9 replies to this topic

[Mercurius]

I have Tales of Xillia, Tales of Graces f, and Tales of Hearts R. All from sales. In terms of the characters and gameplay, which would you rate as having the highest quality, and how much relative to the other?

 

The last time I played a Tales game was Tales of Phantasia on my GBASP (ANCIENT HISTORY) and I forgot almost everything about that, so I want to know which one I should start with first as to avoid being disappointed/uncomfortable playing the next one in line.

[Snow]

Sadly the last Tales game I finished was Tales of Graces f. I have Tales of Xillia but I haven't had the time or the motivation to complete it. My personal rating would be:

 

Highest: Tales of Graces: I just really loved the combat system, the switching styles mid fight was awesome, and the Arte/Title system was better than a standard "Level up to get Artes" System IMO.

 

Lowest: Tales Of Xillia: I didn't really like the art style, and general... empty feel that I got from the game. The combat was fun, but I always found myself using the same combos, I could mix it up a bit more in other tales games.

 

Unknown: Tales of Hearts R

[acceptance]

My tiny brain couldnt understand Graces overcomplicated combat system, and the plot was just another big cliche.

Didn't really like Xillia, either.. but its miles better than Graces.

Never played Hearts. So I dunno.

I`ll always prefer any Tales game prior to Graces, though. If only for the easy to understand combat system. Lol.

[Cero]

Best: Tales of Graces f because of the fun and flashy as fuck battle system. The game doesn't have a tp meter anymore but a combo limit called the combo counter (I think) or CC. The way the game works is that all attacks are called artes, A artes (Using the X button) and B artes (Using the O button like the older games), and everytime one is used it uses up a certain amount of the CC. For example doing an XXXX combo would be 1 CC + 2 CC + 3 CC + 4 CC totaling in 10 CC needed to pull of the combo. And by doing well in battle and comboing and stuff you get more CC to use in the battle. So it's extremely fluid the battle system and flashy since they are all artes. The characters are likeable though fairly clichéd like all Tales characters. The plot is enjoyable, but there is a lot of "THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!". And the skits in the f arc are hilarious. 

 

Worst: Tales of Hearts R. This game is just overall eh for me. I haven't finished the game yet, but from what I've currently played I'm not super wowed. There's no english dub which I guess can be a positive or negative depending on your viewpoint. The combat is exactly like Xillia's but with no linking (it's a combination of the CC and TP which works surprisingly well). The plot is like Graces except with 20x more "POWER OF EMOTIONS" cause... y'know... hearts. I'm not even that invested in the characters which at least Xillia pulled off well enough for me. 

[Candy]

Best: Tales of the Abyss BCOS JADE CURTISS

 

Worst: Tales of Innocence because the story was terribly confusing

 

It's been a while, though. I currently have Xillia 1 + 2, Vesperia, Hearts R and Graces f sitting waiting to be played lolololol

[Lucia]

Tales of Xillia is by far the best of the bunch. It actually LOOKS good, has a great and chaotic battle system that doesn't make grinding seem as bad and even FUN. Plus it's rather lengthy and has replay value where you can choose a different main character at the start to play through the game as with their own set of story related quests. It also has some of my favorite characters in the series, which is a positive. Plus Linking is hilariously overpowered sometimes and can be just as fun.

 

Tales of Graces f is in the middle for me. The battle system is pretty good but most everything else about it is painfully average. It also takes the whole THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP to the logical conclusion but it does play with some tropes relating to it which I actually don't mind and actually help the story! Also Graces has Malik who is the best Tales of~ character, imo. He's just fun and a massive dork.

 

Tales of Hearts R is really not that good. It's a passible Tales of~ game but it hasn't had me hooked like most others. Unfortunately I can't give too much of an analysis on it because I just got painfully bored of it and I LOOOOVE the series. But if you end up enjoying it, lemme know what you liked so I can maybe give it another shot!!

[Mercurius]

where is Blazer when I need him

 

so what I've been getting from this thread so far is

 

either Tales of Hearts R or Xillia first based on gameplay similarities

 

probably Hearts R first since Xillia has more replay value if I feel like playing it again

 

and Graces F as the last one whether it's the better game or not (it's not on anyone's worst list I guess so it has something going for it)

[Fire Blazer]

where is Blazer when I need him

 

so what I've been getting from this thread so far is

 

either Tales of Hearts R or Xillia first based on gameplay similarities

 

probably Hearts R first since Xillia has more replay value if I feel like playing it again

 

and Graces F as the last one whether it's the better game or not (it's not on anyone's worst list I guess so it has something going for it)

 

???

 

what exactly do you need from me, just a response? haha

 

sorry been busy

 

as far as game rankings... ah right, only the three. in that case, I'd say Tales of Graces f, Tales of Xillia, and Tales of Hearts R, in that order. While Graces has even less of a serious/dark plot than Xillia, I personally think it's the most fun out of the three games. It has some fun characters/dialog of course but also the battle system, despite being different, is entertaining, it's a colorful game, and the music is great. I'd say Hearts R wins over Xillia gameplay-wise (that's mostly just a personal preference though), but Xillia is probably the better game as a whole due to having higher budget. It also gets points for actually having an English dub (something I value).

 

The thing is Mercurius, with you, I don't know which you'd actually enjoy more based on your own personality and such. I honestly don't have enough of a grasp to predict which of the three you would--thinking in terms of like, character personalities/depictions, story, etc. here.

 

If you're debating between Hearts R or Xillia, I'd probably have to say Xillia. Hearts R just feels like a lower-class game and an older styled RPG. It has the essence of a Tales of game but in some ways feels out of date and bleh. Xillia will probably be a slightly more epic and rewarding experience. Also, the other route hardly has any differences, but I suppose it has just enough to warrant another playthrough if you really liked the game. I played both and as far as I remember there are just some slightly different scenes and like two or three parts where the dungeons differ. And the opening is different and the battle music is slightly different. I think I enjoyed Jude's path slightly more (again, can't remember too well) but they both have their ups and downs, I guess.

 

Eh, if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. My suggestion is probably Xillia (especially since I haven't even beaten ToH R), but that's only because you don't seem to want to play Graces F and Hearts R (which was mostly developed by another company, 7th Chord, TMK, and is just sort of lacking on quality/polish/effort on the whole compared to the mainstream console Tales of games, even if the battles and music were enjoyable from what I played).

 

tl;dr Symphonia or Vesperia is the way to go, they have the biggest fanbases, clearly they're the best games *shot*. don't ever play Zestiria, I did, just listen to the music, it's not worth playing. Xillia 2 is also bad, unless you love Xillia or become a hardcore Tales of fan, I really cannot say it's worth it to play TOX2. the older ones are too old, spin-offs are either bad, jokes, not localized, or just fan-service for Tales of loyalists, no real comment on those

[bblues]

Graces f > Xillia > Hearts R (not played)

 

Graces f is probably the most fun to play, it's bright and cheery, flashy, and it's got a great cast of characters that keeps the game light and entertaining. I'd say the battle and title system are the best of the ones I've played. The story line is either enjoyable or tacky depending on your outlook, but it's a great game.

 

Xillia is more muted by comparison. The battle system is fun, yes, but it's a bit dull and repetitive after a while given that you find yourself going back to the same shit every time. The story split wasn't as impressive as it could've been, and on the whole the story feels weak at times. The characters are good, though, although one or two may get on people's nerves.

[Fire Blazer]

Totally agree with what bb said lol, it's pretty much what I thought just more decisive and concise because bb is a cooler person than me