The "Tales of" Series

[Minato]

Jiao was tough, first fight to give me a lot of trouble.

Turns out I just needed to upgrade my weapons/armor, because it went better once I did that, but still close. It would have been much easier if he didn't summon more monsters, but it was still more fun than the last two bosses I fought in Graces. :/

I think I was seeing a blue exclamation mark or something, is that supposed to show when the boss decides to drop out of your combos?


I wonder if it would have been easier if Elize had Negative gate, I was one level up away from it.
This level up system would have been so much better if it showed the whole web from the start. Oh well, it's pretty harmless, and at least it isn't a grindy system.

Yeah, blue exclamation mark just means that they break out of your combo.

I liked the level up system at first, but then I realized it didn't offer that much freedom. You pretty much have to wrap around a decent amount before the web opens up anyways. After a certain point, I just do auto-level to make it easier.

 

[Rutger]

Good to know.
Though it hasn't been so bad. I was afraid bosses would be falling out and attacking the second they land, but it hasn't been like that yet.

I also now have the artes sphere, being able to use sixteen artes sounds cool, just in time too because some of my characters are starting to get more than eight artes.

 

[Rutger]

I finished Tales of Xillia yesterday.

Easily my favorite game in the series, even if it is very rough around the edges.

Honestly, while it may not be as polished I had more fun with this battle system than Graces, and at least the weakness system is far better than what they had in Graces. Linking was a wonderful idea and I hope they improve on it in future games. All the characters were fun to play too, I ended up playing everyone often, though Jude and Rowen were easily the best to play against bosses.

I also ended up enjoying most of the boss fights, I know I'm in the minority on that, but I had more fun than those in other Tales games. Much less super armor than Abyss and your allies being much better at keeping themselves alive made things more enjoyable. Linking also helped, giving a little bit of control over one ally.

Bosses dropping out of combos is very silly though, if they had to do that they could have at least made it less frequent.
But it didn't bother me too much, most bosses were against more than one so long combos would get interrupted anyways. Makes it kind of look pointless when I think of it that way. :/

I'm so glad I ate that +40% defense food before the final boss, I can't imagine how painful it would have been to have to restart that. Hard mode wasn't too bad overall though.

The story was fun and I liked the characters. I'm looking forward to ToX2.

There's not much left for me to do, just the Colosseum and powering up the fell arms, and maybe Milla's path.

 

[Lythium]

I just want to say that I take it all back, Tales of Graces is a good game.

 

[ryuu seika]

It is?
Can't say I see it myself.

 

[Lythium]

Surprisingly good chars, excellent combat, a not-bad-for-Tales story.

If you can get over all the "Richard is my fwiennnd" shizz, it's pretty decent.

 

[Minato]

I just want to say that I take it all back, Tales of Graces is a good game.

Considering story is usually the absolute worst part in a Tales, the rest of the stuff in Graces is really good minus the characters.

Makes me sad that they're going to mostly stick with the Symphonia-like style.

Graces characters were great in skits though, that's for sure.

 

[Rutger]

I can't stand Graces weakness system, it will be the hardest thing for me to get over if I ever pick it up again.
Ally AI too, they like to die the second I look away.

The story sucks, but at least the skits can be good, so at least there is something to look forward to when progressing the story.

 

[Minato]

I can't stand Graces weakness system, it will be the hardest thing for me to get over if I ever pick it up again.
Ally AI too, they like to die the second I look away.

The story sucks, but at least the skits can be good, so at least there is something to look forward to when progressing the story.

Oh, weaknesses went back to the other way Tales does it like Graces and Hearts.

Graces had multiple weaknesses on enemies, with each attribute being struck raises the damage multiplier bonus onwards in the combo, makes them stunned more iirc, and increases CC. Xillia 2 does the same, so it's recommended to cycle through weaknesses so you can do more damage and combo bosses. Enemies have weapon weaknesses which is why Ludger is great by being able to weapon switch.

