Board 8 > Tales of...

(+) Yeah! (+)

With apologies to the dozens of Legendia and Xillia 2 fans out there.

Abyss > Berseria >= Xillia 2 (which 100% is a snub imhotbqh) > Graces f?

Playing Arise right now but pretty sure it won't get on the level of those 4.

Legendia > Xillia > Xillia 2 > the rest, though I imagine if I were to replay Legendia, Xillia could end up taking the top spot

not my #1 but shout-out to Rebirth

Vesperia > Berseria > Symphonia >>> Abyss > Arise

I don't know why, but lots of times when I see Tales of, my first thought is Exzodia.

Yes, from.yugioh

Abyss > Berseria > Xillia 2 > Arise > Graces > Vesperia > Xillia > Symphonia > Hearts > Eternia > Legendia > Destiny > Phantasia > Symphonia 2 > being kicked in the crotch repeatedly and rapidly for 40 hours > Zestiria

My Abyss > Berseria > Xillia 2 brethren in this topic making me happy.

Vesperia > Symphonia >= Abyss and I've only played those three

Berseria > Symphonia > Graces > Vesperia > Xillia > Abyss

Zestiria>Xillia>Berseria>Symphonia>Symphonia 2>Xillia 2>Abyss>Graces

For OPs of the games I've played

the Unexpected

Symphonia > Abyss > Xillia

I've got Vesperia, Berseria, and Arise in the queue, so hopefully I can add some more to the list soon

Vesperia > Xillia > Graces f > Symphonia > Phantasia > Symphonia 2

need to get back to my Xillia 2 playthrough to continue this series... someday

Abyss > Berseria so far (see my topic; link in the "More topics" below) > Xillia 2 > Symphonia > Xillia > Graces >>> Vesperia >>>>>>>>>> Symphonia 2

Never got far in Symphonia 2 because it was unbearable. I don't get why people love Vesperia so much since there's no depth to it.

NBIceman posted...

being kicked in the crotch repeatedly and rapidly for 40 hours > Zestiria

You make me glad I skipped that shit.

Xiahou Shake posted...

My Abyss > Berseria > Xillia 2 brethren in this topic making me happy.

I'm glad I can make you even happier!

Only played Vesperia so I won't vote. I'm surprised Arise is doing so poorly though, I thought that was really well-received! Is it just that it's so recent that many haven't played it yet, or was it overhyped on release, or something else? I wonder.

I wonder why no one ever mentions Tales of the Rays... (especially considering the great amount of publicity it had)

andylt posted...

Only played Vesperia so I won't vote. I'm surprised Arise is doing so poorly though, I thought that was really well-received! Is it just that it's so recent that many haven't played it yet, or was it overhyped on release, or something else? I wonder.

It's really well-received by people who played the first half.

Honestly surprised Symphonia is still this dominant here.

It assuredly has the highest playrate by a lot.

And it's also really good.

andylt posted...

Only played Vesperia so I won't vote. I'm surprised Arise is doing so poorly though, I thought that was really well-received! Is it just that it's so recent that many haven't played it yet, or was it overhyped on release, or something else? I wonder.

Arise is widely liked but not really anybody's favorite. Pretty much everything that people love about the series is done better in at least two other entries, so even though Arise does everything quite well and doesn't have any major flaws, chances are it's not gonna resonate on the level of some other games.

NBIceman posted...

Arise is widely liked but not really anybody's favorite. Pretty much everything that people love about the series is done better in at least two other entries, so even though Arise does everything quite well and doesn't have any major flaws, chances are it's not gonna resonate on the level of some other games.

Yeah, I suspect a lot of people have Arise 2, 3, 4, or 5, but not a ton of as the best.

Zestiria >>> Arise > Berseria >>> Vesperia

Arise was my last litmus test on whether or not I actually like this series and I think I decided that I do not. The combat is generally pretty bad, skits are clumsy and ruin pacing, and these games completely fall apart in the final act.

Oh, favorite. I clicked the first game I thought of before clicking into this topic instead.

Well, maybe it'll be my favorite after I play it.

Symphonia > Vesperia > Arise > Berseria > Abyss > Phantasia > Xillia > Graces f > Eternia > Destiny > Xillia 2 > Legendia

Zestiria and Symphonia 2 would rank below Legendia but I haven't finished those two.

Thought this poll was going to ask "which one do you think of first?" which would be Destiny.

The top 5 are Berseria > Graces F > Abyss > Vesperia > Arise

On one hand I'm happy that Arise did well financially and in terms of critical recognition, but it's seriously flawed, and I hate that the narrative is that "Arise fixed the series/updated it" when Berseria is infinitely superior

haven't played any of them yet, but Zestiria has the best music

Arise is great but it has plenty of problems and is definitely not #1. This poll would be pretty different if Gamefaqs added ranked choice.

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

Zesteria is an embarrassment. Didn't play Legendia more than a couple hours. Put 20 hours into Xillia 2 and dropped it, story was just too boring.

Arise is definitely not close to as good as Berseria just before it, and I won't pretend that the narrative amongst critics surrounding it "fixing the franchise" hasn't left a bad taste in my mouth in retrospect. I definitely still really like it, but it's slipped below Vesperia as a result.

Berseria first and it ain't close

FL81 posted...

haven't played any of them yet, but Zestiria has the best music

Most of the best Zesteria music got transplanted into Berseria anyways so I don't count it.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I won't pretend that the narrative amongst critics surrounding it "fixing the franchise" hasn't left a bad taste in my mouth in retrospect.

