less than 60kg.
>>315362382
Right, the clones are unique people. The human race lives on. That's the point. Them being different personality wise is irrelevant, they are still humans in every sense.
As a side note, I wonder if the differences in personality are attributed to nature vs nurture of Asch and Luke
>>315362192
I think the first time they flash back it's to something that happened like... seconds ago
>>315362664
>I wonder if the differences in personality are attributed to nature vs nurture of Asch and Luke
I think that much is pretty obvious. Luke and Asche are very much products of their upbringing.
>>315362560
If you sleep at inns you'll get skits that tutorialize the equipment system. There's a skit later on too about combat skills. I didn't get them until about 15 hours in though which was annoying.
>>315362563
True he had his moments but he was overly "I'LL MAKE THINGS RIGHT I PROMISE" and he liked to say similar shit almost every scene where something didn't go right or he felt guilty, which was alot. there wasn't much else to his character otherwise which made him very boring.
>>315362795
>If you sleep at inns you'll get skits that tutorialize the equipment system. There's a skit later on too about combat skills
They don't help much though. The system seems almost purposely obtuse
>>315362563
I still don't understand where the hell the name "Kor" came from. What was so bad about Shing?
>>315360586
Fucking Ludger
On a side note, is Abyss worth it for Tear alone? Is she fun?
>>315362892
Still better than Asbel.
>>315362563
He's the embodiment of the jrpg protagonist cliche. There isn't a single defining trait about him, which is why his generic character design fit him perfectly and is hilarious.
Kohaku is the ultimate qt though
>>315363039
It takes a while but she grooms you into someone she loves,and you actually get closure on the relationship.
>>315363039
>On a side note, is Abyss worth it for Tear alone? Is she fun?
Yeah she's alright.
>>315363038
Shing and Kor basically mean the same thing, which is Heart. Just remember that Bamco NA is retarded with dubbing/localization. See SAO: HF
>>315362892
At least he had moments where he felt guilty or down.
Sorey has almost no emotional reaction to anything. I get that there's gonna be hell if the Shepard is lost to malevolence but he should have some kind of emotional response. Everytinme something bad happens it goes down like this
>the world can be fucked up sometimes
>Sorey, don't let it get you down
>I won't.
and he never does. The game expects me to care about this shit but no one in the game seems too
>>315362305
I did not thing Shing was bad, but he was outclassed far by all the other party members.
I actually did not mind the random encounters too much though. The encounter rate felt just right, with not too many but not too few.
Having a world map again after so long felt so fucking good. I miss world maps so much, and Heart's map was a good one. My favorite combat in the series too.
My only complaint is the shoddy as hell translation. Even without knowing runes, you can tell what they are meant to say and how it was butchered.
>>315363139
Should I go 3DS or PS2?
>>315363084
I think it's the mandarin collar. That shit amplifies any qt tenfold for me.
>>315363038
Iirc Shing is chinese or something for "Heart"
Kor is supposed to be Latin or something for Heart
>>315353564
>isn't their favorite is the worst in the series
That's because most haven't played Tempest. I did. It's objectively the worst. I don't throw around the word objectively like most retards do because opinions, but when you have tempest on the list you can use the word objectively.
Any answer that isn't Tempest can be taken as "the one I liked the least." Any shit posting about how it's the worst thing ever is hyperbole. People talk about Xillia like it's Tempest. It's baffling.
>>315361808
- The purple loli is an amnesiac robot from a sci-fi planet which actually built the world you live on. The robot loli grants powers to a group of kids.
- One kid gets possessed by an evil spirit who convinces him to do bad things.
- The redhead is a healer, 100% pure, and in love with the protag but too embarrassed to tell him.
like i can go on and on. graces is max weeb.
>>315363039
>Is she fun?
she hasa lot of cute moments and has some pretty good chemistry with Luke.
She's also probably the second least cunty person in the game right after Guy.
>>315361494SHOTSTAFF BLAST!
>>315363212
Haven't played the game yet but that does sound like he is similar to Yuri.
How true is my assumption?
