The "Tales of" Series

[SSBMLahti]

Long post as well haha.

Long post coming up.

I'm ranking Xillia pretty high up at the moment due to several things. First obvious thing is probably graphics/presentation. Graphics are the best out of the series. It looks especially better in person since you'll be looking at the TV from a reasonable distance. Character models are really good unless it's some unimportant NPC. The cities look absolutely amazing in Xillia. The weakest part graphically are the field areas by far though. Character designs are pretty good in this game as well. Alvin and Leia are my favorite in Xillia.

The graphics do looks amazing. They have a nice stylized, yet realistic anime approach to them. Definitely the best in the series by far. The first time I seen Alvin's design he was my favourite character, then I saw his weapon and it was finite lol. He seems so badass, especially from watching gameplay/cutscene videos. He seems up their with Jade and Hubert.

Cutscene presentation is great. I'd say it's on the same quality level of Square games in terms of directing. Best anime cutscenes in the series as well since it's done by ufotable. It's basically movie quality.

I love the anime cutscenes in the Tales series. Graces is lacking in the amount and quality of them. Good to hear that Xillia's are a step up. Is there a good amount of them in game?

Battle system is the best from Team Symphonia and I feel they fixed a lot of things that irked me in older games. You build TP much faster in this game, AC is like your CC so you're able to do longer combos (there's no min/max AC, and the recharge on AC is instant unlike ToG), free run is good depending on your character (it's not broken but it's not weak either), and battles are really fast in this game. Downsides are not too many Mystic Artes and the side characters are a bit weaker that the main two, imo. Linking is good, but from what I hear, Overlimit disables multiplayer which is rather dumb. Also, the Sphere Grid-esque system the game has is a plus from me. It isn't linear either so you can choose what you want first.

I'm not sure how I feel about having AC for basic attacks and TP for artes, it seems like your basic CC system would be better, but you can't always have the same system for every game or else it would get bland.

As long as Free Run isn't broken, I'm happy haha. I disliked Abyss because Free Run was somewhat broken, and by the looks of it Free Run in Vesperia is somewhat broken as well. Graces Free Run was useless to me.

I heard when going into Overlimit AI takes over control if you're not first person? I'm guessing that happens because both characters are linked together and it would be hard for 2 people to control that?

I'm not too sure how the levelling system works, I'll have to read up on that.

Last is the story. Pretty good variety on where your party travels. The story is one of the better ones out of the series. People say your other party members feel tacked on to the story but I disagree. Paired with the presentation of the game, it's done well. Xillia has some pretty awesome events which I felt Graces lacked. Graces didn't have any awesome moments like Xillia or past Tales had.

From what I've gathered the story seems pretty badass. Having Summon Spirits in any Tales game makes it epic.

Graces is somewhat lackluster to me. The only thing keeping me going is the awesome battle system and getting/mastering all the titles

Pretty much it feels like the Tales series moved on to current gen quality. The story may be shorter than Abyss and Vesperia (but not by much) because of it being rushed, but it's kind of a good thing. It doesn't have that filler 3rd part that those games had where it feels like it's dragging on for now reason. The game isn't perfect, but it's really good for a game that had to meet a deadline. The main thing I fear about future Tales games are lack of in-game costumes because of DLC.

Unlockable costumes are one of the reasons I love the series. It would really be a deterrent if they just started making most, if not all costumes DLC

I actually didn't mean it'll be on PS3, I'm only hoping it is, haha. Tales have done best on Sony consoles in Japan, so I'm hoping they stick with it. But you never know, the next mothership could be for Vita or 3DS or maybe even Wii U if Bandai Namco is daring.

My hypothesis is that it will be on the PS3 as well. I don't see them making another handheld as they have come out with quite a few handheld Tales games over the past 2 years.

The WiiU's graphic capabilities look amazing judging from the Twilight Princess showcase.

It would be a bold move, but releasing a good JPRG (and a Tales one at that) shortly or right at the release of the WiiU could also be a game changing move, as everyone is irking for good RPG's, especially on a Nintendo console. If they advertise right and make a good game, sales would be pretty good.

 

[Minato]

I love the anime cutscenes in the Tales series. Graces is lacking in the amount and quality of them. Good to hear that Xillia's are a step up. Is there a good amount of them in game?

Yeah, there's quite a good amount. I'm on the very beginning of the last chapter of the story, and I've hit about 5 or 6. None of them were too short and some cutscenes were actually really long.
I'm not sure if Milla's side has some different cutscenes though so there could be even more.