You don't have to abuse it though and it'll still feel like Xillia if you don't cycle and strike multiple weak points in a combo.

 

[Rutger]

My main problem with Graces' weakness system is just how many weaknesses there are. I don't play the game often so I'm always opening up the menu to see what 2-4 different weaknesses each attack has. It ends up slowing everything down for me since I want to take advantage of it, especially if I want to play multiple characters.

It doesn't help that there's a whole bunch of nonsense attack types like reptile making things more complicated. Honestly, if they cut it down to just the basic elements and maybe weapon types, as well as how many types an attack could have, I probably would have been fine with it. Hell, I actually do like the idea of enemies having multiple weaknesses and getting bonuses for hitting them all, I just think Graces went overboard with it.


So ToX2 takes after Graces, how does it compare when it comes to the amount of attack types?

 

[Minato]

There's 9 attributes. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Dark, Sword, Hammer/Staff, Gun.

So it's a lot better than Graces which was probably 20 or so. I didn't put too much effort into learning attributes since I've only beaten Graces once. I only abuse attributes when I see weakness appear screen though, and just keep a mental note for that area. So luckily I wasn't bothered by it.

Edit: Well, obviously I looked up which one of my artes had nova since that's useful lol

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I miss 8 element system fro symphonia.

Poor Celsius and Volt.

 

[Strider]

I got Graces a couple of weeks ago and personally I loved the heck out of it. I thought the characters were great and especially the chemistry in which they got along in skits and what not, they actually had me smiling and laughing a lot. Not to mention the combat system is really fun once you get use to it. I wouldn't want it in every Tales game but I would like to see it pop up every once in a while. Also I love the idea of the future arc and wish that every single Tales game had one. It really makes everything feel more complete. I know a lot of people don't seem to like it but I can't seem to really understand why, I think it is a fantastic game overall.

As soon as I beat the future arc in Graces I got Xillia and have also been enjoying it quite a bit. I started off with Jude's story line as I hear his is better but I plan to play through it again from Milla's perspective. I think at this point I am about halfway through and this Tales game probably has my favorite combat system so far. Most of the time I play as Alvin or Jude but occasionally I will play Milla too. I can't really get into the fighting style of anybody else though I do like them as characters. I'm not sure if I prefer this or Graces more, I suppose I will have to beat this one first to truly decide.

I'm not sure what to do after I beat Xillia though. I REALLY want to play Vesperia but I don't have a 360 and I can't read Japanese for the PS3 version. I know there was a patch going on to translate but I think it paused and hasn't moved in a while. It's the top game on my list that I haven't played and want to. I hear really good things about it. I also might try to play Abyss as I have had it for a while but haven't really been able to get into it as much. I have already beaten Symphonia more times than I would like to think about...

 

[Seraphim.]

I liked Graces as well, my only issue was the battle system for some reason I just didn't like it....I'm going to get Xillia soon though and I hear it's pretty good so I can't wait

I want to play Vesperia but no 360.....Thinking I should just import the PS3 version at least I'll get Flynn and Patty.

 

[SmashBro99]

So I've played Symphonia, Vesperia, Abyss and loved them all, Symphonia is probably my favorite game of all time. How is Xillia? I saw it's getting a sequel but I've never really looked into the first one, probably going to buy it but I wanted some feedback from you guys, gameplay, story, how is everything?

 

[GreenKirby]

New Tales game announced: Tales of Zerstiria

 

[Sangoku]

Wow European release already planned! (Although we're still waiting for Xillia 2's release date).

It's a bit strange to wait for 2 new Tales of games (barely announced) for an end-life console like the PS3.

 

[XTheElegantShadowX]

I finished Xillia alongside my brother a while ago (We did Jude's story first, and we're planning on doing Millia sometime later), and it was actually quite fun. So much so that it may actually be my favorite Tales game, so far (or at the very least, it's tied with Phantasia for my favorite.)

