Tales of Zestiria, A Controversial & Frustrating JRPG

[@TwilightWolf032]

Alisha had a naturally strong resonance, she only needed to spend more time in contact with the spirits to develop her talent further. And as Rose proved it, letting a Seraphim posses you will increase the sixth sense over time, like a muscle being trained! They could have made Alisha a playable character after growing stronger off screen, but instead they decided to trash talk her and make her happy ending be er becoming a corrupt politician! SHE KICKSTARTED THE WHOLE PLOT, SOREY WOULD NOT HAVE BECOME THE SHEPPARD IF IT WEREN'T FOR ALISHA! CURSE YOU, BABA HIDEO!!!!

[@kankankankankankankan]

Alisha? Rose? We all know mikleo's best girl

[@sanaminatozaki2140]

Lol mte he's Sorey's soulmate no matter how you slice it. Barely tried to hide it.

[@kap1618]

I really hated Rose. The game bends over backwards to not critique her or her organization which is ironic because Vesperia does that very thing with Yuri's vigilantism

[@SongokuJidai]

Fantastic video. I don't like Zestiria as a game or as a tales game but I won't deny it has its charms. I beat it twice fully so here are my thoughts: * Edna is by far the best party member in terms of personality but its kind of dampened when you realise she's basically just Toph * The All-Divide is useful for things like building up massive combos either for the achievement or other things like bonus EXP or grade on a boss. It's not meant to be used as a crutch. * That menu with the extra skills is lethal. If you're not paying attention, you can accidentally activate some really nasty nerfs thinking they are buffs. There is an all divide skill that you can set and forget that makes the final boss (bullet armitization bit) literally impossible. This got a lot of players including me the first time round. * I don't like how the world's got bigger and barren since Xillia. The sense of scale you got in Symphonia, Vesperia and Graces was great, as well as the environmental design. I can often tell which cave of many someone is in from a screenshot just due to how the world looks. The rest of the games now just look sort of samey. * Same with titles. Graces had the best title system hands down. * Ram you can't make a point of using someone else's save file to have an easy easy story only run and then not editing it to have more grade. You may as well just start a fresh save if you only ended with 390. * You can actually kill Eizen far earlier than the bit where Edna agrees it's for the best. And she refuses to join your party for the fight if you do it before she's ready. This was really fucking cool and I'd like to see more games do this. * The water temple was the worst tales dungeon I ever played and that includes the one in Graces where you have to run across the entire thing 4x to swap out and replace dead batteries in Telos Astue. * Berseria makes a lot of the world building in Zestiria make sense to the point where it's obvious the two were co-developed, but the tone of Zesty always feels off compared to Berseria. Like it was bad fanfiction of what came after that released before the OG story. It feels like it was make by someone who hated Berseria at times since the story just falls apart and the lore can't carry it. * I always thought Sorey looked like Zac Efron and it was really distracting during certain parts of the game. I also thought Rose was a massive nothing burger and spent all game waiting for her to get character development. I don't even remember what Lilahs backstory was, I must have zoned out by that cutscene or skipped it. Can't wait for the video on Berseria.

[@MrWanton16]

tbf even a dampened toph is still pretty neat

[@Grey-i2o]

Junpei pfp based

[@0ctopusComp1etely]

I agree with... basically all these points, yeah. The main three things I remember from the game are: I liked + liked playing as Edna, The soundtrack was absolutely phenomenal sometimes, and the water dungeon is easily the worst experience I've ever had in a Tales of game, though I haven't played a lot of the older titles pre-Symphonia. The rest is a bizarre mix of boredom, moments that should have been cool but fell flat, and apathy and disappointment so strong that I can barely remember more than one plotpoint from probably every ten hours of gameplay. Oh, I guess I do remember one more thing: It was prohibitively expensive to fast travel until so late in the game that it might as well not have even been included. Maybe that was just my experience, but I remember it being a particularly infuriating snub.

[@MitoRequiem]

You know my hatred for Zesitira was totally fueled by me saying "Damn its unfortunate Alisha didnt get to stay I enjoyed her moveset and like her design" by several people telling me "Rose is better anyways" didn't help me enjoy Rose and didn't help me enjoy the game lol

[@Fireshot844]

The fact that there was so much outrage, they made a consolation DLC to appease fans but it still didn’t shape up to be acceptable. Misleading marketing with the bait and switch just killed the game for me.

[@shama1239]

What really kills me about Zestiria is that it has some good ideas. The skill system with equipment customization is really in depth and fascinating, and I feel like it could EASILY become someone's favorite system. But the design is so obtuse. The game doesn't explain it well, with a majority of the explanation being optional skits, and even then the game actively works against you to make good gear. To get better gear, you need a lot of the same type of gear. But having more inventory lowers the drop rate, which already feels really low? And to get specific builds you need enemies to be in a sort of specific level range to get the right drop. You can manipulate it with Normins, but the game also lets you manipulate it with difficulty. But to get the best odds at the best equipment you need to be on the hardest difficulty. That can make it harder to get specific levels for the drops you want. Zestiria is just a frustrating game to play, because trying to engage with the mechanics makes you feel like the game doesn't want you to engage with them.

