-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Tales of Series |OT| Tales of Reseteria
- Thread starter Brawly Likes to Brawl
- Start date
Thanks to the community spotlight, I discovered this thread! Cool idea, resetera!
I have two questions for the people in this thread:
1. I noticed in the OP that the three most commonly recommended games for "where to start" are Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia. Is there a reason these are pointed to as the games to start with? I know they were popular, but I was wondering if there's something mechanically/narratively that makes them stand out in the series.
2. Does anyone have any guesses for when the Switch Tales game will be announced and which game it will be?
I have two questions for the people in this thread:
1. I noticed in the OP that the three most commonly recommended games for "where to start" are Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia. Is there a reason these are pointed to as the games to start with? I know they were popular, but I was wondering if there's something mechanically/narratively that makes them stand out in the series.
2. Does anyone have any guesses for when the Switch Tales game will be announced and which game it will be?
Last edited:
1. I think these threes are good starting Tales because they have some old school mechanics plus new ones, so they're more balanced in a sense that newcomers get to appreciate the old and the new at once.
Since they didn't announce anything from the new Tales yet, I am hoping for major changes in the formula. Really struggling to finish Berseria and I'm already before the final dungeon. It feels like I'm playing the same game over and over again since Xillia. Characters are fun, but everything else bland.
Tales Of is an ok series. I don't think it's a good idea to play through games in a row because you can burn yourself out from staple series mechanics because everything plays out like a B-tier animé in all of them.
I really enjoyed Berseria though. But the "world map" is better served as a point and click map at this point. The "dungeons" are super boring to navigate too because of the ugly art
I really enjoyed Berseria though. But the "world map" is better served as a point and click map at this point. The "dungeons" are super boring to navigate too because of the ugly art
I can definitely agree with this. The series needs a major makeover. At the very least I hope they move away from the field approach to the world.
That doesn't make it any better?
Well, I'm hopeful that the newfound polish in Berseria is an indication we may see a return of the "golden era" (that went on from Eternia to Graces).
But the games kept the Symphonia drive more than Destiny in my honest opinion. Only Graces had something I could bear.
You're right, graces was the most like Team Destiny game in that it had an absolutely unbearable story.
I've just reach 17 hours so far, i'm not totally sure.... i mean i like the more vilain side of the story and dialog, but i still think i't going to turn to BS where you have to get like 4-5 elemental something with 4-5 dungeons to unlock something to make story progress, blablalbla like every freaking tales in past 10 years. But I could be wrong !
Also i'm playing on intense, and so far... the game is a serious cakewalk, if we don't count agroing agressive mob or the other Dire Foes, the game is way too easy, even option red core bosses can be beaten first time with no problem. I don't remember any other tales ot be that easy except Tales of Legendia. I don't really need to use strategies, i use equipment to get new skill, never really look at other enchanted skill you can get, use attack with weakness, and attack like a crazy, block 1-2 times, and the job is done. Sad i heard Chaos get unlock near the very end of the game...
Let's see if everything will get better...
Also i'm playing on intense, and so far... the game is a serious cakewalk, if we don't count agroing agressive mob or the other Dire Foes, the game is way too easy, even option red core bosses can be beaten first time with no problem. I don't remember any other tales ot be that easy except Tales of Legendia. I don't really need to use strategies, i use equipment to get new skill, never really look at other enchanted skill you can get, use attack with weakness, and attack like a crazy, block 1-2 times, and the job is done. Sad i heard Chaos get unlock near the very end of the game...
Let's see if everything will get better...
was really surprised at how much I liked Eizen, was also weird as hell playing berseria while knowing
Eizen was the best character in Berseria liked him much more than his sister
Eleanor and Magilou surprised me as well
that he turns into a dragon eventually, the reason why was executed very well too
The Tales Of series has been extremely hit or miss for me. I either totally adore the game, or I downright hate it, lol. Vesperia, Destiny Remake, Graces F, Symphonia were all games I thoroughly enjoyed while games like Abyss, Destiny 2, Symphonia 2, Zesteria I could not stand. My enjoyment of this series largely stems from the combat, but sometimes the characters either make or break it for me.
