Support NeoGAF

[Gintoki313]

Nah, you're not alone. I feel like both her personality and voice acting basically amount to Tales of Lightning.

Maybe this changes further on, but I'm not seeing it yet. I'm still on Ch. 1.

Thank you! I thought I was alone on this feeling. Well I wouldn't consider her Lightning bad, but she's pretty uninteresting to me. Almost everything she says I can mostly guess because she only says like 2 things throughout the whole game (I don't mean this literally obviously) and it makes me not like her. Also the Tales Of series usually always have a character like her and I guess I'm starting to feel it's starting to get boring to watch for me.

Not to mention she's so darn

Spoiler

cocky

in this game so much that it annoys me.

Now I think I'm about half way in the game, so I didn't finish it yet. So maybe my feelings might change for her but for now, it's not good.

Isn't Milla... supposed to sound emotionless? Isn't that the point, her not being human and all?

I thought the same thing. I don't think a person that's not human and looks at humans like their new to them wouldn't talk like your everyday person. I always thought that her voice belonged like that. Her voice sounds like the skeptical new to things kinda voice like it's supposed to be.

 

[chickdigger802]

man... is there no weapons or armor found from treasure boxes or w/e?

fuck those flamethrower units :/

 

[BassForever]

Fort of Gandala is going in my top 5 worst dungeons in a tales game ever list, seriously F that place.

 

[Freezasaurus]

Fort of Gandala is going in my top 5 worst dungeons in a tales game ever list, seriously F that place.

I didn't think it was that bad. When taking into account every irritating dungeon in every JRPG I've ever played over the past twenty years, the storage rooms in Gandala don't even rate.

 

[ukas]

man... is there no weapons or armor found from treasure boxes or w/e?

fuck those flamethrower units :/

I've found armor in them but, no weapons.

 

[PKrockin]

Fort of Gandala is going in my top 5 worst dungeons in a tales game ever list, seriously F that place.

It was actually a lot better than I expected after hearing it was Wallbridge 2.0. It was pretty straightforward. Find a key, find the control room. Just a matter of trying each room and then going to the control room NPCs obviously hinted at. Wallbridge's layout was even more confusing and I don't even remember what your actual goal was. Something like find lever A, push button A, push button B and find lever B all in random locations and in that precise order. Atrocious.

I'll take Gandala over most of Graces's later dungeons, even. They're either simple yet require a lot of running back and forth or confusing messes.

 

[BassForever]

I didn't think it was that bad. When taking into account every irritating dungeon in every JRPG I've ever played over the past twenty years, the storage rooms in Gandala don't even rate.

That's why I clarified as Tales lol what really irked me (Jude side) was that when you finally found a key they didn't make it clear which of the 4 control rooms you were meant to use it on so I spent like 15 minutes wandering around like an idiot -.- honestly the crate pushing was mostly annoying due to the wonky controls, I kept climbing by accident or not pushing.

Speaking of pushing, was it just me or does Jude have some hilariously awful pushing animation?

It was actually a lot better than I expected after hearing it was Wallbridge 2.0. It was pretty straightforward. Find a key, find the control room. Just a matter of trying each room and then going to the control room NPCs obviously hinted at. Wallbridge's layout was even more confusing and I don't even remember what your actual goal was. Something like find lever A, push button A, push button B and find lever B all in random locations and in that precise order. Atrocious.

I'll take Gandala over most of Graces's later dungeons, even. They're either simple yet require a lot of running back and forth or confusing messes.

Both of these dungeons seem to fall into a category of "easy to get lost your first time but once you know where to go it's a breeze". You can literally skip half of wallbridge on replays and it seems like you could probably do the same in Gandala

 

[Why would you do that?]

Man, I really am behind everyone else here. I MIGHT get the fifth character soon (though it sure took awhile after the fourth character's introduction to get them), but it sounds like everyone else is nearly at the end or something. But then I'm not QUITE as motivated to blitz through as, say, SMTIV, but even then I'd ignore it for awhile than just play huge chunks of it.

The fifth character is actually not very far in the game at all, as far as I can tell.

