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Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 2:41 am
by OL
Monkei wrote:
AnimeGamer183 wrote: Demos mean almost next to nothing these days as most of them are very different from the final product.


In that they're shorter? :P Which drastically differing demos are you talking about?


Yeah, I honestly can't think of any I've played in the past few years that were "drastically different" from the final product.

Anyway, the Berseria one did nothing to get me back in the mood for Tales. I dunno, something about the newer games is just too... "anime." I never minded the tropes and cliches before, but now it's finally worn on me.
Initiated a skit in the demo where some of the adult characters try to explain adult things to one of the kid characters, complete with exaggerated anime awkwardness, and all I could do was groan and think "I feel like I've heard this exact same shit in at least three other Tales games."
Every time a Tales game is announced it seems to promise major tonal changes (was the case for Xillia, Xillia 2, Zestiria, and now Berseria), but every time it remains the same anime goofiness. I thought Berseria was set to be darker... but really it's just that the main character looks a bit more gothic. Otherwise, it's all the same.
It's weird, because I still get all tingly thinking about some of the earlier games, like Phantasia, Destiny, Abyss, and even Vesperia. I still love those, without a doubt.
I just think it's gonna be awhile before I can put up with any more of the newer ones (though I do still intend to go back to Graces at some point; despite it's colorful designs, I remember there being some surprisingly dark stuff in there that actually did feel different for the series).

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:16 am
by south carmain
Yeah as much as I would like to enjoy the tales series these days I just end up cringing too much when playing them. But I guess that's just what the established fanbase wants so I don't expect it to change anytime soon, that being said it would be cool if they released just one game with a more down to earth tone.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:12 am
by Raithos
Unfortunately, with the exception some PC only RPG's the tired, cringe worthy anime clichés seem to be commonplace nowadays. Even more so than in the past. I used to say the same thing when I first played through Symphonia. I really noticed it again when I played through Abyss again recently too. That sort of stuff has always been in Tales but has steadily gotten worse. Thankfully they aren’t mandatory :) If its really bothering me in game I just ignore the skits until I'm in an area important to the story and just enjoy the battle systems. I do wish we would get a more grounded story for a change though.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 2:29 pm
by AnimeGamer183
I wouldnt write Berseria off just yet guys. I assume everyone heard about how it was censored for violence to meet rating standards in the west? There was a very dark scene involving a kid they doctored up, I dont know all the details because I didnt want spoilers but I caught a few glimpses of the scene, so I think there is SOME kind of edgy new direction they went with this one, they just kept alot of the old Tales we all know in it as well, which I have no problem with personally, Also what Raithos said, Skits are optional.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 5:40 pm
by OL
Had to look it up, and yeah, it's a dark scene. But Tales has had plenty of dark scenes before; Yuri straight up murders someone in Vesperia (completely unapologetic, too), and one of the main characters gets violently impaled by a monster in Graces, not much different from that Berseria scene.
A little here, a little there.
But I was hoping Berseria would represent something much different, not just as a series of adult/violent scenes and moments, but rather as a drastic visual/atmospheric shift. The majority of that first teaser for Berseria almost made it look like a sort of mix between Tales and Castlevania, in a way. The dark shades of purple, red, and black, the gothic design of the main character, the prevalence of werewolves and darkness. Was hoping for more of that... yet the demo takes place in a sunny beach area and features a number of silly cartoon cat things (not to mention the regurgitated skit concepts and exaggerated characters).
Not writing the game itself off completely; I just know now that, for the grand, grand majority of the game's 60+ hour playtime, it's still gonna be filled more with all the dumb anime goofiness, rather than the more interesting gothic elements I was hoping for.
Might hit it up in a few years or something.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:09 pm
by AnimeGamer183
Yeah, kind of makes you wonder why they censored that part at all. But at any rate, I would at least hold out until we get some solid reviews, or explanation on the vibe of the game. Fuck I am behind, I need to play Zestiria, I was so pumped for it and it got left in the dust for a year and a half.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 4:55 am
by Thief
Reason I stopped playing Bravely Default almost instantly. The game booted up and there was some anime girl saying something in a british accent along the lines of "we've just got to save the maclacadingdong crystal from the hands of the evil zoopaboopa empire!!!" and all I could think was "I'm too old for this shit" and turned it off.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:37 am
by OL
Well, that's it to some extent, sort of. I understand the sentiment of feeling too old for certain things, though it's not always something I mind.
Bravely Default has, at the very least, the benefit of a slightly elevated level of art design and a sort of basic simplicity to its concept that makes it feel (and I say this having only watched videos) almost classier, in a way, than the stuff I'm talking about. Sure, it's got all that "save the princess" childishness going for it (and I agree, the voice acting is pretty cringe-worthy), but there's a slightly more timeless quality to it that you don't get from the stark-lined, "pop anime" aesthetics of the Tales series. Plus, that AR card-fueled intro was pretty rad.
Weirdly, the mention of it has actually made me kind of want to try Bravely Default now. :lol:

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:17 am
by Thief
I guess I don't mean "too old" to be in direct relation to my age, but rather, just being over something. It's fine to like something aimed towards children, but after a while for me, enough is enough. I just don't value these things as much as I used to, and don't want to spend my time playing them. To those that do still value them, not a problem at all, but I just can't stand generic jrpg nonsense anymore.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:33 am
by south carmain
Thief wrote: I guess I don't mean "too old" to be in direct relation to my age, but rather, just being over something. It's fine to like something aimed towards children, but after a while for me, enough is enough. I just don't value these things as much as I used to, and don't want to spend my time playing them. To those that do still value them, not a problem at all, but I just can't stand generic jrpg nonsense anymore.

Have you ever considered that you're just a baka and not very kawai desu-ne?

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:40 am
by Thief
私はばかですか

... はい

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:07 am
by AnimeGamer183
BD is an excellent game with some unpolished flaws that were so repetitive I had to put it down. There are alot of options, the story is good enough, and it does really remind you of JRPGs of old, specifically Final Fantasy which it is basically an unofficial game in that series.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 1:32 am
by AnimeGamer183
phpBB [video]


This review really makes me like the sound of Bersersia. Also you should watch it OL, I think it may address some concerns you had and put your mind at ease.

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 2:08 am
by OL
Yeah, I actually saw a little bit of buzz earlier on facebook about how surprisingly good it actually is.
I dunno. I'm still a bit leery about it; keep in mind I never actually said it looks bad, just that I don't know if I can go for the same-old anime tropes at this particular moment. Even with a darker story in place, and even if the demo was just a bad showing for the game, the characters still fit into the same basic checklist of Tales archetypes. That much was definitely evident from the demo. And the art style doesn't help much (I used to be such a huge fan of Kosuke Fujishima, but that's gone downhill over the past several years; Phantasia is still some of my favorite though).
Still, nice to hear that the overall product is a strong showing for the series. I'm gonna be occupied as it is for the next few months with a number of games anyway, but hey... one day I might check into it (still have to do the same with Zesteria too).

Re: Tales Series

PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:28 am
by AnimeGamer183
Yeah I probably wont play this game for quite some time either, I plan on playing Zesteria the next time i turn on a Tales game. I Canceled my pre-order for the Berseria Collectors Edition as i just couldnt justify the $150 price tag for it, really wish I could have gotten it but oh well maybe i'll be able to get my hands on one later or something. Its weird how the prices of the Tales CEs have slowly gone up, the Tales of Xillia one was only $99 then Xillia 2 and Zesteria were $130 and now this one $150, its ridiculous, also small prints of the CEs is probably why they are driving up the price.