Tales of Zestiria

Tales of Zestiria is a great game that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach. The story is gripping, the characters are surprisingly fleshed out and the open world feels alive. Some of the dialogue is great and gave me plenty of laughs, whether it was due to genuinely good writing or some sentiments that get lost in the translation – it doesn’t really matter.

JRPG lovers have in Tales of Zestiria a new challenge that comes loaded with a good story and effective development.

The archetypal JRPG - you probably already know if you'll love it - but there's no denying its quality. [Dec 2015, p.77]

Tales of Zestiria starts slow, but once it shifts into high gear it delivers. A monumental anime rpg.

When it comes to its technology Tales of Zestiria is a game tied to the previous generation of systems while at the same time it suffers from some camera glitches. On the other hand it has a fresh story, great characters that you care for, an exceptional battle system and so much content that will keep you close to it for days.

Tales of Zestiria is an interesting experiment but something does not work well how it should. Although they have made some really good step forward in terms of direction, narratives and quirks, a few technical issues and gameplay decisions leave a lot to desire for. That said, it's a gorgeous game to look at and listen to.

Tales of Zestiria is a really good game that hardcore JRPG fans will enjoy. With a complex story, magical and fantastic environments, well implemented visuals, and a really ambitious gameplay scheme, this title is one that could intimidate many players but will reward those ones that accept the challenge of playing it. Definitely a great game and a really cool way to celebrate the 20th anniversary and all of the legacy of the Tales of series.

A solid all around JRPG, Tales of Zestiria is familiar yet worthwhile.

Tales of Zestiria is a great new "Tales of" game with smooth, deep and polished combat system, great dungeon design and original side-quests system. However, has poor visuals (PS4/PC) and open world locations do not work correctly.

Minor flaws, but still a contender for JRPG royalty. [Issue#168, p.92]

Zestiria is the fifteenth main game in the Tales series. It tells the story of a young explorer named Sorey and his journey for defeating the evil forces corrupting the land. With this new open-world system, the Tales series evolves into a whole new level.

The half open world is not enough to make this chapter really shine. Fans of the saga will find good characters and a compelling combat system, but it's still clearly an old gen experience.

An excellent battle system and gorgeous soundtrack create an immersive entry that's a whole lot of fun, but Bandai Namco needs to polish their series a little more.

In an attempt to innovate the series, Tales of Zestiria makes some mistakes. It remains a game fun and exciting, especially due to its extremely interesting plot.

With Tales from the Borderlands, Telltale Games have struck gold. Easily their best effort since the first season of The Walking Dead, Tales marries the series cheeky humour and laugh-out laughs with some properly touching and poignant moments. This is as essential as it gets.

Though its graphics are a bit dated and it’s not going to revolutionize the genre any time soon, Tales of Zestiria is a solid, anime-inspired RPG with a new twist on battling, a fun story, and a great central idea that pushes the Tales franchise forward.

While you might not come out this game’s 40+ hour adventure with memories of the plot, you will remember the heroes, their fights and the lovely music that wraps it up to signal this as the best Tales of game since Tales of Vesperia hit the Xbox 360 back in 2009.

It relies entirely upon its entertaining, colorful cast of characters to distract players from anything even remotely tedious or derivative.

Tales of Zestiria is a great game which looks fantastic and plays like a charm. It doesn't really challenge you though and had a few small other flaws. Still the story grips you and the game manages to entertain you for hours.

The graphics are primitive and the localization is sometimes a little shaky, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable quest with a ton of energy and heart.

Tales Of Zestiria is a highly enjoyable JRPG, with likeable characters, fun combat and an engaging plot, that’s only mildly let down by a few technical hiccups and a lack of grandeur to the locations. For Tales fans, Zestiria is certainly amongst the best entry’s in the franchise and one which deserves to finally enjoy success in the West.

A great JRPG experience with tons of objectives to complete, characters to meet and speak with, superlative battles and hundreds of areas to explore.

Get through the typically humdrum opening hours and you'll find an addictive RPG with a tale well worth telling.

While I would prefer to see Bandai Namco at least try and do something to modernise the series, it’s difficult to really criticise it for sticking to beloved tradition. And as long as the narratives continue to be as enjoyable as they are, it’s really quite easy to forgive each new game its flaws anyway.

A JRPG that even those who don't appreciate the genre might like. There are many stereotypes, but the combat system and characters are the pillars of a truly enjoyable game.

It may have linear dungeons and a less-than-stellar story, but it’s open-world exploration, enjoyable customization, and flashy new Armitization feature are enough for it to stand on its own.

Tales of Zestiria had a good chance to surpass Vesperia as my favorite Tales title, but the weak plot left me wanting more. On the other hand, the combat system is currently tops, so that's a plus. Overall I still enjoyed my time with it, and would recommend it to Tales newcomers. Just come to it for the combat (and not the story) and everything will be roses.

There’s a lot to like in the world of Zestiria, and fans of JRPGs will no doubt find a lot to like here, but at the end of the day it’s still just another Tales games. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tales by numbers and for the most part, that's a good thing.