>>315363624
LOTSA WORDS
>>315363323
Hahahaha oh shit
I'll get right on it bud oh god haha
>>315363629Yuri takes out the trash
Sorey is a boy scoutSo not very
>>315363323
I've had the chance to play graces for a while, I need to get on it if it's like this.
>>315363253
PS2. You can emulate it easily.
>>315363629
>Haven't played the game yet but that does sound like he is similar to Yuri.
>How true is my assumption?
Not remotely. Yuri just has a good poker face and can keep his shit under pressure.
Sorey just comes off as... completely obliviously detached. He'll walk off a pack of murdered children
>>315362192
Symph2 was legitimately the first time I hated a tales protag. Most of the time they're generic "With my friends we can beat the world!" teenage boys but Symph2 was the worst kind of protag. When he wasn't whining or crying he was what an edgelord 14 year old would find "badass." I'm sure at some point he redeems himself and he becomes just like every other tales protag that decides he can win with the power of friendship but he's unbearable, it's the only tales game I never finished.
>>315363253
PS2, emulates well and doesn't look like total ass if you're into that. The 3DS version is mostly about them just tossing it out there for some free port money.
>>315362939
Well it was straight forward enough for me. You want to stack passive skill stamps either in groups vertically, horizontally, or stack multiples of the same skill. To get the vertical bonus, you have to have all 5 in a column, partial doesn't get you squat. For horizontal, only the ones directly connected to each other count for bonuses, however you can have multiple bonus sets in a single row (i.e. one set of 2 and one set of 3). having one off by itself doesn't count for anything. You'll know if you are getting a bonus because the icon will be flashing and the tooltip will tell you what bonus its contributing to.
>>315363629
Not really much at all.
Yuri kills bad people
Soreykills his loved ones
>>315363231
>you can tell what they are meant to say and how it was butchered.
Yeah this is what I was trying to say, it was slightly agonizing playing through the game, hearing one thing then reading another.
I think world maps are a must for the tales series and again you're right, probably the best combat system in a while. Chaining those 200+ combos felt fucking satisfying every time. Failing to have a world map and having shitty combat is probably why I disliked Xillia 1&2 so much and to an extent Zestiria, I really am not enjoying this combat system and the sacrifice in level quality to accommodate for it. Everything feels giant and empty without and ounce of character to it.
>>315363139
>>315363203
>>315363404
>Abyss's dub is made up of pretty well known dub VAs
>Tear was voiced by some literally who that hasnt done anything else since
Its a shame cause I actually liked her dub voice
Rose is probably closer to be Yuri like
>>315363950
It's too bad.
>141 posts
>39 posters
Jesus christI love Tales threads guys, way to keep the conversation going and comfy as always
>>315363978
Except Rose doesn't think killing is wrong at all. Yuri is fully aware that he's a murderer but is willing to carry that weight because it was what needed to be done
>>315356970
>tfw when I'm a Phantasia, Destiny (DC), Symphonia, Rebirth, Abyss, and Vesperiafag
I have no idea what I am then.
>>315363978
Why is she so ugly?
Her cover art is exceptionally bad.
>>315363629
Yuri is a badass who understands how fucked up the world is and is able to deal with it.
Sorey is just a dope who seems oblivious to the world around him.
>>315363771
>>315363721
shit i didn't even mention the healer chick was also sickly as a child and wow irony, she grows up to be a healer!! did not see that coming!!!
the best characters in graces are malik (The Mentor), hubert (The Shy Rational Glasses Guy) and pascal (an actual fucking looney-toons mad scientist)
>>315364132
fuck you faggot suck my dick
>>315363874
Nothing wrong with the 3DS version. I beat it on 3DS after never beating it emulated because I like handhelds.
There is no reason to get it unless you like handhelds like me or you can't emulate it. If you can though yeah, just emulate it.
>>315364143
You sound like a goodtastefag to me anon.
>>315356970
This got me thinking, I really should play Eternia in Japanese, the voices probably won't make my ears bleed and I'm interested in the skits.