One thing that I really liked about the game were the characters, they just felt so much more... alive than in previous Tales games we've played, and they were all likable, unlike the cast of a certain Tales game (I'm looking at you, Abyss. >.>). Oh, and I also liked how they gave each character a different mechanic that didn't amount to, "Oh, I'm a close-range fighter." and "Oh, I'm a long-ranged mage."

Xillia's story was also quite good, IMO. I can't say that it hasn't been done before, but it was still quite a thrill to see how everything played out.

Oh my, talking about Xillia just makes me want Xillia 2 to get here all the more sooner. >.<

 

[TimeSmash]

I just loved Tales Of Symphonia. It was one of the few RPGs on the Gamecube, and the cel-shaded graphics were perfect for that game. I remember there was a point in time where I has a memory card that had so many saves on it of the conversations the characters had, particularly a scene in Flanoir. I've played Phantasia on a ROM and GBA, and have Abyss for 3DS. But Symphonia is the one I've actually beaten.

I haven't played Xillia, but I can say I liked all the characters of Symphonia. I think it's because they weren't perfect or something like that. You can tell they were trying hard, but they made mistakes like anyone else.

 

[Rutger]

I've started playing Graces again the other day, the combat is really fun now that I'm ignoring weaknesses. Just got Hell difficulty and Hubert, he looks fun.

I've also heard that the combat designer from Graces will be working on the new game, so that's something to look forward to.
I would like to see Graces with Air combos. Jump button please? :3

 

[Minato]

I've started playing Graces again the other day, the combat is really fun now that I'm ignoring weaknesses. Just got Hell difficulty and Hubert, he looks fun.

I've also heard that the combat designer from Graces will be working on the new game, so that's something to look forward to.
I would like to see Graces with Air combos. Jump button please? :3

I'd just abuse elemental and nova weaknesses. Anything else I'll just ignore.

And that's good. The Graces/Destiny side has always been much more experimental, making it feel fresh.
And yeah, Graces not having straight up air combos was one of the downsides for me.

 

[Rutger]

I'd just abuse elemental and nova weaknesses. Anything else I'll just ignore.

And that's good. The Graces/Destiny side has always been much more experimental, making it feel fresh.
And yeah, Graces not having straight up air combos was one of the downsides for me.

Oh right, I forgot nova existed. That one annoys me the most because of how imbalanced its distribution is. I only have one nova attack for Pascal that needs a lot of CCs while Asbel has several that are easy to get to. :/

Anyways, I'm looking forward to where Zestiria's combat is taken. Hopefully it will not be a long wait for more videos.

 

[Lythium]

Pascal was the only one I ever used, haha. And my bf used Asbel.

It was really annoying for that one battle where you have to play as Sophie, haha.

 

[Minato]

Direct footage of the trailer

So not only is the Graces battle designer involved in this game like Rutger said, but we also have Go Shiina helping on the music.

 

[Rutger]

Ufotable too? Good anime cutscenes confirmed.
Those fields look like a massive improvement over Xillia's. Not that that's hard, but damn.

I'm not familiar with Go Shiina's work, but a quick youtube search and I'm finding some great tracks.

This game has some potential.

 

[Minato]

Yeah, he doesn't do too much Tales, but a lot of his works are pretty good. I like these of his
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2bjvVfPuHc Arrangement of a Sakuraba song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdRInw6nBhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33seNhsIuLc

Sakuraba I usually like outside of Tales, while Tales there are just some select songs in each game that really stand out for me.

Another one I liked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX7sX2v2wKE

 

[shadrach kabango]

I played Phantasia first, and I think that ruined me. I hear it's by far the best in the series, and it's one of my favorite games of all-time. While I thoroughly enjoyed Symphonia (the story especially -- Yggdrasil -- has a lot of cool mythological/religious overtones), it felt much more childish than the mature Phantasia.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

I think these games are wonderful and my favorite general RPG series. My favorite is Vesperia, but my favorite character is Alvin from Xillia. :D

Graces f has the best opening theme.

