Gaming Tales of the Abyss

[queenbakura]

I recently saw an ad for the new game in the Namco Tales series in my Shonen Jump. I wonder how Tales of the Abyss will compare to Tales of Symphonia. I recently beat that game and I loved it so much. So how will Tales of the Abyss be? Thoughts? I think that you can move in every direction in battle in it.

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]Hey, queenbakura.

While your introduction post isn't [i]horrible[/i], it still doesn't seem to have had much effot put into it. In the future please add more detail to your posts.

When creating a Game Thread it always helps to link to articles, videos and screenshots of the game to get the ball rolling. Saying "This game is coming out and I'm excited. Thoughts?" doesn't exactly push for good quality discussion.

[url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=49522]Here[/url] you can see a good example of how to start a game thread for a game that isn't out yet. You should also read [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=55113]The Play it Rules[/url] before making another thread. Thanks!

- White

[b]Edit:[/b] After thinking about it a bit, I decided it would be alright to leave this thread open and see if it gets good replies. Just be careful because I will be watching it like a hawk. Please PM myself or Bombu if you have any questions.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[BlueYoshi]

[quote name='queenbakura']I recently saw an ad for the new game in the Namco Tales series in my Shonen Jump. I wonder how Tales of the Abyss will compare to Tales of Symphonia. I recently beat that game and I loved it so much. So how will Tales of the Abyss be? Thoughts? I think that you can move in every direction in battle in it.[/quote]

[color=#8B0000]The game isn't really new; it's been out in Japan for almost a year now. It's just that the US is set to get it in October.

It's not one that I'm particularly interested in, for the fact that the next Tales game that I plan on getting is Tales of the Tempest for the DS, and that I don't know of any news stating whether or not the game will be distributed in the UK. The battle system incorporated into Tales of the Abyss has got me a bit leery, as it operates in a similar way to the battle system featured in the Star Ocean games, which I don't suppose is a bad thing, but the latest game in the series, Till the End of Time, wasn't very popular amongst some of my friends even though it did okay in most reviews.

I don't know though. I'll have to play it if I get the chance.[/color]

[Sho Ayori]

I've seen many videos and trailer to this, and I think it looks like an enjoyable game. I've found out that the system keeps the 'Skit' idea from Symphonia, and the batle system looks almost identical, being real-time of course. Is there a scheduled European release though?

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]I just picked up this game about a week ago, and I'm already completely addicted to it. Its great fun since it's very similar to Tales of Symphonia and yet it's got elements about it that I like a whole lot better. For starters, the battle system though similar with how it's in real time and you have special moves that are accessible via shortcuts, is a bit more complex than Tales of Sympohnia since it has a whole range of special button combinations that your character eventually learns to protect against certain types of attacks. Though it also has a semi-auto mode which is great since I never seem to remember what combination protects against what, but still if you really want you can spend a fair amount of time getting all of the moves down pat.

I also love how you learn what's known as a free movement deal giving your character the ability to move freely instead of only charging the enemy so you can literally run behind them to attack. And being able to trigger when your character goes into OverDrive is great fun since if you are surround by enemies the resulting release of energy sends them all flying. Well other than bosses that is.

It doesn't have the best voice acting, but it's not the worst either and a number of the characters are rather funny. I particularly like Jade and Guy and even Luke is a bit lovable now that I'm further into the plot. And Mieu is simply adorable. lol It's also got music that I enjoy which is always a plus.

The story so far has been interesting enough that I haven't been able to completely predict what's going to happen and the very nature of how the world is set up was not only surprising but is a concept that I find very fascinating as well.

Anyway, anyone else currently playing this? And if so what's your take on it? ^_^[/COLOR]

[Kirra]

[COLOR=Purple][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I bought this game a few months back and I still got to say that it is easily one of my favorite games of all time! Everything about it is good. I mean, great character designs, good vocals and music, stunning graphics, and most importantly the best combat system on any Tales game that I've played thus far. Also the storyline is extremely well done. There is quite a bit of twists that kept you guessing and wanting to know more and more about what happens next.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes RPG's in general. So yeah. Go for it!


~Kirra[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=RoyalBlue']Anyway, anyone else currently playing this? And if so what's your take on it? ^_^[/COLOR][/quote]I have this game and I like it for pretty much most of the reasons you listed. But for what ever reason I start it, get busy with school and then end up restarting it since I don't remember what I was doing. lol

Still in many ways I like it better than Tales of Symphonia, at least the battle system that is. And I agree that the whole concept behind how the world is structured is pretty fascinating. Even if I haven't gotten to the end to find out just why it ended up like that.

And yeah, Luke is an annoying little snot at first. Funny but annoying. He definitely gets better later on. Though I don't know if it stays that way. But so far my favorite is Jade Curtis. The skits with him and his [spoiler]I'm elderly and need to not over exert myself statements[/spoiler] always crack me up.

