Just finished the game yesterday. Mikleo and Sorey are easily my favourites, so I can agree to this. Dezel
and his relationship with Rose, backstory and tragic end probably made more of a lasting impression on some players, I imagine. Zaveid came in really late and didn't get much of anything.
I liked a lot of ideas and characters in this game but it felt like they needed a lot more fleshing out. And that equipment system/skill, just what the hell were they thinking.
I haven't played this game in like 2 weeks, I just can't bring myself to for some reason. Kinda getting bored, might pick it up later on, but this is the first Tales game I'm most likely going to drop.
I haven't played this game in like 2 weeks, I just can't bring myself to for some reason. Kinda getting bored, might pick it up later on, but this is the first Tales game I'm most likely going to drop.
I ended up taking a break lasting a few days early last week. I finished up the main story and the Alisha DLC over the past couple days, and I'm honestly happy I'm done. This one has felt a bit more like a chore than previous games, and I usually love this series. But the equipment system has really made me want to get away from this game.
Started Dragon Quest Heroes yesterday (at least until Fallout drops) and I'm loving it so far.
Man, I'm really enjoying this game. Got to the Water trial and damn, this is just plain tedious. Am I doing this the wrong way or are the eyes supposed to be this annoying?
Really enjoyed the past 20 hours though. Great cast, fun dialogue and gameplay.
Man, I'm really enjoying this game. Got to the Water trial and damn, this is just plain tedious. Am I doing this the wrong way or are the eyes supposed to be this annoying?
There's one room in that place that's really terrible, but other than that, I didn't find it too bad as long as you pay attention to your surroundings, which is what the dungeon is pushing you to do.
Ok, I'm way behind everyone and finally hot to the part when
Alicia leaves the party, then Sorey gets blackmailed to help the war
I saved and went to bed at that moment, so I'm not sure how it plays out, but outside of the funny "get a room" comment, the rest of the scene just felt out of sorts and abrupt.
Ok, I'm way behind everyone and finally hot to the part when
Alicia leaves the party, then Sorey gets blackmailed to help the war
I saved and went to bed at that moment, so I'm not sure how it plays out, but outside of the funny "get a room" comment, the rest of the scene just felt out of sorts and abrupt.
So I never played a Tales game before and I looked up a review of this game. Seemed decent enough except a bunch of people complaining about "characterization" vaguely referencing how Alisha's character was handled and I'm confused.
I'm not all of the way through the game, but as far as I can tell, Alisha isn't going to come back. So why are people pissed off? Options I see:
1) Can't play as my favorite waifu
2) Can't force MC to hook up with Alisha
3) Game failed to explain why Alisha was leaving and I had to go look it up.
The only one that bothered me was 3, and I just assumed I missed a savepoint skit that explained it. I'm assuming the answer is 1. Because I don't really get it. She left, but got replaced by a character which makes way more sense than a famous princess to begin with. She wasn't THAT likeable of a character to begin with, in fact, she was a pretty stock "clueless princess warrior" that's shown up everywhere in recent years.
So I never played a Tales game before and I looked up a review of this game. Seemed decent enough except a bunch of people complaining about "characterization" vaguely referencing how Alisha's character was handled and I'm confused.
I'm not all of the way through the game, but as far as I can tell, Alisha isn't going to come back. So why are people pissed off? Options I see:
1) Can't play as my favorite waifu
2) Can't force MC to hook up with Alisha
3) Game failed to explain why Alisha was leaving and I had to go look it up.
The only one that bothered me was 3, and I just assumed I missed a savepoint skit that explained it. I'm assuming the answer is 1. Because I don't really get it. She left, but got replaced by a character which makes way more sense than a famous princess to begin with. She wasn't THAT likeable of a character to begin with, in fact, she was a pretty stock "clueless princess warrior" that's shown up everywhere in recent years.
here's more of an in-depth look and timeline before bandai scamco tried to do damage control. it's more related to how she was advertised in japan and speculation on how her character was handled during game development. http://moamonzu.tumblr.com/
here's more of an in-depth look and timeline before bandai scamco tried to do damage control. it's more related to how she was advertised in japan and speculation on how her character was handled during game development. http://moamonzu.tumblr.com/
here's more of an in-depth look and timeline before bandai scamco tried to do damage control. it's more related to how she was advertised in japan. which of course they didn't try to do for overseas. http://moamonzu.tumblr.com/
Even reading some of that stuff, I still don't understand the mentality of the Japanese Tales players at all.. They mistreated my Waifu by
not having her able to armitize/hurts Sorey's eyesight and gets kicked out of the party, wahhh! Rose sucks and worst person ever because she replaced Alisha!
