Ultimate Ode To Tales Of Awesomeness

Centipeed

Tales of Phantasia



Year of release: 1995
Platform: SNES, PS1, GBA, PSP
English release: Yes
Wiki

Tales of Destiny



Year of release: 1997
Platform: PS1, PS2
English release: Yes
Wiki

Tales of Eternia



Year of release: 2000
Platform: PS1, PSP
English release: Yes (Named Tales of Destiny II)
Wiki

Tales of Destiny 2



Year of release: 2002
Platform: PS2, PSP
English release: No
Wiki

Tales of Symphonia



Year of release: 2003
Platform: GCN, PS2
English release: Yes
Wiki

Tales of Rebirth



Year of release: 2004
Platform: PS2
English release: No
Wiki

Tales of Legendia



Year of release: 2005
Platform: PS2
English release: Yes
Wiki

Tales of the Abyss



Year of release: 2005
Platform: PS2
English release: Yes
Wiki

Tales of the Tempest



Year of release: 2006
Platform: NDS
English release: No
Wiki

Tales of Innocence

Year of release: Possible December 2007
Platform: NDS
English release: Unknown
Wiki

Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk

Year of release: Possible Spring 2008
Platform: Wii
English release: Unknown
Wiki

Centipeed

Aside from jumping at the chance of letting my OCD-like tendencies run wild and work on a good OP, I wanted to discuss the Tales games.

I have Symphonia, in its original, better incarnation (GC), and it's fantastically awesome. I'm playing through again with 10x EXP (New Game+), which adds to the fun factor a lot. It might give me a chance to delve a bit deeper into the mechanics of the game, as that's something I hardly ever do with RPGs. If anyone has any tips in that regard, I'd be happy to hear them.

Also, this is a place to talk about the new Tales games, although I believe there's already a thread for that.

Finally, I'd like to invite discussion of the series as a whole. I've been thinking about getting Tales of the Abyss, because it's been recommended. Are there any other English releases in the series that I should seriously consider picking up?

rayofash

Like a tiger.

Graviija

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

Tw4win

Graviija wrote: »

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

What's so bad about Legendia?

Also, you forgot Tales of the World in your OP.

It's not Cannon but it's a Tales game, nonetheless

Aroduc

Centipeed wrote: »

Finally, I'd like to invite discussion of the series as a whole. I've been thinking about getting Tales of the Abyss, because it's been recommended. Are there any other English releases in the series that I should seriously consider picking up?

Eternia (PSP or PS1) is pretty widely accepted as the best of the series, so that one. Abyss has a great engine and battle system, but there are just so many small things that add up and make playing it something of a tortuous experience. Massive load times, extended fetch quests, hell... at one point, you just stop going to dungeons for about four hours as you play Fed Ex to various people. The Ex Skills system is also somewhat needlessly complicated, but at least it gives you something to do during subsequent playthroughs.

Aroduc

Tw4win wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

What's so bad about Legendia?

It's a lot faster paced, and less strategic than Symphonia. And the 2D plane makes things a lot more chaotic and arcadey. People used to "combo the mage, walk away, lol" get frustrated fast. The retread of the dungeons through the CQs was also pretty terrible, but up until that point, it was a very solid game and certainly not even near the bottom half of the Tales series. People just like to bitch and moan because they wanted another Symphonia and Legendia was a throwback to the usual 2D Tales engine.

Mordrack

I really wish Namco would bring the PS2 port of Destiny to North America.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tales+destiny+PS2&search=

Centipeed

Tw4win wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

What's so bad about Legendia?

Also, you forgot Tales of the World in your OP.

It's not Cannon but it's a Tales game, nonetheless

I was only including main series games. Then again, I'm not sure the soon-to-be Wii title should be in the OP, because it's labelled as a spin-off of Symphonia, not a sequel.

Tw4win

Aroduc wrote: »

Tw4win wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

What's so bad about Legendia?

It's a lot faster paced, and less strategic than Symphonia. And the 2D plane makes things a lot more chaotic and arcadey. People used to "combo the mage, walk away, lol" get frustrated fast. The retread of the dungeons through the CQs was also pretty terrible, but up until that point, it was a very solid game and certainly not even near the bottom half of the Tales series. People just like to bitch and moan because they wanted another Symphonia and Legendia was a throwback to the usual 2D Tales engine.

