Went back and finished up Tales of Berseria in wait for Vesperia

[SantaC]

I stopped playing Berseria about 75% into the game last year. Despite a promesing start to the game, I got bored by it in the 2nd half and I dropped it. I picked it up recently as a tune up for Tales of Vesperia.

And now I was reminded why I dropped it. The battle system is convulted and unnecessary complex. The equipment system is a mess (why do we need 100 different variants of one sword?) and you get thrown so much useless loot at you after each battle that it makes your inventory very cluttered. Bamco needs to clean up these things for their next Tales of game. It really shows that they have hit a roadblock when it comes to gameplay. A good cast and a good battle system is what makes Tales of games so much fun. The cast is okay in this one, but sadly most other things are medicore and the music is a step down from Zestiria.

I still finished up the game today, but I wasnt enjoying myself. Good thing ToVDE is looming around the corner.

 

[Tyaren]

Yeah, I'll gladly take the Vesperia remaster instead of all the newer or a brand new Tales game, because I do have lost faith in their ability to make as great and as polished JRPGs. So I am pretty excited to jump back into Vesperia in just a few weeks. Back then I've put over a hundred really fun hours in there and now there's even more stuff. :D

 

[Mitsurugi]

Good, now you'll get the upgrade feeling when you play Vesperia.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Have had it since day 1 and havnt played it yet.
Too many games

 

[plebc]

I pre-ordered Vesperia on Switch not even knowing what it is about, never played any of the games.

What am I in for? lol

 

[SantaC]

Good, now you'll get the upgrade feeling when you play Vesperia.

Click to shrink...

Absolutely. Though it shows that regression has happened with the series.

 

[Sabin]

What i wish for the next Tales of game is better dungeons (like srsly they fucking sucked since Xillia and it got worse with every entry), overworld and get rid of this awful equip system.

Asides from that Berseria was great.

 

[Waxwing]

I loved Xillia and Abyss. Haven't played Vesperia. But Zestiria was maddeningly mediocre and obtuse. Started Berseria on hearing the good reviews but quckly got bored (got past the start area, got bogged down somewhere on an island trying to get a ship). Just wasn't grabbing me for some reason.

 

[Celcius]

I really enjoyed Berseria but yeah, Vesperia is not only the best Tales of game but one of the best RPGs of all time.

 

[SantaC]

Asides from that Berseria was great.

Click to shrink...

I dont know. Basically only the cast felt great with this game. So many areas that could been better.

I spent 50 hours on it, but thats very little time for me. Normally i invest 150-200 in a good jrpg. In this game I just said fuck it.

 

[Footos22]

I'm just waiting for one where the combat was as good as graces f.

 

[Freezasaurus]

I liked Berseria just fine. Zestiria was the one I hated. But Vesperia is probably one of my favorite Tales games.

 

[Wagram]

I haven't played Zestiria yet, but after Berseria my faith is at an all time low with Tales. Cast was aight, but everything else is woooof.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

Yeah the equipment system was dumb and unecessary. The rest of the game to me was fine except that last dungeon can kiss my ass.

 

[Cudpug]

I got Berseria for Xmas. Not sure what I make of it yet. I haven't warmed to the cast like I usually do in older Tales games. I much prefer Symphonia, Abyss and Legendia over Xillia, Zestiria etc. I will keep on with Berseria but I feel the series is in decline.

 

[zMiiChy-]

I'll concede that Vesperia is the better game overall, but Berseria's plot and cast are way better than Vesperia's.

I honestly only really like Yuri and Repede, while Rita is one of the most annoying characters in any RPG, let alone a Tales game.

 

[SantaC]

I haven't played Zestiria yet, but after Berseria my faith is at an all time low with Tales. Cast was aight, but everything else is woooof.

Click to shrink...

Zestiria is somehow even worse, but the music is one the best in series.

 

[Robin]

Berseria was the first Tales of game I was able to complete front to back. The story actually interested me and I wanted to see how it all turned out. The combat was fun, and there were enough bells and whistles to keep me playing.

 

[MechaX]

I personally really enjoyed Berseria more than I thought I would, but I'm thinking people are going to be in a rude awakening for some of Vesperia (especially once they get to those old school insane Tales missables or when the plot completely falls apart by Act 3)

 

[SantaC]

Berseria's plot and cast are way better than Vesperia's.

Click to shrink...

Yuri >>> Velvet

 

[Elven_Star]

I love Berseria. The story is much more mature than what I expect from a Tales game. The gameplay is the mess it has always been, though.

 

[zMiiChy-]

Yuri >>> Velvet

Click to shrink...

I genuinely prefer Velvet, an actual really realistic and relatable protagonist over an idealized badass like Yuri.

Also, Eizen is hotter than Yuri ;)

 

[CrazyHal]

The game that put the series back on track. I had almost given up on it. The game could have use a bigger budget thought. The environments were pretty bland imo.

