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[Aeana]

Took me a while to figure out exactly where I was supposed to get 抜け殻 from for this sidequest, but I figured it out. Also, totally just got some elf ear attachments. They look ridiculous.

I also finally unlocked the second tier of the lilial orb thing, and that was kind of anticlimactic. I thought it would be more than just one more level.

 

[kiryogi]

Took me a while to figure out exactly where I was supposed to get 抜け殻 from for this sidequest, but I figured it out. Also, totally just got some elf ear attachments. They look ridiculous.

I also finally unlocked the second tier of the lilial orb thing, and that was kind of anticlimactic. I thought it would be more than just one more level.

Haha. I have a bunny hairband, elf ears, and cat hairpin on Elise. While I have the full utahime outfit + elf ears on Milla. I have plush attachment on Alvin with shades, so he looks boss. Attachment madness!

That said, yeah, Lilliarl orb only unlocks one tier @ a time.

 

[Aeana]

I don't really like any of the attachments besides the little dragon plush I got from one of Aifread's treasures.

 

[kiryogi]

I don't really like any of the attachments besides the little dragon plush I got from one of Aifread's treasures.

Yeah that's the plush I was talking about. I have him on Jude and Alvin. You can put it on Elise and she'll wear it like a backpack, but it'll create clipping issues with Tipo XD

 

[Aeana]

You have pretty much complete freedom over where the attachments go on each character, which is kind of cool. I don't know if you saw that feature or not.

 

[kiryogi]

You have pretty much complete freedom over where the attachments go on each character, which is kind of cool. I don't know if you saw that feature or not.

Oh I did. I originally attempted to put the plush onto Alvin's right arm, but the clipping was bad in cutscenes haha. I also messed around with making the elf ears bigger. You can't modify all attachments however. The utahime bunny hairband cannot be changed. I was going to make them huge on Elise.

 

[Aeana]

As for the field/town framerate, I'm reasonably convinced it's 60. If it isn't, it looks fairly 60ish to me, which is good enough for me. It'd be nice if there was some full framerate video out there for one of the gurus around here to say for sure.

EDIT: Actually, I turned TruMotion on on my TV, and that looks more 60ish than the game, so I guess I'm wrong. But it's really smooth either way.

 

[Kagari]

Decided to restart as Jude. The intro definitely makes a lot more sense now.

 

[Shouta]

'im looking forward to play with the childhood friend with teh extensible staff .. let me have my killik moments in Tales of namco !!!

Leia is VERY awesome. She's Jude's counterpart in that she has relatively fast melee and healing. But where Jude focuses more on melee and has some healing, Leia focuses a little more on healing and buffing while retaining some melee. She has proper buffs and single target cures as well. Her first four Artes include a quick bo thrust, a three hit bo combination, a rising bo attack that hits a few times (DRAGON PUNCH!) and a Tornado Lift attack similar to what Jude has. So she can combo pretty well when she needs to and on top of that, her Link skill is Item Stealer which gets you more stuff and prevents enemies from using Items if they can.

My favorite combination of characters is probably Jude, Alvin, Rowen, and Elise at the moment though. I've gotten 4 Link Artes between Jude/Alvin so I can do a full Chain Chance now and it's easier to hit multiple enemies. Rowen and Elise are AoE insanity, Negativity Gate and Air Pressure is sick.

In fact, there aren't any characters that are purely healing in this game. It's rather spread out and all of them can be somewhat effective. Jude and Alvin both have an AoE heal based around them, Elise has one that she can cast on others (and a much bigger AoE) while Leia has single target healing. So you can use pretty much any combination of characters without being too short on healing, of course Leia and Elise are more effective than Alvin and Jude.

So apparently, if you play multiplayer, your friends can also activate link mode with other characters. But, when you activate on a player that's human control, it will force the character into Auto mode. Along with this, linking is the only way to use the link artes and charge the overlimit gauge.

So yeah. I was going to buy a PS3 for this game if it got confirmed for localization before Graces F released here. Now... not so much.

Edit: Confirmed with a second source. I guess it's time to take my leave.

