Tales of this thread Page 3

Started by Sydian September 7th, 2015 9:25 PM
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  • 113 replies

ソラ

May My Heart Be My Guiding Key

Age 32
He/Him
California
Seen April 7th, 2023
Posted March 18th, 2023
2,002 posts
15.2 Years
I'm so jealous most people I know got ToZ. I probably wont get it until Xmas. Due to having a child, and bills now, game money...is very very limited. Just glad my daughter loves watching me play games, HOPEFULLY she gets into Tales, and my other favorite game series.

If I get ToZ its gonna be the PS4 version, not teh reason I hear most people got the ToZ version to brag they got the better version. (i dont know, if it is or isnt. its not the reason for me, people can get any version if there are minor differences as in Framerates and how it is...I dont care) Im getting the ps4 frankly cause I want more Ps4 games. haha

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
tbh, I'm glad I have the PS3 version because I can put Mini-Ludgers on everyone. :) Totally logical and practical reason, yup.
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ソラ

May My Heart Be My Guiding Key

Age 32
He/Him
California
Seen April 7th, 2023
Posted March 18th, 2023
2,002 posts
15.2 Years
The only Tales fix i have been having lately is playing the First ToX (I never finished the english version i have Milla's side to do). I have beaten ToX in japanese. After I beat ToX on Milla's side, I am gonna replay ToX2. ToX2 is probably one of my favorite tales. Abyss is always my number one favorite.

also, My favorite character isnt from my favorite game. Her name is Sophie. :) When I first played Graces F (I played in Japanese first, Graces F is my first Tales) I fell in love with the character. Also her in the Miku outfit and her singing the main theme of Graces F.



also...speaking ToX2. I remember when I first played it in Japanese, It was like 1 in the morning, and I went to the temple, and I didnt know what really was going on, I knew you collected cats, but i didnt realize THIS was a cat meow I was freaking out I thought it was like a GAME GHOST or something. It freaked me out! In the english version I recorded it cause im like "What the hell is that!?". here is the footage. I also turn the music off and kept the SFX on soo... ahha

Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 8 Hours Ago
Posted 16 Hours Ago
15,640 posts
9.5 Years
.....the ****

it's not hard to get generic cat sounds how did they screw that up
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."
OK, somewhat major spoilers below...and a rant. Because. You'll know why when you get there.

In case you're curious, you're safe to read this story-wise once you've watched a long sequence of flashbacks. You'll know what I mean when you see them.
Spoiler:
I had the "EVERYTHING IS REVEALED" cutscenes earlier and, to be honest, it ****ing sucked. It was horribly underwhelming, not surprising in the least, and another case of having too much piled on at once. The whole thing with Mayvin was stupid; he barely appears at all in the game, and suddenly he has a HUGE role in the game...then he DIES. Way to go. Why should I care again?

I quite like the way Sorey and Mikleo factor into things, but honestly they don't FEEL special. Their monumental back story, like Rose and Dezel's, fell totally flat for me. I just don't care enough about them; the story has fed me breadcrumbs which I have had to actively scour the damn globe for, and this sequence of dramatic revelations really is a case of too little, too late. It's BAD WRITING, and if not for the combat I would have put this down long before now and written it off; even Lost Odyssey, a JRPG I loathe for its slow pacing, gave me more in the beginning than this. This game is going to have to do something pretty spectacular - I'm looking at you, Symonne - to win me over now.

Heldalf being yet ANOTHER sympathetic villain is not surprising in the least. Well, I suppose the morality of the situation is very ambiguous considering he was a complete prick when he was human and he really did deserve what he got, but still. I like morally grey plots, and Zestiria has been nothing BUT morally grey so far..it's just a shame it's been so poorly paced and reluctant to actually give me story that it's fallen flat when it's finally changed it's mind, some fifty hours in.

I will admit battling Tiamat at Glaivend Basin was EPIC, though. There's no other word for it. I wouldn't care to do it on Intense, though...Hard was hard enough. If you're going for the plat the same as I am, be prepared to be irritated; it takes hardly any damage and inflicts paralysis with attacks, and Mikleo, being a Dick-leo, has awful AI when it comes to healing status ailments. He's very easy to dodge, but he has an annoying tail slam attack which inflicts stun a lot as well.

...what is it with later bosses and stun? Mayvin was full of it, Tiamat wouldn't stop...rrrgh. Need some resistant equipment. But the equipment fusion in this game is so half-arsed it's hard to get what you want on things...my gear is still very meh.

I just want more Symonne at this point; she's the only villain left who is actually a proper villain from what I can tell...

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
I'm gonna have to force myself to get all of the Earthen Historia.

