Finally "finished" Tales of Zestiria

On 05/31/2016 at 11:50 AM by Ranger1

My next-door neighbor, good friend/honorary little brother, and landlady's son shares his internet with me. We have a download cap, and I came very close to exceeding that this month, so I'm on a self-imposed Netflix moratorium at the moment. So I figured I might as well finish Tales of Zestiria, since I was so close to the end anyway. As anyone who has ever played a "Tales of" game will know, you're never really done, even after you beat the "final" boss of the storyline. In true JRPG fashion, he was a pain in the ass with multiple forms, but I did him in on the second try. That opened up a bonus dungeon, as well as New Game+. And there's also a dlc bonus chapter that was free. I'm not going to bother with a new game at this point, and I'm debating about finshing the bonus dungeon. I'm not sure if it adds anything to the story, or if it's just there to kill more monsters and bosses and to get more stuff that won't do me any good if I never bother to play the game a second time. The bonus chapter does add more to the story, so I'll definitely play through that, but I have a feeling it won't take me all that long.

My thoughts on the game now that I've more or less finished:

The music is really, really good. The composer, Go Shiina, is one of Cary Woodham's favorites, and I can see why.
The battle system is far more complex than it needs to be. I still have no idea how to pull off many of the special abilities or exactly what constitutes a combo in the game. I basically just mashed buttons and hoped for the best. I made it to the end and beat the final boss, but I wonder if it would have been easier if I'd actually known what I was doing.
I liked the skills you could assign to various characters that helped out in the field. Snack preparation, treasure detection, remedy preparation, etc. As you used them, they would level up, giving better snacks and remedies, detecting treasures and interest points at a greater distance, etc.

Other than that, it ws a pretty standard Tales game. I enjoyed it, but I think I need to play something different for a while as a palate cleanser.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

05/31/2016 at 11:57 AM

I don't understand the snack preparation bit. I kind of skipped that tutorial.

I'm glad you beat it though. I wish movie villains had multiple forms like JRPG's.

What's next on the game list, Ranger Girl?

Ranger1

05/31/2016 at 12:32 PM

Haven't decided what I'll play yet. Still need to do the dlc chapter for ToZ.

The snack prep talent is oh-so-useful. You set it in the menu, I think it's the fourth tab over, you get a list of talents that your character can use, Snack prep means your character can make snacks that will replace HP and SC and also add various buffs in the next battle.

Cary Woodham

05/31/2016 at 09:35 PM

I got Zestiria for Christmas but I lost interest in it. They kept adding new rules to the battle system and sometimes less is more. Also, even though Go Shiina is credited as being the composer for this one, it was actually a joint effort between him and the regular composer for Tales games, so the songs still were not as good as they were in Legendia, I thought.

I don't really know what game you should play next. If you could get the Internet to work on your 3DS, I would suggest Pocket Card Jockey.

I've been actually watching a lot of Netflix myself. They just added Animaniacs and a new Danger Mouse cartoon.

06/01/2016 at 12:03 PM

I gave up on learning the rules for the combat system and just button mashed. It worked out fine, I was able to beat the boss at the end, as well as the 36 special bosses scattered throughout the game world. So I don't think they needed to make things so complex at all.

As for what to play next, I have a ton of unplayed or unfinished games I already own to choose from, so I'll just see what strikes my fancy.

BretBaber

06/01/2016 at 01:36 AM

I've only played one Tales game and that was Tales of Xillia. I really liked that game, and was wondering how this game stacks up against that if you or anyone else reading has played both.

Kind of had the same problem with Xillia, never really knowing how to pull of combos. The characters and sense of humor were a lot of fun and kept me going.

They have a bunch of PS2 games on PS4 for cheap right now, and I myself am enjoying Rogue Galaxy, and I picked up Dark Cloud 1 and 2. All 3 are $7.49 each, good prices for the amount of game you'll get.

06/01/2016 at 12:12 PM

Thanks for reading!

Tales of Xillia is my second favorite of the Tales games. Symphonia remains my favorite. I have both the Game Cube original and the remake for the PS3. As for comparing Xillia and Zestiria... I think Xillia ws the better game of the two, but if you liked Xillia, you'll probably like Zestiria. I was able to play through without really understanding the complexities of the battle system - as long as you know the difference between arte attacks and physical attacks, you'll be all set. You can hit the R2 button and it will give you info on the enemies' weaknesses as well as their HP and other stuff.

I have plenty of games to play on Mount Backlog, so I'll just go through and grab something I already own. I actually have all three of the games you suggested for the PS2, and I still have a working PS2, and all three of those games are good.

goaztecs

06/01/2016 at 11:55 AM

Congrats on finishing your game, and thank goodness for free DLC where it extends the story. If you start a new game do you get to bring in your current level character?

06/01/2016 at 12:14 PM

I don't think you get to keep your level, but you earn points during a playthrough that you can use to for various things, like your discovery list, equipment and items, maps, etc.

SanAndreas

06/04/2016 at 02:28 PM

Still haven't finished it. I got derailed by Fallout 4 and am now working on Valkyria Chronicles for PS4. It's a great game with a lot of Arthurian allusions, but I just have too many good games to play. Where's the First World Problems girl meme?

06/08/2016 at 01:39 PM

If I had a nickel for every game that has happened to me with, I'd be rich.

KnightDriver

06/18/2016 at 12:48 PM

Just picked up Zestiria. I need time to get to it though. The Xbox fanboyism at my friend Mark's place is getting rediculous. I'm about to take a picture of both of our rigs sporting three generations of Xbox consoles.

PixlBit