Tales of Zestiria

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 411 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 241 out of 411
  2. Mixed: 91 out of 411
  3. Negative: 79 out of 411
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  1. Gamingking007
    Oct 26, 2015
    10
    This game is simply amazing, I do admit they should have raised the fps and they could of done a lot better with the graphics but the rest is simply amazing! If you can get the collectors edition don't hesitate to buy it , you won't be sorry one of the best collectors edition I have ever owned and I have countless of them! Enjoy everyone !
  2. Gamexpert
    Oct 20, 2015
    10
    I am from Europe, so i got the game last Friday, and i really cant understand these few Hate-Comments.
    This Game is unbelievable. I can really recommend it to everyone who likes any sort of JRPG, and to new PLayers of the Genre.
    The Open World is fantastic, the graphics are a little bit outdated, but thats no reason to miss this game. The Main Reason to buy this game should be Gameplay,    I am from Europe, so i got the game last Friday, and i really cant understand these few Hate-Comments.
    This Game is unbelievable. I can really recommend it to everyone who likes any sort of JRPG, and to new PLayers of the Genre.
    The Open World is fantastic, the graphics are a little bit outdated, but thats no reason to miss this game.
    The Main Reason to buy this game should be Gameplay, Story and the excellent Characters.
    10/10 Awesome game, really.    … Expand
  3. Goodplayer
    Jul 17, 2019
    10
    Tales of Zestiria is truly one of the best video games of all time. It's a totally charming game from the beginning to the end, with handsome characters, great gameplay, good graphics, and nice story.
  4. Quandary
    Oct 20, 2015
    10
    I was a bit worried about Zestiria because I read some criticism from Japanese gamers, but it turns out to be one of the best games I've played on Ps4, and definitely the best Japanese rpg on that console. The story is charming and has a lot of flavour, with throwbacks to the King Arthur legends and interesting ideas like the invisible Seraphims that accompany the main character coupledI was a bit worried about Zestiria because I read some criticism from Japanese gamers, but it turns out to be one of the best games I've played on Ps4, and definitely the best Japanese rpg on that console. The story is charming and has a lot of flavour, with throwbacks to the King Arthur legends and interesting ideas like the invisible Seraphims that accompany the main character coupled with charming dialogues and funny skits. The world feels vast and great to explore, yet it is never a chore like in other opern world games. The battles are probably the best in any Tales game, keeping Graces f's flair and adding unique concepts like armitization, with a great loot system to tinker with. Zestiria also has dual audio, something I wish happened with all other Tales games before, even if the English dub is rock solid. Overall one heck of a purchase, I bet other fans of the genre will feel the same if they give the game a chance. I'm already waiting for Berseria to be localized.… Expand
  5. oathkeepings
    Oct 22, 2015
    10
    Not totally sure why this game is getting such mediocre reviews. The combat is fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous, and I personally find the story intriguing. I've fallen in love with all of the characters I've encountered so far. A lot of people are saying the story is lackluster and boring, but I really find it engaging and interesting. I think Sorey's journey as a Shepard with hisNot totally sure why this game is getting such mediocre reviews. The combat is fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous, and I personally find the story intriguing. I've fallen in love with all of the characters I've encountered so far. A lot of people are saying the story is lackluster and boring, but I really find it engaging and interesting. I think Sorey's journey as a Shepard with his friends is really fun to follow, and I haven't gotten bored of the story. I think this is one of the best RPG's on the PS4 right now by landslide, in my personal opinion. I also get some moderately strong Star Ocean TTEOT vibes from this game, not exactly sure why. I also really enjoy the voice acting.… Expand
  6. igorrocks2
    Oct 22, 2015
    10
    It was long wait and Tales Of Zestiria deliver ! Yet I hopped for something more rewarding. Since it is 20th anniversary! I hope that future games in the series will improve more. Yet I give it solid 10 because I missed it a lot.,,
  7. snakekill321
    Oct 24, 2015
    10
    This game is amazing. It has everythign you want in a tales game. Ye the plot os cute and paste, but the characters are so unique and memorable, the plot does have twists, and the game has an open world feel to it now. The game has four difficulty settings so if you like a challenge or even if you want to blow through for the story the option is there. Combat is done real well too,This game is amazing. It has everythign you want in a tales game. Ye the plot os cute and paste, but the characters are so unique and memorable, the plot does have twists, and the game has an open world feel to it now. The game has four difficulty settings so if you like a challenge or even if you want to blow through for the story the option is there. Combat is done real well too, combining aspects of Xillia, Graces and Hearts R. I wont admit this is my favorite Tales game, but this is a solid 10/10 game for any Tales of fan.… Expand
  8. Xervathu
    Oct 20, 2015
    10
    I've received the game on Friday, Due to living in Europe.
    Im not done with the game yet,I guess i'm somewhere halfway,
    But i really wanted to give my oppinion. Zestiria feels like a step forward for the tales franchise. Smooth transitions into combat and cutscenes and it feels like theres barely Any black/loading screens present in the ps4 version. The combat is taken straight from    I've received the game on Friday, Due to living in Europe.
    Im not done with the game yet,I guess i'm somewhere halfway,
    But i really wanted to give my oppinion.
    Zestiria feels like a step forward for the tales franchise.
    Smooth transitions into combat and cutscenes and it feels like theres barely Any black/loading screens present in the ps4 version.
    The combat is taken straight from Graces,which is a good thing because that is one of the best systems in the Tales series. Graphics look awesome, the world looks alive, the soundtrack is fantastic.
    Please dont get dissapointed by negative reviews. try it out. its worth it!    … Expand
  9. ChromXsome
    Oct 22, 2015
    10
    This Game is simply awesome.
    Graphics don't make a game. The Story, the characters and the innovative (and at first VERY complex) fighting System does.
    I am 15 hours into the game now, and everytime I am at work during the day, I just can't wait to get home and Play further into the Story! The only negative Thing for ME ist the fighting System. It doesn't make use of the D-Pad which    This Game is simply awesome.
    Graphics don't make a game. The Story, the characters and the innovative (and at first VERY complex) fighting System does.

    I am 15 hours into the game now, and everytime I am at work during the day, I just can't wait to get home and Play further into the Story!

    The only negative Thing for ME ist the fighting System. It doesn't make use of the D-Pad which is unfortunate. All the skills Need to be done with the Analog Stick and the "X" and "O" button, which makes everything more complicated. For beginners it is frustrating.

    Anyways, I think it is an awesome Game!    … Expand
  10. Mijdax
    Oct 25, 2015
    10
    This game is getting some undeserved bad reviews and scores thats why I give it a 10. Normally I would give it at least a 8 - 8.5.

    PRO: - Great and Lovely Design and Graphics (UI and InGame, even though its not on ps4 standards but that might be because of its ps3 roots.) - Interesting setting. It feels a little retro to be a "Chosen One"-Type of Hero. I kinda missed these plots :)    This game is getting some undeserved bad reviews and scores thats why I give it a 10. Normally I would give it at least a 8 - 8.5.

    PRO:
    - Great and Lovely Design and Graphics (UI and InGame, even though its not on ps4 standards but that might be because of its ps3 roots.)