 

[LivewiresXe]

So, I got the LE of Tales of Xillia on Boxing Day for $14.99, and it's my first Tales game. I was just wondering, before I get started, any advice on any key differences I should expect compared to other RPG series?

 

[Gamegenie222]

So I finally bit the bullet and bought me a copy of Tales Of Symphonia for $ 35 at my local video game store cause my luck with this game for prices is crazy and I have a few questions cause I've been trying to get into more JRPG's as of lately.

1. What is the pro's and Con's of this game and how long is the game overall?

2. How is this game for entering the series if you a new cat like myself?

3. How does this game stack up to other JRPG's and what does it offer that others dont have in the genre?

 

[shadrach kabango]

So I finally bit the bullet and bought me a copy of Tales Of Symphonia for $ 35 at my local video game store cause my luck with this game for prices is crazy and I have a few questions cause I've been trying to get into more JRPG's as of lately.

1. What is the pro's and Con's of this game and how long is the game overall?

2. How is this game for entering the series if you a new cat like myself?

3. How does this game stack up to other JRPG's and what does it offer that others dont have in the genre?

Been many years sine I played it. Going off memory:

1. Not the most awe-inspiring, motivational story, but it's pretty good nonetheless. Wasn't it pretty religious? Yggdrasil has some deep symbolism. Good battle system. Felt too easy, though. Characters themselves weren't too interesting.

2. Felt tailor-made for newcomers. My biggest beef with it.

3. Less complexity, better user interface/intuitiveness.

 

[SSBMLahti]

Back on SmashBoards, and it's been while since I've posted here! about 2 months ago I 100%'ed Tales of Xillia and almost have a perfect save file . I'm only missing using all artes 9999 times and max gald- which I believe is 999,999,999? I love Tales games and trying to perfect them.

Is anyone else somewhat concerned for the series itself? The graphical style has stayed somewhat the same since Tales of the Abyss, and that's not a good thing since Vesperia had some of the most beautiful and stylized graphics of any game I have ever seen (similar to Ni no Kuni). I'd like to see them go with a more cel-sh aded approached mixed with the current style they seem to be using- think of Tales of Vesperia/Ni no Kuni meets Tales of Xillia/Tales of Xillia 2? I must say that the animations themselves have improved drastically over the years.

I also believe the music has been quite bland and lacked originality as of a late. Having the same composer for every game doesn't help. Even though the scores do fit the settings and game quite well, their are no tracks that are amazing and memorable, unlike older games such as Tales of Symphonia (Keep Your Guard Up!, Law of the Battle, Beat the Angel, Last Battle: Will, Last Battle: Destination, etc.) and Tales of Legendia (Ancient Ship, Advancing Towards 12 O'clock, etc.). I know they're trying to keep the Tales sound with all of their games, but sometimes you have to mix it up. They are having multiple main composers for Tales of Zestiria though (Sakuraba and Go Shiina) which is going to be ****ing amazing!

Characters are also lacking in personality. Not much to say here.

The stories are lacking in almost every area, and are very linear and boast no surprises. Maybe it's because I'm older?

Puzzles. There are little to no puzzles in the Tales games anymore, and if their are, they take no skill or mental prowess to figure out and take less than 10 seconds to complete. This is one of my biggest problems with the direction the series is headed.

One thing that the Tales series do keep improving on are the battle system and localizations. I know most people preferred the Tales of Graces battle system over Tales of Xillia's, but the fact that Tales of Graces removed jumping and aerial combat was one thing that I disliked (I have a feeling Zestiria will remove most aerial combat and jumping, but whatever). Tales of Xillia's combat was awesome, and even though it was not as deep and complex as Graces, keeping things somewhat simple is usually a good thing.

I could go on for ages about this series, but it will always be my favourite gaming series and I will continue to play them until the series ends.

#TaleofZestiria hype!

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I'm waiting to do my Millia run on Xillia, finishing Disgaea 3 first. My only concern with Xillia were the dungeons not really being dungeons and the lack of puzzles at points, otherwise locations were really straight forward which is fine since it's wasn't that big of a deal for everything else.

