Gaming Tales of the Abyss

[darksuzakurera]

So that means you're unable to enter Oracle Headquarters for the moment? Tried anything so you can go in there?

[Magus]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. The little bit before that tells me to go to Grand Chokmah to get an item, but that's pretty much it. It's like there's this gap between Grand Chokmah and Daath. (This is what I get for skimming through the story.)

[Meggido]

I'm scratching my brain to try and remember for you Phenom since I only played recently. I actually refuse to use a walkthrough for my first playthrough on tales games which leaves me to figure things out myself but I have a habit of forgetting. I really can't remember the bit about Elise getting shot down but its her mother that gives you the message about Dist wanting to challenge you to a duel in Keterburg. [spoiler]Jade then makes some harsh comment about letting him freeze[/spoiler] Anyway before that I think I did go straight from Baticul to Daath.

However if you've seen the scene with Trietheim are you trying to go to the Oracle headquarters from inside the cathedral or outside?

I just did a skim through of the story synopsis (glad I bought it for 5 grade since I had some to spare) and it says that after Baticul [spoiler]that I went to Grand Chokmah and talked to Peony about the peace treaty and lowering the outer lands.[/spoiler] Looking at the guide that's not mentioned and may be what you're missing.

Edit: I'm so sad that namco region encoded Tales of Vesperia. There have been a few games on X360 that weren't region encoded (like Lost odyssey) but no luck this time. Gotta wait for like Feb or March for the Pal release.

[Magus]

[quote name='Meggido']However if you've seen the scene with Trietheim are you trying to go to the Oracle headquarters from inside the cathedral or outside?[/quote]
I'm trying to get in from the outside.
[quote name='Meggido']I just did a skim through of the story synopsis (glad I bought it for 5 grade since I had some to spare) and it says that after Baticul [spoiler]that I went to Grand Chokmah and talked to Peony about the peace treaty and lowering the outer lands.[/spoiler] Looking at the guide that's not mentioned and may be what you're missing.[/QUOTE]
AYE!! That's it. Peony. Guess this means I should stop skimming through the text. :animesmil Actually, I remember I was told about peony, but forgot about what I was doing once I went to Grand Chokmah because of the side tracking which was in that walkthrough. Thanks for the help though :D

I know a lot of people tend to leave walkthroughs alone for the first time through, but when I hear that a game can be over 80 hours long, I tend to go straight for a walkthrough because I know I probably wouldn't find or I would bypass a lot of item shops and whatnot. (See the dreaded gameover screen for once, lol.) I just been in the habit of having a walkthrough at my side while playing rpgs.

[Meggido]

I got Lucky and only saw the dreaded game over screen once after losing to the final boss on my first try. sad I did only see it once because I discovered with that that certain bosses allow you to see a skit if you get gameover. (and playing an undubbed version all skits were voiced for me)

[darksuzakurera]

[quote name='Meggido']I got Lucky and only saw the dreaded game over screen once after losing to the final boss on my first try. sad I did only see it once because I discovered with that that certain bosses allow you to see a skit if you get gameover. (and playing an undubbed version all skits were voiced for me)[/QUOTE]
Hey, I'm also playing the undubbed version as well! But I hate playing it over again from scratch (underleveled and slow...).

If you're still having troubles, Phenom maybe me nor Meggido will be happy to help you here ;)

[Meggido]

That was probably one of the things I found annoying. With Symphonia I could buy my finished level with Grade but in Abyss it's not possible. I'm probably going to play it through again so I can see everyone's second Mystic arte and also so I can try out the harder difficulties. I really want to play it on Unknown and finish it so I feel like I've accomplished something outstanding.

[darksuzakurera]

I mostly fought the Bosses in Unknown but there were times I couldn't take on the challenge so I simply turned down the Difficulty to Mania/Very Hard.

[Meggido]

One thing I found interesting about this game is the fact that what is considered the hardest boss in the game can only be accessed on a New game + file. I love the final battle costumes for everyone I think they were better than their normal. Anise's was particularly funny as it also dresses her bear in the same costume.