    - Interesting setting. It feels a little retro to be a "Chosen One"-Type of Hero. I kinda missed these plots :)

    - Fusion and Battlesystem in General. It starts of a little slow but as you progress in the game it gets faster and faster as well as cooler and cooler (In terms of combos) and its (Thank god) not so confusing as Xillia 2 which took too much time to master it

    - Another improvement over Xillia 2 is that you are not flood with abilities and skills. Getting a new skill feels special and rewarding again.

    - CHARACTERS, Yes sorey can be a bit cheesy but hell Edna, Laylah, Rose are holy masterpieces in the series and I also love the Normin :)

    - Story, I remember wishing Graces battle system with a little more mature plot... here I got it. And besides, I am so happy that they don't hesitate to be a little more concrete when it comes to death.

    CONS:
    - Camera CAN be a hassle. But Its not as bad as I thought it would be.

    - Story, I know I know. I have it in the Pros already but I have to admit that it has a few Plotholes. It does not annoy me so far.

    - Difficulties, well well... I dont know whether its a con or not but it really annoys me that I get less EXP on Harder difficulties than normal.

    - Costumes, They seem to be a bit too saving on this end :/ Most of the Costumes are bought as DLCs

    Final Words: They have put some effort and love into this game and you basically feel it while playing it. The menus, the battle system, the characters, the animations and transitions. It all feels great and did I mention that I love the characters? Losing the forth time against an enemy and getting told that I suck while the game over screen is showing up is really the small things that brings them to life :')    … Expand
  11. AllUltima
    Oct 25, 2015
    10
    Ignore the "hater" reviews-- this is a great game with huge scope and it gets good pretty quickly. It's a shame it's rating gets dragged down from the ~8.5 or so that it deserves. Its few faults are quickly overshadowed by it's overall greatness. The more interesting characters come a bit later as well. And of course the combat is great. The only people who really won't like it are thoseIgnore the "hater" reviews-- this is a great game with huge scope and it gets good pretty quickly. It's a shame it's rating gets dragged down from the ~8.5 or so that it deserves. Its few faults are quickly overshadowed by it's overall greatness. The more interesting characters come a bit later as well. And of course the combat is great. The only people who really won't like it are those that can't stand anime for whatever reason.… Expand
  12. Lendra-chan
    Feb 8, 2016
    10
    I believe TOZ gets far too much flak for what it's worth. A lot of this game intends for the user to infer things and explore to piece the puzzle together. It stays away from heavily overused tropes and cliches while still executing a trope of its own. I believe it was really well executed and the fighting system, though is indeed difficult to get used to at first, makes battles enjoyableI believe TOZ gets far too much flak for what it's worth. A lot of this game intends for the user to infer things and explore to piece the puzzle together. It stays away from heavily overused tropes and cliches while still executing a trope of its own. I believe it was really well executed and the fighting system, though is indeed difficult to get used to at first, makes battles enjoyable and something you constantly need to think about instead of button mashing.

    Also, the fact that none of the females in your party are involved with the main character romantically is such a breath of fresh air. Both females are very individualistic and following are the other supporting character. They are all very interesting in different ways, little snippets of their characteristics revealed in the smallest areas and it makes them seem more realistic. There's no romance forced on you and where many players are frustrated that you can't romance the female characters, I'm very pleased that they kept to the realistic idea that they're amidst war and there are larger issues at hand. Plus there is the interpretation of the main character's relationship with his childhood friend as well.

    A lot of new things are introduced in TOZ and I'm very pleased with it. Certainly there were tedious parts of the game play and aspects that probably could have been better dealt with like close quarters fighting and the aesthetics of some of the ruins, but I far prefer an interesting and intricate plot and characters. I heard so many complaining about the plot and characters being flat, and perhaps it's because I played it with Japanese audio and English subtitles, but none of them seemed flat what so ever. On the contrary, everyone was very vibrant in their own ways, and the plot was one giant puzzle that had its pieces skewed everywhere, which is very believable for someone in the main character's position; flung into an unknown world with only a few clues to start a massive journey. You're rewarded for being ambitious and exploring, which is very true to the main character's interests and character, so he's not someone you can 'self insert' yourself into. You need to be diligent like him and observant and explorative. I greatly appreciate characters being true to themselves.

    Long story short, TOZ smack talking became a bandwagon ordeal and too many players became caught up in comparing it to earlier titles instead of taking it as a game of its own. A lot of new things were introduced, even progressive and risky in terms of tradition (fighting style, romantic options, etc) and I greatly enjoyed it.

    The music is also incredible~    … Expand
  13. AnimeFreak1305
    Nov 26, 2016
    10
    The graphics are spot-on.I love the voice actors of each individual characters!!! This game is absolutely-unbelievably good!! I very much enjoyed it till the very end!!
  14. lrobert
    Mar 19, 2017
    10
    This game is awesome... i bought it two months ago and i've been playing since that. It has a good story and great characters, and an amazing ending. You guys SHOULD buy this game if you like TALES SERIES.
  15. Darkkillia
    Oct 1, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This Game very good but I hope camera Blocked off make Story Boring Nothing annoying wish No bad language this game tales of zestiria Awesome But But Custom Outfit Not free I wandering New Update cool Hairstyles… Expand
  16. Vectus
    May 11, 2017
    10
    I think the hate this game gets in undeserved. looking at the story as a call back to classic ps1 and snes rpgs its a nice welcome call back in a sea of convoluted messes that jrpgs have become and the game play while not the best in the series is quite amazing when experienced as a single player
  17. eaboo316
    Mar 16, 2017
    10
    I really enjoyed my experience with Zestiria, and thought it was a solid addition to the Tales of series. I admit, I am a loyal fan of the series, and love the storytelling and character development present in all its titles (at least the ones I have played), and this game is no exception. I thought Sorey was great as a main character, and had great development from being naive and notI really enjoyed my experience with Zestiria, and thought it was a solid addition to the Tales of series. I admit, I am a loyal fan of the series, and love the storytelling and character development present in all its titles (at least the ones I have played), and this game is no exception. I thought Sorey was great as a main character, and had great development from being naive and not knowing much about the world in the beginning, though learning more throughout his journey which culminates into the decisions he makes towards the end of the game. He was a relatable character, and watching him and the other characters grow was a pleasure. In many ways, it is a simple story, but through the side quests and the skits, there is much to learn about the characters and many great messages to take away. I remember one part when one of the characters talked about the importance of critical thinking and not buying into narratives just because it may feel convincing - there are smart dialogues in this game that talk important issues which can be transferable to issues in the real world.

    The battles were really fun - I really liked the "transformations" in the game and how you could use the mechanics of that to your advantage. The equipment attributes were really confusing at first, though once you play through it more you are able to use it as strategy for harder battles. It is difficult though to "intentionally" try to get the best equipment stats wise and the special skills you want. The graphics were great, overall. I really like this type of 3D anime style, and the environments were solid, as in most of the Tales games. I thoroughly enjoyed the music, and listen to the OST now and then. Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina did a phenomenal job.

    Only thing I was really bothered about was the design of a certain character's hat, it's not really that big of a deal but it bothered me...

    I thought this was a very classic, Tales title. If you like Tales and JRPGs, you will like this game. The strength of this game is in the storytelling and the fun battles, so if you primarily like to explore in games, this may not be for you.

    It seems to not be the most highly rated in the series, and I understand the general consensus of why. Though I enjoyed this just as much as every other game in the series. Tales games are consistently fun and have great storytelling, which is why I love Zestiria and the series franchise! I think I clocked about 80 hours in this game, and I didn't do much of the post-game content, so it'll keep you engaged for awhile!

