Hometek killed the traditional community along with the outdated forum they couldn't handle.
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Tales of Series | Community Thread | Localizing more games than Square Enix
- Thread starter kayos90
- Start date
Hometek killed the traditional community along with the outdated forum they couldn't handle.
Drought? There's something new every month. You need to check out GameFAQs.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/740217-tales-of-zestiria
They just revealed two new characters a week ago (one was in the extended TGS trailer though). There was also two new character videos for Rose and Zaveid as well as part of the dragon battle two weeks ago.
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I'm really trying my best to play Tales of Xillia 2 but I'm not very interested in playing the game. 
I dunno, maybe it's because I though ToX was just OK.
I dunno, maybe it's because I though ToX was just OK.
I'm really trying my best to play Tales of Xillia 2 but I'm not very interested in playing the game.
I dunno, maybe it's because I though ToX was just OK.
Well, you are not the only one.
I really liked Xillia, but I am struggling so much to continue with the game now that most of the new areas are behind me. I was aware that the game reused a lot of assets but its actually affecting my enjoyment of the game right now.
Yep
Never actually finished ToX2, there was just too much recycled content.
Also hated the way they divided the game into chapters, ruined the pacing for me.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
That seems to be the case with a lot of old communities for Tales. I only got into the series last year and I actually went searching for communities but pretty much everything was "it was active enough in the past, then it died abut 6 months or so and no one was really visiting the forum either to try joining".
That was the old tales.namco.com forum, right? Yeah, I've heard a lot about that being killed and I'm disappointed I didn't get into the series before to have seen that community (or any of the other communities). It's a shame they had to close it down.
I'm really trying my best to play Tales of Xillia 2 but I'm not very interested in playing the game.
I dunno, maybe it's because I though ToX was just OK.
It doesn't help that most of the setting was reused from ToX and that it actually came out really close after ToX was released. If it had been released a few years, the repetitive background would not be as bothersome.
It may help you to take a break from the game for a while. See how you feel about playing it after a few months. If that doesn't help, well, you don't have to like every Tales game so don't feel bad about it.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
You'd think all those independant Tales forums closing would make one ascendant one, but insularity is strong and we're not really in an age of granular forums any more, really.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
I don't think no one had tried to make a forum after namco's one was closed, but I do agree that the lack of interest is a big factor. Other than the one that was shut down, most of these forums would have been alive if there were people who were more interested in continuing to talk about the series.
I also get the feeling that majority of the people who are interested in the series are old fans. They were around in those "Good old days" so they had their time in getting into the community and going crazy over that. Then they moved on, because that's how people are, or when they lose these communities it's a shame but it's not like they were missing out on something to feel a need to go join another community or creating their own. On top of that, when you're not getting many new fans who have an active interest, how do you keep a forum dedicated to the series alive?
Of all the JRPG franchises with games coming out (i.e. discounting stuff that's actually -dead- dead) Tales community does gives me this sense of 'has been'.
On one hand you have Persona and its really dedicated fanbase (and upcoming PS4 title), you have Disgaea and its hardcore will-buy-every-game following, you have Atelier somehow catching on with teens nowadays, you have obviously Final Fantasy and its 'everything sucks give me the classics' stockholm syndrome groupies that still somehow contribute to its ~7-digit-sale-per-title juggernaut.
And then you have Tales, releasing one PS3 game next year.
Is it just me? D:
On one hand you have Persona and its really dedicated fanbase (and upcoming PS4 title), you have Disgaea and its hardcore will-buy-every-game following, you have Atelier somehow catching on with teens nowadays, you have obviously Final Fantasy and its 'everything sucks give me the classics' stockholm syndrome groupies that still somehow contribute to its ~7-digit-sale-per-title juggernaut.
And then you have Tales, releasing one PS3 game next year.