Spoiler:
I don't like that the game is forcing me to go out of the way to get the plot of the game. Like, why isn't this given to me through the main story? Why do I have to go all over the map to get the plot? This is especially exasperated by the fact that you have to pay to travel and it gets more expensive as the game goes on, which also discourages me from sidequests, but now I have to do it for the main quest. Alright...? Thanks, game. :/

Also, to whoever said they prefer Rose over Alisha earlier, I definitely agree. I don't know if Alisha rejoins the party and I'm sure she will at some point considering the whole deal with Maltran and I mean she's on the cover of the box lol, but idk, she didn't strike me as very interesting when I did have her so eh. Rose is much more interesting and fun to have. I'm sure she gets more to her in that DLC, but it shouldn't take DLC for me to get to know a main (I guess?) character.

Ummmm I'm still bitter about Dezel. >:<
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So, it turns out that Aizen...

Spoiler:
...is an optional boss you can fight after you beat Tiamat, and holy crap, he's HARD. I had to use all of my Level DLC to match his level to beat him...although I was going for the "Beat him on Hard and don't use items" trophy because I don't really want to play through the whole game twice. On Simple he's only Level 64, which would have been quite manageable. Dragons in this game definitely live up to their name, though. Thankfully Edna actually bothers to join you in this fight.

I feel pretty bad for her, though. This was essentially forced upon her by Zaveid - who needs to stop trying to get up her skirt; it's creepy as all hell - and the rest of the party, and it's done in a cold, unfeeling, thoroughly sloppy manner. This was a MAJOR thing for her, and suddenly she outright accepts it. The hell.

Also, the traditional "And Off We Go To Face The Last Boss!" cutscene for this game is pretty damn awful. There's little real closure in it, and overall it's as disappointing as the rest of the plot for this game is. So, off to face the last boss I go...or not. I haven't unlocked Chaos yet, so I'll be doing a little (a lot) of grinding to kick my level up and get some semi-decent equipment...thankfully I made a separate save, so I can grind at lower levels and save the DLC for when I need it. I'll try and finish it by the end of the week though and move on to the postgame, haha.

When I look back on Zestiria, I think at the moment the main thing I'll remember it for is the OST, which doesn't sound like every Tales game that came before it, for a change. Unless the finale is spectacular, this one is sitting just above Abyss and right next to Vesperia on my list...and Abyss is my least favourite Tales game. Like Vesperia, it has a good cast...and, like Vesperia, the plot is a pointless, directionless mess.

Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 8 Hours Ago
Posted 16 Hours Ago
15,640 posts
9.5 Years
So finally started playing Zesteria today with my sister. Not like we got very far or anything, but hey it's a start.

......gonna take a while to understand and get used to some of this new **** with the artes and skills and equipment and all that.
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
I got the guidebook today...cause I actually need it, lol.

In non-toz news though, my boyfriend ordered the Xillia 2 CE for me!! Should be here next week. :) And I wanna get the DLC for Ludger's school uniform, but my PS3 doesn't wanna connect to the store lol. But when I run the internet test, it's fine. Clearly someone just doesn't want me getting that DLC.
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Well, I have to say...

Spoiler:
I am extremely disappointed in this game. It's easily the second worst Tales I've played, just ahead of Abyss. The story was a mixture of non-existent and complete bollocks, the combat was good but hindered by the gimmicky camera, irregular levelling system and worthless equipment fusion and the drop rate, and the cast...well, asides from Edna, I have nothing positive to say about the cast, really.

I enjoyed the skits, but the game was one long haul of moving from one city to the next waiting for something to actually happen...in this, it reminded me very strongly of Final Fantasy XIII. In fact, I'd call this the FFXIII of the Tales series. My single late-game ray of hope - Symonne - turned out to be a generic, pointless underling, and I honestly think Zestiria would have been better off if it had been like Vesperia and lacked a central antagonist, as Gandalf was underwhelming at best.

About the only right move this game made was swapping Alisha for Rose, and that's mostly because I got sick of Alisha's whining. She was such a miserably weak character, considering she was a Knight. It turns out your Princess is in another castle...pining over Maltran, in all probability. WHY were people complaining about her being taken out?

Yet despite my complaints...I'm still going to plat it, because a bad game just makes me all the more determined. I've seen the ending cutscene, but it's going to be a while before I actually finish the game, as I need to unlock Chaos, and I'm doing Sorey/Lailah crucible runs for equipment. It's slow going.


In other news...I might start Hearts R soon. I've been putting it off for, like, a year now, and it can't be any worse than Zestiria was.