[@thebuckeyegamer7443]

Zestiria was my first tales game. Probably not the best place to start, but I’m glad it was my start. It actually came into my life during a very difficult time and was a great distraction when I needed it. Zestiria is far from my favorite, but I’m grateful that this game exists

[@TiefseeToaster]

it feels refreshing to see someone so openly admit to their mistakes (like the Gald Style button) but still be so committed to replay the game several times and getting footage by using another persons save file

[@joejunior5991]

I hate that they advertised that Alisha being Heroine for the series before get sideline and replace by much inferior Rose who is Mary Sue in every way, the DLC is by far the worst as Rose being total jerk towards Alisha for no reason at all.

[@chookster1583]

I FOUND THE RAMZIES LONG VIDEO CHANNEL

[@Logandroid]

Super weird how he doesn't advertise this channel on his main one. So much effort to put into videos on a channel that no one knows exists.

[@BlowBow2]

Wait, it's actually his channel? I thought that it might be just some stolen content. There are at least some jokes that I defenitely remember word for word.

[@Blarglesnarfe]

I felt like I was going crazy as someone who finds Ram's main videos really, really, really, really annoying.

[@ShadowoftheMask]

Fans having drama about two female leads feels weird when most popular ship seems to be with Mikleo anyway

[@Mzaleyao]

YES

[@MultiBoxingKid]

It’s not really a ship problem since everyone knows that even game itself ships Mikleo and Sorey, it’s the two characters that are the problem and how the story uses them.

[@ifrit1937]

Also...as for the reason why they decided to drop Alisha for Rose I feel it was less due to story reasons or Baba liked Rose over Alisha (well...maybe that was part of it as they easily could've altered the 3rd act so you could choose to finish the game with either Rose or Alisha with both being able to Armitize) and more so due to the fact that the battle system was made with 2 humans and 2 seraphs in mind and on the world map they had Sorey and either Rose or Alisha follow him while the Seraphs are inside Sorey and they didn't want to add a 3rd or 4th human to create a human centipede walking around the map, possibly getting stuck on things...it feels more the map issue may have been why they went this way as they easily could've had you swap Sorey and Alisha or Rose with other humans in the party (Alisha and a 4th human member) and then the Seraphs with each other (which they already do)...Hell they easily could've used Sergei and given Rolance a playable character as Hyland had Alisha and Sorey and Rose don't really align with either country in any major way if I'm right and are more neutral parties...at most they may have needed to change Sergei's weapon from a 1 handed sword to something different to give him a more unique playstyle from Sorey (say an 1 handed axe, a 2 handed axe, or mace and shield or something similar to have 2 tanky humans (Sergei and Alisha) and 2 fast dps focused humans (Sorey and Rose) while the Seraphs all fit the magic knight role for their respective element). I am not a game designer but even I thought this out within minutes after beating the game so why they didn't think to change to story a bit to make the playable characters like this is beyond me. Hell if they didn't make him a Seraph and he wasn't in Berseria making Zavied a human that used the gun would've been a better idea tbh and they could've kept Dezel alive and played as is...or I guess they could've made Dezel a human instead and used whips/the pendulum whereas Zavied was a seraph that shot wind bullets from the gun if they wanted to keep him for Berseria (since he'd need to be a Seraph to be in both games). Of course the main story also needed a lot more work as I mentioned in my other comment so combine the above with my other comment and Zesty could've been a good game rather than the mediocre game it is now.

[@Rahbiel_AotD]

I feel like Armatization is the main mechanic holding this game back, you could almost say it’s a crutch because everything that’s kinda eh about the game mechanics-skill and armor systems, the low stat totals (gald style not withstanding), individual character artes vs armatized artes and forced team set-ups with 2 humans and 2 serephim- all comes back to the Armatization feature that practically needs to be exploited in every regard to have any fun with this game, or at least on the more challenging parts.

[@Matti0097]

One of the biggest issues of Zestiria is that the combat is simply awful, it doesn't feel rewarding, it's not fun and definitely not balanced, it just feels like a chore, especially at the highest difficulties (which you are encouraged to play at because you get better drops).

[@Cloke100]

I like Zestiria and am aware of the flaws, its unfortunate how much of a mess it turned into. The whole Alisha debouche was a knife to the gut, I play the Tales of Titles with friends (its a defining feature for us) so the situation with her removal was dreadful, especially seeing how she was intended to be in the game til the end; seeing her gear in shop throughout the playthrough. Zestiria is among the titles that could use a remake, just unlike with most cases it would be to rewrite the story. I appreciate the attempt zestX made with some things. All that said, the death threats were never warranted.

