The Tales of... Games

[PureChaos]

One game series that has mostly eluded me is the Tales of series. I have Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube and the sequel that was released on the Wii but haven't played them yet and I recently thought about getting the two Tales of Xillia games. It looks like all the Tales of games are good ol' JRPG but, from reviews I've read, they seem to be some of the better recieved JRPGs so, seeing as I've not been able to play them, I was just wondering what people here thought of them.

 

[meiam]

They're pretty hit and miss imo, the plot is usually very formulaic anime stuff, same for the characters. They're generally 60+ hours quest, typically involves two world maps with some sort of big first part event and when you think you've just defeated the big bad some even bigger badder thing show up. The difference between them mostly come down to writing (i.e., how well they execute the tropes) and gameplay (some are very button mashy and some have a bit more interesting stuff under the hood).

As for the one you specifically mentioned, tale of symphonia is one of the most liked one, it's old but the art style help it not feel too old visually and the gameplay is simple but nothing wrong with it. It's sequel is a soulless cash grab not worth playing. Xillia is a bit weird, production had to be rushed and it shows in very linear, repetitive and boring dungeon along with extremely weird pacing (the first 2/3 are slow as molasses, the last 1/3 is way too fast). The story as some neat idea but almost all are tossed aside or left unexplored and most of the main characters have no reason to be in the story (including one of the main character). Gameplay is completely broken and very quickly you gain the ability to use special attack at infinite, so winning any fight just end up being about button mashing the special attack. Never played it's sequel so can't comment.

For recommendation, Tale of grace F has the best combat system hands down, but one of the worse story and characters. Vesperia has good character, but a bit meh story and gameplay. Abyss is a bit divisive, but generally considered to have a good plot and decent character/gameplay. Phantasia was the first one and hold up surpassingly well.

Overall whether you'll like them or not is pretty much dictated by how much you like anime tropes.

 

[Marik2]

Where's a good place to start? This is the final fantasy of namco right?

 

[Captain Marvelous_v1legacy]

I played Tales of Xillia and enjoyed it a lot. The plot was okay, the combat was enjoyable, the characters were interesting, and the skits were fun to watch/read through. Enjoyed it so much I played through it twice. I didn't like Xillia 2 as much, but that's probably because I didn't give it a fair shake.

I just started playing Tales of Symphonia and I'm having a pretty good time with it. I just passed a certain part early in the game and I find the difference between the character's reaction and mine pretty interesting.

Spoiler: Not really a spoiler, but just in case

Where Lloyd is sad because of what his actions have wrought, I'm sitting there laughing my ass off saying, "You bastards deserve this! HA!"

Anyway, after I beat Symphonia I'm gonna start Berseria and then I'll probably give Xillia 2 another shot.

I almost forgot about Zesteria. I'm probably not treating this game fairly either, but I really don't like it right now. Don't like the characters, don't care for the plot, don't care for the sudden heroine change (But I do prefer the second to the first). I'll probably give it another shot later too.

 

[Zetatrain]

Played a good amount of the "mothership" titles that were released in the US so here is my impression of them.

Symphonia
-OK unfortunately I don't remember much about the gameplay other than it was a blast to play with my friends though most tales are multiplayer anyway. Story was pretty good...I think. I remember enjoying a lot of the plot twists though if you have a decent knowledge of anime tropes, which i didn't at the time, you'll probably see some of them coming a mile away.

Legendia
-All around ok game though probably my least favorite in terms of gameplay and has no multiplayer. Characters range from ok to above average though what bugs me is that the romance between the protagonist and one of the female characters which felt forced and one sided. Story is Ok with a nice twist at the end but overall just average. The game is considered a bit of the black sheep of the Tales of series since it wasn't developed by the primary development team.

Abyss
-Easily my favorite in terms of plot and has some pretty good characters as well (the protagonist is probably the most developed of the Tales of games I've played). Combat system is above average by today's standards but might feel a bit too simple compared to modern Tales of combat. Unfortunately the skits are not voiced in english so this may affect your enjoyment of the story and characters depending on how much you like voice acting in your JRPGs.

Vesperia
-In terms of character it is the best and contains my favorite protagonist of the series. Story is, imo, pretty good though it kinda stumbles in the final quarter and there are a couple twist that could have been foreshadowed better. Ending is ok but it feels like the story got rushed in the final chapter. The PS3/definitive version patches a good amount of the story's shortcomings and adds in new characters and abilities but unfortunately it was never localized so you can only play it if you know Japanese. For an old school Tales of entry the gameplay had aged surprising well. It good enough that I'd say it can go toe to toe with some of the modern entries. Its not as fast paced or flashy as other combat systems in the series but there's a surprising amount of thought and mechanical depth especially for a Tales game.

Graces
-Hands down the best combat system unfortunately the story and characters are probably my least favorite in the franchise. The characters are not bad but I would rate most of them as below average. That being said I thought the game had one of the funnier group dynamic of the franchise. The game has some of the better skits and end of battle lines when it comes to humor. Its usually when the story tries to get serious that the characters fall flat.

