Tales Series

The last new game was Tales of Berseria, though I'm not sure when it came out (I think it was 2014 or 2015). I do believe it has been a bit of a while since the last official game.

I think all the controversy over Zestiria has brought things to a bit of a halt.

Edited by HandsomeRob on Jun 1st 2019 at 12:47:30 PM

I wanna say Berseria was 2016? Early 2016, though, so probably 2015 in Japan.

Can't help wondering if they're spreading themselves too thin with the phone games. They had three separate gacha crossovers at one point, and even though one of them's been cancelled entirely, they're still making Crestoria. Which...doesn't look like a gacha game, and the crossover bits seem to be downplayed. It looks like it has potential, but I'm wary to bite again after they pulled the global version of Rays just when it was getting interesting. Maybe if it's a full-package deal as far as story goes, rather than being episodic? That seems unlikely, but I might go for it if it was like that. I just don't want to get invested in something that could easily end prematurely.

Edited by SapphireBlue on Jun 1st 2019 at 12:10:15 PM

2016 for Japan, 2017 for us.

Yeah, I double checked just now, and is right.

With all the Alicia / Rose shit in Zestiria, I don't blame them. As I recall they had to reveal Berseria quickly to alleviate all that. And since then, there's been nothing about the next game.

Considering there was the possibility of a third game in that universe, I can't blame them for halting. They probably don't want to chance that after how badly Zestiria apparently shit the pot.

You're right. I got the timing right but the years wrong.

Yeah, if they were planning a third one, they'd probably need time to regroup and come up with something else, and that would mean more of a delay than usual.

I honestly wouldn't object to the idea if it was the same level of quality as Berseria, but doing it now would be stupid. Better to move on.

Edited by SapphireBlue on Jun 1st 2019 at 3:54:16 AM

I think what also hurt was that apart from her obligatory Tales crossover game appearances, Velvet got barely any buzz and eveyrone else seemed insanely intent on downplaying or even denying her place as the first solo female protagonist of the series claiming that was Milla. Like what the actual hell?

Plus not putting Velvet in Tekken 7 or Soul Calibur 6 when she could have easily benefitted from those.

That's true. I mean, Milla is the first female Tales Protagonist, but she still shared that role with Jude.

Velvet walks on her own.

That being said, maybe to some it doesn't matter.

Kinda funny how the two are cross series foils as well. Milla is an Artificial Human who uses the power of the spirits, and eventually becomes an actual God. Velvet is a natural born human who is turned into her worlds version of a demon and goes down in history as a demon king.

I also think its a little bit shit that not only did Namco not put Velvet in said fighting games as a guest but they'd rather put in characters from their rival's games (Noctis and 2B)

Come on Namco you had a chance to give Velvet the publicity and hype she needed, was she just a sodding box ticker to you in the end?

How often do they use Tales characters in their fighting games, though?

Almost never. Lloyed winding up in a Soul Calibur spin off is the only thing that comes immediately to mind.

The Cameo Battle is basically a required box to tick for any new Tales game, but Tales heroes rarely crossover with anything out of their own games. Weird... since the Tales Series has had cameos from other Namco franchises pretty consistently.

Right. Hearts progress. *ahem*

—Until Beryl joins: I have observed that enemies drop gels a lot, so I didn't buy much in term of consumables... defeat an enemy of a type and from now on you can check its stats as if you used a magic lens. Only bosses do not follow the rule, cause... well. And speaking of bosses, the reaper in the forest almost destroyed me when in overlimit. I think this game's overlimit increases your stats? It's not normal that Galland the tank was taking 50 dmg per hit and then about 200! I might have to delve into the Advanced strats, which for anyone that doesn't know is a rip off of the Gambit system.

World map feels big, but actually isn't. The road to follow is pretty clear most of the time with little to none detours. It is better than the DS version, of course, which was a network of towns connected by monster-infested identical dirt roads. Until very late game at least.

The Soma progression system is worlds better than the DS one. Back then you had to get LOTS of drops from monsters to learn skills (Legendia did something similar with spell learning) and when you learned a certain % of your current list you could upgrade your soma through 3 colored paths, focusing on artes, skills or raw stats. The Vita game uses something alike the Lillium orb, where you spend points earned at level'ups to upgrade 5 petals on your Soma. The plot places a cap on your upgrades, but you will surely never find yourself 'full' until the next cap lifts.

I noticed you can fight with less than a full party even if your 4 slots are full. It's good to focus on guys you neglected, and I heard that one skill from the green(?) petal allows 100% exp even in the reserves. Right now I am outside the Twilight forest trying to level up just Beryl, since she joined a full level behind the others (Are you obsesed enough in a RPG to have everyone be the same level? I know I am. Tell them, Natalia.)

