| Soriku said:
Just saying I disagree doesn't say anything. That's not a discussion and there were things in your post that had to be addressed. "Also, of course Symphonia and Abyss have different characters, towns, story and subtle differences in the combat, but the basis is the same. I don't even get what the hell you are getting at." You can really like Symphonia but not like Abyss and vice versa. I've seen this opinion a lot regarding these two ames. I think most people's experience about Tales really hinges on how much they like the story and cast, but there are enough differences between those two games that you can like one but not the other - even from a game design perspective. Like the dungeons in Symphonia and Abyss just don't feel the same, for example. Also there are big differences in the combat between Symphonia and Abyss. Like Free Run and Fields of Fonons. "So, i do think that fans like you are the reason the series has arrived to this point. I also wonder if you even played the older titles because your love for the new ones is disproportional." Outside of combat feedback, the Tales team really seems like it's doing whatever the fuck the want in terms of designing games. I wouldn't blame the fans. I played Destiny, Eternia, Symphonia, and Abyss for "older titles". I think the biggest problems the Tales series has now is shoddy dungeon design (which was better in Zestiria but still not nearly at the level of a game like Symphonia), bland fields (again improved in Zestiria), and bad animations (especially in Xillia 2, at times). Maybe lack of content but I think there's still enough there. I think the last Tales game with tons and tons of content was Graces. "Combat. Thanks for proving me right that they are making it generic. As for control. Not even close. I mean everyone can say what they will, but there is a reason 2D fighters are more popular than 3D fighters, for example, or why 2D platformers are better than 3D platformers. Its easier to control, theres more precision." Generic maybe in comparison to other Tales titles. Again I think Xillia 2 has the best combat system in the series, it has a sideview angle, but I never felt Graces or Zestiria were harder to control. They're not quite as good but for different reasons. I think the biggest highlights of XIllia 2 for me was the really flexible free run, highly improved aerial combat, and weakness system. "In Graces, the damage you deal increases exponentially when you combo with your party members. I'm sure you know this. I just don't know why you are pretending you don't." Well duh, that's how it is in every Tales game. More people attacking = more damage. That's just common sense. You can still do crazy damage on your own. Why is this flaw? "World maps haven't been a thing because someone randomly decided they shouldnt be, much like the random people that thought survival horror wasn't a thing anymore. It is a bad decision. They are quality systems that benefit's RPG's in gameflow and exploration. It cuts on the fat of traveling from A to B has to be an exercise on boredom. Their loss was literally a step back for JRPG's. The only acceptable alternative is a fully blown open world like Xenoblade's. But even that fails to convey the sense of scale a world map does." Developers wanted to make realistic worlds with realistic maps. World maps aren't realistic at all. "Xillia does not have good pacing AT ALL. Why don't you go replay symphonia and compare how fast things move along. Also time how long it takes you to get to places before teleports. Also, count how many times the same envyronment is used. It's this kind of comment that makes me think you are totally not honest about any of this." Pacing wise the only thing Symphonia has over Xillia is a faster paced beginning. But Xillia's second half, especially when the war starts, doesn't let up. Symphonia still has slower moments - Xillia just continues to escalate until you reach Elympios, then it slows down a bit, but then quickly picks back up. I never felt the pacing was this good in a Tales game before Xillia. "I will also repeat. The Graces combat is not good and SOME say it is because its very flashy and looks cool in motion. It's bad feedback because its not a good combat system and make no mistake, it WILL kill the series. Without the 2D combat, Tales is just another generic JRPG." Even with a 3D angle, Tales combat is not comparable to anything else except Star Ocean...and even then SO subsytems are way different that they can't even be compared that closely if you do in depth. SO5 is going to come out with its seamless battles and 3D camera angle and it's still going to be vastly different from Berseria. "Xillia 2 combat is good besides the old problem of stuff dieing in one combo. But the fact that it needed replacing was the Tales team conclusion, not mine. And, its obviously a bad one. We can also see how your stance in playing these games is different from a normal player. "going out and killing some big monsters is not a big deal". Yes! It is! Because you are forced to do it. You are forced to do side quests to advance the story. Guess what, content you do so you can acess the content you want to do is BORING! Notbto mention how Nova constantly pesters you about it. For anyone wanting an idea, its very much like the FFX-2 structure." What makes you think Xillia's system was replaced? They try something different with each game man. Like in Berseria they're allowing you to map artes to each button now and fully control the camera. We're not sure what subsystems are in place yet. Berseria takes place in the same universe as Zestiria so it makes sense they're using a somewhat similar system. Maybe in the next Tales after they'll go back to a 2D sideview, who knows? Even in Xillia 2 they took some feedback from Graces. Killing one simple boss monster is not a big deal. They're well designed encounters, it takes little time, and anyway I thought the combat system was a draw in this series? At least they're not forcing you to clear out mobs, or collect things. There are more boring ways they could've thought of to have you progress. Taking the time each chapter to kill one boss is really inoffensive. If you're bored by something like that, why are you playing the game at this point? So basically you're not interested in the combat anymore? Or would you rather fight the standard mobs in the field? Because as soon as you move on to that next field or dungeon, that's exactly what you're going to do. And frankly I'd rather fight the boss monsters which are much more fun. |
Fair enough. You are entitled to your views.
I just want to say that in Graces the damage you do when comboing with party member scales quite dramatically (not even comparable to other titles in the series... maybe bar Zesteria cause i havent gone too far on it yet to check) and is essential for beating the difficult encounters. I totally don't think you do good damage by yourself on that game. Its totally unrewarding. If you don't combo with others the battle will take a very long time. Its a very unbalanced game in terms of numbers.
