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[Lunarwhale]

Okay, maybe I'm a weird outlier but I just got saved by Rose and am having no issues with the story or plot or war scenes or anything. I think they're all being handled well or at least competently. This is rating pretty high on my list of Tales games. It could drop but so far I really REALLY like this game

Nah, I'm in the same boat. They were handled slightly awkwardly, but nothing exceptionally off for a Tales game or anything. I thought

Spoiler

Alisha's departure

was fairly well telegraphed and sensible, though maybe not followed up quite as well.

Spoiler

Rose's introduction into the party

was a bit... janky, but I also appreciate that they just got it out of the way instead of spending much time with it. It's a bit of a shame though because later they show what a great foil she is to Sorey, and their contrasting personality traits play together well, but her introduction into the group was forced.

I didn't really have an issue with the war scene at all honestly. I liked seeing Sorey in a situation he didn't have complete control over. Could have been done a bit better, but it's Tales. It's a bias but I give this series some leeway when it comes to questionable presentation as long as the ideas are good enough, and Sorey's development and struggles have been more than enough to make up for it to me.

Anyways, as much as I'm loving Zestiria, I just did the optional fight in Pendrago against the "Beast Master" hellion and goddamn did the camera get bad during it. Really don't know why they didn't try to work in some sort of wall/object fading effect and instead just went with the camera getting stuck zoomed in between the enemy and the wall. At least make it react a bit faster to obviously bad situations. Fight in general was a bit annoying too (partially because the AI just cannot handle certain situations). It's a bit frustrating because in a lot of ways Zestiria's one of my favorites in the series now and does some things better than any of the others have so far, but small fundamental issues like this seem to creep up in the most annoying of ways.

 

[Pancakes]

Fuck Lailahs crucible this is utter bullshit. Everything is tolerable until the 3 fucking wolves, how the hell are you supposed to survive that shit. On top of that the camera is retarded and sticks to one enemy while I'm dashing trying to survive, it's so stupid.

 

[texhnolyze]

.......

o.o

.......


Are you kidding me? Does it say that in the description of the skill? I had no idea I was losing half my grade......

Yes, it does.
Switch to the 2nd page of the skills descriptions. It's sketchy, yes, putting them on the 2nd page. How dare they.

 

[R0ckman]

Did they program Zavied to tell if monsters are male or female? He mentioned it in a monster analysis and he also seems to often use flirty quotes when fighting female monsters while if fighting others he doesn't really.

 

[Droplet]

Honestly the only thing I am really seriously disliking about this game is when they block you out of areas, fast traveling to areas, or fast traveling all together.

Like... am I not able to go into the further Rolance areas at all after (Late-game, post 4 temples spoilers)

Spoiler

defeating Tiamat? Like, I hear you can go back to Lohgrin for Sorey's alt color outfit after this, but I can't even go farther than Lastonbell as far as I can tell.

It's seriously funneling me towards a final showdown type thing by blocking areas off for no reason and it's pissing me off.

I was wondering about this too, but I'm pretty sure it's because there's a cutscene that they don't want you to somehow be approaching from the other side. It's pretty dumb, I agree, but just assume you'll be able to do those things after you see the appropriate scene?

 

[irfaanator]

man this battle camera blows and really is killing it for me sometimes

 

[Papercuts]

.......

o.o

.......


Are you kidding me? Does it say that in the description of the skill? I had no idea I was losing half my grade......

I believe it has a second page you have to click to for that to be seen, lol.

I asked about AP earlier and one of the reasons I had so much free was me not touching any auto skill with a 10 foot pool due to that.

 

[TheFatMan]

Yes, it does.
Switch to the 2nd page of the skills descriptions. It's sketchy, yes, putting them on the 2nd page. How dare they.

I didn't even notice it had a second page! Haha. Luckily I'm not too far into the game at this point. Just got to Rose. No great harm done.

 

[MarcoZombieCannon]

I was wondering about this too, but I'm pretty sure it's because there's a cutscene that they don't want you to somehow be approaching from the other side. It's pretty dumb, I agree, but just assume you'll be able to do those things after you see the appropriate scene?

I would assume so, but I'm feeling a point of no return approaching so I dunno. Hope I'm wrong.