Is it just me? D:
I actually think no independent site could fill that space anyway. The previous official Tales forum was in the unique position of being an official forum (so everyone who was looking for an official place went there) but effectively handled by the community (so nearly everything could be talked about, but not even having a webmaster was its downfall). Add to this all the information and discussions assembled over a decade and that made it one great central place to go to even when it was not that active at times.
I think nowadays most fans who want to follow news and do some socializing (not so much gritty discussion and in depth information which are niche activities anyway) are just going facebook.com/tales which is what Bandai Namco Europe calls the official "community hub" now.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean. In terms of sales, I think Tales is doing better in the West lately than it has in a decade. From what I've seen just on GAF and GameFAQs (lol) there seems to be an equal mix of hardcore followers, new people who got into the series with a PSN sale, and people who haven't kept up with it since Symphonia/Abyss.
It seems like if anything the reason new people are trying the series is because Final Fantasy sucks and there are hardly any other good console RPGs these days. lol
I think he is referring to active/vocal communities, and the lack thereof for Tales.
Edit: Maybe it's just more completely disjointed groups. The Symphonia fans (among them those asking for more Tales on Nintendo), the Vesperia fans (among them those asking for Vesperia on PS3), the Legendia fan (among them those asking for more Shiina in Tales), the importers (among those asking for more 2D games, more portable games, more Udo in Tales) and so on (did I miss any obvious ones?). =D
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
It's not just you. Tales has been doing pretty well recently too, having quite a few games out that are actually getting some notice too. But there doesn't really feel like there's any hype for it (or even outrage for "everything sucks, give me Symphonia/Abyss/Vesperia" like in the FF fanbase's case). It's more "oh there's some news about it, I may look into it" but nothing much more. I think the biggest thing I've seen here is people complaining about the ToS HD-remaster being 30fps instead of 60fps like it had be for the GC.
Haha, I'm definitely guilty of this. Well that, and my friend who used to be obsessed with one character from ToS made the game sound truly horrible to me that it wasn't until I end up seeing a play through did I change my mind about the game.
Eh, you could do worse, I think?
The characters go from...pretty damn insufferable at the start to merely "bland" after the first couple chapters. The battle system has free run so that's likely an upgrade from ToS but at the drawback of only 2 real characters, the main one being fairly aerial-focused so it takes some getting used to. The ToS cast pops in and out fairly regularly but they become more limited by the end. The monster system can be sort of fun but again it's a bit different from what you'd expect from most Tales games.
The "catz" sidequest stuff is pretty bland list of uninteresting missions and you just select locations from a list instead of a world map.
Its just an incredibly dumb decision. I will never understand it, no matter how many times I read that dumb as hell explanation from the directors/producers. It just doesnt make sense.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
Agreed. I can probably deal with a silent protag though, but the reasoning still feels dumb.
I'm not gonna feel more like the hero just based on the character having a voice or not.
I like it (ToX2 late game spoilers)
since it provides surprise when he's voiced later on in that alternate dimension...
It backfired already back when it was announced in Japan. I'm sure the whole half baked "voiced second playthrough" feature was a very short term fix hastily implemented once it became clear to them how badly received the silent character will be.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
It probably would have gone over better if they gave an in story reason for the silent protagonist, such as Ludgar being a mute and is incapable of talking.
In my headcanon the silent protagonist existed as an idea in someone's head for a better part of a decade and he badgered the rest of Bandai Namco about it constantly till the guy calling the shots snapped and said "Okay, OKAY, we'll do it but it can't be a mainline game so we're gonna make a direct sequel and you can have your silent protagonist there just so you'll shut up about it".
Hence we got Xillia 2.
Hence we got Xillia 2.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
That genuinely made me laugh a bit. I like this idea.
Too bad the guy calling the shots couldn't keep enough control to say "Okay, we'll do it, but we have to have some in-story justification for it!" so that it didn't seem so weird.
Or at the very least, make it so that he doesn't actually say anything. Right now it seems like he does talk, but the player is the only one that doesn't actually hear him. Which just doesn't work here.
