I thought this was supposed to be the "greatest jRPG of this generation" or something? [lololol] Or at least I had heard it was the best Tales game.
It wasn't. I enjoyed Abyss more, I think. Maybe I'm just growing out of Tales games. The plot, even for a Tales game, was a disaster. The first half has almost nothing to do with the second half, instead preferring to let the party go on Adventures and have an attempt at a dramatic let-Estelle-choose-if-she-will-stay-with-you cutscene every ten minutes, which are always laughable because you know she won't leave. The second half is just some random compilation of Inexplicable Science Saves the Day! moments. Nothing felt important. The Yuri-kills-people-like-a-boss subplot disappears halfway through, the time traveling village is never explained, ending is entirely unsatisfying, etc.
Gameplay wise it's smoother than Abyss, as should be expected, but the multiple levels of Overlimits and Final Strikes wasn't all that compelling. I preferred the FOF system, actually.
As for characters, Yuri > Rita > Judith > Estelle > Raven > Repede > Karol
Karol is an annoying turd and Repede contributes nothing. Rita's p. cool, though. As a whole, I didn't think they were much different in quality than Abyss's cast.
...And then I find out that the 360 version is basically unfinished, including an entire character missing! I was disappointed until I learned that Patty is an ancient pirate loli who summons frying pans in battle and such. No thank you. But Flynn being unplayable is disappointing. F*** you, Namco.
On the whole, "disappointing" seems apt, though I'm not sure how much of that was part of my own personal expectations for the game.
And on a further note, some parts of this game make me embarrassed to be male. I played the entire game with three female friends, and watching the Hot Springs scenes were cringe-fests for all of us; especially for me knowing that it's written by men, probably. Good lord, Japan.
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It's iubaris, not Lubaris.