Spoiler

Once you get the 4th character, the 5th isn't far behind.

I was surprised when I got the fifth character, though, because I wasn't expecting that person to be the character. It was really out of left field for me.

Also, I put away the Tales of Xillia case when I started the game because I just know that the box art has all of the playable characters on it, just like the Graces f box...

I don't know if it that's so much as THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Spoiler

I BELIEVE IN YOU LAMBDA

That game is so friendship. Too bad everyone else who isn't Richard or Sophie falls by the wayside after certain points for each character.

Dammit. I really feel like, looking at some of the basic plot developments in Graces (Hubert booting you out of Lhant, Cheria's reticence towards Asbel) the story could've been told so much better. Things had to fundamentally change though, like not abruptly axing Cheria's role, Richard maybe...not existing, and that ending...I don't think it can be redeemed lol

Still my favorite Tales game so far =3 Love me them systems

This may be really weird to say, but I like the characters more in Graces than in Xillia. In Graces, I felt like the characters had a nice group dynamic, and it made the skits and dialogue entertaining, even though the story itself was cheesy. None of the characters really annoyed me, either. In Xillia, I find most of the characters either boring, robotic, or just not lively and interesting, so things like the skits haven't been as entertaining as Graces f. Also, one character and companion are very annoying and is pretty much 100% of the time talking about friendship. Hopefully all of that will change as the game progresses...

 

[BassForever]

The fifth character is actually not very far in the game at all, as far as I can tell.

Spoiler

Once you get the 4th character, the 5th isn't far behind.

I was surprised when I got the fifth character, though, because I wasn't expecting that person to be the character. It was really out of left field for me.

Also, I put away the Tales of Xillia case when I started the game because I just know that the box art has all of the playable characters on it, just like the Graces f box...

The opening animation when you start the game shows all 6 playable characters :X even if you skipped it there it plays during the main game anyways lol

 

[PKrockin]

That's why I clarified as Tales lol what really irked me (Jude side) was that when you finally found a key they didn't make it clear which of the 4 control rooms you were meant to use it on so I spent like 15 minutes wandering around like an idiot -.- honestly the crate pushing was mostly annoying due to the wonky controls, I kept climbing by accident or not pushing.

Speaking of pushing, was it just me or does Jude have some hilariously awful pushing animation?



Both of these dungeons seem to fall into a category of "easy to get lost your first time but once you know where to go it's a breeze". You can literally skip half of wallbridge on replays and it seems like you could probably do the same in Gandala

Well the difference is I only had to find one thing: the key card. The NPCs pretty blatantly hinted where the control room is. Didn't find the box pushing controls really any different from other Tales games. That animation is hilariously awful, though.

 

[BassForever]

Do you guys let the AI link? Elize and Rowen seem to have better survivability when they aren't linked as they'll act more like mages and less like AI Jude/Alvin/Milla bait.

Well the difference is I only had to find one thing: the key card. The NPCs pretty blatantly hinted where the control room is. Didn't find the box pushing controls really any different from other Tales games. That animation is hilariously awful, though.

Maybe I missed the guy who points it out, everyone I talked to gave generic "durr everythings locked find the key to the control room" stick

 

[chickdigger802]

wow quicksave isn't your typical 'delete after loading' quick save.


its literally a 'quicksave' that you'd more associate with pc games. you can load from it w/e lmao.

 

[Pooya]

wow quicksave isn't your typical 'delete after loading' quick save.


its literally a 'quicksave' that you'd more associate with pc games. you can load from it w/e lmao.

yeah, it's quite nice, even then there is a save point pretty much everywhere, too easy maybe. They probably wanted it to work well with people that play in short sessions like portable games. Though might as well add autosave now.

 

[Reveirg]

Are there any sidequests I should really take care of before entering the final dungeon?

I'd rather not do too much stuff while I don't have a "full" party :/

 

[Palette Swap]

I'm a bit after getting the fifth character and loving the game so far but I really wonder what happened with the voice track audio quality here. It's like some lines were recorded over the phone. Quite jarring.