[@ifrit1937]

Yea the game could definitely use a story rewrite. Zesty the X anime imo did a better job with the story and actually made Heldalf feel like he was doing more/an actual threat unlike the game but the anime also cut out one of the interesting aspects of the game: the elemental dungeons. A remake that made Heldalf and the other villains do more (or make a few new ones who align with Heldalf rather than go do their own things like Lunarre and Matran and are more like the God Generals/Desian Grand Cardinals/Berseria's order of Shepard/Squires) and have the elemental dungeons and rework combat a bit so when armitized players 3 and 4 play as the unarmitized Seraphs OR they add 2 new playable humans (or 1 new playable human and Alsiha being upgraded to being able to armitize) and for each of the 4 playable slots you have either a human or seraph in combat that are attached to each other (can swap the seraphs around to other humans or swap the human and seraph mid combat for who you control of those...basically if you wanted to play Lailah but she's assigned to Sorey you'd need to reassign her to whatever human would be on the player 2 slot with that human's seraph and then swap Lailah and that human for who you fight on field. When armitizing it'd be with the Seraph that the character has been assigned with). A complete rework/simplification of the skill/equipment system by at the very least to get the x2/x3 multiplier for skills via sacrificing gear with the skill you want to the Lord of the land after leveling it up rather than going to +99 they can do it to no more than +5 or +10 instead as refining 99 times is a pain in the ass and can easily lead to mistakes as the skills could easily override the skill you want to keep with how it was handled in the game we got. Fixing the battle camera would be the other thing we'd need as it was complete ass. If all the above were fixed at the very least it'd bring the game from bottom of the barrel of the series or a 5 or 6/10 game to about a 7.5/10 game or middle of the pack in the Tales series at bare minimum.

[@Cloke100]

@@ifrit1937 nothing but facts my guy

[@mikedimples]

The enemy design at 6:35 is so satisfying to look at. Great analysis btw

[@longforari]

Random note but during the war scene the dragon isn't actually summoned. There are two seraphim sibling NPCs near where you can initiate the bad ending. They slowly begin to get more and more affected by the Malevolence as you go through the game, and obviously once Heldalf is there they get fully contaminated and eventually fuse together to become the dragon during the war. It's pretty sad, but also needlessly confusing to the average person that doesn't talk to every NPC.

[@aokyoutsuki7744]

OOOOH is that what the bad ending was? i never found out what the ending was supposed to tell, it was the party chilling in a rainy cabin that ended with a dragon shadowing the area... and das eet

[@longforari]

@@aokyoutsuki7744 Actually no! The bad ending is simply from the cast not realizing Maotelus is being corrupted, so they celebrate too early after killing Heldalf and they slowly realize Maotelus is still destroying the world as shown by the perpetual storm and looming shadow. I think it's also meant to imply that the Malevolence is affecting the Seraphim cast as Dezel and Edna act even more awful than their usual selves, but that's honestly a bit more confusing in terms of how it's framed.

[@aokyoutsuki7744]

@@longforari i see i see..

[@RollingBoneWheel]

Subbing just for that Mason joke at the end, that's commitment to the bit. I mean MASOOOOOON.

[@WowlxX]

You make really great and funny reviews dude I hope you blow up and can't wait for your next ones

[@TheHorrorHistorian]

First video I've seen of yours. Solid work

[@Pissant950]

this was the first tales of game i played in 2017, ive played so many others over the years and zest still holds a special place in my heart

[@ifrit1937]

