What are the best Tales Of games

Board 8

Page of 2
Board 8 » What are the best Tales Of games
CoolCly
09/14/2025
03:30 AM
#1
Symphonia was great but its the only one I've played before.

I'm now a couple hours into Berseria, I bought it when it came out because I thought Velvet's character design looked cool, but I just dunno if this game is it. She's way edgier than I expected, and the world building is pretty hamfisted (both in how unbeatable the daemons were pre plot and how much the exorcists have grown and achieved complete hegemony in just three years..... ), and I dunno if I'm really into this 3d action system compared to the more 2dish system Symphonia had. It definitely has room to grow and improve.... but it'd have to grow and improve to not be a dud to me.

What are the GOOD Tales games

thx
The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
Zigzagoon
09/14/2025
03:30 AM
#2
Symphonia, Vesperia and Xillia.

At least, those are my favorites :)
~Silver_Ermine~
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9r5hhXQbJ1rbct63o1_500.gif
Underleveled
09/14/2025
08:17 AM
#3
Abyss
darkx
Murphiroth
09/14/2025
08:21 AM
#4
Berseria.

The series never hits more than like a 7/10 though, it's like the definition of a mostly mid JRPG series.
_stingers_
09/14/2025
08:46 AM
#5
Abyss, Symphonia, and Vesperia are the holy trilogy. Berseria is next and after that there's a decent fall off in quality
Congrats Black Turtle !
Underleveled
09/14/2025
08:55 AM
#6
_stingers_ posted...
Abyss, Symphonia, and Vesperia are the holy trilogy.
I've historically seen Graces and Xillia included with those three, but I haven't played either so I can't say anything to them.
darkx
_stingers_
09/14/2025
09:00 AM
#7
I don't think I've seen very many people put graces or xillia above berseria. Most people say graces battle system is great but story and characters are boring. Xillia has the better characters and then worse battle system and still a boring story. 1/3 good points isn't enough
Congrats Black Turtle !
pyresword
09/14/2025
09:23 AM
#8
Of the 5 I played Symphonia, Vesperia, and Berseria were good to great. Abyss was okay. I didn't like Arise much.

I also wasn't feeling Berseria in the first 5 hours or so, for whatever that's worth.
I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways.
plasmabeam
09/14/2025
09:25 AM
#9
Story: Berseria
Gameplay: Graces f

~Jacksonville Jaguars~
plasmabeam
09/14/2025
09:26 AM
#10
_stingers_ posted...
Abyss, Symphonia, and Vesperia are the holy trilogy. Berseria is next and after that there's a decent fall off in quality

Vesperia hasn't aged well at all. I played it for the first time in 2021 and tapped out after 2 hours.

Abyss and Symphonia were fantastic when I played them back in the mid-2000s, but I haven't touched them since.
~Jacksonville Jaguars~
Dark_Young_Link
09/14/2025
10:01 AM
#11
Abyss is peak
https://imgur.com/gOGzcN4
pjbasis
09/14/2025
10:55 AM
#12
Underleveled posted...
Abyss

http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/Rakaputra/B8%20Girls%202012/pjbas.png
KommunistKoala
09/14/2025
10:56 AM
#13
Berseria is the only good one
does anyone even read this
agesboy
09/14/2025
10:58 AM
#14
destiny remake has the best gameplay, graces f based its CC system on it
https://imgur.com/LabbRyN
raytan and Kana are on opposite ends of the Awesome Spectrum.
LiquidOshawott
09/14/2025
11:21 AM
#15
Arise

ready to be in the minority here
I live on, THROUGH THIS SEASHELL!
VeryInsane's mobile account
skullbone
09/14/2025
11:45 AM
#16
I have played 4 or 5 and barely liked any of them. I think it's just not a great series overall honestly.
skull
Thorn
09/14/2025
11:48 AM
#17
Abyss is my personal favorite but is divisive. Berseria is probably the safe pick for best. Graces f and Xillia 2 have godlike gameplay/battle systems but Graces f's story is kinda whatever/lol and Xillia 2... it's a sequel so you want Xillia 1 under your belt and Xillia 1 is just... it's fine. it's like generic tales game.

tl;dr: Abyss or Berseria

Edit: Other Tales games I've played.

