Man..... I disagree with a few things but when you admitted to naming your child after a tales of xillia character.... I did the same thing. My sons name is maxwell.
My husband loved the name Eizen so of course that’s our sons name. If we’re fortunate enough to have another baby; Maxwell, Estelle and Natalia are some of my favorite names to consider.
Tales of the Abyss has one of the BEST stories in a Tales game. I even watched the anime because it is SO GOOD. During my youth, it made me reflecr on my life of what it means to take responsibility for your actions and how it affects other people. The story of Luke CHANGED my life. Im not even joking lol
Same. Can't replay it today but Luke's story is really sound for self reflection and progressing with ideals around how your choices make a difference.
I remember when Graces f first game out, many people didn't like it and considered it one of the worst. Graces is not only my favorite Tales game but one of my favorite games of all time so it was really disappointing to learn about its reception. Thankfully in recent years people have drastically changed their opinion on the game and I now always see it high up on the rankings.
I think I'd appreciate the game more if the main antagonist and it's motivation wasn't like pulled outta the devs butts basically AFTER you basically defeated said main antagonist who was stuck in the "old friend" Richard for way too long and only after you basically "won the game" you get your explanation for why he or it was the way it was. Even Gaius from Xillia 1 and Muzet were better built up and planned for DESPITE also not being the originally planned main antagonist for the Xillia game before it got split up and the intended main antagonist, Origin, being pushed back and basically "forgotten".
The Main Protagonist has Vergils battle style and his brother a bloodborne style trickweapon whats not to love about it and a male jenova kind of Plot XD
Tales of Eternia was the reason I fell in love with RPG games. it's still my all time favorite. Mutsumi Inomat's artwork and the sprites captivated me so much I swore to become an artist and make my own stories when I was younger. I now sellf publish my own tales-esque Manga series and teach manga classes. I owe a lot to this game and series. I'm Happy you had a chance to play through these games as I have. Not a lot pf people know of or have played Eternia so I'm Happy to see it in top 3. I agree. It's top 3 of my tales list at #1. that being said, LMAO I am #8 of the 10 Tales of Players, I think that my attachment to Eternia let fall in love with Legendia. I get what you mean about the combat, but I still love it haha.
Ok Tales of Zestiria wasn't terribleeeee, it actually had a really profound emotional impact on me- I loved the dynamic between Sorey and Mikleo, and the score is actually one of the most beautiful scores I have ever listened to. But Vesperia is absolutely my favorite game of all time; it was such a core part of my childhood, and getting to hear the opening theme Ring A Bell live might have been one of the most rewarding moments of my life-
I personally loved the Zestiria cast and soundtrack too, it was just everything else I hated. I still have nightmares about the equipment system and hate how the battle system turns bosses into damage sponges that you need to turn half your party members into basically equipment to do enough damage to, and the main story was way too straightforward and boring. Which is a pity because when I had played it for the first time I thought that the world itself was so interesting and it just wound up feeling like wasted potential. Which I was proven right on with Berseria which fully showed said potential. I also ADORE Vesperia SM! It's in my top 3 for sure, what my fave is in that top 3 is always shifting based on my mood because it's so close. The only serious flaw I see in it is the third act feeling very disjointed from the rest plotwise.
I love Tales of Graces and even consider it possibly my favorite game of all time. However, it's fine it made it to 6 for you. The story is lacking, I agree, but man that cast is so fun to watch and that battle system satisfies aesthetically AND mechanically. Again, I can see where people may have issues with it, but it says a lot if I actually bother beating the game on the highest difficulty. If I had a daughter, I'd name her Sophie. No contest.
33:08~ I really, really, REALLY don't think it's ever fair to criticize a sequel for continuing the story of it's predecessor lol. It's not "baggage" ...it's a fucking *sequel.* Geez, what a thing to say... 🤦🏻♂️
ngl endlessly entertained by the fact that i went to go put on my jacket and while talking about entry 6, i see a clip of you with the same exact jacket.
Glad see Eternia getting some love and appreciation. It's also one of my top 3 (top 2 actually) and it is so underrated. So glad to see that it is one of your top Tales games.
The anime Gintama recognizes that the Tales of series is an obscure one. They always reference Dragon Quest or even mention Final Fantasy, so when they used Cress and Lloyd in one of their scenes I totally losed it. Phantasia was my first in the series and holds a special place in my heart (except for the SNES NA version)
Luke's transition from insufferable loser that needs a slap to insufferable emo kid loser that needs two slaps is truly the best character development of all time.
HEAVILY disagree with this. He goes from being a complete asshole to being a decent person, but that's it. It's nothing special. He's a good protag sure, not one of the stronger ones in the series though.
@@thebigchungus4515 Ain't no way someone named "bigchungus4515 is gonna talk. Berseria is literally known in the Tales community for best Story, protag, characters and much more. There's a reason almost everyone in the community has it as their favorite game.
@yaboilascall they are the worst for gameplay though. Most people talk about Abyss for its story, characters, and pacing (although I don't really like this either). I think the two world game design is objectively awful (compare to Eternia which is how you do it right, or even Phantasia). The backtracking from act 2.5 until the end is also lazy and awful As for graphics Arise is very good yes, but graphics are literally the bottom metric in any tierlist as they're only a bonus. Gameplay > Story > Music > Graphics
@@yaboilascallsaying Abyss has the best gameplay of every single entry is more deserving of "trash opinion". Tell me you haven't played many tales games without telling me you haven't played many tales games As for graphics, the last two games were developed on ps3 (ported to ps4), and Vesperia was 360 but had a graphics upgrade on the definitive edition. Arise was on the PS5 lol so obviously has an advantage. Here's the thing though, graphics are literally the bottom metric in any judgement. If you think graphics is the main metric lol
My very first Tales of game was Tales of Legendia, and i have very fond memories of it. At the time i loved the setting and OST, and almost all of my RPG experience was turn based so i remember having fun with the combat as well. All that being said i acknowledge that every other Tales games i've played is better but Legendia will always hold a special place in my heart for introducing me to the series.
My top 5 list. 1-Arise 2- Berseria 3-Graces F 4- Vesperia 5-Innocence. I still have to play Xillia's. As you maybe be wondering I totally disagreed about your Arise's opinion, but I consider myself a soulslike lover, maybe that's why I loved Arise so much while more conservative fans hated it.
@@teemootp yep, but it has a more action oriented battle + harder bosses with tons of HP + necessity of evasion through rolling in time, so the conservative fans judged as a "souls like gameplay and a rain of hate come out on the game
@@Hokaru11792 You didn't miss out. Edna is the only really good thing in the game, and as much as I love her, she's more like a rewrite of Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender, made to fit into Zestiria's setting.
Interesting! Tales of the Abyss was actually my intro to the series, I got it on the 3DS and it was one of those games going through it I was just like "wow this is one of the greatest games I've ever played" it's good to know other people feel the same way
Tales of Symphonia was such a game changer for me. Between the great story and characters, but the big thing was that I have a really hard time playing turn base RPGs now lol. Not having to sit there and get punched in my face since I can dodge was huge!
Tales of Eternia on 3rd place... you know what, I can totally accept that. Its hands down one of my favorite games, and I loved the graphics, and the combat system. And the story took me by surprise by how thought out it was. Seeing things happen from the perspective of the villain? Seeing it from the perspective of a random monster you killed super early in the game and probably never gave a second thought to? Thats some deep stuff that made you reconsider your perspective on your journey.
22:59 I can't agree about the characters in fact the characters are the ones that elevates the story. However I do agree that the cast takes time to actually get closer compared to other Tales of. Hence the skits also reflects that and the tone of the skits only get the lighten bits in later story or conditions to be made (I actually don't like we had to find conditions to trigger said scenes) where the cast feels more bonded than ever. They give each of the characters a moment to shine and a moment of weakness makes them more humane, especially fits the story they were going with. But the game does suffer from the dungeon map being mazey, I find that one dungeon thats in a waterfall area to be interesting as well as that one underwater cave dungeon. There's also the issue of the 5 lords, which yeah they did well on horror inflicted but the story kinda blazes through the conquest that the lords felt wasted potential. Otherwise the other points are quite valid.
