Tales of...

[KageSora]

So, who's a Tales fan, and whats your favorite/least favorite game? What games have you played, how'd you get into the games? Who are peoples (least) favorite characters from the games they've played? Of all time? Things you did(n't) like about a game?

 

Talk about all things Tales series here

 

I've played many of the games that made it out of Japan, though I've not beaten them all yet. I own more that I haven't played, because I'm terrible at playing my game.

 

 

I really like Emil. He reminds me of myself, honestly. He's one of my favorite characters in general. Aster is great as well, spoilery things about him be damned.

 

 

Actually, originally I didn't think ToS looked all that good, but I was at the video(game) rental store, and had played most other things in their selection, so I picked it up and was like "Eh, why not. I've liked stuff I didn't think I'd like before..." Ended up playing it for 5 hours almost nonstop. Bought myself a copy like a year later, because I was too afraid I'd get hooked again and wouldn't be able to stop. So I waited until the next summer (I'd rented it over summer in the first place, thankfully) before buying it. Good thing, too. Was completely unable to stop. Again.

 

 

Apologize for the lack up current information.

Current/Important Localization News:

Tales of Zestiria is out worldwide, has been for about a month!

 

Tales of Berseria has Pirates, and is the next upcoming game in Japan.

 

PLEASE USE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE FOLLOWING FORMAT WHEN DISCUSSING POTENTIAL SPOILERS:

SPOILER:  [color=white]SPOILER TEXT[/color]
END SPOILER

Edited November 19, 2015 by KageSora

[Silver Wulf]

Well, I think that my avatar says everything, right?

 

I'm a fan of these games. The first one I ever bought was Tales of Symphonia and I didn't really like it at first. I got stuck in a stupid place because I didn't know where to search for the key to open the Tower of Mana, you see... The game isn't that interesting at the beginning. You must wait for the episode of the Tower of Salvation, with Kratos and your arrival in Tethe'Alla, for the game to become really fascinating. Colette still gets a bit on my nerves, but I learned to love all the characters in this game and finishing it turned out to be quite painful. So I started it again! And again and again. I had a save where I was at level 102 and had all the cursed weapons and killed the three Sword Dancers and finished the Coliseum, but my brother accidentally... Deleted it. At the moment I gave the game to one of my friends who tired of hearing me speak about it as a "wonderful game". Now she doesn't want to give it back!

I think my favorite character in Tales of Symphonia is Lloyd. He sometimes sounds exactly like me. There even was a dungeon with stupid wind-blowing flowers, and I just hated it. I ended up saying "When will I find the end of this stupid thing? It really drives me insane!" and at that moment, there was a skit with Lloyd saying "This place sucks, I want to get out of here and quick!". I laughed. At the beginning of the game, Lloyd also wonders how it is possible for angels to wear clothes with their wings, and how difficult it must be for them to sleep with wings too. This reminded me of myself when I was 5 or 6 and wanted to know if it was easy for angels to have wings...

 

I also played Tales of Symphonia 2, because I loved the first one. But... Well. Didn't like Emil at all. Sorry, but I still can't stand him. And the thing that possesses him, the Summon Spirit called Ratatosk, has the name of a mythological Nordic squirrel. How silly. The end of the game bored me a lot. The game itself was too short. There were no pacts with the other Summon Spirit (and thus no Fighting of the Spirit, what a shame!), and no way to really play with the characters of the first game. They join your party, but you can't keep them, nor change their equipment and so.

Must say I'm glad I didn't buy this one.

 

The second one I bought was Tales of Eternia. I found it pretty good, especially because nobody spoiled me the story... Yep, a wonderful friend of mine had told me everything that happened in Tales of Symphonia and I couldn't truly enjoyed it. I don't remember very well Tales of Eternia because it's been a while since I last played it, but I know that I said it was a good game. The final boss can be really frustrating if you can't use your Aurora Sword, hehe.

