What "Tales Of" Game should i play next?

[Reyn 1,755]

So, i just beat Tales of Xillia the other day AND I LOVED IT! Im going to start Milla's story soon and then move on from there on out. It was my first Tales of game that i've played, and now i want to start getting into the series, so i wondering what next entry i should play. Any suggestions guys? (NOTE: I only have a PS3 and a 3DS at the moment, so i can only play games on those systems, although you can still reccomend other Tales games, since i can watch LPs of the others).

[King Demise 2,359]

Tales of Xillia 2 is comming out pretty soon and Tales of the Abyss is on the 3Ds

[Exiblade7 1,917]

You should try tales of graces. It was my first "tales of" game and it is awesome. The gameplay is neat and the story is pretty long and the art style takes a little cartoony side, but I don't think you will notice it in the game.

[Cucco 1,907]

dont get tales of the abyss its a stinky pickle dont listen to anyone youll regret it

[Isaix 924]

You should play Tales of Graces f next,its really amazing

[Kaweebo 3,617]

 

Wait, did you say 'Tales'?

[Master Keeper 687]

Believe me Tales of the Abyss is one of the best games and you will enjoy it as a 3DS game, play it and also play Graces f since you have a PS3.Wait for Xillia 2 and Zestiria and if you liked all the previous games and became an addicted fan at that time I would suggest Symphonia Chronicles HD.

[DragonMaster 1,166]

On PS3:

Aside from Xillia, Graces f and Symphonia Chronicles are available and Xillia 2 is coming soon (and Zesteria is a ways off).

 

Graces f (Currently playing through this for the first time myself):

• Weak storyline in comparison to other games in the series. However, it is still entertaining and provides adequate motivation to finish the game. The main themes are friendship and protecting the people you care about (pretty standard anime/rpg cliches).
• Characters are cliche. Character types include an amnesiac, a person with chronic "must protect everyone" syndrome, and a childhood friend with a major crush. However, they're likeable, colorful, and fun nonetheless.
• Different battle system than the rest of the series. I'm finding it pretty challenging so far, and I've died more times on Normal mode in this game (without beating it yet) than I died playing Xillia on moderate.
• Similar exploration to Xillia, however I like Grace's style more. It's the same basic premise, but Graces f is simpler. Now, that may not sound like a good thing, but honestly I got bored with all the in-between areas of Xillia (I guess that's what I'll call them). They were a lot of space with little variety. Graces makes these areas smaller, and you get through them faster.
• Voiced skits.
• The art style is more cartoony and colorful than Xillia; I like it.

 

Symphonia Chronicles:

• Includes two games, Tales of Syphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (DotNW) *Note: these are my two least favorite in the series, having played Abyss, Xillia, Vesperia, Graces, and these two*
• Symphonia's and Xillia's plots share some similarities, but I found Xillia to be much more engaging. The plot, while not bad, was a bit boring (in my opinion). DotNW's storyline could be accurately described by saying it's like a decent fan-fiction; an okay story that's inferior to the source material and messes up the characters a bit.
• Good cast of characters. Same description as Graces' characters, likeable, colorful, and fun. Various degrees of cliche.
• Symphonia's battle system does not include free run. It provides a good challenge, but I think the other games in the series are more interesting on the combat front. DotNW is more modern, but the characters from the original Symphonia come and go, and all cap at level 50. It includes a monster capture feature which lets you bring monsters into battle, and they can "evolve" into different monsters (sort of like pokemon... kinda...). You cannot control the monsters, however.
• Exploration is on an over world. More freedom, more variety. It is possible to get confused on where to go, and faster means of travel are not as readily available.
• Symphonia: Skits have no voices in English, but do have voices if you switch the audio to Japanese. DotNW: Skits are voiced in both languages.
• Art Style in DotNW is similar to Graces'. In the original Symphonia, it looks like this: (spoiler tags due to image size, no plot spoilers)

 

 

 

 

For the 3DS:

Only Abyss is available here.