 

[Why would you do that?]

What difficulty is everyone playing on?

I played Moderate in Graces f, and I initially did the same in Xillia. However, while heading to the second (water) dungeon, I found it to be too easy, so I switched to Hard. At first, there was a clear difficulty spike, but after a while, it's actually wasn't so bad.

In Graces f, you get bonuses for playing on harder difficulties, including unlocking Evil and Chaos difficulties after a while, but in Xillia, they never detailed what bonuses you get. I wonder if it's really worth playing on Hard...

The opening animation when you start the game shows all 6 playable characters :X even if you skipped it there it plays during the main game anyways lol

I thought about that, too, but luckily, I forgot the characters in the intro. lol

 

[PKrockin]

Do you guys let the AI link? Elize and Rowen seem to have better survivability when they aren't linked as they'll act more like mages and less like AI Jude/Alvin/Milla bait.

Maybe I missed the guy who points it out, everyone I talked to gave generic "durr everythings locked find the key to the control room" stick

Spoiler

A woman near the carts near the big gate saying "There's a door through this way that only officials can go through" or something. I think there was another guy who kind of points you down that way as well but I don't remember for sure.

 

[Rpgmonkey]

man... is there no weapons or armor found from treasure boxes or w/e?

fuck those flamethrower units :/

You'll occasionally find a piece of armor or an accessory, but it's nothing special you can't buy. Aside from attachments or materials, almost everything comes from the shops instead of from treasure boxes or sidequests.

 

[kayos90]

You literally ruined it for everyone else. -_-

I and everyone else only have me to blame for the DLC catastrophe to come. I'm sorry guys. The party is over.

 

[zeopower6]

Hmm, I see. That's unfortunate as it's the only reason I bother with Tales games.

Well, if you switch to a character that the other person isn't linking to, you should be fine. But otherwise you completely lose control of the character :/

 

[BassForever]

I and everyone else only have me to blame for the DLC catastrophe to come. I'm sorry guys. The party is over.

I'm just as guilty as you Kayos, I bought every costume dlc for graces f and will probably buy all of xillia and xillia 2's costume dlc

 

[Sandfox]

Playing this game makes me want to boot up my PS3 so I can finish my second playthrough of Vesperia from a few years back.

I and everyone else only have me to blame for the DLC catastrophe to come. I'm sorry guys. The party is over.

I'm probably going to bite the bullet and buy the school costumes because the theme is awesome.

 

[chickdigger802]

i really do wish the npcs in the world have wacky costumes too, or at the very least the npcs that have speaking roles.

 

[dakkumauji]

I'm just as guilty as you Kayos, I bought every costume dlc for graces f and will probably buy all of xillia and xillia 2's costume dlc

This time I feel more selective with which costumes I buy.

Spoiler

Oh who am I kidding, I'll probably buy them all in the end.

 

[Rhapsody]

For some odd reason, the costumes don't interest me that much compared to Graces. Although the Xillia school costumes look pretty awesome, so I'm going to grab those.

 

[Hubb]

I bought 1 costume and will only buy 1 other depending on which of the other sets they bring over. Only bought 1 costume in Graces, but since these carry over to Xillia 2 I feel like I can put out for another 1 or 2. Though if I finish the game before they release more dlc...

Come on Namco, take my money.

 

[Young Magus]

Wept...beat the game. The time was 39 hours flat.

 

[Videoneon]

I and everyone else only have me to blame for the DLC catastrophe to come. I'm sorry guys. The party is over.

I am a stingy Grinch type rebel--no DLC ever. I hate myself and I hate everyone. >=(

Never found one interesting enough to pay for, and I just don't think I'd be getting the fair or appropriate enjoyment out of it. The concept of lots of DLC costumes rubs me the wrong way, too.

The fifth character is actually not very far in the game at all, as far as I can tell.

Spoiler

Once you get the 4th character, the 5th isn't far behind.

I was surprised when I got the fifth character, though, because I wasn't expecting that person to be the character. It was really out of left field for me.

