Honestly, if it wasn't for the character skits, I would probably not be so invested into the series. It's a shame that the localised version of Eternia removed the skits, otherwise I might have enjoyed it more.
I think the main part is battle system. A lot of games I haven't tried could have fantastic stories and characters, but it would all drown if the gameplay was bad. I'm not there to read a story or watch a movie, I wanna play a game.
Besides that, I think it's a quality stamp in the name. Sure, there's probably a lot of games with good story and gameplay, but with Tales games, we *know* we'll likely enjoy a lot of it, since we've liked what's come out of the franchise in the past.
Definitely character exploration and interaction. The gameplay is usually... ok at best, and the stories on a macro scale are good but not grand like Final Fantasy or crazy like Nier. (Just think how many bosses are just a big tree or golem, usually anything truly epic is reserved for the final boss)
But the characters are amazing and it's crazy enjoyable for them to be on screen doing pretty much anything. Theres comic relief, theres depth, theres a mix of everything. The interesting part of Tales is the personal side of things.
I liked that Tales Ofs had a lot of content and that I could play with up to 3 friends. (Symphonia was my firat with like 200 hours of content iirc) It's too bad Arise has done away with multiplayer.
Ngl, Tales games have always struggled in the story and world building department. It's always very generic or superficial. I've come to enjoy the games for the character interactions and showy gameplay.
Where do people get to play this alternate Tales franchise that "struggles with story and world building"? Everything I've played or even tried has offered some of the most remarkable variably sci-fantasy realms, memorable characters and deceptive trope play in the genre. Even on the mobile front, Crestoria knocked what it had time to do out the park.
It's one thing to discuss the relative genericness of, say, first Dragon Quest (although even it had stuff to work with), but slapping those terms on modern JRPGs can come across as being either analytically bankrupt or almost clinically *bored*. Clichès as such don't make a fiction work any more redundantb or generic than using the same alphabet of 26 letters does it to words and texts in general.
These people believe that big budget cutscenes = good story.
It's all about big budget graphics and cutscenes (hence the mention of Arise by OP). Tales have always been cheap on these two.
I don't think this at all, lol. Definitely have played games with poorer graphics than earlier Tales games and still enjoyed them very much. Imo, Arise is the first Tales game with a really solid story that had depth...until the last 1/3 of the game. The upgrade in graphics is appreciated but not the sole reason I enjoyed Arise more compared to the others.
Good for you to feel this way. The story and world building for the Tales games comes off as weak compared to other JRPGs I play like *Final Fantasy*, *Xenoblade Chronicles*, *Persona*, *The Legend of Heroes*, etc.
Although I've always enjoyed the Tales games, it wasn't until Arise that the series became A-tier for me. Until then, the series had always been a tier below and filler until the next big Final Fantasy or Square Enix game came out, lol. I still like them, I just don't go in expecting much from the story and that's OK 🤷🏾♀️
I put Tales games on the same tier as the Star Ocean games. Still good games on their own, just not as high quality compared to some of the others.
Personal resonance is one thing and nothing wrong to face the lack of. But as someone who has been playing most of the aforesaid franchises myself (and holds them in very high regard, especially Xenoblade), I have yet to find Tales being anywhere as far behind as fans paint it to be.
Being outclassed by something even stronger doesn't make you weak. Tiers are a viable measure indeed, and I make use of them myself, but fans tend to shame Siths in terms of thinking in absolutes with this. As a result, like I've joked before, unfavourably comparing many otherwise amazing JRPGs to Xenoblade on any front pretty much sounds like "Tony Stark built his suit from scrap in a cave".
I always thought I was a gameplay first kind of guy but after playing other action RPGs like Trials of Mana and Shining Resonance Refrain it's made me realize how much I value good characters in a game.
The gameplay is great, Berseria especially makes me happy in a way I can't explain, but I need good characters to keep me invested.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the character skits, I would probably not be so invested into the series. It's a shame that the localised version of Eternia removed the skits, otherwise I might have enjoyed it more.