This sort of feeling happens a lot when a weeb series gets popular with mainstream critics

KamikazePotato posted...

This sort of feeling happens a lot when a weeb series gets popular with mainstream critics

My issue isn't from critics praising the games art style shift though, it's from them praising it as a revolution in gameplay.

I definitely enjoy playing Arise, but a lot off flaws in it's gameplay open up the further you get into the game, much of which result from some oversimplification of mechanics....which, yes, is going to appeal to critics.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I don't get why people love Vesperia so much since there's no depth to it.

Depth is not something I expect when I play a Tales game (and I definitely didn't notice any in Abyss or Symphonia either) if that helps explain it

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/7/1/AADKToAACvoL.jpg

I'm serious! Why was Tales of the Rays so ignored after its release when it was the only extremely hyped and advertized game in the franchise (AND considering it was a crossover of many protagonists)?!

Was it cancelled or something?

KamikazePotato posted...

Honestly surprised Symphonia is still this dominant here.

Well, it's the FFVII equivalent of the Tales of franchise... It's not going anywhere for a while.

Vesperia has my vote for now, but I havent played either Xillia, Zestiria, Berseria or Arise yet. Vesperia cast is just damn good fun. I gotta grab the port at some point.

Advokaiser posted...

I'm serious! Why was Tales of the Rays so ignored after its release when it was the only extremely hyped and advertized game in the franchise (AND considering it was a crossover of many protagonists)?!

Was it cancelled or something?

???

It's a throwaway mobile gacha game that's no longer in service. Did it even get localized?

Kenri posted...

Depth is not something I expect when I play a Tales game (and I definitely didn't notice any in Abyss or Symphonia either) if that helps explain it

There's loads of depth in Abyss. There are so many layers to the game's world, plot, and characters that are seriously lacking in Vesperia. Vesperia felt very one-dimensional, whereas Abyss had complex relationships, a plethora of lore, developed villains, and a fleshed-out world.

Vesperia had none of that, and to this day I still don't understand what the Big Bad even wanted to accomplish. The "story" in Vesperia, if you'd call it that, was exemplified by the following:
Alexei: "Mwahahaha! I am Big Bad, I do Big Bad things!"
Yuri: "Oh yeah? Well we're going to stop you!"
*Yuri and company stop Alexei*
Karol: "What did he think Zaude was supposed to do, anyway?"
Rita: "Does it matter? We stopped it."
Yuri: "Yeah, we don't need to worry about it."

Makes no sense why they'd feel a need to stop it if they didn't know what the hell he wanted to do. And so many potential plot lines are brushed aside because they "don't matter." It's one of the worst stories I've ever seen in a video game. Graces isn't much better, but at least the party interactions were more complex and often hilarious, which filled the void. Vesperia had two such interactions, and those were absent for all of Act 2 (which was like half the game). For most of the game, they feel more like co-workers who aren't even striving toward a common goal.

swordz9 posted...

Vesperia cast is just damn good fun

My lie detector just went berserk.

Vesperia torpedoed itself to the bottom of my list after trying to play through it again. Yuri is the only tolerable one among the cast, the story because of its structure, or lack of it made the pacing of this game maddening. I didnt even bother finishing the final act because it was just so goddamn boring.

I went through ups and downs with Vesperia. On release it was a godsend, but it was a huge down on replaying the HD release, game was not remotely as good as I remembered and isn't even in the same ballpark as Abyss and Berseria. But it's still quite good.

In any case my rankings are all over the place and change all the time;

Berseria > Arise > Abyss > Graces f > Xillia > Symphonia > Vesperia > Zestiria

I've played Xillia 2, but not nearly enough to put in a ranking.

The problem with the depth in Tales of the Abyss is that each new layer is just as nonsensical and insufferable as the last.

I am exaggerating to make a point admittedly and it was a decent game in spite of the problems, but Tales of the Abyss is my poster child for depth that doesn't actually add anything to the experience.

pyresword posted...

The problem with the depth in Tales of the Abyss is that each new layer is just as nonsensical and insufferable as the last.

I am exaggerating to make a point admittedly and it was a decent game in spite of the problems, but Tales of the Abyss is my poster child for depth that doesn't actually add anything to the experience.

This is the exact opposite of my experience, where I discover something new that makes the game even better for me with every playthrough.

Tales of the Abyss still the best song singleplayer jRPG on the market.

Well I mean technically is has....but you know what I mean.

I like a lot of the Vesperia characters. Yuri is my favorite protagonist in the series and one of my favorite characters in general. Rita is amazing, Raven is funny, Estelle is really nice, Judith is pretty cool and Karol is part of some great comedy parts. Oh yeah and Repede is like the most badass video game dog Ive seen. Most of the Tales of casts Ive experienced are at least solid other than Dawn of the New World and maybe Legendia which has the insufferable Shirley

I'm with Iceman.

I play through Abyss somewhat regularly and always learn to appreciate new nuances or things I'd forgotten about. They added layers and layers of depth that enhance immersion and make you care more, unless you're heartless and numb.

I can never fathom why anyone wouldn't love that game. They really did a good job of fleshing everything out and putting heart into it, which wasn't the case for another Tales game until the Xillias.

Meanwhile, Vesperia feels very rushed and flat, and it's obvious that each act was written by a different person.

Very low votals for Arise... Is that because it's too new?

The newness probably hurts, but not that much. It was one of the most played 2021 games on B8. The lack of love for it is the bigger deal.