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Tales of Zestiria Import Thread - Turning Legends Into Hope

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
Well. the only time I died was trying to fight the first purple glowing enemy I saw which I guess mean's they are OP enemies and come back later but I didn't know and there was no retry option so I figured the game was missing retries.
Oh yeah, those are the special enemies, you definitely should save before those fights. And having retry only for bosses is really weird.
 

FSLink

Banned
Areas could look a little nicer and after playing a lot of Kiseki there's absolutely no reason why Tales games shouldn't have a retry option in battles. Having to stop at every save point and take 30-60 seconds to save even though your doing fine just on the off chance that you get killed later on is lame. Would probably only save like once an hour or two if it had a retry option.

No retry option during bosses like Rebirth/Destiny Remake/Graces at least? I haven't died during a boss yet.

EDIT: Oh, yeah there still is. I don't think the save thing would be as annoying if there were free warping or at the very least the dash button from Xillia 2.

I love songs with na-na-na-na-nas :X

na na na na hey jude
 

Bebpo

Banned
Well, you won't have enough BG to use kamui all the time, and it's honestly not always the best option, either, particularly since you're confined to a single element when you use it. The game isn't hard enough on normal for you to really be forced to use some of the cooler features of the battle system, though, so I recommend you turn it up at least to second. And this is from someone who usually hates difficulty options in RPGs. Things just die too quickly on normal.

It costs BG to go Kamui? Didn't notice that. And I'm playing on hard. Which is something I actually don't usually do. I normally play on normal in games, but in Tales games I tend to play on Second because I want the enemies to live long enough that I can have fun doing big combos on them. But in this so far Second is still way too easy and the enemies die in like 15 seconds, so I'm playing on Hard and it's still really easy. Hard 6 hours in is the equivalent of Normal on like PS2-era Tales.

The element thing makes sense I guess if the enemies are different elements. Also I noticed in Kamui you eat up SC like crazy compared to non-Kamui, but you can refill it so easily during a block it doesn't seem like a big deal.
 
So well ...
Liking the start of the game so far ..i had to re-read twice to be sure that the game actually gave me free sidesteps & free evade at the cost of having my grade. Well thanks but no thanks. i'd rather to this manually and get my reward , lol.

The Bad.
-Not liking the camera but i might need more time to get used to it. It just get confusing when 3,4 ennemies are coming at me and i'm trying to target what i want with R1. i would have liked a fixed point for the camera instead of a dynamic one. ( maybe it's in the setting ? i haven't looked )
-Not enough ennemies on the fields
-Still some shuttering during transition from field to cutscenes.
-This game needs some serious AA

The good
-So far i'm liking this battle system more than graces.. and this is an extreme positive since i'm one of the few that didn't enjoy graces battle system as much as everyone else.
-Really liking how they introduce some stuff ( game mecanics ) to me.
-Enjoy the MC attitude( Big PLUS )
-Glad that the game didn't start with an overwhelming big map. so far it's quite "closed" , almost too much.

The WHY ?
Well i downloaded the free skit dlc because i didn't want to miss an event and then i realised that activating it ( within the game ) automaticaly give you the skit in question regardless of where you are in the story. Couldn't you have tied this at least to a save point like every other skit ?I didn't have to activate for the free food you gave me , so this decision make little sense.

Ps: Thinking of up-ing the difficulty too , normal feels somewhat hollow but i'm unsure if it's the battle system that hasn't openned up yet or the game itself .
 
Been busy so didn't get a chance to play more until today. Only a couple of dungeons in. Is there any balance to this game? I'm playing on hard and it's jokingly easy using a Kamui character. I'm fairly worried that the Kamui system breaks the game and everyone is useless outside the Kamui character in terms of damage output, so the two other characters will just be used for support healing/buffing/debuffing/keeping combos flowing. Does the game balance this at all as the game goes by?

