Tales of this thread

[Sydian]

Get it?! Okay so anyway, I've been playing Tales of Xillia lately (like super addicted) and I thought what perfect timing to make a thread about Tales games. So, have you guys played any? What do you think? If you haven't, are there any that catch your eye? So on and so forth.

Like I said, I'm playing Xillia atm and I've played Abyss as well, both the PS2 and 3DS version. I was actually replaying Abyss earlier this year, but stopped because school got busy. Out of the two I've played, I definitely like Xillia's playstyle more. It's also easier to keep track of sidequests whereas in Abyss, I always would miss things because some of that stuff has a short time frame that you can do it (can't think of any specifics, but eh). But I find myself getting more done in Xillia just on my own than I ever did in Abyss. I actually have to use a guide when I play Abyss so I don't miss things and hate my life. I enjoy the cast of characters in Abyss more, though. And I think I'm mainly saying that because I don't dislike any of them, whereas I dislike Leia in Xillia...so I'm kind of stretching it making that statement, but lol.

I'm looking forward to Tales of Zestiria in October, but I heard the PS3 version is really ugly on the graphics and the frame rate is awful. I'm going to check it out from work and see if I can deal with the bs, and if I can, then I'll just go ahead and buy it. If not, I'll...suck it up and wait til I get a PS4... :( I don't wanna do that though, but eh. I don't have a PS4, but I'd probably go ahead and buy the PS4 version just so whenever I do get one, I've got that on hand and ready to go. ...But that didn't work out so great when I bought Ni No Kuni before I got my PS3, got my PS3, and got KH2.5 and still haven't started Ni No Kuni...I'm a great game player.

PS: Alvin is bae.

 

[mannakete]

∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿
Tales of you say?

I've been playing Tales since 2008 when the Abyss anime came out, because I bought Abyss for the PS2 right after like... episode 7 or so. I love it so, so much. Luke's growth as a character is super important to me. I've played... a lot of Tales games. Some were like trials to see if they worked so, Rebirth and Destiny II I haven't officially started yet (lol old psp). I'm currently playing Eternia and Radiant Mythology 3 though (and Asteria but that's a mobile game so it doesn't count 100%).
Oh man if you thought Abyss' sidequesting was bad, Symphonia's is... evil. Like super evil. Dawn of the New World's isn't much better. Too many missables (Dawn has the achievement of missing AN ENDING for missing a missable) and weird cut off points. Vesperia's like that too and you never get a notice if it's there or not. Thank you pre-Xillia Tales of.

Zesty PS3 is definitely lower quality than Zesty PS4, considering Zesty PS4 is actually what Vesperia PS3 was to Vesperia 360 just without the extra features (costumes, Flynn + Patty Playable, etc etc. Zesty PS4 is just a framerate and graphics boost). You can actually see comparison screenshots on Tokrin. I'm personally going to play it on PS3 anyway until I get a PS4. I've followed PS3 Zestiria since it's reveal years ago. I'm gonna move forward with it.

Xillia is definitely the most fun to play! I've done 4 playthroughs of it and it's always still so fun (Xillia 2 is much more fun if you ever get to it! The possibilities with the new characters are too fun.) Going back to the older ones (ESPECIALLY SYMPHONIA) is so jarring and it's almost painful to play sometimes. Lack of free run in anything before Abyss (+ Legendia bcs it's linear like phantasia/destiny/eternia) is super painful. Challenging but painful.

(Alvin is indeed awesome)

 

[Crackin355]

I bought Symphonia a couple of years ago since I'd always heard good things about it. I enjoyed it a lot, so I bought Abyss almost immediately afterwards and played that. Abyss had a more enjoyable battle system but the last parts of the game involved backtracking that really killed the pacing. I bought Graces afterwards but had to wait until my ps3 was fixed, it was fun but not as enjoyable as the other two I played in basically every way, it didn't feel like a step forward I guess is what I want to say. I played Xillia last year and enjoyed it a lot, having tunnels instead of a world map was a little disappointing but the battle system was easily the most fun of all the ones I've played previously. Jude was and still is my favourite playable character in the series, probably helps that he used gauntlets which made him way more interesting to use. Xillia had terrible story pacing though, the last parts of the game zoomed by very quickly.

They're fun, I think at the time I thought they were the best thing ever but in hindsight they weren't. Still really good games, I might pick up Xillia 2 or Zestiria at some point but I've heard bad things about the latter.