I have fond memories of Tales of the Abyss. It was my first Tales of experience and I think I played it for 80+ hours in 2012.
This year I finished Tales of Berseria. It was a fun experience and I loved the story, but I just couldn't get through the post-game dungeon.
This year I finished Tales of Berseria. It was a fun experience and I loved the story, but I just couldn't get through the post-game dungeon.
She should have been indeed, but at the same time I feel there are plenty people playing/sticking to her for "fun button mashing" who otherwise wouldn't be able/willing to complete the game.
That's me unfortunately. I just can't get the flow of Magilou even though I really want to play as her.
Used to be a huge fan of this series. The one-two punch of unfinished Xillia and Xillia 2 killed it for me, though. Zestiria was salt in the wound.
Hated Xillia 2 so much I wrote a long blog post detailing why I thought the story was terrible.
I don't have a PS4 yet, but I do plan to give ToB a try once I get one.
ToB continues the trend of OP protagonist that the devs want you to play as over everyone else that started with Ludger. Though, Milla and Jude having so many more Link Artes than everyone else might have been the true beginning of this trend in modern Tales.
I'm surprised they've gone so long without announcing a new game in Japan, though. Just convinces me more that after the mess that was the Baba era of Tales, they're going to focus more on mobile games. They have... what, 3 games running right now? Two that have been released outside of Japan, even.
Hated Xillia 2 so much I wrote a long blog post detailing why I thought the story was terrible.
I don't have a PS4 yet, but I do plan to give ToB a try once I get one.
ToB continues the trend of OP protagonist that the devs want you to play as over everyone else that started with Ludger. Though, Milla and Jude having so many more Link Artes than everyone else might have been the true beginning of this trend in modern Tales.
I'm surprised they've gone so long without announcing a new game in Japan, though. Just convinces me more that after the mess that was the Baba era of Tales, they're going to focus more on mobile games. They have... what, 3 games running right now? Two that have been released outside of Japan, even.
For all the complaints I have about Xillia 2 I actually found the story to be one of the better ones in the series (Not that the bar is especially high)
I haven't played any Tales Of games and am interested in simply which game is the best to play given my tastes; if any.
In general, I find I enjoy games based on how much I enjoy the key mechanic. In JRPGs that's usually combat. Story and Characters are important to me, but not enough to carry a game if the main gameplay loop doesn't work for me.
Various JRPGs I have liked include (no particular order):
- Final Fantasy Tactics (currently trying out an auto-Calculator build)
- Xenoblade Chronicles (pretty much everything)
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions (The characters, style, unusual setting, and combat flashiness)
- Persona 5 (Still playing it, my only Persona game)
- Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age (The adventure feel plus the fun with Gambits (similar to what I said about FFT above
- Super Mario Thousand Year Door (The combat and humor in the Mario universe)
What have you to say to me Tales of Reseteria?
In general, I find I enjoy games based on how much I enjoy the key mechanic. In JRPGs that's usually combat. Story and Characters are important to me, but not enough to carry a game if the main gameplay loop doesn't work for me.
Various JRPGs I have liked include (no particular order):
- Final Fantasy Tactics (currently trying out an auto-Calculator build)
- Xenoblade Chronicles (pretty much everything)
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions (The characters, style, unusual setting, and combat flashiness)
- Persona 5 (Still playing it, my only Persona game)
- Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age (The adventure feel plus the fun with Gambits (similar to what I said about FFT above
- Super Mario Thousand Year Door (The combat and humor in the Mario universe)
What have you to say to me Tales of Reseteria?
Does platform matter? They're both last gen but I'd say Tales of Graces F on PS3 if you vastly prefer combat. It has an amazing combat system, though the story is super cartoony anime bullshit.
Vesperia is probably what I'd say anybody should play first in the series. Great cast, good story, and a battle system that's solid. I like the skills learned from equipment system it has like Final Fantasy IX too.
The character chapters were a really good idea that should have been pushed further. Berseria had some sidequests with a similar purpose but they weren't as expansive.
I liked a lot of stuff about the game. Seeing how some character had grown up after the first game was cool. I liked Jude in the original for most of the game and I found the change in his dynamic with Milla well done at the time.
