I've never enjoyed an RPG as much as this since Final fantasy 7. Its so f'cking fantastic. everything about the game is just about perfect.
The characters were great, each one had their very own different personality and each one adapted so well into the story. Yggdrasill was one of the geatest bad guys in any RPG. Lloyd was a great main character and all the other characters that accompanied you were great, especially Regal, Zolos and Sheena.
The story was the just as good, if not better than the stories of Final fantasy 7 and 10. I can't say that it was as emotional as FF10, but the main story was very very good. There were a lot of great plot twists which made the story great.
Overall, I just loved the game. It is definately the best RPG this generation.
thought it was crap, probably the worst game i've played on my cube (actually that would be Eternal Darkness) Never going to listen to GAF reccomendations again.
It's the only RPG I replayed 3 times. ONLY. It's definately one of the greatest but not THE greatest.
Edit: I didn't play it for the story (ironically enough this probably my most important aspect of an RPG) and there wasn't much character development but the battle system was just so much fun to play with that it brought me back to the game time and time again.
It was good, definitely above average, but not GREAT. I mean, its one of those games that has a lot going for it, but (for me at least) there was just something "off" about it that didn't make it terribly interesting to me.
I enjoyed it, but its definitely not the best of the Tales. The story had too much of a "I've seen this before" feel to it, and the characters generally blew. Mechanically-wise, the series improved a hell of a lot, and I'd like to see the series keep going, but maybe more of a story-line that I'll enjoy. Personally, my favorite is Destiny, which had a very awesome plot, one of the best during the PSX years in my opinion.
There was no love-or-hate situation with the PS1 Tales of games, but seems that GC-exclusive 3rd party games get hyped to hell and back by certain people on this forum, and then you get a backlash, causing that love-or-hate situation.
I weigh in on the "love it" side, though not irrational love, mind you. More than anything else, ToS feels to me like a "classical era" 16-bit RPG updated with cel-shaded visuals and energetic battle system. This is both good and bad though, depending on your perspective. The plot and characters are definitely cut from a mold, and this drags them down somewhat. On the other hand I feel the execution given that admittedly standard and long in the tooth style is really good. Heck, my biggest complaint about the game is the dodgy overworld graphics.
Maybe it seems better because there are so few RPGs for GC. But I do think it's one of the best games for the system.
Eh, when I think of "great" rpgs. I like to think of such titles like Chrono Trigger, FF7, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden 2, etc. This title is over-hyped, I thought it was slightly above Eternia which I thought was pretty average. My favorite tales series game is a toss up between TOP and TOD.
Hated almost everything about it except Zelos. The story starts off as a horrid amalgamation of FFX and Grandia II, then spirals into complete lunacy after
you switch planets.
Plus all of the characters were your typical anime/RPG archetype and stereotype you could think of (Mystical Magical Moron girl, "Let's big adventure!" constantly grinning tool hero, Mysterious Bishounen, etc.) Eternia was much better in terms of characterization (omg they had not one but TWO teh loli characters in the game, but neither of them were morons or flashed their panties at the player? Rock on, Namco!) and gameplay, and I ended up liking it despite the dopey Namco Hometek cuts
And in the future, P_S, please play more RPGs before starting "best RPG EVA" topics
Most of the Japanese rpgs this generation are better than last generations, a lot of people just got on the 'I hate Japanese rpgs and anything Japan' bandwagon between the generation.
and to be on topic
ToS is >>>>>>> SoA. SoA had a cool world and decent story but the battle system was one of the most mundane ever. ToS battle system = best real-time rpg battle system out there.
Most of the Japanese rpgs this generation are better than last generations, a lot of people just got on the 'I hate Japanese rpgs and anything Japan' bandwagon between the generation.
Most of the Japanese RPGs this generation in popular series probably have better iterations this gen. (FF, Breath of Fire, etc)
But as someone who almost exclusively buys and plays obscure (to westerners anyway) Japanese games, I hope you are not lumping me into the same category as the sheep. I firmly believe that Japanese companies have been on shaky ground as of late, with the GBA being the only current system of interest for me.
The only cool RPG I've played this generation has been BoF5 DQ. But it's obviously not everyone's cup of tea, nor do I like it as much as my 32 bit favorites (Grandia, Growlanser, PDS)
SoA had a cool world and decent story but the battle system was one of the most mundane ever. ToS battle system = best real-time rpg battle system out there.
If you want to talk strictly battle system, I sorta disagree with this. I heard lots of great things about ToS's system and was disappointed when I got to play it. It's pretty much the same as the other Tales games but with the whole 3D perspective and Z-axis planes. I can see how it would appeal to beat 'em up action fans. But I personally think the BEU genre is one of the worst genres of gaming. I have always thought of Tales series as "Guardian Heroes light" and ToS is exactly that. Great if you're a BEU fan. Bad if you're not.
In a RPG sense, I feel that Arcadia has the better battle system. I despise the frequent & random battles, but the engine itself has a bit of strategy to them, particularly the boss battles. Do you Defend this turn because you're running low on HP, or do you charge your team SP meter so that your other character can cast a spell knowing very well that you risk dying? Do you attack this turn or wait til the next so that you can do your special? You face questions like this at every turn. The regular battles are extremely mundane, but the potential was there for a thinking man's game as the boss battles exemplify.
I feel that ToS fails on a strategic level because you have computer controlled AI. If ToS was actually semi real-time, I think it would be an awesome game. (It'd more or less be Grandia.) But because it's in total real-time, you can only fully control one person at once. Which means your other party members are doing crap that you really don't want them to do. You do have limited control over them but it's -limited-. Not precise.