Yuri >>> Velvet

Click to shrink...

Magilou >>> everyone in Vesperia.

 

[pbayne]

Yeah i don't know why they cant just have a straightforward equipment or battle system anymore.
Every game feels like its trying to re-invent the wheel and it always sucks, FF is very guilty of doing it too. Like just equip something=stats go up, job done.

 

[Strangelove_77]

It's the only one I beat. I tried playing one on PS3 and I really disliked it.

 

[Papercuts]

I have no idea why Tales games made the equipment so convoluted. Berseria is likely my favorite Tales since Vesperia but it's much more off the back of the characters and story than actually playing it, the fields and dungeons all blending together really wore on me by the end.

 

[Mitsurugi]

Absolutely. Though it shows that regression has happened with the series.

Click to shrink...

Indeed. I don't remember when was the last time I enjoyed a Tales Of game

 

[Xagarath]

The equipment and field design are a mess but Berseria's one of the few JRPGs where the plot and character arcs actually stay consistent up to the end.

 

[Cudpug]

The most egregious issue with the modern games and the biggest area in need of improvement, IMO, is the dungeons. Symphonia nailed this - coming up with new uses for the Sorcerer's Ring with each new dungeon and giving you puzzles to solve. The dungeon environments are so lazy now - bland corridors to get you from point A to B. It's a huge point undermining the games and making them feel B-tier. It's such a decline from how things used to work I can't quite understand how it happened.

 

[TheGhost]

I've enjoyed besaria a lot more than the 3 that came before it. Pretty sure the last Tales game I loved though was Vesperia.

 

[Deleted member 3010]

Indeed. I don't remember when was the last time I enjoyed a Tales Of game

Click to shrink...

I really enjoyed Graces F, it's the one I enjoyed the most after Symphonia.

Never played Vesperia though, will correct that in January.

 

[Korigama]

Though I liked the demo, expecting it to be largely more of the same is why I've held off on getting the full game. The story and cast seem interesting enough, but the gameplay, level design, and general traversal suggest that Tales is in need of a major reinvention. I couldn't have cared less about even bothering with Zestiria, but they clearly needed to keep Go Shiina on board from that as one of the composers.

 

[Why would you do that?]

I would love it if we got another strictly Team Destiny 3D game. Tales of Graces f was peak awesomeness when it came to its battle system IMO.

And since the battle system is the reason why I love Tales, it's easily my favorite game in the series.

I agree that things started taking a turn for the worse since Xillia. The battles I'm okay with, but I hate the big, open, boring areas between towns. If it was the exact same game, except all those areas were replaced with one world map, they would be soooooo much better in my eyes.

 

[Comic Obsessed]

Berseria's combat system is as button mashy as it comes and the whole upgrade system is a bit unfocused but is still fun and better than Zestiria's.

Where Berseria truly shines is within its strong cast and solid story.

 

[Deleted member 2834]

I dont know. Basically only the cast felt great with this game. So many areas that could been better.

I spent 50 hours on it, but thats very little time for me. Normally i invest 150-200 in a good jrpg. In this game I just said fuck it.

Click to shrink...

I can't think of a single JRPG that's 150h long.

 

[SantaC]

I can't think of a single JRPG that's 150h long.

Click to shrink...

I like to 100% my jrpgs. So obviously they are as long as you want them to be.

 

[Mitsurugi]

I really enjoyed Graces F, it's the one I enjoyed the most after Symphonia.

Never played Vesperia though, will correct that in January.

Click to shrink...

I enjoyed Graces too. You'll have a blast with Vesperia I promise!

 

[Tyaren]

I pre-ordered Vesperia on Switch not even knowing what it is about, never played any of the games.

What am I in for? lol

Click to shrink...

A treat. :)

Vesperia is widely considered one of if not the best Tales series game. It is lengthy, you can put over 100 hours in it if you wish, it has a great story, it has a great cast of characters and an especially great hero or rather anti hero. It has a huge overworld to explore with many towns and places of interest, it has a great variety of dungeons with some puzzling, lots of side quests (which are however standard JRPG fare), costumes and customization. It's very rich in content. It's very anime, in its art style and in general, but not the cringey Xenoblade 2 kind of anime. ;)

Maybe take a look at this to get a better picture of what is awaiting you. It's an a bit deeper look/trailer, unfortunately only available in Japanese:

 

[MrWindUpBird]

Berseria is the best Tales game since Abyss. I've never understood the lavish praise for Vesperia. You could cut Vesperia in half and the games plot would improve tenfold.

 

[Strings]

In terms of equipment, I just want them to go back to the Graces system. I really, really enjoyed the whole shop, synthesize, etc stuff they had going on there, and it's a shame they dropped it.

... Also wouldn't mind going back to Graces combat :P