Symphonia: I feel like I go back and forth on if/how much I like it, but I think it holds up... fine.
Symphonia 2: I think I'm kinder on it than most but the mind-boggling gameplay decisions (monster raising, character control) hold it back a lot
Vesperia: Haven't played in forever (since the 360 version near release) but it's in the same league as Vesperia IMO.
Zestiria: Not good. Has Edna tho. And some good music with the Go Shiina composed tracks.
Arise: Okay-ish in the first half. Completely loses itself in the second half, combat gets aggravating here too.
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
ElizeLutus
09/14/2025
11:53 AM
#18
Abyss is probably the best overall all around. Good story, good characters, good gameplay.
A lot of people love Vesperia, but I find it overrated. The story falls apart for me pretty quickly, and I find the cast fairly weak overall.
Graces F has great gameplay, fun characters, but the story is very weak.
Xillia and Xillia 2 are solid games, and are fun overall.
Zestiria is not good. It's the only Tales game I couldn't bring myself to finish.
Arise... I haven't finished yet. It has some decent stuff going for it, but the enemies are way too spongy. Maybe I'm just getting older.
NBIceman
09/14/2025
11:54 AM
#19
As you can see, you'll get wildly different answers from anyone you ask. I'd encourage you to stick with Berseria if you can, though. Velvet's "edginess" really opens up into some excellent character development later on.
Celebrating my 30th birthday by writing about the 30 most important video games to me:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/81020303
UshiromiyaEva
09/14/2025
12:00 PM
#20
Berseria and Abyss I feel are the best of the best for different reasons. Berseria does have REALLY good characters and group dynamic, probably the all time best jRPG party in a vacuum. Abyss definitely has the better overall story though, and the quality of it's character feel more "earned" by the end rather than just being a a really enjoyable group. Some of the Abyss character are good BECAUSE they're not great in some ways.

Vesperia unfortunately has not aged well, despite that once being my favorite. Lots of dull stretches, terrible last act, one of the worst Takes soundtracks on the whole despite have a few really good tracks. Mostly a great party, but the other characters are mostly whatever.

Graces is a strange one. I can't say it's great but it does have the best combat in the series. Also that PARTY dynamic is really good.....but I wouldn't say any individual character is really good? Like they have great interactions as a unit but each one individually is basically whatever. Don't know what to compare it to.
https://youtu.be/d2qp2scgc_4?si=7k54z8xFv75JQ9ya
https://youtu.be/qj9p6IFSlnk?si=cZ5L4OPM0TjVjwCD
colliding
09/14/2025
12:11 PM
#21
If you're not feeling Berseria, I fear you're out of luck. Personally I prefer Graces f, but the story is pretty dang bad. Good character interactions though. The gameplay is top notch.

Abyss is also really good, and I'd be down to check out a port or remaster that eliminates load times (and maybe finds some way to cut down on the backtracking).

Vesperia just crashes and burns so hard at the end I can't recommend it anymore.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot about Arise. It's fun. There's definitely aspects of it that I dislike, and it has the series staple nose dive toward the end, but decent characters and fun battles. It's a step below the Graces f - Berseria - Abyss level though.
while you slept, the world changed
mnk
09/14/2025
12:21 PM
#22
Top 3 for me were Berseria, Abyss, and Xillia.

Did not care for Vesperia when I played it for the first time with the Switch version, and it's made me nervous about trying Symphonia since my issues were largely clunky old gameplay/mechanics related.
Change is weird.
Underleveled
09/14/2025
12:25 PM
#23
The 3DS port of Abyss eliminates the PS2 versions infamous load times and doesnt sacrifice much picture quality if youre willing to play it on the tiny handheld. I did and loved it. And yeah, part of what makes Abyss so great is that (very vague spoilers) almost every main character is insufferable at some point and goes through a growth arc that feels earned rather than just being likable from start to finish.

Oh and I guess I should mention that Symphonia is my #2 game of all time but I didnt mention it before because you said you had already played it.
darkx
Grimlyn
09/14/2025
12:51 PM
#24
Rebirth

Claire's speech is one of my favourite Tales scenes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTlOaoAfX4

can skip to 3min for the animated scene

also the uploader wrote the translation guide on gamefaqs that I used when I played it
http://gmun.moe/ffcc
GuessMyUserName 's account's very own account!
NBIceman
09/14/2025
01:46 PM
#25
Rebirth does have an actual English patch now as well.
Celebrating my 30th birthday by writing about the 30 most important video games to me:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/81020303
Strife2
09/14/2025
01:56 PM
#26
It's Berseria, and it's because Velvet and Magilou said so. MAGIKAZAM!
"Evening caress, Always yearning, I must confess, The stars aren't burning"
Copernicus - Candlemass
colliding
09/14/2025
02:23 PM
#27
UshiromiyaEva posted...
Also that PARTY dynamic is really good.....but I wouldn't say any individual character is really good? Like they have great interactions as a unit but each one individually is basically whatever.