 

[Rutger]

I'd love to see them return to Vesperia's cel shaded artstyle, but only if they fix up the proportions. I don't think the character's proportions in Vesperia and Symphonia fit well with the Tales of series personally.

Basically what I'm saying is make it look like Guilty Gear Xrd and it'll be perfect.

I don't really think any Tales of game has had a great story. I did find Xillia's to be the most enjoyable, even though it's very flawed.

I'm looking forward to Zestiria, the combat should be closer to Graces, which is a good thing, but hopefully it fixes the things I didn't like about Graces' system.
And hopefully the soundtrack is good. It's great that Go Shiina will be working on it, but I don't know about Sakuraba. I really hope we hear more things like this from Sakuraba instead of what he has made in recent Tales of games.

 

[DSTP]

I've started playing Graces again the other day, the combat is really fun now that I'm ignoring weaknesses. Just got Hell difficulty and Hubert, he looks fun.

I've also heard that the combat designer from Graces will be working on the new game, so that's something to look forward to.
I would like to see Graces with Air combos. Jump button please? :3

I remember at some point during the game just about everything was weak to Nova. No clue why, but spamming Concussive Bolt became a really good strategy.

Choosing to ignore weaknesses definitely frees up Grace's combat system, leaving you able to position yourself better on the battlefield and take fewer hits. Only problem is if you're looking to finish fights fast, attention to weaknesses become a necessity.

Also I really like Tales games so I'm diving headfirst into this thread. Sorry if this was brought up already, but in the ToS remake, have they tweaked DotNW's cutscenes? I recall unbearable voice acting and terrible motion capture making the game nigh unplayable for me.

 

[SSBMLahti]

Nevermind.

 

[Minato]

It's TGS week, we have a new Zestiria trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmd86UlDFkA&feature=youtu.be

 

[MirrorTael]

Question! Currently playing ToX and an irritating problem has gotten progressively worse: for some reason during battle my lead character will switch on it's own without me pressing L1 and the directional pad. The menu screen also pops up sometimes without me pressing the menu button. I have 2 PS3 controllers and I've tried switching between the 2 and I mean, it helps a little, but I'm wondering if I could possibly have 2 malfunctioning controllers? I just ordered a new one on Amazon because I got so fed up fighting a boss battle that I quick-saved on the spot and am refusing to play until it comes. > I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue? I feel like the new option (for this game) to expand the moveset using the L1 hold is a little trickier, but I can't possibly be "accidentally" pressing the buttons that much. There are times that I'll literally hold L2 to free-run, and SURPRISE, I'm no longer Leia, i'm Alvin/Elize/whothehellever.

 

[Minato]

Question! Currently playing ToX and an irritating problem has gotten progressively worse: for some reason during battle my lead character will switch on it's own without me pressing L1 and the directional pad. The menu screen also pops up sometimes without me pressing the menu button. I have 2 PS3 controllers and I've tried switching between the 2 and I mean, it helps a little, but I'm wondering if I could possibly have 2 malfunctioning controllers? I just ordered a new one on Amazon because I got so fed up fighting a boss battle that I quick-saved on the spot and am refusing to play until it comes. > I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue? I feel like the new option (for this game) to expand the moveset using the L1 hold is a little trickier, but I can't possibly be "accidentally" pressing the buttons that much. There are times that I'll literally hold L2 to free-run, and SURPRISE, I'm no longer Leia, i'm Alvin/Elize/whothehellever.

I'd say it's your controller, but that's really weird for it to happen on both. I've never had this issue and I've played through both US and JPN versions of the game.

Hopefully your new controller solves the issue.

 

[Pokechao]

Le gasp! A Tales thread! HOW DID THIS THREAD ELUDE ME FOR SO LONG
So quick question for y'all, top 5 favorite tales games?
For me its:
1.Abyss
2.Vesperia
3.Symphonia
4.Phantasia
5. Hard tie between Radiant Mythology 3 and Destiny.