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Tales of the Abyss [3DS] |OT| "The wait better be worth it!" - PALland
- Thread starter Luigiv
- Start date
Pretty similar. If you liked Vesperia you'll probably like this as well, unless you can't get past the fact that unlike Yuri the main character is intentionally made to be an unlikeable douche.
I don't know about Vesperia, but Abyss had a ton of stuff that was missable or you wouldn't even know about.
I know I had to use a guide to keep up with them all. It was really kind of annoying.
SpaceBridge
Member
So, this is still on track for next week?
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Too many games next week. D:
I completely forgot I had this on preorder. I was more looking forward to Hakuoki. But yeah, I totally agree with those who said use a guide for the sidequests. There are a lot of missables in this game that you'll overlook because they aren't mentioned in the game.
Abyss isn't really my favourite Tales game, and I think it has its share of problems and ease (outside of one boss)/free run, but it's still fun at times. Looking forward to getting this for my 3DS and playing through a few battles now and then while I'm at school or something.
I completely forgot I had this on preorder. I was more looking forward to Hakuoki. But yeah, I totally agree with those who said use a guide for the sidequests. There are a lot of missables in this game that you'll overlook because they aren't mentioned in the game.
Abyss isn't really my favourite Tales game, and I think it has its share of problems and ease (outside of one boss)/free run, but it's still fun at times. Looking forward to getting this for my 3DS and playing through a few battles now and then while I'm at school or something.
Cell_Biology
Member
Preordered this yesterday, and it looks like it has climbed a little bit on the Amazon's best sellers list. I haven't played this game since it's release on the PS2. I've had an itch to play the game lately, and I don't have access to my consoles as much as I used to. Hope it sells relatively well in the States.
Seven Force
Banned
Far better load times, slightly more stable World Map framerate.
Cell_Biology
Member
I remember the PS2 version being quite hard to find after the initial launch. I've also read that this game isn't easy to find in Europe either.
8BitsAtATime
Member
The midnight release is for UFC Undisputed 3 but im going to pick up this and tekken.
Awesome, and good to know! I didn't know I could go and get something the event wasn't specifically for, so this is great!
Oh nice, I might go to a gamestop to see if they are open. How did this game review in Euroland?
Well I was personally hoping we'd keep this one (that was my original intention when making this thread) but it's already been moved to Communities so :S.
I could ask a Mod to move it back over to gaming but I don't really know if that's worth it. It's a pretty shitty OT to be honest.
Well since this thread isn't completely dead time for my own personal Review.
Play status: 27hrs, lvl 42, incomplete
+ The battle system is quite fun.
+ Dungeons are quite well designed.
+ A few of the towns are pretty.
+ Some catchy tunes.
+- Most of the graphics are meh.
+- Bosses have a little too much health but at least they're decently challenging.
+- The 3D can look a little weird at the beginning but after a while it's seems to straighten out a bit.
+- The menus aren't particularly well optimised for the system's lower resolution and dual screens but still functional.
- The writing, story and characters are terrible.
- The localisation and voice acting is poor.
- In engine cutscenes aren't even real cutscenes, they're just scripted dialogue box sequences with light animation. They're boring to watch.
- The game's pace completely falls apart around 20 hours in and becomes too cutscene heavy.
- The field is shit. The geography, the enemies, the framerate, all subpar.
Reason for giving up: I just couldn't handle the shitty story any more.
Overall verdict: Despite all the neutral and negative comments, the combat and dungeons are by themselves almost good enough to carry the whole game. They don't quite for me but I could understand others liking the game.
3/5 - Good but heavily flawed, not for everyone.
Nocturnowl
Member
I got about 24 hours in before throwing in the towel myself, the characters and plot just weren't doing it for me. I don't think i've ever been so bewildered by terminology than I have in TotA, I genuinely have no clue what they are doing each time the group reach a gate, it's like they throw a bunch of random words together to explain whatever the hell they are doing
"okay gents we need to use our etch-a-sketch skills to reroute the sephiroth to combat the planet storm, fonons fonist frolicking fabulously because fuck the score and Yulia purple monkey dishwasher"
Obviously it's not that bad but the point is it sounds like nonsense.
I'm currently
Progression across the map feels slow no matter the vehicle, random areas currently cut off because of the invisible whirlpool/stormy weather/super mist which cause a slow removal of your vehicle from the vicinity of the map area and it isn't clear where the limit is for these sections. Finding out where to go after having left the game for a bit becomes guesswork, even using the synopsis heralds no results as it's usually something like "so we decided to head to random cave, no i'm not mentioning where it is on the map so screw you".
Enemies seem to be palette swapping at twice the usual tales rate, the battle system itself is okay but the Field of fonons is pretty inconvenient most of the time and by this point the battle system is beginning to grate (this being my 4th tales game).
Animation in the in-game cutscenes are pretty funny when the scene is supposed to be serious and a fighting scene at that.