    And Sorey is one of my favorite Tales characters, he's the best nerd and his optimism is contagious. ^_^    … Expand
  18. tsumasaki
    Mar 20, 2017
    10
    zestiria is a great game
    zestiria is better than zelda breath of the wild
    the music of it . is magic and awesome
    play zestiria is magic
    the boss are difficults
  19. Phuz
    Mar 30, 2021
    10
    First things, first. If you're not slightly Weebie, don't like Anime and generally don't like things associated even slightly with these things, then you are on the wrong review page and will waste your money. People rave about Vesperia. Take those nostalgia glasses off, it's a bit ****, Clunky, with annoying as hell characters.

    People go on about Berseria as if it is some new breath of    First things, first. If you're not slightly Weebie, don't like Anime and generally don't like things associated even slightly with these things, then you are on the wrong review page and will waste your money. People rave about Vesperia. Take those nostalgia glasses off, it's a bit ****, Clunky, with annoying as hell characters.

    People go on about Berseria as if it is some new breath of life in the series and some great, dark story. It is infact very beautiful, the colour palette here was well chosen but it is slow and chessy and boring and those dark themes, sorry? Am I missing something? Just filled with annoying characters like Vesperia and a slow burn of a story.

    Now Zesteria is the only Tales of game that I actually think, oh, I wouldn't mind playing Zesteria tonight. Berseria, Symphonia and Vesperia (the only other three I own) I just think, oh I should try these again and see if they get better. Zesteria I think oh, I've not heard that lovely OST in ages, I've not seen those vibrant characters, I've not wandered around that nicely designed city. I want to go back rather than feeling an impusle to go back to try and justify the money I spent/wasted on the games.

    It's not a masterpiece but it is a great effort and I think the OST is amazing at times. I also think it just works. The individual parts are not great but they all work great together. I really think this pisses on the other Tales games I own and I also had some Tales games I couldn't get into at all and exchanged. So I've played 5, or 6 and this was my favourite.

    A quick rundown

    Graphics - I thought were stunning. The game world was plain but the design and colour choices were perfect. Side note here, I was playing tonight long after this was originally written. My girlfriend commented on how nice the graphics looked. She has as far as I remember never said that about any other game and she has seen me play hundreds.


    OST - I still play one of the songs on youtube every week, roughly 5 years after getting this game.

    Dialogue and VA - usual cheesy, crappy Yankee/Jap junk.

    Gameplay - fun.

    For me when I have a game I never delete to free up HDD space and I listen to the OST after many years and I still go back and play it again (something I rarely do outside of 2D fighters). It is a damned good game. I bought it in the sale at about £8 and it has been worth every penny.

    I know 7.2 isn't a bad score but this game is a lot more enjoyable than so many games rated more highly. Zesteria is like the Tales game it is cool to hate on and the reality is, it **** all over the so called best Tales games "classics".

    New note. I am still not even half way through this. I have put it on and off for years and I still love it and after 35 years gaming it is right up there in my favourite games. I am about to side line it again to play Arise but unless my PS4 blows up, I will be 100% back to this game again.    … Expand
  20. xXDFGVv
    Nov 9, 2019
    10
    Tales of Zestiria was a great game! The storyline and gameplay was fantastic, not to mention the beautiful art style!
  21. Neia
    Mar 22, 2022
    10
    Conheci a saga tales of pelo zestiria e cara que jogo,história muito bem contada e persomagens bem desenvolvidos tem alguns problemas mas nada que tire o brilho do jogo
  22. Stefanobed
    Apr 13, 2021
    10
    The best of the serie . Funny gameplay ,amazing story ,great journey . Simply The best
  23. Flypaper
    Oct 27, 2015
    9
    I'd give it an 8.5 if I could. This review is coming from someone who hasn't played much Tales in the past. I'm 15 hours into the game and love the uplifting and feel good story of a truly good characters trying to save the world. There is no grit here folks. The story is 8.5 so far with a constant barrage of new information about the malevolence and where the shepherd fits into theI'd give it an 8.5 if I could. This review is coming from someone who hasn't played much Tales in the past. I'm 15 hours into the game and love the uplifting and feel good story of a truly good characters trying to save the world. There is no grit here folks. The story is 8.5 so far with a constant barrage of new information about the malevolence and where the shepherd fits into the story (along with new battle mechanics - more on that later). Its not as simple a story as some reviewers seem to claim. I enjoy the characters and want to see how they end up, which is rare for me these days in games when they make the characters so unlikable that I don't care about them.
    The battle system is surprisingly complex. It is still teaching me new things after 15 hours and I still don't get it all. So maybe it could be a little more streamlined and still be a deep experience. It is flashy and fun though with some relatively challenging bosses after easing you into the system. Save often as there are some enemies on the map that will wipe the floor with you in one or two hits. You will want to go around those (which is an option with most fights, but you won't gain levels of course). There are no random battles in this game. That's a big plus for me. I hate being interrupted unexpectedly every five seconds. The enemies in this game are well spaced enough to not feel tedious most of the time.
    Graphics get the job done in this game. It fits the anime style in my opinion. Its last gen pretty (since it was made for PS3 and doesn't even make the cooling fan blow much on my PS4). Not PS2 ugly like some claim. There are some lower res textures and its not going to wow you with its realism, but my big thing is animation. If the characters move like robots it takes me out of the story. The animation is very natural even with the in engine "cutscenes." By the way the English dub is pretty good in my opinion. Its not the best ever with some unnatural pauses and responses, but overall its not distracting.
    One thing that may bother some is the lack of real choices in this game. In my 15 hours with the game, I have made 1 choice and wonder if it really mattered. Honestly it doesn't bother me a bit. The game has a story to tell and you are along for the ride. Works for me as I don't want to tell my own story as many games want you to do. I want the developers to write a story and tell it in a compelling way. This game does that. There are mysteries to unravel and I need to get back to slaying dragons. I recommend this game to anyone who isn't too jaded to enjoy a good vs evil story, innocent and good characters like only Japanese culture can do these days. I hope this review helps make up your mind!    … Expand
  24. jirren
    Oct 29, 2015
    9
    Anyone complaining about the camera and basing a low score on that is stupid. The camera is bad at times but not very often and you can easily adjust it if you actually know what your doing. The games music is possibly the best in any tales game IMO. Sorey is very standard but he is surrounded by interesting party members and a well developed story. If you like tales games then this willAnyone complaining about the camera and basing a low score on that is stupid. The camera is bad at times but not very often and you can easily adjust it if you actually know what your doing. The games music is possibly the best in any tales game IMO. Sorey is very standard but he is surrounded by interesting party members and a well developed story. If you like tales games then this will easily please you.… Expand
  25. VsAssassin
    Nov 20, 2015
    9
    Conviction and commitment. These themes are central to the plot of Tales of Zestiria. A plot that is intriguing enough to keep you playing. Luckily, Tales of Zestiria has other strengths that make it a seemingly breath of fresh air when compared to past titles. For one, there is the battle system, which is an addicting, real-time affair. Another is the field skills which may earn you moreConviction and commitment. These themes are central to the plot of Tales of Zestiria. A plot that is intriguing enough to keep you playing. Luckily, Tales of Zestiria has other strengths that make it a seemingly breath of fresh air when compared to past titles. For one, there is the battle system, which is an addicting, real-time affair. Another is the field skills which may earn you more gold or keep your health green.