Interesting... I'm playing though Eternia on the PSP now and I like the 2D battle system, possibly better than the 3D one. Based on what you've said I think I'll pick up both PS2 games since I'm sure you can find them pretty cheap used.

As for Eternia, I'm digging it but I think I'm slightly more than halfway though the game.

I'm at the Ice mountain...need to level up some to beat the boss.

It's gotten to a point where the plot isn't really moving all that much and stuff like

the "finding the right cold weather gear for each party member" mini-game

is starting to annoy me. I got annoyed by Symphonia at about the same point in that game (obviously not the same event) so I guess it's just something about the series in general. They start to lag a bit in the middle. Personally, I can't wait to get to a point where the plot picks up a bit.

The other good thing that's come out of me playing Eternia is the discovery that I really do like RPGs that use an action-type battle system. Not purely action RPGs but ones like Tales that use a hybrid system. I think Eternia got it "more right" than Symphonia - great battle system and random encounters. I say that because the action battle system makes random encounters much less of a chore than typical turn based battle systems.

Also, looking back on FFXII, which I didn't care for because of the battle system, I'd really love to see that game remade with the Tales system in place.

jothki

One thing that annoys me about Tales of Symphonia is the fact that you're always locked into a 2-d plane. This usually isn't an issue, but sometimes a large enemy or group of smaller enemies gets stuck in front of your target, and you have to do a bit of awkward maneuvering to get past.

bruin

I don't want to come in here and rain on everyone's parade, but can someone explain to me what the draw of this series is? Having never played any of its games before, I decided to pick up Symphonia for Gamecube because it had good reviews and people are here seemed to like it. I didn't really know much about it, but I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a meaningless story, terrible writing and voice acting, ugly graphics (much of the time), and boring combat. I couldn't even play it for more than a couple hours. What am I missing here?

Blackjack

Aroduc wrote: »

People just like to bitch and moan because they wanted another Symphonia and Legendia was a terrible game full of horrible, annoying characters, ridiculously awful graphics, painful voice acting, a stirct 2D battle system that had been done better in previous games like Eternia, and dialog written by a five year old that just learned the word love.

Seriously, there are reasons to hate Legendia beyond "olol not simphonia"

Graviija

Aroduc wrote: »

Tw4win wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Definitely get Abyss. It's got the best battle system in the series.

And stay far, far away from Legendia. That game, in a word, blows.

What's so bad about Legendia?

It's a lot faster paced, and less strategic than Symphonia. And the 2D plane makes things a lot more chaotic and arcadey. People used to "combo the mage, walk away, lol" get frustrated fast. The retread of the dungeons through the CQs was also pretty terrible, but up until that point, it was a very solid game and certainly not even near the bottom half of the Tales series. People just like to bitch and moan because they wanted another Symphonia and Legendia was a throwback to the usual 2D Tales engine.

I actually didn't like it because the battle system quite simply did not feel very responsive, especially in comparison to the other 2d titles (Eternia in particular). And I found the characters to be bland and uninteresting, especially the main villian.

It is true I enjoyed Symphonia more than any other Tales game, but that was not the reason I disliked Legendia. It just felt lazy.

Edit - Oh, and the "Climax Mode" is fucking worthless.

Xenogears of Bore

You know what never gets enough love? ToP. I fucking love Phantasia. Whenever it comes up though people just complain about the intentional slowdown and the number of random encounters. Boo Hoo.

Marty81

Legendia was like the only game in the entire series that didn't let you change the button config.

Shoddy.

Rogue Lemon

This thread is relevant to my interests. There was a new trailer on GamerTrailers for Tales of Innocence this morning if anyone hasn't seen it.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/22633.html

Tw4win

bruin wrote: »

I don't want to come in here and rain on everyone's parade, but can someone explain to me what the draw of this series is? Having never played any of its games before, I decided to pick up Symphonia for Gamecube because it had good reviews and people are here seemed to like it. I didn't really know much about it, but I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a meaningless story, terrible writing and voice acting, ugly graphics (much of the time), and boring combat. I couldn't even play it for more than a couple hours. What am I missing here?

It's a series that you either love or hate. There really isn't a middle ground.

I find the plot of most Tales games to be very generic and the graphics are standard. I like the games because they are classic JPGS with an alternative battle system. Random battles (or non-random in the case of TOS) require strategy and skill beyond just selecting something off of a menu and moving on. To me it's the perfect mix of old school JRPG play and action...