That's silly. The game is damn good and Link Artes were never going to be a manual affair because to do something like that for two players, it'd be impossible for it to be good when playing it solo. So what if you can't do Link Artes when hooked up to another player? You can still do normal combos with another person and even better is that you can force AI partners to fight the way you want them to to an extent. It's stupid not to want the game because the system doesn't work like you want it.

I don't really like any of the attachments besides the little dragon plush I got from one of Aifread's treasures.

You'll get a lot more attachments as you go if you're diligent about looking for Aifread's treasures and quests. I got a pair of glasses that have the same eyes as on the troll face.

 

[Aeana]

I hope I get another character soon. I just

Spoiler

got through the event in Ni Aqueria (or whatever you want to call that) where Milla fails to summon the spirits

. The scene afterward was kind of funny. I like how blunt Milla is sometimes. And also, an earlier skit where she talked about

Spoiler

learning from an adult romance novel

was pretty funny too.

 

[kiryogi]

Decided to restart as Jude. The intro definitely makes a lot more sense now.

Fun thing about that...

Spoiler

is when you get Elise on Milla side, you totally miss out on her introduction. I noticed this since I was watching streams with Jude playthru. But it does explain what's going on the Milla side of things. . .

 

[Aeana]

Yesss, world map.

 

[Aeana]

Oh hell no.
Tipo is unbearable.

 

[kiryogi]

Oh hell no.
Tipo is unbearable.

TOMODACHI!

 

[ULTROS!]

Oh hell no.
Tipo is unbearable.

So are Elise and Tipo the cringeworthy characters of ToX?

 

[Dark Schala]

Oh hell no.
Tipo is unbearable.

On a scale between Mieu (ugh) and Tenebrae (great), how would you rate Tipo?

 

[Aeana]

On a scale between Mieu (ugh) and Tenebrae (great), how would you rate Tipo?

Below Mieu.

 

[kiryogi]

So are Elise and Tipo the cringeworthy characters of ToX?

Noo Elise is fine. She's nice and quiet... Tipo on the other hand. . . But I love him honestly. I might be in the minority.

 

[Dark Schala]

Below Mieu.

Nooooooo. How is that possible? -_-

 

[ULTROS!]

I like Mieu.

But I hated Anise and Arietta anyway.

 

[Aeana]

I don't like Elise, either. But I absolutely do not care for the quiet/shy girl in Japanese media at all.

 

[Shouta]

I'm actually somewhat amused by Tipo most of the time. The worst thing about him is the voice but the lines he spits out are awesome. I don't like Elise's character type but Tipo being the loud one really helps. I hated Mieu myself, that thing was annoying as hell and tried to be cute. Tipo is loud and has a bit of an acid tongue which makes him hilarious.

 

[kiryogi]

I'm actually somewhat amused by Tipo most of the time. The worst thing about him is the voice but the lines he spits out are awesome. I don't like Elise's character type but Tipo being the loud one really helps. I hated Mieu myself, that thing was annoying as hell and tried to be cute. Tipo is loud and has a bit of an acid tongue which makes him hilarious.

This so much this. I was so happy when Mieu got punted or abused. Other hand, Tipos lines are so blunt awesome. And again I find him adorable... he speaks his mind freely! BARIIIBOOOOO!

I loved it when you first met him

Spoiler

and when Alvin introduces himself to Elise, he straight up calls him out on nanpa-ing.

Spoiler

however there's more to why Tipo acts the way he does. Ill you the rest of you figure that out for yourself

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I was just wondering, can any of you fluently read Japanese? And if so, what's your background? At least, in terms of time spent studying and whether it was done alone or in a class. I'm just curious.

 

[Shouta]

Negative Gate + Air Pressure + Alvin/Jude's flying kick Link Artes = Dead enemies all over the place. TP intensive as hell but awesome. You can reduce the burden by just spamming punch with Jude so he's always getting TP and swapping Links quickly to restore the other's TP a bit at the cost of your own.

Most of us playing the game now are either fluent or at least good enough to play the game and understand most of what's going on.

 

[kiryogi]

Negative Gate + Air Pressure + Alvin/Jude's flying kick Link Artes = Dead enemies all over the place. TP intensive as hell but awesome. You can reduce the burden by just spamming punch with Jude so he's always getting TP and swapping Links quickly to restore the other's TP a bit at the cost of your own.