The biggest issue with this game wasn't event he Alisha controversy but the story itself is directionless for 90% of the game...it's literally you (Sorey) can see Seraphs and become the Shepard due to that and are told about the Lord of Calamity briefly and then told by Lailah to travel and get to know the world without any real direction on what to do after that until you get to 90% fo the way through the game and the Lord of Calamity (Heldaf/Kittybeard) finally does something that causes Sorey to go take him on at the final 10% mark of the game (something any other jrpg and all other Tales games would've done within the first 10% point of the story of their games...I don't know what the writers were doing). And as for the antagonists there were 4 main ones and only 2 play a role in the main story while the other 2 aren't even connected ot the other 2 and have little to no real motivation for what they do (1's insane, the other just turns up as evil for some random reason) and the 2 main enemies (Kittybeard and Symonne) don't really even have any motivation besides wanting to get himself killed for Kittybeard so he does something late game to piss of Sorey (the main character) and then following the Lord of Calamity for Symonne. It was just half assed in the end with only maybe FFXV being as bad. Oh and then the orbs that were said to be part of a side quest and show's Kittybeard's past...ya they became mandatory at the 11th hour of the story and the story won't progress until you get all of them. How they handled Alisha was stupid as well but the main story itself was just nonexistent...hell the game's side quests were all far better/more interesting than the main story tbh. And the other main issues were the skill system was trash (you more or less were on point with how annoying it was and explained), the camera was complete ass in combat (the entire earth temple fight I got a face full of minotaur crotch as it pinned me against a wall and the camera prioritizes showing the enemy over the player), battle maps could glitch in corridors and the field may separate you from the enemy, Armatus ruined 4 player multiplayer (at best you could do 2 player fine if one player plays Sorey and the other Rose/Alsiha as the seraph partner for Sorey/Rose fuses with them thus making player 3 and 4 bystanders when they use Armatus/DBZ style fusion, and a few other minor issues that also compound to be annoying as fuck. Throw in I don't liek the arte tree style of combat that Zestiria (as well as Graces and Berseria use) much in comparison to Tales classic combat system where you used artes via the directional stick plus artes button input (Smash Bros inputs to put it simply as that's an example most people probably played at one point). Best thing about Zesty was the sub quests as I mentioned before and half the cast was a lot of fun but that's about it. Thankfully Tales wound up releasing a much better game right after with Berseria where outside of the fact I just don't like arte trees much (well more so I prefer the old combat system far more as you could use whatever arte you wanted whenever you wanted without needing to go through other artes/actions to get to it that the arte tree combat forces you to go through) the game did everything much better than Zesty and most games in the series (is my 2nd favorite game after Symphonia when considering all aspects of the game, but the story in particular is the 2nd best after Symphonia imo and it has the best characters in the series imo mainly due to Rokuro and Eizen carrying the party quite a bit...only ther game that can compare in the series would be Tales of the Abyss imo) and even Arise is much better (granted it was a bit disappointing after how good Berseria was though in terms of story and sub quest quality...art and graphics are the best in the series though and I like the combat system more than Zesty/Bersy/Graces due to it not having any arte trees...the story was also very good until the second half and the twist which imo hurt the game...should've just played the story and the villains straight without the twist and Arise would have been a far better story than what we got even if it would've been predictable/generic. Ally AI and AI management of Arise was also trash (Zesty was abit better even in this regard) but enemy AI was drastically improved to be far more aggressive on each difficulty in comparision to the same difficulty in other games and it fixed 1 issue I've had with the series for a long while: the game was much more of a challenge than the past 5 or so games even on their hardest difficulties...too many games have been piss easy before Arise and it made the series a bit boring even though it is my favorite series (mainly cause I like the Smash Bros/fighting game like combat from the older games). On another note now that I got to the dlc section of the video...man you are unfortunate indeed with this game. As for why due to how much backlash the Alisha dlc got in Japan Namco actually gave the dlc away for free for a limited time (think the first 3 months or so) or if you pre ordered the game so since you bought it only after beating the game much later after release you got stuck shoving out about $12 or so for what many of us got for free on release.

[@ng952]

You have no Idea how bad it is. It's possible to fight the final boss hours early. And it's really hard. But if you win you get the bad ending. Yeah. Being good at the game makes the game worse. If that's not meta-commentary on the game I don't know what else is.

[@andinuruljihad2912]

i'm just learning now that there are multiple endings

[@Mr._Matt]

I despise a lot about this game...especially Rose. However, I adore Edna. She's such a fun Tales character.

[@kissairashaegawa8555]

1. Great Video!👍 2. I didn't exactly play this one. This one is what started me watching Shirrako. 3. I felt the same about Rose. Not that she was annoying but how she was just pushed into the story. When the previous character Alisha fit perfectly already. And nothing truly major stopped her from coming with us since we had royalty travel with us before in Tales Of games. 4. Now that you say it. It is kinda of weird how she is literally a assassin with no malevolence. I mean with that the malevolence might as well be the penance stare.(Note: In some iterations of Ghost Rider a person can resist the penance stare if they felt they've done nothing wrong. Like Punisher.) 5. My first played and beaten Tales Of was Vespiria. My second one that I'm still playing is Arise. Truthfully out of them that I played my favorite is Arise. I just love the design and gameplay.

[@terranghost5432]

The game was basically sabotaged by Hideo Bab's outrageous simping for Rose. So you know, controversial & frustrating is probably an understatement to how it affected the Tales Of series as a whole.

[@YTHandlesBlow]

Haha yeah, considering this "Tales Of" was the first multiplatform release title too didnt help the image of the brand much. I remember it releasing on Steam along side the ps4 date and many legacy fans didnt like it for it was mixed for awhile then it became many newcomers 1st title boosting it up to positive

[@ShadowoftheMask]

Accidental challenge run IS hilarious yeah

[@chindu5645]

If I could like a video more than once, this would certainly be the one! I freakin' love your channel! (also, I too am a big LittleKuriboh fan and was ecstatic to hear Martin's voice acting in the game!)

[@TheDogFacedGamer]

Oh my god… I just played this game, got to the final boss and could not beat him. I spent hours failing and trying every tactic I could find online. Watching your video I realized I had Gald Style on throughout my entire playthrough.

[@kiras4gi]

Man, how glad I am that I dropped this game before Rose appears for good

[@annek9027]

A++ commentary, watching this made me want to play this cursed game again lmao. i only played it because i love berseria so much (got into tales like 3 years ago) and it was an experience...

[@ixiahj]

Same thing happened to me in Chrono Trigger. There's an accessory called Wallet, I think, and when its equipped, any exp you get turns in to gold. You get more gold per fight but no exp to level up. I forgot it was equipped up to the Black Omen part.