I was such a Tales fag before I knew any Japanese. I started studying Japanese and a few goddamn years later and I still haven't played any of the Tales games aside from Zestiria. I'm very annoyed with myself,
>>315364206
Yuri is a bland and absolutely personality free "heh... nothing personell kid" stock Japanese cool guy. I don't understand why he has such a following.
>>315363978
Eh, Rose is very bubbly about what she does though and is leader of a team of killers. A point of the game is that she's a well... pure-hearted assassin.
Yuri is a vigilante who understands that he does terrible things, knows and feels that it's wrong but does it because he sees no proper alternative that isn't tied down by red tape.
The idea that they're both killers does draw the similarity, but it sort of ends there.
>>315364132
fuck off and die comfyposters
>>315364135
>Except Rose doesn't think killing is wrong at all.
bit hard to say it is when you stop and look at whom she's killing. She said it herself the Bones don't go around stabby stabby but some fuckers just gotta die for the greater good.
>>315364208
Pascal is actually the worst character, though. The absolute embodiment of cringeworthy LOLSORANDUM xD overbearing genki shit.And there's a whole fucking race of her jesus christ
Cheria's worst offense is being bland.
>>315364413
When you compare him to the rest of the tales protagonists who are all heroes straight out of a shonen jump manga I can see why people liked the change of pace.Ludger best protag
>>315363253
PS2 for multiplayer.
3ds if you're actually bringing a handheld around.
>>315364135
But thats wrong. Rose knows that killing is wrong. Thats why anytime Sorey hesitates, she steps up to do it for him, because she knows that he is innocent and not someone who can murder someone in cold blood without consequence.
>>315364413
This is what I thought when I first played the game on 360, but when I learned moonrunes to play the PS3 version his personality came out a lot better for me. I think its just the NA VA doing a shitty job of portraying any emotion.
Played and finished:
>Symphonia
>Zestiria
Played and dropped:
>Vesperia
What Tales should I try next?
>>315356970
Is it wrong that Graces was the only one I beat and Symphonia is my favorite?Abyss is my least favorite and my friend sold his Vesperia that i barley got to play
>tfw they nailed the OST but didn't finish the game so it doesn't do the music justice
Some of it felt so wasted, that final dungeon theme was magnificent and then they give you a quick little runthrough with no story elements or anything. Heck eventhe outdoor section of the throne was fucking beautiful and terrifying at the same time and yet the final area has you going into this tiny little generic room. Why couldn't the fight have been outdoors or in a semi open location so you could have fought under the blacked out sun.
Whoyuristelle here?
>>315364609
Hearts is fun. Its takes the whole Friendship concept and actually incorporates it into gameplay mechanics.
>>315364609
>dropped Vesperia
Why anon?
>>315364609
Abyss
>>315364609
Xillia. It is pretty short, but still gets out a good story, and the combat is better than people say.
>>315364609
You should finish Vesperia.
>>315364529
no fuck you, pascal owns.
honestly though i am biased because the main party of Graces is hands-down my favorite part of the game
such good chemistry together. the central theme is friendship and they did a really good job nailing it with the main group.
I just wish Emeraude could have been a secret party member somehow. Seems like such a waste of her sexy english VA
>>315364413
>Way more mature than other tales of protagonists.
>Not angsts and edgy, keep shit together without obligatory character reflection moment >Not oblivious to what's happening around him
>Not beta, tease his friends and ladies like it is his second nature
>Not a fag, clearly want t bone Judith but doesn't show an extreme lust like most beta does.
I can't find any other tales of protagonist better than him. Doesn't mean that the game itself is a the best tho. I just find Yuri to be most exceptional to other Tales of protagonist.
>>315364769
Never realized how much I would miss snap pivot until I didn't have it anymore. Jude was fun to play as.
>>315362595
>5'5"
>125lbs
>>315364681
Symphonia is your favorite but you haven't beaten it? This is too much for me to handle. Are you fishing anon
>>315364413
That's not his personality at all.
He has none of what you are implying even.