I'm gonna give ToX2 a second try later this year when all the games that interest me have come out and I've beaten them, but I'm gonna download a finished save so I can start the game with Ludger un-muted.
clay_ghost
Member
How can you do that with an unmod ps3?
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
This is why I would have preferred if they went with an idea like "he is mute". You could still have the player input responses and decisions, but they'd either be a thought process or Ludger communicating it in a non-verbal way. It would just feel a whole less awkward like that.
The save file isn't super copy protected like, say, Demon's Souls saves are, which can't be even exported out of the console.
Afaik, ToX2 saves are only assigned to a particular user, which is easily fixed on a computer. I could be wrong though, I have yet to actually import any save data.
Barrylocke
Member
The mute Ludger thing + decision system really screams "We're after the WRPG audience." to me. I'm not sure if it executed in that way since I haven't played Xillia 2, but that's the boardroom/management vibes I get from the idea. it's a silly idea though because I think when Xillia 2 was in development, Namco was still unsure about how the series's future in the West.
On a different note, I'm late to the party, but just saw the news about Absolute Zero picking Tales of Destiny Remake back up and translating the skits. I've been waiting to try this one out since '08, and I'm still willing to wait for it. It looks like a game that would be gorgeous on PCSX2.
On a different note, I'm late to the party, but just saw the news about Absolute Zero picking Tales of Destiny Remake back up and translating the skits. I've been waiting to try this one out since '08, and I'm still willing to wait for it. It looks like a game that would be gorgeous on PCSX2.
jack_package_200
Banned
On a scale of one to ten, how hyped is everyone for Tales of Hearts R?
dakkumauji
Member
It's done pretty badly since all the other characters act like Ludger does talk. It's pretty much like you feel he has a personality but you just literally can't hear him and only him.
I saw it as a, "let's copy Persona" thing and make everything revolve around you. The game felt that way to me.
Persona handled the silent protagonist so much better than Xillia 2.
BassForever
Member
The funny thing is a Tales game that took the idea of a silent protagonist and ran with it (IE copy paste persona 3/4) would probably be very good. Heck it'd would work well with the whole link up system that Tales of Xillia - Zestira have where the higher your social link is with a character the better they'll perform as a link partner in battle. For added fun make it a Tales of the World cross over game so you can potentially waifu/husbando fan favorites.
dakkumauji
Member
We have discovered what they should do for Radiant Mythology 4.
please make a radiant mythology 4
redhairedking
Junior Member
I'd be more hyped if it was the DS version, even though that would never happen. I loved the DS version so much and imported the Vita remake on launch. It's a solid game but nowhere near as good.
BassForever
Member
I would be more excited for Hearts R if the localization wasn't such a lazy rush job
redhairedking
Junior Member
Yeah, the localization is pretty terrible.
BassForever
Member
They could have
1- dubbed the terrible script and called it localization changes
2- played any of the other tales games to know the correct terminology, localized it like they would have dubbed it but left it sub only
3- left all names and artes in Japanese like Destiny psx did and done a straight translation
Any of these would have been more desierable then this half translated, no referenced, ass backwards localization
redhairedking
Junior Member
No, you see, it's better to randomly change half the names and write a script that clearly does not even remotely match the voice acting.
Stardust_Comet
Neo Member
If they did that, you know so many people would buy it that it'd probably outsell all the new games they've come out with so far.
Never under-estimate the power of shipping.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
That had definately came after some ME series play-thrus. Them "What J-Devs are playing/GOTY lists" are for no joke.
BassForever
Member
I like the over translation to like the item guage now saying something like "use item" for no reason when it was already in english in Japanese
That's the part of the point in my suggestion, makes too much sense from gameplay and sales perspective
Have we already seen final screens or are the early ones confirmed to be final? I thought it was still in progress back then.
clay_ghost
Member
Its all part of BN plan to not release any more Vita tales games guys.
Or its just one Japanese guy with goggle translate.
Or its just one Japanese guy with goggle translate.