Great list! The fact that you have only been playing the games for a couple of years but understand that old charm that the newer tales games are lacking impressed me. I have the same top 5 as you but I have vesperia as my #1 and abyss as my #2.
Zesteria being 16th was pretty accurate. I was bored and happened to try out the demo on PlayStation 4 for Berseria. After doing a little research I learned that Zesteria/Berseria share the same world, so I got them both when they were on sale. Zesteria was my first tales of game and I couldn't even finish it. Edna and Rose kept my interest for a while, but I was only able to appreciate them after dropping the game for Berseria. None of my friend group would even consider trying a tales of game, but if someone happens to stumble across my comment and hasn't played Zesteria or Berseria PLEASE play Berseria first. You'll appreciate the characters and the story a lot more.
About the Tales of Zestiria soundtrack, if I'm not mistaken it was primarily composed by Motoi Sakuraba, with only a handful of tracks having been composed by Go Shiina (like the elemental trials dungeons tracks).
I remember reading about Symphonia in Nintendo Power and asked my parents to buy it for me. It was sold out for like 2 months. Luckily I was able to get it, and have very fond memories of it
While I do love this franchise, they all move SO slowly and as an adult I don’t have time anymore for them and it makes me sad, same with the trails of series
Isn't that basically every jrpg sadly lmao. I get it tho I have less tolerance for these long games. At least the combat is more fun than turn based stuff imo (My fav beeing graces f)
“Trails of” lol and they are standard rpg lengths. Im an adult and work all week but still can squeeze 3-5 hrs here and there. Trails is super peak tho so focus only that and ignore all other games 😂
@@Strawberry-Sundae-k7y not rly. Games like Undertale, pre Ys 7 titles and say the Final Fantasy games pre FF7 are smaller in scale and time compared to the more modern RPGs which are time eaters, so I can totally relate people being "this is too much for me".
The Tales franchise is one I have never been able to get into, and that is one of the main reasons why. Just the excessive bloat that doesn't even feel substantial or satisfying. Yeah there's a lot of character interactions, but they feel hollow, and the story's take forever getting to where they're going. Maybe I'd have liked the games more if I had played them earlier in my life, when i was younger, and before I'd already experienced other JRPG's I like more, but I dunno...
GREAT List! Tales of Eternia was my first tales game and will always be one of my favorites. Berseria is my #1 because Velvet is one of the best protags in JRPGs, followed closely by Yuri and Luke from their respective games. I am SHOCKED that someone put Eternia in their top three. Most people have it on the lower end but it's distinctive style, fun characters, and amazing combat system put it leagues above many others in the series imo. My top 3 are Berseria, Vesperia, and tie between Eternia and Abyss. I am curious what your personal list is, considering you said it was different than this list. I hope you'll share that sometime in the future! Thanks for a great video!
Honestly, the combat in Legendia isn't that much different to Phantasia / Destiny PS1 / Eternia. They're all 2D fighting style like street fighter / mortal kombat games of the time. Legendia doesn't feel quite as good as Eternia or Phantasia ps1, but the difference isn't some huge chasm
…I’m one of the ten people that liked Legendia. lol. With that being said, I do acknowledge that most of your criticism for it was spot on. The characters weren’t that bad though. I would still put this over Zestiria.
My very first conscious Tales is Tales of Graces F, enjoyed it so much that after beating it I looked up the series and remembered that I also played Tales of Eternia but at the time I was only learning english, so, had to replay it but understanding what the heck is going on this time, and it was a blast.
Ive only played few tales games but idk..... I just finished playing it the other day and it doesn't seems that amazing. It's pretty decent JRPG. Seeing many tales fans rate it highly but yea maybe not my cup of tea. Big downside is so many sidequest and sidestory / mini cutscene that u can't keep track of, no sidequest list or marker in map whatsoever, but they have timeframe of when u can access em in story. U pass the timeframe, u can't access em anymore that playthrough. Some of em give nice things too. The story also kinda....just okay imo. Good but nothing amazing. The ending kinda meh too as credit just roll after u beat final boss. U only get single pic of what each character do after final battle. I've played eternia and abyss too, and imo those 2 are considerably better.
@@invertbrid What I dislike about Vesperia that isnt much talked about by its enjoyers and reviewers is that Duke just "heads out" after being fought against at the end. Like "I'm done here. Go do your stuff, and I do mine!" which felt quite impactless, even with his true form and haha Brave Vesperia titledrop attack which left an impression but that's where it ended for me, as if a part of the game/writer staff forgot their prios or why they built up Duke or how the game should end basically.
I learned to emulate specifically to play Tales of Destiny (PSX) again as close as I did when I was 12 and it originally came out. I can understand why it might not resonate with everyone but it blew me away at the time.
My problem with Vesperia is the story doesn’t go anywhere unlike others like symphonia. It has one of the strongest openings to throw it away for an incoherent story at the very end.
The first game I played in this series was Abyss on the 3DS and I enjoyed it so much that it’s not only my favorite game on the 3DS but my favorite game of all time.
Thanks for making this list!! I've been a Tales fan for... 10 years now wow, but it always makes me happy to see it discussed by Western gamers as in my experience it's still not a household name like many other jrpg series managed to become. I think your tastes and opinions are pretty fair and valid here (Sakuraba is a wonderful composer!!) but I'd love to see a list of your personal favorites, as the list of Tales games I'd recommend objectively is quite different from my list of personal favorites (I know the game is flawed but you can pry the cast of Zestiria from my cold dead hands 😂). Also, are the VODs of your Tales streams still available to watch on UA-cam/Twitch? The clips you showed look quite fun ^^
@kathleenfullin6098 one day i can get around to making a list like that! Ive got alot of projects going right now haha. I do still have those vods the channel is called dillonwithastream and all the videos are in a TALES OF playlist
Oh the memory from seeing all these games again. 12:07 this town theme will always haunt me. Also for Hearts R i couldn't imagine the game without Gall. He was the only standout for me
I literally just finished Tales of Vesperia, my whole first Tales experience (Had to sell my PS2 with Tales of the Abyss as a brokeass teenager ages ago), and I sought videos like this because ToV did something to me. Took me such a long time to enjoy the battle system, all the while loving every other aspect of it. So, yeah. I'm gonna be following these recommendations.
I am here for your comments on Tales of Graces R since I am interested in picking up the remastered version for the switch, I may have to pick this up!
I actually really liked Tales of Hearts R. In other Tales games, there's usually a party member who knows more than the rest of the party and withholds information until the plot demands it. In ToHR, the main party shares one braincell the whole game and stumble and funble upon the plot as the game progresses. It's a bit refreshing that way.
Pretty good assessment, better than the other lists I have seen out there. I disagree with some of the rankings but your breakdown of the pros and cons is spot on. I just don't vibe with the modern Tales games as much.
Ngl, surprised you didn't mention the voice actress/director controversy on Zesteria. Though might be better off not knowing about it, i only found out about it, because the pre order bonuses....didn't make sense a few hours in, then even less sense many hours in, I'll leave it at that
Xillia is my favorite game in the franchise and im be honest Zestiria is good enough in some aspect some fans don’t appreciate like better character models, so please don’t give it so much hate.
@@dontestewart5176 tbf when you show off the "MC" in your trailers alot being female and whatnot and then you release the game with a male MC and have said female MC not appear in the main storyline or being DLC only, then you REALLY deserve fan backlash like that. And being rather "onedimensional" or "flat" main narrative wise didn't help either. Raising Up & White Light are banger tracks from that game tho!
