General Gaming Rantin' 'bout Tales of Arise - don't spoil nothin'

[Bacon]

Not very far. Only have gotten Rinwell, but I have put in a lot of time already due to practicing combat and fighting the same boss over and over again to get a grip on the combat.

 

The first thing I want to bring up is the eng dub. While I'm almost always a sub over dub guy, I really hate localizations. They pretty much outright change how the story is presented and it makes using subs annoying. Alphen in JP and Alphen in ENG almost comes across as two different characters, IMO. Too many times what I am reading isn't matching up with what is being said, and not even in the spirit of it. So, while I prefer subs, I often stick with the dubs as it feels like the localization team is just way too malicious (kOR mEtEoR) in their changes to make subs not worth it. Up until Rinwell, the dub had been tolerable. Early on I was comparing the cutscenes in ENG and JP and while ENG was inferior, it was pretty passible for a dub. But I guess Covid was a thing when this game dropped. Cuz not only does Rinwell deliver lines like a robot, but she sounds like a robot too. There is a slight metallic-tinny twang of a low-quality microphone and her audio sounds boosted as fuck, like there was no pop filter on her mic. It sounds like her mic was constantly peaking, thus getting distorted, and instead of finding a way to get the VA into a proper studio, they just lowered the volume instead of actually fixing the issue. Like, having all the VAs record with the same quality of mic and environment is pretty important. It instantly ruins immersion when the audio quality is different. It actually sounds like Rinwell is phoning it in, or like they recorded her audio from a discord call. FF12 has the same issue where Vaan sounded like a tin can but Balthier sounded normal. Of course that was for different reasons but still. Shit like this makes me feel there are no good options. The dub has literal low-quality audio, but the localizers think they are so fucking clever and ruin shit if you try to use JP voices. God do I hate Localizations. And don't give me some dumb shit about how without localizations some lines wouldn't make sense. Of course they should still make sure the script actually makes sense when in English, but there ain't no reason to change something like "Good, You're awake," to "Wakey-Wakey, sunshine." And that particular example isn't a big deal but it is when the entire game is like that. And like they even changed the names of people, AGAIN. Like, if there is one terrible sin you can make as a localizer it is changing the name of a character. Xenoblade 2 did this, Tales of Hearts R did this, and Tales of Arise does this. Like, they changed the name of the first boss. It Biezo in JP, but Ballsack in ENG. I don't give is fuck the name has some meaning in JP so you then change it to an English word with the same meaning. Yeah, I'm looking at you XBC2 you fucking hacks. I'm sure other games have done this and the only reason I know what games are this way now is thanks to having dub options, but I I wasn't going to use the JP dub at all after the first boss until Rinwell came along with the LQ audio. I was planning to go "ignorance is bliss" mode precisely so I wouldn't spend time complaining about a dub being bad and unfaithful for the umpteenth time. Also, Xbob, shut up

 

Other than that, man does the combat feel weird, or at least different from what I remember. I haven't really played a Tales of game since Xillia and Hearts R. I don't remember enemies being so dang tanky. Enemies and bosses aren't even punching bags, but neigh unstoppable tanks that seek to roll over you. You can break enemies quick-ish-ly. Using artes on them before you break them feels like shit but opening with artes seems like the better opener. Rather than a 3 hit combo > ground rate > launching arte > 3 hit arial combo > aerial arte, you should break them with artes, and then do the above sequence, or at least as much of it as you can. Like, all of that just feels pretty bad with no hit stun. I'm pretty sure in Tales of Vesperia your basic 3 hit combo would cause basic enemies to be stunned-locked for each hit unless they had hyper armor.

 

Bosses also feel bad. Fought that big armadillo and Ballsack but it felt like my attacks were doing nothing the majority of the time. Like, they would only get micro broken or outright staggered, on their knees catching their breath. They never broke enough to be stunned locked or juggled like I know can happen with bosses in Tales of Vesperia. Like, talk about a game where shit doesn't react to being hit. Most enemies should be flinching with every hit. It makes aerials feel like dogshit when the boss doesn't get lifted. When I fought ballsack I eventually just focused on doing the burning blade attacks since everything else felt like shit and those bb attacks seemed to micro break the boss more often. I'd press and hold X for my first burning blade, then rising wyvern > mirage > burning blade > repeat so I wasn't spamming burning blade. Not exactly sure what makes spamming bad, but the game said it was!