Hard difficulty reduces EXP gain, so it'll probably get harder as you go on. Kamui is pretty strong, but I noticed that solo damage seemed to go up a decent amount around mid/endgame once you start learning better skills. However, kamui is probably always going to be the most efficient use of meter for damage regardless of what you do, since hiougis do relatively little damage even with weak point, and the combo extension mechanic costs the same amount as kamui. Kamui only uses one bar, and building a bar only takes a few reps of charging your block(or parrying attacks).

after playing a lot of Kiseki there's absolutely no reason why Tales games shouldn't have a retry option in battles.
Bosses actually do have a retry option, but gigantos and randoms on the field don't. If you're doing badly in a random, it's better to just run away(you can't run away from gigantos, so hopefully you saved before fighting one!).

Edit: Looks like everyone beat me to the boss retry thing...
 

Aeana

Member
It costs BG to go Kamui? Didn't notice that. And I'm playing on hard. Which is something I actually don't usually do. I normally play on normal in games, but in Tales games I tend to play on Second because I want the enemies to live long enough that I can have fun doing big combos on them. But in this so far Second is still way too easy and the enemies die in like 15 seconds, so I'm playing on Hard and it's still really easy. Hard 6 hours in is the equivalent of Normal on like PS2-era Tales.

The element thing makes sense I guess if the enemies are different elements. Also I noticed in Kamui you eat up SC like crazy compared to non-Kamui, but you can refill it so easily during a block it doesn't seem like a big deal.
Unfortunately, Zestiria suffers from modern Tales balancing where regular enemies and bosses are wayyyy out of whack. Regular fights are too easy, bosses then seem like a big difficulty spike by comparison. It's weird since in the PS2 era, they didn't really have that problem.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Hmm, ok. Hopefully bosses are good fun with this battle system on the higher difficulties. Oh and it's nit-picky but I really don't like that in the world map I can't freely scroll around the map to see what the shape of the world looks like. Can only move between areas discovered so far.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
R_thanatos, you can get Dark Bottles later in the game which helps with the number of enemies on fields problem if you want to grind. I, on the other hand felt like dungeons have way too many encounters and some enemies were too fast to run away from without the speed boost.
 

demidar

Member
Unfortunately, Zestiria suffers from modern Tales balancing where regular enemies and bosses are wayyyy out of whack. Regular fights are too easy, bosses then seem like a big difficulty spike by comparison. It's weird since in the PS2 era, they didn't really have that problem.

Hmm really? I actually have the opposite problem where regular fight can be very hard and bosses are relatively easy. This is because a boss is usually solo and I can tank it with ease while my party members support/cast spells, but with multiple enemies it's easy to get stunlocked or have your party members get distracted/can't dodge right. This might only be an issue on the hardest/second-hardest difficulty though.

Though bosses still kind of suck because they break out of combos and immediately counterattack. Fodra Queen in Graces f is probably the worst it got because her movement caused flinch making it hard to get into melee.
 
Regarding regular enemy difficulty, the main exception I've found is enemy casters. Thanks to the new caster buff where armoring through attacks speeds up your spell, I've found that enemy casters in big groups can really ruin your day, especially if you're underlevelled or don't have gear up to par. I basically had to use kamui for these encounters since my damage wasn't good enough normally, and even then the AI had a hard time surviving those fights.
 
R_thanatos, you can get Dark Bottles later in the game which helps with the number of enemies on fields problem if you want to grind. I, on the other hand felt like dungeons have way too many encounters and some enemies were too fast to run away from without the speed boost.

Indeed the solution is probably dark bottles , i usually don't use that in tales of but there is such a difference in ennemy numbers between field and dongeons ( i understand the logic behind this ) but since the battles are transistionning so fast i'd like to battle more ( now ) because i'm unsure whenever i'm getting the battle system of not.or farming those conditions for Ap skills


Dark bottles it is....
 
Alisha DLC story confirmed.
1,300 yen

Edit: it's free for limited time (February 12th to 28th)

Quite amazing. The reaction that this character and her treatment has triggered.
Game was already getting ripped to pieces on Amazon JP.
The DLC announment only made it worse apparently. Also reading comments about returning / re-selling the game.
As someone who hasn't played/followed any Tales game in a long time.
It's strange to see...
 