@Evilriku13 I picked up the game years after its release so I knew nothing about the trailers or anything like that. I picked it up completely blind and just didn't entirely hate my experience with it
Love this series. Sadly haven't been able to play as much of the series as I'd like. Tales of graces f has my all time fav battle system. Tales of the abyss has my favorite video game couple of all time.
Symphonia was my first Tales game. I got it on sale at Gamestop (the Wii was already out so a bunch of GC games were on sale). I haven't played the game in years, but I remember loving it at the time I did play it. Kratos though is still one of my fav Video game chars ever (I never played him though, I always either played Llyod or the pink hair girl). Yes I had a major crush on him too (and still have a bit of a crush on him lol). Oh, did you know this game got an OVA anime made of it? One of the songs from it that plays at the end of the first season (when they travel to another world), it's a BANGER, it's on my UA-cam playlist. I really need to replay the game again after I finish Arise. I tried getting into Xilia, but I dropped it pretty quickly because I couldn't get into the gameplay (and that's always going to be #1 for me when it comes to game enjoyment). I might have made the mistake of picking the female first. Currently I am playing Arise, and I am enjoying it. I will say though, I did pick the easy mode and I am glad I did because I can see the flaws in the combat that you've mentioned. The version I got did come with the DLC, so I plan on playing that too. I already know I won't be getting 100% on this game. I personally love the two main chars, they make my Shipping heart flutter lol. Side Quest wise, my fav thing so far is finding those owls, they're so cute. Normally I enjoy fishing in any game, but this game's fishing mechanics are way too complicated then they have to be. #1 and #2 are no shocks because I know those are the favs in the fandom. While I am not a Tales fan overall, I wouldn't mind playing these 2 at some point. Now that Graces f is getting a remaster, maybe Abyss will be next? Great video overall.
Did you ever get the Kratos or Zelos ending/Flanoir scenes? I think you'd enjoy them, especially the Zelos one. Wish I could like the ToS OVAs but they have an unhealthy rewritten story which I get why in their pacing but.. having Yggdrasil appear in the Toize(?) Mines first is A underwhelming and B totally unfitting for him from a narrative perspective as the first introduction for the main anti hero antagonist! Dunno how long you played Xillia 1 but.. Milla's gameplay mixes up pretty fast. Like I was also very taken aback by how she plays for the first hour roughly but after it she feels really comfy to use in combat. Otherwise you can always pick and play as Jyde or Jude as he's known outside my country whilst staying playing Milla's story which does help characterizing and understand her alot (also cuz alot of people dont play her side first or ever and think she doesnt show emotions or is "hard to understand" if not unsympathic/toxic whatever just because she has her very understandable set of rules and mindset) in compare to what's shown in his side of the story. And reading you being a shipper: You might wanna pick up Xillia 1 again for that. WHat has been leaked in some asian territory is that a Tales of Xillia remaster is on it's way! I fear they won't add some of the missing content for Xillia 1 that was found in the source code such as Origin as a character, but we'll see.
It's a mixed bag with most of the other titles, especially since half of them I haven't got to play either due to poor timing to acquire certain titles or due to the inaccessibility to play them due to my base region, but despite that, one thing I will definitely agree is putting Abyss at the top of the list. It does everything right as you said: a featured cast with some of the richest developments in the series, a solid version of the LMBS, and dungeons with enough challenge for amateurs and experts alike. Also on a personal note, I'm a big simp for Tear
Finally someone putting tales of the abyss on the well deserved n1 spot . Love your ranking . Tales of the abyss is a masterpiece, top 5 of all the games ive played
I couldn’t get into Tales of Arise and I might try again. The time I go the game was I dealing with hand pain that was so bad I couldn’t play video games for months. The pain was bad I was taking meds that seniors citizens take.
Absolutely agree with most of these rankings. Personally I'd place Vesperia as #1 and Abyss as #2 but that's just my preference. They rank so close to me anyway that Vesperia comes out on top by the smallest of margins.
...It is remarkable how much I agree with this whole listing. By the time I got to the top five~ish, they're all so good that I could see arguments for any of them, and don't really care about the order. But man, I just love hearing people appreciate what joys this series has to bring.
Never played the series because i like turn based jrpgs it's very strange for me to play other thing than that, i hacked my ps3 some years ago and having all the console catalogue totally FREE gave me the chance to AT LEAST try these kind of series. Tales Of Graces F was my first entry to this saga, and boy, i loved it, tho i don't get to finish the game for personal reasons (sold the console) i bought a ps4 and bought two Tales games (zestiria and Berseria) i finished Zestiria last night, i know a lot of people (specially fans) hate on the game i don't personally hate it, i enjoyed it but it wasn't at all what i was waiting for (having in consideration the fact i knew the saga with graces) im about to play Berseria now I'm glad to see the game i enjoyed so up in the list, im hyped
Berseria could be higher but i also haven’t played every tales of game so maybe that will change but abyss being number 1 thank you for validating my favorite game of all time abyss is so peak
Having Abyss and Vesperia at the top is very respectable. I personally give Vesperia the edge just for Yuri alone, even if Luke is how you should write loser protagonists (Looking at you Intelligent Systems)
Man, putting Legendia at first? I mean, I know it’s obviously the best one, but I was hoping to see something different at first for once in one of these videos.
I started my Tales of journey with the PS3 games Graces F and Xillia 1 and 2, and Xillia just holds very special place for me, and nothing has yet knocked it out of top spot. With the remaster of Symphonia and Vesperia, I was finally able to play those, and thought Symphonia was great, even so many years later. While i found Yuri interesting for being as you said, something of an anti-hero, i just didnt find the story or characters all that compelling. Like the story just felt very flat, all the same tone, and characters (to me) didnt feel like they had anywhere to go as far as growth. But with the Tales of Graces F remaster coming out soon, i want to revisit some of the games.
It will take a very special Tales game to ever knock Berseria out of number 1 for me but otherwise I mostly agree with everything here. And even then I recognize I'm probably being highly subjective just because I love Berseria for essentially following the villains, something so few JRPGs have done (or at least done well) that you could count them on one hand.
Glad to see you doing more Tales of content. Personally I definitely wouldn't put Abyss and Vesperia so high, or Zestiria and Destiny DC so low, but I can agree with most your points. But while I love Motoi Sakuraba's work I don't think that Graces' and Xillia's OST are all that great.
Vesperia isnt so high for me personally but you cant deny the impact it has as a whole. Im glad you can agree with the points i made, i was very worried i didnt give enough time into each game since there are so many. Lets be honest all we need is White Wishes for graces and it slays making all the other music moot
@@DillonWithaBlankie Actually I can't comment too much on Vesperia's impact since I only first played it in 2017 I think when I imported the PS3 version from Japan and bought it again on Switch when the DE version came out, so I was incredibly late to the party. It is a very impressive game in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to content and battle system. But I could never get over how much of a letdown the story was, especially considering that it came after the goat Abyss. As for Graces' music it does have a few tracks that are amazing. I especially love 'Risk Everything', the final dungeon battle theme in L&L.
I have not played every Tales game but my top 5 would probably be. ( Vesperia probably 6 for me. Played it for the first time in 2019. Just feel like Yuri carried the cast and story. Karol was the only other of the main cast I really liked. Rita pissed me off lol) 5. Tales of Arise 4. Symphonia 3. Xillia 2. Graces 1. Beseria
I wish I have been as fortunate as you to play all the flagship titles in this amazing series. I'd put: Graces f Arise The Abyss in my top three. I agree with a lot of what you said about The Abyss. And it was a wonderful journey. But, I Subbed to you. I'd be very curious to know about your own personal list, since you said these were different.