I'm not sure how I feel about having AC for basic attacks and TP for artes, it seems like your basic CC system would be better, but you can't always have the same system for every game or else it would get bland.

AC is actually used for both attacks and artes. The TP is just there to restrict and balance the game. I haven't had too much of an issue of running low unless I'm on a boss fight which is good. Regular battles the AI still uses gels for me, but you find so many along the way so it's all good.

As long as Free Run isn't broken, I'm happy haha. I disliked Abyss because Free Run was somewhat broken, and by the looks of it Free Run in Vesperia is somewhat broken as well. Graces Free Run was useless to me.

Well, Jude's is actually ridiculously good. But it's not broken in the sense where you can run around all day to avoid attacks since the enemy will always get you unlike Abyss. I used to think it was too good but I've never had it give me an overwhelming advantage or anything like that. I've been playing on hard mode and after a decent amount of grinding, hard mode is pretty balanced. Not too easy, but not hard where your party members are useless. I just wish you could unlock difficulties on your first playthrough and even get bonuses like Graces did.

Graces is somewhat lackluster to me. The only thing keeping me going is the awesome battle system and getting/mastering all the titles

Yeah, as much as I like Graces, it's mostly the battles that makes it fun.

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with Xillia. I was afraid it was going to be the Final Fantasy XIII of the series, but I'm glad I'm wrong.
The game pretty much set a new bar for me on Tales games, so I'm hoping the Destiny team will follow up with something good.

 

[ryuu seika]

On comparing graphics to Square, two points:
1) Why does everything have to be compared to Square?
2) Does this mean all the characters have that creepy semi-real look recent FF CGI has cause that would be a major downside to any game in my view?

On overlimit removing players:
Yes, it would be difficult to control linked players but just imagine the sense of teamwork that would come with pulling it off. Getting this right should have been a priority in game development if you ask me.

 

[Minato]

On comparing graphics to Square, two points:
1) Why does everything have to be compared to Square?
2) Does this mean all the characters have that creepy semi-real look recent FF CGI has cause that would be a major downside to any game in my view?

This is exactly why I hate some Tales fans. They get hostile at the mention of any other series (and this time I even mentioned that I felt one of their games was bad and that Xillia was better). I already said this earlier in the thread, I'm not going to tip toe around this just to make you feel better. In some ways I get annoyed when everything has to be compared with Symphonia, even if I like the game. But I deal with it.

And I never did compare it with graphics at all, I said directing.

As for the overlimit thing, I actually read that it disables multiplayer when you're linked, so you don't even have to be in OL.
If so, that's pretty unfortunate. Especially since you have to link to build OL gauge.

 

[ryuu seika]

I don't mind comparing Tales to other things, I mind comparing Tales to FF crap. There is no other comparison I would object to but whatever, just one more place I'm not welcome I guess.
See you people.

 

[Lythium]

Yes, heaven forbid we compare JRPGs to other JRPGs. My gosh, what were we all thinking?

On-topic: I would very much like to play Xillia, here's hoping that it gets a release in North America. I can't read moonrunes, but it looks so good!

 

[Turazrok]

Yes, heaven forbid we compare JRPGs to other JRPGs. My gosh, what were we all thinking?

On-topic: I would very much like to play Xillia, here's hoping that it gets a release in North America. I can't read moonrunes, but it looks so good!

I hope its not ps3 exclusive

 

[Lythium]

I hope its not ps3 exclusive

I'd settle for hoping that it's not console-exclusive, in general. :3

 

[SSBMLahti]

I hope its not ps3 exclusive

I doubt they shall be releasing a single game on multiple consoles, especially outside of Japan. Also, PS3 is their best option marketing wise.

I'd settle for hoping that it's not console-exclusive, in general. :3

I doubt they'll make a game both handheld and console based. I don't want them to make another handheld...I haven't purchased a new handheld in years

 

[Lythium]

My bad, I wasn't very clear. I just meant that I hoped that it wouldn't be exclusive to a specific console. So, not just on PS3 or 360, but both. Hopefully.

I doubt that it will happen, but I can dream. I still haven't played Vesperia because my 360 refuses to run it. :<

 

[Minato]

Seems like the part where I last left off in Xillia is where it gets rushed. I also read in detail on some of the stuff that was cut from the game.
Oh well, it's a shame. Guess I'll find out once I play more over the weekend. While I won't say it's my absolute favorite Tales due to missing elements, I enjoyed what I played at least. Maybe there will be a directors cut.

Also http://next.tales-ch.jp/

18 more days until Tales Festival. Hopefully a magazine leaks the game early.