Tales of Zestiria plays by the book in a lot of ways, particularly when it comes to its cast and narrative. But it's still a great entry into the series, and a welcome return for old fans, especially as far as the battle system is concerned. In fact, it's even inspired me to go back and finish both Xillia titles -- that's the magic of the Tales series at work.

Tales of Zestiria is fun, but disappointing. It's too dependent on the past Tales of... titles and characters and plot are all but original. And it tries to justify itself. All the time.

When the credits rolled, we didn’t feel relief, but rather disappointment that the adventure was over. There’s a lot to criticize in Tales of Zestiria, but the combat and characters make it enjoyable regardless. Like many good role-playing games, it’s easy to get lost in, whether that means fine-tuning your strategies or watching the various character arcs unfold. At its best, Zestiria reminds us that the Tales series still has life left in it.

Beyond its puddle-deep characters, Zestiria is a decent addition to the series. [Christmas 2015, p.86]

Tales of Zestiria has its fair share of flaws and blemishes, but the engaging combat, coupled with a likeable cast of characters kept me engaged; it’s just too bad that a faint whiff of déjà vu still lingers over this franchise.

After almost 20 years, the Tales series is still going strong with Tales of Zestiria, which offers fast paced action-oriented combat that makes this entry yet another fun adventure in this long running franchise.

Let down by its story, dialogue, and visuals, Tales of Zestiria is still pretty good - but not quite good enough.

Love Tales, hate Tales, or just don’t care - Zestiria will give you exactly what you expect.

It's a shame that Tales of Zestiria didn't come together better, because the core of the game is easily the best the series has ever produced. Players looking for great combat won't be disappointed, but the disappointing story, tedious equipment system, and a number of other minor irritations all conspire to bring the whole experience down.

Tales of Zestiria is a good J-RPG, based on a deep and clever fighting system, and offering a nice and classic journey. But maybe Bandai Namco should now let some features and some techs behind to begin a really new era with its IP.

If you're in the mood for a good JRPG, Zestiria fits the bill, but don't expect anything outside of the norm.

Tales of Zestiria is a JRPG built primarily for Tales fans and those who truly want to be Tales fans.

Unfortunately, while the game was fun and entertaining, the dungeons lacked what other JRPG’s don’t. There just wasn’t as much going on as you’d hope for and I feel like I spent a little too much of the game just walking around, but I won’t despair as overall I found that the game was worth playing.

The dungeons are boring, the open world is sparse, and the skill system is obtuse, but a great cast keeps Tales of Zestiria moving forward. Between the cast and the combo-heavy combat system, JRPG fans will find a good deal of fun here.

Tales of Zestiria celebrates the 20th anniversary of the series with an ordinary game bent on keeping the old school formula of the JRPG genre alive.

The Tales saga starts its journey on PS4, but it has the burden of the latest entries in the franchise. If you haven't played any other games before, you can enjoy it as the good JRPG that it is, but those who have played other entries in the franchise will possibly see more steps back than forward.

Tales of Zestiria is not bad nor is it broken but it does not offer the wonder that I once found in JRPGs.

All in all, I think Tales of Zestiria is a bit of an uneven experience when compared to the rest of the series, but I certainly found myself more engaged here than I ever was in Xillia and Xillia 2.

The dungeons and the stories might feel a bit bland, the fighting system in Tales of Zestiria is powerful. This is more of a good action title than a good RPG, and it will take a lot of willpower to struggle your way through those dungeons to get to the sweet spot of the game.

Tales of Zestiria feels like a game from another time in many ways, and not in the charming type of way. It forces you through some the most boring and outdated elements from RPGs of yesteryear. If the series wants to stay relevant it needs to put forth a better effort than Zestiria.

Tales of Zestiria is just bad and lazy entry for a 20 year old series. [Jan 2016]

As an entry that’s meant to celebrate the series’ 20th birthday, Tales of Zestiria could have used a little more polish. As it stands, combat is fun but it needs to be streamlined a little more, along with the gear management system. The story may not quite be up to snuff, but longtime Tales fans will find a lot to love in the characters themselves. And hey, at least the opening song’s pretty dope too.

Tales of Zestiria is passable in most departments, but it makes no real effort to excel at anything. The combat and visuals aren't aging well and the story and characters are clichéd, even for a JRPG. There's some fun to be found fusing equipment, but overall the series needs to up its game.

By no means is Tales of Zestiria bottom of the pile, yet as far as all around quality goes — by which the many cogs keep this latest entry circulating; moving with swift, relevant engagement — Zestiria is perhaps the point wherein Bandai Namco really do have a franchise on one hell of a tipping point.

As far as the Tales series is concerned, there’s no overestimating the value of familiarity, which is why "comfort food" is a term often used to describe it.

Tales of Zestiria desperately tries to retain its retro JRPG roots while also attempting to stay relevant. The stat-heavy nature of the game combined with numerous unimaginative dungeons slows it down to a crawl, which is unfortunate because the fast-paced combat is enjoyable.

Excellent combat aside, the boring story and cookie cutter characters drags this experience down to forgettable levels.

The Tales franchise still feels like a great combat system in need of a much better game, especially given the banal script and dungeon design that mars this latest entry.