But normally that's the case. Either travel will be totally blocked because there's something nearby you need to see, or travel to specific places will be disabled because they want to funnel you into a cutscene in those places.

 

[R0ckman]

Yeah Zavied has different casting phrases if he targets a programed male or female monster. Nice touch and was waiting for a character in an RPG that does this.

 

[Basileus777]

It's kind of annoying how they reset which seraphs are in your party after every cutscene.

 

[MarcoZombieCannon]

It's kind of annoying how they reset which seraphs are in your party after every cutscene.

Especially annoying right before a fight since sometimes they'll be the elements that the boss or whatever is resistant to...

 

[Taruranto]

And lose half your Grade?

Wait, WAT

 

[Crevox]

The game's balance is all over the place because of how open equipment/skill system is. The beginning of the game is harder than anything, then when you get further, you can actually customize things and just break it.

I'm killing level 160+ enemies at level 50 on Chaos difficulty in short battles, keeping Dark Bottle on at all times. Unless the enemies decide to go over level 200 (the usual cap for Tales games), I can't see how the rest of the game will be difficult at this point. Level really doesn't mean much at all, and I'm sort of disappointed that Chaos is so easy. The EXP loss for playing on Chaos doesn't even matter, and I'm just getting flooded with tons of Gald and tons of grade per random fight (usually a minimum of like 40, but I've gotten up to 170). If this was on normal, I have no idea how you would be able to lose.

The AI is still annoying, though.

Wait, WAT

It states in the description for auto battle actions that they half your grade. You should not need to have those on.

how the hell are you supposed to survive that shit.

Quick cast spells like Blitz Bomb. It's definitely harder than the other crucibles (that I've done), but it's the end of the fight.

 

[Droplet]

I would assume so, but I'm feeling a point of no return approaching so I dunno. Hope I'm wrong.

But normally that's the case. Either travel will be totally blocked because there's something nearby you need to see, or travel to specific places will be disabled because they want to funnel you into a cutscene in those places.

Yeah, I'm actually about where you are too, so I'm not really sure. If it's like most Tales final dungeons you should be able to leave when you want, but then again this game has operated quite differently plotwise than most Tales games.

I got pretty irritated when they'd block off an entire area for a cutscene though. Why can't I just go to the save point closest to the cutscene? I hate wandering through the fields and fighting weak mobs.

 

[Kensuke]

The game's balance is all over the place because of how open equipment/skill system is. The beginning of the game is harder than anything, then when you get further, you can actually customize things and just break it.

I'm killing level 160+ enemies at level 50 on Chaos difficulty in short battles, keeping Dark Bottle on at all times. Unless the enemies decide to go over level 200 (the usual cap for Tales games), I can't see how the rest of the game will be difficult at this point. Level really doesn't mean much at all, and I'm sort of disappointed that Chaos is so easy. The EXP loss for playing on Chaos doesn't even matter, and I'm just getting flooded with tons of Gald and tons of grade per random fight (usually a minimum of like 40, but I've gotten up to 170). If this was on normal, I have no idea how you would be able to lose.

What skills are you using to break the game?

 

[aravuus]

It's kind of annoying how they reset which seraphs are in your party after every cutscene.

Switching back to Lailah every 5 minutes got old real quick

 

[Crevox]

What skills are you using to break the game?

You just have to find a playstyle that works for you and play your characters well. I personally absolutely never touch Sorey or Rose, though I will armatize whenever I feel it's necessary. I only play the seraphim.

There aren't really any specific skills, because it largely depends on your playstyle and party. If you want some tips:

http://pastebin.com/g6NzFgxm

 

[MindGamingMantis]

Just managed to beat one of those enemies that's 10+ levels higher than you. That shit was awesome. Took me about 20 tries. I'd get close so many times and then would get wiped out instantly by an aoe of doom. Its cast was nearly instant, so if I was in range, I'd pretty much die.

Still haven't gotten the hang of how equipment works.

 

[Crevox]

Just managed to beat one of those enemies that's 10+ levels higher than you. That shit was awesome. Took me about 20 tries. I'd get close so many times and then would get wiped out instantly by an aoe of doom. Its cast was nearly instant, so if I was in range, I'd pretty much die.

