I got to play the game at GamesCom, though. I know it was received with mixed reviews, but it looked good to me, as far as I could tell. #talesofgraces
@Showmeyomoves!: You guys in Europe have slight advantage in the getting games late department in that you find out before everybody else [who bought the game] whether or not a game is awful. Dawn of the New World isn't awful, it's just nowhere near the par for Tales games, which makes it not really worth buying. #talesofgraces
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: Good point, though I still wouldn't mind getting games SLIGHTLY earlier than, you know, 12 months after the North American release. #talesofgraces
@Showmeyomoves!: combat are good but it's like a pokemon, and the hero, you can only have 2 hero the other dont level up and the story is ... not as good as the first one #talesofgraces
Haha, the first time I read this I thought that people buying Tales of Grace would be getting DLC for Tales of Vesperia and all I could think was:
"That's a pretty big assumption on Namco's part. Sure, most people who are gonna get ToG own ToV, but still. That's not only DLC for a different game but a different platform."
Then I read it again and it all made sense. I should go to sleep. #talesofgraces
Dawn of the New World was my first Tales game (I won a free copy from Namco). The game has numerous flaws and issues, but I found the humor and combat enjoyable enough to see it through to the end.
Prior to play the game, I was aware that the game was a rushed project on a shoestring budget. So, perhaps I was being rather lenient of its faults considering its price tag and development history.
Truth be told, though, it kept me interested and entertained enough to want to play the more robust and well-received titles in the franchise (like Vesperia).
Sidenote: Before the big plot twist is revealed, I thought that Emil's life was particularly harsh -- especially for a "cheery" jRPG.
Beaten by his uncle, shunned by his neighbors and haunted by the death of his parents, Emil had to deal with some brutal stuff that is not often explored in the medium (though I am sure someone will correct me :) ).
A shame, then, that the game pulls a Vince Russo and performs 17 swerves in a row.
@GohanGVO: Haha, well maybe more people on the internet should have a lack of cynicism.
Dawn of the New World was pretty bad compared to the other Tales games. So I'm sure you'll be satisfied when it comes to the other guys. :D (unless you already have :O)
@MetaKz: I am not sure if it is a lack of cynicism moreso than a lowering of my expectations. Rather than having high expectations of the title and then being disappointed, I went in mostly blind to the franchise and, perhaps, pitied this "black sheep" of the Tales series.
The game is like the Sarah Palin of the industry -- no one expected anything of her, and when she hit the minimum standard in debates there was simply mild applause (and outright praise from the right-- I mean, the super-hardcore Tales fans ;) ).
I definitely want to pick up Vesperia, though. I have read plenty of praise for the title, though I do not want to become too expectant of what it can deliver lest I be left wanting.
I find it interesting that the developers of the Tales series "dress up" their content in the typical anime/outlandish visual style that, arguably, contrasts the darker, more serious tone of many of the games.
Was the decision to do so on purpose (such as where the visuals contrast the reality of the game), or is the visual style simply a way of trying to appeal to a wide audience that is fascinated with the "cute?"
@GohanGVO: I think it's more of a vehicle to get the varying generations interested in it. The younger kids can just look at all the heroics/comedy and maybe pick up on some of the deeper parts of the narrative and the adults can enjoy all of the narrative with some romanticized anime style.
I've never really thought of the Tales series' visuals as "cute" though. It's just in an anime style.
@Ueziel: I was sort of thinking along those lines in my head, but it failed to come out that way. Essentially, it appears that we are on similar tracks -- it could be seen as BOTH a marketing and development decision (like a Mario title).
Perhaps "cute" was the wrong choice of word, though. The reasons I chose it was because of the series' use of bright colors, outlandish costumes and the general visuals not being very dismal. That could very well describe anime, apparently.
You know AJ, if your Wii needs to be cleansed of the stink that Dawn of the New World left if the disc slot, You could always pop Tales of the Abyss in there and let it spin for a few moments. Rather effective in terms of cleaning power.
@PoweredByHentai: Crap, this video is really really REALLY long and I'm translating this as I'm watching it. Crap. Oh well. Taking a short break, will be back with more translation.
@AJ Glasser: There are a few things that might not make sense to people.
