gotta say, my first tales game. i hate it

[[TAW] Derisat Hartfelt]

My first tales game, got 4 on this huge sale I'd figured, lets start with the one that was famous. Installed the fixes. loaded up, started playing. IGNORING the DUMB AS HELL STORY

Combat, ugh (using a controller) can only seem to jump vertically, placing it on manual prevents using any tech that requires a direction input besides forward.

No explanation on how to use the unlocked BLUE abilities. Attack combos dont register every button push, so you have to slowly meter out a 3 hit combo.

There's so little explanation on how to do anything, combat is a nightmare (tempted just to put it on auto and let it handle itself and hack in infinite potions or some ♥♥♥♥)

Maybe it's dated, maybe it's bad game design powered by the nostalgia of a playerbase i was never apart of. I think I'll return the other 3 games before I get to far past the return date

[Devsman]

This was one of the ones I didn't like. Symphonia, Phantasia, both bad.
Destiny was ok but I think mine glitched out so I had to watch the ending on YouTube.

Abyss and Vesperia are excellent though.

[Emmy]

Your takes on the combat sound like an odd input issue.. You really should be able to jump any which way and aim your attacks quite easily.

Blue abilities mean you're close to learning it. For instance, if you see you are about to learn Sonic Thrust, then randomly attacking in combat will have you learn it. Alternatively, something like a Lv.2 Tech: Double Demon Fang would be blue if you were the right level to learn it, but won't be learned until you use Lv.1 Demon Fang X amount of times.

There are constant explanations on how to do anything you 'need' to know((if ever lost in where to actually go, referring to the synopsis system in your menu will help put you back on track)) you have to remember as well though, this game came out during an era where instruction booklets were commonplace and expected.

Beyond that, idk, Symphonia's story is it's best feature. Seemingly simple, yet turns into one of the best in all of RPGs. My favorite of all time due to it's incredible cast of characters and world-building.

I would dare to give it more time with an open mind, it's one of the most rewarding stories and progression systems in the genre, just remember it's a long game that 'builds up' essentially.

tldr: Symphonia fans aren't blinded by decades old love, it REALLY is that good once you get into it.

[Korana Noth]

See I generally enjoy the combat. I'll fully admit that I probably don't get it any more than you do, but I think it's fun.

It's also really this game's only redeeming quality. The story and minigames are awful lol

[Shadic]

Originally posted by TAW Derisat Hartfelt:

My first tales game, got 4 on this huge sale I'd figured, lets start with the one that was famous. Installed the fixes. loaded up, started playing. IGNORING the DUMB AS HELL STORY

Combat, ugh (using a controller) can only seem to jump vertically, placing it on manual prevents using any tech that requires a direction input besides forward.

No explanation on how to use the unlocked BLUE abilities. Attack combos dont register every button push, so you have to slowly meter out a 3 hit combo.

There's so little explanation on how to do anything, combat is a nightmare (tempted just to put it on auto and let it handle itself and hack in infinite potions or some ♥♥♥♥)

Maybe it's dated, maybe it's bad game design powered by the nostalgia of a playerbase i was never apart of. I think I'll return the other 3 games before I get to far past the return date

seems like you're having a controller problem

[[TAW] Derisat Hartfelt]

I returned the other games, I couldn't return this since I was at 3 hours. But I won't be playing it again. I did not enjoy any aspect of the game I played. I got DQ11 and Palia instead.

I'm gonna put some thoughts on the start of the plot here.

As FAR as the villagers know at the START of the game, the attackers are in fact the nearby elves (obviously the foreshadowing shows they aren't but the villagers don't know that)

So the treaty was broken by the elves "apparently", they are militant and violent and raiding the temple. So OF COURSE the Chosen One and her school friends should definitely go to that temple against filled with hostile soldiers. The LITTLE GIRL is the chosen one destined to screw over the elves, so it makes sense they would be there to; at best kidnap her, at worst, slaughter the entire village.

I could go on and on about how come the chosen one isn't safe in the capital with a swarm of elite knight body guards to escort her on the journey etc.. etc.. etc..

Or on how the MC gets banished for "breaking the truce" when literally the same day the truce was "apparently" ignored and the temple clergy were slaughtered by "the elves".

You have to suspend some disbelief to a truly ignorant level at the very START of the game to swallow that horse pill of BS.

That writing right there, was 8th grade level logic. So I wont concede it's a well written story, it's a middle school level story at best.

I can't believe it gets better, I refuse to believe.
I'm guessing the MC was an Elf or part elf, hence his core and strength, same with his BF. The baddies at the start are some other faction, a kingdom (possibly a cult). The story is gonna have childish level representation of racism, genocide, revenge, and stupid hero syndrome where the MC charges off at a terrible time and makes a dumb jock decision that gets the Chosen one and/or his BF injured, kidnapped, etc.. etc.. etc..

There are older games, with true 3d arena combat, better writing, and SMARTER characters. Grandia 1 and 2 has full movement combat and are ps1 games, Xenosaga has better writing (ignore the 2nd disk, budget cuts). Zelda: OoT, LoD, Skies of Arcadia, ff9 and any number of child protag games for n64, playstation 1, dreamcast. All these predate this game, and they do a better job in every category from combat to writing to character design also keeping the ANIME feel for many of the ones mentioned.

I don't know how this became some famous nostalgia game when it's lower mid to mid.
If you like it, more power to you, but it doesn't hold up against it's peers, or predecessors. But it turned me off the WHOLE series.

[Devsman]

Honestly, you should keep playing JUST so that when it turns out the bad guy's motivation in this already complex society is I hate racism you can ragelaugh at how damn stupid it is like I did.

