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Tales of Berseria |OT| The Band of the Crowe

Any Amazon CE pre-orderers ever hear anything from them? I just keep getting quoted its on backorder, or that my estimated delivery is way back in March.

By the time I get the game the price of the standard will have probably gone on sale lol.....

Mine said it'll be here Monday. Shipped on Wednesday so expecting it today, actually.

We'll see about that when I get home.
 
Any Amazon CE pre-orderers ever hear anything from them? I just keep getting quoted its on backorder, or that my estimated delivery is way back in March.

By the time I get the game the price of the standard will have probably gone on sale lol.....

MIne was delivered yesterday o.o
 

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
I hear ya, that's my main gripe with tales games is they fucking talk endlessly
Yeah definitely. I'm only an hour in and don't have any party members, and there have already been like 10 scenes with Velvet talking to herself!

Worst part isn't just the copious amounts of dialog, but also how vapid it is. Every scene seems specifically designed to reinforce the idea "this character belongs to this trope!"
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Funnily enough, the tooltip comes after the battle, though. Same goes for many of the tooltips, for some reason, like the first time you see linked enemies the game doesn't tell you anything about them before you've already beaten them. Weird choice, imo.

Very true. Also they overload you with information that the player is unequipped to think or deal with. I got a tooltip discussing Mystic Artes long before they were introduced in the game and sat and wondered how confused a new player would be. Already its a mess calling everything artes! (Martial artes, Hidden artes, Mystic Artes, Ultimate Artes...that last one was discussed in the same tooltip after learning about Mystic artes! I dunno if its a typo or what!)

Zestiria was even worse regarding this issue though. That game was just piling so much hidden math and backend game concepts upfront to the player while still just trying to figure out how to effectively do the basics and deal with the horrible camera.
 

aravuus

Member
Very true. Also they overload you with information that the player is unequipped to think or deal with. I got a tooltip discussing Mystic Artes long before they were introduced in the game and sat and wondered how confused a new player would be. Already its a mess calling everything artes! (Martial artes, Hidden artes, Mystic Artes, Ultimate Artes...)

Zestiria was even worse regarding this issue though. That game was just piling so much hidden math and backend game concepts upfront to the player while still just trying to figure out how to effectively do the basics and deal with the horrible camera.

Yeah, can't blame anyone who's turned off by all the needless complexity. I personally kind of love it, though. I think it's a ton of fun when JRPGs devs just cram their games full of all kinds of systems, even if they do end up being clusterfucks more often than not.

Even though I don't really know what I'm doing with all these gear and skills and whatnot lmao, just now I've started stunning mofos like no tomorrow, and I have no idea why. The last 10 fights I've had 5 souls constantly. Every time I do a break soul attack, one of the combo attacks that follow almost always stunned the enemy, so back to 5 souls, just like that.
 

Pics_nao

Member
After finally fixing some stupid ass problems with resolution and shit last night, I made it 2 hours in. Playing the game on manual makes it more challenging too which is awesome. Loving the game so far
 
Can you fast travel on here?
Kind of? There are two bottle items that let you fast travel back to the beginning of a dungeon when in a dungeon and the other lets you warp to towns when not in a dungeon, but if an event needs to trigger in the field or dungeon on the way out they won't work and this happens a lot
 

Alucrid

Banned
1) combat system is way better. hitting all the weaknesses and getting a critical combo feels so good.

2) i enjoy that the demons aren't as empty and shallow as zestiria's hellions
 
I find it amazing in a way how in only a few hours this game completely turns Zestiria's context on its head.

Yeah, that "symbol of the hero" Sorey had on that stupid cape he wore? Yeah, the symbol of this world's most brutal theocratic dictatorship. Might as well have adorned a Nazi swastika on it at the rate I'm seeing the exorcists do shit.

I mean shit, the worldbuilding between Zestiria and this is like the difference between Skyrim and Witcher 3.

(Just wish I got to learn from
that redhead Malikh
what drove Artorias to Make Midgand Great Again)
 
This is really a return to form for the Tales series. An actually interesting story and interesting characters means I'm actually looking forward to the endless talking skits and whatnot, and the battle system is pretty fun.