This helps me understand why I do not mesh well with most people, at least when it comes to tales video games. Hearts is my favorite, and the only game I actually finished. I find your take on the story... confusing. It's nothing group breaking as far as JRPG's go as there are a couple dozen with a similar set up (including several tales games), but it is executed well. Characters are good. I found tracking down Kohoku's emotions and how they played havoc no the area very interesting, and seeing how she had to deal with them coming back. This is also the only takes game where the combat makes sense. I could actually play the game and not just give up and button mash. Aside from, Ironically, Zesteria. For that game I will give you the story, but the combat was fun. Yet even though I'm not there yet, I bet you will rank Vesperia in your top 5. I've tried 3 times to play this game and gave up each time. The combat is terrible with having to change the planes manually. Either go all out on 3D or stick to the 2D. Aside from the 2 protagonists all the characters are just terrible. There are a few threads laid out for the plot, but 20 hours later we are still just randomly going about the adventure with no real idea why. I had heard so often how good the game was so on the last try I eventually turned the difficulty to low to try and get to the good part of the story. Then I asked myself, why am I wasting my time so put on a lets play of the game while i worked. Then after I want to say 30 hours of game play the plot was still random things, no overarching narrative, no good character development, or good new characters (seriously WTF is with that stupid pirate girl) I said I don't get people and I am done wasting my time trying to see why this stupid game is good. It simply is not. I respect everyone has their opinion, but I'll never understand the consensus opinion on this game. I hope at least you put Besaria high on your list as it's the only other tales game I really liked, and that seems to be well liked by the community. * After hearing your take on Shione makes me think you really don't get characters. I don't mean this to be offensive. Just your read on things. Maybe as you age it will help?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Tales of Graces had the best combat system. It's still a blast to this day. Definitely some of the best characters, too
I was about ready to disregard a lot of the video after the part about Destiny DX, but I watched to the end to hear out the rest, and I'm glad I did. I actually agree with most of what was listed here, barring a few things I would personally move around due to my own preferences. I tend to focus on the battle system more than I do any other aspect of these games, so that colors a lot of my perspective, and why Destiny R/DX is held in such high esteem for me. In terms of aesthetic, style, pace, and expression, I think to this day it's close to the pinnacle of the series as a whole, not even just among 2D games, but I can see why it might not if you dont invest an inordinate amount of time into learning it's numerous and often obscure nuances. Especially since a game like Graces arguably perfects these things, and is much more approachable on the whole. I still wish more games would implement something akin to the Narikiri dolls that can also.be brougt through to a NG+, was a genius idea imo. Aside from that though, this list was pretty solid! I appreciate that the series made enough of an impact on you to go through them all, and to make a video like this to begin with!
Overall I tend to agree with this list. It’s all personal preference though based on where we were at in our tales/jrpg lives when we experienced each one, which makes ranking most of them so hard for me.
Hmm, i have a very different opinions about the titles. From best to worst for me was Hearts R Xillia series(1+2) Graces f Abyss Eternia Symphonia 1 Zestiria Destiny Legendia Bestiria Symphonia 2(so bad it should have been a dlc instead of a full game) Haven't finished phantasia, vesperia and arise yet
Combat - Graces (also my fave) Story - Abyss Music - Legendia Cast - Legendia Protag - Yuri Char design - Graces (but the 3d models are awful) Gateway / entry to the franchise - Arise Overall best - Vesperia
Wasnt there a Tales game that let you tame monsters with some weird monster catching requirement? like line up all the elements? also MC had a split personality.
Im so glad Tales of the Abyss gets the love it deserves. I was spoiled in the fact that it was my first tales of game back when i rented it from blockbuster. Ive followed the series since, but i dont think its ever even scraped the surface of what TotA brough, except maybe vesperia, but still...TotA for the win Guy is my favorite tales of character. Fight me
ok. my Destiny loving butt is majorly hurt. But, thanks for playing these games and sharing your thoughts! OH, edit, just to show that everyone is different (and that's a good thing) I have played all these games except Hearts and Destiny 2 and I also love Zestiria. ^_^
Wow the amount of work that went into this. Great list. For me vesperia doesn't crack the top 8, but other than that I like your list. I do recognize its my unpopular opinion though. Can't argue with abyss at the top. and for me berseria is 2nd with eternia in the top 5 as well.
Tales of the abyss has the greatest story, top 1 for sure. You care about the everyone in this game. The enemies have personality and have connections with the heroes. Greatest Character development for sure.
Obviously you can check out my own rankings on my channel but to summerize. I can mostly agree with your list with the expection of Phantasia and Eternia= really cannot see how you put those old and clunky games above the later 2D Tales game which where way better IMO. Also Eternia was a joint team game (not team desinty) and Xillia was also a Team Symphonia game.
In order to judge a game properly, one has to play it completely. The best part of Legendia is the character quests... My overall favorites would have to be Symphonia and Abyss.
this is why we need reboots/remakes/ports of the destiny series they always get solid ranks for us NA people and it never even got released for us... and we need that phantasia nakiri dungeon sequel too.
17:23
[A group of plucky JRPG protagonists approaches]
"We would like to speak to the CEO of racism"
Man..... I disagree with a few things but when you admitted to naming your child after a tales of xillia character.... I did the same thing. My sons name is maxwell.
Maxwell is not just a xillia name tho
@@javi123fuego true. But it was the inspiration
If I ever have a daughter she will be named Chloe.
My husband loved the name Eizen so of course that’s our sons name. If we’re fortunate enough to have another baby; Maxwell, Estelle and Natalia are some of my favorite names to consider.
Ziemlich armselig
Abyss changed my brain chemistry at the ripe age of 14 and I haven’t hit the same JRPG storytelling highs since
Go play the Suikoden Franchise.
Underrated... Abyss changed the way I looked at games. And 14 years later it's still my favorite game of all time.
@@ShadowWolfRisingDone, next please lol I finished all the Tales of and Suikoden games for PS2 and haven’t found anything nearly as good since
@@bek7562 'Strokes Beard'
Hmmmmm.
Xenogears/Xenosaga/Xenoblade
Legend of Legaia
Koudelka/Shadow Hearts
There, that should do you for a while.
@bek7562 have you played the star ocean games
Tales of the Abyss has one of the BEST stories in a Tales game. I even watched the anime because it is SO GOOD. During my youth, it made me reflecr on my life of what it means to take responsibility for your actions and how it affects other people. The story of Luke CHANGED my life. Im not even joking lol
Same. Can't replay it today but Luke's story is really sound for self reflection and progressing with ideals around how your choices make a difference.
I remember when Graces f first game out, many people didn't like it and considered it one of the worst. Graces is not only my favorite Tales game but one of my favorite games of all time so it was really disappointing to learn about its reception. Thankfully in recent years people have drastically changed their opinion on the game and I now always see it high up on the rankings.
The remastered just announced so yay?
Graces F has a really good cast of characters to get attached to. And I like the story if I'm being honest.
ohh and that games comes out next year again, i cant wait, i was not able to play it and i have heard its so good, so im looking forward to it
I think I'd appreciate the game more if the main antagonist and it's motivation wasn't like pulled outta the devs butts basically AFTER you basically defeated said main antagonist who was stuck in the "old friend" Richard for way too long and only after you basically "won the game" you get your explanation for why he or it was the way it was. Even Gaius from Xillia 1 and Muzet were better built up and planned for DESPITE also not being the originally planned main antagonist for the Xillia game before it got split up and the intended main antagonist, Origin, being pushed back and basically "forgotten".
The Main Protagonist has Vergils battle style and his brother a bloodborne style trickweapon whats not to love about it and a male jenova kind of Plot XD
Tales of Eternia was the reason I fell in love with RPG games. it's still my all time favorite. Mutsumi Inomat's artwork and the sprites captivated me so much I swore to become an artist and make my own stories when I was younger. I now sellf publish my own tales-esque Manga series and teach manga classes.