Xillia
-Story and characters for the most part are above average. Starts out pretty good, but in the final 1/3 the pacing gets ramped up and it feels like some plot and character threads were intentionally left unfinished and tbh they probably were since Xillia 2 was released a year later. Combat is lot of fun though noticeably streamlined. Part of this is due to how easy it is to rack up high combos after 1/3 or 1/2 of the way through the game. While i wouldn't say its devolves into mindless button mashing it is noticeably easier than past Tales of games.

Xilla 2
-Story is pretty good though it gets too convoluted at times and I felt there were some missed opportunities when it came to the story's main theme. All the party members from Xillia make a return and, for the most part, Xilla 2 significantly improves upon them. It also helps that Xilla 2 ties up most of the plot and character threads left over from the first game. Gameplay wise the game is basically an improved version of Xilla's combat system with a few interesting changes. While the combat is generally the same the game is a bit harder than it predecessor though it's still one of the easier Tales of games.

Now despite this being my 3rd favorite Tales game I should point out three significant flaws. The first one is the grinding involved. In the story the protagonist has to pay off a debt and as a result you can't continue the story until you pay off an amount at certain points throughout the game. Second is the recycling of environments and enemies from the first game since Xilla 2 came out 1 year after Xilla. Last is the fact that the main protagonist is (mostly)a silent protagonist in the sense that he isn't voiced and doesn't have a lot of lines compared to the average tales of protagonist

Finally, it's pretty necessary to have played Xilla beforehand to fully enjoy Xilla 2's characters and story.

Hope this all helps.

 

[Dr.Susse]

I had a great time playing the first in the series Tales of Phantasia a few years ago.
And played most of the series after Symphonia. They have gotten pretty formulaic recently so I wouldn't try them en masse, they burnt me out a bit on JRPG's when I did.

But definitely worth a look if you want a new JRPG.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I've only played the two Symphonia games and Abyss, myself, so far, but I do recommend them highly.

Yes, even Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. I'm one of the few people I've ever spoken to who liked that game, though, so take that with a grain of salt (it takes a while to get going, and it's not as good as the first game...but it was never going to be, and it did what it did very well, imo). Since you already own it, it's worth a try.

 

[Saelune]

I played and really liked Tales of Graces f. I like that instead of turn-based, its like an action RPG when you enter battles. Though you really only play as one character. Can be whoever you want, but atleast when I played, I usually let the others run themselves, though you can set them to perform a certain way.

Or you can play co-op, but finding someone willing to sidekick to you might be a challenge for a JRPG.

I had started playing Tales of Symphonia, but alot of the advances from Graces has made it harder to get into. But not impossible.

 

[madwarper]

The games I've played, in chronological order.

Symphonia was great. It's available on Steam if you don't want to both with a GameCube.

Phantisia (GBA) felt really dated. With it being 2D, if your party got caught in between two monsters with reaching attacks, your party could be stun-locked to a certain death.

Vesperia (360) is a good entry, but the ending felt abrupt. I wish I could play it again, but my console bricked.

Symphonia 2 (Wii) was meh. The story didn't need continuing, and the monster recruiting part was unnecessary.

Abyss (3DS) is good, not as good as Symphonia or Vesperia, but a solid entry.

Zestria (Steam) is meh. The combat system (fusing characters) is a terrible idea. You need a dedicated healing party member.

 

[Catfood220]

Where's a good place to start? This is the final fantasy of namco right?

I would say Symphonia is a good starting point, in my opinion it's probably best one out of the ones I've played and it's easy enough to get into for newbies which I was when I picked it up for the Gamecube.

Graces f was good too and it's a little bit more streamlined than Symphonia. Wasn't a fan of Xillia to be fair, but that could be because as others have said, it's a bit slow.

 

[PureChaos]

Thanks for all the replies. Will cetainly give the Symphonia games a whirl and will can get both the Xillia games (Day One editions) for around ?33. A few people have said the story can be slow/abrupt finish so I'll bear that in mind when I play them. Someone mentioned grind during one of them and, luckily, I don't mind a bit of grind so that shouldn't be too much of an issue...assuming it doesn't drag on too long anyway!

 

[Angelous Wang]

Vesperia was good.

Zestria was meh.

Berseria was great.

That said if you don't like a main character that's super ***** demon who full on murders people. Berseria may not be for you. It differs from the normal goody goody save the world story that (as far as I am aware) all the other games have.

 

[hermes]

I liked Tales of Phantasia on the SNES, it was impressive for a 16 bits game, and the story was refreshing for not being anime-cliche N? 22116... I played the newer ones, but not so much, and what I remember was that the stories stopped being subversions of anime cliches to being agglomeration examples of the medium.

If that is not something that turns you off, they are decent as JRPG.