• *Note: This is my favorite in the series.* Great storyline that's fairly original. Some say it has some pacing issues, but I didn't think they were much of a problem. One warning, though, the game heavily uses it's magic/science terminology (think words like spyrix, spirits, spyrites, etc. from Xillia), and many of the terms are not explained until you're a good way into the game (like, around the 10 hour mark, if I remember correctly). It can be a bit confusing, but it will all eventually be explained (and the main character is just as clueless about it all as you are, so it's actually okay).
• The characters are some of the most believably human characters I've ever encountered. They aren't the idealize heroes that you normally find in RPGs. However, this also means that many don't find them to be as likeable as the characters in other games. They're flawed, don't get along with each other quite often, and actually aren't even very good people. But honestly, that's what makes them my favorite cast of characters in the series. This goes for the villains too.
• This was the first game to include free run in the series, so you could say it was the basis for Xillia, in a way. It plays fairly similarly. I find it's over-limit and mystic arte system to be the best in the series. It's more challenging than Xillia.
• Exploration is on an over world like Symphonia. There is a bit of lag, but not horrible.
• Skits are not voiced. There's also a lot of them, I wouldn't feel the need to mention it if it weren't for the fact that there are around twice as many as the other games. Xillia had 241. Abyss has 518. Yup.
• The art style is good. Bears similarities to Graces and DotNW. However, the graphics aren't the best. There's a lot of pixelation (in both the PS2 and 3DS versions). It doesn't ruin the experience, but just don't expect anywhere near the graphical polish of Xillia. The 3D effect isn't good.

I'd recommend them all, but there's some info to choose which one you think you'd like best.

[Reyn 1,755]

On PS3:

Aside from Xillia, Graces f and Symphonia Chronicles are available and Xillia 2 is coming soon (and Zesteria is a ways off).

 

Graces f (Currently playing through this for the first time myself):

• Weak storyline in comparison to other games in the series. However, it is still entertaining and provides adequate motivation to finish the game. The main themes are friendship and protecting the people you care about (pretty standard anime/rpg cliches).
• Characters are cliche. Character types include an amnesiac, a person with chronic "must protect everyone" syndrome, and a childhood friend with a major crush. However, they're likeable, colorful, and fun nonetheless.
• Different battle system than the rest of the series. I'm finding it pretty challenging so far, and I've died more times on Normal mode in this game (without beating it yet) than I died playing Xillia on moderate.
• Similar exploration to Xillia, however I like Grace's style more. It's the same basic premise, but Graces f is simpler. Now, that may not sound like a good thing, but honestly I got bored with all the in-between areas of Xillia (I guess that's what I'll call them). They were a lot of space with little variety. Graces makes these areas smaller, and you get through them faster.
• Voiced skits.
• The art style is more cartoony and colorful than Xillia; I like it.

 

Symphonia Chronicles:

• Includes two games, Tales of Syphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (DotNW) *Note: these are my two least favorite in the series, having played Abyss, Xillia, Vesperia, Graces, and these two*
• Symphonia's and Xillia's plots share some similarities, but I found Xillia to be much more engaging. The plot, while not bad, was a bit boring (in my opinion). DotNW's storyline could be accurately described by saying it's like a decent fan-fiction; an okay story that's inferior to the source material and messes up the characters a bit.
• Good cast of characters. Same description as Graces' characters, likeable, colorful, and fun. Various degrees of cliche.
• Symphonia's battle system does not include free run. It provides a good challenge, but I think the other games in the series are more interesting on the combat front. DotNW is more modern, but the characters from the original Symphonia come and go, and all cap at level 50. It includes a monster capture feature which lets you bring monsters into battle, and they can "evolve" into different monsters (sort of like pokemon... kinda...). You cannot control the monsters, however.
• Exploration is on an over world. More freedom, more variety. It is possible to get confused on where to go, and faster means of travel are not as readily available.
• Symphonia: Skits have no voices in English, but do have voices if you switch the audio to Japanese. DotNW: Skits are voiced in both languages.
• Art Style in DotNW is similar to Graces'. In the original Symphonia, it looks like this: (spoiler tags due to image size, no plot spoilers)

 

 

 

 

For the 3DS:

Only Abyss is available here.