 

And finally... My favorite game ever: Tales of the Abyss. I am in love with it. I even bought the miniatures and now they're on my desk, and I can't stop looking at them and touching them and and and so. So this one is quite different from the others. Of course you end up saving the world from destruction too, but you can't see it coming. At the beginning you just try to go back home because Tear and Luke created a hyperresonance that sent them directly in enemy territory. When you're back in Baticul, you have to go to Akzeriuth to save the people there, but of course there was a traitor and you end up doing something reaaaally baad. Then Luke cuts his hair *sob* and the game becomes completely addicting. Won't tell more about it, because I could explain in details the whole storyline.

I love all the characters, but Jade is definitely the best. He's quite a guy. He always make sarcastic remarks and destabilizes everybody in the party. He looks cold but he's a friendly man. He doesn't like to show his emotions and never tells about himself, but he's pretty intelligent and has an answer for almost everything. Then Luke is wonderful too. I like the way he acts. Reminds me of myself too. Too bad he cuts his air after the fall of Akzeriuth... He and Asch (who is something like... let's say his twin) are so cute. That's the two of them in my avatar, with Luke on the left and Asch on the right.

 

Well, I think I told almost everything. Almost, because I could keep on talking about these games and especially Tales of the Abyss for ages. To make a long story short: I love these games.

Sorry if I wrote too much, but I couldn't really express my feelings without that. Let's hope I didn't make too many stupid mistakes because I'm too lazy to read it again.

[KageSora]

Personally, I think Ratty....Er, Ratatosk being named after a squirrel is endlessly amusing, but that might be because I have a soft spot for squirrels... I cracked up in TWEWY with the Squirrel Noise... The squirrels where I live are funny, so when one shows up in a game, it automatically amuses me to no end. *is going to catch a Pachirisu and name it Ratatosk*

 

 

Eh, lots of people really seem to hate Emil. ;.=.; I guess that explains why I have no friends. Very few of us Emil fans seem to exist compared to the number of Emil-haters. ;.=.; Ah well, to each their own, ne?

 

For me, ToS2 was harder to get into, the whole "Lloyd the villain" thing and all. But after finding out some spoilers online, I gave it another try, and it really started picking up for me like chapter 4+ and stuff, IIRC.

 

I really wanna play Abyss, so I need some time to play. Probably start within the next week, should have enough free time.

[ZionPercona]

I thought Symphonia was an awesome game. My total play time was over 100 hours. But I did a lot of title/weapon collecting.

 

I haven't picked up the second game, I really haven't been visiting game stores that much.

[KageSora]

Second game seems to be sort of hit-and-miss if you like it or not. If you do pick it up, fair warning. Things may not be as they seem at the start of the game, and things DO get better as the game goes on. Especially once you start getting to chapters 4+, IMO. But it really does seem to be a hot-and-miss sort of deal. There are people that absolutely love it (like me) and people that absolutely hate it. There's some people in-between, too, though.

 

Same with the characters. People seem to either really like Emil (the main character) [like me, he's my favorite], or absolutely hate him [and these seem to be in the majority....] But I'd definitely suggest giving it a shot, and trying to get through it all. Playing that game... Best 56 hours of my life. I was waaaay over leveled for the end of the game (on normal difficulty). Honestly, the second-to-last boss I took no hits on, and the last boss I beat in like 15-16 seconds. Of course, I also had some of the best equipment in the game...

 

The monster system was something that I liked, though I didn't honestly get the hang of it until right near the end. I'm not one of those people that likes to go to guides and find stuff out like how aspects of a game work. Trial and error FTW

 

 

EDIT: I can once again say that I have too much love of the ' ' face. Though at least I've only gotten the 'too many emoticons' error once.

Edited May 24, 2009 by KageSora

[Silver Wulf]

Playing that game... Best 56 hours of my life.

...Really? It only took me 28 hours to finish it, and I always try to do all the side quests and find all the chests...

 

It's not that I hate Emil. It's just that... He doesn't have that magic thing that makes Lloyd or Luke or Jade special. Tales of Symphonia 2 is really bad compared to the first one, but it is quite a good game. I even did the two endings, because I was curious, and I was still a bit sad when it ended.

By the way, is it just me, or at the end of the game with the good ending there a big white screen with the word "Fin" on it?

[KageSora]

Heh, I just ended up fighting battles over and over, and stuff because it was so fun to drag the gameplay out.