[@darkrulerbob]

I didn't know the backstory of the behinds the scenes with rose. I always wondered why they just didn't cut the princess and make rose only gurl. I don't get it.

[@Namingway248]

That in-game description for all-divide is so bad and creates a misunderstanding I've never had, there's no way the description was translated that way in other entries.

[@criminalsen2441]

I was half asleep when I put this on and thought the Shinji outfit was some kind of edit you'd done.. then when I realized it was his actual clothes, I thought 'well maybe it's just similar looking and my mind is playing tricks on me?' It was just.. so inconceivable to me for some reason The bunny ears seemed perfectly normal though lol

[@weglarz]

Pretty underrated game imo. Way better than people say. The amount of hate it gets is absurd. It’s still a competent tales game. Nowhere near the top, but still enjoyable.

[@nickwick35]

Made better by playing Berseria too.

[@BarrieFaire]

Honestly it was my first and I liked it pretty well. Though personally liked this more than the other Tales games besides when I got to do Arise.

[@RiseAgainst369]

@@nickwick35 How does it compare to Berseria though? I am deep into the game and may play Zest again just for Zaveid's story after abandoning it cos I just didnt like Sorey.

[@nickwick35]

@@RiseAgainst369 I liked it just as much as Berseria honestly. Once you get the full story, it’s so much more enjoyable. I like to think of these games as a duology and it made the whole experience that much better. Sorey isn’t my favorite main character but I started liking him much more towards the end of Zest. Yeah he can be way too nice and optimistic but he’s just trying to do his best.

[@kainrich6183]

And the OPENING!!!!!!

[@truegodofdestruction]

I remember playing Zestiria, main thing I hated was the damn water temple but otherwise I enjoyed the game even when I couldn't beat the final boss and took literal YEARS for me to finally decide to do it and when I did it all by myself, was finally able to see the ending. Definitely felt like when the anime was airing it was better than the game, especially S2. I still love the game and think it's underrated but I still recommend watching the anime instead to enjoy the story especially from the changes the anime has that are executed better than the game did imo.

[@BARALover96]

I recently played this game I didn’t know about the controversies but I really hated how Alysha was handled and when I found out that once she leaves she doesn’t come back left a huge sour taste in my mouth. Also just hated the combat tbh at the time I had only played symphonia, abyss, vesperia and some of world and I enjoyed them all. Graces remaster is coming soon so I can’t wait to play that one for the first time. Havnt played Beseria yet or Arise but I heard that one of a huge disappointment. But yeah I wasn’t a fan of the combat in Zesteris this was the first time I was going to get my brother to play with me coop since is one of the big things I always loved about tales of games but man I made a bad choice for his first tales game experience.

[@kissairashaegawa8555]

38:48 Me:When we're done we leave you here. 39:00 Me: And now you'll have company.

[@mysticmallachi777]

My partner and I played this co-op when it was new and had a pretty good time. I played as Rose for the most part, because screw snake-type monsters the most.

[@reygunpocket]

Well atleast you can say you fought most of Zesteria with basically LV1 stats through most of it thanks to thats gold title lol.

[@samflood5631]

What are your thoughts on both Tales of Berseria and Tales of Arise?

[@turquoisemoon3654]

Rest in peace, Miss Mutsumi Inomata, original character designer for Tales of Zestiria. She designed characters for various Tales and non-Tales games and anime... and her loss is a loss that will forever be immortalized. Her creative genius shines in Tales of Destiny... and hopefully, people can appreciate people like her and the staff, producers, musicians, and game engineers more for the risks they take rather than how they compare with other games out there. People hate generic- but they always raise standards that seem to impose only preferences and biases from their favorites. That's a real shame. And Mr. Go Shiina... for what it's worth, it's worth mentioning that his contribution to Zestiria's musicality is incomparably immense. I'm happy that his work in Demonslayer's OST gave him the credit he's long deserved. I'm glad I was able to experience his and Miss Inomata's genius through Zestiria.

[@Yoyoze]

I remember playing this game years ago, and the only thing that stayed in my mind was Ednas character and a few (outstanding) music tracks. I literally could not recall any plot details past Alisha leaving and it keeps mushing together with Berserias story (which I actually enjoyed pretty much) within my headspace, which does makes sense, but it tells a lot about how bad Zestirias storytelling and character development is to me

[@leafia133]

The equipment system is so bad in this game it’s so confusing 😂. But I will say everyone has horrible experience with the AI but I guess I was lucky and never had a problem really 😂. The rose thing tho is explained but once again locked in skits people don’t generate malevolence if they truely believe in what they are doing

[@tartarusjojo3448]

Yeah for a instant I thought this was a ramzaes videos

[@Soltiange]

Thank god you said something I thought I was crazy

[@TiduLimar]

pretty sure there was just some content and channel restructuring and it..kind of is

[@TFStudios]

I love tales games, having gotten into it back in the gamecube era with symphonia. Zestetia however nearly broke me. I despised the new battle system, the old system was efficient with abyss doing it the best imo so the fact it was such a drastic change with so much explanation needed to try and understand it i purposely avoided fighting because it was so awful. Character wise they were just too bland to care about so i gave up playing it altogether. I eventually picked up berseria and fell in love with tales again but to this day i refuse to try zestetia again and it still holds a bad taste for me...

