Author Topic: Tales of the Abyss  (Read 6098 times)

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Offline KDR_11k

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Tales of the Abyss
« on: January 27, 2012, 03:19:39 AM »
This is my current go-to game on the 3DS.


TotA seems like a fairly standard Tales game so far. It's no Xenoblade but it's portable and a good JRPG. I'm currently not far past the point where Luke decides to stop being a douchebag (a turn he manages surprisingly quickly after the decision). The detail mechanics differ from Symphonia (there's no S/T split for abilities and none of those ability gem thingies, instead there are FSC and C Core mechanisms) but the combat seems mostly the same except for the FOF change system (which isn't used all that commonly in practice). It's certainly much better than Phantasia which had very little flexibility and combo ability in the combat.


What stands out is the low res textures, were they downsampled in the port or was it like that on the PS2 as well? Does anyone know? Oh and some healing spells make a really painful high pitched noise.

Offline Mannypon

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2012, 08:41:30 AM »
Did this game come out already?  I've ben dieing to get this game since I first heard of the port.  I remember trying this out on ps2 but the load times were so bad I didn't make it past the first random encounter.  I heard that the load times were greatly improved with this port though so there should be no further issues in my end.


One quick question.  How is the 3d?  Is it as bad as some if the reviews say it is?

Offline Ymeegod

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2012, 10:17:09 AM »
It's an 3DS game so yeah there's not going be any load times :0.  They added a new character the girl with the bear creature I think because I sure as hell don't recall her during my PS2 playthrough.


Offline Caliban

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2012, 10:21:59 AM »
Did this game come out already?

February 14. It's been out in Europe since November.

Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2012, 01:04:32 PM »
I haven't used the 3D much as I don't want to bother with holding the system still and the effect isn't worth the effort on my part anyway.

It's an 3DS game so yeah there's not going be any load times :0.  They added a new character the girl with the bear creature I think because I sure as hell don't recall her during my PS2 playthrough.

The 3DS has a lot of load times, even in the OS. Load times are very short in this game though to the point where I can't even remember seeing a load screen (i.e. it loads so fast that it was enough to fade to black and back).

I had to look up the game on Wikipedia when I saw your claim about them adding Anise since she's a major character and that would take a lot of rewriting but she's on the original PS2 box art as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Talesoftheabyss_us.jpg, bottom right).

Offline Ymeegod

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2012, 05:26:09 PM »
Odd, I don't recall her having gaint bear?  Maybe I just didn't use her but it showed FMV clips of the damn thing so how did I miss it?  I'm pretty sure I played and finished it but it's been a few years I have to look and see if I have it in my PS2 collection.

The good thing about poor memory, replaying games feels like totally new games :).


Offline Tamazoid

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2012, 06:30:47 PM »
Did this game come out already?

February 14. It's been out in Europe since November.


And it sold out by December. They had to order another print run to meet demand. So Americans who want this probably should think about pre ordering it now.
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Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2012, 06:40:40 PM »
Odd, I don't recall her having gaint bear?  Maybe I just didn't use her but it showed FMV clips of the damn thing so how did I miss it?  I'm pretty sure I played and finished it but it's been a few years I have to look and see if I have it in my PS2 collection.

The good thing about poor memory, replaying games feels like totally new games :).

She only has the huge bear in combat, it's a backpack outside combat. There's a skit referring to the thing when you use Anise in combat for the first time.

Offline Mannypon

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2012, 11:49:23 PM »
I finally picked this game up even though this was one of my most anticipated titles for the 3ds.  So far it's been a lot better than what I expected given some of the feedback I've seen of the game plus lukewarm reviews.  The 3d isn't as bad as I've heard and I'm actually quite enjoying the affect.  The fact that I never really played much of the original makes this all the better as the game feels brand new to me.  I had this game back when it released on the ps2 but the load times were so horrendous that I couldn't stomach my first venture into the overworld.  I ended up selling it within a couple of days lol. 


For those that have completed this, how does it rack with Tales of Symp and Tales of Vesperia?  Those are the only 2 Tales games that I've played to completion and I loved both of them. 