 

[Turazrok]

ZZ I guess I can invest in a ps3 but I'll be eating like **** for the first semester ZZZZ

 

[SSBMLahti]

ZZ I guess I can invest in a ps3 but I'll be eating like **** for the first semester ZZZZ

Get a PS3 AND Graces.

Hubert Fanboy Post:
__________________________________________________________________________

So for the past two days I've been playing as Hubert (I've played as Asbel from the beginning of the Child Arc all the way until the end of the Future arc), and wow is he overpowered.

I'm playing on Chaos and it's rare that I get under 90 hits per combo with him Solo. His A-Artes and B-Artes combo and link so well, and his Accel Mode is so useful, especially for building large combos.

Coupled with being able to perform Mystic Artes by doing a 25, 50, or 100 hit combo WITHOUT even going into an Eleth Burst is amazing.

It's seriously easy to get a 200+ hit combo with Hubert when you have a high CC and combo into his Accel Mode when timed with an Eleth Burst.

Blah Blah Blah Hubert is an overpowered badass. I'm going to try out Cheria soon as I hear she is the best character.

___________________________________________________________________________

Also, in my opinion the experience you receive in Graces exceed what should be given. I'm almost level 150 on my first playthrough, and that's without buying any of the experience multipliers.

 

[Minato]

I used Asbel for a large majority of the game before I started branching out. It wasn't until F Arc when I really tried sticking with just other characters. Hubert's so fun to use, and 4 Huberts with Accel is just insane (thank goodness though since that made getting combo titles easier). I had fun using Pascal, but only towards the end since she's terribly difficult to use with her early artes.

As for exp, I'm only at level 98 or so. I turned down the difficulty to moderate and hard just so I can have an easier time getting A and B artes titles, so I"m getting less experience.

 

[SSBMLahti]

I used Asbel for a large majority of the game before I started branching out. It wasn't until F Arc when I really tried sticking with just other characters. Hubert's so fun to use, and 4 Huberts with Accel is just insane (thank goodness though since that made getting combo titles easier). I had fun using Pascal, but only towards the end since she's terribly difficult to use with her early artes.

As for exp, I'm only at level 98 or so. I turned down the difficulty to moderate and hard just so I can have an easier time getting A and B artes titles, so I"m getting less experience.

I haven't used Pascal much at all, except for the Master Class arena where you have to change characters every 5th floor.

Even playing on Normal difficulty in the Zhonecage you can get over 90k experience per battle on the higher floors haha. I'm trying to get the Fluffi Muffler from Floor 8 of the Zhonecage, but it's just not happening....

Oh, so if you have a character equipped with a Hubert Narikiri Doll but use his artes and Accel mode to get 100+ hits that character will still get the combo titles?

 

[Minato]

Pascal's tough to use since her A artes are long range while B artes are short. So I basically couldn't use her effectively until she got better B artes and until I dualized high evasion accessories. Before that, all I could do effectively was use A artes or switch to her for her level 3 Mystic Arte.

And oh right, Zhonecage. I'm going to do that right after finishing everything I wanted in the F arc. And yeah, any character can get their combo title even if they're using a doll (Pascal wearing a Hubert doll, etc). It makes things a lot easier since the game wants you to kill the enemy with that character with a high combo at least 3 times or so.

 

[SSBMLahti]

Pascal's tough to use since her A artes are long range while B artes are short. So I basically couldn't use her effectively until she got better B artes and until I dualized high evasion accessories. Before that, all I could do effectively was use A artes or switch to her for her level 3 Mystic Arte.

And oh right, Zhonecage. I'm going to do that right after finishing everything I wanted in the F arc.

I remember doing the F Arc, it was alright, but it did seem somewhat rushed. It was also fairly short. Enemies are annoying as **** on higher difficulties though, I couldn't do it on Chaos my first time due to the fact that the enemies would KO my characters in one hit or combo **** me.

And yeah, any character can get their combo title even if they're using a doll (Pascal wearing a Hubert doll, etc). It makes things a lot easier since the game wants you to kill the enemy with that character with a high combo at least 3 times or so.

But yeah, I'm almost finished the Collector's Book- all I need is Fluffi Muffler and Hubert and Malik's Sphere's/Ultimate weapon's, along with a select few miscellaneous items

Also, I just figured out that you can get the best weapons and armour at the beginning of a New Game+ by just setting the 6 sphere's and 3 items to your Eleth Mixer (along with the book that doubles the amount of items generated from the mixer). Then just dualize those with the beginner equipment and you're good to go (I'm sure you already knew this, but it'll be helpful to others).