Anyway with What Dark said, if you ever need help Phenom I'll be happy to pop open my save file.

[darksuzakurera]

[quote name='Meggido']One thing I found interesting about this game is the fact that what is considered the hardest boss in the game can only be accessed on a New game + file. I love the final battle costumes for everyone I think they were better than their normal. Anise's was particularly funny as it also dresses her bear in the same costume.

Anyway with What Dark said, if you ever need help Phenom I'll be happy to pop open my save file.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, [spoiler]Nebilim is only available on the second play on the US Version unlike the Japanese Version which she is accessible on the first play[/spoiler]. Tear's final battle costume was great too and Guy's [spoiler]Dashing Gent/Smart Style[/spoiler] costume. And Anise's costumes are awesome too since there are times Tokunaga changes costume depending on Anise's Title Costume and [spoiler]her weapon changes too[/spoiler] (that applies to Tear's [spoiler]Locrian Colonel[/spoiler] costume as well)!

[Magus]

Thought I'd give an update since I think I'm pretty far now. I just beat [spoiler]Van and crew[/spoiler] for the first time. That was some fight, too, although, I thought it'd be a little tougher than what this walkthrough provided. (Yeah, I cheated :)) Guy did die on me twice, and I sat back throwing out Gels out the wazoo.. (exaggeration, sort of.) I also thought the battle with the God Generals were a bit on the easy side as well. (I think I was a bit over levelled as well.) Mainly because I'm scared of Legretta, lol. Oh the scars she left from our last fight. She's even scarier than Sync IMO.

Currently, I'm going somewhere.. The name of the location escapes me. [spoiler]That treacherous little maggot, Anise[/spoiler] bailed somewhere... Oh Mt Zaleho (sp?), that's where I'm headed. Anyway, given the circumstances, I can understand why she did it.

Luke is really starting to irritate me even more now with this mopiness. I think I liked him more when he was stupid and didn't know anything, because, atleast I was laughing at Jade poking fun at him. But now that this boy is worrying over nothing, he's just frustrating. Probably moreso than Sora or Fayt now, too. (And that's bad.)

Speaking of Jade, OMG, playing as him feels really weird. (Anise was just as strange) In all rpg's, I've never played as, nor rellied on my magic-users, atleast not in these action rpgs. Playing as Guy was pretty decent. I liked his speed, but took a little while to get use to his moves and set up combos.

Anyway, I'm now about 70+ (I think I'm just now reaching the 75 hour mark) hours into the game, and my party are currently between the levels of 53-56, with Luke being the only one at 56 (I think he's real close to 57, like 1200 away), and Natalia is at 53 (like Luke, real close to 54). Jade and Tear at 55. Guy at 54 (about 550 away from 55), and Anise was just reaching 54, I think.

Still enjoying the game, and this along with Dragon Quest VIII are my favorite rpgs on the ps2. (Gonna try out Persona 4, soon.)

[Meggido]

Luke I didn't really mind with his mopiness maybe because it didn't seem so bad in Japanese. Jade was the character who started to get on my nerves towards the end. Especially with his sarcastic but sometimes witty undertones. There were times where he was particularly funny and others where he just grated on my nerves.

[darksuzakurera]

I got scarred on Legretta as well on Unknown, took me about an hour to finish her off. I ended up dealing 1 at her most of the time whilst magic does like 40-90 damage which made my patience ran off. Sync was pretty easy to deal with but he deals damage like crazy.

I use Guy most of the time( but people sometimes demand that "Everyone always uses Guy") and got the hang of using him. Even the [spoiler]Sever Wind/Dankuuken to Dragon Tempest/Ryuusou Senkuuha loop[/spoiler] was my favorite doing back then next to [spoiler]Nihil Tempest Blade/Kokuu Renshoujin[/spoiler] XD

The only mage I used was Anise and Tear since I wasn't used to Jade before. Natalia was great too but most of her basic attacks were a bit laggy.

[Magus]

"Sigh" This game has hit a sudden downward spiral. Meggido, you're a good one, (and anyone else able to put up with Luke) to be able to put up with Luke like this. I just reached the part where [spoiler]Luke takes Asch to see his parents[/spoiler].