Still haven't gotten the hang of how equipment works.

Just remember the AI commands with the right stick. It helps.

The equipment system seems overwhelming and complicated at first, but it's really simple. Take a bit of time at some point to just look at things, maybe read some tutorials within the game, and you'll figure it out.

 

[MindGamingMantis]

Just remember the AI commands with the right stick. It helps.

The equipment system seems overwhelming and complicated at first, but it's really simple. Take a bit of time at some point to just look at things, maybe read some tutorials within the game, and you'll figure it out.

I use the right stick commands all the time. Kept losing to the aoe of doom. There was no telegraphing it as the enemy would recover after we had combo'd it. So I adjusted the timing of all combos so that they'd flow like one big combo and use R2 heal when necessary.

I'll take another look at the tutorials.

 

[darkmark1987]

...oh
I was wondering what the downside to those were. Figured there were none so I just had them on, didn't see the second page til now though... So much grade lost.

My thoughts exactly. I think lve lost quite a bit

 

[aitakute]

When will they release the school costumes dlc?

 

[Fou-Lu]

Despite the horrible camera I am enjoying this game MUCH more than Xillia, though I am only 5 hours in.

 

[yami4ct]

The only reason I can't say I like this flat out more than XIllia (at least Xillia 1) is that it doesn't have Milla. Milla is the best.

 

[Dice//]

The equipment system seems overwhelming and complicated at first, but it's really simple. Take a bit of time at some point to just look at things, maybe read some tutorials within the game, and you'll figure it out.

My basic tactic is just 'fuse fuse fuse fuse'. Thus far the game has proved little challenge beyond that. Is there any way to manipulate the variables/attributes you additionally put on weapons?

 

[Pigge]

The only reason I can't say I like this flat out more than XIllia (at least Xillia 1) is that it doesn't have Milla. Milla is the best.

I couldn't stand Milla, everytime she spoke that lisp tore a hole in my ear.

 

[Crevox]

My basic tactic is just 'fuse fuse fuse fuse'. Thus far the game has proved little challenge beyond that. Is there any way to manipulate the variables/attributes you additionally put on weapons?

You can see this other post I made:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=182596100&highlight=#post182596100

Besides that, just remember that the element of the skill, when fused with another skill, greatly determines what kind of skill you will get if they decide to combine. Either way, by manipulating the rules in that post, you can work around your equipment to keep the skills you want on your weapon/armor. Once you get far enough in the game to unlock normins, you can influence what kind of skills you will find, and then you can just work on getting the specific skills you want. The further you go in the game, the more control you will have over this.

I usually quick save before I start doing major fusing just in case I mess something up, or so I can just muck around a bit.

 

[Sandfox]

The only reason I can't say I like this flat out more than XIllia (at least Xillia 1) is that it doesn't have Milla. Milla is the best.

So far I prefer the Xillia cast and their interactions.

 

[R0ckman]

You can see this other post I made:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=182596100&highlight=#post182596100

Besides that, just remember that the element of the skill, when fused with another skill, greatly determines what kind of skill you will get if they decide to combine. Either way, by manipulating the rules in that post, you can work around your equipment to keep the skills you want on your weapon/armor. Once you get far enough in the game to unlock normins, you can influence what kind of skills you will find, and then you can just work on getting the specific skills you want. The further you go in the game, the more control you will have over this.

I usually quick save before I start doing major fusing just in case I mess something up, or so I can just muck around a bit.

Yeah your guide nails it, the game pretty much tells you its broken if you know how to use the skills, but eh not sure if its fun. But really even Phantasia was broken if you piled TP increasing items and a farie ring on Cless.

 

[yami4ct]

So far I prefer the Xillia cast and their interactions.

So far, I'm finding the Seraph to all be pretty fun and have their own charms. I also like that Soery has his shit together. I'm about to pick up Rose, so I'm interested to see what dynamic she adds.

 

[Dice//]

You can see this other post I made:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=182596100&highlight=#post182596100

Besides that, just remember that the element of the skill, when fused with another skill, greatly determines what kind of skill you will get if they decide to combine. Either way, by manipulating the rules in that post, you can work around your equipment to keep the skills you want on your weapon/armor. Once you get far enough in the game to unlock normins, you can influence what kind of skills you will find, and then you can just work on getting the specific skills you want. The further you go in the game, the more control you will have over this.