The music is just... bad though. I can't really remember any of the melodies and it doesn't even do a good job of setting the mood. Whatever happened to the Sakuraba that did Baten Kaitos? I want him back.

Also, I'm not really sure, but are the other characters even effective to control except Velvet? Her Break Soul + spamming Stun artes makes her an unkillable wrecking ball. I tried to fight with Aizen but all it did was drag out the fights like 5 times as long. I'm not even sure how to get Rokurou's break soul to work right.
 

kewlmyc

Member
The music is just... bad though. I can't really remember any of the melodies and it doesn't even do a good job of setting the mood. Whatever happened to the Sakuraba that did Baten Kaitos? I want him back. .

Probably tired. He's the sole composer for this series. They occasionally bring in Go Shiina to liven up the music, but its rare.

His work with other series are still fantastic though. He's behind a good number of the Dark Souls music, and his work on Star Ocean 5 is one of the only good things about that game.
 

Bladenic

Member
I find it amazing in a way how in only a few hours this game completely turns Zestiria's context on its head.

Yeah, that "symbol of the hero" Sorey had on that stupid cape he wore? Yeah, the symbol of this world's most brutal theocratic dictatorship. Might as well have adorned a Nazi swastika on it at the rate I'm seeing the exorcists do shit.

I mean shit, the worldbuilding between Zestiria and this is like the difference between Skyrim and Witcher 3.

(Just wish I got to learn from
that redhead Malikh
what drove Artorias to Make Midgand Great Again)

I think it's very interesting about the world building. I mean, Zestiria makes sense, as it's set 1000 years later and it's perfectly understandable that history was changed to no longer reflect the actions but the only the symbol. And I'm nowhere near the end, however I'm guessing that (not actual spoilers just guessing)
Velvet and crew's ploy against Artorious and his real plans are not gonna be known by many and certainly not recorded.

I will say though that so far Berseria is doing an excellent job with the world and ties to Zestiria. I actually think this is one of the best worlds in the series. Frankly I would not be opposed to seeing even more continuation of the world, given that the world was still old by Berseria's time and of course there was Zestiria's DLC cliffhanger. I also think players playing this and who skipped Zestiria are gonna miss out on a lot of stuff, but then again, you can play Zestiria afterward and get the reverse experience.

I also wouldn't mind continued anime efforts on par with Zestiria the X. Would love a full Berseria anime! Hell i'd love an original Tales anime by Ufotable all together!

Edit: oh god the music. There are some okay pieces in the fields and maybe some battle themes that I've yet to hear (one i have heard was nice though) but everything sounds so... muted. Like I feel the game was a week away from gold and they called up Sakuraba and said "yo we need some tunes stat," gave him 30 bucks, 3 days, and three instruments to work with. It's a shame because Zestiria's music sounded pretty great, it felt like he stepped up his game a bit for the series since Shiina was onboard too. They really, really need to stop forcing Sakuraba to compose under these immense restrictions, it's like they actively want their games to have completely forgettable tunes even when they have a talented composer.

I feel like so far Berseria will have the worst OST since Graces, which was IMO the weakest in the series. Sucks that it's not on par with the rest of the game's quality. They really need to just bring Shiina fully onboard for the next game, give Sakuraba a break and let Shiina work more, it's not like he's that busy with God Eater.
 

Bladenic

Member
It is fun! Once I actually looked at the winning sets it got better so I could actually plan on stuff instead of just blindly pairing cards. All the mini games are pretty cool!

Except the balloon one. I haven't even been able to beat the first part. 4 seconds? Wtf? Plus it reminds me of that heinous balloon game from Hearts R which was the only reason I didn't get Platinum for that game.
 

aravuus

Member
Man, Velvet's stun rate is just insane right now. I can go through 5-minute chain battles without ever dropping below 4 souls. I just spam break soul -> combo -> break soul finisher -> break soul again, and so on. As long as I'm hitting at least two enemies during the break soul combo, one of them will either die or get stunned.

Also casting 3 or 4 mystic artes per battle in these chain battles due to break soul replenishing around 0.25 BG every time I do it.

I'm loving the combat, stringing these combos is satisfying as fuck
 

Metroidvania

People called Romanes they go the house?
There's currently an AI bug in the Steam version where party members aren't using combos like they're supposed to.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/429660/discussions/0/133255603284155381/

This....explains a bit.