He is upset with the current state of the empire and disillusioned with the knights and doesn't think they are a force for the people. He then decides to help the people in the knights stead because he realizes there is corruption in the empire.
Because of this, he eventually is confronted with terrible human beings who are above the law. Instead of just walking away from it, he takes matters into his own hands and exhibits his own sense of justice, unlike the hypocrite Flynn who only does it when it's convenient for him (See the movie for details.)
He also is willing to do things based on his moral code that he doesn't want to, which is why when nobody will kill the Don he steps up and does it even though he detest the entire situation. At no point is Yuri "2cool4u," dismissive of anybody, a dick (even to a person who stabbed him and dropped him from a 50 story tower.) or negative to anybody in any fucking way that isn't doing shit like enslavement and human experimentation.
People like Yuri because he is a cool guy who had a good moral code and conviction. As far as Tales protagonist go, that put's him way up there versus naive people like Luke, Lloyd, Asbel and Jude. I do not dislike any of those people and Luke is probably my favorite, but Yuri is a very cool guy so please stop shitposting about him.
>>315364895
Yep. Graces also has the best post-battle skits too.
>>315364924
The whole thing in the Xillia series where each character has their own neat gimmick was one of my favorite things about the combat there. Somehow even playing a glass cannon mage was made fun.
>>315365018
I'm not anon currently playing it with my bro and we got 20 hours in it so far, its my favorite out of the 4 i played
>>315364924
Jude was one of the only reasons I didn't drop Xillia, him punching shit to death and just Alvin being Alvin were about the only things that made me want to finish the game.
>>315365075
>(See the movie for details.)
can i watch the movie without having played the game?
>All these people who think Rose thinks killing and assassinating is perfectly alright.
If that were really true, why does she constantly stop Sorey from doing the deed himself?
>>315364895
>I just wish Emeraude could have been a secret party member somehow. Seems like such a waste of her sexy english VA
Shame.
>>315365075
Actually, to continue a little, saying "nothing person kid" with Yuri is especially retarded because each time it was insanely personal and he wanted to look the person in the eye while he did it.
The only time it wasn't "personal" was with the Don, and that was him doing him a favor that ultimately he didn't want to do.
Why do people just start making up things about characters when they get popular?
I need a reality check. I've played Phantasia, Destiny DC, Eternia, and Vesperia, and just did Zestiria. I actually think Zestiria is a huge step back compared to these older Tales games. For their time they were probably good, and I thought they were all good games when I played them. But Zestiria... is awful for a modern game, and awful as a Tales. The battle system went to the point of capping you to 4(3) artes unless you want to spend meter to extend it. I... what? The skit system is as vanilla as can be, there's very little, and they're implemented in a lazy way.
Am I just crazy here or what, how is anyone praising Zestiria for anything other than the music?
>>315365102
I really enjoyed all the resort-related stuff as well. Real good.
>>315364919
I really appreciated he and Judith flirting with each other, as it's a really, really rare depth you see from two characters.
>A grown, handsome man who sees a woman who has the body of a goddess and is dressed like a stripper
>Playfully flirts upon first contact
>A woman who is fully aware of the fact that she's beautiful and dressed like a stripper and playfully flirts back
And neither of them ever take it any further for the rest of the game. There is no moment of romantic tension, no side scene that ever justifies thinking they just find each other anything but sexually attractive and nothing besides that.
>>315365237
It comes before the game, so yes, however you wont walk away thinking "wow Flynn is a shitty hypocrite."
>>315365237
Yea. Its a stand alone small prequel story that takes place before the beginning of the game. It even has a dub.
>Spending money on it
>Not just pirating it and getting all those fun DLC costumes for free
>>315365320
It is a step back. People on /v/ are just being contrarian. Most of the reviews for the game originally on Amazon also criticized the gameplay heavily, but /v/ read a Sankaku article and just thought it was all about Alisha. Therefore, if you think the game is shit in any way, you are just a "butt hurt Alishafag."