[@chasewood1562]

Sorry but your voice sounds a lot like Ram Revie to me lol

[@Logandroid]

It is him! I felt like I was going crazy, but after checking his Persona review it's 100% the same guy

[@manamaster6]

This was the first Tales of game that I dropped. I was loving it at the beginning despite how much it had changed in general since Vesperia, but then I just couldn't continue playing the game. It was nice to see how it ended.

[@SilverwindVtuber]

It's funny you mention the local co-op. I'm not sure that I would've been able to finish the game without it. Before playing it, I had already played through vesperia and xillia with a buddy. We teamed up again for this one. While it was fine enough, I'm not sure that I would've enjoyed it enough to finish had I played it solo.

[@juttatis]

I just want a tales game similar to Abyss, since Zestiria they feel so different.

[@TheDarkEnigma]

Zestiria was my introduction to final bosses becoming super bosses if you finish the bonus dungeon. Imagine my shock going back to fight the final boss thinking i needed to beat him again to make a new clear save (i was dumb) and got annihilated by a completely ridiculous final fight.

[@Alpheus_09C]

I got the game for 3$ and I was enjoying it a lot. I heard that people didn't like it but didn't think much of it. I finished the game and had a blast. The ending wrecked me, i remember crying while doing the yknow, the thing you need to do beat the final boss. I was doing that with tears in my eyes. My sister woke up and was getting snacks, oh yeah this was late in the night. And was wondering what was wrong with me. Ahh fun times. Love this game

[@GTTB-227]

The only thing that saves this game in my eyes and makes it remotely bearable to play is the existence of Zaveid and Edna.

[@Phantom6.6.6]

The bird is indeed the word I also think this is the only tales game where yiu can do a challenge run by accident. Cool by the way reaching that victory

[@FireTowerV]

I know your voice from somewhere by chance did you one talked about xenoblade and one talk about cheese with persona character?

[@Fireshot844]

I have never managed to get through this game because it’s so unpleasant to play. This era of Tales of is definitely a blight on my general appreciation of the series. I’m also a bit upset that Alisha is voiced by one of my favorite voice actresses, Alexis Tipton, and she just dips halfway through. Even the DLC story didn’t redeem it for me.

[@MsAlexthemaster]

This is oddly close to the plot of FF15, with the hero healer becoming the cursed baddie, the true king, you. Then you have to sleep for many years to purify the land

[@s3studios597]

One thing that annoyed me about Zesteria was the whole constant "hooman bad" thing the Malaks (yes, Malaks. It just sounds better to me) had going on. I haven't played Zesteria since 2016, but I remember they all just seemed to always look down on any human who lacked resonance, which was just irritating. Funny enough, despite Rose being a massive Mary Sue, I didn't hate her. Probably cuz I wasn't paying THAT much attention to the actual story and I enjoyed her play style. I also didn't play the DLC and I'm glad I didn't. She's just a complete bitch for no reason. Overall, I didn't hate the game, but I can understand why so many people do, and it's not one I feel compelled to go back to. I do hate the open world though, and how they handle Heldald in it. It's just stupid. Like, what's even the point? Why is he just standing there?

[@s3studios597]

Correction: I didn't hate Zesteria. Then I played Berseria, and it actively made me like Zesteria a whole lot less just because now I know what happens to Eizen and Laphicet.

[@OtakuMan05]

I don't know what you're talking about with Arise not feeling like a Tales game... It feels more like a Tales game to me than Zestiria ever did... Then again, I love Arise (my third favorite after Symphonia and Vesperia) and I absolutely hated Zestiria... Truth be told, Zestiria is the only Tales title I actually do hate and I HAVE played Hearts and Innocence...

[@MitoRequiem]

Well Hearts and Innocence are great so I don't get your point here

[@OtakuMan05]

@@MitoRequiem Everyone has different opinions, my friend... I did not like Hearts and Innocence felt lacking to me...

[@Namingway248]

@@OtakuMan05 If you played the ds versions I definitely agree, but the vita versions did a lot to make the games more fun and improve the story pacing imo. That being said, I could still understand seeing the characters and plots as a bit flatter than usual. Also, if I was going to pick a triverse entry to call bad it would be tempest, hands down.

[@eman4show]

I played berseria then zestiria, and I'll be honest I actually really enjoyed Zesteria. The story had more presence the berseria imo, and the fighting style wasnt pure artes to attack which i preferred. Berseria is obviously the better game but i really enjoyed zesteria

[@snazzydrew]

I wanted to like Zestaria.... I tried to like Zestaria.... I could not like Zestaria. Sorey is dope though. Alicia being kicked from the party really does sour the rest of the game from that point as Sorey and her actually had chemistry.