I swear, I'm ready to ship this game back because Luke is reminding me why I despise Shinji. (Evangelion, you can tell I hate that series, too, right?) I mean one moment you try to understand the guy then he goes and kills all the respect you have for him with the crap that comes out of his mouth. This second half of the game, character-wise, it's been almost nothing but Luke wallowing in self pity, whining about this and that. (Evangelion 2?) I definately liked him better when he was acting like a jerk in the earlier parts of the game.

I'm gonna gut it out though, because I like the other characters, and love the battle system. But Luke is really pushing my buttons. I'm tired of seeing his face. Fun game, but Luke is really killing it.

[Sangome]

[quote name='Phenom']"Sigh" This game has hit a sudden downward spiral. Meggido, you're a good one, (and anyone else able to put up with Luke) to be able to put up with Luke like this. I just reached the part where [spoiler]Luke takes Asch to see his parents[/spoiler].

I swear, I'm ready to ship this game back because Luke is reminding me why I despise Shinji. (Evangelion, you can tell I hate that series, too, right?) I mean one moment you try to understand the guy then he goes and kills all the respect you have for him with the crap that comes out of his mouth. This second half of the game, character-wise, it's been almost nothing but Luke wallowing in self pity, whining about this and that. (Evangelion 2?) I definately liked him better when he was acting like a jerk in the earlier parts of the game.

I'm gonna gut it out though, because I like the other characters, and love the battle system. But Luke is really pushing my buttons. I'm tired of seeing his face. Fun game, but Luke is really killing it.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Please do try to hang on with it a bit longer. TotA's a great game and shouldn't be dropped just because of a whiny character.

...and no, I don't like Luke, either. I utterly despise him as much as you do, if not more so...and I do agree -- angry!buttwipe!Luke is far better than CRAWLINGINMYSKIN!Luke.





And why I've not posted in here before is beyond me. I'm so out of touch with the game [ironically]...I need to start up again.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[quote name='Sangome'][SIZE="1"]Please do try to hang on with it a bit longer. TotA's a great game and shouldn't be dropped just because of a whiny character.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
Like anime, unfortunately, that one whiny character can kill the whole experience for someone such as myself. Especially when that whiny character is the main character. Call it a low tolerance issue lol. As I said, I will try to gut it out. (He's killing the joy I had in the game, that's for sure.) This is why I prefer silent characters being the main protagonist lol.

[Meggido]

I don't know why but even though Luke has sort of become whiny and all I find Tidus from FFX to be more whiny. However while his arrogant self lead to much comedy, I found it less tolerable in Japanese compared to his whiny stage. Maybe it's just the way voices were used between the versions.

Out of interest Magus (great name change btw) you're playing the english dub of the game right?

[Magus]

[quote name='Meggido']Out of interest Magus (great name change btw) you're playing the english dub of the game right?[/QUOTE]

I couldn't put up with Tidus either lol. Main Reason why I haven't finished FFX.

Yes, I'm playing the english version. No, I haven't completely lost interest, yet. I'm about to go continue playing it. [spoiler]Luke found he was going to die.[/spoiler] I'm expecting more mopiness, but atleast this time it's over something that's worth moping about.

I just hope each and every character don't go into some form of depression. Guy and Jade don't particularly look like the types to get depressed.
_________________________________

I think I've played enough of this to give my final thoughts on the game. Seeing how I've finally exceeded the 100 hour mark, (and I'm pretty much at the end) I officially give this game the "longest game"... That I've ever played, and I'm not done with it yet. Eldrant is the longest dungeon I've come across.

And I think I just might go ahead and head straight to the final fight (if that's possible) instead of collect the rest of these items. I just beat Sync for the last and final time. My patience has grown very thin over the last couple of hours and I'm tired of collecting stuff, lol. That's what I get for looking for games that're long.. I don't know if I want any more long games, haha.

It's been quite a blast despite my frustrations with Luke.