It's like some thirteen-year-old's webcomic became a video game.

[Emmy]

Originally posted by Devsman:

Honestly, you should keep playing JUST so that when it turns out the bad guy's motivation in this already complex society is I hate racism you can ragelaugh at how damn stupid it is like I did.

It's like some thirteen-year-old's webcomic became a video game.

That is what he verbally states it as, but it's... A lot more, which to be fair might not be entirely understood just taking the game's main scenes exclusively and at face value.

What I feel makes "the bad guy" so interesting though is the well-executed parallel between them and the protagonist, it's really clever when put next to a lot of other story's main conflicting forces.

[Emmy]

Originally posted by TAW Derisat Hartfelt:

I returned the other games, I couldn't return this since I was at 3 hours. But I won't be playing it again. I did not enjoy any aspect of the game I played. I got DQ11 and Palia instead.

I'm gonna put some thoughts on the start of the plot here.

As FAR as the villagers know at the START of the game, the attackers are in fact the nearby elves (obviously the foreshadowing shows they aren't but the villagers don't know that)

So the treaty was broken by the elves "apparently", they are militant and violent and raiding the temple. So OF COURSE the Chosen One and her school friends should definitely go to that temple against filled with hostile soldiers. The LITTLE GIRL is the chosen one destined to screw over the elves, so it makes sense they would be there to; at best kidnap her, at worst, slaughter the entire village.

I could go on and on about how come the chosen one isn't safe in the capital with a swarm of elite knight body guards to escort her on the journey etc.. etc.. etc..

Or on how the MC gets banished for "breaking the truce" when literally the same day the truce was "apparently" ignored and the temple clergy were slaughtered by "the elves".

You have to suspend some disbelief to a truly ignorant level at the very START of the game to swallow that horse pill of BS.

That writing right there, was 8th grade level logic. So I wont concede it's a well written story, it's a middle school level story at best.

I can't believe it gets better, I refuse to believe.
I'm guessing the MC was an Elf or part elf, hence his core and strength, same with his BF. The baddies at the start are some other faction, a kingdom (possibly a cult). The story is gonna have childish level representation of racism, genocide, revenge, and stupid hero syndrome where the MC charges off at a terrible time and makes a dumb jock decision that gets the Chosen one and/or his BF injured, kidnapped, etc.. etc.. etc..

There are older games, with true 3d arena combat, better writing, and SMARTER characters. Grandia 1 and 2 has full movement combat and are ps1 games, Xenosaga has better writing (ignore the 2nd disk, budget cuts). Zelda: OoT, LoD, Skies of Arcadia, ff9 and any number of child protag games for n64, playstation 1, dreamcast. All these predate this game, and they do a better job in every category from combat to writing to character design also keeping the ANIME feel for many of the ones mentioned.

I don't know how this became some famous nostalgia game when it's lower mid to mid.
If you like it, more power to you, but it doesn't hold up against it's peers, or predecessors. But it turned me off the WHOLE series.

As I stated in my previous post, it's deceptively simple and stupid in the beginning, but with knowledge of the entire plot literally everything makes sense in really interesting ways, like even the tiniest details.

I could debunk every single thing you thought about the intro's plot that seemed 'wrong' or stupid', at the cost of spoiling a lot. Your "guess" paragraph isn't accurate.

While I love many of the other games you've listed, they unironically pale in comparison to the writing of Symphonia and gameplay-wise it's like you dipped your toes into the ocean and started talking smack to deep-sea creatures. From what you said you've played, you haven't even really opened up the combat.

But honestly, no matter how hard I try to convince you, your opinion seems set in stone since you "refuse to believe it gets better". Tragic. It is seriously some of the smartest writing and good dungeon design you'll ever see in JRPGs.

[Luna ~]

i grew up with this game on GC honestly i agree that it kinda sucks

[Emmy]

Originally posted by Luna:

i grew up with this game on GC honestly i agree that it kinda sucks

P5R enjoyer

[darth.crevette]

It is still to this day one of the best in the series. Pure magic. Sad that you didn't enjoy it.

[Luna ~]

Originally posted by Emmy:

Originally posted by Luna:

i grew up with this game on GC honestly i agree that it kinda sucks

P5R enjoyer :clown_ooo:

and?


Anyway OP if you think the story and combat is bad (which combat can just be afk'd with Swordrain-Tiger rage - while mashing LT and RT short cuts with paraball and Sonic Thrust or devastation and watch bosses just melt biggest problem with any RPG is people have a healer when just raw DPS kills everything)
just wait til you get to the god awful trash puzzles, Hell I havent done ymir forest in like 8 years because its utter trash i just Gorge skip 100% of the time because its just unfun like every puzzle in this game.

[Devsman]

Originally posted by Luna:

combat can just be afk'd with Swordrain-Tiger rage - while mashing LT and RT short cuts with paraball and Sonic Thrust or devastation and watch bosses just melt

Ok I'm sorry but you cannot do any of this while away from keyboard. Or controller, in your case.

[Luna ~]

Originally posted by Devsman:

Originally posted by Luna:

combat can just be afk'd with Swordrain-Tiger rage - while mashing LT and RT short cuts with paraball and Sonic Thrust or devastation and watch bosses just melt

Ok I'm sorry but you cannot do any of this while away from keyboard. Or controller, in your case.

You took afk literally, i meant it in the way that its so boring stun locking every boss as they melt doing the same 3 skills while shortcut spamming to keep them in place and the combo going. though technically i could do it away from the keyboard and controller with just steamdeck cause its a PC not a controller :)

[EdgarAllenSwole]

The game is growing on me but I really hate how unpredictable your allies are. It sucks when they run directly into boss combos and either die outright or spend the next minute healing.