    Characters are more quirky this time. There are moments that make them a little JRPG cliché, but for the most part, they are fleshed out enough so you can care about them. They also participate in short dialogues called skits where you get to know more about each character and unveil more about the intriguing story. These skits are also surprisingly funny.

    The sound design is also very nice. There will be moments when your emotions will be heightened by great background music. The OST is also quite catchy.

    One thing I did not like much about Tales of Zestiria is the confusing weapon/skill system. For the most part, you can just ignore the attached skills to weapons. Fusing similar weapons together is a welcome mechanic to the game, though.

    Bottom line: Get this game if you are a Tales fan. If you are not, this entry in the series might just be the JRPG Trojan Horse you have been looking for. Dare I say that this game is better than Tales of Xillia and Tales of Graces F.

    Pros:
    +Intriguing story
    +cool characters
    +awesome battle system
    +beautiful soundtrack

    Cons:
    -Convoluted weapon/skill system
    -big areas with little else to do    … Expand
  26. blakfayt
    Feb 4, 2017
    8
    I love how people think the characters in this game are terrible tropes. Play Graces F, the game with the literal tropes in them. Silent, obedient female, tsundere girl next door that doesn't like you at all b-baka, jealous younger brother that's much better than you but isn't the protagonist, protagonist that loves justice and has the attention span of a flea, and of course, the olderI love how people think the characters in this game are terrible tropes. Play Graces F, the game with the literal tropes in them. Silent, obedient female, tsundere girl next door that doesn't like you at all b-baka, jealous younger brother that's much better than you but isn't the protagonist, protagonist that loves justice and has the attention span of a flea, and of course, the older veteran that knows more than he lets on.

    Zestiria's characters are frankly the most original JRPG characters in a long, long time. The protagonist is idealistic and naive, but he's not down right stupid. He learns, he observes and he make decisions. "We can't save this person" doesn't end with him trying and failing and wondering why, it ends with him realizing that's what needs to be done and that his ideals have to be compromised for the greater good. He's also got quirks that aren't incredibly dumb. He's an archaeology buff, so he gets to show off book smarts, which is rare in a Japanese protagonist in a video game. Some of the characters do fall into annoying tropes or suffer from cliche habits, but those aren't their main personality, which is what makes a trope character.

    The combat is also pretty grindy, unless you play on hard and above, which actually addresses another issue people have with the game being too easy. Turning the difficulty up means you have to actually exploit enemy weaknesses proper in order to be successful, but in turn you get really high level equipment very early on. This bonus is clearly less important late game, but if you're really concerned about the game being challenging, you wouldn't turn the difficulty down just to whine about how it's easy.

    The worst part of the whole game is the equipment skills system. Mostly because it's a massive, over cluttered mess that you shouldn't pay any attention to until the end of the game. Essentially, there are about ten skills across several element types. When you line these up either vertically or horizontally, you get a buff. The problem is that when you fuse two pieces of equipment together, the skills fuse too and change based on what the two skills are. Without a calculator to tell you what skills make what skills, it's just a headache to follow and the best buffs are just straight up stat increases anyway. It was a very silly idea that adds to the grind far more than simple leveling.

    Overall though, Zestiria is easily one of the better games in the series. It's not one of the greats, but it's not Graces F, it's not Destiny, it's not Hearts R. It's a solid game that lacks annoying, overused characters that Japan has been pushing out for waifu huggers since the mid 2000's. (And the story may be the "typical" save the world plot, but at least it's in danger in an interesting way instead of typical "evil emperor.")    … Expand
  27. redmandana
    Oct 22, 2015
    8
    Ok i already reviewed this game but i came back to rewrite my review.. Previously i gave this game a bad review. But i was only a quaterbway through the game. But now im 75% through the game... And i had to change my review.. I actually like this game the combat is awsome the story is good. Basically your the avatar.. You control the four elements. All together its a good game and i expectOk i already reviewed this game but i came back to rewrite my review.. Previously i gave this game a bad review. But i was only a quaterbway through the game. But now im 75% through the game... And i had to change my review.. I actually like this game the combat is awsome the story is good. Basically your the avatar.. You control the four elements. All together its a good game and i expect nothing less from a tales series.. The only back draws is the complicated story and the dated graphics .im giving it an eight because i actually still playing it... I dont recommend it... But its not a bad buy ether.… Expand
  28. Hobobear
    Oct 20, 2015
    8
    Tales of Zestiria. New game to my all time favorite JRPG series aside from Valkyrie Profile. First off my own opinion is game looks and plays great. I love characters though the shepard of humanity, savior of mankind theme straight off the bat bit displeases me. Like many tales series games, i have always loved combat system of the games. this time though i must say its hideous. ItsTales of Zestiria. New game to my all time favorite JRPG series aside from Valkyrie Profile. First off my own opinion is game looks and plays great. I love characters though the shepard of humanity, savior of mankind theme straight off the bat bit displeases me. Like many tales series games, i have always loved combat system of the games. this time though i must say its hideous. Its hideous and good at the same time. What hapened to old TP/Mana combat and why they had to change it to CC and from CC to SC. thats my number one problem of the game. Also sometimes during battle your camera may get stuck on trees/walls etc depending where you fight the monsters on the map. Beside that its solid succesor of Tales series and dont have problems with it. They also decided to add in fusion gear like in tales of Graces which in my opinion is not bad idea and adds bit to gameplay. Though to play higher difficulties you need to do fusion to actually survive.
    Game also offers Battle suppor skills which can be translated straight to Talent system of Tales of abyss/symphonia which is neat.
    TLDR: Camera can make battles annoying depending where you fight. Good characters and gameplay. SC system in battle does not realy work in favor in my opinion.    … Expand
  29. consolfreak1982
    Nov 9, 2015
    8
    As a huge Fan of the Tales Series, with Symphonia and Graces being my two most beloved ones so far, im extremely satisfied with Zestiria - and its easily the best Tales of game since Symphonia thanks to a brilliant and entertaining cast of characters and a huge, connected gameworld. The biggest improvements concern the battle system, and I can say for sure that its the best in the series,As a huge Fan of the Tales Series, with Symphonia and Graces being my two most beloved ones so far, im extremely satisfied with Zestiria - and its easily the best Tales of game since Symphonia thanks to a brilliant and entertaining cast of characters and a huge, connected gameworld. The biggest improvements concern the battle system, and I can say for sure that its the best in the series, its tactical, flashy, and fun to play. There are a few downsides however, the graphics for example, while colorful, are a huge disappointment - the huge "open" areas look very empty, dungeons are always structured with same narrow corridors. The camera sure has its problems as well, especially in narrow places. Sometimes its quite unsure where to go to next, which leads to some unecessary backtracking.The Soundtrack is extremely good this time, so is the english voice over. The adventure is quite lenghty as you would expect from a Tales game, and even features replayability if you want a second or third walkthrough.
    For me, Zestiria is on par with Symphonia, and that means a lot if you know the series.
    I can recommend it to every JRPG Fan    … Expand
  30. INODratedRjoker
    Jun 3, 2016
    8
    Sorey a beau être humain, celui-ci vit au sein d’Elysia, village peuplé de Séraphins, entités quasi-divines ne pouvant être vues par… les êtres humains justement. Hormis une certaine catégorie, en l’occurrence celle réunissant les cœurs purs.
    En plein dans ses recherches parmi des ruines et accompagné de son ami Mikleo, qui lui est Séraphin, notre futur héros tombe sur une demoiselle    Sorey a beau être humain, celui-ci vit au sein d’Elysia, village peuplé de Séraphins, entités quasi-divines ne pouvant être vues par… les êtres humains justement. Hormis une certaine catégorie, en l’occurrence celle réunissant les cœurs purs.
    En plein dans ses recherches parmi des ruines et accompagné de son ami Mikleo, qui lui est Séraphin, notre futur héros tombe sur une demoiselle inconsciente. Cette dernière, nommée Alisha, n’est rien d’autre qu’une humaine elle aussi, mais pourra apparemment repartir chez elle sans aucun problème. Sauf qu’alors que celle-ci vient de quitter le domaine, on découvre un Hellion à sa recherche et cela certainement pas en lui ne voulant que du bien. N’écoutant que son courage, Sorey se lance à sa recherche afin de la protéger, ceci non sans se faire repérer par son ami qui choisira lui aussi de partir vers cette aventure qui verra son comparse devenir «Le Berger», légendaire personnage ayant pour rôle de sauver l’humanité. Et oui, rien que cela.

