where to start with these? What versions are ideal? They've always looked pretty cool
Tales of Phantasia: very sovlfvl, SNES has the best aesthetics while remakes have upgraded combat system but look awfulTales of Symphonia: arguably the series peak despite the MC being literally retardedTales of the Abyss: improved mechanics from Symphonia, starts to get a little too anime with skits and dialogue Tales of Destiny, Destiny 2, Eternia, Legendia Rebirth: also exist!
>>12301242>Tales of Destiny: also exist!Are you not going to preach about the "best combat in the series™"?
>>12301216The peg on Cress' sword is so stupid and I haven't been able to take him seriously since I noticed it
>>12301216phantasia snes.don't come back until you finish it.
wahoo...
>>12301216Personally I like the PS1 Tales of Phantasia.Tales of Destiny is good. Tales of Eternia is excellent, really nice 2D art, the whole game is pleasing to the eye.Tales of Symphonia is the one most people seem to gravitate towards. I find the combat in it slower than the other games, but it's still a good game.The best non-retro one and what I would dare say the best of them all is Vesperia.
Symphonia is overall best one to try first
>>12302605look at her go
>>12302652no, try that last.and you'll see it's very overrated.it's nostalgic and that's why cubetards think is the best ever.
>>12302608>The best non-retro one and what I would dare say the best of them all is Vesperia.Non-retro by /vr/ standards, but as far as Tales games go, it may as well be considered the last retro Tales game, as it's the final iteration of the Flex Range battle system, as well as the last game developed by the Team Symphonia before the merge with the Team Destiny.
>>12302691>no, try that last.>and you'll see it's very overrated.Funny.I played Symphonia way down the line, and it's the main reason I loved it even more.To anyone who played Phantasia first, Symphonia did such a great job recontextualizing many aspects of Phantasia that were originally underdeveloped, and it did proper nostalgia bait without being cheap too.It just felt like a love letter.
>>12302713that aspect is fine.the rest of the story is kinda retarded even considering that is basically "racism lmao".can't remember well but i think there are many things that end up in the air and never explained.gameplay-wise it has little strategy and mostly devolves into " i hit harder and stunlock better than you" but you can get away with being a little underleveled if you abuse items and micromanage your cpu teammates or play with human players.somehow all those flaws don't make it a bad game at all because it remains enjoyable. but hardly among the best in the series.
tales of eternia ps1 is the best entry by far. play that one and then give up on the series for the best experience.
>>12301216Phantasia and Eternia for old schoolAbyss and vesperia for 3d
>>12301216>where to start with these?ToP>What versions are ideal?the original
>>12302582Don't forget Arche's legs looking like giant boobs.
>>12302691The opinions of a manchild who clings to decades-old console wars carry negative weight.
>>12301242cant forget tales of symphonia: dawn of the new world for the wii, even if the story is a bit weaker compared to symphonia.
>>12305670>cant forget tales of symphonia: dawn of the new worldI wish I could.
>>12305670>>12305775The story of Symphonia 2 might have been more interesting if the higher-ups had let the lead scenario writer do what she wanted. It was supposed to take place about 400 years after Symphonia and 3,000-something before Phantasia to tie up some loose ends between ToS and ToP. But the higher-ups were like, "Lloyd is a popular character, so he HAS TO BE IN THE SEQUEL."Still, I liked the protags; the main couple's romance is genuinely endearing, which is super rare in JRPGs. A ton of great skits too, Tenebrae was goated and "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality" is unironically a great line. It was a fun time.
>>12301216The answer is the same as everu series. Play the original versions in release order on real hardware. Anything else and you aren't getting the true experience.
>>12301216Just pick one that doesn’t have the number 2 in the title
Don't want to start a crap storm, but is it true Phantasia is fairly anti-Christian/Church?
PSP version
>>12305895Christfags are always looking for things to be outraged by so you'll find something.
PS1 Phantasia, do not listen to the people saying to play on SNES
>>12305786The MCs in Symphonia 2 were so obnoxious. It was way too saccharine and anime. I felt disgusted with myself for playing it.Symphonia was my first Tales of game and I've been chasing that high ever since. Couldn't get into Abyss, Berseria and Zestiria were kinda shit. I tried to get into Phantasia, but the control scheme just seemed weird and unintuitive. Maybe I'll have to go back and play some of the other ones.
>>12306186Abyss and Vesperia are the closest titles to Symphonia, as the teams making them were mostly the same. And I get you, the second act of Abyss godawful and I don't blame anyone for dropping it.Vesperia is a good bet for a similar experience, dunno if you avoided mentioning it just because someone may bitch about the release date.
>>12306136Arche will always fuck like a tiger and you will never take that away from us
>>12301216>They've always looked pretty coolWhy do you underage fucking retards always ask this stupid question? The best version of any japanese console game is always THE ORIGINAL VERSION. That's the one people played that made it a super beloved and popular game. You don't need to fucking "fix" or "enhance" it.
>>12306865People hardly fell in love with Phantasia, Destiny or Eternia.Games didn't need to be such a big success to become a series back then.
>>12305907I second this anon
>>12307013About 1 in 5 of voters still think one of those is the best Tales of game ever https://www.abyssalchronicles.com/news/japanese-tales-fans-vote-their-favorite-tales-game-in-recent-fan-surveyThis doesn't sound a lot until you realize they have already made more than 30 Tales of games.
test
>>12308568>zestiria 3rdabsolutely discarded.
ps1 version for Suzu
>>12309726>Suzu already has a very limited number of artes>two of them don't even do anything to hurt the enemy, it just steals an item or runs from battle>as such those artes are never used by the CPU, if you want them you must use them manually>apparently Namco fucked it up and disabled her Raiden arte in the process too>never fixed in any port (GBA, PSP, iOS)Am I the only one autistic enough to notice and be bothered by it?
Anyone know if Innocence was any good? I just saw the vita remake was translated.
Which one is the game that has the green haired waifu with glasses? Always wanted to play that one.
>>12310348Philia Felice from Destiny?
>>12310353>Philia FeliceThank you, yes, this is the one. If only real women looked like this beautiful angel. I want to play her game.