I owe a lot to this game and series. I'm Happy you had a chance to play through these games as I have. Not a lot pf people know of or have played Eternia so I'm Happy to see it in top 3. I agree. It's top 3 of my tales list at #1.
that being said, LMAO I am #8 of the 10 Tales of Players, I think that my attachment to Eternia let fall in love with Legendia. I get what you mean about the combat, but I still love it haha.
Ok Tales of Zestiria wasn't terribleeeee, it actually had a really profound emotional impact on me- I loved the dynamic between Sorey and Mikleo, and the score is actually one of the most beautiful scores I have ever listened to. But Vesperia is absolutely my favorite game of all time; it was such a core part of my childhood, and getting to hear the opening theme Ring A Bell live might have been one of the most rewarding moments of my life-
I personally loved the Zestiria cast and soundtrack too, it was just everything else I hated. I still have nightmares about the equipment system and hate how the battle system turns bosses into damage sponges that you need to turn half your party members into basically equipment to do enough damage to, and the main story was way too straightforward and boring.
Which is a pity because when I had played it for the first time I thought that the world itself was so interesting and it just wound up feeling like wasted potential. Which I was proven right on with Berseria which fully showed said potential.
I also ADORE Vesperia SM! It's in my top 3 for sure, what my fave is in that top 3 is always shifting based on my mood because it's so close. The only serious flaw I see in it is the third act feeling very disjointed from the rest plotwise.
Honestly, the best way to experience Zestiria is to watch the anime and playthrough, not play it yourself
I love Tales of Graces and even consider it possibly my favorite game of all time. However, it's fine it made it to 6 for you. The story is lacking, I agree, but man that cast is so fun to watch and that battle system satisfies aesthetically AND mechanically. Again, I can see where people may have issues with it, but it says a lot if I actually bother beating the game on the highest difficulty. If I had a daughter, I'd name her Sophie. No contest.
33:08~ I really, really, REALLY don't think it's ever fair to criticize a sequel for continuing the story of it's predecessor lol. It's not "baggage" ...it's a fucking *sequel.*
Geez, what a thing to say... 🤦🏻♂️
ngl endlessly entertained by the fact that i went to go put on my jacket and while talking about entry 6, i see a clip of you with the same exact jacket.
Glad see Eternia getting some love and appreciation. It's also one of my top 3 (top 2 actually) and it is so underrated. So glad to see that it is one of your top Tales games.
The anime Gintama recognizes that the Tales of series is an obscure one. They always reference Dragon Quest or even mention Final Fantasy, so when they used Cress and Lloyd in one of their scenes I totally losed it. Phantasia was my first in the series and holds a special place in my heart (except for the SNES NA version)
But there's no SNES NA version. Are you from an alternative univere, maybe?
I'm quite happy to see you put Eternia so high up the list. I don't think it's underrated but I do think it deserve a little bit more love.
Luke's transition from insufferable loser that needs a slap to insufferable emo kid loser that needs two slaps is truly the best character development of all time.
@@rellim10 YOU GET IT!
Never before have I been so offended by something I one hundred percent agree with.
HEAVILY disagree with this. He goes from being a complete asshole to being a decent person, but that's it. It's nothing special. He's a good protag sure, not one of the stronger ones in the series though.
@@MagilousMenagerieAin’t no way the Berseria fan gonna talk.
@@thebigchungus4515 Ain't no way someone named "bigchungus4515 is gonna talk.
Berseria is literally known in the Tales community for best Story, protag, characters and much more. There's a reason almost everyone in the community has it as their favorite game.
Ah another Tales of Abyss enjoyer, Opinion Validated. 🤝 Love it.
I only picked up Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Arise. Glad I picked out the best in terms of gameplay and graphics.
@yaboilascall they are the worst for gameplay though. Most people talk about Abyss for its story, characters, and pacing (although I don't really like this either). I think the two world game design is objectively awful (compare to Eternia which is how you do it right, or even Phantasia). The backtracking from act 2.5 until the end is also lazy and awful
As for graphics Arise is very good yes, but graphics are literally the bottom metric in any tierlist as they're only a bonus. Gameplay > Story > Music > Graphics
@@nezkeys79 I dont care trash opinion
@@yaboilascallnah
@@yaboilascallsaying Abyss has the best gameplay of every single entry is more deserving of "trash opinion". Tell me you haven't played many tales games without telling me you haven't played many tales games
As for graphics, the last two games were developed on ps3 (ported to ps4), and Vesperia was 360 but had a graphics upgrade on the definitive edition. Arise was on the PS5 lol so obviously has an advantage. Here's the thing though, graphics are literally the bottom metric in any judgement. If you think graphics is the main metric lol
My very first Tales of game was Tales of Legendia, and i have very fond memories of it. At the time i loved the setting and OST, and almost all of my RPG experience was turn based so i remember having fun with the combat as well. All that being said i acknowledge that every other Tales games i've played is better but Legendia will always hold a special place in my heart for introducing me to the series.
Tales of vesperia is probably the only tales game that had me laughing my ass off while playing
My top 5 list.
1-Arise
2- Berseria
3-Graces F
4- Vesperia
5-Innocence.
I still have to play Xillia's. As you maybe be wondering I totally disagreed about your Arise's opinion, but I consider myself a soulslike lover, maybe that's why I loved Arise so much while more conservative fans hated it.
Arise has been very love/hate from what I've seen.
thats wild bc arise feels absolutely nothing like a soulslike, source - ive been playing the souls games since demons souls released
I was liking arise so much but that last act with THAT final dungeon...
Made me drop the game
@@teemootp yep, but it has a more action oriented battle + harder bosses with tons of HP + necessity of evasion through rolling in time, so the conservative fans judged as a "souls like gameplay and a rain of hate come out on the game
Found you from pokemon stadium and then you casual just drop a video about my favorite series? Peak
Tales of Vesperia was the first Tales Of game I ever played, and my overall favorite JRPG, and Abyss was the second. Phenomenal games.
Zesteria is just ugh…. The fact that Sorrey and Rose HAD to be in the party in order to use others which made a monotonous game even more so!
You're so real for this, I never finished it lol
@@Hokaru11792 You didn't miss out. Edna is the only really good thing in the game, and as much as I love her, she's more like a rewrite of Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender, made to fit into Zestiria's setting.
Interesting! Tales of the Abyss was actually my intro to the series, I got it on the 3DS and it was one of those games going through it I was just like "wow this is one of the greatest games I've ever played" it's good to know other people feel the same way
Tales of Symphonia was such a game changer for me. Between the great story and characters, but the big thing was that I have a really hard time playing turn base RPGs now lol. Not having to sit there and get punched in my face since I can dodge was huge!
Tales of Eternia on 3rd place... you know what, I can totally accept that. Its hands down one of my favorite games, and I loved the graphics, and the combat system. And the story took me by surprise by how thought out it was. Seeing things happen from the perspective of the villain? Seeing it from the perspective of a random monster you killed super early in the game and probably never gave a second thought to? Thats some deep stuff that made you reconsider your perspective on your journey.
22:59 I can't agree about the characters in fact the characters are the ones that elevates the story. However I do agree that the cast takes time to actually get closer compared to other Tales of. Hence the skits also reflects that and the tone of the skits only get the lighten bits in later story or conditions to be made (I actually don't like we had to find conditions to trigger said scenes) where the cast feels more bonded than ever. They give each of the characters a moment to shine and a moment of weakness makes them more humane, especially fits the story they were going with.
But the game does suffer from the dungeon map being mazey, I find that one dungeon thats in a waterfall area to be interesting as well as that one underwater cave dungeon. There's also the issue of the 5 lords, which yeah they did well on horror inflicted but the story kinda blazes through the conquest that the lords felt wasted potential.
Otherwise the other points are quite valid.
Great list! The fact that you have only been playing the games for a couple of years but understand that old charm that the newer tales games are lacking impressed me. I have the same top 5 as you but I have vesperia as my #1 and abyss as my #2.