Why weren't they this distraught over Aerith in FF7 and rate that game all 1's, she had alot of pre-release advertisement too.
I felt that as a princess with lots of responsibility in trying to maintain peace, it wasn't out of character and the game didn't mistreat her when Alisha had to make her own path forward by herself (and is only in the party for like 10-15% of the game).
It never makes sense in RPGs for kings, princes, princess, etc to follow some generic hero to traverse the world instead of fulfilling their obligations to their kingdoms as royalty/leaders.
These bosses with a million billion health, no weaknesses, many resistances, and the ability to more or less instant game over you from full health with unblockable artes seemingly whenever the hell they feel like it are almost singlehandedly ruining this game.
Someone tell me this is just a boss rush quirk that changes
when you finally go to war for the second time.
This game is already intensely repetitive (moreso than usual) but these last few bosses have been completely over the top in tedium.
Why weren't they this distraught over Aerith in FF7 and rate that game all 1's, she had alot of pre-release advertisement too.
I felt that as a princess with lots of responsibility in trying to maintain peace, it wasn't out of character and the game didn't mistreat her when Alisha had to make her own path forward by herself (and is only in the party for like 10-15% of the game).
It never makes sense in RPGs for kings, princes, princess, etc to follow some generic hero to traverse the world instead of fulfilling their obligations to their kingdoms as royalty/leaders.
here's more of an in-depth look and timeline before bandai scamco tried to do damage control. it's more related to how she was advertised in japan and speculation on how her character was handled during game development. http://moamonzu.tumblr.com/
It's likely that the story was changed, but the way this article reads is really overreactive and even hypocritical. "Baba likes Rose so much!" "Alisha is the real hero, I quit the second time right before Alisha left!" The author seems as biased towards Alisha as he perceives Baba to be about Rose. This seems to be a prevailing attitude among Japanese fans for some reason.
There are 99 problems with the story and its possible rewrite but I don't think it's as Alisha focused as people make it out to be. If anything, the two human limit and armatization system point made in the article seems to be the most likely culprit as to why the story might have been rewritten.
Another thing the article failed to mention is that Zaveid was
advertised as using guns in battle, where in the final game he fights identically to Dezel. I'm not sure if that was people misinterpreting his character or officially advertised material, though. His Dezel hat also seems tacked on to his character and he's without it in all marketing material, although this could also have been to avoid spoilers.
Is the Final Boss really a pure DPS check? That is absolute horseshit. Man, what a bad way to go out. Now I'll probably have to grind for more levels and better equipment for another couple hours before I can beat him. What a damn bummer.
Is the Final Boss really a pure DPS check? That is absolute horseshit. Man, what a bad way to go out. Now I'll probably have to grind for more levels and better equipment for another couple hours before I can beat him. What a damn bummer.
stagger it everytime on Moderate. I wondered if it was even possible to fail that since it seemed to take a really long time to charge up. You'll probably want to use the armatized Banish Blasts since they deal a lot of damage.
stagger it everytime on Moderate. I wondered if it was even possible to fail that since it seemed to take a really long time to charge up. You'll probably want to use the armatized Banish Blasts since they deal a lot of damage.
I'm on hard, and his charge up time on the third go is no joke. I can't even cheese it with rose Dream Slasher like was suggested elsewhere. I've only gotten into the mid 60's, so I'll try gaining a few levels and then adding banish blasts to the mix.
I'm on hard, and his charge up time on the third go is no joke. I can't even cheese it with rose Dream Slasher like was suggested elsewhere. I've only gotten into the mid 60's, so I'll try gaining a few levels and then adding banish blasts to the mix.
Alright, so being someone who hasn't played a new JRPG in a very long time (I am talking over a decade), but would like to get back into it, would Tales of Zestiria be recommended? I can get it for $49.99 on Amazon or as a free game from Target's Buy 2 Get 1.
