Topic: "Tales of" Series

Never played any of the "Tales of" titles before. Been eyeballing the Tales of Vesperia game for a little while now. And seeing that the Tales of Symphonia is coming to Switch next year, went ahead and bought the JAP Release of Vesperia.

There was quite an uproar of excitement about that Symphonia announcement.

What's your take on the announcement? How were you first introduced to the series? Which titles are your least and most favorite? What about the series, or game, do you enjoy the most?

I've only played Symphonia and Phantasia, but I'm a fan of both. Moreso Phantasia because on average 90s JRPGs aren't as interested in trying to be anime and are more interested in being...JRPGs, though Symphonia is worthwhile for what it is. Also Motoi Sakuraba is an awesome composer and deserves more love.

I've only ever played Tales of Vesperia and I quite enjoyed it! Ever since I finished it I have been hoping that more Tales games would come to switch! I am very happy that I'm going to be able to play Symphonia because I've always heard about how good that one is.

My excitement is a bit more middling. Its a great RPG but without the second game I don't need to buy it a third time.

While it's not quite in my top 5, Tales of Symphonia was probably my favourite game as a teenager, and my introduction to JRPGs (one of my favourite genres). So it holds a very special place in my heart.

I'm ecstatic to see it on the Switch, as it felt like I was the only one asking for it. I've played through this game almost 10 times on 3 different systems and...damnit, I will play it again.

I just hope we somehow get 60 fps combat like in the original. But I'm willing to accept 30 fps just to play the game portably.

I'll probably be grabbing this at some point honestly. Symphonia is a game I've always had my eye on since it's by far the most discussed entry in the series and this is probably the perfect opportunity to finally play it.

I genuinely thought it was already on Switch though, wasn't there another Tales HD remaster that came to Switch a few years back?

@Fizza That was Tales of Vesperia! Symphonia also has a mii costume in smash bros I think.

I'm really torn on this release. I only have a set Top 4 games of all time (The Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Myst, and Metroid Prime), but Symphonia is one of the few games that is definitely in the running for number 5. And I don't currently have a way to play it as I traded my Gamecube copy to a friend years ago. But don't all the remastered versions on other consoles come with both games? I know most people hated Dawn of the New World, but I really enjoyed it even though it wasn't as good. If this had both games I would be 100% getting it. But with only the first...I will probably still get it eventually.

I admit, I'm intrigued by the Tales of Symphonia announcement and know that Vesperia is on Switch too. Are both decent entries? I've heard some games in the series are much better received than others, though to an extent it seems to depend on who you ask.

@Tyranexx Both Symphonia and Vesperia are great entries! They're a bit older so they don't have some of the flashy new combat of the more recent entries, but personally I prefer their stories and characters more than most of the games in the series.

Out of the games I've played I would rank them from best to worst:

1. Tales of Symphonia (might be a bit biased, it was my first game in the series, but a lot of people agree it's the best one)
2. Tales of Berseria (This mainly carried by Velvet, Eleanor, and Laphi. Didn't care for the rest of the characters. But overall strong game with fun combat)
3. Tales of Vesperia (Slightly weaker story but I thought the cast of characters were pretty solid and had good relationships with each other. One of the extra characters in the Definitive edition feels really out of place though)
4. Tales of Abyss (Solid entry, about the same as Veserpia. The main character starts out annoying but gets better as the game goes on)
5. Tales of Arise (Most fun combat in the series but mediocre story and forgettable characters)
6. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of The New World (It's a fine game but doesn't live up to the original)
7. Tales of Zestiria (The only game in the series I didn't have the motivation to finish. Very bland story and characters)

@Xyphon22 Only the PS3 released had Dawn of the New World. For some reason they never released it on Steam.

Do we have a pricing for this yet? £20-£30 seems reasonable to me. I don't think they could justify this being a full price release.

@Tyranexx both Vesperia and Symphonia are fan favourites for different reasons. Symphonia was many people's entry point into the series, and is otherwise a very solid title. Vesperia builds on Symphonia in many ways (it was in the following console generation, after all), and is considered by many to be the all-round best title in the series. Personally, Symphonia is my favourite of the two (I just feel more attachment to the story and characters), but I can't deny that Vesperia is the more polished experience.

I'm not gonna lie, the Symphonia remaster has me very intrigued. I'm mostly curious about what sets this apart from other JRPGs.

@Cynas A RPG's age doesn't bother me very much to an extent, just as long as it's from the 16-bit era on up. Story, gameplay, memorable characters, and world building are usually what sway me. I've heard of all the entries you've listed. I believe Zestiria and Berseria are related? I first became interested in the series after Arise started receiving a lot of attention. I don't currently have a reliable means to play it though.

@Buizel Both titles seem to consistently rank high in a lot of online impressions I've found. Whichever one ranks higher seems to really depend on the person lol. Either way, I'm certainly interested in trying both at some point!

I appreciate the impressions from both of you, as well as any others.

@Tyranexx The only reason why I mention the age of because compared to the newer entries they're missing some extra combat features and QoL stuff, so in some gameplay areas they can feel a bit more basic compared to the newer entries. But I personally still think they hold up really well. I enjoyed all the games I've played in the series besides Zestiria, and even then I didn't hate the game. It just didn't hold my attention.

Berseria and Zestiria are loosely connected. The stories are completely independent but they take place in the same world. Even then, Berseria is a distant prequel to Zestiria so a lot of the world has completely changed.

Super excited about Symphonia remastered, as I've heard good things (I think I may have picked it up in a Steam sale sometime ago though, and if so I might stick with that).

My rankings of the ones I've played:

Abyss > Vesperia > Arise > Berseria > Zestiria.

The top three might as well be inter exchangeable though, as I thought Arise was a big return to form for the series.

@Cynas Ah, so in that case it would probably be better off to start with older entries in a sense...in lieu of any unknown mechanical improvements? I was thinking either Berseria or Zestiria was a prequel of the other, but I couldn't remember which was which lol. Are there any other entries that are loosely connected, albeit loosely?

@Tyranexx There are a few direct sequel games, like Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of The New World, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Destiny 2, but I'm not sure if there are any others like Berseria and Vesperia. I haven't played all the games in the series though, so there might be.

@Cynas I remember reading about Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World earlier in the thread, but I wasn't aware of those other entries. In fact, I just looked up the series on Wikipedia and didn't realize there have been seventeen entries total. A few of which I've never heard of. For some reason, I thought there were only around ten. I doubt I'll ever play all the entries - similar to my approach to Final Fantasy - but I'm definitely interested in tracking down the better ones. Though that's always a fun topic with gamers lol.

@Tyranexx, Zestiria released first, but Berseria is set first (in a hundreds of years beforehand sort of way, you can play them in any order).

Berseria is notably the better game of the two, though.

I still have Tales of Symphonia Chronicles for my Playstation 3 so pretty much i really dont need to buy Tales of Symphonia 1 again for my Nintendo Switch or Playstation 4 or other newer console