Story - Heh, Luke has killed what I've collected of the story, lol.. Ok, I won't blame him. I forgot almost everything, and I wasn't paying much attention anyway even though I've read almost every single skit that popped up. Nothing really sunk in. (Short attention span.)

Graphics - When it gets to the anime clips, it looks great, but I just found out that Production I.G. did the animation for the anime parts, so I expect nothing less than stellar. In-game graphics and whatnot I wasn't really impressed with it. Kind of bland compared to some of the other rpgs I've played for the ps2, but then the graphics aren't that bad either.

Characters - Everybody except Luke and Mieu was great. Luke was pretty good early on in the game. I'd say he really started pissing me off [spoiler]the closer I got to Akzeriuth[/spoiler], but he really got on my nerves [spoiler]after beating Van the first time[/spoiler]. Jade and Guy are still my favorite characters along with Asch and now Tear. While I've never hated Tear at all, she's grown onto me. I've never liked Mieu from the start. It's a personal thing, don't worry about it, lol.

Audio/Music - Honestly, the only time I'd really paid much attention to the music was while on the world map and traveling in towns. And this walkthrough I was using kept talking about this and that song during fights and boss fights. Honestly, people actually pay attention to the music in the middle of fights especially when things get hectic? Especially in boss fights? I had a hard time trying to focus on the music when I was fighting the God Generals because they were throwing out Arcane and Mystic Artes, and I was trying not to get myself killed. Anyhow, the world map music, I suppose sound pretty decent.

Voice work was actually pretty good. Though, there were some parts that I found myself trying to skip... Mainly when there was some extention to a word... Mieuuuuuu >_<. Kirk Thorton (Jade) is really good here, but he's pretty good in majority everything I've heard him in, but I enjoyed hearing him in this. He probably has the best voice for anyone that does a lot of talking or someone that's informative.

Luke: 69 (probably 70)
Tear: 68
Jade: 68
Guy: 67
Natalia: 65
Anise: 64 (maybe 65)

Gald: 200,000+
Encounters: 600-800+ (can't remember)
Hits: 60 (I suck, lol)

Oh yeah, even though I beat her for the final time, I still think Legretta is the scariest woman ever out of all the games I've played so far. I think she might've scarred me for life lol.

Final verdict: A

Despite Luke killing my experience and I'm a graphic whore, I still had a blast. Once I beat the game, though, I have no intentions of playing it again. Putting up with Luke again is torture on my soul lol. (Sucks because you can't skip the scenes either.)

[size=1]Now I'm gonna get back into the Metal Gears and finally start Okami soon.[/size]

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='Magus']Despite Luke killing my experience and I'm a graphic whore, I still had a blast. Once I beat the game, though, I have no intentions of playing it again. Putting up with Luke again is torture on my soul lol. (Sucks because you can't skip the scenes either.)[/quote]Oddly, as annoying as Luke can be, I don't have too much trouble putting up with him. Not sure why but since I hadn't played this in a while I started over and since I knew why he was so annoying... it made putting up with him easier this time around.

I can understand though, as much as I like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time... I have to wonder if I'd replay it on the harder levels if I didn't have the option to skip the major cut scenes. Some of them, once was more than enough. Anyway, back to playing it since I'm determined to actually finish it this time around. >_>

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"]Okay, I've been playing this and enjoying it. I especially like how it's had more cut scenes than Tales of Symphonia ever did. Since those kind of things are nice in my opinion. And the story though a bit odd, has been interesting enough to keep me going. I like the voice acting and the over all story so far is entertaining.

Now I just got past the part where the next section [spoiler]falls after the mines did.[/spoiler]I'm curious about one thing and that is, am I the only one who thought the animation for the [spoiler]war breaking out was awful?

It was a mix of 3-D with the ships and crummy animation of the fighting.[/spoiler] I don't know about all of you, but I would have rather had no cut scene than that disaster. It was awful. I hope that's the only one like that. Can anyone enlighten me on that aspect?

