Board 8 > Does anyone know the definitive ranking of all Tales games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

In spite how popular ranking literally everything is here, this is one topic I don't recall ever seeing.
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I feel like this series never has a consensus since some of the dumber games have great combat and vice versa
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Berseria > Abyss > Vesperia > Graces > Xillia > Symphonia > Zesteria

My word is law.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

I feel like this series never has a consensus since some of the dumber games have great combat and vice versa

Graces Syndrome

Gameplay is unparalleled but story and characters are flat as fuck.
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Dont think theres a definitive ranking for Tales of. Id wager most people would put Legendia at the bottom even though its a solid game that just sorta looks weird and skipped out on a chunk of voice acting towards the end. Off the top of my head Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia are probably the most liked overall though I dont really know much about Xillia 1-2 and Berseria. Graces F has amazing combat, but uh the story and cast arent too amazing unfortunately

I like them all pretty equally

Abyss is my favorite but I haven't played any of the ones past Xillia yet. I hear Xillia 2 and Berseria are great.
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swordz9 posted...

Dont think theres a definitive ranking for Tales of. Id wager most people would put Legendia at the bottom even though its a solid game that just sorta looks weird and skipped out on a chunk of voice acting towards the end. Off the top of my head Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia are probably the most liked overall though I dont really know much about Xillia 1-2 and Berseria. Graces F has amazing combat, but uh the story and cast arent too amazing unfortunately

Berseria has quickly risen to the #1 spot for a lot of people. Might just be backlash from Zesteria being....what it was, but Inthinknit's deserving. The most balanced package in the series, for sure.

Legendia...I don't rank it because I barely played it, but the combat in that thing was like a game put together for a 1 day indie jam.
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I only recently put Berseria over Abyss after a replay of Berseria. If Abyss got a CONSOLE rerelease with better load times it might overtake again, because those games are neck and neck.
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Berseria > who cares
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Abyss is my favorite but I have only played that one, Symphonia, Vesperia, and Graces. I just started Xillia though (and it's going slowly) and hope to play Xillia 2 and Berseria in the near future. I'm probably going to skip Zestiria tbh
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Symphonia
Vesperia
Abyss
Berseria
Xillia
Graces
Xillia 2
Phantasia
Heaets
Zestiria
Destiny
Eternia
Legendia

Is what I would guess. Not necessarily my personal opinion.
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Everyone should skip Zesteria.

Worst thing about it is the glimmer of hope in early goings and middle of something special going on there.

Then it just collapses in the last third, one or two great moments scattered around just to drive the knife in deeper.

The dangers of workplace relationships!
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I would say Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia are more complete packages than Berseria. Berseria's characters and the combos are it's greatest strength, but dungeons and OST are not as good. It's obvious when the cameo battle has the best song in the game.
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Symphonia's popularity because the time and place of it's release will always be slightly depressing. It's not an awful game, in fact I loved it at the time, but it's explosion is very circumstantial. Struggling to play the HD version was a real eye opener.

Can't get too mad since it made the Tales brand so much more sell known, though.
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Beseria is def the best.

I think tales of heart r is really good too.

Abyss might be the worst (worst of the playable tales), but I need to play it again to be sure. I remember all the characters were super cringy and unbearable, and I was thinking this at a time when star ocean 3 was my favourite game
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All of the Abyss characters start out terrible and cringy but all except for one become awesome by the end.
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SantaRPidgey posted...

Abyss might be the worst (worst of the playable tales), but I need to play it again to be sure. I remember all the characters were super cringy and unbearable, and I was thinking this at a time when star ocean 3 was my favourite game

This is all factually wrong.

With one very notable exception, the Abyss cast is deep and incredible. It's the best one overall.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

I would say Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia are more complete packages than Berseria. Berseria's characters and the combos are it's greatest strength, but dungeons and OST are not as good. It's obvious when the cameo battle has the best song in the game.

I can't disagree with those Berseria issues, though I think it's strengths aren't to be overlooked. Characters are important in an RPG and fuck does Berseria ever nail that, especially after Zesteria.

Though yes, maybe balance is the wrong word. Balance wise it's probably a fight between Vesperia and Abyss, though Abyss strength is more in the latter half and Vesperia's is in the front.

Symphonia, though....man, I just can't handle the combat in that game at all anymore. So easy for 3D combat to be poisoned by future entries improving.
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Best cast is Magilou's Menagerie without a doubt.
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SantaRPidgey posted...

Beseria is def the best.

I think tales of heart r is really good too.

Abyss might be the worst (worst of the playable tales), but I need to play it again to be sure. I remember all the characters were super cringy and unbearable, and I was thinking this at a time when star ocean 3 was my favourite game

The cast of Abyss is all about character growth. Everyone kind of sucks in one way or another early on, especially Luke, and that's the point. It's why it's so satisfying by the end.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

Best cast is Magilou's Menagerie without a doubt.

Magilou is life.

I remembered liking her a lot the first time through, but by the time I finished replaying Berseria two months ago I was floored by just how amazing she is. One of the best in the franchise for sure.

*minor spoilers*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8uoyyQs9OU" data-time="
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(Of note, the scene that that's mirroring from Zesteria is basically the crowning moment of that game)
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I always liked how you could change your attacks with the fonon circles or whatever in Abyss. Its been a long time since I last played it so Im having trouble remembering the name. I forgot all about Zestiria. Im not even sure if I bought it or not.