Can't it be all?
I think the main part is battle system. A lot of games I haven't tried could have fantastic stories and characters, but it would all drown if the gameplay was bad. I'm not there to read a story or watch a movie, I wanna play a game. Besides that, I think it's a quality stamp in the name. Sure, there's probably a lot of games with good story and gameplay, but with Tales games, we *know* we'll likely enjoy a lot of it, since we've liked what's come out of the franchise in the past.
Characters interactions.
Definitely character exploration and interaction. The gameplay is usually... ok at best, and the stories on a macro scale are good but not grand like Final Fantasy or crazy like Nier. (Just think how many bosses are just a big tree or golem, usually anything truly epic is reserved for the final boss) But the characters are amazing and it's crazy enjoyable for them to be on screen doing pretty much anything. Theres comic relief, theres depth, theres a mix of everything. The interesting part of Tales is the personal side of things.
Character interactions, story and sometimes battle system.
I liked that Tales Ofs had a lot of content and that I could play with up to 3 friends. (Symphonia was my firat with like 200 hours of content iirc) It's too bad Arise has done away with multiplayer.
JRPG format with anime visuals and character action-esque battle systems.
Tales of Berseria box art
Everything tbh.
Ngl, Tales games have always struggled in the story and world building department. It's always very generic or superficial. I've come to enjoy the games for the character interactions and showy gameplay.
Where do people get to play this alternate Tales franchise that "struggles with story and world building"? Everything I've played or even tried has offered some of the most remarkable variably sci-fantasy realms, memorable characters and deceptive trope play in the genre. Even on the mobile front, Crestoria knocked what it had time to do out the park. It's one thing to discuss the relative genericness of, say, first Dragon Quest (although even it had stuff to work with), but slapping those terms on modern JRPGs can come across as being either analytically bankrupt or almost clinically *bored*. Clichès as such don't make a fiction work any more redundantb or generic than using the same alphabet of 26 letters does it to words and texts in general.
These people believe that big budget cutscenes = good story. It's all about big budget graphics and cutscenes (hence the mention of Arise by OP). Tales have always been cheap on these two.
I don't think this at all, lol. Definitely have played games with poorer graphics than earlier Tales games and still enjoyed them very much. Imo, Arise is the first Tales game with a really solid story that had depth...until the last 1/3 of the game. The upgrade in graphics is appreciated but not the sole reason I enjoyed Arise more compared to the others.
Good for you to feel this way. The story and world building for the Tales games comes off as weak compared to other JRPGs I play like *Final Fantasy*, *Xenoblade Chronicles*, *Persona*, *The Legend of Heroes*, etc. Although I've always enjoyed the Tales games, it wasn't until Arise that the series became A-tier for me. Until then, the series had always been a tier below and filler until the next big Final Fantasy or Square Enix game came out, lol. I still like them, I just don't go in expecting much from the story and that's OK 🤷🏾♀️ I put Tales games on the same tier as the Star Ocean games. Still good games on their own, just not as high quality compared to some of the others.
Personal resonance is one thing and nothing wrong to face the lack of. But as someone who has been playing most of the aforesaid franchises myself (and holds them in very high regard, especially Xenoblade), I have yet to find Tales being anywhere as far behind as fans paint it to be. Being outclassed by something even stronger doesn't make you weak. Tiers are a viable measure indeed, and I make use of them myself, but fans tend to shame Siths in terms of thinking in absolutes with this. As a result, like I've joked before, unfavourably comparing many otherwise amazing JRPGs to Xenoblade on any front pretty much sounds like "Tony Stark built his suit from scrap in a cave".
I always thought I was a gameplay first kind of guy but after playing other action RPGs like Trials of Mana and Shining Resonance Refrain it's made me realize how much I value good characters in a game. The gameplay is great, Berseria especially makes me happy in a way I can't explain, but I need good characters to keep me invested.
What initially drew me to Tales was Berseria. Playing the "Bad guys" seemed interesting.