Tales of the Abyss

[RiseToFall]

So unfortunately I'm kind of broke right now, and I haven't been able to pick this one up yet. But for everyone who isn't in a financial bind and own this game, what do you think? Is it a hit like Symphonia, or a bit of a miss like Legendia?

[black orb]

>>> I heard great things about Symphonia, i played it and I think its was ok, but not as good as the previous Tales games.. Then I read about Legendia being a bad game, and now Tales of Abyss.. i have not read anything about that one..

Is just me or the Tales games are going downhill?..

[Jowy]

From what everyone on IRC's been saying, TotA is apparently the best in the series.

[RiseToFall]

For me this game came out of nowhere, that's why I didn't have time to save up the extra funds.

As for the Tales series going down hill. I really don't know. I enjoyed Symphonia quite a bit, but Legendia did let me down. For me, it depends how this game did. The reviews do look pretty good, but I would really like to hear it from some of you guys.

Edit: Jowy you posted seconds before I did. Definitely good news to hear of people saying that.

[LunarWeaver]

I'm about 15 hours into or so, and I can say it's pretty awesome.

The chief complaint is the world map. The world map is completely horrendous. No joke. It slows down every time you spin it and it looks awful. What's slowing it down? Who the smurf knows Besides that, when on the world map battles can take a while to load in and out of. I actually fought battles that lasted 5 seconds and the loading screen after lasted even longer than the battle itself But in dungeons and in between screens the loading times are nothing to worry about. You can see enemies once again, so no random encounters makes life yummier for us all.

The music is just like Symphonia's, or pretty much anything Sakuraba writes that isn't Baten Kaitos... It does it's job, but it's entirely gerenic and forgettable. *Puts up a Zero shield to protect himself* Uh-ohz.

Other then that, this game is a prime example of the genre. It uses some cliches, you've even got the wonderful amnesia hero, but this is the best plot a Tales game has had so far. Sometimes it gets a little confusing, mostly because government branches have names like Kimlasca-Limdaviar-General-Oracle-Lorelai-PoofyPoofy-SillyPutty. A lot of terms also revolve around the word fonon or fon, and it's even worse than Legendia's Merines, Orerines, Ferines, Teriques, Zeriques, whatever crap. But the plot is still nice, and this is the least cliche ridden a Tales game has ever gotten.

The characters are extremely lovable to me. I love all of them <3! But it takes a LOT for me to dislike a character. You're talking to a guy who's favorite character of all time is Tidus, if that gives you any indication. But don't let that fool you, they're all quite likable, really. The female lead is nowhere near Colette or the crazy ho Shirley, or even Mint, she's much more like Raine + Presea. The main character, Luke, is probably not going to be well-received though. He's spoiled and a jerk and whines a lot, and while I find him funny most people will probably hate him. But then again, what main character isn't hated anymore? If he's cheerful, he's a cliche... if he's whiney, he's annoying...If he shows emotion, he's wussy...If he's an introvert, he's too "emo"... I don't think a main character exists that won't make people bitch these days

Anyway, despite me naming the game's faults, don't let that fool you. This game is every bit on par with Symphonia. If things continue nicely like they have, it will become my favorite Tales game period. It's easily one of their best efforts ever, and it blows Legendia out of the water (I actually like Legendia, but that game has some issues).

The battle system is similar to Symphonia's with some changes. By holding L2, you can run anywhere you like, and when you let you lock-on and return to the 2-D line, so that's a nice addition to things. Then you proceed to hit a lot of X and a lotta direction + circle, so that's mostly the same. Spells and skills can leave a Fon circle that changes attacks when done within them, though these disappear so fast it comes down to luck rather than strategy of getting one and don't shake things up that much.

Outside of battle you have capacity cores that lean your stats when you level up, AD Skills, Fonon Slots, your Artes, and craziness that sounds complicated but isn't because the game does an excellent job of introducing all its systems and it never feels out of hand.

The voice acting is absolutely perfect. If Norma's voice in Legendia made you want to die, then rejoice because that is not the case here.

It's super fun, it has a nice plot, the character models are the best the Tales series has ever seen, and it's just...Rawr, if you're a Tales fan, this is the one to get.

Loading times and a crappy world map can be gotten over. I'm already used to them and don't even notice anymore. ^.^

Phew...Well, that's my thoughts on the game. Could always disagree or agree with me, never know until you give it a go.

[Crossblades]

Abyss is just as good as Symphonia, if not, better. And it's definitely not like Legendia

[Coronet]

I'm scared off after the crappiness that was Legendia. I'm a huge Tales of fan and I loved Phantasia, Eternia, and Symphonia the best out of the series and I tried Legendia and was very disappointed.

I'm looking forward to Abyss. When I get some time (and money) I'll look into it!