Namco's Tales series thoughts

I picked up Tales of Berseria in the big Spring sale on PSN I've heard a lot of people like that one.

I tried the Tales of Arise demo on the PS5. It was pretty fun, and definitely a big graphical step up from Berseria.

Demo takes about 30 min to defeat, and well worth the download to see if the game interests you. I probably won't get it on release, but that's no knock against it. I'm just cheap and usually wait for a sale.

I'm still behind with a vanilla PS4. I'm betting the game will run poorly so I'm glad there is a demo to try, I should get around to that eventually. No rush though since I haven't played Berseria yet and no way I'm getting Arise at launch anyway, especially if does run like crap on PS4. How it performs might make a difference of if I wait 3-6 months or 2-3 years to get after it comes out since I probably won't get a PS5 anytime soon.

Symphonia is good, and I think it is the favourite entry in the series for a lot of folks. I'm not sure I'd say it is a top tier entry, exactly, but the fan fondness is well earned. Part of it is that I think it was on the GameCube, which had a lack of JRPGs.  I bought it day 1 and quite enjoyed it at the time.

This appears to be a modern console re-release/port of the remaster that came out on the PS3 in 2013 as part of 'Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (though without its sequel). It also got a PC release in 2016.

I think it is still enjoyable, but it shows its age. The character models remind me a little bit of Lego people, though they do get a nice re-design in the sequel. I'm pretty sure you've played Vesperia, so I wouldn't set your expectations quite that high, but I do like it.  I posted a review of the 2013 version somewhere earlier in the thread

Edit: There are a few other things notable about Symphonia. It was the title celebrating the 10th anniversary of the series. It also servers as a very-far-in-the-past prequel to Tales of Phantasia, the very first entry in the series.

There aren't many of the series entries on Steam, but few quick thoughts on the ones I do see.

Tales of Symphonia - Oldest of the available games. This appears to be a port of the PS3 remaster of the GameCube version. I remember very rough reviews of this originally, but recent reviews appear to be positive, so they may have fixed whatever issues it had.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - This is a really good remaster of the original Xbox 360 entry in the series. Visually, the cell-shaded graphics hold up very well, and the combat and story are enjoyable. I know dschult3 really liked it as well.

Tales of Arise: The newest entry in the series.  I have not played this one yet, but it looks great and is well-reviewed.

Tales of Zestiria/Tales of Berseria - Two entries that take place in same world, but thousands of years apart. Neither are at the top of my list, but both are good.

I'd probably suggest Vesperia if your friend might enjoy a very good 'classic' entry in the series, or Arise since it is the newest and shiniest

Thanks, I appreciate the info, I probably will go with Vesperia, so I'll have more options left for future gifts. His birthday is tomorrow, so this came on time.

This came out today:




The combat looks like the remaster of Vesperia, and I loved that.  The cut scenes look like they are improved upon, but they don't look as good as Vesperia.  I know Vesperia came out 5 years later, and as a retro gamer, I should be OK with that.  However, I can see why it may bother some.  I think I may give this one a try next year.