 

[Guffe]

Really liked all the ones I've played.
Which is like... 3 of them? But yeah, real solid JRPGs

 

[immortalfrieza]

One game series that has mostly eluded me is the Tales of series. I have Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube and the sequel that was released on the Wii but haven't played them yet and I recently thought about getting the two Tales of Xillia games. It looks like all the Tales of games are good ol' JRPG but, from reviews I've read, they seem to be some of the better recieved JRPGs so, seeing as I've not been able to play them, I was just wondering what people here thought of them.

My advice would be to stop now and go play the earlier ones in order first, then the rest in order. The Tales games are GREAT, easily the best RPGs ever including the older ones, (get the PS1 version of Phantashia if you can, it's the better version by far)but if you just jump straight to Xillia the older games will be ruined for you. This is actually a good thing because it's caused by the fact that the series steadily improves with each entry, (with a few exceptions, the other PS1 Tales games besides Phantashia lack skits, Tales of Legendia loses it's voice acting in the second half, and then there's the VERY lazy Tales of Hearts translation) but consequently if you start with a later game like Xillia the older games are going to appear dated and thus worse than they actually are.

 

[balladbird]

They have a bit of a reputation for being a middle-of-the-road, journeymen JRPG. A bit of an analogue to an annual sports franchise like Fifa or Madden. Most are average. the "bad" ones are usually more aggressively mediocre and subpar than outright horrible, and the "good" ones are usually more "above average" than amazing. A series with very even poles.

That said, it's not without its few outstanding titles. For me, it's Abyss, which is one of my favorite games of its era. A very memorable twist on the tired "chosen one" cliche, and some of the best character developent in the franchise.

This year's "berseria" deserves a shoutout, as well. It didn't leave nearly the impression that Abyss did, but it definitely surpassed my expectations for how engaged I wound up being. A welcome shade of grey after its predecessor's black and white worldview. Same reason so many enjoy Vesperia

 

[McMarbles]

I played Phantasia on the GBA (apparently the worst version, but I liked it well enough) and Abyss on the 3DS (great from a game mechanics perspective, but the characters are definitely an acquired taste). That's the extent of my experience with the series.

 

[sageoftruth]

So far, I've finished Phantasia, and tried Vesperia, Symphonia and Berseria.

I don't think I've seen anyone mention yet how these games are all Action RPGs. You control one character, while the others follow a mixture of AI commands and occasional direct commands from you. It can be pretty overwhelming at first.

I felt that the combat system of Phantasia was much easier to get into, since it was on a 2D plane, much like a 2D fighter. You had fewer defensive options, and your only means of avoiding damage were to stay out of an enemy's attack range or land a hit before they could get off their attacks. However, it was also easier to keep your AI buddies safe, since all you had to do was stick yourself between them and the enemies.

Once the series went 3D, that tactic stopped working, and it became much harder to see what was happening on the grand scale. On the other hand, your allies are a lot less defenseless. Still, it left me feeling like I was somehow playing wrong, since I no longer had a tight impregnable formation going, and was just leaving my party members to fend for themselves.

I'm playing Tales of Berseria now. The apparent complexity of the combat system has my mind reeling. I managed to steamroll the first and second dungeons, including the bosses with what little experience I had, but so much of the combat still feels so foreign to me. I hope I'll understand it by the time the game starts demanding real expertise.

 

[wings012]

I'm playing Tales of Berseria now. The apparent complexity of the combat system has my mind reeling. I managed to steamroll the first and second dungeons, including the bosses with what little experience I had, but so much of the combat still feels so foreign to me. I hope I'll understand it by the time the game starts demanding real expertise.

I haven't played much Tales before this - some Phantasia, some Abyss and Innocence.

Berseria's battle system is alienating the shit out of me however. It reminds me a lot of Star Ocean 3's battle system, but currently it doesn't feel like the choice of my attacks matters much at all. I'm just mashing buttons, running away when souls is slow and using that trigger demon attack if I feel I can land a kill with it as to not be gimped a soul afterwards.

For all the tutorial paragraphs the game threw at me and how little I actually understand of the system(I was also super stoned out of my mind from flu medication and kinda skipped past a lot of it) - it sure doesn't seem to matter what the hell I'm actually doing. Doesn't seem like the good sort of complexity to me.

Maybe it becomes less floaty and more impactful later on. So far the cast is carrying the game well enough - I find it kinda hilarious just how grim they are(mostly Velvet). I'll see where this game takes me yet, and I'm way past the point of a refund anyway.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Abyss
-Easily my favorite in terms of plot and has some pretty good characters as well (the protagonist is probably the most developed of the Tales of games I've played). Combat system is above average by today's standards but might feel a bit too simple compared to modern Tales of combat. Unfortunately the skits are not voiced so this may affect your enjoyment of the story and characters depending on how much you like voice acting in your JRPGs.

The skits were voices in the Japanese language version of Abyss. Were they not in the dub? That blows lmao.

Btw yeah, this is my fav one as well plot wise, and as Jrpgs are all about the plot, my fav overall. That opening song by Bump of Chicken will forever stay with me.