So from what I gather, Berseria, Vesperia, and Abyss are worth trying out?
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Vesperia > Berseria > Symphonia > Abyss

From the ones I've played. The first 3 are all fantastic jrpg's though. Abyss was pretty good also but not quite on the same level imo.
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Vesperia
Things that aren't Vesperia

Also Berseria has the best cast of those 4 by a longshot and is a contender for best cast in any JRPG.
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Berseria > Symphonia > Vesperia > Graces > Abyss
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HanOfTheNekos posted...

So from what I gather, Berseria, Vesperia, and Abyss are worth trying out?

Yes, though I'd specify that Symphonia can still be pretty great as long you haven't played the others. Gameplay was the only real fault with it and without the comparison it's probably fine. I certainly didn't have a problem with it when it first came out, in fact I loved that game on release. Kind of the Action RPG equivalent of going back to Goldeneye, though

If you play the games and like the combat but want more, Graces plays the best. You just gotta be able to tolerate the mediocre rest of it.

The only outright bad one is Zesteria. Xillia I just don't care about and is a bit bare bones.
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pyresword posted...

Also Berseria has the best cast of those 4 by a longshot and is a contender for best cast in any JRPG.

I think there are a lot of qualifiers here, but front to back of the game I can't disagree. There are no weak spots in the Berseria party. Most importantly is that Velvet herself is the best protag in the series, even over Yuri.
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Somebody better than Yuri? That sounds so hard to believe because Yuri is so goddamn amazing.

swordz9 posted...

Somebody better than Yuri? That sounds so hard to believe because Yuri is so goddamn amazing.

She's just that good. Never though Yuri would be topped.
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LapisLazuli posted...

Berseria > Abyss > Vesperia > Graces > Xillia > Symphonia > Zesteria

My word is law.

No
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Vesperia isn't that great. Too many plot elements left hanging, an underdeveloped cast that had too few moments of chemistry, and a lot of other writing issues related to the fact that they took three different stories and meshed them into one game. I'm being serious here.

Abyss will always be my favorite, largely due to Tear and Jade.
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i've never tried a game in the tales series.

i like final fantasy games, but still generally don't like anime tropes.

is there one i should start with if i were to dip my toes into the series?
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swordz9 posted...

Somebody better than Yuri? That sounds so hard to believe because Yuri is so goddamn amazing.

I don't think she's better. There's enough to dislike about her during the first act.

However the important thing you should know is that you don't get the option to give her short hair.
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Vesperia had the best gameplay until Graces f came out. The cast was also amazing and had lots of good moments. Estelle and Rita are fun times, Raven is fun with basically anybody and Yuri making fun of everybody is great. Even Karol has some good moments.

My two faves, not having played much else, are Abyss for an actual kind of good story, and Graces for excellent gameplay. If you don't like anime tropes, Tales of is honestly not your series.
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I can't deny your issues with Vesperia. That was when Baba took over the franchise and until he finally left after Zesteria for good reason, and his impact as the director of the last third of that game is obvious, as well as the game having 3 director's working separately on different parts of the game in general. The cast being individually strong but not that great of a cohesive unit is also hard to deny, especially compared to the likes of Berseria and Abyss who are much more interwoven. Plus there are a couple of weak links.

I really think it, like most of the good Tales, are about more than the sum of their parts, though. Vesperia still stands out from the pack even with those issues. Plus I think there's a lot of charm to it that some of the other games lack.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

swordz9 posted...

Somebody better than Yuri? That sounds so hard to believe because Yuri is so goddamn amazing.

I don't think she's better. There's enough to dislike about her during the first act.

However the important thing you should know is that you don't get the option to give her short hair.

Wrong. She has short hair DLC. Had it in during my whole replay!
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Is it free dlc? If so all aboard the short hair master race train

banananor posted...

i've never tried a game in the tales series.

i like final fantasy games, but still generally don't like anime tropes.

is there one i should start with if i were to dip my toes into the series?

Can't avoid anime tropes.

Honestly I would just give Vesperia HD when it comes out or Berseria a shot for a starter, just to play a more modern entry as your first. If it hits it off you can spread out from there. I could see Abyss being a poorer start just because it's old, at least to me.
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I can agree with Vesperia gameplay. The cast, however, was just... not as fun to hang out with as the Graces group (which was even more criminally underdeveloped, but at least they had chemistry). Yuri is incredible and an all-time great, but aside from him, it's just not there. There are just too many things that are ignored, not explored, or outright abandoned. It made Vesperia hugely disappointing after Luke, Tear, Jade, and Guy were just amazing in Abyss.
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swordz9 posted...

Is it free dlc? If so all aboard the short hair master race train

I...can't remember? When I started my replay I bought all the DLC I was missing before even booting up.
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I haven't played all of them, but out of the ones I've played it goes something like this:

Graces f
Berseria
Vesperia
Symphonia
Xillia
Abyss (those load times)
Destiny 2 U.S. (Eternia? I don't know. The one with Reid in it.)
Zestiria
Hearts R (Vita)

What. The Vesperia group was way more fun than Graces. I mean Graces only even really has like Pascal and Malik. The rest arent worth anything

Yeah, cast wise I can't get behind Graces. Even Zesteria tops it.
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colliding posted...

Abyss (those load times)

3DS version FTW!
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3DS version barely runs and the sound is awful
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Graces has the best gameplay and really good skits. The cast, as individuals, aren't that great but they work well together. Berseria has the best cast though.