This may be really weird to say, but I like the characters more in Graces than in Xillia. In Graces, I felt like the characters had a nice group dynamic, and it made the skits and dialogue entertaining, even though the story itself was cheesy. None of the characters really annoyed me, either. In Xillia, I find most of the characters either boring, robotic, or just not lively and interesting, so things like the skits haven't been as entertaining as Graces f. Also, one character and companion are very annoying and is pretty much 100% of the time talking about friendship. Hopefully all of that will change as the game progresses...

I actually thought the introduction of the 5th character into your party felt abrupt. She/he was all "shit's all fucked, I accompany you now to this rocky area" and I thought "that seemed sudden...okay let's go."

And I agree about the Graces characters. I mean I can't judge the Xillia characters yet, but the Graces characters had the best dynamic out of the three games I've completed. Even Hubert, the most crotchety member, didn't come across sour or mean spirited--it was played for laughs. They had so much fun together, the closeness was palpable and it enhanced the skits. Lame as Asbel could be I'm glad his existence made the establishment of the party believable.

Xillia...with skits sometimes the dynamics seem a bit distant, or unequal with what I've seen. I mean every Tales game has some boring skits where somebody does something over the top and someone else makes a comment at their expense. From what I've seen and remember so far the dialogues can be clever at times, and have "mature" content that is funny. As opposed to other ones I recall that are silly or outlandish. Skits are still enjoyable on the whole though.

Fort of Gandala is going in my top 5 worst dungeons in a tales game ever list, seriously F that place.

Is this something exclusive to Jude side? Because I'm doing a Milla side playthrough, and I thought it was cake.

 

[SaintZ]

Is this something exclusive to Jude side? Because I'm doing a Milla side playthrough, and I thought it was cake.

I started as Jude and was expecting the worst when I got there but it really wasn't that bad. Not as bad as Graces' Wallbridge or Symphonia's Welgaia anyway.

 

[Hubb]

Is this something exclusive to Jude side? Because I'm doing a Milla side playthrough, and I thought it was cake.

I've only done Jude's side, but I can see why Milla's would be easier.

 

[Rhapsody]

Yeah, Milla's is way easier for that dungeon. It's basically fight two or three battles and go to a certain room. Barely any chests too.

 

[benzy]

Do you guys like this better than Vesperia?

 

[Rhapsody]

Do you guys like this better than Vesperia?

I personally liked Vesperia more. I think Xillia's more fun for battles because the whole cast seem a lot easier to use, but Vesperia was just well rounded in about everything else.

 

[Videoneon]

Well if you stick to sneaking up on your enemies from behind (which is easy to do because they'll give up after about two seconds) it's manageable with just one character. One of the more annoying setups I ran into was two golems + a Rashugal goon and it took some time. Then again, I've been playing melee Milla and not spellcasting like I could've...but I'd need to build up some TP anyway and I try to avoid spending money on gels even if they're cheap. I'm playing on Moderate, perhaps I should switch to Hard. I haven't power leveled either.

I don't anything about what the trial was like for you Jude-side compadres, I'm inclined to believe it must have been worse based on what I'm hearing. The box pushing wasn't bad, I don't think, but it was slow.

I sort of understand the Wallbridge comparison? With Wallbridge, you have no idea where the hell you should be going on your first try so you might as well just run like an idiot and try to generally remember the layout of things. Sadly you don't have an elevation-based map like you do in Xillia. With this one, on Milla side it's mini Wallbridge, except you just have to find the elevator key and then once you find the second save point, stay away from the door adjacent to it (because that's where the plot happens) and hunt for treasure chests and explore rooms. At least there are no pull-all-the-lever shenanigans.

 

[Cajun]

Almost 30 hours in and just reached

Spoiler

Hallowmont

, and the endings of both chapters 2 and 3 had some seriously top-tier jrpg plot elements. Absolutely loved both of those segments of the game. Too bad I have work early tomorrow, because I planned on finishing this tonight.

Yuri is still the best Tales character imo, but the cast of this game is great as well. Pretty much every character that I found annoying at first (

Spoiler

aka Elize during the first trip to Kanbalar

) got development that fleshed out their character and changed them for the better.