Poor Pascal. She's the best Tales mage. Eat my shorts Magilou
while you slept, the world changed
CoolCly
09/14/2025
03:33 PM
#28
It does seem to be like everyone is all over the board on this, so...

What are the BAD Tales games
The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
Thorn
09/14/2025
03:36 PM
#29
CoolCly posted...
What are the BAD Tales games
zestiria
arise
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
UshiromiyaEva
09/14/2025
03:40 PM
#30
Tales of Zestiria is the franchise's punching bag, and it's absolutely deserved.

That's the only real universal MAINLINE game that gets that kind of ire, not counting something like Symphonia 2.

I think Legendia might have the second worst reputation, but having not played it all I can say there is that it's ugly to look at.
https://youtu.be/d2qp2scgc_4?si=7k54z8xFv75JQ9ya
https://youtu.be/qj9p6IFSlnk?si=cZ5L4OPM0TjVjwCD
Grimlyn
09/14/2025
03:41 PM
#31
CoolCly posted...
What are the BAD Tales games
Legendia
http://gmun.moe/ffcc
GuessMyUserName 's account's very own account!
Grimlyn
09/14/2025
03:48 PM
#32
a couple years ago I did all the Tales in order from Destiny to DotN

Legendia is the only one I just couldn't finish. I got to the second half where revisit all the dungeons for the character quests and I just said no I wasn't going through all that tedium when it wasn't fun the first time. I just watched the rest of it on youtube which is something I never do

Chloe Norma and Will are great but Shirley is so ass
http://gmun.moe/ffcc
GuessMyUserName 's account's very own account!
ElizeLutus
09/14/2025
03:50 PM
#33
Shirley sucks, but Grune is <3
Grimlyn
09/14/2025
03:53 PM
#34
I will accept Grune love
http://gmun.moe/ffcc
GuessMyUserName 's account's very own account!
Underleveled
09/14/2025
04:14 PM
#35
Chloe keeps the trend going of excellent gaming characters named Chloe.
darkx
NBIceman
09/14/2025
04:53 PM
#36
Chloe is a great character until her postgame quest torpedoes her for no reason.
Celebrating my 30th birthday by writing about the 30 most important video games to me:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/81020303
OrangeCrush980
09/14/2025
05:00 PM
#37
CoolCly posted...
It does seem to be like everyone is all over the board on this, so...

What are the BAD Tales games
Out of the localized games:
  • Phantasia GBA
  • Destiny PS1 (it's alright for its time, but it's much better to use the fan translation for the PS2 remake)
  • Legendia (though it's one of those games that a minority of people really fall in love with)
  • World: Radiant Mythology
  • Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
  • Zestiria
  • Arise (this one is more debatable, but most long-time fans don't care for this one)
The Xillias can also be very hit or miss. Personally I have a soft spot for 1 but dislike 2, while a lot of other people are in the opposite boat.
"Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness... Might controls everything. And without strength, you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself."
- Vergil, DMC3
UshiromiyaEva
09/14/2025
05:04 PM
#38
Arise is the FE Awakening of Tales games.
https://youtu.be/d2qp2scgc_4?si=7k54z8xFv75JQ9ya
https://youtu.be/qj9p6IFSlnk?si=cZ5L4OPM0TjVjwCD
MacArrowny
09/14/2025
05:24 PM
#39
Symphonia is the Awakening of Tales games. Arise doesn't fit that at all, especially since it didn't even manage to sell as well as Zestiria.
All the stars in the sky are waiting for you.
Underleveled
09/14/2025
05:26 PM
#40
MacArrowny posted...
Symphonia is the Awakening of Tales games. Arise doesn't fit that at all, especially since it didn't even manage to sell as well as Zestiria.
I can kinda buy that, except that plenty of people still talk about Blazing Blade/Sacred Stones/Path of Radiance with a lot more reverence than the pre-Symphonia localized Tales games.
darkx
UshiromiyaEva
09/14/2025
05:27 PM
#41
From my perspective I consider it Awakening because it's a game beloved by reviewers and non-fans as the revival of the series that fixes everything and finally brings it into the modern age because it looked new and flashy, despite being worse than most of what came before it with just a few exceptions.
https://youtu.be/d2qp2scgc_4?si=7k54z8xFv75JQ9ya
https://youtu.be/qj9p6IFSlnk?si=cZ5L4OPM0TjVjwCD
OrangeCrush980
09/14/2025
06:11 PM
#42
Back to the original question, these are the 6 Tales games that I personally enjoyed the most:
  • Symphonia
  • Abyss
  • Hearts R
  • Graces f
  • Destiny DC
  • Berseria
"Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness... Might controls everything. And without strength, you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself."
- Vergil, DMC3
LiquidOshawott
09/14/2025
06:14 PM
#43
I dunno I think Arise basically laps everything non Graces in combat, and if you dont play Tales for combat then why are you playing it in the first place