Zesteria being 16th was pretty accurate. I was bored and happened to try out the demo on PlayStation 4 for Berseria. After doing a little research I learned that Zesteria/Berseria share the same world, so I got them both when they were on sale. Zesteria was my first tales of game and I couldn't even finish it. Edna and Rose kept my interest for a while, but I was only able to appreciate them after dropping the game for Berseria. None of my friend group would even consider trying a tales of game, but if someone happens to stumble across my comment and hasn't played Zesteria or Berseria PLEASE play Berseria first. You'll appreciate the characters and the story a lot more.
About the Tales of Zestiria soundtrack, if I'm not mistaken it was primarily composed by Motoi Sakuraba, with only a handful of tracks having been composed by Go Shiina (like the elemental trials dungeons tracks).
I remember reading about Symphonia in Nintendo Power and asked my parents to buy it for me. It was sold out for like 2 months. Luckily I was able to get it, and have very fond memories of it
While I do love this franchise, they all move SO slowly and as an adult I don’t have time anymore for them and it makes me sad, same with the trails of series
Isn't that basically every jrpg sadly lmao. I get it tho I have less tolerance for these long games.
At least the combat is more fun than turn based stuff imo
(My fav beeing graces f)
“Trails of” lol and they are standard rpg lengths. Im an adult and work all week but still can squeeze 3-5 hrs here and there. Trails is super peak tho so focus only that and ignore all other games 😂
@@Strawberry-Sundae-k7y not rly. Games like Undertale, pre Ys 7 titles and say the Final Fantasy games pre FF7 are smaller in scale and time compared to the more modern RPGs which are time eaters, so I can totally relate people being "this is too much for me".
@@statesminds just because YOU can squeeze shit on your time doesn't mean everyone could. Anyways, trails is garbage. Cringe ass characters lol
The Tales franchise is one I have never been able to get into, and that is one of the main reasons why. Just the excessive bloat that doesn't even feel substantial or satisfying.
Yeah there's a lot of character interactions, but they feel hollow, and the story's take forever getting to where they're going. Maybe I'd have liked the games more if I had played them earlier in my life, when i was younger, and before I'd already experienced other JRPG's I like more, but I dunno...
GREAT List! Tales of Eternia was my first tales game and will always be one of my favorites. Berseria is my #1 because Velvet is one of the best protags in JRPGs, followed closely by Yuri and Luke from their respective games. I am SHOCKED that someone put Eternia in their top three. Most people have it on the lower end but it's distinctive style, fun characters, and amazing combat system put it leagues above many others in the series imo. My top 3 are Berseria, Vesperia, and tie between Eternia and Abyss. I am curious what your personal list is, considering you said it was different than this list. I hope you'll share that sometime in the future! Thanks for a great video!
I need to name my future dog Repede
Honestly, the combat in Legendia isn't that much different to Phantasia / Destiny PS1 / Eternia. They're all 2D fighting style like street fighter / mortal kombat games of the time. Legendia doesn't feel quite as good as Eternia or Phantasia ps1, but the difference isn't some huge chasm
…I’m one of the ten people that liked Legendia. lol. With that being said, I do acknowledge that most of your criticism for it was spot on. The characters weren’t that bad though. I would still put this over Zestiria.
Berseria still one of my faves
My very first conscious Tales is Tales of Graces F, enjoyed it so much that after beating it I looked up the series and remembered that I also played Tales of Eternia but at the time I was only learning english, so, had to replay it but understanding what the heck is going on this time, and it was a blast.
Anybody who puts Vesperia this high is my kind of people
Ive only played few tales games but idk.....
I just finished playing it the other day and it doesn't seems that amazing. It's pretty decent JRPG. Seeing many tales fans rate it highly but yea maybe not my cup of tea.
Big downside is so many sidequest and sidestory / mini cutscene that u can't keep track of, no sidequest list or marker in map whatsoever, but they have timeframe of when u can access em in story. U pass the timeframe, u can't access em anymore that playthrough. Some of em give nice things too.
The story also kinda....just okay imo. Good but nothing amazing. The ending kinda meh too as credit just roll after u beat final boss. U only get single pic of what each character do after final battle.
I've played eternia and abyss too, and imo those 2 are considerably better.
@@invertbrid What I dislike about Vesperia that isnt much talked about by its enjoyers and reviewers is that Duke just "heads out" after being fought against at the end. Like "I'm done here. Go do your stuff, and I do mine!" which felt quite impactless, even with his true form and haha Brave Vesperia titledrop attack which left an impression but that's where it ended for me, as if a part of the game/writer staff forgot their prios or why they built up Duke or how the game should end basically.
@@invertbrid Keep that crap to yourself, Vesperia is king.
And now you've skyrocketed to my top 10 UA-camrs
Happy to see my favorite tales “Tales of Graces” so highly ranked!! I feel not a lot of people talk about it
I learned to emulate specifically to play Tales of Destiny (PSX) again as close as I did when I was 12 and it originally came out. I can understand why it might not resonate with everyone but it blew me away at the time.
My problem with Vesperia is the story doesn’t go anywhere unlike others like symphonia. It has one of the strongest openings to throw it away for an incoherent story at the very end.
The first game I played in this series was Abyss on the 3DS and I enjoyed it so much that it’s not only my favorite game on the 3DS but my favorite game of all time.
Thanks for making this list!! I've been a Tales fan for... 10 years now wow, but it always makes me happy to see it discussed by Western gamers as in my experience it's still not a household name like many other jrpg series managed to become. I think your tastes and opinions are pretty fair and valid here (Sakuraba is a wonderful composer!!) but I'd love to see a list of your personal favorites, as the list of Tales games I'd recommend objectively is quite different from my list of personal favorites (I know the game is flawed but you can pry the cast of Zestiria from my cold dead hands 😂). Also, are the VODs of your Tales streams still available to watch on UA-cam/Twitch? The clips you showed look quite fun ^^
@kathleenfullin6098 one day i can get around to making a list like that! Ive got alot of projects going right now haha. I do still have those vods the channel is called dillonwithastream and all the videos are in a TALES OF playlist
Fantastic list! I'm a big fan of Vesperia as well. I'm surprised by how low Destiny DC is from everything good I hear about that game!
Oh the memory from seeing all these games again.
12:07 this town theme will always haunt me. Also for Hearts R i couldn't imagine the game without Gall. He was the only standout for me
I literally just finished Tales of Vesperia, my whole first Tales experience (Had to sell my PS2 with Tales of the Abyss as a brokeass teenager ages ago), and I sought videos like this because ToV did something to me. Took me such a long time to enjoy the battle system, all the while loving every other aspect of it. So, yeah. I'm gonna be following these recommendations.
I am here for your comments on Tales of Graces R since I am interested in picking up the remastered version for the switch, I may have to pick this up!
I actually really liked Tales of Hearts R. In other Tales games, there's usually a party member who knows more than the rest of the party and withholds information until the plot demands it. In ToHR, the main party shares one braincell the whole game and stumble and funble upon the plot as the game progresses. It's a bit refreshing that way.
Pretty good assessment, better than the other lists I have seen out there. I disagree with some of the rankings but your breakdown of the pros and cons is spot on. I just don't vibe with the modern Tales games as much.
Ngl, surprised you didn't mention the voice actress/director controversy on Zesteria. Though might be better off not knowing about it, i only found out about it, because the pre order bonuses....didn't make sense a few hours in, then even less sense many hours in, I'll leave it at that
I wasn't surprise when Zesteria might be bottom tier. And the controversy is pretty strong that get's me worried about Tales of future.
Xillia is my favorite game in the franchise and im be honest Zestiria is good enough in some aspect some fans don’t appreciate like better character models, so please don’t give it so much hate.