Most of us playing the game now are either fluent or at least good enough to play the game and understand most of what's going on.

I think that's one of my issues with TP right now. As awesome as Link Artes are, when you go into OverLimit mode, you are doing Link Artes w/ Chain Chance a lot and that buuuuuuuuurn the TP. I find myself crying afterwards at near empty/zero TP.

I was just wondering, can any of you fluently read Japanese? And if so, what's your background? At least, in terms of time spent studying and whether it was done alone or in a class. I'm just curious.

Not fluent, but good enough maybe! Self taught here, been doing this since 2003(Symphonia). And not just JRPGs/imports, but MMOs as well, like PSU. That said, as everyone says, take a class! (Im one to talk)

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I see. So far I have hiragana and katakana down (memorized). I've talked to a friend who has been studying it for about 8 years and he recommends as well that I should take a class.

It's something to consider I guess, but regardless of whether I take one or not I'll still be studying on my own time.

So coming Monday I'll be able to read menu items in katakana but that's about it. :/ I guess it's a gradual process.

 

[kiryogi]

I see. So far I have hiragana and katakana down (memorized). I've talked to a friend who has been studying it for about 8 years and he recommends as well that I should take a class.

It's something to consider I guess, but regardless of whether I take one or not I'll still be studying on my own time.

So coming Monday I'll be able to read menu items in katakana but that's about it. :/ I guess it's a gradual process.

I picked up kana during Symphonia, plus various kanji starting off. I was also starting to read lots of manga that had furigana. You'll come to notice there are certain ones you'll often see over and over, like the elements. What's super friendly too, at least with mothership Tales titles is that they use furigana for the Artes.

But yes, if you can, taking a class is best!

 

[Proven]

That's silly. The game is damn good and Link Artes were never going to be a manual affair because to do something like that for two players, it'd be impossible for it to be good when playing it solo. So what if you can't do Link Artes when hooked up to another player? You can still do normal combos with another person and even better is that you can force AI partners to fight the way you want them to to an extent. It's stupid not to want the game because the system doesn't work like you want it.

With four players I can't. use. overlimits. I'm assuming this means Hi-Ougis will be locked from me also. Well, unless I feel like overriding someone. I didn't know a lot about the system because I'm trying to stay dark on the story and all of the battle system videos have been in japanese. So I had no idea how the system was going to turn out, other than the two characters in a link doing a combination of artes create a new arte. So I just figured with excellent timing, two people could coordinate the base artes and perform the link arte themselves. I honestly still don't fully understand how the system works based on the impressions I've gotten here and elsewhere.

And anyway, I don't have a PS3. Xillia was shaping up to be my tipping point, and I'd grab it with Graces F instead of playing that at a friend's house. It's lost just enough value in my eyes to not be worth purchasing a PS3 for. If something else comes out that tips me over, then maybe I'll pick it up in the future. It's not like it's going to be localized any time soon anyway.

I know I'm an odd duck. Tales games have been primarily multiplayer affairs for me. I've never played a single Tales game solo, and don't really plan to if I have to spend $300 to do it.

 

[Shouta]

I think that's one of my issues with TP right now. As awesome as Link Artes are, when you go into OverLimit mode, you are doing Link Artes w/ Chain Chance a lot and that buuuuuuuuurn the TP. I find myself crying afterwards at near empty/zero TP.

Combo rules should remain the same, lead into it with normal attacks to reduce the cost or so. And once you get the TP related skills and equip them, building TP up again is pretty simple.

With four players I can't. use. overlimits. I'm assuming this means Hi-Ougis will be locked from me also. Well, unless I feel like overriding someone. I didn't know a lot about the system because I'm trying to stay dark on the story and all of the battle system videos have been in japanese. So I had no idea how the system was going to turn out, other than the two characters in a link doing a combination of artes create a new arte. So I just figured with excellent timing, two people could coordinate the base artes and perform the link arte themselves. I honestly still don't fully understand how the system works based on the impressions I've gotten here and elsewhere.

And anyway, I don't have a PS3. Xillia was shaping up to be my tipping point, and I'd grab it with Graces F instead of playing that at a friend's house. It's lost just enough value in my eyes to not be worth purchasing a PS3 for. If something else comes out that tips me over, then maybe I'll pick it up in the future. It's not like it's going to be localized any time soon anyway.