NeenerNeener

bruin wrote: »

I don't want to come in here and rain on everyone's parade, but can someone explain to me what the draw of this series is? Having never played any of its games before, I decided to pick up Symphonia for Gamecube because it had good reviews and people are here seemed to like it. I didn't really know much about it, but I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a meaningless story, terrible writing and voice acting, ugly graphics (much of the time), and boring combat. I couldn't even play it for more than a couple hours. What am I missing here?

I have the exact same umm... problem? Opinion? I bought ToS because of all of the love it receives, but there's absolutely nothing there. The combat is amusing for a while, but it's not enough to save the rest of the game's massive shortcomings. I managed to play through a good 10 hours of it before giving up.

Also, as a side note, it's possible to turn the voice acting off. At the very least, doing so changes the story segments from "painful" to "boring and derivative", which I suppose is an improvement.

Seriously, is there something I'm missing here?

JAEF

NeenerNeener wrote: »

bruin wrote: »

I don't want to come in here and rain on everyone's parade, but can someone explain to me what the draw of this series is? Having never played any of its games before, I decided to pick up Symphonia for Gamecube because it had good reviews and people are here seemed to like it. I didn't really know much about it, but I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a meaningless story, terrible writing and voice acting, ugly graphics (much of the time), and boring combat. I couldn't even play it for more than a couple hours. What am I missing here?

I have the exact same umm... problem? Opinion? I bought ToS because of all of the love it receives, but there's absolutely nothing there. The combat is amusing for a while, but it's not enough to save the rest of the game's massive shortcomings. I managed to play through a good 10 hours of it before giving up.

Also, as a side note, it's possible to turn the voice acting off. At the very least, doing so changes the story segments from "painful" to "boring and derivative", which I suppose is an improvement.

Seriously, is there something I'm missing here?

No, it's fairly mediocre. The battle system is engaging... for a little while. Then it's back to dullery.

cj iwakura

Symphonia was the first Tales game I ever played, and that's because I'm a sucker for Kousuke Fujishima. I guess I should've gotten into the series earlier, considering that.

The only other one I've played so far was Phantasia, which is meh. I'll get Abyss eventually, and I have Destiny, though I haven't gotten around to it.

bruin

I feel like if you're going to go with real time combat instead of turn based combat in an RPG you should go all the way and make it at least slightly as deep as an action game. Like Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, or even Fable. It was real time, but there seemed to be almost nothing to the combat in Symphonia.

Alfred J. Kwak

I liked it because of it's light hearted nature - the story was nothing to write a book about, cheesy, but in a funny way and enough to keep me entertained, the combat was really fun (except for the multiplayer part maybe, hopefully they do something about this in the sequel), and I never felt like the game was a chore to play through (unlike most other JPRGs). I liked the art style, too

Tw4win

bruin wrote: »

I feel like if you're going to go with real time combat instead of turn based combat in an RPG you should go all the way and make it at least slightly as deep as an action game. Like Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, or even Fable. It was real time, but there seemed to be almost nothing to the combat in Symphonia.

See, that's the exact reason why I like the Tales series - it isn't like Elder Scrolls and Fable's combat. I can't stand that type of action combat.

It's sort of Zelda meets a JRPG

wateyad

Tw4win wrote: »

bruin wrote: »

I feel like if you're going to go with real time combat instead of turn based combat in an RPG you should go all the way and make it at least slightly as deep as an action game. Like Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, or even Fable. It was real time, but there seemed to be almost nothing to the combat in Symphonia.

See, that's the exact reason why I like the Tales series - it isn't like Elder Scrolls and Fable's combat. I can't stand that type of action combat.

It's sort of Zelda meets a JRPG

I'm not quite sure why you say Zelda, LMB is more of a thinned down fighting game engine really.

JihadJesus

NeenerNeener wrote: »

bruin wrote: »

I don't want to come in here and rain on everyone's parade, but can someone explain to me what the draw of this series is? Having never played any of its games before, I decided to pick up Symphonia for Gamecube because it had good reviews and people are here seemed to like it. I didn't really know much about it, but I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a meaningless story, terrible writing and voice acting, ugly graphics (much of the time), and boring combat. I couldn't even play it for more than a couple hours. What am I missing here?