It's truth that Velvet is too broken. It's nowhere near the same level as the rest of the cast, and the fact that she has a much better Soul Break is probably the reason. In other games, I've actually liked to play as characters other than the main one. I had a lot of fun with Judith in Vesperia, for example.
But I'm too lazy to limit myself to a different character when the gap in power is that big TBH. I switch characters quite a bit though, and out of the others I think I had the most fun with Rokurou and Eleanor.
Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorite games of all time. Abyss is up there as well, and I solidly enjoyed Vesperia.
However, the recent output of titles (particularly Zestiria) have put me off the series entirely. They lack the proper budget or design know-how to produce the grand AAA JRPGs they want these to be and it shows.
It's sad because I think Symphonia desperately needs a remake but with the way things are now, I'd rather them not attempt it.
However, the recent output of titles (particularly Zestiria) have put me off the series entirely. They lack the proper budget or design know-how to produce the grand AAA JRPGs they want these to be and it shows.
It's sad because I think Symphonia desperately needs a remake but with the way things are now, I'd rather them not attempt it.
Ah, good point, I should have described what consoles I have. Let me fix that:
Wii U
PS2
PS3
PS4
Switch
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be getting an XBox 360 anytime soon.
As a standalone story it had potential. As the game was actually released, I despised the way it turned Xillia's cast into accessories for their Cool New Protagonist. The way Ludger and associated characters come in and suddenly make the universe revolve around them is the crux of what I dislike about ToX2. The main beats of the story were weak, and the drama in the story reminds me of why people complain about Zack Snyder in threads about DC movies. Feels like the writer confuses dark and edgy writing for maturity.
Velvet is definitely the best from a strength standpoint but I think Magilou, Rokurou, and Eleanor are more fun to use, and a party of Rokurou/Magilou/Eleanor/Eizen with some Laphicet is better at bringing out the different elements of the combat design than controlling Velvet. They're more situational characters and the combat design and controls feel like it was designed with that intention despite Velvet's design being so straightforward and overpowered. Unlike Jude/Milla/Ludger/Sorey I think the biggest separating factor from the others is a somewhat less common weakness-type that the others can't deal with.
Meh, Yuri, Shing (Kor), and Abel were ridiculously-easy-to-master one-man wrecking crews too relative to the PS2 era games, it was a developing trend with the series pretty much all of last generation. Not sure why though as they had a good enough balance prior to Vesperia. Rebirth and Destiny R had great character balance and Abyss was pretty decent.
Meh, Yuri, Shing (Kor), and Abel were ridiculously-easy-to-master one-man wrecking crews too relative to the PS2 era games, it was a developing trend with the series pretty much all of last generation. Not sure why though as they had a good enough balance prior to Vesperia. Rebirth and Destiny R had great character balance and Abyss was pretty decent.
An easy to use main character doesn't necessarily mean overpowered, though. While Yuri was really good, other characters in ToV had distinct styles that made them viable and fun to play as in their own ways. I remember some people devoting themselves to mastering Judith's fighting style and making videos from it. This kind of thing has pretty much died out in recent games.
All of its problems aside, Graces has one of the more balanced casts in the series. Asbel is easy to master, yes. But he has limitations that make some other characters preferable. He's mostly close range and he can't easily heal himself. Most of the rest of the cast has at least a reliable self-healing arte.
Haven't played either version of Hearts. Don't know about the DS version at all. Asked a friend who played the Vita remake and he said other characters still had their own distinct styles.
The Ludger Problem is when the system is built to give the main character a significant advantage over the rest of the cast. ToX2's weakness system was pretty much built around Ludger. No one else could hit as many weaknesses as he could. Armatization in ToZ really limited your choice of who to control. ToB does similar with Velvet by giving her, and only her, the ability to hit a specific weakness that's significant in major battles.
Even in Xillia, you could do well with Alvin's fighting style. Leia wasn't as good, but still viable. Casters are another matter and have often been iffy.
I remember trying out other characters in that game and doing just fine. Lloyd is easy to pick up, but I had a lot of fun with Presea. Zelos and Kratos were also very good.