I should pull this out and play it since my finals are over and I won't be back in school for nearly two week. Perhaps I can even finally finish it! [/COLOR]

[Kirra]

[quote name='indifference][COLOR=DarkRed]Luke is an annoying little snot at first. Funny but annoying. He definitely gets better later on. Though I don't know if it stays that way. But so far my favorite is Jade Curtis. The skits with him and his [spoiler]I'm elderly and need to not over exert myself statements[/spoiler'] always crack me up.[/COLOR][/quote]
[COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I agree. Luke does, however, get gradually better [spoiler] and then almost worse to a degree, because he starts to become a real baby and that's annoying too.[/spoiler] Also I do think Jade is the funniest character. I just like his straight forward, sarcastic comments. He's a great character....Man I want to play this game now! I need to get it back from my friend.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

I really like this game so far, but my God, the load times are just horrendous. It's also a shame that the skits aren't voiced in the English version. If they weren't going to dub them, I wish they could have found a way to let you manually skip to the next line.

~Dagger~

[Kenshin DX]

[quote name='Dagger']I really like this game so far, but my God, the load times are just horrendous. It's also a shame that the skits aren't voiced in the English version. If they weren't going to dub them, I wish they could have found a way to let you manually skip to the next line.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

Lol you have obviously not played a game with long load times if you think Abyss is bad. I do agree with the skits you should be able to progress to the next line instead of watching the character mumble inaudibly.

TOA is a great game story and gameplay wise. Though Luke is such an annoying character. Even when he reaches his arc he is still annoying as all hell.

This is a game worthy of the Tales name Tales of Symphonia was great and Tales of Legendia was one of the worst games I have ever played. This game really redeemed the series.

[Konata]

I played the game through about once or twice, I forgot. I just know that Legretta the Quick was my all-time favorite character. Guns~~~~ ´Д｀

Being a fan of Tales of Symphonia, Abyss satisfied me well. Especially the improved graphics. One of the problems though, was that to me, the characters in this installment seemed to be more of a "love them or hate them" thing. With Tales of Symphonia, I thought the characters were far more "I like this part of them, but this part annoys me, but...". More developed? Maybe.

The 1-4(?) player mode and better camera views were also nice assets.

I personally didn't think the loads were that long though.

[Dagger]

I played about 30 hours in the past week. (Me being me, that means I probably didn't get nearly as far as most other people would in the same amount of time...) I love the bite-sized dungeons, the skits, the dubs, the titles, etc. (This is my first Tales game, if that wasn't already obvious.)

The battle system is just okay. But then, I'm coming off a game (Valkyrie Profile 2) that had pretty much the perfect action-RPG battle system, as far as I'm concerned. That aside, a more FFXII-esque approach for governing the peripheral party members would have been nice. I'd enjoy having nitty-gritty control over which strike/fonic artes they use under specific circumstances.

I understand why a turn-based RPG would ditch enemy health bars... this is more of an action title, though, so they would've been a nice feature.

It's funny--I loved Luke from basically the first line onward. The horribleness of his attitude was refreshing, realistic (given his circumstances) and all too understandable. Personally, when it comes to characterization, I'll take lazy, selfish ignorance over self-righteousness any day.

Juggling parties is more fun than it has any right to be. I tend to use Luke, Jade and Anise the most, Tear and Natalia evenly and Guy the least. When they make you split into two parties, I've been going with Luke/Jade/Tear and Guy/Anise/Natalia. I kind of feel like there isn't that much room for experimentation, though--you pretty much have to split up Tear and Natalia, and Guy is the most comfortable party leader after Luke (Anise would be another reasonable option, I guess).

~Dagger~

[Rachmaninoff]

I got this game... And it's addicting. Even with the load times being a little long. I love Jade's snarky attitude along with Anise's ever so innocent act. And poor Guy with his issue when he's around women is priceless. But best of all is Mieu... Let's just say I have a weakness for little mascots like that. lol He's probably my favorite out of all the characters. Heh. In addition to liking how the battle system works, as well as the music. I also like how it has good voice actors. Even Luke's whiny, irritating voice fits.

Anyway, I'm not all that far into the game yet, but so far it's shaping up to be one of my favorites.

[Konata]

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']But best of all is Mieu... Let's just say I have a weakness for little mascots like that. lol He's probably my favorite out of all the characters.[/QUOTE]

I'm not really a huge Mieu fan, but I do know one thing for sure: I love his fanbase. Being more specific, I love when artists draw the abomination that is the "Man-Mieu" or "Mieuman". For those who haven't seen him, imagine Mieu's head combined with a muscular blue body, with a lot of chest hair, armpit hair,.. You get the idea. Usually seen scaring Asch or Luke out of their minds. In any case, I find it absolutely hilarious because it's painfully disturbing for some~

[Rachmaninoff]

Man-Mieu o_O I think that would scare me out of my mind as well. I swear! The fan art that comes out of these games... Anyway... As for the game itself, I've gotten to the point where they had their first confrontation with [spoiler]Asche and Luke realized that they look the same [/spoiler] Naturally Jade doesn't seem all that surprised. So now I'm in the desert area and heading for some ruins to go and [spoiler]rescue Ion (I think that's his name) [/spoiler] The game has become more fun now that my players have picked up more moves.