And this is when I notice that playing a mage really is for the pros. She does crap damage to every monster and crowds overpower her. Mages don't fight with the pad: you Free run a lot and try to squeeze some spells in. Luckily both her and Galland have Spell Resume(sp?)

Oh, and of course I am playing with a Namcoin guide in the lap. I got the only one that's missable but checking which of them you missed when you are a few away from the full collection would be aggravating.

Edited by FlightMaster on Jun 2nd 2019 at 5:29:44 PM

Granted they did have some characters inthose crossover RP Gs but they were pretty shallow and PXZ chickened the eff out by playing it safe and using Vesperia shit.

But then came Velvet and now suddenly they're reluctant. I almost wonder why they even bothered to create her if they were gonna be so ashamed of her.

They never really put a lot of emphasis on Velvet in the first place. She was the first solo female protag (even though I'd argue Milla drives the plot more than Jude) and they made a mention of that fact, but that...was about it.

Honestly, I'd just chalk everything up and say that the Tales of series was never a priority for Namco at any given point and time, and it really shows.

Edited by SkormSnow-Strider on Jun 2nd 2019 at 7:39:34 AM

I don't think it's fair to assume they hate her just because she's not in crossovers. They mostly just do that for the ones that are both popular and have been around a while.

Edited by SapphireBlue on Jun 2nd 2019 at 4:40:47 AM

I think you are leaping to conclusions here.

I feel like Velvet in general is a bit of a letdown. We're given the first official female protagonist and she's thrown into a clothes shredder for le cheap and edgy fanservice, we're told we get to play as a selfish villain character only for the game to chicken out and lol nope you're really just Heroes With Bad Publicity, and now Bamco seems really keen to forget Velvet in lieu of printing more and more Sorey and Mikleo and Vesperia merchandise.

She is a pretty awful person for about 75% of the game.

Also we were never told we were playing the villain.

Edited by Envyus on Jun 3rd 2019 at 10:18:30 AM

Uh no Velvet wears the bare minimum to fit in society because clothes don't do anything to protect her anymore. She took some scraps she found and called it a day after living in a shithole for so long. Revenge is more important

Plus by the end wearing it is a way to express herself since the Abbeys all about logic and reason.

We got it pretty clear early on she was seeking revenge, Japan made sure of that even with the Xs episodes of Berseria.

Shes definitely an Antihero.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Jun 3rd 2019 at 9:20:50 AM

There was no real in-game reason she had to be in scraps of clothing, the design came first for fanservice then there's one hasty cutscene thrown in with her grabbing scraps because apparently the guards stationed on an island no one's supposed to come on don't have any changes of clothes.

It was where they keep all the prisoners goods. Its why Stormhowl was also there.

Besides Im sure it was part expressing Velvet, not to say it didn't include fanservice, because Japan is very much having cake and eating it too in media.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Jun 3rd 2019 at 9:31:36 AM

Just Japan?

I mean, it's not like the West wouldn't do as bad.

Know like Japan will lambast the thing while still doing it at the same time. You see it more often as a result.

I'm of the opinion that Velvet can wear what she likes and if she actually feels confident in that getup then that's her business, not mine. Its not like Mai Natsume's outfit being foisted on her by a friend.

Although the "for ease of movement" thing is a shit excuse and you know it.

I'm also of the opinion that Velvet was basically screwed by Namco and "fans" who can't seem to decide if they actually have legit issues with Velvet being the first solo protag instead of Milla or if they're just sexist in some way. Or if they, somehow, prefer blander protags from the early to mid 2010s Tales games rather than the more nuanced Velvet

I liked Velvet more than I expected to. She's an interesting, complex character, and even at the beginning when she's almost comically edgy (THE TASTE OF FLESH AND THE BLOOD OF ONE MAN or whatever that opening narration was), there's still enough to her to keep you going until she starts to develop a little.

Her outfit is stupid, though, and not just for fanservice reasons. It just looks ridiculous. I kept her in it anyway because putting her back in her prologue clothes didn't feel right, and I got used to it over time, but still. I wouldn't have minded so much if she had a tube top or something under the jacket, but no, they had to go for freaking underboob on top of everything else.

Edited by SapphireBlue on Jun 3rd 2019 at 10:06:13 AM

Yeah, I think maybe exposed midriff or hint of underboob would be okay, full on underboob was pushing it. Its like a Senran Kagura design trying to take itself seriously.

Also her outfit is another reason she'd fit in perfectly in Soul Calibur.