Aeana

Member
Quite amazing. The reaction that this character and her treatment has triggered.
Game was already getting ripped to pieces on Amazon JP.
The DLC announment only made it worse apparently. Also reading comments about returning / re-selling the game.
As someone who hasn't played/followed any Tales game in a long time.
It's strange to see...

Most of the Amazon downrating is normal for any game.
 

demidar

Member
Quite amazing. The reaction that this character and her treatment has triggered.
Game was already getting ripped to pieces on Amazon JP.
The DLC announment only made it worse apparently. Also reading comments about returning / re-selling the game.
As someone who hasn't played/followed any Tales game in a long time.
It's strange to see...

I think it's great because that negative outcry should give pause to Scamco when they think about pulling that shit again.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
I think it's great because that negative outcry should give pause to Scamco when they think about pulling that shit again.
I wouldn't get my hopes up. Asura's Wrath DLC ending, Jojo with in game purchases and recently half of DB Xenoverse characters being DLC each got a fair share of outcry and nothing has changed.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Also, as much as I really like Tales games, I'll be the first to admit they aren't top-tier great since they went to 3d. They're good, but usually more like B tier standard rpg with weak dungeons, dumb story stuff and really fun battle systems with fun skits. Sometimes they're actually pretty bad (Tos2 /shudder), and once in a while they have a great cast or story, but its not a series I would expect to have 5 star ratings, especially more so now that Japanese gamer tastes have completely changed since the ps2 days where monhun clones would be the low rated titles.
 

demidar

Member
I wouldn't get my hopes up. Asura's Wrath DLC ending, Jojo with in game purchases and recently half of DB Xenoverse characters being DLC each got a fair share of outcry and nothing has changed.

With all that evidence, you are probably right.
 

Shouta

Member
Most of the Amazon downrating is normal for any game.

Pretty much true for all games. You'll get some credible reviews on Amazon though, from time to time.

Started the game and I really hope they jump to PS4 sooner than later. They don't need super great graphics but AA and the ability to use a better color palette would help, heh. OVA was really good though. Glad they included it on the disc.
 

Reveirg

Member
Go Shiina's tracks for Zestiria are so much better than Sakuraba's it's not even funny.

And that's coming from a Sakuraba fan...
 

Aeana

Member
I've actually been impressed with Sakuraba's work here, too. A couple of the tracks remind me of his work on Star Ocean, which I always felt was a different style than he used in Tales.
 
Got the game a few days ago despite my lack of knowledge in the language, and I must say that I'm pretty bummed after hearing all the controversy surrounding it lately. Sorey/Slay's a great MC so far and his seiyuu's one of my favorites in the industry, but all this backlash is just making me hesitant on actually trying to go further into it.

I was pretty receptive with Xillia and X2, but I think this latest installment is finally killing my interest in this series ;~;
How have you guys been handling it so far?
 

Reveirg

Member
I've actually been impressed with Sakuraba's work here, too. A couple of the tracks remind me of his work on Star Ocean, which I always felt was a different style than he used in Tales.

Good to know, I've actually only listened to ~10 tracks from each.

I'm really glad the music is better than past Tales, as it was by far the weakest point of the series lately, IMO.
 

Aeana

Member
Got the game a few days ago despite my lack of knowledge in the language, and I must say that I'm pretty bummed after hearing all the controversy surrounding it lately. Sorey/Slay's a great MC so far and his seiyuu's one of my favorites in the industry, but all this backlash is just making me hesitant on actually trying to go further into it.

I was pretty receptive with Xillia and X2, but I think this latest installment is finally killing my interest in this series ;~;
How have you guys been handling it so far?

The backlash is mostly about one particular thing that is not that big of a deal in the grand scope of the game.
 
So how's the main character.

I can't stomach another Asbel, just from looking at him I highly doubt he's good like Yuri, I can only hope he's at least bland and inoffensive like Jude.
 