I always liked Zestiria, though I can see some its flaws. I was genuinely surprised when I found out it was one of the most hated games in the series
@@dontestewart5176 tbf when you show off the "MC" in your trailers alot being female and whatnot and then you release the game with a male MC and have said female MC not appear in the main storyline or being DLC only, then you REALLY deserve fan backlash like that. And being rather "onedimensional" or "flat" main narrative wise didn't help either. Raising Up & White Light are banger tracks from that game tho!
@Evilriku13 I picked up the game years after its release so I knew nothing about the trailers or anything like that. I picked it up completely blind and just didn't entirely hate my experience with it
@@dontestewart5176 But you did notice the game feeling a bit "off" in terms of tales standards comparetively, right?
@@Evilriku13
Let anyone have their own opinion and experience.
Love this series. Sadly haven't been able to play as much of the series as I'd like. Tales of graces f has my all time fav battle system. Tales of the abyss has my favorite video game couple of all time.
Symphonia was my first Tales game. I got it on sale at Gamestop (the Wii was already out so a bunch of GC games were on sale). I haven't played the game in years, but I remember loving it at the time I did play it. Kratos though is still one of my fav Video game chars ever (I never played him though, I always either played Llyod or the pink hair girl). Yes I had a major crush on him too (and still have a bit of a crush on him lol). Oh, did you know this game got an OVA anime made of it? One of the songs from it that plays at the end of the first season (when they travel to another world), it's a BANGER, it's on my UA-cam playlist. I really need to replay the game again after I finish Arise.
I tried getting into Xilia, but I dropped it pretty quickly because I couldn't get into the gameplay (and that's always going to be #1 for me when it comes to game enjoyment). I might have made the mistake of picking the female first.
Currently I am playing Arise, and I am enjoying it. I will say though, I did pick the easy mode and I am glad I did because I can see the flaws in the combat that you've mentioned. The version I got did come with the DLC, so I plan on playing that too. I already know I won't be getting 100% on this game. I personally love the two main chars, they make my Shipping heart flutter lol. Side Quest wise, my fav thing so far is finding those owls, they're so cute. Normally I enjoy fishing in any game, but this game's fishing mechanics are way too complicated then they have to be.
#1 and #2 are no shocks because I know those are the favs in the fandom. While I am not a Tales fan overall, I wouldn't mind playing these 2 at some point. Now that Graces f is getting a remaster, maybe Abyss will be next? Great video overall.
Did you ever get the Kratos or Zelos ending/Flanoir scenes? I think you'd enjoy them, especially the Zelos one.
Wish I could like the ToS OVAs but they have an unhealthy rewritten story which I get why in their pacing but.. having Yggdrasil appear in the Toize(?) Mines first is A underwhelming and B totally unfitting for him from a narrative perspective as the first introduction for the main anti hero antagonist!
Dunno how long you played Xillia 1 but.. Milla's gameplay mixes up pretty fast. Like I was also very taken aback by how she plays for the first hour roughly but after it she feels really comfy to use in combat. Otherwise you can always pick and play as Jyde or Jude as he's known outside my country whilst staying playing Milla's story which does help characterizing and understand her alot (also cuz alot of people dont play her side first or ever and think she doesnt show emotions or is "hard to understand" if not unsympathic/toxic whatever just because she has her very understandable set of rules and mindset) in compare to what's shown in his side of the story.
And reading you being a shipper: You might wanna pick up Xillia 1 again for that.
WHat has been leaked in some asian territory is that a Tales of Xillia remaster is on it's way! I fear they won't add some of the missing content for Xillia 1 that was found in the source code such as Origin as a character, but we'll see.
It's a mixed bag with most of the other titles, especially since half of them I haven't got to play either due to poor timing to acquire certain titles or due to the inaccessibility to play them due to my base region, but despite that, one thing I will definitely agree is putting Abyss at the top of the list. It does everything right as you said: a featured cast with some of the richest developments in the series, a solid version of the LMBS, and dungeons with enough challenge for amateurs and experts alike. Also on a personal note, I'm a big simp for Tear
Finally someone putting tales of the abyss on the well deserved n1 spot . Love your ranking .
Tales of the abyss is a masterpiece, top 5 of all the games ive played
I love the tales series honestly Abyss and Symphonia are my two favorites wish I could try xillia but no chance in less a remaster
I believe a remaster was just leaked so you may be in luck there, friend.
@@TheWorstPartyMember it's on it's way, that's all legally allowed to be talked about publically!
I couldn’t get into Tales of Arise and I might try again. The time I go the game was I dealing with hand pain that was so bad I couldn’t play video games for months. The pain was bad I was taking meds that seniors citizens take.
To this day, the only official version of Abyss to make it to Europe is the 3DS port.
It's absolutely crying out for a full remaster.
Absolutely agree with most of these rankings. Personally I'd place Vesperia as #1 and Abyss as #2 but that's just my preference. They rank so close to me anyway that Vesperia comes out on top by the smallest of margins.
11:28 R has a really good gameplay the thing is it has a very High skill sealing as well. You can combo enemy almost indefinitely even the bosses.
Yeah he's a scrub, hearts r has one of my favorite battle systems out of the series next to graces, xillia 2, and vesperia *endgame*
Man you fckng Goat, for placing Eternia as top three Tales series. Eternia is my best first Tales game
...It is remarkable how much I agree with this whole listing.
By the time I got to the top five~ish, they're all so good that I could see arguments for any of them, and don't really care about the order. But man, I just love hearing people appreciate what joys this series has to bring.
I like how u stated arise don’t feel like a tales of game, to start they should bring back multiplayer so at least u can enjoy it with friends
Glade to see eternia and abyss at the top. Still exploring ps2 games and haven't been able to continue my abyss 1st time gameplay thanks for the list
TALES OF THE ABYSS IS MY TOP and then GRACE F can't wait for the remaster!
My top 5 starting from best is Vesperia, Graces f, Abyss, Xillia 1, Symphonia
Never played the series because i like turn based jrpgs it's very strange for me to play other thing than that, i hacked my ps3 some years ago and having all the console catalogue totally FREE gave me the chance to AT LEAST try these kind of series. Tales Of Graces F was my first entry to this saga, and boy, i loved it, tho i don't get to finish the game for personal reasons (sold the console) i bought a ps4 and bought two Tales games (zestiria and Berseria) i finished Zestiria last night, i know a lot of people (specially fans) hate on the game i don't personally hate it, i enjoyed it but it wasn't at all what i was waiting for (having in consideration the fact i knew the saga with graces) im about to play Berseria now I'm glad to see the game i enjoyed so up in the list, im hyped
Wait, is Tales of Symphonia 2 that bad that you didn't include it in the ranking?
I was very confued too, like did he skip it on purpose or just forget it? Cuz it's part of the mothership series iirc.
@@Evilriku13It actually isn't.
@@simonO712it actually is
Berseria could be higher but i also haven’t played every tales of game so maybe that will change but abyss being number 1 thank you for validating my favorite game of all time abyss is so peak
Having Abyss and Vesperia at the top is very respectable. I personally give Vesperia the edge just for Yuri alone, even if Luke is how you should write loser protagonists (Looking at you Intelligent Systems)
Man, putting Legendia at first? I mean, I know it’s obviously the best one, but I was hoping to see something different at first for once in one of these videos.
The import games really COULD use a PS4 PS5 Switch port so could Destiny 1 PS1 Eternia and Legendia.
Tales mentioned. Engaging for the algorithm.
Yessssss thank you. Finally some love for Tales Of Berseria.
Finally, someone recognizes Tales of Wallbreaker for the GOAT it is
I started my Tales of journey with the PS3 games Graces F and Xillia 1 and 2, and Xillia just holds very special place for me, and nothing has yet knocked it out of top spot. With the remaster of Symphonia and Vesperia, I was finally able to play those, and thought Symphonia was great, even so many years later. While i found Yuri interesting for being as you said, something of an anti-hero, i just didnt find the story or characters all that compelling. Like the story just felt very flat, all the same tone, and characters (to me) didnt feel like they had anywhere to go as far as growth. But with the Tales of Graces F remaster coming out soon, i want to revisit some of the games.
