Let's Talk Tales

[Yuri-G]

Curious to see what other people here think of the Tales series, and the games in particular. Just re-purchased Tales of Symphonia after lending it to a friend many years ago and never getting it back, and I'm loving it. I'd like to try a portable Tales, but I hear the only ones we've gotten in America are crap - Phantasia supposedly was a horrible port overall, and I've heard that Tempest's battle system is crap. I might try Hearts or Innocence, since I rarely care about the story in these games anyway, although I enjoy the dialogue.

so far I've played through...

Tales of Phantasia - Meh. It's fun for what it is, but I don't like most of Dejap's work and this is no exception (though I do appreciate that they allowed me to play the game in English). It's the first game in the series though, what did you expect?

Tales of Destiny - Love the dialogue and characters, and the Tower of Druaga rocks. ToD has some great items and sidequests, hidden skills, etc. Although the battle system is still slow like ToP, that's the only real fault I find in ToD. That, and I don't really care for the story itself.

Tales of Destiny II (USA) - Oh god. Fuck you, Reid. Fuck you, Farrah. Fuck you, Meredy (WHY DO YOU TALK LIKE A RETARD?). Hate the characters, hate the story (WHAT THE FUCK IS A CRAYMEL? sounds like a crawfish crossed with a caramel). But the battle system... so fucking good. This was the first Tales game I've played with an updated battle system, although it's still 2d, it's fast as hell and much more fun as a result. I had more fun finding hidden skills, getting combos, etc. with this than I did with any other Tales game.

Tales of Symphonia - Like I said in the Now Playing thread, I only really enjoy the story and characters when they're being funny. The serious parts of the story are boring as hell, but some of the dialogue is great. The battles are fast-paced and have a very well-balanced difficulty. One weird thing about Tos; I feel like you don't get nearly enough Gald. I don't remember ever having to grind for Gald in other games, and in this one, I didn't even start using food until around Thoda Geyser because you simply don't make enough money to justify it. You'd spend more money cooking after battles than you made in the battles themselves. But obviously that gets better as you go further.

Like I said, I'd like to try Hearts or Innocence. And if I ever get a 360, put Vesperia on that list, I've heard good things. And I'd kill for English versions of Tales of Destiny (PS2) and the real Tales of Destiny II (also PS2). I hear there's work being done to translate the Tales of Destiny remake, but sadly, that's pretty far off.

So... Tales fans... post away!

[Hitoshura]

I have always just thought of the Tales series as "meh" compared to other series I love, but I do love the replay value and end game content they usually contain.

Favorites include:

Tales of Eternia, Tales of Phantasia, Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Destiny.

Eternia to me stands out a lot because I found it at my local Costco brand new sealed... along with about 40 other copies for only $12.99. Now I didn't know at the time because this was in the year 2001-2002, (was 13) that if I had bought all those copies I would have made a killing gouging them on ebay today.

Either way when I got home with the game I couldn't believe how fucking awesome it was, I never had played a Tales game before until that one. The voice acting, animation, battle system to me was all fresh air. Ok I did laugh at the voice acting a bit because it was pretty bad haha. But even so the effort they put into the game itself was enough for me to respect, full colored manual, vital scene voice acting, multiple discs to play, and I was sitting there telling myself... 13 fucking dollars brand new, one of my favorite PS1 RPG's ever.

[Yuri-G]

I paid like $70 for my copy. I hate you.

[Hitoshura]

Honestly I was fully expecting a shitty game because it was dirt cheap and brand new, there were no other games on the shelve priced that low but I told my mom I wanted it anyway and wow.. what an awesome game. Being the stupid kid I was I ended up trading it up for a very beat up copy of Lunar SSSC and Suikoden.

[MogKnight]

shure y not?

My first Tales of game was Tales of Destiny which I never ended up finishing. I thought the game was pretty damn awesome for what it was... that is until later on, they re-released Tales of Destiny on the PS2. I sat down with the PS2 remake and my god, I fell in love with the battle system. It was pretty much what if Tales and Marvel vs Capcom 2 made a baby, battles become a total incoherent cluster fuck but my god, it was fun.

Eternia (or Destiny 2 US) is what I'm currently playing right now. For the last of the major "2D" Tales of games, this went out with a bang in my opinion. I just didn't like the fact that everything that Reid had was pretty much godlike... Meredy was also pretty interesting to use as you control that little fugger she has while she's casting spells. Also has my favorite Tales of character: Farah. She kinda blew in Eternia... but in Tales of VS...

Symphonia... It had Cam Clarke, nuff said.

Vesperia... right now I'm trying to find a used copy of it so I can play it. Heard it was awesome.

Tales of VS I played quite a bit of and for an Escort title, it was good. For a balanced fighting game in itself... probably not so. Yeah, everyone is pretty balanced in that game but you usually end up killing someone in one-two string of attacks that it's not as great as one would hope for in a fighting game. But hey, it's Tales first off. The Wallbreaker mini-game was badass though for how small it is. Farah is pretty awesome in this game considering how she can get .5 second heals off and really, hit confirming in this game (considering how the game is in the first place) is so easy that you'll probably never leave yourself open. There are also infinites in this game but because you can Overlimit out of everything (kinda like a Guilty Gear burst) and Overlimit charges up really fast... not to mention how fast you can die too.

[Kiarax]

Not sure if you have a PSP, but Eternia for PSP is great (only got released in Europe). Radiant Mythology 2 and VS are both fun too, but only out in Japanese currently. I hear great things about Hearts but I haven't touched it.