Rhapsody

Banned
They probably need to design a Tales game that doesn't involving linking first.

Linking, please go away. ;__;

Also, I have Zestiria just sitting in my cart and I've just been staring at it. Is this game really import worthy for someone that likes pre-Xillia Tales?
I'm still wondering what this Tales game feels closest to compared to past games.

If it's too much like Xillia, I'm just waiting.
 

Aeana

Member
Linking, please go away. ;__;

Also, I have Zestiria just sitting in my cart and I've just been staring at it. Is this game really import worthy for someone that likes pre-Xillia Tales?
I'm still wondering what this Tales game feels closest to compared to past games.

If it's too much like Xillia, I'm just waiting.

It feels closest to Graces in terms of combat. In terms of story, it's somewhat of a new approach, as Bebpo mentioned in his earlier lengthy post.
 
The backlash is mostly about one particular thing that is not that big of a deal in the grand scope of the game.

Yeah I suppose that's one way of looking at it. It's still a bummer that
I was looking forward to the romantic undertones between Sorey and Alisha, but she's not even main girl now.

I guess I gotta start saving up for a PS4 for the inevitable 2nd version to come out.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Pretty much true for all games. You'll get some credible reviews on Amazon though, from time to time.

Started the game and I really hope they jump to PS4 sooner than later. They don't need super great graphics but AA and the ability to use a better color palette would help, heh. OVA was really good though. Glad they included it on the disc.

The color pallette is a conscious choice though. There are plenty of colorful 3d rpgs on PS3/X360. Tales tends to look low-color.

150839-Tales_of_the_Abyss_(USA)-1.jpg


I think even Xillia was more colorful. Sometimes the Tales teams go with these really low color palette and I've never really understood why. Going for a manga-ish fantasy look I guess? Like Berserk and stuff.


The only thing they could really benefit from is being on PC so we can force 16x AF because the whole "ground textures turn to blur 16 feet away" thing is really noticable everywhere. I think that's one of the benefits of a lock camera in Tales, by pointing downward at 3/4th angles and stuff they can avoid the lack of AF blur. I would say PS4 would fix that but there's been a ton of PS4 games with no AF either so who knows. PC definitely would though and Tales ports to PC are inevitable thankfully now that Japanese Steam games are taking off worldwide and Namco Bandai is already one of the major publishers on board. I'd bet 50/50 that the next mainline Tales game comes out for PC day and date with localized console version.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
I've actually been impressed with Sakuraba's work here, too. A couple of the tracks remind me of his work on Star Ocean, which I always felt was a different style than he used in Tales.

A lot of it reminded me of Eternal Sonata.

THAT was an awesome soundtrack.

PC definitely would though and Tales ports to PC are inevitable.

Unfortunately the final boss for this is still Baba.
 
Most of the Amazon downrating is normal for any game.

True.
Yet this seems like a more..severe case than usual?
Also. When quite a few complain about the same things over and over.
There might be truth to their complains. Not just the treatment of that character (Even if it's a big part)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/product-rev...UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending

I think it's great because that negative outcry should give pause to Scamco when they think about pulling that shit again.
Both marketing and DLC can make or break a game. They really should have done a better job.
Selling 400K might turn sour when it leads to many bringing it back.
Like I said. It's a strange situation.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Unfortunately the final boss for this is still Baba.

Because I'm sure it's totally his choice to spam DLC stuff everywhere in Tales games these days and make tons of money off the fanbase at ridiculous prices.

Namco is the Activision/Ubisoft of Japan. If they see a way to make more money, they do it. Hence why One Piece Warriors 3 is coming to PC. The only reason something like Zestiria isn't on PC is because this whole "oh shit PC Ys Origin just sold more copies than its entire run in Japan!" realization by Japanese publishers just happened in 2014 and Zestiria's been in development for several years prior and the engine may not be something easily ported. I was talking with duckroll about this and I really think the more realistic proportions and large area design you're seeing in Xillia and even more in Zestiria is happening because Tales is one of the few Japanese series that sells something in the west, even if not a ton and they're trying to make Tales more western/global to expand the fanbase through more western fans and going to PC next is no brainer if you're chasing that.