[@EthalixGaming]

at least when the dlc released it was free im not 100% sure if it was because of the backlash tho

[@BritishTeaFGC]

I haven’t watched the entire video yet so I’ll come back and update my post when I do but I just want to say that I stopped playing the game when I realised that the main characters look like they’re LARPers to every one else and it took me out of the game completely. I couldn’t see the game the same way after that

[@neorocket95]

That final boss is one of the few times I threw a controller. I had to go to Reddit to find a good cheese for it.

[@boomfanfic-a-latta8996]

OKAY BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT PAIN IN REGARDS TO MMD MODELS

[@Shiouro]

Yea i went back and wanted to play something on my ps4 same time as my ps5 late at night and it was perfect for that i enjoyed the story and the combat took awhile to get used to and i did it on the highest difficulty for first playthrough and it was still fun 😊 as a tales fan i think its good its very different doesnt make it bad though

[@DanielAner]

wait so he IS ramzies????

[@rinkitorirataki7488]

i have played many tales game but this game have one of the worst progress system through weapon and combine with the dps check final boss make it so miserable and on the other side if you understand the weapon system this game is a joke because the multiply x4 on element make even starting weapon can kill the final boss

[@travisporter8760]

You sound a lot like Ramzies?

[@Thegamefinder5]

I havent even made it 5 mins into the video and im sorry for your loss those 2 tales games being your first.

[@hekonaleeinos5510]

RIP Mason.

[@davidmaxwell4696]

I love Zestiria's characters and character dynamics, but the story and worldbuilding feels like a rough draft. There's good stuff there and I do like the story's overall themes, but it really, really needed more time in the oven to iron things out. All the controversy over Alisha is ridiculous though, Zestiria is hardly the first RPG to have party members that permanently leave part way through the game (Aerith most famously). It boggles the mind that even now, like a decade later, that it still hangs like a shadow over the whole game.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Okay, but Aerith was killed by the primary antagonist and her death was something that hung over the rest of the game. That event had serious narrative consequences and the main character didn't just get another girlfriend in a pink dress five minutes later. In this game they contrived a reason to have her leave and then her place was taken by a character with a similar design who was really obnoxious and had less involvement in the events that started the adventure. It's just not particularly compelling.

[@aokyoutsuki7744]

i feel like that just ignores the machinations each RPG went through to act out that, people were sad that aerith died and some sent stern words, but each director has their own vision and reason in acting it out, and the one given for Alisha just never sat well, and thats it

[@fz_dracohart1255]

Bruh don't compare Alisha's situation with Aerith. Aerith's departure is great and actually putting an impact on the story that can't be plugged by anyone else, Alisha's departure is so eh and her departure is basically instantly plugged by Rose who imo less compelling than Alisha. Aerith is WHAT YOU SHOULD DO when making a party member leaves, Alisha is WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO when making them permanently leaves.

[@charaznable8072]

Awww man this game annoyed me so much, coming off the heels of Xillia I was expecting so much but got serve with mediocre lukewarm cliche tap water. Also I don't get all the hate for Rose she was ok, all the characters in this game are just so ok... Damn is this game so bland.

[@alexandreturcotte6411]

All I can see is the Eva costumes

[@Iamtruerevelation]

Ramzies ?

[@Blatantlyrude]

one party member switch I never quite liked was Shana for Miranda in Legend of Dragoon. But, still one of my favorite games

[@c.l.8213]

One of those games that was super forgettable for me. I think I finished it.... 🤔

[@BananaDangoGreyrat]

I still don't understand why so many people dislike Rose just for replacing Alisha. It's like, what's the character's fault? Instead of appreciating her for who she is, you guys do exactly what she says and try to make her fill the same role as the princess. You may not like her as a character, but 99% of the time you just take out your frustration of losing the princess on her

[@thelaughingdragon32]

The princess should have stayed.

[@lightzthestarz]

@@thelaughingdragon32no one’s disagreeing here, but it is so weird to take that hate out on Rose

[@wombat4583]

@@lightzthestarz I agree she's her own character. She'll never fit into another role because she's herself, but I think a lot of people have associated distaste. That is to say that while they recognize she's another character, her story association is hard to ignore for many as a 'game replacement'. As a player people are going to notice. It's like when something bad happens to you and you associate things around you into that horrible memory that was perfectly fine before even if those things weren't the problem.

[@kap1618]

The problem for me is her character. The "noble assassin," group is perfect for deconstruction but they play it straight and it comes off as the game refusing to criticize her or her actions.

[@comyuse9103]

@@kap1618 thats basically everything about zestiria, though. it all feels so incredibly sanitized, especially compared to berseria.