I was facing the Bat Baron during the Hellawe dungeon (forget the name) and while I was wailing away as Velvet, Rokuro would just sit there and stand at points.

Not all the time, he would attack occasionally, but definitely wasn't chaining combos.
 

Rainy

Banned
This....explains a bit.

I was facing the Bat Baron during the Hellawe dungeon (forget the name) and while I was wailing away as Velvet, Rokuro would just sit there and stand at points.

Not all the time, he would attack occasionally, but definitely wasn't chaining combos.

This happened to me on the PS4 version as well. I thought it might have been because he only had a soul or two but he wasn't even trying to attack lol
 

Lnds500

Member
I am the point when you get
Magilou in your party and you return to the port
.

What's the deal with
apples
again? Is it something more than a reminder that she can't
taste food
?
 
I am the point when you get
Magilou in your party and you return to the port
.

What's the deal with
apples
again? Is it something more than a reminder that she can't
taste food
?
I'd imagine it's from the very first scene in the game when Artorius gives Velvet and Laphicet apples when he leaves them in the trunk of a tree.
I could be wrong, but that's how I've been interpreting it.
 

Wagram

Member
How bad was Zesteria's area design? I recall some praising this one for being a step up and I must say it's incredibly bland. They're reusing the same exact grass/flower texture in every area. It feels like every area i've been too is the same, but slightly tweaked. Even Xillia was better than this.
 
How bad was Zesteria's area design? I recall some praising this one for being a step up and I must say it's incredibly bland. They're reusing the same exact grass/flower texture in every area. It feels like every area i've been too is the same, but slightly tweaked. Even Xillia was better than this.
They are pretty similar look wise, Zestiria's were just bigger.
 

IzzyF3

Member
How bad was Zesteria's area design? I recall some praising this one for being a step up and I must say it's incredibly bland. They're reusing the same exact grass/flower texture in every area. It feels like every area i've been too is the same, but slightly tweaked. Even Xillia was better than this.

I was thinking of getting this one.... I think I might skip it just based on your comment though. I thought Xillia's areas were so bad. Constant repeated fields and constantly having to return to them made that game unbearable. Had to force myself to finish that one.
 

MechaX

Member
I feel like so far Berseria will have the worst OST since Graces, which was IMO the weakest in the series. Sucks that it's not on par with the rest of the game's quality. They really need to just bring Shiina fully onboard for the next game, give Sakuraba a break and let Shiina work more, it's not like he's that busy with God Eater.

Personally Berseria's OST just feels so... "standard" Tales, but not necessarily bad.

At least, it hasn't hit the absolute rock bottom of Sakuraba themes just yet.
 

straylize

Member
How bad was Zesteria's area design? I recall some praising this one for being a step up and I must say it's incredibly bland. They're reusing the same exact grass/flower texture in every area. It feels like every area i've been too is the same, but slightly tweaked. Even Xillia was better than this.

The core difference is variety, mostly. In terms of textures and fidelity, it's largely the same since it's built on the same engine and in the same style since it's a shared world.

But Berseria tightens up the maps so they're not as sprawling, they have a bit more variety in terms of landscape/hills/placement for enemies and chests. Not much, but some. What makes it more notable is... actual variety in terrain. Zestiria was mostly either grasslands or desert, and while there's a bunch of that in Berseria too, there's also snowy terrain, swamps and wetlands, beaches, etc.

Dungeon design is is fairly similar, but it's kind of a step forward and a step back at the same time, since Zestiria had a couple of interesting, unique dungeons and then a LOT of near-identical ones down to the map. Berseria's are less varied in dungeon terrain but the maps are a bit more... interesting? Not exactly the same path to run, at least, though tedious at times and not particularly challenging.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
How bad was Zesteria's area design? I recall some praising this one for being a step up and I must say it's incredibly bland. They're reusing the same exact grass/flower texture in every area. It feels like every area i've been too is the same, but slightly tweaked. Even Xillia was better than this.