[Odin M Yggdrasi]

I have seen Tales of the Abyss around for $20-$30, though I haven't got a PS2 to run it on. I bought a GC for Tales of Symphonia, but then ended up not being able to play any of the other Tales of games.

I have heard a good bit about it though from the official Namco Tales of forums.
Just a heads up, if you mention Ion or Sync prepare to be mugged by fangirls.

[Chaotictwilight]

I suggest that you buy the game, I bought that game a while ago and...trust me...it is awesome!! ^_^ You might find the main character annoying at the beggining (most people do), but that will change once he....hehe....anyways, if you like graphics, then Abyss definitely (sp?) beats Symphonia; and as for storyline/plot...I prefer Abyss as well.

[darksuzakurera]

Got this game (PS2 the Best JP) last year, it was awesome.

I stared too much on Tear back then >___>; but I enjoyed the story and the gameplay.

[Magus]

So I finally got my hands on Tales of the Abyss (Okami's coming in the mail next.), and I'm definately enjoying it a lot more than my little experience with Tales of Symphonia. The chibi look threw everything off for me.

In any case, I'm only about an hour into the game (2 if you count the amount of time I spend on levelling up my characters.) I just reached the Cheagle woods area, and speaking of Cheagles, Mieu might annoy me throughtout the course of the game. Him/her making noices everytime I press the square button.

Luke is quite annoying as well, and I'd actually be happy if someone put him in his place.

Update:

Now I'm about 10-12 hours into the game, just met up with Anise, and crossing some border or something. (I needed a passport to get through.)

So far, without a doubt my favorite characters are Jade and Guy. Jade's comment towards Luke (battle opener): Dammit, these things are real annoying. "Jade: You should fit right in" won me over.

Guys reaction towards women is priceless.

[strike]I'm trying to get used to the Field of Fonons thingy. Can you use one specific Arte on a FoF, or would I be switching up?[/strike] Got my answer.

[darksuzakurera]

[quote name='Phenom']
Luke is quite annoying as well, and I'd actually be happy if someone put him in his place.[/QUOTE]
You will be annoyed by him and diss him a lot (on both his attitude and stupidity). I was pissed at first...

[Magus]

[quote name='darksuzakurera']You will be annoyed by him and diss him a lot (on both his attitude and stupidity). I was pissed at first...[/QUOTE]
I try not to let his attitude get to me so much. As long as someone put him in his place, I can cope with it. (With people like Jade around, I'm can deal with an annoyance like Luke) Now as far as his stupidity goes... Gullable and naive. Perhaps even more than Fayt. (Star Ocean 3) But Luke is more tollerable.

Anyways, a bit of an update. About 20 hours in, and then majority of my characters are between level 18-23. Just now getting to Deo Pass, I think. I got my first gameover (even though I haven't actually seen the gameover screen due to resetting) because of Sync and Largo. Man, that was the hardest battle I've been in so far. (Sword Dancer? being the 2nd hardest.)

I cannot get the FoF's to pop up for nothing. Walkthroughs aren't really helping so much when it comes to these things. So, what arte should I use for each FoF?

Wind - Fang Blade - Thunder something
Water -
Fire -
Earth -
Shadow -
Light -

[darksuzakurera]

[quote name='Phenom']
I cannot get the FoF's to pop up for nothing. Walkthroughs aren't really helping so much when it comes to these things. So, what arte should I use for each FoF?

Wind - Fang Blade - Thunder something
Water -
Fire -
Earth -
Shadow -
Light -[/QUOTE]

Ok, here are the FOF changes for Luke:

[COLOR="Green"]Wind[/COLOR]
- Fang Blade/Sougazan -> Lightning Tiger Blade/Shuusou Raizan
- Light Spear Cannon/Senkou Tsuijinga -> Light Blast/Shouha Rekkousen

[COLOR="Blue"]Water[/COLOR]
- Raging Blast/Reppashou -> Frigid Blast/Zeppa Rehhyougeki
- Guardian Field/Shugo Houjin -> Shugo Hyousoujin/Guardian Frost

[COLOR="Red"]Fire[/COLOR]
- Havoc Strike/Houshuukyaku -> Burning Havoc/Guren Shuugeki
- Coil/Eishourai -> Steel/Goushourai
- Swallow Fury/Hien Shunrenzan -> Shadow Fury/Zanma Hieizan

[COLOR="Sienna"]Earth[/COLOR]
- Rending Thrust/Senshouha -> Rending Quake/Resshin Tenshou
- Devil's Inferno/Maou Zetsuenkou -> Devil's Maw/Maou Chigakujin

Shadow FoF Circles can do Water and Earth FoFs while Light can do Wind and Fire FoFs. Hop[e this helps you ^_^

[Magus]

That did help, thanks. And I'm finally beginning to catch on to everything else, sorta. I do wish that Luke had more artes involving spells. [spoiler]I enjoyed the little time I had to play as Asch[/spoiler].