[@Mzaleyao]

My absolute favourite Tales of-game! Loved the transformation system in game, although cheeseable. Relationship between Sorey and Mikelo is 👌 But Rose can absolutely eat a turd, dunno why she was there. Also, descriptions are stupid and wonderful. English dub is trash. Twins are the best. Arte-system is the most complicated but also the most flexible and fun one! Edit: 26 minutes in and I remember why I absolutely love this game. It's so stupid and the characters are so loveable!

[@joshakins4923]

Next to berseria pls

[@wiletheridge88]

It's not the best game but I still love it lol

[@raulrojas9253]

Is this guy....RamZes?

[@manamaster6]

Damn, I was not expecting to listen to the Ram guy in this video saying my exact same feelings towards this game in the first like 3 minutes.

[@preposteroussvideos]

Overhated fr

[@palmfruits3023]

Finally someone making a good video for that god forsaken game. One of the rare I've rage quit because it was that boring. Thanks.

[@CP9NASHY]

Preferred rose, I hated alisha tbh

[@ladyviren]

Sormik ftw, Rose and Alisha never had a chance. The one paired with sorey for ship marketing has always been mikleo. But that rose hate was interesting because I liked rose more than alisha. And I knew abt the alisha controversy, but I thought since rose x alisha is popular there was no bad blood. Guess I was wrong lmao.

[@Czarniak4]

Actually Rose was my favorite character in this game, while Alysha was probably the most boring one out of all the "Tales of" games I've played...

[@Blatantlyrude]

And yeah, Arise feels like a half assed star Ocean game that borrows the two worlds concept from Xillia. I'd say Symphonia as well, but Dana etc is not quite as entertained as Tethealla

[@ZellyTheFangirl]

All the Rose v Alisha drama and behind the scenes contraversies were news to me. So all I knew when I played Zestiria for the first time was that first you had Alisha for a while, and then you get Rose to permanently fill the spot later. That being said, I honestly prefer Rose. She felt like a better match for Sorey, bringing a more grounded realistic perspective and someone who can get her hands dirty to balance out Sorey's optimism and need to remain pure. I can't speak to her AI since it's been a long time since I even touched the game, but I found her a blast to play as. The character I DID have a problem with though was Zaveid. You talk about Rose being a replacement for Alisha, but she has an entirely unique combat style with her own weapons all her own when compared to the princess, making her feel like her own person. Dezel was wasted potential with a tragic backstory hastily thrown at the player five minutes before he dies, and the very next morning Zaveid rolls up with the exact same weapon and move set and immediately fills Dezel's place. When you lose Alisha, you FEEL that absence in your limited combat party until Rose joins. Everyone has a scene of being sad about Dezel the night he dies, and that's the last he's ever mentioned. The next morning you roll out with a full party and a new wind seraph using Dezel's gear and wearing his hat and no impact is ever felt with his loss.

[@RaidenKaiser]

Even without the drama you couldn't save this game the combat is bad,the story is bad, the only good part is the world design that's it.

[@36inc]

Im sorry you cant read.

[@Blatantlyrude]

Thank you, someone who agrees Arise feels like a soulless tales game. Flashy soulless combat that steals the two worlds from Xillia. I'd say symphonia but they're not nearly as entwined as Tethealla et all

[@ddlc_monika]

how the fuck do you play through that heap of shit three times just get vesperia DE and call it a day, never think of zestiria ever again

[@turquoisemoon3654]

WOW... why can't Vesperians forget how Baba replaced their producer, and THAT has made them so sour they just literally fill every comment section with "Just get Vesperia DE" blah blah blah. For the record- and youtube will bear this out- Vesperia DE is the ONLY Tales game that benefited so MUCH from the hate on Zestiria since the same bashers and critics have apparently always said the exact same things, use the same links, and cut and paste their complaints from similar sources- like they've massively agreed among themselves that this is the best way to make Vesperia get the attention they think it deserved. Fun Fact: H. Baba worked as Vesperia's marketing director during Vesperia's initial launch. When that game had its "problems" and issues, they decided to blame it on the platform. Nintendo Switch sort of "rescued" Vesperia and made it more available, selling more via this platform. But if we look at the sales records, Vesperia wasn't even the "hottest" Tales game- it was Tales of Destiny- and the one who directed that game was H. Baba too, producer of Zestiria.

[@MarioSonic46]

@@turquoisemoon3654 I'm just gonna say this. Zestiria is the only Tales game that I straight up did not enjoy regardless of how Vesperia faired in the past.

[@turquoisemoon3654]

@@MarioSonic46 Much like how fvcking overrated the super mario bros game is, right? I feel like an idiot playing that game- but who cares about my opinion?

[@MarioSonic46]

@@turquoisemoon3654 You know that trying to attack other game franchises isn't going to make Zestiria a better game right? Mario games don't even play the same way as Tales of, so why even bring it up? If what you say is true and people don't care about your opinion, then I can kinda see why.

[@turquoisemoon3654]

@@MarioSonic46 You sound like a kid. You say you don't enjoy a game and it's a fair opinion, I say I don't like YOUR game and it's attacking. The truth is- no one cares about your opinion on Zestiria either, dude.