I usually quick save before I start doing major fusing just in case I mess something up, or so I can just muck around a bit.

Thanks so much, I'll be sure to read this when I pick it up again tomorrow!

So far I prefer the Xillia cast and their interactions.

So far, I'm finding the Seraph to all be pretty fun and have their own charms. I also like that Soery has his shit together. I'm about to pick up Rose, so I'm interested to see what dynamic she adds.

I love Rose. She adds a TON and you'll wish Alisha was gone sooner.

I think Zesty's cast could be better than Xill's...shame that Zestiria is so much shyer about skits and group victory quotes (which really helps seal the deal on the "party chemistry", imo)....

 

[Sandfox]

So far, I'm finding the Seraph to all be pretty fun and have their own charms. I also like that Soery has his shit together. I'm about to pick up Rose, so I'm interested to see what dynamic she adds.

None of the them are bad, but I don't find them as interesting as previous Tales characters. After having Rose for a while I completely understand a lot of the issues people had with her and I personally find her annoying at times.

I think Zesty's cast could be better than Xill's...shame that Zestiria is so much shyer about skits and group victory quotes (which really helps seal the deal on the "party chemistry", imo)....

I have been thinking the same thing for a while now.

 

[JimPanzer]

PC or PS4 version? Got a good gaming PC with an 970GTX.

 

[MarcoZombieCannon]

PC or PS4 version? Got a good gaming PC with an 970GTX.

No reason not to get the PC version then. Port's solid as hell. I'm downsampling from 4k on a 970 with no issues.

 

[Droplet]

I love Rose. She adds a TON and you'll wish Alisha was gone sooner.

I think Zesty's cast could be better than Xill's...shame that Zestiria is so much shyer about skits and group victory quotes (which really helps seal the deal on the "party chemistry", imo)....

Rose is great because she picks up Sorey's slack. Whenever he's got something he wants to do but can't because he's the Shepherd, Rose just goes and does it for him instead. I do love the cast in this game more than I have in any of the other games, the only ones I'm not big on are Alisha and Dezel

Spoiler

lol

.

If you guys like skits make sure you're staying at the inns repeatedly! There are also some food-dependent ones.

 

[Arkeus]

I think Zesty's cast could be better than Xill's...shame that Zestiria is so much shyer about skits and group victory quotes (which really helps seal the deal on the "party chemistry", imo)....

There seems to be as many skits as in previous games, you just need to be careful to always rest at inns whenever something happens (especially at the inn closest to where that thing happened), always check checkpoints whenever something happened (and checks them by default too, obviously), and always check landmarks.

 

[Earthpainting]

I've started this last weekend, and got a few hours in. I've been enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. My expectations were tempered by some friends who had played the Japanese release, and seeing some similar complaints here on GAF, but as things stand, I think I'll be fine. Characters seem tolerable and fun for the most part. Not playing as a dumb-ass, a sarcastic prick, or a personality-less automaton definitely helps. Performance on PC also feels quite good. GeDoSaTo is giving some pretty nice image quality, and the performance does not seem to be impacted. The only weird thing is that Windows 10 gave me a message that the game had crashed any time I close it, even though it doesn't seem the case.

The 3D animation is still a bit wonky as usual (for instance Sorey's slow walk looks like he has a coathanger still in his clothes), and it bugs me that Sorey keeps seemingly talking to himself and people don't react to it. I can also see how the skills can be a bit confusing to manage after a while, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Finally the size of the maps seem a little bit daunting when I've noticed several backtracking teases. Here's to hoping there are some decent fast travel options later on.

Either way, after Tales train.

 

[Sandfox]

Rose is great because she picks up Sorey's slack. Whenever he's got something he wants to do but can't because he's the Shepherd, Rose just goes and does it for him instead. I do love the cast in this game more than I have in any of the other games, the only ones I'm not big on are Alisha and Dezel

Spoiler

lol

.

If you guys like skits make sure you're staying at the inns repeatedly! There are also some food-dependent ones.