I'm pretty confident that their next PS4 engine will be PC compatible and you'll see a PS3/PS4/PC or PS4/PC release.
 

Shouta

Member
The color pallette is a conscious choice though. There are plenty of colorful 3d rpgs on PS3/X360. Tales tends to look low-color.

150839-Tales_of_the_Abyss_(USA)-1.jpg


I think even Xillia was more colorful. Sometimes the Tales teams go with these really low color palette and I've never really understood why. Going for a manga-ish fantasy look I guess? Like Berserk and stuff.


The only thing they could really benefit from is being on PC so we can force 16x AF because the whole "ground textures turn to blur 16 feet away" thing is really noticable everywhere. I think that's one of the benefits of a lock camera in Tales, by pointing downward at 3/4th angles and stuff they can avoid the lack of AF blur. I would say PS4 would fix that but there's been a ton of PS4 games with no AF either so who knows. PC definitely would though and Tales ports to PC are inevitable thankfully now that Japanese Steam games are taking off worldwide and Namco Bandai is already one of the major publishers on board. I'd bet 50/50 that the next mainline Tales game comes out for PC day and date with localized console version.

Well, they gotta get rid of that gray/sepia/brown filter in the game. That's my complaint with the graphics currently. I don't need it to super colorful but the but blues look brown-ish on this so far and it's really an eyesore for me.
 

Aeana

Member
True.
Yet this seems like a more..severe case than usual?
Also. When quite a few complain about the same things over and over.
There might be truth to their complains. Not just the treatment of that character (Even if it's a big part)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/product-rev...UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending


Both marketing and DLC can make or break a game. They really should have done a better job.
Selling 400K might turn sour when it leads to many bringing it back.
Like I said. It's a strange situation.
I scrolled down the page and saw a single character's name repeated over and over, and then complaints about the DLC. I mean, they can feel however they want to feel, but like I said, overreactionary 1-star reviews are pretty much the norm for new games, particularly if something is different from how Japanese fans assumed it would be (even if it's better!).

I'm not too hot on the DLC idea, myself, for the record.
 

Rhapsody

Banned
It feels closest to Graces in terms of combat. In terms of story, it's somewhat of a new approach, as Bebpo mentioned in his earlier lengthy post.

Thanks, and I just read Bebpo's post now too. As much as I want to play it, I suppose I'll pass on it.

Battles do look more fun than Xillia, but it just doesn't look as polished compared to Graces. Also the camera problems look weird. I thought it was just going to be the walls blocking the view, but it's odd seeing your character offscreen every now and then.

I've been burnt out after the two Xillia games, and a similar graphical doesn't help. It's a shame because I actually really like art direction and look for most of the cast. The ufotable art makes it looks rather pretty and colorful.

Disregarding the DLC stuff, at least the game's scenario sounds pretty complete? Much better than ToX where the game almost rushes and suddenly ends.
 

Dice//

Banned
You know what, I don't like this game's opening. Most Tales games, I listen to the song sometimes when turning it on. This time, I don't want to hear it at all.

I adore it myself. =/
C'est la vie.
I'd be lying if I said the fact it isn't "flavour of the month JPOP" wasn't what boosted it a full letter-grade.
 

Sandfox

Member
I scrolled down the page and saw a single character's name repeated over and over, and then complaints about the DLC. I mean, they can feel however they want to feel, but like I said, overreactionary 1-star reviews are pretty much the norm for new games, particularly if something is different from how Japanese fans assumed it would be (even if it's better!).

I'm not too hot on the DLC idea, myself, for the record.

To be fair, Bamco pretty much led people to believe otherwise.
 

Sakura

Member
Most of the Amazon downrating is normal for any game.
For sure. But the content of the reviews themselves is still fair.
Take this review for example. http://www.amazon.co.jp/review/RGQHTO8JJXF0D/
Sure the main complaint is about, that one thing, but even aside from that I do agree with the complaints about the combat and other plot points. I just disagree that the game is a 1 star.

