So yeah, I love JRPG's, but my connection with the Tales is pretty shallow. I beat Abyss how ever many decades ago, and then Vesperia, and thats it. Really really liked Abyss, and remember liking Vesperia.
I think I went into Berseria with higher expectations, and maybe thats my problem. I'm at the 5 hour mark, and just finished the first? major plot point (on the ship right now).
1. Graphics:
Maybe I expected more, and I'm not too familiar on the release of this game, but is this a PS3 game ported to PS4? I didn't think so seeing as how we're 4 years into the generation, but this game could easily be done on the PS3.
It's not just graphics, but presentation as well.
- Cities feel dead. Yeah, there are NPC's, but they might as well be statues. Everyone just kind of stands there. They have a little motion, like someone is nodding or swaying back and forth. But thats it. Everyone is just off to the side, just standing there. The excitement of going to a new city feels wasted. Just a bunch of mannequins standing around.
-I'm not far in, but the dungeons feel boring. The first one was a forest, which is ok. But the second one is just some ugly ass cave. Nothing interesting at all to do in there. Just walk through it.
2. Game wastes my time with back tracking:
- This is what stopped me dead in my tracks and pretty much got me to create this thread. I can tell when a game is really amateur when it starts to waste my time, and at the 5 hour mark, this game has it in spades.
In one section for instance, when I was done with the boring ice cave,
-I had to go back all the way to town to talk to some dude. Ok, fine. Of course, the main entrance is still blocked, so I had to go back through the secret entrance again, back through some storage unit, and through the whole town to talk to the guy. Ok fine.
-Then the game tells me to go back to my ship to set sail. So back through the town, back through the storage unit, back through the secret cave, and the walk across a field of bad guys that I already beat before, to get back. Ok, I'm here.
-OOOPS!! Ship is no good. Please go back to the ice cave. No, they don't teleport you back. You have to physically trek through the same fucking fields you just went through. You did this so an NPC can say your ship is no good.
This is the beginning of the game, and they are already pulling this shit.
This is one of my biggest gripes in JRPG's. When they start doing this, my like of a game drops drastically. It might not be a big deal to other people, but this always reeks to me of "amateur".
3. Combat system:
- Yeah, I'm not liking this combat at all. I think there is supposed to be some system where you can link up moves, and then pressing the same button repeatedly dishes out those moves. I tried dicking around with it, but honestly, it feels there is no point. I'm literally just mashing the 4 face buttons, and R2 once in a while, and I haven't died yet. Like, not even close to death. The R2 just heals me constantly, no idea why. R2, kill some dudes, auto heal.
The whole system just sucks. I don't like it at all. Like, they are giving me these new moves, but I have no incentive to mix and match. I could not care less. Bosses are an absolute joke. Just mash until they die.
4. Main Character:
- Velvet kinda blows. Like, her personality is ok I guess.
But my main problem is the fucking outfit like usual.
It's why I don't like playing as female characters most of the time. One of the first main areas you go as her? Frozen tundra country. What she is wearing?
Of course. Winter island, exposed everything, titties popping out.
Exactly the kind of character I want to control.
So yeah, I'm gonna drop the game. 5 hours in, and yeah, I know, that is really short for a JRPG, but I don't see too many redeeming qualities here. It feels like the kind of game where in a week, I will have already forgotten it. As I wrote this thread, I've already forgotten the jail dungeon in the beginning.
But anyways, I think I am done with tales games for a while. It feels like a game I could have played in 2007.
If the combat was more engaging, I think I would have stuck with it a bit more, but even that is really underwhelming.
It's too bad, because I remember enjoying Abyss and Vesperia. Maybe it's nostalgia glasses? But I am a sucker for a good JRPG, and this one just didn't do it for me.
I think I went into Berseria with higher expectations, and maybe thats my problem. I'm at the 5 hour mark, and just finished the first? major plot point (on the ship right now).
1. Graphics:
Maybe I expected more, and I'm not too familiar on the release of this game, but is this a PS3 game ported to PS4? I didn't think so seeing as how we're 4 years into the generation, but this game could easily be done on the PS3.
It's not just graphics, but presentation as well.
- Cities feel dead. Yeah, there are NPC's, but they might as well be statues. Everyone just kind of stands there. They have a little motion, like someone is nodding or swaying back and forth. But thats it. Everyone is just off to the side, just standing there. The excitement of going to a new city feels wasted. Just a bunch of mannequins standing around.
-I'm not far in, but the dungeons feel boring. The first one was a forest, which is ok. But the second one is just some ugly ass cave. Nothing interesting at all to do in there. Just walk through it.
2. Game wastes my time with back tracking:
- This is what stopped me dead in my tracks and pretty much got me to create this thread. I can tell when a game is really amateur when it starts to waste my time, and at the 5 hour mark, this game has it in spades.
In one section for instance, when I was done with the boring ice cave,
-I had to go back all the way to town to talk to some dude. Ok, fine. Of course, the main entrance is still blocked, so I had to go back through the secret entrance again, back through some storage unit, and through the whole town to talk to the guy. Ok fine.
-Then the game tells me to go back to my ship to set sail. So back through the town, back through the storage unit, back through the secret cave, and the walk across a field of bad guys that I already beat before, to get back. Ok, I'm here.
-OOOPS!! Ship is no good. Please go back to the ice cave. No, they don't teleport you back. You have to physically trek through the same fucking fields you just went through. You did this so an NPC can say your ship is no good.
This is the beginning of the game, and they are already pulling this shit.
This is one of my biggest gripes in JRPG's. When they start doing this, my like of a game drops drastically. It might not be a big deal to other people, but this always reeks to me of "amateur".
3. Combat system:
- Yeah, I'm not liking this combat at all. I think there is supposed to be some system where you can link up moves, and then pressing the same button repeatedly dishes out those moves. I tried dicking around with it, but honestly, it feels there is no point. I'm literally just mashing the 4 face buttons, and R2 once in a while, and I haven't died yet. Like, not even close to death. The R2 just heals me constantly, no idea why. R2, kill some dudes, auto heal.
The whole system just sucks. I don't like it at all. Like, they are giving me these new moves, but I have no incentive to mix and match. I could not care less. Bosses are an absolute joke. Just mash until they die.
4. Main Character:
- Velvet kinda blows. Like, her personality is ok I guess.
But my main problem is the fucking outfit like usual.
It's why I don't like playing as female characters most of the time. One of the first main areas you go as her? Frozen tundra country. What she is wearing?
Of course. Winter island, exposed everything, titties popping out.
Exactly the kind of character I want to control.
So yeah, I'm gonna drop the game. 5 hours in, and yeah, I know, that is really short for a JRPG, but I don't see too many redeeming qualities here. It feels like the kind of game where in a week, I will have already forgotten it. As I wrote this thread, I've already forgotten the jail dungeon in the beginning.
But anyways, I think I am done with tales games for a while. It feels like a game I could have played in 2007.
If the combat was more engaging, I think I would have stuck with it a bit more, but even that is really underwhelming.
It's too bad, because I remember enjoying Abyss and Vesperia. Maybe it's nostalgia glasses? But I am a sucker for a good JRPG, and this one just didn't do it for me.