So sad at the TOX2- bashing. While flawed, the game had its merits.
I admit I like TOX2 because of the setting/world more than its characters (which are very well designed visually). TOX had a compelling world already, and we were able to see more aspects of it through fractured worlds (Elympios, Elympios spirits, POV of the villains, side stories etc.). I like the more modern technological setting (worked out so much better than FFXV in that aspect). Ludger is so much fun to play as, and I'm happy we can finally play as Muzét and Gaius. Moral Greyness is well emphasized, except for the fact that Ludger destroyed so many dimensions just to save the "main one," even though we were told all dimensions believe they are the "prime dimension" - no proof they are the one. TOX1/2 also looks better than Zestiria imo (just see Fennmont).
On the other hand, the asset reuse is inexcusable though. There were a lot fo problems in characterization in both titles (ex. Fractured Milla) and some of them act so out of character in TOX2.
-----
The OP main character thing also broke multiplayer; I wonder if that ties into a growing focus on single player as well as budget issues. Not to mention our overall party size shrunk, so we should have better move sets and distinct play styles for the remaining 6.
1) TOX1 locked the second player out if you linked two characters (even in manual).
2) TOX2 (kinda) solved TOX1's problem but introduced a mode in battle where all controllable characters but Ludger disappear.
3) TOZ is the same as TOX1 when you fuse two characters. Also your party composition is largely fixed, no spells for reviving dead units and balancing sucks because bosses are designed with armatization damage output. Makes seraphs even more like equipments than playable characters, and highly preferable to play as humans because you can switch between the forms + revive at anytime.
TOB is different, but as others' said, Velvet's break soul is too broken. You get invulnerability, and it's easy to steal more souls and go into an endless loop. The other characters only have situational break souls (ex. Eizen and Magilou). Eleanor's one is close to Velvet's, but isn't as spammable as Velvet's due to no endless loop and its one-hit nature.
----
Anyhow, I hope the next Tales will have a better polish. I want them to ditch the artes tree, go back to the two button normal attack/artes controls (to make it more casting-friendly), and reimplement the "linear" part of LMBS but I highly doubt it. :/ Let's see how they'll do the next Tales on next-gen platforms.
I admit I like TOX2 because of the setting/world more than its characters (which are very well designed visually). TOX had a compelling world already, and we were able to see more aspects of it through fractured worlds (Elympios, Elympios spirits, POV of the villains, side stories etc.). I like the more modern technological setting (worked out so much better than FFXV in that aspect). Ludger is so much fun to play as, and I'm happy we can finally play as Muzét and Gaius. Moral Greyness is well emphasized, except for the fact that Ludger destroyed so many dimensions just to save the "main one," even though we were told all dimensions believe they are the "prime dimension" - no proof they are the one. TOX1/2 also looks better than Zestiria imo (just see Fennmont).
On the other hand, the asset reuse is inexcusable though. There were a lot fo problems in characterization in both titles (ex. Fractured Milla) and some of them act so out of character in TOX2.
-----
The OP main character thing also broke multiplayer; I wonder if that ties into a growing focus on single player as well as budget issues. Not to mention our overall party size shrunk, so we should have better move sets and distinct play styles for the remaining 6.
1) TOX1 locked the second player out if you linked two characters (even in manual).
2) TOX2 (kinda) solved TOX1's problem but introduced a mode in battle where all controllable characters but Ludger disappear.
3) TOZ is the same as TOX1 when you fuse two characters. Also your party composition is largely fixed, no spells for reviving dead units and balancing sucks because bosses are designed with armatization damage output. Makes seraphs even more like equipments than playable characters, and highly preferable to play as humans because you can switch between the forms + revive at anytime.
TOB is different, but as others' said, Velvet's break soul is too broken. You get invulnerability, and it's easy to steal more souls and go into an endless loop. The other characters only have situational break souls (ex. Eizen and Magilou). Eleanor's one is close to Velvet's, but isn't as spammable as Velvet's due to no endless loop and its one-hit nature.