But the characters are the main source of my inability to continue.
*plot spoilers follow*
Despite all this I don't think it's a bad game by any stretch, it's just not for me this one, and I manged to play through "courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality".
"okay gents we need to use our etch-a-sketch skills to reroute the sephiroth to combat the planet storm, fonons fonist frolicking fabulously because fuck the score and Yulia purple monkey dishwasher"
Obviously it's not that bad but the point is it sounds like nonsense.
I'm currently
at the absorption gate I think, apparently there's still another third of the game left after this which is kind of terrifying.
Enemies seem to be palette swapping at twice the usual tales rate, the battle system itself is okay but the Field of fonons is pretty inconvenient most of the time and by this point the battle system is beginning to grate (this being my 4th tales game).
Animation in the in-game cutscenes are pretty funny when the scene is supposed to be serious and a fighting scene at that.
But the characters are the main source of my inability to continue.
*plot spoilers follow*
Luke: His start off as a jerk is quite a nice change from the norm but his sudden character shift happens so fast it's almost hilarious, he basically goes from being a douchebag to a benevolent saint overnight bar a few moments, he becomes too nice, it's like current John Cena has infiltrated my rpg. Still he's not that bad
Guy: For like half the game the name couldn't be more appropriate, he is just some Guy in my team, sadly his more interesting past doesn't do much for me at all
Anise: Boooooooo, unlikeable brat
Jade: He's a smarmy bastard but he's an entertaining one so he's probably the best guy here.
Natalia: Like Guy she spends a lot of time with no real plot points only to have it suddenly come screeching in full force with the power of plentiful cutscenes, and much like Guy I really didn't care.
Tear: Actually she has some stuff going for her, hooray?
Asch: I saw your plot twist coming, i'd feel proud but I probably shouldn't, at least I can add dreck to my vocabulary thanks to this guy, otherwise his jerky nature is annoying.
Ion: My god I hate you Ion, the way you speak especially. GRRRAH that voice!
Mieu: Shut up thing!
Villains don't feel noteworthy enough to bother with
Guy: For like half the game the name couldn't be more appropriate, he is just some Guy in my team, sadly his more interesting past doesn't do much for me at all
Anise: Boooooooo, unlikeable brat
Jade: He's a smarmy bastard but he's an entertaining one so he's probably the best guy here.
Natalia: Like Guy she spends a lot of time with no real plot points only to have it suddenly come screeching in full force with the power of plentiful cutscenes, and much like Guy I really didn't care.
Tear: Actually she has some stuff going for her, hooray?
Asch: I saw your plot twist coming, i'd feel proud but I probably shouldn't, at least I can add dreck to my vocabulary thanks to this guy, otherwise his jerky nature is annoying.
Ion: My god I hate you Ion, the way you speak especially. GRRRAH that voice!
Mieu: Shut up thing!
Villains don't feel noteworthy enough to bother with
Despite all this I don't think it's a bad game by any stretch, it's just not for me this one, and I manged to play through "courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality".
Cell_Biology
Member
I played through the entire game in about a week myself when it came out on the PS2, though I was in high school and had much more free time and tolerance for convoluted stories. I can understand all the complaints this game gets, but I have been yearning for a long meaty RPG experience on the 3DS.
drtomoe123
Member
Hyped for this and Rhythm Heaven Fever this week.
Picking my copy up tomorrow.
Picking my copy up tomorrow.
R_thanatos
Member
Well you'd be surprised what you have to do to explore freely .. ..if you've played without a faq you've already lost lots of events & quests. and that hold true with the vehicules..
Not only you'd have to upgrade your vehicules to reach new areas, new areas give new skills and it's Hidden boss time. and suddenly many Skits will make sense..
Nocturnowl
Member
And here I was just through thinking they were related to future plot events, that's actually quite surprising to learn. Personally I don't go through games with a faq, fortunately the idea of missing some content doesn't bother me very much, that's what second files are for.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
I really hope that the guys who were turned off by Tales of the Abyss aren't turned off by the rest of the series in general. Tales of the Abyss isn't really a good barometer to measure the rest of the series with, imo. I don't really care for Abyss much (outside of its overall theme, which was nice) just because the character interactions are so irritating sometimes. A lot of the characters were just... plain silly, too. Jade and Tear are the only two consistently-written characters out of the bunch.
And FoF is kind of bad design. It's nice when it works and the concept is nice, but half the time you can't draw enemies to you to use it in that particular space. What's the point of the mechanic in general, then, if you can't use it effectively? If it were a charge that the player held for a certain amount of time after stepping into the circle so that they could approach an enemy and use it, it would make sense.
I also dislike free running, which is what was TotA's introduction to the series with the FR-LMBS. You don't know how happy I was when Tales of Graces penalized the player for Free Running and encouraged them to use Around-Step instead.
But the rest of the battle system and the quests are just mindless fun. It isn't my favourite Tales game by any means, but it's a hell of a lot far from the worst (Tempest).