Absolute Zero Translations are translating Innocence, so you might aswell wait for that even though it could still be a while. Most recent news posting on their site make it seem like it could be out within the next few months, but who knows.

[Yuri-G]

hope they do Hearts next. I could have sworn someone was already working on it, but it seems they abandoned it or something. there's a link on there with a video but I can't watch it at work. regardless, great news about Innocence. I can't wait. I've wanted a decent portable Tales forever now.

also: holy shit, ToP PSX is done? and has been done for a years? I had no idea an English version existed. fucking sweet.

I don't have a PSP yet, but I'll be getting one eventually, so I'll look out for Eternia.

[MogKnight]

also: holy shit, ToP PSX is done? and has been done for a years? I had no idea an English version existed. fucking sweet.

As far as I know, it's been done last August?

Oh yeah, I forgot to put this in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbmCKT3XSAU

[Hitoshura]

ToP PSX is fucking amazing on a PSP, get at that shit right now.

[Yuri-G]

no PSP but I am getting tales PSX, regardless. and so fuckin excited for it.

[sephir]

My first tales game was Eternia and I loved it. I bought Abyss and Legendia almost right away.

I've played most of the north American Tales games so far and my favorites in order would be:
1. Abyss
2. Eternia
3. Vesperia
4. Symphonia

My least favorite was Tales of Legendia. Although the post-game was amazing, the actual storyline made me want to shoot myself.

[Caiyuo]

Really wish I'd read the breakdown in the OP closer. lol Started playing ToD this week and while it's fun and all the battle is driving me what the fuck insane. My pals seemingly turn completely retarded if I begin battles with dashing attacks and stand in the corner. Also a pretty ridiculous encounter rate. Can't do shiiiiiit without going through battles and battles and battles. The "victory" lines get old fast. lol Was happier on the Draconis when I thought it'd be all visual encounters.

Also Rutee is a bitch.

Trying ToD2 once laptop unbreaks itself.

[Yuri-G]

yeah, the battles in ToD and the prior games are still decent but much slower than the new games. ToD2 (Eternia) is the first one I'm aware of where they updated the battles to move faster. and I think the AI for your allies got a lot better, too. I know it is in Symphonia, as long as you set the right options for them.

[Mizango]

Inb4 Domonmatic.

[Antithesis]

So far, I have only played Symphonia and Abyss. I much preferred Symphonia over Abyss but both games were extremly solid. It feels, in a way, like a Mario game. They really dont pay much attention to the story because they seem to focus on the battle system more which I have no problem with. That is not to say the storys all suck! They arent anything amazing but they are very entertaining.

Going to buy Vesperia soon off eBay and then reserve Tales of Graces for its U.S.A release!

[MogKnight]

Bought Vesperia off of Amazon using my MW2 Giftcard Bonus (7.99 sexy~). For english voice overs, they did a pretty good job. Though from playing MW2 and Vesperia, I have not gone really far yet. I heard Judith was pretty fun to use so I might end up maining her once I get to that point. Someone told me she was like the Magneto (MvC2 ref) of the game. @_@;

[Arrmani]

Tales of Symphonia was my first one, and I thought it was amazing. Being able to have up to 4 people fighting, even though only one controlling, was still fun for me. Only others I've played is Vesperia and Eternia.

I liked Vesperia, even though the story is a little weird. It was the first one I controlled the main character through, and I thought the 3D battlefield was cool, and the characters weren't that bad. I'm liking Eternia, but it seems like its dragging on at the point I'm at. I wouldn't mind more on the PSP though.

[Yuri-G]

do most people switch characters? I always end up controlling just the main character, since the MC is always overpowered and it makes the game easier. I've never tried spellcasting with Genis in Symphonia, or using Farah's kicks in Eternia. maybe for a few battles, or just long enough to get a new skill, but that's about it. and I feel like a deficient Tales player because of it lol

I'm actually starting to appreciate Symphonia's story this time around, even though it's still convoluted and contrived at a lot of points. there are a few emotional scenes that had an impact on me though, like...

Spoiler: show

when Volt's being a snotty little jerk and ends up killing Corrine (side note: how can you kill a summon spirit?) and she goes...
Sheena: For the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me, Volt!
I demand your power!

you tell him, girl.

[Kiarax]

I'm largely the same. In Vesperia I used Judith and Rita a lot too though. Rita is amazing in Overdrive and Judith is just a tonne of fun at any time. Once you get used to her combos it's a completely different playstyle to Yuri. Repede is also really fun to play as, I used him in a couple of bosses that I strugged with as Yuri. His speed and artes make bosses involving kiting and multiple targets really easy.

[MogKnight]

do most people switch characters? I always end up controlling just the main character, since the MC is always overpowered and it makes the game easier. I've never tried spellcasting with Genis in Symphonia, or using Farah's kicks in Eternia. maybe for a few battles, or just long enough to get a new skill, but that's about it. and I feel like a deficient Tales player because of it lol

Usually on first playthrough, depending on the game itself, I'll stick with the main character. I tend to find a lot of replay value in these Tales games from New Game+ and picking other characters. I mean there are some characters you wouldn't want to play (usually pure casters fall into this category) but it's always fun to experiment with different characters and see what they're capable of and see if they fit your playstyle.

blah blah blah Tidal Wave blah blah blah Tidal Wave blah blah blah Tidal Wave >.>;