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
I think I'm 40 hours in and what I'm going to say isn't pretty, but if you follow me on Twitter/Tumblr, it's nothing you haven't heard before, except I'm going to be less vague and a lot more brash.

Spoiler:
It's going to be a chore for me to finish this game. I realize levels aren't everything and most of this game has been me underlevel and complaining about exp output, but Christ Almighty. The game actually expects me to fight a level 80 Maltran when I'm sitting here struggling to get to 50? And without Rose, who can armatize while Alisha can't? I'm sorry, but Alisha is useless. She's a boring character with a great design, that's all I can say about her. I'm honestly shocked people complained about swapping her for Rose because that was the best part of the game for me was when I got Rose and Dezel. And then the game kills off Dezel and makes Rose leave. Someone PLEASE tell me that Rose comes back because as far as I can tell, my guide book doesn't seem to indicate it.

But aside from a level 80 boss that I'm on the painfully low grind for atm, apparently the final boss (I didn't even care honestly, so yes, I looked ahead in my guide book) becomes level 150 at some point???/ HhahahashdhahahahahadahhHHAHaHhahahaAAhahaHAHAHAHA

**** that. I would honestly advise against this game. I like a lot of the characters honestly, but I wouldn't even recommend it for that. They don't save the game at all. Just watch the anime that comes out next year and skip this game. Seriously.
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Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 8 Hours Ago
Posted 16 Hours Ago
15,640 posts
9.5 Years
gah all these things in spoiler tags I wanna read but can't since I'm not that far into the game =(
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."

Dragon

lover of milotics

Age 30
Male
Viridian City
Seen 3 Days Ago
Posted October 24th, 2022
11,170 posts
9.7 Years
I need to get this off my chest too. xD

Spoiler:
I too am disappointed on how this game turned out, which if you've spoken with me, I was really, really excited about this game. Honestly, these days I turned back to playing Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Rebirth on my PS Vita, in which I don't really have much desire playing Zestiria other than the sake of trying to beat it and to see more of Lailah. :L Bah.

Like first of all, this game is pretty unbalanced. Its not uncommon for Tales games to put you in hopeless battle situations like in Symphonia Dawn of the New World or Legendia, but there's something really enjoyable about this game that makes you have to survive a battle where you're like, 30-40 levels below a certain figure? Ugh.

Another thing, what is with the enemies... okay, yeah, I get why some enemies are up on the ceiling, like the Spider Hellions and such. After a while I think, 'oh sure I can just look up to see them and plan my next move'. Which was fine, but then there are some enemies that literally just pop out of nowhere like those Centipede monsters? And no I'm not exaggerating - they literally just magically materialize without any warning or indication! It's an necessary element if you ask me; they should of just stuck with enemies being visible to plan our next move. I mean, it worked for the other Tales games - why suddenly change the schematic on this game?

The story is okay, but it gets bland and the objectives gets tedious after a while. Dare I say even more tedious than Symphonia's...?

Don't get me wrong, I think the characters are amazing and the music is incredible but.. I think the bad out weighs the good in this scenario. It's not the worst Tales game I've played - (like has anyone here played Tempest? Geez), but it's not really a Tales Game I'd recommend, and I can't really see myself going back to it other than.. nostalgic purposes. x:


"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess...
DRAGON SLAVE!"
Male
the town on no map
Seen September 16th, 2022
Posted July 12th, 2022
3,340 posts
14.2 Years
Don't wanna pile on, but let me just add that I can't really get motivated to really devote serious time to this game. The characters are bland and the atmosphere feels rather empty so far. I'm only about 9 hours in; hopefully it gets better?

Pyrax

Midnight Guest

Age 27
he/him
UK
Seen 21 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Weeks Ago
1,520 posts
14.1 Years


In other news...I might start Hearts R soon. I've been putting it off for, like, a year now, and it can't be any worse than Zestiria was.
Well... The translation has a tendency to exaggerate the characters' habits and personalities, like Beryl jumbling up her words more often and making Hisui more violent than he actually is. The result of a scrapped (likely due to budget or time constraints) English dub, I suppose.
The combat system is easily one of my favourites, though. Chase Links are absolutely devastating when done right.
PSN: MakotoSako / SW-8442-6811-7902 (Hibiki) / Banner's mine

Arc

Male
ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Seen March 17th, 2018
Posted January 31st, 2017
2,023 posts
15 Years
Spoiler:
Like first of all, this game is pretty unbalanced. Its not uncommon for Tales games to put you in hopeless battle situations like in Symphonia Dawn of the New World or Legendia, but there's something really enjoyable about this game that makes you have to survive a battle where you're like, 30-40 levels below a certain figure? Ugh.
Spoiler:
You know, when I first played the Japanese version, I complained about this at first too. But, after a certain point, you realize that levels don't really amount to much. Decent equipment is more than enough to bridge the gap. If anything, monsters being higher-leveled is actually beneficial, since they're more likely to drop better equipment. Let's put this into perspective, I've mainly been screwing around, I'm right before the fight against Tiamat at level 55 on Chaos. Almost every encounter has regular monster and bosses' levels since Zaphgot Moor (spelling?) have been doubling mine. And I'm still going through most fights comfortably (except for casting monsters, **** those guys), since my equipment is literally carrying my ass.


