Your mom is a classy lady.
Cless would have sex with her.
Stahn might, but he'd have absolutely no idea what he's doing.
Reid would too, but only for the omelets.
Lloyd would, but only because it's Dwarven Vow #8.
Senel might, but he has so many STDs by this point that he should be under quarantine.
Luke wouldn't. He's totally with Guy.
Asbel won't. He's too busy trying to figure out if something's wrong with Richard.
Jude will as soon as somebody teaches him about bazongas.
Milla's too busy, but she'll send a Great Spirit to do the deed in her stead.
Ludger would, and afterwards he'd press R1 to smoke a cigarette or L1 to make her some mabo curry.
And of course...
Yuri would
wreck that bitch.
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The Tales of Series is an RPG series developed by Namco with 18 games, spanning nearly 15 years and at least 8 game systems... even more if you count cell phone nonsense. The selling point is the linear motion battle system, a beat 'em up engine that allows the player(s) to control one or more members of the party in an action sequence while the rest of the party fights relatively autonomously. It was first in two dimensions, and now in all three (wow!).
Every Tales game must include at least 90% of the following:
Male swordsman who uses Demon Fang
Annoying female white mage
The following elementals: Undine/Celsius, Volt, Ifrit, Gnome, Sylph, Shadow, Rem/Luna, Origin, and Maxwell
Villain motivated by racism
A girl who can't cook and a guy who is an expert cook
A female character who uses an odd/unusual weapon. (Brooms, chakrams, DOLLS)
Hot springs
Some kind of magical power/device that almost destroyed the world thousands of years ago
A joke weapon for each character
An optional battle against PCs from a previous Tales game
A cute mascot creature of some kind
Aifread
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The following games have been released for North America and/or Europe. Some Tales games only came out in Japan. If you want to know about those, use Wikipedia or something.
Thanks to
Retro Red's Youtube channel for the intro videos.
Tales of Phantasiahttp://youtu.be/OgUhrhnqkGk
GBA - 2006, iOS 2014 (Now with microtransactions! Whee!)
Four warriors defeated the evil wizard Dhaos and sealed him away. Ten years later, two of the children of those heroes, Cless and Mint, are manipulated into releasing Dhaos, but as he attacks, they're thrown 100 years into the past and have to join forces with Klarth the summoner and Arche the half-elf witch to find a way a defeat Dhaos in the past and save their present.
Tales of Destinyhttp://youtu.be/By0bfcRnJDo
PSX - 1998
Looking for fame and adventure, Stahn Aileron stows away on an airship. The ship is attacked, and Stahn finds a sentient sword called a swordian in the cargo. The swordian, Dymlos, draws him to other swordsmen with their own swordians and to the remnants of an ancient civilization that nearly destroyed the world using the power of lens... which is slowly being revived.
Tales of Eterniahttp://youtu.be/2rXVDm01N20
PSX - 2001, PSP(EU) - 2006
Millenia ago, the world was seperated into Celestia and Inferia and passage blocked between the two. One day, two Inferians, Reid and Farah, find a strange girl speaking an ancient language. Her name is Meredy, and she's searching for somebody who holds within them the power of the Aurora to prevent the Grand Fall from crashing Celestia and Inferia into each other and destroying both their worlds.
Tales of Symphoniahttp://youtu.be/GbFqpSy6qQQ
GCN - 2004, PS3 HD Remake - 2014
The land of Sylvarant is dying, being slowly drained of its mana and under near total slavery by the race of Desians. Colette is the Chosen One, born to bring about the world regeneration and restore mana to Sylvarant. As she leaves on her journey, her childhood friend Lloyd recklessly attacks the Desians and brings their wrath to his village, so he follows her into the world even while being hunted by the Desians, as well as those from the world of Teth'e'alla whose world will begin to die if Collete's quest succeeds.
Tales of Legendiahttp://youtu.be/Gj0xj_JciTg
PS2 - 2006
Senel and his sister, Shirley, wash up on the shore of the giant island-ship Legacy. Shirley is immediately kidnapped before they can gather their senses and Senel is forced to recruit others to help him rescue her. It's soon revealed that Shirley shares a past with the Legacy and neither are what they seem to be.
