(no subject)
I just realized that I haven't posted here in forever about gaming and my progress in the Tales series, which is ironic since I started working through that series because some of you were such big fans of it.
Anyway, the last time I posted, I'd finished Legendia (and it's still my favorite). After that, I kinda got away from the Tales series for a while. Actually I got away from gaming in general for a while (a lot of things happened in the spring of 2014 and things were pretty crazy all through summer and fall too; someday I'll tell you guys all about it but honestly I have not had the energy for it). When I did go back to gaming, I started with Tales of the Abyss. Since then, I've played Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, Tales of Vespiria, and Tales of Hearts R. I'm currently playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.
So here's what I thought of them (SPOILERS for these games):
Abyss was a lot of fun. I enjoyed Luke's evolution and, honestly, even when he was a whiny asshole, he was at least funny. After his character development, I liked him a lot. Loved his haircut. Anise was my favorite character. It hit me when she was acting all sweet and innocent in front of Luke and Ion pops up to tell about how, when she got knocked from a ship during a battle, she was screaming, "I'll kill you bastards!" all the way down. Of course I loved Jade too. And Guy. And Natalia. And even Tear (I would've loved Tear a lot more if her English voice wasn't so robotic).
Radiant Mythology was a lot better than I expected, and I wish more of these games had been localized. I loved making my own character and gathering up a dream team party of characters from previous Tales games. The party I ended up using most was Rutee, Senel, and Tear. It was kinda surreal to have them in a party together, but I loved it.
Vespiria is my second favorite Tales game, after Legendia, so far. It's also the one I breezed through the fastest (I beat it in less than three weeks, compared to the usual month+ it usually takes me to beat JRPG's, and Tales games usually take a little longer than that for me). Like with Legendia, I felt like there was something special about the combination of characters and how they fit together and interacted. Yuri is my favorite protagonist in the series (so far). It was refreshing and fun to play as a guy that smooth. I liked that he was a little older than your average Tales hero, and I loved the whole vigilante justice angle (I just wish they had gone a little farther with it). It really made him stand out as a hero. Also, I can't imagine any other Tales hero (of the games I've played) having the mental fortitude it took to be the Don's second during his seppuku. And then there was Rita, whom I loved from the minute she appeared. I think I have a thing for feisty mages (Norma and Arche are also favorites). Rita's design, her attitude, her obvious crush on Estelle (I shipped them like mad, by the way), all of it was just perfect. I loved all of the characters though (Judith and Raven were also favorites). It was just a great game overall.
Hearts was more of a "traditional anime story". There were a lot more stereotypes in the characters (energetic young hero, the beautiful love interest who needs rescuing, the creepily possessive big brother, the loli chick with the irritatingly cutesy voice, the cool old dude, the big breasted "older" beauty, etc.). But despite all this, I really did end up liking all the characters. I still think Beryl's voice is the single most annoying sound in the universe, but personality-wise, I enjoyed her a lot. I was also kinda surprised by the amount of canon romance in this game. I guess "Tales of Hearts" was a pretty fitting title. I loved the romance of Chal and the Empress. It was so adorable. Shingu/Kohaku was cute. But then we get to Hisui/Lithia. I just couldn't help being squicked out just a little by the fact that Lithia had been possessing Hisui's mother when she gave birth to him. I mean, I know Lithia is in no way his mother or even related to him, but still... just the idea of her being there in spirit through the pregnancy, the birth, his infant/toddler years. Yeah. I just can't handle a romance there. Anywho, I actually liked Creed, but mostly because he's voiced by Shinichiro Miki and he kept doing the hilariously inappropriate Sakamoto laugh. Oh, and I also wrote a walkthrough for this game because I couldn't find a full one anywhere. It's on Gamefaqs if anyone is curious.
Now I'm working on Symphonia 2 but I'm so early in the game that I can't really say much about it. It's cute and fun, and I like the characters so far. That's about all I can say. I'll post again when I finish it.
Anyway, the last time I posted, I'd finished Legendia (and it's still my favorite). After that, I kinda got away from the Tales series for a while. Actually I got away from gaming in general for a while (a lot of things happened in the spring of 2014 and things were pretty crazy all through summer and fall too; someday I'll tell you guys all about it but honestly I have not had the energy for it). When I did go back to gaming, I started with Tales of the Abyss. Since then, I've played Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, Tales of Vespiria, and Tales of Hearts R. I'm currently playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.
So here's what I thought of them (SPOILERS for these games):
Abyss was a lot of fun. I enjoyed Luke's evolution and, honestly, even when he was a whiny asshole, he was at least funny. After his character development, I liked him a lot. Loved his haircut. Anise was my favorite character. It hit me when she was acting all sweet and innocent in front of Luke and Ion pops up to tell about how, when she got knocked from a ship during a battle, she was screaming, "I'll kill you bastards!" all the way down. Of course I loved Jade too. And Guy. And Natalia. And even Tear (I would've loved Tear a lot more if her English voice wasn't so robotic).
Radiant Mythology was a lot better than I expected, and I wish more of these games had been localized. I loved making my own character and gathering up a dream team party of characters from previous Tales games. The party I ended up using most was Rutee, Senel, and Tear. It was kinda surreal to have them in a party together, but I loved it.
Vespiria is my second favorite Tales game, after Legendia, so far. It's also the one I breezed through the fastest (I beat it in less than three weeks, compared to the usual month+ it usually takes me to beat JRPG's, and Tales games usually take a little longer than that for me). Like with Legendia, I felt like there was something special about the combination of characters and how they fit together and interacted. Yuri is my favorite protagonist in the series (so far). It was refreshing and fun to play as a guy that smooth. I liked that he was a little older than your average Tales hero, and I loved the whole vigilante justice angle (I just wish they had gone a little farther with it). It really made him stand out as a hero. Also, I can't imagine any other Tales hero (of the games I've played) having the mental fortitude it took to be the Don's second during his seppuku. And then there was Rita, whom I loved from the minute she appeared. I think I have a thing for feisty mages (Norma and Arche are also favorites). Rita's design, her attitude, her obvious crush on Estelle (I shipped them like mad, by the way), all of it was just perfect. I loved all of the characters though (Judith and Raven were also favorites). It was just a great game overall.
Hearts was more of a "traditional anime story". There were a lot more stereotypes in the characters (energetic young hero, the beautiful love interest who needs rescuing, the creepily possessive big brother, the loli chick with the irritatingly cutesy voice, the cool old dude, the big breasted "older" beauty, etc.). But despite all this, I really did end up liking all the characters. I still think Beryl's voice is the single most annoying sound in the universe, but personality-wise, I enjoyed her a lot. I was also kinda surprised by the amount of canon romance in this game. I guess "Tales of Hearts" was a pretty fitting title. I loved the romance of Chal and the Empress. It was so adorable. Shingu/Kohaku was cute. But then we get to Hisui/Lithia. I just couldn't help being squicked out just a little by the fact that Lithia had been possessing Hisui's mother when she gave birth to him. I mean, I know Lithia is in no way his mother or even related to him, but still... just the idea of her being there in spirit through the pregnancy, the birth, his infant/toddler years. Yeah. I just can't handle a romance there. Anywho, I actually liked Creed, but mostly because he's voiced by Shinichiro Miki and he kept doing the hilariously inappropriate Sakamoto laugh. Oh, and I also wrote a walkthrough for this game because I couldn't find a full one anywhere. It's on Gamefaqs if anyone is curious.
Now I'm working on Symphonia 2 but I'm so early in the game that I can't really say much about it. It's cute and fun, and I like the characters so far. That's about all I can say. I'll post again when I finish it.