The result of a scrapped (likely due to budget or time constraints) English dub, I suppose.
I don't think an English dub was ever intended for Hearts R. It seemed like it was just a test release on Bamco's part, to see how well the Vita market fares overseas. No point in pouring money into something that isn't expected to fly off of shelves. The translation itself, is filled with dubious work though. I mean, it gets the job done, and almost always gets the main idea of what's said. However, there was a lot of liberties taken with it - like you mentioned before - personalities and quirks being more exaggerated than they should be; which is one of the many atrocities made in the translation.

Gameplay was alright. Battle system is a mixed bag for me. I really liked the CC (or emotion gauge, whatever it was called) in the DS version, yet I'm not the biggest fan of Xillia's AC/TP system used for R. However, I dig Chase Links a lot, despite it being a relatively easy mechanic to abuse.

Also, Lailah's Japanese VA, Matsuki Miyu, just recently passed away at 38. RIP. ;___;
Thirty-eight?! Freakin' hell. I never actually listened to her voice in-game, but I've heard her in a couple of anime. That's such a shame =/

Also, regarding Hearts R: everything I've heard about it, other than the aerial combat - I hate trying to juggle things; one wrong move and you're screwed - sounds right up my alley...it sounds like the translation has made it ridiculously hammy, and I LOVE hammy things. xD

And **** the item drop rate for Zestiria, SERIOUSLY. I've spent hours farming for Lailah's equipment now, and I'm getting absolutely nowhere very quickly. Slowly losing the will to live trying to get this godawful platinum trophy...

Dracowyn

Hell's Traffic Accident

Age 30
Male
Phondrasôn
Seen September 9th, 2022
Posted March 5th, 2022
413 posts
12.2 Years
Eh, I actually enjoyed Zestiria. I beat it yesterday and I'm doing a new game + now (tryin to do all the extra stuff I missed).

Then again, this is my first Tales game in a long time. I've only played Symphonia (which is my favorite game ever), Phantasia and Symphonia 2 in the past. Thanks to owning no playstation/xbox systems and living in the PAL region which Namco seems to hate the most. So I don't have a lot to compare it to.

I am indeed the one with the power of a god.
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Arc

Male
ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Seen March 17th, 2018
Posted January 31st, 2017
2,023 posts
15 Years
Also, regarding Hearts R: everything I've heard about it, other than the aerial combat - I hate trying to juggle things; one wrong move and you're screwed - sounds right up my alley...it sounds like the translation has made it ridiculously hammy, and I LOVE hammy things. xD
Chase Links are very, very forgiving. Once you've sent a monster into Chase Link mode, even if you screw up, the combo will continue as long as the mode is still active or unless you end it yourself. The original Hearts for DS was more along the lines you're talking about, with juggling being more "stricter" to maintain; if you weren't just cheesing out with Shing and Kunzite that is.

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
I ordered a pin with Julius and Ludger on it recently and it finally came in today! It's beautiful and wonderful and will be going on my work lanyard. But now I'll have to deal with people asking me if they're gay lovers, lol. :<
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Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 8 Hours Ago
Posted 16 Hours Ago
15,640 posts
9.5 Years
Man when is there gonna be an extended version of this up on Youtube:


Favorite track in the game right now probably
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
Zaveid the Exile is my absolute favorite track in the game. I also love all the tracks for the elemental trials.

Anyway, I beat the game last night. I actually bought DLC with level up packs to speed it along because I was just ready to get it over with.

Spoiler:
The ending confused me and I had to go rewatch it to make sense of it, but I think I got it. Uhhh. I don't know if I'll ever bother playing this again, honestly. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but as I went on, I just kind of got frustrated and bored with it, and almost downright angry. I get that equipment is a focus in this game, but holy ****, that doesn't mean I can take on bosses that are double my level. It's like if you gave a level 1 Pokemon all the best moves it could possibly have and tried to put it against something much higher than it. It's not going to work, even though it's got the right "equipment" per se.