Tales of the Abysshttp://youtu.be/8GgCbvlJjak
PS2 - 2006, 3DS - 2012
Everything in the world is ruled by a prophecy known as the Score. The Score foretold that Luke would bring great prosperity to his kingdom, so has been living in near-capitivity for years after he was kidnapped by a rival nation years ago. His secure and peaceful life is shattered when a woman breaks into his mansion and attacks him, awakening a strange energy in his body that teleports the two of them into enemy territory. On his journey home, he starts to learn the truth about his past and about the Score that rules the world.
Tales of Vesperiahttp://youtu.be/C0i5TJAYJWM
360 - 2008
Blastia is an energy that protects and nutures the world, but also cages the populace to only the places it can protect. When a vital blastia is stolen from the capital city, Yuri tries to hunt down the thief. He and the noblewoman Estelle set out in pursuit of the thief, along the way learning the true secrets of blastia and that its existence could mean the end of all humanity.
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New Worldhttp://youtu.be/I0Z2Xc3uKmE
Wii: 2008, PS3 HD Remake - 2014
The world has gone to pot after the events of Tales of Symphonia. Two young refugees, Emil and Marta, try to sort out the damage while recruiting monsters to join their cause. Not technically a Tales "flagship" title, but we'll include it here because of its connection with Symphonia, one of the most popular Tales games in North America.
Tales of Graces fhttp://youtu.be/SymLluPY-ig
PS3 - 2012
As children, Asbel Lhant and his friends went on an adventure involving a strange girl who fell from the sky and Richard, the prince of the realm. Years later, the group has been scattered, but comes together again as kingdoms begin warring over the energy crystals that fuel society. Tales of Graces f also includes a postscript adventure that is generally considered to be better-written than the lackluster main story.
Tales of Xilliahttp://youtu.be/uY2EIEjeCHE
PS3 - 2013
Tales of Xillia stars two protagonists, allowing the player to pick one who will serve as the main "point of view" for the game. Milla Maxwell is the Lord of Spirits in human form, and her quest is to prevent warring human nations from creating a doomsday device that will suck the life out of all spirits and thereby doom the entire world. Jude Mathis is a young medical student who gets swept up in the adventure after helping Milla escape from danger.
Tales of Xillia 2http://youtu.be/c0ovVpO1PCE
PS3 - 2014
A few years after the events of Xillia, young Ludger Kresnik becomes entangled in the fate of the world when he meets a lost little girl during a train hijacking. Unlike Tales of Symphonia 2, the main cast of Xillia plays a major role in the player's party in this game. Be warned, it's quite a bit darker in tone than most Tales games.
Tales of Hearts Rhttps://youtu.be/m8JHetM3uDY
PS Vita - November 11, 2014
Protagonist Kor Meteor and his friends must literally fix a young woman's broken heart. Warfare and romance abound in this interesting take on the tale of Sleeping Beauty.
Tales of Zestiriahttps://youtu.be/SfQkGqno85Q
PS3, PS4, PC(!) - October 16-20, 2015
Zestiria takes us away from the magitech of Xillia and returns to a pure fantasy setting. It stars a kind-hearted young warrior named Sorey, who can see mysterious magical Seraphs that are invisible to most people. Also something something DRAGONS.
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COMING SOON TO A GAME CONSOLE NEAR YOU!
Tales of Berseriahttps://youtu.be/taHrD8qb75E
(Warning: trailer contains early game spoilers)
PS4, PC - January 24-27, 2017
Meet Velvet. She's got a giant wolf hand, and she's not very happy about it. The theme of Berseria is "emotion vs. reason," and Velvet will be accompanied by an angelic-looking boy named Laphicet. Featuring full camera control in combat!
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
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Now is definitely a good time to jump into Tales, for anyone who is new to the franchise. There's Vesperia on the 360, Abyss on the 3DS, Graces and Xillia on the PS3, with the Symphonia Collection coming out within a month, and Xillia 2 later this year.