It dragged quite a bit in the middle of chapter 2, but other than that it's been paced pretty well, and the combat system is pretty solid for the most part. Definitely the easiest Tales game I've played by far though.

 

[Hellix]

I thought about getting a platinum for this game but the trophies seem too grindy for me. I guess I'll beat the game again but with Milla, then see where I stand.

 

[benzy]

I personally liked Vesperia more. I think Xillia's more fun for battles because the whole cast seem a lot easier to use, but Vesperia was just well rounded in about everything else.

Ah, thanks. I'll probably give this a try when it goes down in price. I loved Vesperia.

 

[RoeBear]

If any one is wondering about the skit trophy you can easily get it on your second playthrough, by purchasing the unlock skits in the grade shop. If you do this you'll have to watch 220 of the skits. The game will keep the same number from your first playthrough but won't increase until you rewatch the same number. (you don't even have to fully watch the skits you can press circle once you start playing it and it'll count, but then you'll miss the great writing)

 

[aravuus]

Ah, now it's time for

Spoiler

Jude's heroic bsod

(late chp3 spoilers i think). What a weak fucking resolve dude. The story has been absolutely fantastic so far, I really hope this won't go on for too long.

 

[RoeBear]

Ah, now it's time for

Spoiler

Jude's heroic bsod

(late chp3 spoilers i think). What a weak fucking resolve dude. The story has been absolutely fantastic so far, I really hope this won't go on for too long.

Haha it's nothing like how Emil is.

 

[aravuus]

Haha it's nothing like how Emil is.

Hah yeah, and anyway it seems like he already got better. Thank god. There aren't many things that irritate me more in JRPG protagonists.

I have a bad feeling the rest of the story is going to feel a bit rushed. It feels like there's still tons we should do yet I'm already at the final chapter, which is supposedly very short.

 

[Synless]

My biggest gripe with the game so far is the completely uninspired dungeons and towns/cities. I welcome free roaming cameras and bigger environments, but something was lost. Some of the cities further on look nice, but nothing like the cities in past Tales games.

 

[demidar]

Yeeees Alvin with Aviators.

 

[kewlmyc]

Yeeees Alvin with Aviators.

Alvin with aviators is awesome. However, swimming hair x eyepatch is where it's at.

 

[demidar]

Alvin with aviators is awesome. However, swimming hair x eyepatch is where it's at.

I really like how you can edit the position of the attachment. Maybe I'll stick the eyepatch on his crotch lol

 

[vall03]

Would like to ask, will the Title records carry over to New Game+?

 

[aravuus]

I really like how you can edit the position of the attachment. Maybe I'll stick the eyepatch on his crotch lol

I spent way too much time positioning the tiny top hat on Rowen's head. I love the attachment system, does it return in Xillia 2?

 

[RoeBear]

Would like to ask, will the Title records carry over to New Game+?

They carry over, but I'm pretty sure if you didn't complete one then it's like they start over at 0 even though it will still say the number you had previously. So say if you got 903 black feathers you'd have to get another 1000 to get the last title for black feathers. I'm also not 100% sure on this but as I said in my other post I had to rewatch 220 skits to get the last title even though I had previously watched 206.

 

[kewlmyc]

I really like how you can edit the position of the attachment. Maybe I'll stick the eyepatch on his crotch lol

I disappointed the baseball cap won't fit over Jude's swimming hair without it clipping though. IMMERSION RUINED. In better news, Elize is adorable with devil wings and devil tail.

Also, what's up with the downloadable content link on the main screen leading to nowhere?

 

[vall03]

They carry over, but I'm pretty sure if you didn't complete one then it's like they start over at 0 even though it will still say the number you had previously. So say if you got 903 black feathers you'd have to get another 1000 to get the last title for black feathers. I'm also not 100% sure on this but as I said in my other post I had to rewatch 220 skits to get the last title even though I had previously watched 206.

Fuuuuuu looks like I'm grinding. I want to have as high as possible grade. Its at times like this I want Ritas Tidal Wave spam for grade.