    Le système de jeu qui vous permettra d’arriver à vos fins s’avèrera être un subtil mélange entre ce que les Tales Of ont déjà pu proposer, mais pas nécessairement sur les derniers volets, et des nouveautés offrant une bouffée de fraicheur, ainsi que des surprises.
    Tout d’abord, les combats se déroulent là où vous rencontrez vos adversaires et non plus dans une arène conçue à cet effet. Précisons que ces mêmes ennemis sont à découvrir au sein du monde ouvert que vous parcourrez. Celui-ci n’est pas forcément gigantesque et propose des lieux pas énormément fournis en détails, mais cela reste en rapport avec son milieu et se comprend donc aisément.

    Concernant la baston, une jauge servira à ne pas rendre TOZ comme un jeu bourrin, celle-ci diminuant au fil des attaques. Afin de la remplir à nouveau, il suffira de stopper ses offensives et donc d’esquiver ou encore de parer celles de vos adversaires.
    Un système basé sur le principe du pierre/papier/ciseaux sert également à affiner ce gameplay, en évitant la répétitivité et même l’acharnement sur un seul et unique bouton comme l’on peut le voir ailleurs.
    Au-delà de ces features, la grande spécificité du soft est la fusion entre un Séraphin et un humain. En plus de l’excitation provoquée par cette particularité toujours très attrayante en jeu vidéo, anime, manga… elle amène bien sûr son lot d’attaques inédites, ainsi qu’une puissance accrue. Sans oublier que les différentes combinaisons offrent directement de l’originalité par le passage de l’une à l’autre, surtout au moment où l’on découvre et admire le combattant qui en ressort.
    Notons aussi la présence des talents et de l’équipement, dont la fusion, décidément essentielle, entre deux éléments verra naitre une nouvelle capacité. Moult possibilités donc, en plus de la progression disponible également pour cet équipement, gonflant avec plaisir la durée de l’aventure.

    Comme dans la plupart des jeux de rôle nippons, l’aspect visuel se divise de deux manières bien distinctes. D’un côté on retrouve les protagonistes, tous aussi somptueux les uns que les autres et bénéficiant d’un fabuleux chara design. On voyage littéralement de peinture divine à une autre et l’on se régale à chaque rencontre. Tandis que de l’autre part, on découvre des environnements assez vides, mais ne posant aucun problème. Cela est rendu possible car Tales of Zestiria se situe dans la catégorie des très bons jeux, ceux sachant proposer un game system intéressant, prenant et non misant simplement sur les graphismes pour ne s’avérer être qu’un univers sans fond.
    A noter pour les esthètes que le quatuor d’artistes de la série est réuni, en l’occurrence : Inomata Mutsumi, Fujishima Kosuke, Okumura Daigo et Iwamoto Minoru. Concernant les cinématiques, c’est le studio Ufotable Inc. qui s’en est occupé, offrant une immense qualité digne du plus bel anime. On se plonge avec délectation dans chacune et cela devient un véritable cadeau donnant envie d’avancer dans l’aventure.

    On ne change pas les bonnes vieilles habitudes, si la franchise Tales Of perdure dans le haut niveau concernant le rendu de ses personnages, la partie sonore n’est pas en reste. Sakuraba Motoi et Shiina Go délivrant une bande-originale de haute volée, comme à l’accoutumée dans la série.
    Toujours dans ce que l’on pourra entendre, notons la présence des doublages en japonais et en anglais, soit plus qu’il n’en faut. Evidemment on préfèrera évoluer avec la version originale, cette dernière étant plus qu’appropriée étant donné ce milieu si proche du manga et de l’animation. Au-delà de cette évidence, relevons les sous-titres et autres textes en français, démontrant l’ambition du titre, certain(e)s joueuses/eurs restant hermétiques aux logiciels ne possédant point cette option.

