Tales Series's longtime fans...

Would you like to see it get Darker and Edgier and explore more mature/controversial subject themes, or are you happy with it being as it is?

I ask this question because I get the feeling that the direction of the games do not mature alongside the players. It seems that the series keeps targeting newer JRPG players who are in their mid- to late-teens. I understand the logic behind it, but that means longtime Tales Series who are already in their twenties or even thirties will have to content themselves with the tropes that appeal to the younger audience. Things like very young characters Saving the World while dominating scores of soldiers and warriors that should be stronger and way more experienced than them can be fun when you start playing, but personally as I grow up I want to see older protagonists dealing with different issues. I kind of get the message that friends are important, humans make their own destiny, etc; can we move on to something else?

I believe Vesperia was a good start with Yuri, but our new protagonist in Xillia seems to revert back to the standard 'young male' protagonist model. Not that it's a bad thing entirely; I recognize that one of the draws of the Tales Series is that it's enjoyable by people of all ages. It's just that playing as a naive teenager/young adult gets tiring. Maybe I should move to a different genre...

Gah, that was a long rant, my apologies. Question still stands, though.

Not really, no.

As long as they continue writing their characters as well as they do, I really don't care what age they are.

Yeah, the games are still very good imo character wise. Yuri was a nice change of pace, but people more like him isn't necessary for me.

Yuri is young, and he does cut through swaths of trained soldiers like it's nothing. He just has a different attitude. And I certainly wouldn't want to see an endless stream of only Yuri clones from here on out.

I think they do a good enough job with characterization and handling more mature stuff (thinking of Symphonia's racism stuff, which was a lot better than some of the stuff in games aimed at a much older audience) as-is that I don't necessarily feel they need to change, though I do prefer older protagonists. Actually, though, I liked Raine, Zelos, Presea and Regal the most in Symphonia, and they were the oldest party members (minus Kratos)...

So yeah, I think plot and characterization is handled well, but they need less friggin' teenage sword users. Have a game with the cynical healer in her twenties as the protagonist, or the escaped convict that's older than everyone else.

would have thought the oft repeated racist themes, the genocides, the fairly large body count half the time, and the morally grey big bads was "mature" enough. what else does it really need? rape? hope not. keep that shit outta my games.

oh yeah and the Crapsaccharine World. i hope you're not asking for darker colours.

edited 12th Jul '11 12:45:32 PM by Tarsen

I doubt we'll see a healer as the main protagonist though. The Tales people love to make the main protagonist a person whose easy to use in battle, hence all the swordsman.

But at least the newer Tales games have made a point to make all the characters at lest somewhat fun to use in battle, even the mages (compare Genis to Ricardo or Ange)

I'd like to be a Tales fan but the only one I've played is Symphonia due to Namco's extravagant ability to only release these games on consoles I don't have or on consoles I do have but only see a release outside my region.

My region being Europe, by the way. I think we've only had like two or three Tales games here.

^yep. symphonia was the first game in the franchise released, and then we got that crappy gba port for phantasia, and then tales of eternia on psp...? and either vesperia or dawn of the new world was released next, but thats about all.

i thought graces was already released over here but apparantly it hasnt left japan yet...?

either way im not on good terms with Namco. release on a console i have dammit! *shakes fist*

Don't play the Tales series, but I just have to say that Darker and Edgier doesn't mean it'll be more mature. For example, the comics of the 90's certainly weren't more mature than their predeccessors, they just traded one form of immaturity for another. Another example would be The West Wing. Earlier seasons were far more mature compared to the crap that was the later ones.

Abyss came before Vesperia. Legendia came before Abyss.

...This is the series that features a plot twist involving the hero causing the deaths of everyone in a city, a giant super weapon that runs on the life force of a specific race, a army that keeps humans in concentration camps... really I think Tales Games have more genocide than any other game ever. And you're wondering if we want it to be darker?

abyss and legendia didnt make it to europe at all.

That they did not.

Is the Abyss port for 3DS at least making it to Europe? Just curious.

well there was once an article rather excitingly titled "tales of the abyss finally coming to the usa!" Now, considering it was already in the usa, im assuming its a mistake and its actually coming to europe.

edited 12th Jul '11 1:40:30 PM by Tarsen

Yep, it is.

Yay. I've been wanting to play Abyss since foreverrrrr.

But then there's the problem of me not having a 3DS. :'(

id be more excited if i hadnt already finished abyss.

and hated it with every fibre of my being.

but according to a friend, theres a slight chance the plot may actually make some sense this time. so who knows.

The Tales Series is currently the only JRPG series that I like (and hasn't been abandoned) since it doesn't take itself too seriously.

edited 12th Jul '11 4:38:22 PM by lrrose

I mean...Tales Of Symphonia dealt with mass genocide among other fucked up things. How does it get worse?

Also, haven't played Tales Of The Abyss, but I will when the 3DS version comes out!

Well I think part of it is that even though some heavy stuff happens in the games, they aren't very Grimdark. Not that Grimdark is bad, it works for many games, such as the main Shin Megami Tensei games.