I know I'm an odd duck. Tales games have been primarily multiplayer affairs for me. I've never played a single Tales game solo, and don't really plan to if I have to spend $300 to do it.

Playing with 4 people? Jeez, lucky >=|

The most you can play this with and still use all the systems effectively is 2 I think. You CAN play it with 4 but if you want to use the Link and Link Artes, you'll need to swap to semi-auto/manual each time you get out of it. Link Artes do big damage to boot so you'll use it a lot.

 

[rykomatsu]

I was just wondering, can any of you fluently read Japanese? And if so, what's your background? At least, in terms of time spent studying and whether it was done alone or in a class. I'm just curious.

Native born

 

[GorillaJu]

Meh I'm a whitey living in Japan, been here two years and speak fluently now. Kanji is always a struggle, though, so ability and item explanations are rough. I get about 80% of what's going on, story-wise. Rather, I understand everything, but 20% of the dialog goes in one ear and out the other.

 

[Proven]

Playing with 4 people? Jeez, lucky >=|

The most you can play this with and still use all the systems effectively is 2 I think. You CAN play it with 4 but if you want to use the Link and Link Artes, you'll need to swap to semi-auto/manual each time you get out of it. Link Artes do big damage to boot so you'll use it a lot.

Someone else said the same... I'll keep the game on my radar for now. I might not be able to resist in the end.

 

[GorillaJu]

Shouta / other native speakers, can you give me a rundown on the combat and Artes system? I haven't played a Tales game in about 10'years and I'm very confused as to how things work.

For example, the link Artes like Jude's restore - I can't manually cast that? When does it actually get used? I don't think I've ever seen Jude use it (though I have seen Mira use bind a few times)

Also how the hell does Alvin's charge mechanic work?

 

[FSLink]

So I have a full party and I got the skill that allows you to sidestep like in Graces f (L1 + attack up or down). This game is amazing.

 

[Shouta]

Shouta / other native speakers, can you give me a rundown on the combat and Artes system? I haven't played a Tales game in about 10'years and I'm very confused as to how things work.

For example, the link Artes like Jude's restore - I can't manually cast that? When does it actually get used? I don't think I've ever seen Jude use it (though I have seen Mira use bind a few times)

Also how the hell does Alvin's charge mechanic work?

It's all pretty simple. Link Artes are usable when the overlimit bar is glowing or full. You use an Arte and then your character will glow after it, if you hit R2 when you see that, you'll activate a Link Arte for that Arte and the character you're connected to.

There are unique skills so Jude has a restore that allows him to heal you when you knock down opponents. Mira uses Bind on enemies from time to time if if the enemy is sandwiched between you, etc.

Alvin's Charge is simple, use an Arte then continue holding X to charge up, your next Arte will become a more powerful version when you use it. In some cases, it'll make the Link Arte more powerful. You can get SKills that increase the number of charges Alvin can have at a time as well.

 

[GorillaJu]

It's all pretty simple. Link Artes are usable when the overlimit bar is glowing or full. You use an Arte and then your character will glow after it, if you hit R2 when you see that, you'll activate a Link Arte for that Arte and the character you're connected to.

There are unique skills so Jude has a restore that allows him to heal you when you knock down opponents. Mira uses Bind on enemies from time to time if if the enemy is sandwiched between you, etc.

Alvin's Charge is simple, use an Arte then continue holding X to charge up, your next Arte will become a more powerful version when you use it. In some cases, it'll make the Link Arte more powerful. You can get SKills that increase the number of charges Alvin can have at a time as well.

Thanks. I guess I've been doing it right then, just seemed like there was a lot I was missing.

 

[InfiniDragon]

I like Mieu.

But I hated Anise and Arietta anyway.

Well everyone should hate Anise, but I don't follow you on Arietta. I liked her.

 

[biocat]

I was just wondering, can any of you fluently read Japanese? And if so, what's your background? At least, in terms of time spent studying and whether it was done alone or in a class. I'm just curious.

I minored in Japanese and have lived in Japan since 2004. Taking a class is a very good idea, especially early on. Just keep it fun and don't burn yourself out.