For example, the person who said "A squad of the knights have..." is completely different from the person who said "The Knights are under the new king's command".
In that situation, the former is a friend of Asbel and the latter is Asbel's instructor that you hear in the early parts of the 2nd phase.
I forgot to use the * to close that particular sentence but other than that, I believe that the script is fairly easy to understand in terms of who said what.
ToS, was my first tales game. New for me personally, and I liked it. DotNW was more of the same which I expected. This looks like it is the same, rather then mixing things up a bit in gameplay/story... Since ToS and DotNW was mostly boring story... Don't see any reason why I should be buying into this or ToV (if it gets released for PS3).
Don't get me wrong, I like the action-RPG style, but it isn't mixed at all with the story... So the JRPG elements just take up to much time... I'll which TV or a movie if I want a story that I have no interaction with.
For me, it was like comparing an epic film to an okay Game Boy Advance title. Vesperia was incredible and the world felt massive, even though it was about as big as any other Tales world as far as I know. Symphonia has its merits, but both Symphonia games don't feel too much like the main event. I think I would consider Abyss to be better than Symphonia.
While the continuity isn't preserved in comparison (as the Tales games are never connected by plot unless they're sequels), basing your impression of the Tales franchise on Symphonia and Dawn is comparable to judging the entire Star Wars movie series (all 6) off of Episode II.
@ShimodaNexus: As a Tales fan, I think your analogy is quite correct. I like ToS but it sorta felt like it's type of Tales series that you introduce to someone who never played Tales series before.
Let's say ToS was good but not good enough for me to even want to play the sequel.
@Showmeyomoves!: you don't have any idea who BoA Kwon is, do you ? (she's one of the only asian pop artist who's been staying in oricon for the last 10years, she's huge in korea and china too, sings in 4languages, etc)
who's Day After Tomorrow ? nobody, that's who.
@Showmeyomoves!: She did one of Inuyasha ending song on the 4th season. Although I do love BoA music back then the newer stuff kinda turned me off but the music for ToG seams more like her older music.
@digifreaks: What other music has she done? The only one I found that I liked was from ToV but nothing else. Any anime OP/ED done by her so I can youtube it to see if it's worth importing the album?
itunes seriously lack JPN pop music. I tried looking for Beat Crusaders and it actually showed up but as a wrong band even though it states J-Pop. I'll end up re-installing itunes one of these days like in 2 years when they actually get more JPN artists up.
@PoweredByHentai: I'm actually surprised that you linked the PSX version of ToP. Granted the audio from the SNES wasn't all that great but man I was surprised that it had the whole song on that cart.
@flintcsci: I actually enjoyed both the English and Japanses lyrics. I just hope that the PS3 version will have that song and in both version. I wonder though if Bonnie Pink did a music video for it, if they did man it would be a bonus if they added music video on it.
Kinda makes me wonder if Utata Hikaru will be doing the next (non portable) Kingdom Hearts game's music like how Mikuni Shimokawa did for Full Metal Panic.
@Neko_Tech: Tales of Phantasia's PSX's OP vid was also used in the PSP. It's why the PSP version of ToP is labeled as "Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition". :D
@PoweredByHentai: I never knew they released it on the PSP. Too bad Nintendo holds the rights to distribute ToP outside of Japan because I would love the English version for it but the only way legally to obtain it is the GBA version.
Usually, most tales games aren't ported to another system, ToV was mainly an exception, and a grab for money b/c of the crap sales of the 360 in Japan.
In any case, I'm skeptical about this one, but for other reasons.
I remember thinking that the Tales-games looked awesome and had me tingling in my toes. Then they started making 500 indentical games with the same type of characters and similar artstyle and worlds.
Sure, it was special when it was only Phantasia, Eternia and Destiny. But since then they been spewed out into the market.
Plus most of them don't seem to get a European release-date.
11/10/09
All I care is that the PS3 version comes out in English.
Sucks for Wii-only owners, though
11/10/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
I got to play the game at GamesCom, though. I know it was received with mixed reviews, but it looked good to me, as far as I could tell. #talesofgraces
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
"That's a pretty big assumption on Namco's part. Sure, most people who are gonna get ToG own ToV, but still. That's not only DLC for a different game but a different platform."