Offline ymeegod

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2012, 11:38:42 AM »
Finally gotten around to finishing the game.  (I was at 50 hour mark with tons of side quests skipped).  Overall it's solid but there's a few major flaws.  The biggest gripe (or at least for me) was all the backtracking you have to do.  You have to go back and forth between towns way to much (you do get an teleport option but that's latter in the game).  Also I wish there's some sort of log book for sidequests and the option about abandoning them if you proceed in story (as you progress through the story mode certain side quests become blocked which annoys me to no end).

It's a very long game so there's not many that'll end up finishing it but I loved even though it was my second playthrough. 

Offline NWR_insanolord

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2012, 03:13:48 PM »
I bought this game and sold it without playing it because I realized I was never going to be willing to make the time for it.
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Offline Hey Einstein!

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2012, 05:45:03 AM »
I finished it about 3 weeks ago now, I played for about 64 hrs I think. I would class it as very long rather then very good, so I think Insanolord made the right decision. (Just to be clear, it's not that I hate this game, but if you don't want to play for 50 hrs + this isn't for you).
I think the reviews are fair as their is a lot about the game that could be improved. I found the story frustrating, at it's core I liked the discussion of whether history is pre ordained or not and how human beings should respond to their understanding of that issue. But the telling of the story was laden with Techno Babble which I found almost impenetrable, often going back tot he log book after a cut scene to see what it was I actually supposed to be doing. And I got sick of all the skits too. I felt that most of them didn't drive the story forward or develop the characters very much, they was a lot of pointless exposition and a heck of a lot of Anime tropes.


Also I felt that the game was weighed down with too many techniques and systems like cores and cookery, etc. By the half way point I just ignored all of that had no trouble finishing the game with out giving them any attention because it's really very easy with the exception of a couple of boss battles.


But despite all it's many faults I really enjoyed myself. What I liked were the world, the design, the characters and the dungeons. I don't use the 3D much on my system but I was often cranking it up in new locations so I could better enjoy the look and feel of the cities and the gateways. I found Luke's rudeness and the way the other characters responded to him genuinely funny and now that I am playing other games I find myself missing my party. Not that I will play through it again though, but I will hit up the FMVs on youtube when I feel the need.


So yeah, I enjoyed my time with this game, I'm glad I played it was far from being a master piece and I'm done now.


This was my first Tales game and whilst I did really enjoy it some of the frustrations I had have put me off trying other games in the series. There are so many "classic" JPGs that I haven't played (I'm yet to play a DQ or FF title and still haven't tried Chrono Trigger) so I intend to shop around until I find a dev or a series that really clicks with me.


I would love to see more JRPGs coming to Europe for the 3DS. Anybody know if Code of Princess has a European release date confirm yet?

Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2012, 02:48:56 PM »
I don't think CoP is a JRPG.

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2012, 08:27:42 PM »
I got this game for the PS2 a few months ago and played for a few hours, then got distracted by other games and forgot to go back to it. The only thing I can recall is that the graphics on the world map are laughably bad, it reminded me of playing PS1 RPGs.

Offline Mannypon

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2012, 12:04:10 AM »
I started this game a couple months back and one thing led to another and I haven't got back to it.  Now I'm at a point where I don't have the drive anymore to get back in and deal with the grind of playing it.  I don't know what it is but the game never truly grabbed me.  This is my 4Th Tales game (2 of which I completed)  I tried out Tales of Phantasia on an emulator but never got the drive to continue.  I finished ToS on the Cube (which I loved) and Tales of Vesperia on the 360 (my fav of the bunch).  There is just something about this one that I can't put my finger on. 
 
Anyways, glad others found enjoyment out of it.  I'm currently debating on whether I should sell it or keep it just in case I decide to give it another go sometime in the future (sh*t happens to me all the time with games I end up trading in lol). 

Offline Hey Einstein!

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #15 on: November 12, 2012, 11:08:51 AM »
I don't think CoP is a JRPG.


Action RPG Brawler then.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Tales of the Abyss
« Reply #16 on: November 12, 2012, 11:56:26 AM »
I don't think CoP is a JRPG.


Action RPG Brawler then.


Although I like the experience system and loot gained after each stage, Code of Princess is very light on RPG aspects.  Still a fun game though and great to play in short bursts.
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