 

Actually, there's three endings. Good (Yay for living as a human!), Normal (same as Good, but you don't get that nifty little extra stuff about Emil and Ratatosk separating), and Bad (suicide = answer to all his problems! >.=.>)

 

Ummm... I dunno, I can't remember about the ending... *looks on youtube* Yah, it does.

[Silver Wulf]

Actually, there's three endings.  Good (Yay for living as a human!), Normal (same as Good, but you don't get that nifty little extra stuff about Emil and Ratatosk separating), and Bad (suicide = answer to all his problems!  >.=.>)

 

Ummm...  I dunno, I can't remember about the ending...  *looks on youtube*  Yah, it does.

 

**Spoilers**

 

I think I didn't see the "Normal" ending then. I did the "Bad" one by fighting Marta and Lloyd, and then Emil kills himself and everything is really sad and so. I also did the "Good" ending, by letting Marta and Lloyd fight me without even reacting. Emil and Ratatosk separate, Emil goes back to live a normal human life and Ratatosk stays with Richter. How do you get the "Normal" ending?

 

And for the "Fin" thing, it shocked me because I'm French and I didn't expect to see a French word at the end of a game... Just like the boss of the Asgard dungeon: his spells have French names, Moulin Rouge for example. Same with Tales of the Abyss: Tear can learn Éclair de Larmes and use Flamme Rouge with a FOF Change.

Nothing really interesting, just funny.

[KageSora]

Oh, Fin is French? Never knew that, whenever I see it, I kinda just thought of it as short for Finish. I LEARNED SOMETHING AWESOME TODAY! YAAAAY! Actually... On the package, it's bilingual--English and French. At least, it is on the one I have. I've seen it at teh end of a few other games, too, IIRC... Can't remember which ones, but I know I've seen it before.

 

Well, you get the normal ending by letting Lloyd steal either the Fire core or the Lightning core. Basically just stand in the Lightning Temple and get hit by bolts of lightning 14-15 times. I think you are also supposed to pledge allegiance to Lloyd the Great at the start of the game. I just YouTubed it ,really.

 

I like the good ending... It's so sweet! Unless, like me, you like... Less-than-normal pairings. >.=.>

 

I was disappointed in the final fights, really. I mean, I beat Lloyd and Marta with 0 hits taken and I beat Ratatosk in 15-16 seconds or so. Yay for being like lvl 65 or something? I was all expecting it to be, y'know, HARD. >.=.<

 

 

Oh, LOL, I was in GameStop today grabbing something for my brother, and figured "Why not?" and picked up Vespira. So I'll be playing that and ToA soon.

 

 

((Wow. I got that 'too many emoticons' message again. I really gotta lay off that emote... LOL))

[Graeystone]

Liked Tales of Phantasia(SNES, not the GBA garbage!). Favorite has to be Tales of Destiny II (or Eternia in some places) for the PS1, not to be confused with ToD2 for PS2. Loved the chemistry between the characters in that one. Getting the cold weather outfits can be one of the funniest bits ever.

Replaying that one and am about to get the Ice Craymel.

 

Didn't like Tales of the Abyss because it always ground the heck out of my PS2.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Graeystone

[Aziku]

Tales of Symphonia was the first Tales game I played. I was online when I saw someone roleplaying Kratos! And when I when to Gamestop, THERE WAS KRATOS! I was like, 'COOL! 8D' and bought the game after reaidng the plot.

 

I love it <3 The characters are unique, the storyline is damn good, the battling system is awesome ( but hard if you played ToA first ) I. Love. Zelos. I dont know why. I just do. I end up liking all the flirts.

 

And Kratos.... I was so upset when I heard he wasnt gunna be in the second game ;; I havent played 2 yet, but I plan to.

 

 

And Tales of the Abyss... EPIC. WIN. Guy is mine <3

 

EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS EPIC. The plot, the way the characters act, the way they develop, the fighting system, the graphics... All epic. And.. IT CAME OUT ON MY BIRHTDAY >8D

[Katzyn]

I have only played Symphonia, Symphonia 2: Dawn of the New World, and Abyss. LOVED all three. =3

 

Favourite characters? Sheena, Asch, Tear, Emil, Marta.