And FoF is kind of bad design. It's nice when it works and the concept is nice, but half the time you can't draw enemies to you to use it in that particular space. What's the point of the mechanic in general, then, if you can't use it effectively? If it were a charge that the player held for a certain amount of time after stepping into the circle so that they could approach an enemy and use it, it would make sense.
I also dislike free running, which is what was TotA's introduction to the series with the FR-LMBS. You don't know how happy I was when Tales of Graces penalized the player for Free Running and encouraged them to use Around-Step instead.
But the rest of the battle system and the quests are just mindless fun. It isn't my favourite Tales game by any means, but it's a hell of a lot far from the worst (Tempest).
If I weren't at the library, I would be laughing so hard at that. It's true!Nocturnowl said:
Nocturnowl
Member
I'll admit that Abyss has dampened my excitement for Graces but I don't think EU even has a set release date for that game yet anyway, the idea of a different team behind that entry and a better battle system do have me intrigued.
And I swear the FoF are often an element that doesn't help, granted I don't expect a fiery bat to drop a water field to screw itself over but I can't resist using the non effective fire field on it anyway. I don't actually use free run that much, unless a big pile of magic is about to fall on my face.
And I swear the FoF are often an element that doesn't help, granted I don't expect a fiery bat to drop a water field to screw itself over but I can't resist using the non effective fire field on it anyway. I don't actually use free run that much, unless a big pile of magic is about to fall on my face.
Sold!
Incitemaybe
Member
I'm interested in this for my 3ds but the impressions are making me a bit wary.
The only Tales game I've ever played through is Symphonia on Gamecube, I loved that game........I just don't know, the complaints Im hearing about Abyss seem pretty valid.
Also I keep reading that the 3d implementation sucks.....can someone explain exactly how? Is it shallow? Ghosting? Something else?
The only Tales game I've ever played through is Symphonia on Gamecube, I loved that game........I just don't know, the complaints Im hearing about Abyss seem pretty valid.
Also I keep reading that the 3d implementation sucks.....can someone explain exactly how? Is it shallow? Ghosting? Something else?
If you loved Symphonia, you'll probably love this too. A lot of complaints aimed at this game could also be aimed at Symphonia.
slaughterking
Member
It's extremely shallow aside from UI elements layered on top of everything, which is more distracting than anything else . Didn't notice any crosstalk, though.
And personally I would add pretty awful sound compression to the list of complaints. Feels like almost every sound file, be it voice or music, has one or another distorting/crackling issue. I guess most people wont notice that, though.
Worth pointing out that the UI elements are sitting exactly at screen level so, in actuality, the depth from the camera to the scene is large but the depth within the scene is shallow (which is the exact opposite of what good 3D should be). Mind you, despite the shitty implementation, I still left 3D on just because it makes everything look bigger.
Cell_Biology
Member
Getting my copy in the mail today, but I can't really play it till Friday due to exams this week. I envy you lucky people playing this.
I agree, there needs to be more hype for this game.
I agree, there needs to be more hype for this game.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Picked mine up just now, cant wait to start it tonight or tomorrow, now to hunt down a guide.
slaughterking
Member
Yes, three.
Incitemaybe
Member
Best buy didn't get any in so I went to GameStop. Surprisingly the guy didn't try to upsell me on anything, he just said he loved the game haha
Good to hear there are 3 save slots. There will be two of us using the card and I was getting a little worried.
Good to hear there are 3 save slots. There will be two of us using the card and I was getting a little worried.
chickdigger802
Banned
So what is gaf policy on games coming out in over regions? New OT? this OT moving over?
just make a lttp?
just make a lttp?
Big Papa Husker
Member
Are you hunting for a PS2 guide or did they release a new one for the 3DS version?
Incitemaybe
Member
Having a good time with it so far, nothing wrong with the 3d to my eyes, not too deep, not to shallow.
The only slight issue I have are the little optional cutscenes you access by pressing start. They can't be sped up, you kinda just have to wait for them to pass slowly.
All in all, I'm enjoying the atmosphere though
The only slight issue I have are the little optional cutscenes you access by pressing start. They can't be sped up, you kinda just have to wait for them to pass slowly.
All in all, I'm enjoying the atmosphere though
chickdigger802
Banned
yay!
gamestop here only got 3 (for the 3 ppl that preordered). I probably should preorder graces f as well eh?
Goro Majima
Kitty Genovese Member
Part of me doesn't want to spend 40 bucks on this when Graces F and ME 3 (maybe some Yakuza Of the End too?) hit next month.
Then another part of me is worried that this sucker is going to go out of print ridiculously fast and I don't have the money for all of them.
Then another part of me is worried that this sucker is going to go out of print ridiculously fast and I don't have the money for all of them.
chickdigger802
Banned
I expect this and graces F to be a rarity.
The gamestop here on a tech college campus had only enough for preorders.