 

[Arc]

Tales is love. Tales is life.

So, let's get this out of the way. I've played every single mothership Tales title to date. Yes, that includes black sheeps like Legendia and Tempest (which was so bad that it got its mothership status revoked, lmao). The only title that I didn't finish, was Destiny, that's because I played Destiny R beforehand; I saw no reason to finish the PS1 version when the PS2 version was infinitely better in every way. If that doesn't tell you that I love this series to death, then well.

Vesperia PS3 is my absolute favourite. Would love to do another in-depth post about why I love it, but TL;DR version for now, battle system is fucking fantastic in that I can do anything I want, best cast, tons of stuff to do, and Judith is bae. (seriously people, don't hesitate to import this one if it interests you! Vesperia PS3 translation project has been done for almost five months now. It has an available online guide that translates LITERALLY everything. Artes, story, skits, etc. You name it.)

I already have Zestiria PC version pre-purchased and everything (not interested in the PS4 atm, plus I sort to want to mod Zestiria and crack it open). Granted, I've already done two playthroughs of it on the Japanese version, but I'm still eager on what sort of technical improvements have been done to it. Provided that Bamco doesn't pull a Tecmo Koei.

Now, I'm just twiddling my thumbs awaiting for whenever new information for Berseria will pop up.

I'm looking forward to Tales of Zestiria in October, but I heard the PS3 version is really ugly on the graphics and the frame rate is awful. I'm going to check it out from work and see if I can deal with the bs, and if I can, then I'll just go ahead and buy it.

Graphics are alright. Character models are well-detailed and appealing, but everything else is kinda ehhhh. Who said the frame-rate was awful? This game runs at a solid 30 on the PS3. There might be a hiccup here and there when you get into an encounter or when a bunch of spells go off, but for the most part it's consistent. The main problem with the FPS is that battles are locked to 30, when past games have been 60. Overall, PS3 version is perfectly playable. Draw distance is awful though :D

Really cool to see someone enjoy Xillia so much though. If you ever plan to play Xillia 2 - which you should - you'll definitely appreciate a lot of the changes that were made in it, except for the debt system, but that's easy to mitigate after an hour or two. Plus, Ludger! Everyone should at least experience the monster that is Ludger Will Kresnik once.

Xillia had terrible story pacing though, the last parts of the game zoomed by very quickly.

Yeah, it's a shame that Xillia was rushed out to meet its deadline. I'm inclined to believe that Xillia's last 1/3 would have played out drastically different, if the developers weren't strapped for time. Especially, after some date-mining revealed that Gaius and Muzet had playable character data.

 

[pkmin3033]

With the exception of Hearts R, which I just haven't gotten around to yet - lack of English voice acting has put me off it a bit - I've played all of the Tales games released in EU territories thus far. Whilst I think they're of substantially better and more consistent quality than certain other JRPG series I could name, I still think the series has declined in quality quite a bit since Symphonia, which really was every bit as good as it looked at the time, and still holds up even now on PS3. But for every title that has followed it...the story is always bland, predictable, or a directionless mess (or all three and more besides), the cast is cut from the same standard-issue anime/JRPG tropes with almost the same voice cast, and even the music is starting to sound the same. Sakuraba is a fantastic composer, but I wish he'd inject a bit of variety into the series. I keep coming back for the battle system - which is second only to the Star Ocean games in my opinion - and the unique anime-style presentation - which is a constant delight, even if graphics are the least important element of a game to me - but everything else is a constant disappointment. It just can't hit that high point again due to the constant recycling that plagues the series.

Recent games have felt the need to force some very obnoxious and irritating pairings on you as a part of the story too, which has often ruined what little enjoyment I can get out of the cast. The Jude/Milla thing annoyed the hell out of me as it ruined two otherwise passable characters, Luke/Tear is one the WORST pairings I have ever seen in any JRPG, Emil/Marta make me cringe, I will NEVER accept the idea of a two-way Hubert/Pascal no matter how hard the game tries to force it on me, and Asbel/Cheria felt ridiculously drawn out and contrived given the timeskip which removed all potential character development for the cast in that game. Vesperia's lack of obnoxious romance would have made it fantastic...were it not for the fact that the story is a directionless mess that never really goes anywhere.