There seems to be as many skits as in previous games, you just need to be careful to always rest at inns whenever something happens (especially at the inn closest to where that thing happened), always check checkpoints whenever something happened (and checks them by default too, obviously), and always check landmarks.

I do stay at the inns regularly and still find them pretty lacking. Xillia probably had too many popping up at a time and in this game both the skits and victory quotes have been disappointing for me so far, but I'm still playing the game so hopefully the game will change my mind.

 

[Anteater]

edna is so badass

poor meebo tho, he's getting picked on by everyone basically

 

[yami4ct]

Just had my first fight with 2 Armitized characters. That might have been one of the cooler things I've seen in a Tales game visually. Just felt badass.

 

[Heyt]

I'm on the wind tower right now, the las one of my current objectives. I am having a blast with this game. Possibly the best Tales the west has gotten. So Humble and ambitious at the same time. It is fascinating.

 

[PKrockin]

This is probably the first Tales game since Vesperia I feel good about recommending without caveats ("... if you don't mind ___") to people simply looking for a JRPG. It still has problems, but not ones that would undermine its mass appeal significantly IMO. Zestiria is improved over the past few games in quite a few important ways without fucking up anything too major and I'm surprised the import impressions were as negative as they were given that.

Just had my first fight with 2 Armitized characters. That might have been one of the cooler things I've seen in a Tales game visually. Just felt badass.

Yeah. At first I was underwhelmed with the battle effects and and thought it felt a bit slow and awkward somehow, but I've changed my mind as I played more. Part of that is probably getting used to 30fps.

 

[texhnolyze]

So, where's this trials locations

Spoiler

in the abandoned hideout? Rose mentioned it that we can locate the shrines from there, but I can't find it. Is it deep in the ruin? I've already completed fire and water trials, but kinda lost at where the next shrines are.

 

[zakujanai]

So, where's this trials locations

Spoiler

in the abandoned hideout? Rose mentioned it that we can locate the shrines from there, but I can't find it. Is it deep in the ruin? I've already completed fire and water trials, but kinda lost at where the next shrines are.

There isn't one there, just the thing that hints at where the trials are I think (never went back to check it). The other two are in

Spoiler

Aifreed's Hunting Ground

(Earth) and

Spoiler

Westronbolt Gorge

(Wind).

 

[Droplet]

So, where's this trials locations

Spoiler

in the abandoned hideout? Rose mentioned it that we can locate the shrines from there, but I can't find it. Is it deep in the ruin? I've already completed fire and water trials, but kinda lost at where the next shrines are.

It's the mural at the back, at the end of the dungeon you finished before. You should have a save point right in front of it if you really need it.

edit: ^what he said, I couldn't remember any of the field names.

 

[Freezasaurus]

So what's the purpose of the boss hellions scattered around the dungeon areas? Just to farm orbs and raise your HP? Also, are there Devil's/Fell Arms in this game?

 

[texhnolyze]

There isn't one there, just the thing that hints at where the trials are I think (never went back to check it). The other two are in

Spoiler

Aifreed's Hunting Ground

(Earth) and

Spoiler

Westronbolt Gorge

(Wind).

It's the mural at the back, at the end of the dungeon you finished before. You should have a save point right in front of it if you really need it.

edit: ^what he said, I couldn't remember any of the field names.

Ah, I see. Alrighty, thanks!
Anyway, how far am I into the game at this point? After I'm done with the trials, at least.

 

[Reishiki]

Rolled credits yesterday, brilliant Tales game, but doesn't quite hit Vesperia PS3-tier.

For those getting wiped out by the final boss:

Spoiler

Target his arms while he's doing the cast animation, it'll stun him and allow you to hit with an Ultima arte. Use AI orders to help, and bear in mind each shot of Siegfried removes a Seraph from the party.

 

[zakujanai]

Ah, I see. Alrighty, thanks!
Anyway, how far am I into the game at this point? After I'm done with the trials, at least.

Hard to say, depends how many

Spoiler

Iris Gems

you've collected so far. Took me about 8 hours from the end of the trials but I did tire of the backtracking and rushed through it a bit. So much so that I couldn't beat the end boss.