I also don't like how some of the characters are treated here. I find Alisha really boring and it's not really her fault. They didn't give her to me long enough to really get to know her and like her. And don't tell me "oh the DLC though!" because that's DLC. I shouldn't have to play an optional thing to get to know and appreciate someone that is marketed as a main character. I know it's free, but that doesn't change the fact that it's tacked on content and not included in the main story. I like Rose a lot more and I'm thankful that she was with me through most of the story (especially since she's who I ended up maining), but it's annoying when the game takes her away from me since you can only have two characters out at a time without another human party member.

I think Alisha could have been relegated as a character like Sergei. Sorey and Mikleo could have still found her in the ruins and saved her and helped her back in Ladylake. Like idk. They should have done all or nothing with her because she ends up being lackluster and I don't like that. I want to like her more, I'm just not given the chance, not without the DLC, of course. And I don't intend on playing it because I didn't really enjoy this game that much.

I don't like how Dezel is treated as well. I get why he died. I understand why. I get why Zaveid takes his place (and hat) afterwards. I understand. But ugh. Take away a main character around the middle of the game? Really? At least Xillia 2 had the decency to break my heart at the end and not in the middle. I really love Dezel and I was honestly playing for him and Rose at that point in the game and they killed him off. I wasn't happy...I'm still not happy. At least he got to be with the party longer than Alisha got to and we saw more of his personality and backstory, but at the same time, that backstory got really crammed into the mix and just all...happened. Like it just dropped out of the sky on us.

With all of that being said, I feel like they just had a lot of characters they wanted to use for this and two of them suffer immensely because of it. And in a series where there is a lot of focus put on the characters and their interactions (at least that's what I gather), it's a shame.

If I ever do replay this game, it would be for Dezel. Dezel dogman, you deserved better. :(


If you read all of that, I should clarify, I don't hate this game, but there's a lot I dislike. I'm not here to argue my thoughts with anyone either, I just want to get my opinion off my chest. I had to wait on someone to post in here since last I looked, I was the last posted so I couldn't double post lol. I feel better now.

Oh, one last important thing.

Spoiler:
Long haired Mikleo can get it.
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Arc

Male
ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Seen March 17th, 2018
Posted January 31st, 2017
2,023 posts
15 Years
Rising Up is still my absolute favourite for this game.



This is inspiring.

I get that equipment is a focus in this game, but holy ****, that doesn't mean I can take on bosses that are double my level. It's like if you gave a level 1 Pokemon all the best moves it could possibly have and tried to put it against something much higher than it. It's not going to work, even though it's got the right "equipment" per se.
But, that's not an apt comparison. Level gains in Pokemon are immensely more vital than it is in Zestiria. For Zestiria, the stats gained for each level aren't even worth noticing unless you look at intervals of fifty - in a game where level 200 is the highest, might I add. For example, the video below.



Would you rather be level 200 with okay equipment, or level 50 with the broken set-up that breaks this game into two? For clarification, the skill set-up for Sorey is Lucifer and Eternal, which are Stack Bonus 15 and 16, respectively. Lucifer decreases SC usage by half and Eternal removes your four actions cap, which essentially allows you to endless combo everyone.
It's not so much the equipment fusion system that is aggravating as it is the drop rate - even with Normin assignment and Lord of the Land boons to boost the drop rate, getting the equipment you want is a nightmare. Getting a setup like that would take an insane number of hours or an ungodly amount of luck. The system would be fine if the game's mechanics actually complemented it. There isn't a reliable way to manipulate the drop rate, just boost it and pray. Now, if you could control what dropped - not necessarily the skills, just the item name - then that would be another matter entirely...

As it is, to get my endgame gear I had to spend about four hours running one of the Crucibles over and over for Lindwer gear for Sorey and Lailah...although the end result was that I curbstomped boosted Kittybeard's second form on Hard mode, netting me the trophy for it. His first form was much harder than his second for its elemental resistances, actually.

And that fight was nothing compared to what I had to do to unlock it...I had to do the last fight in the bonus dungeon on Normal, and the only way I managed it in the end was through spamming Arcane Bottles and unleashing a steady stream of Mystic Artes. Seriously, this game has INSANE optional bosses, they're on a completely different level even on easier difficulties.

...on a side note, all I need to do is get my equipment in NG+, run around in circles to grind out Dietician's Nightmare, and finish Alisha's DLC, and I'll have my Platinum trophy. I'm sitting at nearly 60 hours now. The grind in this game is made all the more tedious for the lack of information available...at least in Symphonia Chronicles I could keep track of everything through the Collector's Book, and the Xillia games had pretty comprehensive menus. Zestiria is painfully minimalistic by comparison.