Don't get me wrong, Tales does quirky characters really well, and the skits breathe some life into the cast especially now that they're fully voiced, but I've seen and heard it all before...often in the Tales game that came out before the one I'm currently playing. It's getting more than a little depressing. Maybe I'm just being overly cynical or critical, but I can't help but feel, after maybe an hour of playing a new Tales game, that I've played it before, and my predictions for the story are almost-always completely accurate, because they never try anything different.

I'll get Zestiria and give it a fair chance, and even though Berseria looks to be a recycled version of Xillia with pirates I'll give that a try as well, but I'll admit I'm starting to go off the series, fantastic combat or not. I loved the earlier titles; Symphonia, Eternia, and Phantasia in particular, but recent ones have failed to live up to expectations and have felt like poorly designed rehashes for the most part. If not for the superb battle systems I probably would have stopped playing the games entirely after Graces f, and I wouldn't have missed much.

 

[Judge Mandolore Shepard]

When it comes to the games in the Tales series, I have only played Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360) and Tales of the Abyss (3DS). Of those two games, I have only beaten Vesperia. Now when it comes to the playable characters in each of those games, I do have my favorites. In Vesperia, my number one favorite is Judith easily. As for Abyss, my favorite character is either Jade or Guy.

 

[Morkula]

I've played and beaten Symphonia, Abyss, Legendia, Vesperia, and Graces. I think Abyss is my favorite (though I haven't been able to get into the 3DS version when I've tried to play that...but that might just be lack of being able to commit to a 60 hour game that I've already played once) - Jade was by far one of the most hilarious characters in any RPG and Luke, contrary to popular opinion, was a good main character since he actually underwent some development.

I just kind of lost interest in the series, honestly. They kind of blur together - other than tweaks to the combat system, they're pretty much the same games with a different cast of characters. You can expect the same drab, dreary dungeons, copy-paste plots, and hit-or-miss casts from every single Tales game, and I just kind of got burnt out after Graces. Maybe someday I'll get back into them, but I just think I burnt out on the series and have other things I'd rather devote all those hours to.

 

[Sydian]

For what it's worth, I do plan on playing Xillia 2 eventually since I'm enjoying the first one so much. I have Symphonia Chronicles, but after hearing about the sidequests and lack of free run, I'm kind of...terrified to start it now. :'D Like I literally rely on running around the arena like a chicken to avoid moves while I go "what do i do what do i do" lol. That is good to hear about Zestiria though...I'm probably still going to check it out from work before buying it though so I can figure out for myself if I'm good with it. :)

 

[pkmin3033]

For what it's worth, I do plan on playing Xillia 2 eventually since I'm enjoying the first one so much. I have Symphonia Chronicles, but after hearing about the sidequests and lack of free run, I'm kind of...terrified to start it now. :'D Like I literally rely on running around the arena like a chicken to avoid moves while I go "what do i do what do i do" lol. That is good to hear about Zestiria though...I'm probably still going to check it out from work before buying it though so I can figure out for myself if I'm good with it. :)

Symphonia's sidequests aren't really all that bad...well, unless you're a completionist, anyway. If you go for the Platinum trophy, be prepared to scream in frustration as you endure some truly horrible minigames, and play through the whole thing three and a bit times for the sake of a single title which you could STILL wind up missing if you're not meticulously careful. There are a LOT of missables in it - most of them dialogue choices relating to a single scene towards the end of the game - but there are a lot of good guides for it at this point.

I think of the two, Dawn of the New World is the more frustrating game, because it doesn't keep track of what monsters you raise and a lot of the skits have very limited time windows, and there are trophies for both of those aspects...plus the extra dungeon is easily the most poorly designed in the entire franchise, and the guild quests are VERY repetitive.

But you can take your first playthrough of Symphonia however you like if you want to go for everything; since multiple playthroughs are required for specific scenes, you can just manipulate circumstances in the future and, if you miss a Collector's Book entry the first time around, there's always next time. It's only after the first playthrough that it becomes important you do certain things if you want the plat~

...but, much as I love the game, it's a plat I would never want to get again. But then, I'd say the same for Xillia and Xillia 2 as well...the latter especially, since it upped the requirements for using select character moves and abilities a number of times. I still don't see how a character as truly awful to use as Leia can be an absolute demon when controlled by enemy AI in the Collosseum...

 

[Sydian]

So I just finished Tales of Xillia and I don't know what to do with my life anymore????

