I've been having an incredibly hard time getting through it. I think it's super difficult. Some of it is on me though because I really wanted to play the mages and you just can't do shit with them. I also accidentally went the hard route.

>>4022441
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCQ0XUwX6M

>>4022472
Are you playing on hard? The games require boss grinding as usually random battles are just slightly harder and bosses are a pain with inflated health so you have to guard perfectly and don't use mages ya dingus

>>4022484
I am not playing the game with a hard on, you sick fuck.

>>4022441
I'm an old man that liked star ocean 2 in the '90s but somehow never played a tales game. What are a couple I should play in the series to start

>>4022484
I'm just playing on normal and wanted to play as all the characters, but apparently the game is so shit that you actually just can't and need to stick to Lloyd. The game is lucky I'm enjoying the surprisingly dark story, but I sure as hell am not enjoying like anything else.

>>4022521
maybe you just suck at it

>>4022521
It takes awhile for genus to get good spells. I think abyss and vesperia had much better party members control wise

>>4022558
If he's having problems with Symphonia then he'll die with Vesperia considering how much the game goes out of its way to limit you on NG. Abyss is another one where you actually need to know what C Cores you're using so you can get access to the tools that free up the combat system.
Symphonia is incredibly straight forward in comparison. You have the newbie friendly characters (Lloyd, Kratos, Zelos, Presea), the ones that ones that require a bit of skill (Colette, Regal, Sheena) and the two mages where all you have to do is just wait until when you get their better spells.
>>4022521
Give everyone at least 1 ex sphere to unlock to higher end techs.
Use every arte you get 50 times to ensure you get to unlock the new ones. Arte strength caps out at 250 for the really good ones. There's a degree of optimization you can do which often involves mixing and matching, but if you dont want to think too hard on how to build the cast


Lloyd - S
Genis - T on GC, S on any other version due to certain additions
Colette - S
Kratos - S
Raine - T
Sheena - T
Zelos - S
Presea - T
Regal - T


Learn how to block and dodge attacks properly. Set the casters and long range characters to prioritize enemy casters where your melee characters focus on nearby stuff/keeping them off the casters.
You will have to learn how to use Lloyd eventually for a handful of areas and a late game boss fight, so make sure you do so eventually.

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>>4022574
Not the guy you're replying to but I appreciate the advices plus the spoiler alert. You're a good egg.

Being filtered 8-bits games is understandable. Being filtered by 128-bits shows you're mentally inept.

The game is very straight-forward. I'm genuinely struggling to think of what you could possibly struggle with unless you locked up the titles beforehand and are going for some of the challenge titles on your first playthrough without any idea what you're doing.

>>4022472
If you want to be a mage then your ex-skills become even more important. Try a bunch of different combinations of ex gems to see what combo skills you might unlock.

>>4022574
teach me abyss, I'm just doing x-x-x-o and blocking

>>4023427
>I'm just doing x-x-x-o and blocking
yeah that's the combat system. you got it

>>4022519
Symphonia is well regarded but very mid. Abyss and Vesperia are good. Legendia has a god tier soundtrack but is a below average game. Take your pick

>>4023427
Try to minimize levels gained until when you unlock the c.core mechanic.
If you're super anal over c.core stats [/spoiler]never let Asch level up when you have him[/spoiler]
Its pretty much impossible to get all of the skills on your first run within reasonable levels so dont worry about that.
Just focus on getting 80 Atk/Agi for Luke + Guy and 60 F.Atk for everyone else. Natalia only wants F.Atk for the speed cast skill, her damage comes from Atk.
When you unlock the chambers mechanic, its a good idea to get a solid thief since there's some goodies locked behind that such as accessories for anise, grass chambers, sunlight chambers and even a c.core.

>>4022501
I am but only when Raine and Presea are present.

>>4023723
oh. are the core things like espers in ff6 giving you stats on level up? I probably fucked that up.

>>4022472
>I really wanted to play the mages and you just can't do shit with them.
Yes, mages didn't become fun to play as until later in the series.
>>4022521
>wanted to play as all the characters, but apparently the game is so shit that you actually just can't and need to stick to Lloyd
Well no, it's just Genis and Raine that suck to play as. Everyone else is fine. In fact, Lloyd is at a slight disadvantage because he can't spell-cancel like most of the other characters can.
Kratos/Zelos and Regal are the most fun characters in the game in my opinion. If you want to use magic then Kratos/Zelos are probably the best choice because they can kinda weave basic spells into their melee combos.

>>4022441
Imagine letting babies first tales filter you. Don't play any of the 2d games they'll mind break you

>>4022472
There's not nearly as much freedom as the game wants you to believe. Controlling anyone other than Lloyd and MAYBE Zelos with the right skills is going to gimp you pretty hard, and even though every skill gets 2 different upgrades depending on whether you go for the S or T side, one of the upgrades is virtually always far better than the other.

>>4022519
Don't bother. Tales is a series for the most basic of basic bitch weebs, they still haven't made a single game with a good story. Symphonia is probably the closest they come to a somewhat coherent narrative, but that's only because they stole the premise from FFX

>>4024682
I'm ok with slop anime, but damn is the combat unfun. Why was Star Ocean 2 so much more fun and snappy than PS2 games made 8+ years later

I will hear no slander, Symphonia is the baseline of any jrpg any many, MANY jrpg fail to meet even its standard

>>4022472
Hard route is going to require some grind. Unfortunately, mages in Symphonia are the designated player two/little brother spot. You cannot rely on CPU to keep the enemies off.
You're better off playing as Lloyd and getting a feel for the rhythm of the game, which is mostly blocking then punishing with hard hitting combos.
Don't despair if you like casters, the magic swordsman role in this game is super strong once you unlock spell saving and you end combos with devastating spells. You just gotta endure a lil longer bro
Just get a few levels and try to survive.
It is perfectly OK to use the all divide on the tower of Mana boss

>>4024719
Because you're bad at action games and SO2 gives the illusion of action with a much lower skill ceiling than Tales

>>4024756
Yeah Tales games are basically Street Fighter 3 and Accent Core rolled into one.

>>4024682
>Symphonia is the only game with a decent narrative
Lmao

>>4025494
That's not even close to what I wrote

Teach me about bazongas

>>4032744
it is life

>>4022441
Did the PC port ever get fixed, unofficially or otherwise?

so what was everyone's final party?

I went with Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Kratos

>>4042687
There are improvement patches but ultimately it's sort of unfixable. Unfortunately there's no true definitive version since gamecube, ps2, & pc all have different tradeoffs.
>>4042713
I've played the game a bunch of times with different parties but I'd say Kratos Regal Presea Colette
I avoid Lloyd because I always avoid the main character. Raine is very good but I'd rather free up a slot for someone more interesting.

>>4042713
If you're playing in a team setting its really just Raine + 3. She may be mundane since all you really need is like 4 or 5 moves from her but she synergizes so well and is responsible for several strong unison moves. Being AI proof is a blessing too.

If you're using the MC and have raine in your party to heal you should really only have to fight battles as they come to keep up. Symphonia doesn't really require any grinding. Just be sure to keep Raines tp up with orange gels