 

Other combat complaints. I hate how your 3 hit combo has more the 3 hits animated. I think it is the second button press that as you attack the boss twice, both hits dealing damage. Shit like that really throws my timing off. I could never magic burst in LB mode if FF16 because of that and so I just spam the attack button. There have already been plenty of times where I have only done 2 hits > arte instead of the full 3 hits. Perfect dodging is also weird. I feel like the timings are all over the place. Like, for some attacks, you need to dodge before the attack animation goes off to perfect dodge, for some attacks you need to dodge right a the attack goes off, some right before they land, and rare is the attack with the "dark souls" timing where you dodge thru an attack. Basically, there is no consistent timing. Like, dodging feels more like parring but there is no way to really get the timing right on your first attempt. Like in Dark Souls, the timing is always the same with parries. You pretty much parry in the window right after an enemy attack, and 2 moments before it connects with your shield. The timing of enemy attacks are never the same but when you parry is the same. ToA isn't like that and it feels bad, especially after playing SoP and 16 which both have much more generous windows even before upgrades. The difficulty seems useless. I have tried the same bosses on hard and normal and noticed no real difference in terms of difficulty. I felt like I was taking the same damage and dealing the same damage. I actually thought Ballsack was kinda hard on hard so after I beat him I tried him again on normal and it didn't feel any easier. I mean, I beat him on normal numerous times and then again on hard numerous times and it just felt exactly the same each time. I'm just sticking to hard and hoping to get good. Also, weird that manual seems to have no enemy tracking. I wanted the freedom of movement that manual has, but I found it weird that my big moves would just miss. Like, I'm not used to having to aim melee attacks or even the special boosted attacks. I mean, sure if an enemy dodges I expect to miss, but not from them just moving to the left or right. Especially when I am locked on. If I am locked on, I really feel the enemy should be tracked somewhat. I mean, maybe the excuse of "well every game does this now so ToA should," is bad and lame and every game shouldn't do exactly the same thing, but I idc tbh. I'm just playing semi-auto, as I have always done since I don't want to worry about tracking the enemy for basic melee attacks.

 

Skits. New skits suck. It's not that the old skits were amazing, but the new skits are slow. This comic book style is pointless. It has animation that drags out the skit, while also being super stiffly animated. Nothing happens in skits other than talking so I don't get why they added in all of these animated panels that slide or pop into place. Like, if there was more than poorly animated character models in the skits, I'd get why they changed it, but there aren't. And my god are the character models stiff and not just in skits. I grew up with acting figures that had more points or articulation than Shionne. Pretty sure Pencil led as more flexibility than most of the cast members so far. Shionne is especially bad with that weird idle stance of hers that is used in cutscenes, where her arm is just stiffly hanging in the air and the other is on her hip.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that I know this game won't have an ending that leaves me feeling bitter, I'd probably quit it. I still might, but I really want to play something new to me that has an ending I'd enjoy.

 

[Bacon]

Also, point out any really bad spelling mistakes and shit if you want. I didn't proofread this nor do I plan on scanning these blocks of text for where I messed up badly lol.

[gamer.tv]

Just to give me a rough sense, how many hours per day are you playing something? I feel like one game that you’ve seen off in the last week would take me about 3 months.

[Bacon]

3 minutes ago, gamer.tv said:

Just to give me a rough sense, how many hours per day are you playing something?

At least 8.

[Bacon]

Well, that's not true. I've been playing ToA for 3 days and have 12 hours of playtime and 18 hours of running according to Steam.

[Fizzzzle]

I felt kind of bummed for some reason when I saw that Tales of Arise is literally the best reviewed Tales game ever made (in the west, at least).

 

Tales of Arise is faaaaaaar from the best Tales game. It's not even in the top 5. In fact, the only games in the series (that I've played) that are worse are Legendia and Zestiria. And tbh I wouldn't even say Zestiria is much worse, they are close.

[TheLeon]

I always get turned off by the Tales games at some point, but I made it the farthest in Arise. 

[Bacon]

11 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

I felt kind of bummed for some reason when I saw that Tales of Arise is literally the best reviewed Tales game ever made (in the west, at least).

 

Tales of Arise is faaaaaaar from the best Tales game. It's not even in the top 5. In fact, the only games in the series (that I've played) that are worse are Legendia and Zestiria. And tbh I wouldn't even say Zestiria is much worse, they are close.

I've tried getting into Symphonia numerous times but could not do it I had it on GameCube, GC emulator, PS3, and Steam and have never even gotten halfway.

 

Much like FF, for me, Tales of has more bad games than good, IMO. I mean, I love Abyss, Vesperia, and Graces F but that's it. I'd love if Graces F got a PC port. We'll see what happens with Arise, but I have a feeling it will join Hearts R or Symphonia in never being beaten or Xillia being a letdown. Tho I liked Xillia until I was ass-blasted by the ending. That ending ruined the game for me far more than FF16 could even dream of. It is why I will always look up the ending to a Tales of game before I play it. 