    Tales of Zestiria va sans aucune difficulté entrainer les joueurs attendant chaque itération des Tales Of, ainsi que des nouveaux qui se trouveront portés par la magie de son univers et son système de jeu tout aussi attractif.    … Expand
  31. SilentEFFect241
    Jan 23, 2017
    8
    I don't have a long history with this series unfortunately. The only games from this series i have experience with are vesperia and abyss which are excellent. for me this was a sally game with the characters lowering there heads and grunting when dealing with a problem, but hey its a jrpg whatcha gonna do. Aside from that i thoroughly enjoyed this epic adventure. now i did pretty much theI don't have a long history with this series unfortunately. The only games from this series i have experience with are vesperia and abyss which are excellent. for me this was a sally game with the characters lowering there heads and grunting when dealing with a problem, but hey its a jrpg whatcha gonna do. Aside from that i thoroughly enjoyed this epic adventure. now i did pretty much the main story only and it took me roughly 36 hours to beat not counting grind time( which you don't need to do so don't worry). Like ChromXsome said graphics dont make the game. This is true and while they wont win any awards the graphics here worked well. Now whats an story without the characters....its twilight thats what hollow and empty. But luckily thats not the case here. Cast here are good although soreys good boy character was kinda annoying at times never made me stop playing. now as far as gameplay the action is smooth responsive and fun but face a large group of enemies later on after getting more moves an you'll be lost in a sea of particael effects that had me saying thats pretty but whos shanking me from behind i cant see. all in all from the perspective a newbie to the series this is an fantastic and well worth the money cant wait to get Beseria tomorrow.… Expand
  32. NairbYeldarb
    Jun 19, 2019
    8
    I really enjoyed Tales of Zestiria. As a whole, it’s definitely a good game, despite its low production value. If you can get past the fact that it’s not a AAA game, the experience is very wholesome and entertaining, and the fun, although unnecessarily complicated combat system kept me engaged until the end. The thing that drew me in though was the beautiful character designs andI really enjoyed Tales of Zestiria. As a whole, it’s definitely a good game, despite its low production value. If you can get past the fact that it’s not a AAA game, the experience is very wholesome and entertaining, and the fun, although unnecessarily complicated combat system kept me engaged until the end. The thing that drew me in though was the beautiful character designs and visually pleasing anime aesthetic. The game expands on this by really getting to know each of these characters through animated skits (which are a staple of the franchise) you can trigger at inns, discovery points on the map, or at save points. These are all very satisfying to watch and range from conversations between two characters to ones that feature your entire party, and while most expand on lore, many are pretty funny. Edna in particular is a total troll with some brilliantly devious lines. The things that are wrong with this game are indications of laziness on the developers’ part and mainly technical/visual. One, the world feels very small compared to the world of, say, Vesperia. Even though the zones themselves are expansive. Second, a lot of the environments are just, bland. I found it hard sometimes to become fully immersed in the world, especially when I look up at the sky and it’s blatantly copy pasted with the same cloud everywhere I look. Maybe some don’t notice this type of thing but to me it’s like OCD, really gets to me because it shows laziness not lack of budget. However, I still had a good time galavanting around the game’s wide open spaces purifying hellions, and there are also numerous cities and towns which they did a pretty good job on. It feels somewhat lived in with exceptions to the blandness in a couple of uniquely pretty zones. The general progression through the game is linear with lots of optional dungeons and bosses along the way, and of course extra things off the beaten path. You’ll do a fair amount of backtracking through previously explored areas also. The story seems basic and cliche at first but definitely gets a bit deeper as you get towards the end with heavy themes of duality and the spectrum of morality. While I kind of lost interest in the second half and wasn’t too impressed with the villain, the final dungeon and boss battle were pretty awesome and the ending was fantastic, wholesome and touching, left a smile on my face. One thing I love is how a big focus in the story is Sorey and Mikleo’s relationship and for once the main character isn’t getting chased by all the females of the group (or vice versa... although you do get a party member later on who fits the cliche anime perv bill). It was super refreshing. Combat is pretty solid, I had a lot of fun to where I didn’t really ever want to skip battles. The only thing is it’s very complex and the game dumps complicated information about it on you constantly. The skill progression system is a bit weird making you fuse weapons of the same name together in order to get more skills.... which you have to stack in certain ways to power up your stats.... I still didn’t have my head wrapped completely around it by the end of the game but honestly it didn’t really matter because this game isn’t that difficult and you can breeze through the whole thing on normal if you don’t skip too many fights. Anyway if you want a charming, wholesome anime fantasy adventure with fun combat, and don’t mind the graphical/environmental issues, this is a good time and I’d recommend it for any jrpg fan.… Expand
  33. Adriella01
    Aug 30, 2021
    8
    For an jrgp it's a really good game, because many jrpgs are a big flop. But this games does a lot of things right. Smooth interesting combat, nice story, you have the freedom to walk in an open beautiful world. Most NPCs are also part of the story and sidestorys, which makes them important (Not like in SAO where most are just decoration lol?).
  34. Jmart8
    Jun 21, 2020
    8
    Just got introduces in the tales of games and came to this one right after Vesperia. It is clear that the game is inferior and the characters are less memorable but to a very marginal level and it doesnt destroy at all the strong points it has. As fot those, storywise it is even more interesting in my opinion than Vesperia and most games Ive played in the recent years since it reflects onJust got introduces in the tales of games and came to this one right after Vesperia. It is clear that the game is inferior and the characters are less memorable but to a very marginal level and it doesnt destroy at all the strong points it has. As fot those, storywise it is even more interesting in my opinion than Vesperia and most games Ive played in the recent years since it reflects on right and wrong, war, trust and convictions to points you might even doubt yourself. It is mildly enjoyable gameplay with a lot of options(maybe too many) and it stilllacks fluidity. Not the best choice as a first tales of games but its an enjoyable ride… Expand
  35. miaomlao
    Nov 2, 2015
    7
    Review after playing few days.

    +is tales of in english!
    +duo voice(english voice improved compare with previous tales I play so far..)
    +music
    +control

    -complicated items skills...
    -huge map with slow running speed =p
    -outdated graphic on ps4
    -camera (sometimes the camera kissing the floor when fighting at tight spot)

    Be right back for a full review when I finish the game!
  36. fenrishero
    Oct 31, 2015
    7
    As someone who's a huge fan of the Tales series, this game was a very big 'swing and a miss' for me: It's not bad, but it's definitely not good. Everything that feels alright about the game is the tried and true tales formula, and everything that feels off is stuff thats new to this game. Summing up

    -Combat is artifically complicated: They attempted to fix the old 'attack with the    As someone who's a huge fan of the Tales series, this game was a very big 'swing and a miss' for me: It's not bad, but it's definitely not good. Everything that feels alright about the game is the tried and true tales formula, and everything that feels off is stuff thats new to this game. Summing up

    -Combat is artifically complicated: They attempted to fix the old 'attack with the right element till they fall down' style of the old games, but created a bizarre system where sometimes attacking with the wrong elements is good, and sometimes stopping your attack blitz is good, but the combat is too frentic to really get a feel for when you want to do what.

    -The no-load combat is a mixed blessing: Istead of loading to a battle field, you simply fight on a restricted part of the overworld map. This means minimal load times and creates an immersive field, but for the first time, camera angles in combat become an issue, especially around walls.

    -The equipment system is lunacy: Items have semi-randomized properties, and you want to align the right stats to get bonuses. There's also the old equipment improvement smithing stuff, but now it involves combining equipment using rules about what properties will carry over. Equipment shops now have limited inventory, so the game expects you to farm weapons from enemies for the properties you want. They do give you a mechanism to help with this, but this is raw grinding.

    -Areas are huge and empty: The area maps are enormous, but have little to nothing in them. You eventually get annoyed at running through them, They do have a save point teleport system, but that just underscored how most of the time you wanted to skip the area maps.

    -Localization and/or the writing are bad: No way to sugar coat this. This is the worst VA'd tales game I have ever played. While the quality is average overall, and every VA does have their moments, a lot of the dialogue is flat. The vignettes are often stilted, and the after combat dialogue is not up to previous games.

    -The plot is incoherent: This may be one of those times when the central ideas are 'too japanese' to make sense to westerners, but the message of the game seems garbled. At several points, the characters glossed over things that needed to be explained, or made inexplicable leaps of logic.

    In conclusion, I can't really recommend this one. It's a decent game, but that is not what I expect from this series. Tales games are all about the execution and storytelling, and this one just falls flat on those fronts. I'm glad they tried some new stuff, but a lot of it needs to be further refined if they plan on using it again.

    TL;DR Below what you expect from a tales game, merely average. Lot of experimental stuff that just didn't work. Bad localization, confusing plot.    … Expand
  37. FantasyCritic71
    Feb 6, 2016
    7
    I've played numerous Tales Games now Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, Graces, Xillia & Xillia 2 and from my experiences with those games I can safely say that this one is a little disappointing but still pretty decent.

    ~ Story ~ The story stars our hero Sorey as he journeys beyond his tranquil village of Elysia to become the Shepard and save the world from the malevolence with his    I've played numerous Tales Games now Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, Graces, Xillia & Xillia 2 and from my experiences with those games I can safely say that this one is a little disappointing but still pretty decent.

    ~ Story ~

    The story stars our hero Sorey as he journeys beyond his tranquil village of Elysia to become the Shepard and save the world from the malevolence with his Seraphim friends. The story starts off a little slow but eventually starts to get interesting once Sorey teams up with Edna - The Earth Seraph. An amazing cutscene done by Ufotable Animation Studios unfolds during this part in the game and my excitement for the game quickly went up but sadly the story does not bring me any satisfaction beyond that point. There are more interesting and entertaining scenes in the game of course but nothing that wowed me or got me too excited well besides the fact that a certain character I thought was cool died but that's spoiler territory we won't talk about that.