Even worse than Berseria given what I have seen so far of the new game. There is nothing in Zestiria comparable to scaling the giant sea gate early into Berseria. Also there is nothing like scaling rooftops and dropping into normally unreachable hidden alcoves for treasure as you see in that first city of Berseria. Every zone and location is very straightforward in Zestiria. Only the four shrines(major dungeons) go out of their way to add a puzzle gimmick of sorts to break up walking across flat landmasses, but even those aren't very interesting to explore from an aesthetic viewpoint.
 

Mr Nash

square pies = communism
Any tips on boosting Grade score? I've always been terrible at that in Tales games. Are there some factors that really help contribute to it during fights?
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Any tips on boosting Grade score? I've always been terrible at that in Tales games. Are there some factors that really help contribute to it during fights?

Higher Difficulties
Speedy victories
Combo chains and big finishers(ie. mystic artes)
Use artes and abilities that target weaknesses
Never use an item
Don't KO

Pretty common sense stuff. You can see how your grade is calculated after each fight and can work to improve in those areas. Expect low grade in the early game though, like even on Hard nabbing between 1-2 grade per fight in the first 10 hours is considered good and doing it multiple times consecutively in dungeons is plenty to get a Dire Foe to spawn(tough bonus encounters that randomly appear with high grade scores and difficulty)
 
C

Contica

Unconfirmed Member
I think I'm nearing the end now, and it feels like the game is just testing my patience. Some of this level design is just... Insulting. Respect your players, don't shit on them. I want to just get to my destination, not go back and forth on identical zone after identical zone. So bored with the combat now that I'm just going slalom between the enemies.

The story is good, or gets good after a dousin+ hours, but it's very hard for me to see how this game improves on anything else. Everything is bloated and more drawn out than it needs to be. They could cut half of the maps and the game would be much better for it.
 

Wagram

Member
Curious if there's anymore unlock-able difficulties about Intense. It didn't really do anything to solve my problem. I really love characters being able to use their own mystics without my input. A very nice change.
 
So this was one of the better tales games .
Just beat it and it was rather good.
Will do a new games plus and that file is where i will do the post game content .
 

aitakute

Member
So this was one of the better tales games .
Just beat it and it was rather good.
Will do a new games plus and that file is where i will do the post game content .

Since you've finished the game. Let the ask you this

End game spoiler
Did Velvet stab Arthur in the stomach using his own sword? Or did they censor it too? In the Japanese version, Velvet killed him exactly the same way he killed Laphicet in the beginning of the game so since then censored that scene, I wonder if Velvet will kill him by piercing him with light beams too
 
Since you've finished the game. Let the ask you this

End game spoiler
Did Velvet stab Arthur in the stomach using his own sword? Or did they censor it too? In the Japanese version, Velvet killed him exactly the same way he killed Laphicet in the beginning of the game so since then censored that scene, I wonder if Velvet will kill him by piercing him with light beams too

yes she stabs him with his own sword

Also since i forget the LOD\ pop up is this game so fucking bad .
I know it's a PS3 game but even then i have seen better on PS3 .
 

Durante

Member
I just played for 6 hours or so, in coop. (Well, roughly half of that in coop, since it's ~3 hours before you get a second party member, before that in tag turns)
Seems fun so far, though I don't see the massive difference to Zestiria that was purported - which is not a criticism, I enjoyed Zestiria well enough.

Also, Denuvo seems really benign (this is my first encounter with it). Between Berseria "Fix", GeDoSaTo, MSI Afterburner and the Steam overlay I've got 4 simultaneous injection/interceptor things running and everything is working great. The framepacing is a thing of beauty, the fix does a good job improving shadows and texture shimmering, and GeDoSaTo does its thing in providing 5k downsampling and HuD-less screenshots.

screenshot_2017-01-27blsaa.jpg


 

aitakute

Member
yes she stabs him with his own sword

Also since i forget the LOD\ pop up is this game so fucking bad .
I know it's a PS3 game but even then i have seen better on PS3 .

I see. The scene won't have the impact it has in the original version then. It's a shame
 

Bladenic

Member
Ain't nothing better than entering battle with 6 witch enemies and Spell Absorbing and unleashing Lighting Blast to end the battle in 3 seconds.

Also: "A corpse is a corpse, of course of course." God I love Magilou
 
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