 

At least I bothered to try Arise out, unlike Zestiria and Beseria or however it is spelled.

[Fizzzzle]

1 minute ago, Bacon said:

I've tried getting into Symphonia numerous times but could not do it I had it on GameCube, GC emulator, PS3, and Steam and have never even gotten halfway.

 

Much like FF, for me, Tales of has more bad games than good, IMO. I mean, I love Abyss, Vesperia, and Graces F but that's it. I'd love if Graces F got a PC port. We'll see what happens with Arise, but I have a feeling it will join Hearts R or Symphonia in never being beaten or Xillia being a letdown. Tho I liked Xillia until I was ass-blasted by the ending. That ending ruined the game for me far more than FF16 could even dream of. It is why I will always look up the ending to a Tales of game before I play it. 

imo the combat in Xillia/Xillia 2 is the best in the series by a longshot. The story isn't nearly as memorable as Abyss or Vesperia, though. In fact, Graces, Xillia and Xillia 2 all kind of blur together in my head at this point. I would absolutely love it if all 3 of those games got a PC port, though. It's been over a decade since I've played Xillia, I'd be curious to see if I still think so highly of the combat system.

 

Symphonia is a bit rough now. The AI is stupid as hell, which makes combat really frustrating and (in my experience) pretty much forces you to play on easy mode.

[Bacon]

Yeah, Xillia was the next step up from Graces F. I liked being a punch-guy over a sword-guy for once. But I can't remember shit about it after being so mad about the ending. Xillia 2 does nothing to fix my issue with Xillia 1 so I had no interest in it. I'll never get to romance Miyuki Sawashiro at this point.

 

Pretty nuts how this is basically the first Flagship title I have played after Xillia and the combat feels so much worse.

[Keyser_Soze]

I've only played Tales of Destiny and it was pretty tight.

[Brian]

I enjoyed this game until the last part. The devs drag out the game in the last area that I wanted to quit. It definitely spoiled what was otherwise a good, streamlined JRPG. 

[Biggie]

What’s longer? The actual game or Bacons original post about it. 

[XxEvil AshxX]

As a bit of a fan of the Tales series, I found the battles on Arise took way too long. Most of the fun with Tales combat was that it literally took seconds. In fact, the faster the battle, the more points you got.

 

Arise had grindy battles where it really did feel like you were just chipping away at health bars while waiting for your gauges to fill.

[Bacon]

Combat has gotten better as I have unlocked more skills and titles. Having the Counter Edge Upon Enemy Defeat is really nice and speeds up killing groups of mobs.

 

Edit: Sword Rain: Alpha and its corresponding Flaming Edge skill are god-like.

[Xbob42]

On 7/7/2023 at 4:21 PM, Fizzzzle said:

I felt kind of bummed for some reason when I saw that Tales of Arise is literally the best reviewed Tales game ever made (in the west, at least).

 

Tales of Arise is faaaaaaar from the best Tales game. It's not even in the top 5. In fact, the only games in the series (that I've played) that are worse are Legendia and Zestiria. And tbh I wouldn't even say Zestiria is much worse, they are close.

It's easily the best Tales for me, can't wait to see more like it. I never clicked too much with the previous games but I also didn't dislike them or anything, but this was the first time the combat actually felt fun instead of like a cheap novelty of a lower-tier action RPG.

 

Couldn't finish Bacon's OP though since it wasn't in Japanese. Cringy ass English shit man.

[Fizzzzle]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

It's easily the best Tales for me, can't wait to see more like it. I never clicked too much with the previous games but I also didn't dislike them or anything, but this was the first time the combat actually felt fun instead of like a cheap novelty of a lower-tier action RPG.

 

Couldn't finish Bacon's OP though since it wasn't in Japanese. Cringy ass English shit man.

Xillia + Xillia 2 are the only games in the series that I would consider worth playing for the combat alone. Maybe Vesperia. The rest is kind of take it or leave it. I thought the combat in Arise was, like... fine.

[Bacon]

I beat this boss earlier. Literal garbage.

 

[Xbob42]

Haha, yeah. That boss is stupid as hell.

[Bacon]

Ganabelt sucks too.

Twice I have beaten him, but I refuse to move on until I obtain a positive score.

[Bacon]

Not having party members running alongside you in Tales of Arise makes me appreciate what FF16 did. I mean, your party members in ToA are actual party members and characters, but it would also be nice to have them out in the field too.