[KageSora]

I have only played Symphonia, Symphonia 2: Dawn of the New World, and Abyss.  LOVED all three.  =3

 

Favourite characters?  Sheena, Asch, Tear, Emil, Marta.

You like Emil? Which Emil? Regular or RMode?

 

 

Marta.... I liked her at first. Then I realized how creepy she is. Now she kinda scares he with her obsessiveness... Though that's probably got something to do with the fact that I delt with somebody that acted almost exactly like a slightly toned-down version of her IRL...

[Katzyn]

You like Emil? Which Emil? Regular or RMode?

 

 

Marta.... I liked her at first. Then I realized how creepy she is. Now she kinda scares he with her obsessiveness... Though that's probably got something to do with the fact that I delt with somebody that acted almost exactly like a slightly toned-down version of her IRL...

I love both Emil's, lol, even though Emil Emil is pretty whiny. But he tries to be strong and brave for his Marta. <3

 

But I lovelovelove Ratatosk Emil, except when he's being more of a * than usual.

[KageSora]

Emil Emil is my favorite character. Probably because he reminds me of myself, IRL. Without the actually getting a backbone eventually part.

 

 

Ratatosk is awesome. I wanted to see his non-human form.

[acb757]

I've played Tales of symphonia

And tales of the world!

Favorite characters?

Definetly Genis and Arche!

[Zeagal]

The first one I played was Symphonia and I loved it. Abyss was another excellent Tales game. Loved the battle systems.

Edited June 8, 2009 by Zeagal

[Eczilon]

I love the Tales games... I never got to play Symphonia, but Abyss and Vesperia are a lot of fun!

[Zeagal]

Vesperia is coming out on PS3 right? I'll have to get it once I have a PS3.

[SakireiRoseCrescent]

The Tales of Symphonia games are my favorite. ^v^ Kratos Aurion = <3

[Yeuxambre]

I'll apologize in advance, but seeing this topic brought out the raving fangirl inside of me. Tales of Symphonia was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME! So prepare for my rant about the second...

 

In my opinion, the sequel was alright. I liked the monster bit (got a bit of Pokemon deja vu, lol) and I was ecstatic about seeing the old crew again, but there were some quirks that developed into extreme annoyances as the game went on:

 

- The Map. I loved the map of the first Symphonia, where you could actually explore and stuff. It was too cool, and they scrapped it. Too sad.

- The long delay before a battle. There's this new loading time that was not in the old game. Even if I had never played the first one, waiting for 15-20 at the least before each battle was beyond irritating.

- The voice changes. Genis, Raine, Sheena, and Lloyd especially: why oh why couldn't they have kept the old voices?! D'x I'm not the only fan that cried while holding his ears!

- The overall easier play. One of the things that made Symphonia great was the deep complexity of the games and puzzles, challenging to the very last! This game was like a walk in the park compared to that, and while I was relieved deep-down (never do I want to experience some of those puzzles in the first TofS again), I was still a bit disappointed.

 

Overall, it did not live up to the first game, but was an okay singular title. I'd give it a 7 as a stand-alone and a 4 as a sequel; I think that's being very generous, people! That said, I did enjoy playing it, and I'm satisfied since I got to see my beloved characters again.

Edited June 12, 2009 by Yeuxambre

[KageSora]

The Tales of Symphonia games are my favorite. ^v^ Kratos Aurion = <3

I hate Kratos. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've never been able to make myself like him. Though I admit my animosity towards him has started lessening lately, for no real reason.

 

Simply wondering, why do people like him? Not trying to be sarcastic, I'm honestly wondering. I can explain why I like the characters I like, but I can't understand exactly what people like about Kratos. Maybe if I knew, I could start to dislike him less?

[Victory_Stars]

I think they like him because he fills the 'badass' role in the game?

 

So far Iv'e only playes Symphonia..and guess who my favourite character is..go on..guess.

[Jemindra]

Vesperia is coming out on PS3 right? I'll have to get it once I have a PS3.

Yep. Along with a brand new character. Dunno if the US will get it.

[KageSora]

I think they like him because he fills the 'badass' role in the game?

 

So far Iv'e only playes Symphonia..and guess who my favourite character is..go on..guess.

Is it Lord Yggdrasil?