 

[Shhwonk]

I only ever played Symphonia, and that was when it first came out 12 years ago and I was a wee little scamp. I never quite beat it, but I think I got close. Remember really liking it, though.

For someone re-entering into the franchise, what do you guys recommend I play first? Literally any installment, I actually have most/all of them in my collection, but haven't gotten around to 'em. :)

 

[Arc]

For someone re-entering into the franchise, what do you guys recommend I play first? Literally any installment, I actually have most/all of them in my collection, but haven't gotten around to 'em. :)

You can start with any of them really. None of the games are connected aside from Xillia and Xillia 2. I personally recommend starting with Abyss, since it's battle system feels less "smooth", in comparison to the newer games; making it so that it might be harder transition if you went from Xillia - > Abyss than Abyss - > Xillia.

 

[Sydian]

I'm with Arc. I've only played Abyss and Xillia, so you can ignore me if you want haha, but Abyss is definitely a more difficult battle system to get used to so I'd recommend starting there over something newer. Not that it's harder per se, but like Arc said, it's definitely less smooth. Like I'm personally going to have a hard time going back to it when I get back to Abyss 3DS at some point. I'd recommend the PS2 version over the 3DS though. I enjoy the 3DS version myself, but at the same time, I still feel like the game is more enjoyable on a tv with a Dualshock. I'm just a big handheld junkie. If you're like me, then you will probably be fine with the 3DS.

If you don't care about playstyle though and only story, then yeah, none of them connect unless you see it in the titles like Xillia and Xillia 2, so you're good to really start anywhere you want as far as that goes.

 

[Dragon]

I'm with Arc. I've only played Abyss and Xillia, so you can ignore me if you want haha, but Abyss is definitely a more difficult battle system to get used to so I'd recommend starting there over something newer. Not that it's harder per se, but like Arc said, it's definitely less smooth. Like I'm personally going to have a hard time going back to it when I get back to Abyss 3DS at some point. I'd recommend the PS2 version over the 3DS though. I enjoy the 3DS version myself, but at the same time, I still feel like the game is more enjoyable on a tv with a Dualshock. I'm just a big handheld junkie. If you're like me, then you will probably be fine with the 3DS.

If you don't care about playstyle though and only story, then yeah, none of them connect unless you see it in the titles like Xillia and Xillia 2, so you're good to really start anywhere you want as far as that goes.

Mmm, I see what you mean. Personally I think Abyss is one of the easiest to get used to though, and Graces was by far the toughest for me, but yeah, Abyss as a lot of features that you'd have to memorize, like... how to use Luke's Lightning Tiger Blade, or god forbid, his Lost Fon Drive, but yeah!

I've played and beaten: Phantasia, Destiny, Destiny 2, Eternia, Symphonia, Rebirth, Abyss, Innocence R, Vesperia, Hearts R, Graces, Xillia, and Xillia 2. I've played the japenese version of Zestiria but obviously I couldn't finish it. Yet. If you want my recommendations, if you want to start to get into the Tales series, I highly recommend Symphonia or Vesperia, in which, you can get Symphonia with a low price from it's PS3 chronicles edition.

Well, Symphonia and Abyss are prooobably the most well known Tales game in the west, and I'm throwing Vesperia there too because I personally enjoy it because it feels more real than the other Tales games, well that and Xillia, but yeah, even Vesperia for the 360 is really fun to play and admire the characters. The battle system isn't too hard either. It's definitely my favourite alongside Destiny 2, Innocence R, Symphonia, and.. sure, Phantasia and Abyss.

omg, what are your favourite openings, guys?
Personally i looooove these:

Spoiler:

 

[Judge Mandolore Shepard]

When it comes to my favorite openings, I find myself liking the English opening for Vesperia and the English opening for Abyss.

 

[Sydian]

The opening for Zestiria gives me so much life. Nothing can compare.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

You can start with any of them really. None of the games are connected aside from Xillia and Xillia 2. I personally recommend starting with Abyss, since it's battle system feels less "smooth", in comparison to the newer games; making it so that it might be harder transition if you went from Xillia - > Abyss than Abyss - > Xillia.

How can you not recommend Graces (Japanese version) to a newcomer?!
That's blasphemous! :D

 

[Arc]

How can you not recommend Graces (Japanese version) to a newcomer?!
That's blasphemous! :D

Because newcomers won't be well-equipped to handle the atomic moe bomb that is HanaKana. D:

Real reason why I don't recommend Graces F to a newcomer? Because it's one the games that can actually steer people away from the series. Big reason, is the battle system. Now I herald Graces as one of the best battle systems in the Tales series, it's in my Top 3 for sure. But I can't deny that it has one of the slowest starts before it gets really fun. We're looking at until at least half-way through the game before you have enough CC and Artes until you feel that you can legitimately do something.