It will take a very special Tales game to ever knock Berseria out of number 1 for me but otherwise I mostly agree with everything here. And even then I recognize I'm probably being highly subjective just because I love Berseria for essentially following the villains, something so few JRPGs have done (or at least done well) that you could count them on one hand.
Glad to see you doing more Tales of content. Personally I definitely wouldn't put Abyss and Vesperia so high, or Zestiria and Destiny DC so low, but I can agree with most your points.
But while I love Motoi Sakuraba's work I don't think that Graces' and Xillia's OST are all that great.
Vesperia isnt so high for me personally but you cant deny the impact it has as a whole. Im glad you can agree with the points i made, i was very worried i didnt give enough time into each game since there are so many. Lets be honest all we need is White Wishes for graces and it slays making all the other music moot
@@DillonWithaBlankie Actually I can't comment too much on Vesperia's impact since I only first played it in 2017 I think when I imported the PS3 version from Japan and bought it again on Switch when the DE version came out, so I was incredibly late to the party. It is a very impressive game in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to content and battle system. But I could never get over how much of a letdown the story was, especially considering that it came after the goat Abyss.
As for Graces' music it does have a few tracks that are amazing. I especially love 'Risk Everything', the final dungeon battle theme in L&L.
I have not played every Tales game but my top 5 would probably be.
( Vesperia probably 6 for me. Played it for the first time in 2019. Just feel like Yuri carried the cast and story. Karol was the only other of the main cast I really liked. Rita pissed me off lol)
5. Tales of Arise
4. Symphonia
3. Xillia
2. Graces
1. Beseria
I wish I have been as fortunate as you to play all the flagship titles in this amazing series. I'd put:
Graces f
Arise
The Abyss in my top three. I agree with a lot of what you said about The Abyss. And it was a wonderful journey. But, I Subbed to you. I'd be very curious to know about your own personal list, since you said these were different.
This helps me understand why I do not mesh well with most people, at least when it comes to tales video games.
Hearts is my favorite, and the only game I actually finished. I find your take on the story... confusing. It's nothing group breaking as far as JRPG's go as there are a couple dozen with a similar set up (including several tales games), but it is executed well. Characters are good. I found tracking down Kohoku's emotions and how they played havoc no the area very interesting, and seeing how she had to deal with them coming back. This is also the only takes game where the combat makes sense. I could actually play the game and not just give up and button mash. Aside from, Ironically, Zesteria. For that game I will give you the story, but the combat was fun.
Yet even though I'm not there yet, I bet you will rank Vesperia in your top 5. I've tried 3 times to play this game and gave up each time. The combat is terrible with having to change the planes manually. Either go all out on 3D or stick to the 2D. Aside from the 2 protagonists all the characters are just terrible. There are a few threads laid out for the plot, but 20 hours later we are still just randomly going about the adventure with no real idea why. I had heard so often how good the game was so on the last try I eventually turned the difficulty to low to try and get to the good part of the story. Then I asked myself, why am I wasting my time so put on a lets play of the game while i worked. Then after I want to say 30 hours of game play the plot was still random things, no overarching narrative, no good character development, or good new characters (seriously WTF is with that stupid pirate girl) I said I don't get people and I am done wasting my time trying to see why this stupid game is good. It simply is not. I respect everyone has their opinion, but I'll never understand the consensus opinion on this game.
I hope at least you put Besaria high on your list as it's the only other tales game I really liked, and that seems to be well liked by the community.
* After hearing your take on Shione makes me think you really don't get characters. I don't mean this to be offensive. Just your read on things. Maybe as you age it will help?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Tales of Graces had the best combat system. It's still a blast to this day. Definitely some of the best characters, too
I was about ready to disregard a lot of the video after the part about Destiny DX, but I watched to the end to hear out the rest, and I'm glad I did.
I actually agree with most of what was listed here, barring a few things I would personally move around due to my own preferences. I tend to focus on the battle system more than I do any other aspect of these games, so that colors a lot of my perspective, and why Destiny R/DX is held in such high esteem for me. In terms of aesthetic, style, pace, and expression, I think to this day it's close to the pinnacle of the series as a whole, not even just among 2D games, but I can see why it might not if you dont invest an inordinate amount of time into learning it's numerous and often obscure nuances. Especially since a game like Graces arguably perfects these things, and is much more approachable on the whole. I still wish more games would implement something akin to the Narikiri dolls that can also.be brougt through to a NG+, was a genius idea imo.
Aside from that though, this list was pretty solid! I appreciate that the series made enough of an impact on you to go through them all, and to make a video like this to begin with!
Overall I tend to agree with this list. It’s all personal preference though based on where we were at in our tales/jrpg lives when we experienced each one, which makes ranking most of them so hard for me.
Right after I thought "Huh, I wonder where he's gonna place Tales of Synphonia." "Number five: Tales of Symphonia." 😂
Hmm, i have a very different opinions about the titles.
From best to worst for me was
Hearts R
Xillia series(1+2)
Graces f
Abyss
Eternia
Symphonia 1
Zestiria
Destiny
Legendia
Bestiria
Symphonia 2(so bad it should have been a dlc instead of a full game)
Haven't finished phantasia, vesperia and arise yet
Combat - Graces (also my fave)
Story - Abyss
Music - Legendia
Cast - Legendia
Protag - Yuri
Char design - Graces (but the 3d models are awful)
Gateway / entry to the franchise - Arise
Overall best - Vesperia
Based on ur comment,isnt Yuri is just the one who carried the game 💀
Wasnt there a Tales game that let you tame monsters with some weird monster catching requirement? like line up all the elements? also MC had a split personality.
Yes, there is. Tales of Symphonia Knight of Ratatosk or Dawn of the New World for Western titles. That is once considered an escort title.
Courage is the magic that can turn dreams into reality.
@@___________0Z0X Auron is that you? xD
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World! Didn't play the sequel huh? Haha great list!
Eternia was my first Tales game and still my most favorite till now
Im so glad Tales of the Abyss gets the love it deserves. I was spoiled in the fact that it was my first tales of game back when i rented it from blockbuster. Ive followed the series since, but i dont think its ever even scraped the surface of what TotA brough, except maybe vesperia, but still...TotA for the win
Guy is my favorite tales of character. Fight me
ok. my Destiny loving butt is majorly hurt. But, thanks for playing these games and sharing your thoughts! OH, edit, just to show that everyone is different (and that's a good thing) I have played all these games except Hearts and Destiny 2 and I also love Zestiria. ^_^
The multitude of flaws in Zestiria is forgiven by the fact that it has the best guitar riff opening ever.
Wow the amount of work that went into this. Great list. For me vesperia doesn't crack the top 8, but other than that I like your list. I do recognize its my unpopular opinion though. Can't argue with abyss at the top. and for me berseria is 2nd with eternia in the top 5 as well.
Tales of the abyss has the greatest story, top 1 for sure. You care about the everyone in this game. The enemies have personality and have connections with the heroes. Greatest Character development for sure.
EAT THIS, DEMON FIST
Demon fang!
Damn. XD No mention of Symphonia's sequel game with Emil and Martha.
Obviously you can check out my own rankings on my channel but to summerize. I can mostly agree with your list with the expection of Phantasia and Eternia= really cannot see how you put those old and clunky games above the later 2D Tales game which where way better IMO. Also Eternia was a joint team game (not team desinty) and Xillia was also a Team Symphonia game.
In order to judge a game properly, one has to play it completely. The best part of Legendia is the character quests... My overall favorites would have to be Symphonia and Abyss.
this is why we need reboots/remakes/ports of the destiny series they always get solid ranks for us NA people and it never even got released for us... and we need that phantasia nakiri dungeon sequel too.