Anyway, back to playing the game. I got a copy of the anime episodes that are out so far and I want to stay far enough ahead so watching that doesn't spoil the plot for me.[/FONT]

[Rachmaninoff]

[QUOTE=Nathan][FONT="Arial"]Now I just got past the part where the next section [spoiler]falls after the mines did.[/spoiler]I'm curious about one thing and that is, am I the only one who thought the animation for the [spoiler]war breaking out was awful?

It was a mix of 3-D with the ships and crummy animation of the fighting.[/spoiler] I don't know about all of you, but I would have rather had no cut scene than that disaster. It was awful. I hope that's the only one like that. Can anyone enlighten me on that aspect?[/FONT][/QUOTE]I agree, I found that an eyesore as well. But since I started over (because I forgot what I was supposed to be doing) and I never got very far past that point, I couldn't say if that was a one time deal or not. I certainly hope not... I remember watching that and going... wtf?

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][FONT="Arial"][quote name='Rachmaninoff']I agree, I found that an eyesore as well. But since I started over (because I forgot what I was supposed to be doing) and I never got very far past that point, I couldn't say if that was a one time deal or not. I certainly hope not... I remember watching that and going... wtf?[/quote]Having finally beaten the game earlier today, I can safely say that the rest of the cut scenes are much better. Considering that they are either full out animation or just using the characters, that one scene is rather jarring for it's shoddiness. I'm just glad they didn't continue making them like that. Oh and the ending sequence is nicely done so I think you'll enjoy that Nathan. =P

Anyway, I must have not done enough side quests Magus since I beat it and I only hit the 65 hour mark for the game. Ironically I managed to skip through pretty much all of the Eldrant dungeon and from start to finish, that entire thing, including the final boss battle took all of an hour and a half.

Over all I enjoyed it enough that I'll be replaying it. There were somethings I found annoying, but no one in it really killed the game for me. Luke did at first, but once I found out more about him, I never could go back to finding him annoying. I know a lot of people hated his character, but I found Asche more irritating, mainly because in my opinion, they never got into what made him tick.

So final level for characters was 72
917,301 gald
1258 battles
49 max hit
31,119 max damage
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Magus]

[quote name='Indi'][COLOR="Indigo"][FONT="Arial"]Anyway, I must have not done enough side quests Magus since I beat it and I only hit the 65 hour mark for the game. Ironically I managed to skip through pretty much all of the Eldrant dungeon and from start to finish, that entire thing, including the final boss battle took all of an hour and a half.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]
Hm, then it must've been me and my paronia about some of the enemies. I spent a lot of time grinding. Legretta was a beast. (She freaked me out) Since my first encounter with her I fought atleast 6-8 battles before progressing to another area. :) I also think I might've done quite a few of the side missions. [spoiler]Collecting all of those rocks for Jade as well as collecting those books for Luke and techniques for Guy[/spoiler]. Glad to hear you had fun with the game though. It's also good to see that you and everyone else is more tolerant than I XD

[The Spectacular Professor]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]GKKASDJRLKWFSDLKGMASLKFMEKLFFFFFFFFFFF

Folks, don't try to fight [spoiler]Asch[/spoiler] on hard mode.

[spoiler]I'm dueling him, and I decide to use Radiant Howl. I activate Overlimit, go through my basic combo attack, finish it off with a Slag assault and hold X.

That complete BASTARD pulls a Mystic Arte off right before mine activates, with no overlimit, level 2 Arte or warning. Not only does this kill me instantly, but it CAUSES THE GAME TO FREEZE.[/spoiler]

I'm about to avenge myself. A lot.[/FONT]

[Sangome]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]
[spoiler]That complete BASTARD pulls a Mystic Arte off right before mine activates, with no overlimit, level 2 Arte or warning. Not only does this kill me instantly, but it CAUSES THE GAME TO FREEZE.[/spoiler][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I...can safely say I've never heard of that happening before.

However, I am not surprised. TotA is actually notorious for having a large amount of bugs and glitches in the game. Though I didn't think any of them actually hampered the game all that badly, at least, the ones I encountered...

But hm. I'll have to look into that. There's a list of bugs/glitches out there, somewhere.[/SIZE]