Did they really?
Alisha disappeared from promotional material a long time ago, and people were already acting suspicious about it prior to release.
As I said in the other thread
I disagree. As a casual observer, I watched the anime, and went to the website, before making my purchase. Alisha is featured prominently. And whether or not she 'disappeared' it's quite clear that they had some kind of agenda in pushing Alisha even though she is a minor character, and not pushing Rose so much even though she is the main heroine.

So how's the main character.

I can't stomach another Asbel, just from looking at him I highly doubt he's good like Yuri, I can only hope he's at least bland and inoffensive like Jude.

I rather liked Slay. Though I don't know if that is because of his character or his voice actor. I thought some of his lines were delivered very well.
 

Sandfox

Member
Did they really?
Alisha disappeared from promotional material a long time ago, and people were already acting suspicious about it prior to release.

The way she was revealed, shown off in battle early on, the anime, and how the DLC(not talking about the scenario) was treated are probably what made people expect a larger role for her. I think people are getting a little too crazy and I'm not really a fan of her myself, but the way you phrased you're original statement makes it seem like there was no reason to assume she would be a normal character. Also, it looks like a lot of people hate how she is treated in the story but I don't know how legit of a complaint that it.
 

Corgi

Banned
now that I think about it, I don't really need to know much about the tales games... except if the protagonist is decent or not.


how would you rank him compare to recent guys?

yuri was rad. xillia dude was a pansy. asbel was... lets not talk about him.
 

Aeana

Member
The way she was revealed, shown off in battle early on, the anime, and how the DLC(not talking about the scenario) was treated are probably what made people expect a larger role for her. I think people are getting a little too crazy and I'm not really a fan of her myself, but the way you phrased you're original statement makes it seem like there was no reason to assume she would be a normal character. Also, it looks like a lot of people hate how she is treated in the story but I don't know how legit of a complaint that it.

Well,
I think that's one of the reasons why I just don't care. Because upon actually playing the game, Alisha is just... kinda lame. I didn't care what happened with her because I didn't feel attached to her. And I say this as someone who thought she was cool going by the OVA.
 

Rhapsody

Banned
I agree with Aeana. I started becoming suspicious when
I saw Rose in Kamui form. I don't remember seeing Alisha ever getting it (maybe I'm wrong), and it would've made sense for her to have it if there had to be two characters with the ability. She was pretty phased out regarding trailers too. A shame though, I really did like her design. Really stood out for what I would've thought to be the main heroine lol. Once I saw the name Alisha and a spoiler tag next to it in this thread, it was really easy to put two and two together.
 

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
To be fair, Bamco pretty much led people to believe otherwise.
I've only tangentially followed this game but every indication I saw suggested that she was the typical Tales character who only appears for part of the story ala Flynn/Richard/Kratos/etc.
 

Aeana

Member
I've only tangentially followed this game but every indication I saw suggested that she was the typical Tales character who only appears for part of the story ala Flynn/Richard/Kratos/etc.

Kratos is the real crime here. The only halfway decent character in Symphonia.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Hmm, ok yeah I just fought
Ouroboros
boss by the broken bridge early on and the difficulty spike was crazy. It's almost as if the difficulty level changes don't effect normal enemies much but really effect bosses. Normal enemies on hard are still joke easy and die in 5 seconds, but this boss was killing people left and right with really hard hitting attacks and tons of HP. Had to use most of my items! Was fun though.

That being said I don't really get the guard break system? Like when I was hitting this boss with all the different elements I thought it was the water element that was giving off "weak", so I fused with water kamui and none of my water attacks were doing much damage (or any attacks at all) but then every so often he would basically become guard broken and all hits would be weakpoint criticals and I'd be doing tons of damage no matter what the attack.

Is this another FFXIII's style battle system where it's all about breaking the boss and then piling on the biggest most damage combos/hi-ougis while he's broken and repeat?
 
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