• *Note: This is my favorite in the series.* Great storyline that's fairly original. Some say it has some pacing issues, but I didn't think they were much of a problem. One warning, though, the game heavily uses it's magic/science terminology (think words like spyrix, spirits, spyrites, etc. from Xillia), and many of the terms are not explained until you're a good way into the game (like, around the 10 hour mark, if I remember correctly). It can be a bit confusing, but it will all eventually be explained (and the main character is just as clueless about it all as you are, so it's actually okay).
• The characters are some of the most believably human characters I've ever encountered. They aren't the idealize heroes that you normally find in RPGs. However, this also means that many don't find them to be as likeable as the characters in other games. They're flawed, don't get along with each other quite often, and actually aren't even very good people. But honestly, that's what makes them my favorite cast of characters in the series. This goes for the villains too.
• This was the first game to include free run in the series, so you could say it was the basis for Xillia, in a way. It plays fairly similarly. I find it's over-limit and mystic arte system to be the best in the series. It's more challenging than Xillia.
• Exploration is on an over world like Symphonia. There is a bit of lag, but not horrible.
• Skits are not voiced. There's also a lot of them, I wouldn't feel the need to mention it if it weren't for the fact that there are around twice as many as the other games. Xillia had 241. Abyss has 518. Yup.
• The art style is good. Bears similarities to Graces and DotNW. However, the graphics aren't the best. There's a lot of pixelation (in both the PS2 and 3DS versions). It doesn't ruin the experience, but just don't expect anywhere near the graphical polish of Xillia. The 3D effect isn't good.

I'd recommend them all, but there's some info to choose which one you think you'd like best.

Wow....Thanks for the info! This is exactly the kind of detail that i needed to decide which games to look into!

 

But first, before i comment a bit on what you told me, i have a few questions:

 

How exactly is Graces F's battle system different from Xillia and the rest of the series? I'm curious, as i havent looked into the game yet.

 

So in Symphonia, the only thing you can do it battle is just backstep, forward step, and attack(Physically or with artes)? Huh, that does sound challenging.

 

And now some of my comments. I took a look at Graces F art style, and it does look a bit more cartoony, but it doesn't put me off. At least not like with DotNW. I've heard alot of things about DotnW and it doesnt look good, and i kinda get the feeling i wouldnt like it either. So now i'm considering either getting Symphonia HD, or just buying Symphonia alone on PSN(although im not sure if i want to miss out on the extra content that HD has), because either way i still plan on playing it. Im just hoping the story isn't too similar to Xillia, i can stand a few similarities, i just don't want it to be almost a rip off, but i have faith that it won't.

 

Abyss sounds really interesting, i like the idea that the characters are flawed and such, that isn't something you see in most RPG's. And i don't mind the heavy use of termonology that isn't explained until later, i'll deal with it.

 

Now i'm kinda thinking i'll probably try Abyss next, then Symphonia, and hopefully i can get Xillia 2 when it comes out(i'll probably try to get Abyss and put off Symphonia for after Xillia 2). Thanks for the input!

Edited July 8, 2014 by spiderfreak1011

[DragonMaster 1,166]

Wow....Thanks for the info! This is exactly the kind of detail that i needed to decide which games to look into!

 

But first, before i comment a bit on what you told me, i have a few questions:

 

How exactly is Graces F's battle system different from Xillia and the rest of the series? I'm curious, as i havent looked into the game yet.

 

So in Symphonia, the only thing you can do it battle is just backstep, forward step, and attack(Physically or with artes)? Huh, that does sound challenging.

 

Glad I could help.

Graces f gets rid of TP. Instead, you get what is called a CC gauge. Xiliia actually had something similar to the CC gauge (that might even be what it's called but I haven't played Xillia in a while so my mind is blanking out on me). Every action you take in battle, besides using items and guarding (guarding helps restore CC), uses up a certain amount of CC. Unlike Xillia, in which every attack and arte used only took 1 CC (or whatever they were called) away, attacks in Graces can take up 2-7 (7 is the most I've seen so far). Additionally, the "standard attacks" are gone. Instead, we have two kinds of artes, A-Artes and B-Artes. B-artes are very similar to the artes in Xillia and are accessed with the O button and right analog shortcuts. A-artes replaced the "standard attacks" and use the X button. A-artes chain together into combos more easily than B-artes. They are in more of a skill tree format, here's an example:

*Of course, you get more attacks to fill in the tree as you progress.

So as you get further in the chain, each arte uses more CC. Additionally, A-artes and B-artes don't really flow into each other very well (unlike Xillia, where you could could combine the usage of artes and attacks without breaking your combo). Free Run takes up CC, and can quickly eat up the entire gauge (and it's rather slow), so most of the time you'll want to use side-steps, back-steps, and forward dashes. The perspective during battle is more behind your character, as opposed to Xillia where it was a side view. As such, the analog inputs have changed. Whereas in Xillia, left or right during an attack or arte would yield the same attack, in Graces up and down are the same, while right and left are different (you can kinda see this in the picture above). You can regain CC by getting good combos, guarding, waiting, and (I think) by hitting enemy weaknesses.