 

[Minato]

I've beaten F Arc, I just didn't save since I wanted to get most of Richard's titles first.
Plus I want to use Blue Earth on the boss. I didn't even know about it before.

I actually didn't know about getting the best equipment thing you mentioned since I didn't know about the spheres.
Something I'll have to remember after Zhonecage and new game+.

 

[SSBMLahti]

I've beaten F Arc, I just didn't save since I wanted to get most of Richard's titles first.
Plus I want to use Blue Earth on the boss. I didn't even know about it before.

I actually didn't know about getting the best equipment thing you mentioned since I didn't know about the spheres.
Something I'll have to remember after Zhonecage and new game+.

Oooh I see. But it becomes really useful because you'll basically be spending the whole dualizing the best items throughout the entire game right from the beginning, which saves a lot of time and effort.

 

[Ryu Shimazu]

So, getting to the end of my first TotA run. I plan to "100%" it. (Max level/gear, 2+ runs). I can't say I'll complete the Item Catalog/Npc Catalog/Titles(lolCooking), but I'll make my file amazing none the less.

I like this so much more than Symphonia, XD.

 

[Minato]

I finished Xillia today. I still don't know where to rank this game lol. It was a lot of fun, despite its faults.
Biggest weaknesses were its battle system and also end game content. The game had a lot of sidequests/events though.

Yeah the game was rushed, but it was pretty good for a rushed game. It's not my top Tales game but it was a good entry.

 

[Turazrok]

How proficient do I have to be in whatever language its in to enjoy its story also which language so I can get cracking on that ****.

 

[ryuu seika]

Japanese and apparrently, without furigana (which 12+ games like this lack), it takes a fair amount of knowledge indeed.

 

[SSBMLahti]

So, getting to the end of my first TotA run. I plan to "100%" it. (Max level/gear, 2+ runs). I can't say I'll complete the Item Catalog/Npc Catalog/Titles(lolCooking), but I'll make my file amazing none the less.

I like this so much more than Symphonia, XD.

Then it's not really 100%'ing the game if you don't complete everything. Max level and best gear is like 15%'ing lol...most of the best gear is from Din's Trade Shop and one hat is from the Keterburg Casino so you might as well 100% the game anyways, it's kinda fun.

Cooking took the longest, then the item book 'cause of that damn Casino/getting everything from Din's Trade shop.

 

[Minato]

How proficient do I have to be in whatever language its in to enjoy its story also which language so I can get cracking on that ****.

Yeah, pretty much what ryuu seika said. Tales is the easiest jRPG to "just get by", but the game does have a lot of text.
There isn't much furigana either, but the kanji that don't have them are common ones anyway.

From your previous posts though, your first priority is probably buying consoles that even have Tales games. XD

 

[Turazrok]

I got that graduation money tho

 

[SSBMLahti]

I got that graduation money tho

Buy Tales of Destiny and "Tales of Destiny II"

It'll cost like $300 altogether, but it'll be so worth it. You'll also need a PS1 or PS2 but I'm sure you have one of the two.

 

[ryuu seika]

PS2 will set you back maybe $50 if you don't, they're kinda cheap as consoles go.
The hardest bit would be finding the PS1 memory card required.

 

[Lythium]

Not hard to find second-hand though, and they're dirt-cheap.

 

[John2k4]

I've got a few PSOne memcards. =P

 

[Minato]

Buy Tales of Destiny and "Tales of Destiny II"

It'll cost like $300 altogether, but it'll be so worth it. You'll also need a PS1 or PS2 but I'm sure you have one of the two.

I'm so lucky I didn't have to pay crazy high prices for my copies. They cost so much now.

And I almost have to play my PS1 games on my PS3. My PS2 sometimes wants to destroy my PS1 games.

 

[Minato]

Double post, but it should be fine. New Tales game was revealed, you can find info on abyssalchronicles.com.
Just like people thought, it's Xillia 2. I'm not too thrilled with this to be honest and rather disappointed. lol

I did enjoy Xillia when I played it, but thinking over it now after beating it, there were a lot of flaws in the game.
Hopefully we don't get DotNW'ed this time. It's a possibility though since Xillia 2 is being released this year.

 

[Lythium]

But on the flipside, do you think there's a better chance that Xillia will be localized for English-speaking audiences now?

 

[Minato]

I think so. After the Xillia 2 announcement, there was a tweet on TalesofU possibly hinting localization for Xillia.
Hopefully that's the case since I do want to see the game make it out (regardless of me flip flopping on liking/disliking Xillia throughout the months)

 

[Ryu Shimazu]

So I'm 70% into ToTa; First playthrough. My question is; to get 200/gear/allstuff complete I know I have to do a second playthrough, but wheres the best place to grind on said playthrough to 200?