>>315365396
>>315365364
well I have every intention to play the game but my systems are in storage while I move
>>315365320
It's honestly people who haven't played the older games/only played Zestiria on PC. A lot of the people on Steam are so starved for JRPG's they take anything they're given and love it. I mean people even play the fucking Agarest games.
>>315365287
>Why do people just start making up things about characters when they get popular?
Adoration leads to subjectivity, anon. It is similar to religion, world inventors and leaders.
>>315365284
:(
so much waifu potential squandered for a shitty betrayal twist that accomplishes nothing
Completed
Xillia 1&2
Graces f
Hearts R
Currently playing
Vesperia (PS3)
Have started but on hold
Symphonia
Zestiria
Not started
Abyss
Favorites are ToX2, Hearts R and Vesperia. How much of a fag am I?
>>315360074
shut up retard
luke was a crying bitch
did they blame luke? not until he played the crying game
>>315365490
You can think the game is a step back and also think it's not absolute garbage. People were trashing the game calling it the worst tales game ever before it was released all because of the japanese amazon reviews. After it actually came out and people played it it got more positive feedback because a lot of people had their expectations set so low from all the shit it was getting pre-launch.
>>315365631
That also came out of nowhere.
>>315365634
>Hearts R
At least you like Vesperia so you're half fag I guess.
>>315365490
>Amazon
literally a japanese metacritic
>>315365767
This. I had zero expectations and while it's not particularly noteworthy within the series it exceeded expectations. Because I had none. It's fun enough and has a great OST, and it had potential you can see but BN had to rush it I guess cause muh 20th anniversary
>>315365786
i thought it was cute when she sees the guy put Talo-X in stasis for safekeeping
they could have had cute babbies together if she hadn't gotten jealous of lambda
>>315365242
Except for the time she doesn't.
But besides that, it's one of the common contradictory points about malevolence. Sorey doesn't have it in him to kill, even when a solid justification is present (... except for the one time he does). Rose on the other hand does because she's fully invested and believes in the righteousness of her actions, which leads to be equally as pure as Sorey despite being a killer.
The problem is the game presents other people who are psychopaths who also happen to be quite convinced of their righteousness, but they're admonished or consumed with malevolence. The counter to this is you could say deep down, they knew what they were doing was wrong; but then, what of Rose?
>>315366012
Seriously, what?
>>315366012
>Kohaku's soulless eyes
Dick status: muh
>>315365490
>>315365320
>>315365582
It's nowhere near as bad as the shitstormers made it out to be, yeah it has flaws but it's still a fun game to play through with a few wonderful elements.
It's my 7th Tales game and while I don't think it's quite worth full price it was still a great experience and a solid 50ish hours. I can only imagine how good of a game it could have been if they managed to complete the game to their initial specs.
>>315366114
she carries around bangs of coin
I zoned out because it was 3 AM when I was watching the cutscene, but how was Prince Konan becoming a Hellion Dezel's fault? Because of his desire to maintain the wind riders?
>>315366769The implication is that he intentionally used his own blessing in an attempt to maintain the Windriders. The problem? His blessing is a really really bad one that somehow generates malevolence, hence the whole fuckup that happened.
The irony is that everything that happened was completely his fault, and his denial of it led to him throwing away pretty much everything but Rose, including his memories.
>>315366976
I don;t get how this malevolence business works.
They say early on that even if you do a bad thing if you believe it just you don't get turned
but then later the cardinal turns into a hellion so corrupt it cant be purified but she whole heartily believed her actions just
>>315367137
I think that her becoming a hellion has more to do with her and her sisters background rather than her actions as the Cardinal.
>>315367137
Don't try to make sense of it, the whole malevolence deal is some of the most inconsistent writing out there. Basically it affects you if the writers decide so.
>>315365568
Well it is a prequel, nothing that happens requires you to have any knowledge from the game.
Hell you can think of it as a 2 hour long opening cutscene.
>>315367137
>They say early on that even if you do a bad thing if you believe it just you don't get turned
That whole explanation honestly sounded like it was just thrown in to give Rose an excuse despite being a fucking assassin.