----
Anyhow, I hope the next Tales will have a better polish. I want them to ditch the artes tree, go back to the two button normal attack/artes controls (to make it more casting-friendly), and reimplement the "linear" part of LMBS but I highly doubt it. :/ Let's see how they'll do the next Tales on next-gen platforms.
Hmm, this paints the other characters in recent games as not viable, fun, or distinct and I'd disagree with that. I've seen many say they like playing as Alvin, Elize, Rowen, Milla (Xillia 2), Rose, and several Berseria characters, and there's plenty of videos that show they're all fun and powerful. It's a party-based series so I think it's acceptable that each character will have their deficiencies. If anything I think the problem is less that the other characters aren't good or fun (Tales games aren't that difficult and generally everyone has had perfectly viable damage output, movelists, controls, skills, and stats in all the games since Abyss), and more that they have a habit of designing the main character to remove almost all possibility that someone can't play and complete the games.
Everyone gets pretty overpowered in Xillia to be honest, so I feel them making the default assumption that everyone will just play Milla or Jude and putting abilities in based on that was more of a disappointment/annoyance that a really bad case of "use the main characters or die".
I think it's fine that Ludger can do a little bit of everything as they were clearly trying to follow the Dragon Quest/Persona model where the hero has no real specializations. What I didn't like is him having a special form all to himself, and because little things can add up fast in Tales games and it only takes a handful of skills for a character to turn into a god, Ludger gets too good too fast.
Gonna agree with you on Zestiria as I feel it makes the party element to combat clunky and using anyone who isn't Sorey or Rose kinda felt like fighting against the design of the game. Not something I'd want them to do again personally.
Velvet being able to hit a weakness others can't I don't think is a (or the) problem with her, as an (attempted) core point of the combat design in the game is that you'll swap characters in your party as the situation requires because of their advantages and disadvantages over the other characters. It has more powerful character switching mechanics and controls than previous Tales games for that purpose. The bigger issue is that her main ability doesn't really match that design philosophy, so she has a tendency to walk around the game's structure while everyone else follows the rules as intended. Can't say why they did that, maybe they felt it was getting too technical than they intended and needed a more dumbed-down character, but it's why I think the other characters can offer a more rewarding experience.
Aside from Colette those were about the only ones! The mages barely feel like they were designed for an actual human to play, and Regal and Sheena had potential but from my own experiences and other accounts they were pretty clunky and below par relative to the other fighters, especially Sheena.
Regal was fine once you got the timing down for his attacks. He could stunlock people easy until they went into overlimit. Sheena felt like you had to spend way too much MP in order to do any real damage or combos, and felt worthless compared to the rest of the cast as a result.
To be honest, i never bothered to use any other character other than the hero until Tales of Xillia which made a fine point of making it far easier to do . It was really an incredible game for me, never understood why Vesperia was so much loved in comparison. (The cast don't have any synergy, Yuri is cool but is the only one in his group, any problematic the game may have in the first part don't serve any purpose in the second (
)and even the battle system is a clone of Abyss with not much new stuff.. So yeah, don't understand)
But yeah, even if i kinda liked how much they changed things in Tales of Xillia 2, giving Ludger so much tools made me ignore others characters all over again even if i really liked playing everyone in the first one... Sad.
Ultimately, the best experience of changing characters was in Graces F, that was such an incredible combat system...
I don't even remember Zestiria and if we could change characters easily in this one or not...I need to finish it but i REALLY don't like it one bit. I wonder if it goes better after the first part is finished (From memory, i just had the err, "second heroine" i guess which is kind of a rogue, with her wind mage guardian or something) Anyway, the fusion mechanics basically remove one character from the battle field making everything much simpler, it's not very interesting....
Go save the princess Yuri !
But yeah, even if i kinda liked how much they changed things in Tales of Xillia 2, giving Ludger so much tools made me ignore others characters all over again even if i really liked playing everyone in the first one... Sad.
Ultimately, the best experience of changing characters was in Graces F, that was such an incredible combat system...
I don't even remember Zestiria and if we could change characters easily in this one or not...I need to finish it but i REALLY don't like it one bit. I wonder if it goes better after the first part is finished (From memory, i just had the err, "second heroine" i guess which is kind of a rogue, with her wind mage guardian or something) Anyway, the fusion mechanics basically remove one character from the battle field making everything much simpler, it's not very interesting....