Alright, so being someone who hasn't played a new JRPG in a very long time (I am talking over a decade), but would like to get back into it, would Tales of Zestiria be recommended? I can get it for $49.99 on Amazon or as a free game from Target's Buy 2 Get 1.
Yes if you don't have a Wii U or 3DS for Xenoblade goodness. Zestiria is an incredibly zesty old-school RPG but with an interesting open world and characters.
I know that feel. I'm done with the game so I don't have to deal with it anymore, and I'm happy about that. It feels like you get good skill stacks going completely by chance.
I know people are still bitter that Alisha isn't permanent but c'mon guys, she's kinda boring and if you set her as the permanent heroine, she'll probably be the worst character in the party. Heck the DLC doesn't even make her that interesting.
I'm on hard, and his charge up time on the third go is no joke. I can't even cheese it with rose Dream Slasher like was suggested elsewhere. I've only gotten into the mid 60's, so I'll try gaining a few levels and then adding banish blasts to the mix.
The Seraphs are the only good characters in the game anyway. Though I think Alisha is more interesting than Rose. Alisha at least has a character arc (though half baked like everything else in the game), while Rose often enough comes off as a Mary Sue.
It's likely that the story was changed, but the way this article reads is really overreactive and even hypocritical. "Baba likes Rose so much!" "Alisha is the real hero, I quit the second time right before Alisha left!" The author seems as biased towards Alisha as he perceives Baba to be about Rose. This seems to be a prevailing attitude among Japanese fans for some reason.
There are 99 problems with the story and its possible rewrite but I don't think it's as Alisha focused as people make it out to be. If anything, the two human limit and armatization system point made in the article seems to be the most likely culprit as to why the story might have been rewritten.
Another thing the article failed to mention is that Zaveid was
advertised as using guns in battle, where in the final game he fights identically to Dezel. I'm not sure if that was people misinterpreting his character or officially advertised material, though. His Dezel hat also seems tacked on to his character and he's without it in all marketing material, although this could also have been to avoid spoilers.
There's too much "Alisha this" and "Alisha that" it's obviously biased and screams "my waifu is gone". Some of my real problems were (major spoilers):
1. Edna's brother, Eizen, just becomes a sidequest and people were expecting it to be part of the main story.
2. Dragons were advertised as the central figure of ToZ, but they barely existed and you only encounter 2.5 (Eizen, Tiamat, and some kinda-dragon dude in Marlind) out of the 8 according to Edna at the start.
3. The corrupt politicians introduced in Lady Lake fizzled out after the first war where you kill one of the transformed politician/general, thinking they'd be important antagonists too. Only in the end you find out one was killed in the most unepic way (oh he got killed by Heldalf, ok) and the rest kinda disappeared.
There's too much "Alisha this" and "Alisha that" it's obviously biased and screams "my waifu is gone". Some of my real problems were (major spoilers):
1. Edna's brother, Eizen, just becomes a sidequest and people were expecting it to be part of the main story.
2. Dragons were advertised as the central figure of ToZ, but they barely existed and you only encounter 2.5 (Eizen, Tiamat, and some kinda-dragon dude in Marlind) out of the 8 according to Edna at the start.
3. The corrupt politicians introduced in Lady Lake fizzled out after the first war where you kill one of the transformed politician/general, thinking they'd be important antagonists too. Only in the end you find out one was killed in the most unepic way (oh he got killed by Heldalf, ok) and the rest kinda disappeared.
1. Rose explicitly dies decades later in the ending cutscene, shortly after Sorey mouths something that could very well have been "I love you" as he descends into the pit to stay for centuries.
2. We get an anti-climactic Alisha's Story chapter where they visit Sorey's location, when we know the two women are going to die before they really meet him from the main game's story.
3. They decline to show Sorey's face as he catches Mikleo in a Tales of the Abyss-esque fashion, though it seems pretty obvious it was him.
Still liked the story and even the ending a lot but Alisha's DLC was kind of pushing it.