I also enjoy the party quite a bit too
I live on, THROUGH THIS SEASHELL!
VeryInsane's mobile account
NBIceman
09/14/2025
06:37 PM
#44
LiquidOshawott posted...
if you dont play Tales for combat then why are you playing it in the first place
I... Don't think most Tales fans would say that the combat is one of the more consistently good aspects of the series. I certainly wouldn't.

Celebrating my 30th birthday by writing about the 30 most important video games to me:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/81020303
Xiahou_Shake
09/14/2025
06:50 PM
#45
NBIceman posted...
I... Don't think most Tales fans would say that the combat is one of the more consistently good aspects of the series. I certainly wouldn't.
I consider myself a huge Tales fan and the combat is absolutely one of the series strengths. Thinking otherwise definitely feels like the hot take to me.
Let the voice of love take you higher,
With this gathering power, go beyond even time!
MacArrowny
09/14/2025
06:59 PM
#46
UshiromiyaEva posted...
From my perspective I consider it Awakening because it's a game beloved by reviewers and non-fans as the revival of the series that fixes everything and finally brings it into the modern age because it looked new and flashy, despite being worse than most of what came before it with just a few exceptions.
Eh Awakening brought in a bunch of new fans who went on to play the rest of the series. Arise didn't do that.
All the stars in the sky are waiting for you.
NBIceman
09/14/2025
07:01 PM
#47
Xiahou_Shake posted...
I consider myself a huge Tales fan and the combat is absolutely one of the series strengths. Thinking otherwise definitely feels like the hot take to me.
To the point that it's one of the main reasons for playing them?

I don't know - it's got some high peaks and is rarely a negative, but when I start up a new Tales game, it's not one of the things I'm most looking forward to.
Celebrating my 30th birthday by writing about the 30 most important video games to me:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/81020303
UshiromiyaEva
09/14/2025
07:04 PM
#48
Combat is important, but Graces isn't super popular despite running laps on that front for a reason.

MacArrowny posted...
Eh Awakening brought in a bunch of new fans who went on to play the rest of the series. Arise didn't do that.

I mean it could have if they kept making more games lol
https://youtu.be/d2qp2scgc_4?si=7k54z8xFv75JQ9ya
https://youtu.be/qj9p6IFSlnk?si=cZ5L4OPM0TjVjwCD
Emeraldegg
09/14/2025
07:04 PM
#49
Graces has the best combat by a mile, and imo some of the best party interaction. The skits are awesome.

Honestly, the fact no one can agree tells you all you need to know. Most of them have something good and something bad. Vesperia's story struggles from multiple writers. Abyss has a love him or hate him protagonist. Symphonia imo does not feel very good to play nowadays. People hate Graces' story. The list goes on.

Just dont' play tempest, other than that you might as well spin a wheel.
I'm a greener egg than the eggs from dr. seuss
agesboy
09/14/2025
07:06 PM
#50
NBIceman posted...
To the point that it's one of the main reasons for playing them?
absolutely

the other main option for the genre, star ocean, has sort of sucked hardcore since the ps3 era
https://imgur.com/LabbRyN
raytan and Kana are on opposite ends of the Awesome Spectrum.
Board 8 » What are the best Tales Of games
Page of 2