 

Here's a short (non spoiler) video of the battle system. *Note: Asbel's A-artes are when his weapon is sheathed, and his B-artes are when his weapon is unsheated)

Of course, the differences are more noticeable when playing rather than watching.

 

EDIT:

(To your comment on Symphonia) You can jump as well (and guard, but I think you figured that and just didn't include it in that list). You do have some degree of 3D movement, if you target a different enemy (obviously only works with more than one enemy) than the one you're currently targeting, then you'll move in line with that foe. All the enemies can move freely about (isn't a problem as your character will always keep in line with your targeted enemy).

Edited July 9, 2014 by DragonMaster

[Reyn 1,755]

Glad I could help.

Graces f gets rid of TP. Instead, you get what is called a CC gauge. Xiliia actually had something similar to the CC gauge (that might even be what it's called but I haven't played Xillia in a while so my mind is blanking out on me). Every action you take in battle, besides using items and guarding (guarding helps restore CC), uses up a certain amount of CC. Unlike Xillia, in which every attack and arte used only took 1 CC (or whatever they were called) away, attacks in Graces can take up 2-7 (7 is the most I've seen so far). Additionally, the "standard attacks" are gone. Instead, we have two kinds of artes, A-Artes and B-Artes. B-artes are very similar to the artes in Xillia and are accessed with the O button and right analog shortcuts. A-artes replaced the "standard attacks" and use the X button. A-artes chain together into combos more easily than B-artes. They are in more of a skill tree format, here's an example:

*Of course, you get more attacks to fill in the tree as you progress.

So as you get further in the chain, each arte uses more CC. Additionally, A-artes and B-artes don't really flow into each other very well (unlike Xillia, where you could could combine the usage of artes and attacks without breaking your combo). Free Run takes up CC, and can quickly eat up the entire gauge (and it's rather slow), so most of the time you'll want to use side-steps, back-steps, and forward dashes. The perspective during battle is more behind your character, as opposed to Xillia where it was a side view. As such, the analog inputs have changed. Whereas in Xillia, left or right during an attack or arte would yield the same attack, in Graces up and down are the same, while right and left are different (you can kinda see this in the picture above). You can regain CC by getting good combos, guarding, waiting, and (I think) by hitting enemy weaknesses.

 

Here's a short (non spoiler) video of the battle system. *Note: Asbel's A-artes are when his weapon is sheathed, and his B-artes are when his weapon is unsheated)

Of course, the differences are more noticeable when playing rather than watching.

 

EDIT:

(To your comment on Symphonia) You can jump as well (and guard, but I think you figured that and just didn't include it in that list). You do have some degree of 3D movement, if you target a different enemy (obviously only works with more than one enemy) than the one you're currently targeting, then you'll move in line with that foe. All the enemies can move freely about (isn't a problem as your character will always keep in line with your targeted enemy).

Oh, so CC is basically the AC gauge that Xillia had(it controlled how many actions you could do when either attacking physically or with artes). No TP? Huh, that sounds like it would make the game easier then. Not complaining though. Free run taking up CC will probably hurt though, since i tend to use that alot.

 

Oh, ok then. I'll remember that when i try it out, thanks!

[DragonMaster 1,166]

Oh, so CC is basically the AC gauge that Xillia had(it controlled how many actions you could do when either attacking physically or with artes). No TP? Huh, that sounds like it would make the game easier then. Not complaining though. Free run taking up CC will probably hurt though, since i tend to use that alot.

 

Oh, ok then. I'll remember that when i try it out, thanks!

Ah, AC, yes that's what it was called! And yeah, it's like that. The lack of TP doesn't make it easier though, at least for me. Since every arte on the A-arte tree takes up more CC than the previous, you'll get through it once then have to recharge your CC. Plus, all the B-artes take 2 CC or more, and they aren't as freely combined into combos. Plus, healing spells take up a lot of CC (Resurrection takes up 7). It's pretty balanced. Though, I haven't finished it yet, so it might get more broken later.