Honestly the one thing about the Alisha/Rose thing that I really can't stand and side with Alisha is
Rose acting like a complete and utter cunt to Alisha in HER DLC. Who the fuck thought "hey let's make Alisha DLC since she wasn't in the party much and she suffers a lot throughout the game. Oh and let's make her suffer even more by having her spotlight thief Rose berate and make fun of her the whole fucking time yay"
Honestly the one thing about the Alisha/Rose thing that I really can't stand and side with Alisha is
Rose acting like a complete and utter cunt to Alisha in HER DLC. Who the fuck thought "hey let's make Alisha DLC since she wasn't in the party much and she suffers a lot throughout the game. Oh and let's make her suffer even more by having her spotlight thief Rose berate and make fun of her the whole fucking time yay"
Well that's Rose's role in the entire game. In the main story they all but shouted at us that she could do everything perfectly, including being a better Shephard than Sorey. She's kind an obnoxious character that has to outdo everyone.
Well that's Rose's role in the entire game. In the main story they all but shouted at us that she could do everything perfectly, including being a better Shephard than Sorey. She's kind an obnoxious character.
There's too much "Alisha this" and "Alisha that" it's obviously biased and screams "my waifu is gone". Some of my real problems were (major spoilers):
1. Edna's brother, Eizen, just becomes a sidequest and people were expecting it to be part of the main story.
2. Dragons were advertised as the central figure of ToZ, but they barely existed and you only encounter 2.5 (Eizen, Tiamat, and some kinda-dragon dude in Marlind) out of the 8 according to Edna at the start.
3. The corrupt politicians introduced in Lady Lake fizzled out after the first war where you kill one of the transformed politician/general, thinking they'd be important antagonists too. Only in the end you find out one was killed in the most unepic way (oh he got killed by Heldalf, ok) and the rest kinda disappeared.
This all bothered me too. If there was a rewrite I do think it's pretty obvious that it happened at the point Alisha leaves the party, because everything in the first story arc of the game flows nicely and seems to set up a story that the rest of the game doesn't care to follow. The game has a tonal shift from that point on and the pacing keeps getting more and more erratic. Still, it's nowhere near as bad as, say, Metal Gear Solid V (which is nearly unacceptably unfinished and spotty in regards to its story)
Ok. Finally finished it. Long post coming up, as I'm gonna write in my thoughts about the game as a whole.
-The Story .... has problems. I hesitate to call it bad, because I don't think the overall plot is bad. Simple, yes, but I think the broad strokes are enjoyable. This isn't a Graces situation. It just feels really disconnected and oddly paced. Beyond the whole Rose/Alisha incident, the whole plot feels like that. No one really gets a character arc, and the ones that do (like Alisha, Edna, Dezel, and Heldalf) feel extremely truncated. You basically get the beginning and end of the arc and a rough sketch of the middle. The story itself feels the same. You also have the side cast, who each get like one or two scenes, but the game treats them like major characters at the very end. Something must've happened, because it feels like someone took over the plot half way.
-The cast is awesome and I feel like that makes up for the plot problems (for me, anyway). Edna, Lailah and Rose are real standouts and their interactions are always really fun. As a whole, they are one of my favorite Tales cast. Even Alisha, by far the worst of the main lot, would be a mid-tier character in most Tales games. It's also great to see a Tales protagonist that actually has his shit together and isn't whining about his circumstances all the time. I'm find with that archetype on occasion, but I'm happy with the change. Sorey is a bit standard, but he's still a lot of fun.
-The combat feels less strategic and tactical than Xillia or Graces, but I still really enjoyed it. Armatization feels like it takes a bit away from the character's main abilities, but I like the way it can add to the tactical options. I also absolutely love how the game encourages you to switch up your party during combat and makes that easy. I come away from many Tales games using only like half the cast. It's super nice to be a bee to use everyone.
-The camera is bad. No two ways around it. I got used to it eventually, but that 100% needs to be fixed the next time around.
-Mystic Artes are a huge disappointment. They look cool, but the vast majority of the time, they just aren't worth spending BG on. I found Armatized ones to be situationally useful, but even then not by much.
-I like that Titles actually have an effect again. The idea of linking AI profiles to them is interesting, but I don't think it's a great idea. I wish the game did more to encouraged you to switch titles. I think the Graces system is still the one to beat and I hope to see something like it again.
-Speaking of the AI, holy shit it's bad. And they severely nerfed the tactical menu? Why? This game needs more AI options, not fewer. I'm glad I wasn't min/maxing grade, because getting punished for AI mistakes would drive me mad.
