ZeroAX wrote:Still waiting for lisalover to post
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I have only played Tales of Symphonia. The gameplay was great, I loved that it still had an overworld (unlike FF), but the story and characters were.....yeah....
Did someone call for the super-duper Tales fan?
As for recommendations, I would recommend starting off with Symphonia, as it is arguably the most accessible (It will also be getting an HD remake on the PS3 soon, if you don't feel like hunting down a GC copy). Abyss is also excellent, but the battle system takes a bit more effort to master due to its added nuance. Vesperia is also a blast, and you really can't go wrong with any of the flagship Tales games, in general. The only reason I recommend Symphonia above the others is that I find it to be the most accessible, and that I'm totally biased due to it being the first game in the series I played.
One thing to note is that there are two types of Tales games: 2D and 3D. This generally just pertains to the battle systems; in the 2D games, all your characters fight on the same 2D plane (Phantasia, Destiny, Legendia, Eternia, etc.), whereas different characters occupy different linear planes in the 3D ones (Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, Graces, Xillia, etc.). You can switch your planes on the fly be retargeting, and some later titles actually allow for free-running, such as in Vesperia. Neither system is inherently better; it's just a matter of preference.
One last thing; if you regularly play games with friends, try the multiplayer. Being a 4-player multiplayer RPG has always been a distinct hallmark of the Tales series, and it is a blast if you are able to take down a tough boss with some good friends.
. That sucks....
