Tales of Zestiria Review (PS3, PS4, PC)

            Ah, Tales of Zestiria. Practically every recent title in the series, especially this one, has seen some form of controversy or another among the fans. I’ve spent the time up until the American release with nothing but mixed feelings about what I’ve been hearing in regards to this title. Now that I’m about 15 hours into the game, I can confidently say that Tales of Zestiria is one of the best modern titles in the series (except for maybe Graces or Vesperia).

A Look at the Modern Tales of… games

            Many would say that after Tales of Vesperia, Namco’s JRPG series began to decline in quality. With Zestiria just recently released, let’s take a quick look at these games and their flaws.

Tales of Symphonia Review (PS3 Chronicles Version)

Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo Gamecube is often regarded as one of, if not THE best game in the Namco's Tales franchise. And in 2014, it (alongside with its sequel, Dawn of the New World) received a remaster for the PS3 called Tales of Symphonia Chronicles. During the transition, it also received several new bonuses that were previously exclusive to the Japanese PS2 version. Despite the battle system showing its age, Tales of Symphonia is still worth playing.

Tales of Hearts R Review (PS Vita)

            In April of 2014, something that nobody saw coming happened: Tales of Hearts R was announced to be coming to the West. Considering the fact that the Vita was and is doing poorly worldwide, as well as the niche status of the series, it’s a miracle the game made it over to begin with. And though its flaws prevent it from surpassing the likes of Xillia 2, it’s still a worthy entry in the series.

Tales of Xillia 2 Review (PS3)

            WARNING: There will be minor spoilers for both Xillia 1 and Xillia 2. One year later, and now we finally have the sequel to 2013’s Tales of Xillia. This particular entry brings back a lot of things from its prequel, right down to the exact same environments, but it brings a lot of new things to the table that make it vastly superior in my opinion.

Tales of the Abyss Review (PS2/3DS)

            On a whim, I purchased Tales of the Abyss for the PS2 near the end of sophomore year of high school. What I didn’t know was that this game wasn’t your average RPG in terms of plot. And after getting past the first major plot twists, I couldn’t put the game down. However, most people can’t make it past the early parts due to the protagonist Luke. I’ll be blunt here: he starts off as an unbearable selfish asshole who’s spoiled. But that all changes. If you can bear with it for the first bit of the game, you’ll go on to see some of the best character development in an RPG.

Tales of Zestiria Impressions

            I admit that I haven’t been really keeping up with info from Tales of Zestiria recently, but what I HAVE seen interests me.
UPDATE: Battles REALLY ARE seamless! There won't be any transitions between battles, and the terrain also affects the battle. Now I'm even more hyped for the game.

Tales of Xillia Review (PS3)

            Namco’s Tales series is an Action RPG franchise that started with Tales of Phantasia, released in Japan in 1995. Since then, the series has become one of the most popular RPGs in Japan, just behind Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. In America, the series is much more niche and obscure, with many titles being skipped over completely and unreleased here. However, Namco seems to be striving to change that fact, and we now have Tales of Xillia, released back in August of 2013, and its sequel coming in the same month this year.