-The encounter design is really cool, until the last 1/3rd of the game. The bosses post the elemental trials are almost all awful. The throw a bunch of dudes with zero weaknesses, become immune to your combo like halfway through and can instantly kill your entire party if you screw up and get hit with a mystic arte. That's not fun at all. Such a shit way to do difficulty. Luckily, a lot of the later Mutant Hellions provide difficult fights that are actually fun.
-I liked the art in the game quite a bit. It's a good in between from Xillia and Vesperia. The colors are wonderful and vibrant too. The game definitely suffers from being mid-budget and having to support old hardware, but when the game looks good, it really looks great. The top of the Trial of Wind in particular is stunning.
It might seem like most of that is complaints, but I still came away from the came feeling pretty positive. I had a ton of fun with the combat and I really like the characters and world. I would love to see another story told in this world, because there's a ton more to explore. Specifically, some plots involving the Five Lords could be really cool. Maybe the UFOTable anime could be a Zestiria sequel involving
Adult Mikleo and a new shepherd
? I'm not sure what else you'd do with a Tales anime and that could be super duper cool.
I really hope Berseria takes some hints from Zestiria's combat while avoiding the issues the game runs into. I'm really excited for that one. I love seeing a female MC and a pirate themed Tales game could be really damn good.
I dunno, considering how much I like shitheads like Ryudo in Grandia 2, half the Tales protags have always annoyed the hell out of me. I guess there's a difference between being a snarky shithead and being an angsty shithead.
I dunno, considering how much I like shitheads like Ryudo in Grandia 2, half the Tales protags have always annoyed the hell out of me. I guess there's a difference between being a snarky shithead and being an angsty shithead.
Yuri and Veigue are like the only two protags that venture outside wide eyed young hero territory. And most people don't know about Veigue and he had, um, other issues.
Sorey was alright. He had a sort of commanding presence to him that most Tales leads lack, which suits his role as the shepard. It was nice to see him not being led around by the cast.
Luke is an incredible fuckboi and the biggest shitdick of the series.
He's also the best written main Tales lead.
I'd argue that he's actually the best Tales lead, an opinion that can pretty much start a war in Tales discussion. If not, he's close to Yuri who works well as a foil for every other character's growth since he himself never goes through any growth as a character and is just the badass that most people want every lead to be.
Luke is an incredible fuckboi and the biggest shitdick of the series.
He's also the best written main Tales lead.
I'd argue that he's actually the best Tales lead, an opinion that can pretty much start a war in Tales discussion. If not, he's close to Yuri who works well as a foil for every other character's growth since he himself never goes through any growth as a character and is just the badass that most people want every lead to be.
I would like Luke more if not for post haircut where he apologizes more than Colette does. It's like 2 extremes, pompous ass to whiny bitch. But I don't hate him like others do, and he's better than Assbel for example.
The main problem with the gameplay is the equipment/skills system. You have no easy way to put the skills you want into items except the first time you find a normin. As such you are at the mercy of the RNG and it becomes tedious to actually make good items. Mystic Artes being less than stellar would not be a problem if you could get your max BG up easily. Too bad you need a 3 stack to get BG +1. Every time you find a piece of new equipment it seems bad compared to what you really have and it goes against the logic of using mystic artes to increase drop rates or to use normin to make battle harder and get better drops.
It's easily the worst skill system in a Tales of games. Even worse than Symphonia where you only get some artes over the others depending on a setting.
Battle system wise they made some of the stuff overly complicated. The fact you need like 40 monoliths to explain how battles work kinda hints there is a problem there.
Luke is an incredible fuckboi and the biggest shitdick of the series.
He's also the best written main Tales lead.
I'd argue that he's actually the best Tales lead, an opinion that can pretty much start a war in Tales discussion. If not, he's close to Yuri who works well as a foil for every other character's growth since he himself never goes through any growth as a character and is just the badass that most people want every lead to be.
Not really unless you want the trophy (I think there's one for that? Or maybe not). Either way her side of the story is generally worse and all she has that Jude doesn't is an infuriating boss fight.
AFAIK, the differences between the two routes are pretty minor. Just a few different scenes. I think there's a trophy for it, but the game doesn't really change much at all.