Then I read it again and it all made sense. I should go to sleep. #talesofgraces
10/13/09
This is why you should use protection.
10/13/09
Dawn of the New World was my first Tales game (I won a free copy from Namco). The game has numerous flaws and issues, but I found the humor and combat enjoyable enough to see it through to the end.
Prior to play the game, I was aware that the game was a rushed project on a shoestring budget. So, perhaps I was being rather lenient of its faults considering its price tag and development history.
Truth be told, though, it kept me interested and entertained enough to want to play the more robust and well-received titles in the franchise (like Vesperia).
Sidenote: Before the big plot twist is revealed, I thought that Emil's life was particularly harsh -- especially for a "cheery" jRPG.
Beaten by his uncle, shunned by his neighbors and haunted by the death of his parents, Emil had to deal with some brutal stuff that is not often explored in the medium (though I am sure someone will correct me :) ).
A shame, then, that the game pulls a Vince Russo and performs 17 swerves in a row.
10/13/09
Dawn of the New World was pretty bad compared to the other Tales games. So I'm sure you'll be satisfied when it comes to the other guys. :D (unless you already have :O)
10/13/09
Tales of Rebirth tackles a lot of really dark areas of revenge/retribution and racism in ways that most developers would balk at.
Hell, Tales of Symphonia 1 even deals with racism. And a criticism of religion.
They've always got the happy/cheery side but you can rest assured that there is always a darker side to Tales games.
10/13/09
The game is like the Sarah Palin of the industry -- no one expected anything of her, and when she hit the minimum standard in debates there was simply mild applause (and outright praise from the right-- I mean, the super-hardcore Tales fans ;) ).
I definitely want to pick up Vesperia, though. I have read plenty of praise for the title, though I do not want to become too expectant of what it can deliver lest I be left wanting.
@Ueziel: Thanks for heads-up. :)
I find it interesting that the developers of the Tales series "dress up" their content in the typical anime/outlandish visual style that, arguably, contrasts the darker, more serious tone of many of the games.
Was the decision to do so on purpose (such as where the visuals contrast the reality of the game), or is the visual style simply a way of trying to appeal to a wide audience that is fascinated with the "cute?"
10/13/09
I've never really thought of the Tales series' visuals as "cute" though. It's just in an anime style.
10/13/09
Perhaps "cute" was the wrong choice of word, though. The reasons I chose it was because of the series' use of bright colors, outlandish costumes and the general visuals not being very dismal. That could very well describe anime, apparently.
10/13/09
10/13/09
First Phase:
Sorry...
I still don't want a home
Even if I lived at my dad's place, I can't become stronger
If I don't become strong
Someone will be hurt again
They'll be lost
I must get stronger
So that I won't lose anyone anymore...
For that reason
I will go
Second Phase:
"If you look at it from here"
"Windol's prosperity as a nation can be felt"
"By the way, Aspel"
"How many years has it been since you came to the Knight School?"
Sir, it'll soon be my seventh year.
"Has it really been that long?"
"Time has passed by so quickly."
I want to become an Apprentice as soon as possible.
I want to become much much stronger.
"Nothing good will come from rushing things."
But while we dilly-dally here
There's a chance that we will lose that which is dear to us.
That's what I thought/remembered...
When I swore my oath as I left my hometown.
I don't want to lose anyone anymore
For that reason
I will become strong...
*Cue the song*
Shelia
Why are you in Baronia?
""You didn't read the letter?""
Letter?
""It is imperative that you return to Ranto""
""Kelly is..."
What happened?
""Aston-sama has passed on...""
10/13/09
Continuing with the translation:
"Strata and Windol have signed an alliance treaty"
Allow me to say my thanks again
Thank you very much
"You abandoned your home and now you wish to meet the Lord?"
Hubert...
"I am now an Oswell citizen"
New scene:
""I've been touched..."" (yes, this is stupid awkward because it seems like they're playing tag)
""Please! Touch me one more time!""
What (the hell) are you asking Sophie to do!
""Who knew that I'd meet the real deal""
Meet the real person?