    ~ Characters ~

    Speaking of characters, lets talk about them.

    Sorey - Your typical JRPG Protagonist goody two shoes guy with alot of passion. There's nothing wrong with his clicheness though I found him to be a pretty cool protagonist way more tolerable then Asbel.

    Mikleo - Don't care about him at all but some of his sarcastic remarks are funny.

    Lailah - I love her puns.

    Edna - Who doesn't love our cold and feisty Edna?

    Rose - She's very honest and straightforward and has a few funny moments with Sorey.

    Alisha - President of the Sorey Fanclub and Honorable Knight.She's cool although not that interesting.

    Dezel - Kratos from Symphonia with a hat.I'm kidding Dezel is alot different from Kratos although he's serious most of the time and has his eyes set on vengeance. For the most part he's a badass and he's cool.

    Zaveid - Raven from Vesperia both drunk and high wearing a Sephiroth wig. I'm kidding Zaveid is my absolute favorite character in this game he is hilarious his theme song is amazing and he is the most entertaining character ever.

    Overall - This is no Xillia or Vesperia but the characters were still entertaining to watch and fun to play.

    ~ Gameplay ~

    I'm sure other reviewers have said this millions of times but I'll say it again the gameplay of this game is very similar to Graces F. Except now you have Fusion or as they call it with fancy terminology - Artimization. This ability allows you to fuse with a Seraphim and gain the power of their elements. Only Sorey and Rose can use this ability because their humans and although Alisha is a human she cannot use Artimization. Like always you have your Mystic Artes, your Standard Attack Artes and your Special Ability Artes each game calls them by a different name but their all pretty much the same thing.

    Other Gameplay - You can fuse items in this game at shops, you can make discoveries like in Graces F characters have bonus abilities such as Mikleo's baking skills to make Desserts Alisha's prepatorial skills to make gels, Dezels windrunner skills to make you run faster and so on. Titles can be upgraded like in Graces F and items can be upgraded as well. There's tons of bonus content to do in this game enough to keep you playing for hours.

    Bad Gameplay Ideas - Skits only play at savepoints and at Inns. You can't switch out Sorey from the party nor on the field. If you have only Sorey on your team or one human such as Rose you can only use 2 characters. The Water Temple is the most annoying dungeon ever but has good music. Katz Corner has the weirdest music I have ever heard oops that's not gameplay related, anyway....

    Overall - Gameplay is familiar and good.

    ~ Soundtrack ~

    Is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

    Go Shina should Compose more Tales Games.
    Motoi did good job too though I love the Cheer Yourself Up Battle Music the remix to the Xillia 2 Song(Forgot The Name) and the Lastonbell and Pendrago Rain & Malevolence Theme.

    Voice Acting - Good.

    ~ Graphics ~

    Looks like an updated Xillia. Also has a few pop in issues and camera problems.It's even worse on Multiplayer.
    ~ Replay Value ~ Moderate ~ Overall ~ Zestiria is just another Tales Game exactly what you'd expect from the Tales Series unless you were expecting the greatness of the Big 3 - Symphonia, Abyss & Vesperia or the Xillia's. Now in my opinion I love Zestiria despite its flaw's and I think it's a little bit more fun to play then a few other Tales Games. The story is also not too bad it beats Graces F & Tempest in my opinion. Zestiria is still enjoyable and I recommend Tales fans to give this one a go.    … Expand
  38. VKnux
    Nov 7, 2015
    7
    If you are a fan of previous Tales games like me, then you probably not consider this game the magnum opus of the series. From a purely mechanical standpoint the game has its fair share of flaws, but it does well enough in other places to still be an average game overall. What stood out the most to me, and what I will remember Zestiria for, is its amazing localization. I can only hope thatIf you are a fan of previous Tales games like me, then you probably not consider this game the magnum opus of the series. From a purely mechanical standpoint the game has its fair share of flaws, but it does well enough in other places to still be an average game overall. What stood out the most to me, and what I will remember Zestiria for, is its amazing localization. I can only hope that Bamco continues with that quality moving forward.
    The issue I had overall is the camera when the game transitions from being in the field to being in battle. It simply cannot be overlooked. IT IS HORRENDOUS. Seriously, did no one QA test that? If there is any sort of environmental object, say a box or a tree for instance, on the battlefield the camera will lose its mind like a possessed baby with an iPad. Hitting your enemies, much less seeing them, is nigh impossible. The other big complaint I have is a lack of character depth. Aside from Sorey (main) and Mikleo (his best friend) I was not compelled to REALLY care about the other characters, at least not in the way that Tales games usually make me care for their entire casts. Even with Sorey and Mikleo I only began to care after a spoiler event that happens near the end of the game. Instead of simply using tutorials, many skits were wasted explaining the convoluted battle system where they could have been used to expand the character narrative. Dialogue is still interesting and enjoyable (dat localization tho) and combat is still fun despite these flaws. The Armitization feature really saves the day for the combat system in Zestiria. At the cost of absorbing an ally, you gain extremely fun abilities and look like a demi-god. This ability to use more characters on the field or combine them using Armitization for one powerful character adds a nuance of strategy to almost every battle.
    One final complaint: the focal antagonist is a throw away character and his development is severely underwhelming, though his design is badass. Learning about him through ten-second, abstract cutscenes obtained through side quests and then receiving a boatload of exposition three hours before the game ends is not a compelling way to make me feel hatred, empathy or desire to defeat him.
    Overall, it's still an average game and it will be an enjoyable experience whether you are familiar with the series or not.
    Collector’s Edition Notes: The 149.99 USD Collector’s Edition is pretty nice. I was disappointed by the flimsy and thin cardboard that houses the goodies inside because I was expecting the premium boxing that was used for the Tales of Symphonia Collector’s Edition. The 8-bit keychains of Sorey, Mikleo and Alisha are incredibly cool and make up for the sub-par housing. The Chibi figures go great with the ones I already had from Symphonia, and the Steelbook case is sexy; housing both the game and the musical selection CD. I haven't watched the Blu-Ray OVA that came with it, but it appears to only be an animated version of the first seven or so hours of gameplay. The artbook is well done and feels premium, though a bit small. Keep the plastic overlay to protect the box and it should be fine.

