Tales of Zestiria - PlayStation 3

Very... plainsy. The camera angles are a bit iffy at first but I adjusted to them. The new battle system is different from previous entries and it offers few a challenges in movement and gameplay but is easily adjusted to. Everything else is very Tales. The plot and main character was pretty much expected of Tales. Good guy hero with a few inner emotional and psychological issues... and a sword. Why do they all have swords? Rose is also pretty much as what was expected ignoring the whole "stabby stabby" part. Someone dies, monsters, gald, corrupt adults, hints of homosexuality, a slightly forced/foreseen plot twist, a cloudcuckoolander and copious amounts of character development. Apparently Namco Bandai thought it was risky enough to experiment in gameplay and left plot and characters alone. That is about it. tl;dr It is a solid game. Expect bigger changes in gameplay, but don't expect huge improvements. The OP is instrumental only due to an issue on price for vocals overseas. :(

Tales games, like the are like the Ar-series, e.g. Ar tonelico. For the most part I liked these games, but the stories haven't been as memorable as previous ones. However, it's not bad and it's the combat system which pulls me in. I used to compare the Tales series to the Star Ocean series, both in exploration and in combat --except Star Ocean was 3D and Tales was more beat-em-up. The two seem a bit more similar now. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Some other review have pointed out that the camera was bad, but it hasn't turned me off yet.

I personally kind of take to the Tales series like comfort food a bit. I've gotten all of the main series since Tales of Phantasia (with some of the side games) and they can be up and down in quality. I think this one is good if not great. It's got a great cast, which is one of my main reasons for getting the series (who doesn't love the skits?), soundtrack and battle mechanics. The thing that seems weird is how Alisha kind of drops out of the picture, and the DLC featuring her doesn't do great in explaining/justifying that part. There is also the slow build up, which is getting a tiny bit annoying in JRPG. I'd say it's a good entry, but not needed in the collection if you want to skip this one for something else. One thing I would add is there seems to be optimization issues with the game engine. It may be from my PS3 version, as the game is also available for PS4, but the game will chug at times. Given the weirdness with the DLC I wouldn't be surprised if this entry was a bit rushed out the door.

The battle system is more fluid. The graphics are a lot better. I'm only about 3 hours in but so far it's been a blast just like most of the other Tales series. If you enjoy RPGs then don't let this one slip away, I almost made that mistake with Tales of Graces F. I was never interested because I'm not into the whole anime looking type but I'm glad I didn't let that stop me because now I'm hooked on this amazing series!

25 hours into the game and the story is genetic and has not really stood out, but the characters are likable. The game play itself is great and the battle system is fun once you learn it. My biggest issue is the camera angle can become painful at times during battle when your character gets near a wall.

Tales of Zestiria has a good back story and a good story going forward, the action and fight scenes (mystic artes in particular) is cheapened by shortening sequences and not eliminating the processes in which it could show in the battlefield, instead it cuts to a cutscene and show that you damaged your foe. But besides nitpicking, it is a fantastic game.

Tales of Zestiria carries on the tradition of the Tales series by being a fully packed, immersive, beautiful and action packed RPG. Whether you're a fan of the Tales series or just looking for a RPG with action elements, this is a highly recommended purchase.

Another entry into the Tales franchise. Chances are if you've played the other ones, you'll like this one too. It's more of the same- for better or worse.