I have the exact same umm... problem? Opinion? I bought ToS because of all of the love it receives, but there's absolutely nothing there. The combat is amusing for a while, but it's not enough to save the rest of the game's massive shortcomings. I managed to play through a good 10 hours of it before giving up.

Also, as a side note, it's possible to turn the voice acting off. At the very least, doing so changes the story segments from "painful" to "boring and derivative", which I suppose is an improvement.

Seriously, is there something I'm missing here?

No, that's pretty accurate. The combat gets more and more awesome. The story and dialog get more and more painful. I REALLY wish someone could be bothered to include the ToS battle system in an RPG that didn't completely suck in every other possible way, because that game would kick unholy ammounts of ass.

SimBen

You guys are forgetting the greatest Tales game of all time.

Javen

One more to the list

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology

Centipeed

Javen wrote: »

One more to the list

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology

It's not a main Tales game. It doesn't get added to the OP.

On an entirely different note, that trailer for Tales of Innocence seriously impressed me in terms of graphics. The DS is capable of some awesome shit.

Baroque And Roll

So, Tales topic. I'm playing Abyss right now. And I've come to the point in the game where all hope seems lost.

How the FUCK do you beat Nebilim?

Blackjack

GunOfTheMartyr wrote: »

So, Tales topic. I'm playing Abyss right now. And I've come to the point in the game where all hope seems lost.

How the FUCK do you beat Nebilim?

I put it on Easy. Because bitch was HARD.

I did it the same way I did the first Sword Dancer. Guy, Jade, Anise, Natalia/Tear (go for Natalia). Control Guy and have Jade and Anise hold their ground and chuck spells at her while Guy holds her off and Natalia keeps Guy alive. Just keep dodging her spells and keeping her as off balance as you can. Also, make sure you steal from her because she has the best C.Core in the game.

If all else fails, solo her with Natalia.

Baroque And Roll

Got her. Took in a party of Luke, Natalia, Jade, and Tear. Came down to just me and Jade in the end. Used damn near all my items, but I got her.

TSR

Blackjack wrote: »

GunOfTheMartyr wrote: »

So, Tales topic. I'm playing Abyss right now. And I've come to the point in the game where all hope seems lost.

How the FUCK do you beat Nebilim?

I put it on Easy. Because bitch was HARD.

I did it the same way I did the first Sword Dancer. Guy, Jade, Anise, Natalia/Tear (go for Natalia). Control Guy and have Jade and Anise hold their ground and chuck spells at her while Guy holds her off and Natalia keeps Guy alive. Just keep dodging her spells and keeping her as off balance as you can. Also, make sure you steal from her because she has the best C.Core in the game.

If all else fails, solo her with Natalia.

I can't believe you suggest switching it to easy! The fun of the optional fights is that they're difficult, otherwise, why bother?

I am a huge Tales fanboy and beat Symphonia on Mania and Abyss on Hard, each nearing 100% completion, so I'm not sure if that makes my opinion more valid or less

Baroque And Roll

Well, just finished my first playthrough of Abyss. Loved it. Incredible game. Loved the ending. Far better than ToS, imo.

Fishguy

Are any of the Tales games besides ToS multiplayer?

Baroque And Roll

Yeah, last I checked all of the PS2 versions were. Could be wrong, been a while since I touched Legendia. But I know for sure that Abyss is.

redstormpopcorn

Fishguy wrote: »

Are any of the Tales games besides ToS multiplayer?

Legendia and Phantasia's GBA port are the only ones I can confirm as single-player only.

Fishguy

Awesome. I think I'll pick up Abyss then the next time I see it. I assume it has new game+ of some kind?
EDIT: Whoa, wait ToP on the SNES had multiplayer? I remember trying to play it with my sister assuming it did and figure out how, and just assumed it didn't have one.

Javen

Fishguy wrote: »

Awesome. I think I'll pick up Abyss then the next time I see it. I assume it has new game+ of some kind?
EDIT: Whoa, wait ToP on the SNES had multiplayer? I remember trying to play it with my sister assuming it did and figure out how, and just assumed it didn't have one.

ToA has a grade shop almost identical to ToS

AJR

Being a PAL gamer, I’ve only ever played Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Eternia. It’s a bit of a shame, because I really enjoyed those two, and I wouldn't mind giving the later entries a shot.

I have imported Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology for the PSP though, it looks promising.

carbon13

Another PAL gamer here, how many of the Tales games for the ps2 were released in the PAL territories?