So if you want to talk about battle systems, you are looking at strategic vs action oriented gameplay. I'm not against action-based RPG battles per se, but I do have issues with action-based games that have computer controlled allies.
It was pretty good, the battle system is fun, the dungeon designs were nice, and the graphics were pretty good as well. I don't know if I'd call it a great, the characters and storyline was the usual generic anime/RPG fare and there wasn't enough character/item customization.
For me, my feeling on ToS is split into two opposing camps - one who enjoys the battle system, and one who is utterly disgusted with stories in RPGs.
Now, I love RPGs. Honestly, I own more RPGs than probably any other genre, and I used to be the first to sing its praises.
But the more I play RPGs, the more I see the flaws inherent in console RPG storylines - they just aren't that good. Comparative to any other storytelling medium, it's by far the weakest and simply isn't evolving as much as other aspects of the gaming world. I don't understand how this is possible at this point. RPGs thrive on stories, yet their are so few that challenge you and have any real depth that it's amazing.
RPGs, particularly those of consoles, have many staples and they fail to try to deviate from them. There's always the "Collect 7 Elemental Crystals" or "Find the 5 Goddesses" or "Bring together the 9 Ancient Sword Shards" or whatever. Why do developers feel this is a good way of pushing forward the story? Sure, it extends the world, but it does so arbitrarily. It's never natural, and it definitely doesn't make for compelling storytelling. Sure, elements might make up the yin and the yang in your world, providing balance - but must it always become the center of the story experience? Does the world always have to be screwing around with the mana or the energy or the elemental forces, and must it always be you who must save the day and put the world back together because of this?
Tales of Symphonia attempted, at least on some level, to provide a more interesting basis for this force. If you've played the game, then you know that
there are two worlds, and the forces flow in a sort of tug of war fashion. When one world flourishes, the other world declines.
Now, at first this is a decent way of taking this from a new light, yet in the end it still devolves into a "Go to Dungeon X, Fight Boss, Achieve element/summon force!"
And that's not even speaking of the general lack of crucial character development. Most RPG characters these days can so easily be mapped out that you can practically describe every feature of someones personality with a bulletpoint presentation and you'd be entirely accurate. Where is the depth of development that books bring to us? Where is the nuanced performances (now that we have voice acting) that films bring us? They simply don't exist in the RPG world, and it's depressing. In a medium that can so easily be used to bring storytelling to the next level, it just isn't.
And the funny thing is, the game with the best story isn't even the game with the most complex story. The game I'm speaking about? ICO. ICO is a game with a very simplistic story. You are cursed with horns, and you must escape the castle. But along the way you find an ephemeral princess who you cannot understand, yet feel an undeniable connection with. ICO sells its story not with long winded dialogue and hilariously cliche character development, but with artistic images and small details. It's told in the way ICO and the princess hold hands, in the way she lays her head on his shoulder when you save. It's told in the way she whimsically plays with birds as you leave her to her own designs. It's storytelling, and it's compelling because it allows the images to speak for it.
Now, I'm not saying you can't have an RPG that works the way normal RPGs work, but they seriously need to rethink the way they approach stories. I like RPGs, but I don't know how much more I could go on playing them unless they begin to challenge me mentally.
Anyway, ToS has a great battle system that is really enjoyable.
Most stories in video games are laughable at best, RPG's included. Blending them into the quiet presentation, for example ICO, is more repsectable; creating surreal and cool experiences like FF7 and FF3(America) were also respectable. Sadly though, the stories themselves aren't the most impressive regardless of their image.
What RPG's need story-wise is wit blended with reality and purpose beyond superficial physical presentation. And such stories are rarities in games, and even quite rare in literature.
Most people aren't like me though...
I loved Secret of Evermore and Earthbound.
Hopefully, my newly purchased ToS will impress me, but I'm doubtful.
Eh, I don't think the battle systems all that great. It got very repetitive. As for the AI characters they can just about work fine in normal battles but they totally fall to pieces in boss battles unless you want to be dipping into the menu every 20 secs to readjust their strategies because they can't adapt very well to changes in the situation ie. low health or status effects in which case it kinda defeats the purpose of being realtime.
The story was horribly generic, as were the characters. And the whole way progression was handled was horrible. There were too many instances of having to go to one place, talk to people there, get redirected to another place, go there, get redirected to another place, go there, find it locked, head back to the last place, find out you need the key but the guy who has it is in yet another place, so head there. All the while the only battles that you are getting into are overworld ones, which you very quickly levelled above, and have very few enemy variants to keep things interesting.
That's not to say it's alright but to say it's great or even the greatest, well you either have to be delusional or very rpg starved.
Eh, I don't think the battle systems all that great. It got very repetitive. As for the AI characters they can just about work fine in normal battles but they totally fall to pieces in boss battles unless you want to be dipping into the menu every 20 secs to readjust their strategies because they can't adapt very well to changes in the situation ie. low health or status effects in which case it kinda defeats the purpose of being realtime.
Honestly, all the people who say that ToS has an excellent battle system, I'd love to hear why. Preferably something more than "it's fun", because that will only degrade into assumptions that you're just a casual button masher gamer.
While lacking some fundamental depth, the battle system had two things going for it. First, it was extremely fast paced. Most RPGs feature slow, tedious archaic battle systems. This was a welcome change. Secondly, while the AI was relatively poor, there was a wide range of moves and such to pull off. And if you were any good, you could make some decent use of the systems admittedly low level 2D fighting system. It was pretty cool.
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