Also, the OP missed something:
A female character who uses an odd/unusual weapon. (Brooms, chakrams, DOLLS)
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
I'm currently lost in a fort, running round and round, going up and down ladders looking for a lever.
Fucking Asbel.
the worst.
So bad.
Dear fucking god.
But are you sure?
Oh lawdy that fort. Go find a map. It helps... sort of.
Added! I aim to please
So I fixed them.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
I'm enjoying it so far. Not exactly the best JRPG of all time but I'm having fun. Loving the characters so far.
Yes.
I eventually escaped.
The good news is, thanks to the double SP perk that came as free DLC, I spent so much time fighting guards over and over, over half my titles are 5/5, so I'm a bit over levelled.
Ha, I inherited both of those from the old thread. The only ones I did were Asbel, Jude, and Milla. Besides, I like Yuri and Flynn as best buds. Yuri belongs with Judith because those two are the only goddamn adults in the group (and I love the Vesperia cast, but I was always amused when most of them were playing Mickey Mouse Guild Clubhouse while Yuri and Judith wandered off to actually get shit done).
I sure wish the PS3 version had come stateside.
Xillia 2 need to hurry up, I gots to get my silent protagonist on.
PSN: BrightWing13 FFX|V:ARR Bright Asuna
I understand the concept of "en media res," but this one just lost me. I'll give it another shot when I've got some free time, but it will be a hard sell, and it will be competing for my time with several other games.
Which character did you pick?
Everything seemed pretty cut and dry with Jude.
From what I've heard the girl best left for a second playthrough as some of her stuff is less clear without a better understanding of the overall story.
I imagine this is worse and more noticeable during the beginning.
I'm not too far in yet but Jude's pretty likeable and okay as far as JRPG protagonists go.
Also, Milla's playstyle is far more fun imo.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Milla's playstyle might be more fun, but Jude's probably best if it's your first Tales (like it was for me), and you need to be softballed into the combat. The combat is really nice, but it gets complicated VERY fast, and Milla's magic/artes/aerial juggles makes her combat doubly complicated.
BTW, am I somewhat safe to assume that the Tales series follows the typical JRPG trope with the male protagonist? That 99% of the time he's either dumber than a bag of hammers, or completely has no spine at all... or maybe both?
Nope. He's actually fairly intelligent, often is the one to explain things, and is completely willing to stand up for himself. He just has no relationship experience and thus is a bit weak when it comes in innuendo and is too forgiving at times. He's 17 and in medical schools. He's pretty freaking smart, to be honest. But, then, he's 17, so sometimes he messes up and has to run through halls filled with fellow students to get where he needs to be on time.
I'd actually say Millia is closer to the "Dumber than a bag of bricks" character, but she's not stupid. She's just spent her whole life isolated with the power of gods to get her anything she needs, so she has no concept of the world everyone else lives in.
Never said Jude wasn't intelligent, just that most protagonists of traditional JRPGs fall into one of those roles. And I'm not sure how much Jude really stands up for himself; half of what he does is for Milla, whom he can't talk about why with, and the other half he's usually being pushed by Alvin, who has no business being with the group anymore halfway through; but he stays because Jude can't put his foot down, or because Milla makes the decision for him. I mean I get him being young, and his medical training clearly shows that he's selfless and wants to help people, but both Milla and Alvin for a long time in this game turn him into their own personal finger puppet. Christ, it took three or four side-quests for him to finally stand up to his DAD.
Give Jude some time. Making his own decisions is a big part of his development.
PSN: BrightWing13 FFX|V:ARR Bright Asuna
I don't hate Jude. I just have to call out people saying he's independent or headstrong. What he's like at the END doesn't count, and no one can argue that he went off on an adventure at first simply because he wanted to hang around the big-bazonga'd Master of Spirits. I do appreciate there being some character development in these games though, which can be lacking quite a bit in similar JRPGs.
Damn straight. They've got a good personality match and they both love fighting.
Which reminds me, I really need to focus on using Judith on my next playthrough instead of cheesing everything with Yuri's combos.