One thing that I'm finding annoying about the game (it's a minor issue) is that you have to press the L2 button to run around the whole field. And even so, you can't attack while free running. That sort of ruins the whole free running aspect in my opinion. I don't understand why that couldn't be in this game. But as I said, it's only minor. I'm still enjoying the game.

I'm some where between 30-40 hours into the game now. Again, most of it has been spent on level grinding. A good thing, too, because now I'm getting the hang of using Mystic Artes. (They're prettiful) [spoiler]I'm at the Qliphoth after St. Binah was sunk[/spoiler]. My characters are between levels 35-38 with Luke being the only one at 38. Other characters died while I was still standing.

And I take that back about Sync and Largo being the hardest boss fight I've been in. Legretta was a beast.

Can't wait to get my Xbox 360 so I can try out Tales of Vesperia. (A main character that's actually not a child for once.)

[darksuzakurera]

[quote name='Phenom']That did help, thanks. And I'm finally beginning to catch on to everything else, sorta. I do wish that Luke had more artes involving spells. [spoiler]I enjoyed the little time I had to play as Asch[/spoiler].

One thing that I'm finding annoying about the game (it's a minor issue) is that you have to press the L2 button to run around the whole field. And even so, you can't attack while free running. That sort of ruins the whole free running aspect in my opinion. I don't understand why that couldn't be in this game. But as I said, it's only minor. I'm still enjoying the game.

I'm some where between 30-40 hours into the game now. Again, most of it has been spent on level grinding. A good thing, too, because now I'm getting the hang of using Mystic Artes. (They're prettiful) [spoiler]I'm at the Qliphoth after St. Binah was sunk[/spoiler]. My characters are between levels 35-38 with Luke being the only one at 38. Other characters died while I was still standing.

And I take that back about Sync and Largo being the hardest boss fight I've been in. Legretta was a beast.

Can't wait to get my Xbox 360 so I can try out Tales of Vesperia. (A main character that's actually not a child for once.)[/QUOTE]

You're welcome. If you need more FOF Change Artes on the other characters just tell me and I'll be happy to post it here :D

Though I found it bad about Free Run at first then the latter I got used to it. I also did level grinding ever since I got mauled by Sync and Largo then forced me to level up all at 30 and used thier Mystic Artes (except Luke and Natalia). That went pretty effective afterwards. I had fun using Asch at first but then at [spoiler]Mushroom Road[/spoiler] he was pretty useless though [spoiler]he lost most of the Arcane Artes later[/spoiler] which was a total letdown.

Oh, good luck on getting Vesperia. Though I may not be a help on that game sadly.

[Magus]

[quote=Gamefaqs][spoiler] VIIt. Daath
- Recommended Level: 43

Enter Daath's cathedral only for Anise to be shot by something random. Quite priceless, I must say, but it's a letter from Dist saying that he'll meet "the Jade gang" in Keterburg aka just freeze there, and that the flightstone is "most certainly not in Daath". Speaks for itself. The "Jade gang" sees Maestro Tritheim only to hear that Dist was here not long ago, so that solves that. His cantor Reiner knows where the flightstone is, and that guy is in Oracle Headquarters. Guess that's our stop.

Leave the cathedral and take the eastern path right outside the entrance, and that will take you into Oracle Headquarters, where a bunch of knights attack. Increased security, hahaha. Gotta love it. Anyway, your newfound Mieu Wings enable the collection of some new treasure. Start by going to the very top level, where you'll find a ladder that you can't climb, but with Mieu Wings you can. Remember that entrance where you came in the first time? Yeah, right around there. Use Mieu Wings for an Epee (very good sword) and an old Killer Bow.[/spoiler][/quote]

This is the 2nd inconsistent thing I found with this walkthrough. (This is why Gamefaqs is stupid.. sometimes lol) First one was trying to find some item or trigger something that I'm not aware of at the moment. It was minor. Anyway, this one is a pretty big issue since it has me going to retrieve the [spoiler]flightstone[/spoiler]. First thing though, the part with Anise, not happening. And instead of being told about Dist in Keterburg, I'm being told about something completely different. Going to the Oracle Headquarters is blocked off. What gives?