[Bacon]

Also, man, I love the art style of this game. I'm not really talking about the anime characters but just the environment. The 3rd area is lovely. Visually, this has to be one of my favorite games. Easily my favorite art style of all the Tales of games. It's like, realistic, but cel-shaded and water colored at the same time. I think it's pretty neat. I'm sure there have been other games with a similar look, and not just your run-of-the-mill cel-shaded games like WW, Genshin, or even Tales of Vesperia. Still, it feels pretty unique to me and I really dig it.

[BloodyHell]

On 7/7/2023 at 8:21 PM, Fizzzzle said:

I felt kind of bummed for some reason when I saw that Tales of Arise is literally the best reviewed Tales game ever made (in the west, at least).

 

Tales of Arise is faaaaaaar from the best Tales game. It's not even in the top 5. In fact, the only games in the series (that I've played) that are worse are Legendia and Zestiria. And tbh I wouldn't even say Zestiria is much worse, they are close.

Its absolutely top 5, it’s easily top 3, and might only be behind Symphonia.

[Bacon]

BTW, I have only stuck with English. After I made the OP, Rinwell's voice seemed less bad for some reason. Complaining about something does tend to make it seem less bad after the fact, for me anyway.

[Fizzzzle]

3 hours ago, BloodyHell said:

Its absolutely top 5, it’s easily top 3, and might only be behind Symphonia.

You're on crack.

 

Granted it's not like I think it's a bad game by any means (I don't think any of the games in the series are "bad," even Legendia), but I would much rather play Berseria, Vesperia, Abyss, or any of the PS3 games before I play Arise again.

 

Symphonia has a little bit of nostalgia but it's pretty rough to play that one these days. Party AI is sooooo fucking terrible.

[Bacon]

Holy shit, this IS FF16 but with some things twisted.

Spoiler

MC is a Slave

Love interest is captured at the start

MC starts off with a fire-theme

Alphen and Shionne have their secondary colors swapped when compared to Clive and Jill

The MC is placed under the wings of a rebel leader

Events separate the MC and the rebel leader

When the slaves are drained of their energy they slowly petrify

As the game progresses you collect elements in some fashion

 

 

 

[Bacon]

I gotta say, the more I play the better the game gets, combat-wise. It is actually kinda fucked how weak the game starts you out, IMO. Tho, in the game's defense, it took me WAY too long to realize the benefit of the near-death damage boosts with Alphen's Flaming Edge Artes. It's pretty obvious but I am so against the play style of hurting yourself to deal damage that I barely spared a glance at it before moving on.

 

If you are reading this and don't know, the main character has moves that you can hold and charge, and the whole time they drain your HP while increasing the damage. As long as you aren't at full HP, a fully charged attack will almost always take you into a "near-death" state and majorly increase your damage. There are multiple "near-death" upgrades, some even defense, so you can really crank up the damage. I still don't like it, but you'd be a fool not to engage with that play style.

[Bacon]

Man, I am so fuckin' tired of "revenge bad". It is so lame and fuckin' wrong.

[BloodyHell]

On 7/12/2023 at 12:05 AM, Fizzzzle said:

You're on crack.

 

Granted it's not like I think it's a bad game by any means (I don't think any of the games in the series are "bad," even Legendia), but I would much rather play Berseria, Vesperia, Abyss, or any of the PS3 games before I play Arise again.

 

Symphonia has a little bit of nostalgia but it's pretty rough to play that one these days. Party AI is sooooo fucking terrible.

Nah. It’s not even close. I’ve played almost all of them, and none come near to Arise.

 

Symphonia definitely has to be looked at as a product of its time, but that game is still incredible.

[Bacon]

A party member got kidnapped and now I have to go fight the water lord. I gotta say I am disappointed by these turns of events so far, and I fear the game is close to ending when I feel it should only be at the halfway point.

[Bacon]

OK, ok, so the water lord is kind of a halfway point. I was thinking there was only one place left to go after that. Glad I was wrong. One thing that kinda sucks tho now is that combat is extremely samey and battles are pretty long and it isn't like FF16 where you have cutscenes mid-fight. Sure, I could use new artes but the more you use an arte the more it ranks up. I mean, I'm using everything I have bound, but I'm not really changing anything unless it is to exploit weakness.

 

I thought I was near the end because I am past the average time to beat at 50 hours and I have only just gotten all the master cores. Of course, I have done all the side quests. I wonder what I'm doing that is taking me so long. It is just that I'm playing on hard? I have grinded a little, but never for longer than 30 minutes, and like, I'm still only just matching the current boss's level so I'm clearly not grinding that much.