I just lost my entire progress in the final dungeon. I got to heldalf and even almost beat his final form, but power outage...Its my fault for not saving, but jesus it really fucking annoys me.
>>315360586
I only played Symphonia because an aunt bought me a GameCube and the only other console I had was a battered PS1. RPGs were my favorite genre, and Symphonia was supposed to last about 80 hours. I was starved for entertainment, and it was in the bargain bin, so...I got it.
It's a charming little game, but suffers from a very predictable plotline. Not at all bad...
...but that goddamn ice puzzle...
>>315365767
I played the game and noted how the environments were barren, ugly and looked like a high res PS2 game.
I was then told by multiple people I was a liar and a butt hurt Alisha fag because
>HURR IN 4K IT LOOKS AMAZING WITH AMAZING GRAPHICS NICE TRY ALISHAFAG
When the fields look like dog shit. Xillia wasn't much better but any criticism was met with "Alishafag."
As I previously stated, the worst game in the Tales series is Tempest. Period. This game however is very low on the list. It's better than Innocence DS and Symphonia 2, but it's probably worse than even Legendia. It's not that good. I would definitely not pay 50 dollars for it. It's only worth a pirate if you are bored.
>>315366976
Ah, that's the impression I got, when Symonne mentioned about the blessings. Thanks for clearing that upshe a qt
>>315367545
>but it's probably worse than even Legendia
Legendia's great, a lot of the series is worse than it
>>315367685tfw we will never get to see where the rest of her story goes
>>315367767
Eh I find it okay.
I've enjoyed the game but all the boss battles without weaknesses wore me out and severely dumbs down the gameplay. Don't know what they were thinking with those. Against anything without a weakness has resulted in battles filled with constant one shots. Part of that might be due to how the harder difficulties reduces the amount of EXP received resulting in a pretty significant level disparity.
Definitely love how seamless the transition into and out of battle is.
>>315367934
Chloe best Tales
>>315367967
>Definitely love how seamless the transition into and out of battle is.
But it's not seemless. After battle it still does the stupid joke win quotes and still fades in and out.
They should have just had a proper battle screen. at least then maybe the camera wouldn't suck so much
>>315367992
She's pretty up there yeah.
>>315367482
How do you get to the final dungeon without saving? That's just terrible gaming habits, or lack thereof
>>315367992
>you will never fuck her through her bodysuit
>>315368406
He didn't use the very obvious save point before the very obvious final boss fight. Aka he's an idiot.
>>315368468
It's...decent. I like the characters for the most part, but the world is kinda bland. I'm 30 hours in and I enjoyed Trails in the Sky: SC much more.
>>315368528
Oh wow, I just reread it. While he is still an idiot, it appears I am as well, I thought he played through the entire game without saving like an absolute madman
>>315368531
>>315368468
Id teach her to swim
Tales had ONE good game. ONE. That's it.
>>315368119
>still fades in and out.
That much was to set up for those "stupid joke win quotes". So I didn't find it to be very detracting as opposed to throwing you into a random arena for battle.
>>315368764
And it's Symphonia
>>315368764
Yes, Zestiria.
So what's up with the DLC? Are they going to make more or is the game forever going to end on a gigantic cliffhanger?
>>315368761
I see.
>>315368896
They want to sweep the game under the rug ASAP
>>315368903
Oh my, dose Cs
>>315356970
LISTEN HERE YOU MASSIVE FAGGOT, YOUR LIST IS...
fairly accurate and I have no problems with it. Well done.
>>315368924
What would it take for a janitor to accidentally sweep a finished script onto the internet?
>>315368896
They were supposed to make more.
>>315368903
Chloe is kind of ero
>>315368851
>>315368825
Sorry it's phantasia. Everything after has been total shit.
>>315369013
A bribe probably.
Then you would also have to be able to read Japanese to read it.
>>315368961
Yep.
>>315369074
I know.
>>315369074
e...ero?
>>315369085
I, too would love to live in the past.
she's not ero! She doesn't ...she's not!
Legendia is best tales.
>>315360118
Got that image handy?