Also, have you tried livemocha? I haven't used it myself, but a friend of mine was studying Chinese, Japanese, and Russian through it. Might be worth a shot.

 

[GorillaJu]

Oh here's something I wanted to ask: what does Auto / Semi-auto / Manual do?

 

[FSLink]

Oh here's something I wanted to ask: what does Auto / Semi-auto / Manual do?

Auto: AI controls your character
Semi-Auto: Pressing attack or the artes button makes your character move towards the enemy and attacks, jumping is done with Square+Up.
Manual: Full control, no automatic moving when pressing attack/artes button

 

[GorillaJu]

Auto: AI controls your character
Semi-Auto: Pressing attack or the artes button makes your character move towards the enemy and attacks, jumping is done with Square+Up.
Manual: Full control, no automatic moving when pressing attack/artes button

So you have to use L2 to run up to the enemy on Manual to attack?

I ask because I don't know how to execute particular Artes when I switch in battle to Mira or Alvin. I wanted to try out some things I learned in the Rileal orb (sorry if I'm fucking up spelling I haven't read anything on this game before hand so I don't know the proper English names). If Mira is on auto, I can't set a certain art to a direction + button press. If she's on semi-auto or manual, she won't fight unless I'm controlling her.

 

[kiryogi]

So you have to use L2 to run up to the enemy on Manual to attack?

I ask because I don't know how to execute particular Artes when I switch in battle to Mira or Alvin. I wanted to try out some things I learned in the Rileal orb (sorry if I'm fucking up spelling I haven't read anything on this game before hand so I don't know the proper English names). If Mira is on auto, I can't set a certain art to a direction + button press. If she's on semi-auto or manual, she won't fight unless I'm controlling her.

No, you just run up by yourself instead of the game automatically moving you into attack range.

The character you're controlling is either going to be in manual or semi-auto. When you switch to another character, it'll be the same thing. The only time a character is on auto is when it's a party member you're not controlling, or you want to leave it on for the AI to fight out your battles. So when someone's on auto, then it's completely AI controlled.

 

[FSLink]

Oh, has anybody here found the Artes Ball item? I want to have more artes usable at the same time.

 

[kiryogi]

Oh, has anybody here found the Artes Ball item? I want to have more artes usable at the same time.

Spoiler

You can get it for 100 Black Feathers. From the Black Feather trader @ カラハ・シャール

Personally I want to get 400. . .

 

[GorillaJu]

No, you just run up by yourself instead of the game automatically moving you into attack range.

The character you're controlling is either going to be in manual or semi-auto. When you switch to another character, it'll be the same thing. The only time a character is on auto is when it's a party member you're not controlling, or you want to leave it on for the AI to fight out your battles. So when someone's on auto, the it's completely AI controlled.

Okay, so I have Mira and Alvin set to Auto, but when I switch to them in battle, it's essentially semi-auto? So I should go to S-A, set the Artes for specific commands, and then switch them back to Auto for the computer controlling?

 

[FSLink]

Okay, so I have Mira and Alvin set to Auto, but when I switch to them in battle, it's essentially semi-auto? So I should go to S-A, set the Artes for specific commands, and then switch them back to Auto for the computer controlling?

Yes, this would work.

And ugh, time to grind some black feathers then.

 

[kiryogi]

Yes, this would work.

And ugh, time to grind some black feathers then.

Any idea where to find them solidly besides the random drops? Im hearing the wetlands is good for it.

 

[FSLink]

Any idea where to find them solidly besides the random drops? Im hearing the wetlands is good for it.

That's where I'm grinding them in. :/ If you find a better place, let me know, haha.

So people who have the game, what's your preferred main party?

Currently rocking Jude/Leia/Elise/Alvin for the party. So cool that you can swap out the reserves in at anytime during battle with R3 too.

 

[GorillaJu]

That's where I'm grinding them in. :/ If you find a better place, let me know, haha.

So people who have the game, what's your preferred main party?

Currently rocking Jude/Leia/Elise/Alvin for the party. So cool that you can swap out the reserves in at anytime during battle with R3 too.

I still only have three party members. I've clocked like 6 hours on the game, almost all of that just randomly running around grinding mobs since the combat is fun and I haven't quite figured it all out yet.