The lead seems to be a pretty likeable cool guy, hopefully they don't fill up his party completely with aggravating moppets (Lost Odyssey lost me by doing this). The "aque" spelling seems purposely designed to make me hurt someone, seriously stupid as all get out. The first boss was surprisingly tough, but the battle controls feel stiff and unwieldy compared to Nier (my most recent RPG completion). It doesn't help I keep trying to block with LT (thanks Nier) instead of X. Fully voiced skits add A LOT over the text based ones present in Symphonia. I'd honestly say I'm playing 60% just to see more skits for now.
Questions: Without spoiling anything, are there any party members I should make sure to level up or any that I should generally leave to the side? I'm thinking of FFVII here where not leveling Barrett or Red XIII had disastrous consequences for the main plotline. How concerned should I be about leveling? For now, I'm basically killing anything directly in my path or blocking a treasure chest and avoiding extra battles that involve fighting enemies just because they're there. Any other quality of life things I should think about with a basic playthrough (not super worried about completion % or achievements for the most part)?
I really like most of Vesperia's cast. There's one mildly aggravating moppet, though, and one fiesty teenager who you can forgive her teenageness because she is a pillar of molten DEATH (I actually love her and think her teenageness is done quite well). Both are older than the Lost Odyssey children and are many degrees of acceptable above the GET THESE HORRID CHILDREN OUT OF MY PARTY from Infinite Undiscovery.
All the party members level up regardless of whether you use them in the party. Woot. Just keep buying and combining weapons as you go along, and check the skills list from time to time so you can power-up your characters. You will have to go without your main healer for a bit at one point, but a couple other characters can patch the party up during that pinch.
Even if you don't care to get all the achievements, try visiting old towns from time to time once it's convenient to do so. You can get some pretty cool side-quests that way.
I can't stand the default controls in Vesperia. Luckily, you can go to the options and change them up however you like. I ended up with freerun on LT, block on RT, attack on A, artes on X, and fatal strike on B.
You should have no worries whatsoever about leveling. Everyone gets battle experience. Battle members get bonus XP, but it doesn't make a huge difference. As long as you don't skip a ton of battles, you should be in good shape for every encounter.
As far as quality of life goes, remember to switch weapons around so that you can learn as many skills as possible. Also make sure to grab the free DLC goodies. Don't worry about missing sidequests or anything, since there's no way to 100% the game in one run. Just play it and enjoy it.
My roommate and I are finally nearing the end of the main game in our co-op Graces f endeavor, and oh my god Asbel just doesn't get it.
Let's Plays of Japanese Games
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
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Karol. At least get used to knowing how he handles in combat.
The entire party levels even when not directly used (though the party members in combat do get the bonus exp from combos) so you won't need to worry too much about people falling behind.
Customise the strategy settings if only a little bit. It helps to have the AI refrain from using too much TP (50-75% is good) by default, then have a setting that lets them go nuts for bosses or dangerous situations.
On that note, leaving a party member at 25% TP will make them never hit the critical point where they request orange gels. For characters like Repede and Judith, who love to spam artes, this can kinda help when you want to reserve those items for Estelle or Rita.
Again related to the above point: Characters will ignore TP settings for healing unless they are restricted from healing by disabling the arte/spell or by preference settings.
Healing Circle is bloody annoying to use. Disable it. It'll just waste TP because 90% of the time, the target will move out of the healing AoE before it does more than 2 ticks. (Note: This applies to practically every 3D Tales series games. AoE heals, except for Nurse and Revitalise suck because it's nigh impossible to use it effectively on the AI teammates and with ToG, you don't want to be standing still for too long.)
Fireball is not a good spell to use when you are Overlimiting. The improved effect it gains when you use it a lot casts more fireballs in a volley, which extends the execution time which is counter-productive when you have zero cast time.
Buffs and debuffs are under-emphasised in the Tales series. Estelle's spells that increase attack/defence/resistance are good. Using them for boss fights can make quite the difference, even if it's only just casting Sharpness on Yuri before you go to town.
Destruction Field is gooooooooddddddd.