I strongly dislike ToX2 story-wise, but I try to back up my statements with examples. At the end of the day, though, I guess I am pretty much bashing the game. Just going to spoiler text the rest since I'm going to mention specific plot points from X1 and 2:
ToX2 didn't really add all that much significant to ToX1's world aside from being able to see more of Elympios (which seems to have just been cut from the first game). I'd have loved to explore the modern technology setting more, but alas, the game insisted on shoving Kresnik drama down my throat instead. I felt like there were so many interesting things I wanted to poke at in that world, but it was all cordoned off while I was railroaded on a Kresnik-laden path.
The crux of the conflict in the first game was even mostly sidetracked by the whole fractured dimension thing. Ludger and his family just hijacked the entire plot, and I despised the name "Kresnik" but the time I finished it.
IMO, it was lazy moral greyness. They bring in conflicts, but then don't really solve them well.
The crux of the conflict in the first game was even mostly sidetracked by the whole fractured dimension thing. Ludger and his family just hijacked the entire plot, and I despised the name "Kresnik" but the time I finished it.
IMO, it was lazy moral greyness. They bring in conflicts, but then don't really solve them well.
Fennmont in ToX1 was really nice. Too bad I feel like they put all of their effort into that city and then put significantly less work into the rest.
It's not that Ludger could do a bit of everything. It's that he specialized in EVERYTHING. ToX2's weakness system didn't reward the player for specialization in one particular area. It rewarded the player for variety, and Ludger had the most varied moveset by far. Especially considering he had 3x the amount of artes as everyone else.
I'm not saying the rest of the cast was unplayable in ToX2. You could play as them just fine. It's just that none of them had the means to take advantage of the weakness system to the extent that Ludger did. If you wanted to fully take advantage of the battle system, you had no other choice than Ludger.
I count Sorey and Rose as both falling under the Ludger Problem, really. ToZ really limits the player's options.
From what I've read, Velvet doesn't seem as bad. I haven't played ToB yet. It sounds like they're still clinging a bit to the Ludger-ization of Tales games, though :\
I give Symphonia more slack because it was the first 3D game. ToX and after don't have that excuse, though.
They never put the DLC on sale do they? :( I'm a costume slut so I gotta have them all but I end up spending more on DLC than I did to buy the game in the first place.
Also, hello Tales Of... People. My only experience with the series is Xillia and Zestysauce. I loved Xillia and hated Zesty. Ever since I've been building a nice Tales backlog. I've got Berseria, Graces F, Hearts R, Xillia 2, Symphonia Remaster and Symphonia DotNW Remaster (PS3).
I'm probably going to play Berseria first, but I've been waiting forever for DLC sales with no luck. Gonna give up soon and just start playing I think.
Also, hello Tales Of... People. My only experience with the series is Xillia and Zestysauce. I loved Xillia and hated Zesty. Ever since I've been building a nice Tales backlog. I've got Berseria, Graces F, Hearts R, Xillia 2, Symphonia Remaster and Symphonia DotNW Remaster (PS3).
I'm probably going to play Berseria first, but I've been waiting forever for DLC sales with no luck. Gonna give up soon and just start playing I think.
Sorry if my first line sounded rough/rude. All your points are valid, for sure. It was nice to read through your blog post too. ^.^ It's just sad to see so many comment (in a row) disliking TOX2, and wanted to bring in something positive into the convo. :P
They added the weakness system as a band-aid to the first game, where bosses will break your combo after certain hits, and there are no other way to continue your combos after this. This significantly reduces replayability and combos among other things. That's why Ludger's moveset is so well suited to the system: it's built for making combos and thus takes advantage to the system.
>> Velvet plays pretty well, but sometimes makes the game a bit too easy. It does feel like a 20-30 hrs story stretched to 40 though.
Now's the time to get it, everyone! :D
Damn that's tempting for Berseria. I played my roommate's copy with her, but I'm not sure if I wanna bite on my own copy...
I don't dislike Xillia 2 despite what I said, I think it has by far my favourite combat in the series personally