 

[SSBMLahti]

So I'm 70% into ToTa; First playthrough. My question is; to get 200/gear/allstuff complete I know I have to do a second playthrough, but wheres the best place to grind on said playthrough to 200?

Assuming you'd be buying the 10x EXP multiplier in the Grade Shop, grinding isn't necessary. My characters reach level 200 before reaching the final dungeon. If not, the final dungeon is actually a decent place to grind.

On a side note: I'm disappointed that Namco is releasing a new Tales game, and so soon. Xillia barely came out a year ago, and they're almost done a second game? They shouldn't be rushing them at the extent that they are. Xillia 2's graphics appear to be downgraded from the first, etc. etc.

I wish Namco would take at least 2-3 years to really think through the plot, characters, battle system, graphics etc. and release a mind blowing Tales game that the series needs.

I hope Xillia isn't going to become localized to be honest, for one reason: Even the producer said the game was rushed and unfinished, and if you localize an unfinished, rushed game- that's just bull****.

Xillia 2? Hope we don't get DotNW'ed.

We don't need a new game every year Namco!

 

[Minato]

On a side note: I'm disappointed that Namco is releasing a new Tales game, and so soon. Xillia barely came out a year ago, and they're almost done a second game? They shouldn't be rushing them at the extent that they are. Xillia 2's graphics appear to be downgraded from the first, etc. etc.

I wish Namco would take at least 2-3 years to really think through the plot, characters, battle system, graphics etc. and release a mind blowing Tales game that the series needs.

I hope Xillia isn't going to become localized to be honest, for one reason: Even the producer said the game was rushed and unfinished, and if you localize an unfinished, rushed game- that's just bull****.

Xillia 2? Hope we don't get DotNW'ed.

We don't need a new game every year Namco!

I agree. I'm not hyped about Xillia now after beating it so it feels weaker compared to other Tales. Judging from interviews on saying what was left out, I gave them the benefit of the doubt when I was playing it. I didn't realize how rushed the last chapter of the game was until I finally got there. For example (small small spoilers)

Spoiler

there's no real last dungeon.

There are strong hints about some new Tales news outside of Japan. I can't think of any other games they could localize that's recent besides Xillia, Vesperia PS3, and Innocence R (the latter two I doubt they'll localize).

For Xillia 2's graphics, I was hoping I wasn't the only one that thought it looked downgraded. I hope the game is decent. I'm just worried that they're only making this sequel because of Xillia's high sales. And that's scary depending on when they greenlighted it since Xillia isn't even a year old. Only thing I'm really liking about Xillia 2 is the main character.

After the news of Tales Studio being completely dissolved into Bandai Namco months ago, I hope the Destiny and Symphonia teams aren't busy with non-Tales projects at the moment. I'm looking forward to another Graces or Vesperia quality game.

 

[Turazrok]

I think so. After the Xillia 2 announcement, there was a tweet on TalesofU possibly hinting localization for Xillia.
Hopefully that's the case since I do want to see the game make it out (regardless of me flip flopping on liking/disliking Xillia throughout the months)

This is good news.

 

[Ryu Shimazu]

Assuming you'd be buying the 10x EXP multiplier in the Grade Shop, grinding isn't necessary. My characters reach level 200 before reaching the final dungeon. If not, the final dungeon is actually a decent place to grind.

On a side note: I'm disappointed that Namco is releasing a new Tales game, and so soon. Xillia barely came out a year ago, and they're almost done a second game? They shouldn't be rushing them at the extent that they are. Xillia 2's graphics appear to be downgraded from the first, etc. etc.

I wish Namco would take at least 2-3 years to really think through the plot, characters, battle system, graphics etc. and release a mind blowing Tales game that the series needs.

I hope Xillia isn't going to become localized to be honest, for one reason: Even the producer said the game was rushed and unfinished, and if you localize an unfinished, rushed game- that's just bull****.

Xillia 2? Hope we don't get DotNW'ed.

We don't need a new game every year Namco!

Ah. New question, is there a checklist in the game for what skits I've gotten? >.>

 

[SSBMLahti]

Ah. New question, is there a checklist in the game for what skits I've gotten? >.>

It's honestly been so long, I can't remember

I do remember being able to view the AMOUNT of skits you've viewed, but not the specific one's.

I also recall that there is a guy located in Keterburg near the rear entrance (to Mt. Roneal I believe?) who allows you to view skits or something.