New scene:
Get a grip!
"Asbel..."
Can you tell me what happened at the capital?
"Father was killed because his loyalty to the royal family has been exhausted..."
"A squad of the Knights have..."
*The Knights entered under the new king's command."
I will face you even if you were my instructor...
And fight you as necessary.
10/13/09
10/13/09
Continuing on with the girl:
""I want to protect everyone's future""
""That's why...""
Stop it, Sophie!
I've told you before
I will definitely...
Protect you from being erased. (I'm taking some liberties here with the interpretation)
*more song*
""...Windflower"" (known as Anemone nemorosa:
[en.wikipedia.org] )
""I want to see these with Asbel""
""...I really want to (see these with Asbel)""
Sure...
We'll see it together.
*Yet another scene change:*
Stay away!
"(But) Asbel, your body is...!"
""No way...""
""Asbel is...""
""Asbel is...!""
"""Brother!"""
*more song*
To want to protect everything...
Is it such an impossible feat?
*done*
10/13/09
10/13/09
For example, the person who said "A squad of the knights have..." is completely different from the person who said "The Knights are under the new king's command".
In that situation, the former is a friend of Asbel and the latter is Asbel's instructor that you hear in the early parts of the 2nd phase.
I forgot to use the * to close that particular sentence but other than that, I believe that the script is fairly easy to understand in terms of who said what.
10/13/09
Don't get me wrong, I like the action-RPG style, but it isn't mixed at all with the story... So the JRPG elements just take up to much time... I'll which TV or a movie if I want a story that I have no interaction with.
10/13/09
For me, it was like comparing an epic film to an okay Game Boy Advance title. Vesperia was incredible and the world felt massive, even though it was about as big as any other Tales world as far as I know. Symphonia has its merits, but both Symphonia games don't feel too much like the main event. I think I would consider Abyss to be better than Symphonia.
While the continuity isn't preserved in comparison (as the Tales games are never connected by plot unless they're sequels), basing your impression of the Tales franchise on Symphonia and Dawn is comparable to judging the entire Star Wars movie series (all 6) off of Episode II.
....Bracing for flames in 3.....2....
10/13/09
Let's say ToS was good but not good enough for me to even want to play the sequel.
10/13/09
"It is thought to be a part of something"
"It seems that I can use it for something but...(what)"
Nothing really important there. Sorry if you were expecting some earth-shattering news concerning the story.
10/13/09
10/13/09
10/13/09
10/13/09
10/13/09
who's Day After Tomorrow ? nobody, that's who.
10/13/09
10/13/09
i actually prefer Bonnie Pink's 鐘を鳴らして for the TOV.
but this isn't too bad, once you get used to it.
10/13/09
10/13/09
itunes seriously lack JPN pop music. I tried looking for Beat Crusaders and it actually showed up but as a wrong band even though it states J-Pop. I'll end up re-installing itunes one of these days like in 2 years when they actually get more JPN artists up.
@PoweredByHentai: I'm actually surprised that you linked the PSX version of ToP. Granted the audio from the SNES wasn't all that great but man I was surprised that it had the whole song on that cart.
@flintcsci: I actually enjoyed both the English and Japanses lyrics. I just hope that the PS3 version will have that song and in both version. I wonder though if Bonnie Pink did a music video for it, if they did man it would be a bonus if they added music video on it.
Kinda makes me wonder if Utata Hikaru will be doing the next (non portable) Kingdom Hearts game's music like how Mikuni Shimokawa did for Full Metal Panic.
10/13/09
10/13/09
10/15/09
The PSX version allows you to move diagonally. And the PSP version is based on the PSX version. :D
06/17/09
06/17/09
Usually, most tales games aren't ported to another system, ToV was mainly an exception, and a grab for money b/c of the crap sales of the 360 in Japan.
In any case, I'm skeptical about this one, but for other reasons.
06/17/09
Sure, it was special when it was only Phantasia, Eternia and Destiny. But since then they been spewed out into the market.
Plus most of them don't seem to get a European release-date.
06/17/09
Abyss and Luke himself were a bit different from the previous games, I thought Abyss was probably the best Tales game in a long, long while.
06/17/09
06/17/09