Side-Step is also a mechanic that might make or break the game for a newcomer as well. It's not apparent in the beginning portions of the game, but later on, the games becomes more balanced on Side-Stepping. It becomes commonplace that this occurs "hey, I'm random mob with a punch with super armour frames, so don't get hit by it, otherwise you're eating a 100% to death combo", I mean it's telegraphed that you're supposed to Side-Step the super-armour attack then punish the monster for it, but players will be frustrated by the fact that stuff like that will happen.

 

[Sammi]

I sank an ungodly amount of time in Tales of Symphonia as a teenager. I'd legit come home and play 2 hours a day on it at one point. Still one of my favorite games of all time. It was a fun battle system, the story was pretty good, and I liked all of the main characters. If I owned a PS3 I'd pick up the rerelease in a heartbeat, and I'd debate a replay if my Gamecube weren't busted. :'(

Naturally I picked up Tales of the Abyss on PS2 hoping I'd connect on the same level as I did with Symphonia. It didn't catch my attention nearly as much. I'd really gotten attached to that cast, but the Abyss cast just didn't click with me. Battle system was a step up, though. It's not a bad game at all, though! Just not what I was hoping for at that time in my life.
I did buy the 3DS version too, which is the only Tales game I own and can play right now. Maybe I can play that some more this weekend.

I did get Tales of Phantasia for the GBA, but I liked that even less than Abyss. Didn't beat it and have no clue what I even did with it.

Syd and Erica posting on Twitter has gotten me interested in Xillia but I don't own a PS3. Y'all are mean!!

I have Symphonia Chronicles, but after hearing about the sidequests and lack of free run, I'm kind of...terrified to start it now. :'D Like I literally rely on running around the arena like a chicken to avoid moves while I go "what do i do what do i do" lol.

Don't let the old combat system scare you off! It's worth a playthrough, imo... or at least a fair chance. It'll be a lot more bearable if you just play it to beat the storyline once and ignore sidequests you don't want to complete. You'll probably want a walkthrough like with Abyss though.

Since you can't free run, you'll have to either do regular guards or the down+guard move for magic attacks (do current Tales games still have this kind of guard?). Normal battles aren't so bad but bosses might be a problem. Typically you can tell when something's coming your way so you can guard appropriately.

The Colosseum with no free run is not fun, though. Raine was my second favorite character after Lloyd. Raine is the medic with only 2 possible magic attacks which take a bit to cast. She's not like Tear/Natalia in Abyss who have a few more attacks and can actually, you know, attack if need be. I decided I reaaaaally wanted that Colosseum title on her, though, so I was insane enough to do it.

The things competitions will do astounds me sometimes, and that's not even the most difficult title to get...

tl;dr finish Xillia 2 and then play Symphonia because it is my fav and I can't play it anymore ;o;

 

[Sydian]

Well Sammi, obviously Erica and I are trying to make you buy a PS3. Indirect advertising or something. lol Anyway, I bought Xillia 2 today and have been playing for like...the past five hours. 8) I'm kind of annoyed that Ludger is a silent protagonist in a game with voice acting. If you know me, I love my silent guys (Crono, Link, Lucas, Jak), but in a game that's very dialog-heavy and with actual voice acting, it just...makes him feel less a part of the group. I don't really get a good sense of him. Obviously he's fallen on some shitty times here, but he just comes off as a recluse and he seems ousted since he doesn't directly talk to the group. And I'm aware voice acting is in Jak and Daxter, but silent Jak works way better than silent Ludger plus it's part of a joke and it's way less dialog-heavy since it's just a platformer. I don't dislike Ludger though, he's a poor sad beebee, but at the same time, I feel like I would like him more if they'd let the poor beeb talk.

All that really matters is that I reunited with Alvin tonight. It was beautiful and quite the experience. I'm also obsessing over Jude because he's a doctor now so I guess that makes him more appealing lmao. idk I like him a lot better in this game so far. Not that I disliked him before, but he's just very authoritative now. It might be that PhD talking, though. Hey, Doctor Jude. I need a check up. ;)