    Pros:
    -A++++++ localization
    -Impressive character designs
    -Loads to do in new game+

    Cons:
    -Convoluted battle system
    -Uninteresting antagonist
    -Wasted skits    … Expand
  39. Voretechz
    Dec 6, 2016
    7
    I honestly don't know how to feel about Tales of Zesteria. I don't dislike it, but I don't love it. It just falls somewhere in the middle. The game is decent and worth playing if you like the Tales Of games, but this game falls kind of flat compared to Xillia. The story is meh, the characters are meh but the dialogue is pretty funny in some places. The combat is pretty good but theI honestly don't know how to feel about Tales of Zesteria. I don't dislike it, but I don't love it. It just falls somewhere in the middle. The game is decent and worth playing if you like the Tales Of games, but this game falls kind of flat compared to Xillia. The story is meh, the characters are meh but the dialogue is pretty funny in some places. The combat is pretty good but the transformations are cool but are just OP as hell and make everything a joke and it is one of the main mechanics. I wanted to love this game, but I just left thinking MEH.... I doubt I will ever play it again. But it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. There is still some fun to be had here.… Expand
  40. gq_foine
    Sep 3, 2017
    7
    UPDATE: After 45hrs+. While, I disagree with the most of critics and users alike on this game. I believe this is a solid 7+ or higher rating. Not the best Tales game, but I think this should have received a much better score.. I own most of all of the tales series.. I loved Xillia as well as Symphonia. I think the story is absolutely great playing over 45hrs into it! The graphicsUPDATE: After 45hrs+. While, I disagree with the most of critics and users alike on this game. I believe this is a solid 7+ or higher rating. Not the best Tales game, but I think this should have received a much better score.. I own most of all of the tales series.. I loved Xillia as well as Symphonia. I think the story is absolutely great playing over 45hrs into it! The graphics are updgraded PS3 style. And could have been better but absolutely love the Anime Cut scenes! The couple of problems in the game is the Battle game mechanics. Its really hard to get into since you keep smashing "O" button and it quickly takes you to the page that you exit out of so you don't know what you received. They should have done a better job of the battle clearing stages. Also the camera angle can be challenging and not too sure why I have problems soo many times trying to get the camera angle to adjust properly. But those are my gripes about the game. Otherwise disregard ratings that give this less than 7.. This game I think is great.. And IGN and other critic reviewers are wrong to give it anything less than 7 on this game!! It's a great game not the best.… Expand
  41. Abrill
    Sep 10, 2016
    7
    Tales of Zestria is true to the "Tales of formula,".......... Perhaps a bit too true. With a game this large there needs to be a maintenance of innovation evenly distributed along with interesting plot to motivate people through to the end. I lost interest. There were multiple spots later in the game that forced me into revisiting areas for one conversation just to send me back to the lastTales of Zestria is true to the "Tales of formula,".......... Perhaps a bit too true. With a game this large there needs to be a maintenance of innovation evenly distributed along with interesting plot to motivate people through to the end. I lost interest. There were multiple spots later in the game that forced me into revisiting areas for one conversation just to send me back to the last area where I did...... what?........ The same thing.… Expand
  42. Pariable
    Mar 23, 2017
    7
    Just got around to finishing this game, and I'll need to post script a "finally" to that. Sadly I was disappointed for the first time playing a Tales game. So for my RPGs I often look to my holy trinity of perfection: challenging, rewarding, and emotionally impacting. It nails 2/3, the story had emotional value and great voice acting, yet the rewarding feeling for progress seems to notJust got around to finishing this game, and I'll need to post script a "finally" to that. Sadly I was disappointed for the first time playing a Tales game. So for my RPGs I often look to my holy trinity of perfection: challenging, rewarding, and emotionally impacting. It nails 2/3, the story had emotional value and great voice acting, yet the rewarding feeling for progress seems to not exist. Beating the story, and making progress in Zestiria feels like a chore list. While many RPGs use a list like side quest log, not all feel so drag. However, I can say the difficulty options in combat almost always give Tales games a great trade off for higher risk, higher reward and this game is no different (with slight differences to previous installments). Boss fights are enjoyable and the combat was fantastic, up until you learn how to spec to spam calamity flare or maelstrom (cleans up mobs nicely). The progression of mystic artes is also enjoyable. If you want to look at one of the most hashed out combat systems in a Tales game, bottom line, is look no further. With that said the time given to make the few side missions in the game worth doing was well noted. They do feel like mini episodic adventures. The area that falls flat, is that the time spent traveling or attempting to fast travel to complete these quests tends to ruin both the pacing of the game, and the cohesiveness of these stories. That, along with the character design brought this down to a 7/10 for me. Every Tales game has had a very unique and somewhat resonating personalities. Sorey is the exception to this. All the other characters in the game work so well in the group, yet the main character seemed like a pariah in his own fellowship. Without spoiling anything, I can say they probably wrote him in such a manner in order to have the story conclude the way it does. I just can't help but not care about Sorey for the majority of this game. I only stuck through his blandness to see the antics of the other characters and their adventures. But aside from those quams, I can say I did enjoy much of this game.… Expand
  43. Grownia
    Apr 23, 2018
    7
    Overall a good JRPG.
    Graphics : 6/10. Mostly pixelized and old tech but art is good. Cities are well drawn. Characters are well drawn too. Monsters look alike to each other.
    Sound : 9/10. Voice act is really good, both in English and Japanese. Effects are well done. Soundtrack is sometimes awesome but mostly ordinary. Gameplay : 7/10. Combat is button mashing in start and most of the    Overall a good JRPG.
    Graphics : 6/10. Mostly pixelized and old tech but art is good. Cities are well drawn. Characters are well drawn too. Monsters look alike to each other.
    Sound : 9/10. Voice act is really good, both in English and Japanese. Effects are well done. Soundtrack is sometimes awesome but mostly ordinary.
    Gameplay : 7/10. Combat is button mashing in start and most of the game. There are lots of mechanics including block,dodge,commands, spells etc. and you have to use all of them properly in higher difficulties. But in normal difficulty you just smash and smash. To say in my first playtrough in normal difficulty i mostly set all of my characters to auto combat and watch it , especially near the endgame. It is a long game with repetitive places which bores the player after some gameplay time. It would have been perfect to finish the story in 30 hours or so. It is just so long and becomes dull near endgame.
    Story : 7/10. Story is fine. Some bold moments and talks. Most original thing is this is the first game with gay main protagonist. Characters interactions are very good, mostly funny, sometimes sad. Other than these this has the same old save the world while being super good theme.

    Buy it if you love JRPG. This is a solid and good one at all. If you can play it on higher difficulties with lots of free time devoted to this game.    … Expand
  44. LiteralLlama
    May 18, 2018
    7
    Tales of Zestiria, I was weary of this game because of the reviews but after playing it, I feel compelled to write one. It feels that people either hated it or loved it and it's hard to tell who to believe. But I'll do my best to break down what to expect from this game.

    Gameplay It's not too good, it becomes extremely repetitive once you get an idea of how to play. Zestiria combat    Tales of Zestiria, I was weary of this game because of the reviews but after playing it, I feel compelled to write one. It feels that people either hated it or loved it and it's hard to tell who to believe. But I'll do my best to break down what to expect from this game.

    Gameplay
    It's not too good, it becomes extremely repetitive once you get an idea of how to play. Zestiria combat system is extremely complex with several different elements that's impossible to grasp in the beginning. It's similar to Tales of Graces but with a lot of emphasis on using the right move and weakness. But this emphasis is what hurts the gameplay the most.
    One of the mechanics in the game is the rock, paper, scissors game or martial, hidden, seraph art system. One overpowers the other and is weak to the other. There is armatization in this game which gives you the ability to use hidden and seraph arts. Despite this one over the other system, these two arts are the strongest types giving you the best range and stagger on enemies. If one doesn't work, you switch to the other. If you spam this system, you can end fights pretty easily. The advantage you have over enemies is so overbearing, you essentially perma-stun them until you recharge and it's is pretty easy to stay charged. Exploiting this weakness essentially nulls the extraordinarily complex combat system.
    It's fun for a while but it loses its charm pretty fast.

    Exploration
    Dungeon crawling and world wandering is okay. Most puzzles don't take a whole lot of thinking. They tend to be tedious, no proud "Ah ha!" moment. There's a system where you can discover unique locations while you traverse giving you a skit but they're few in numbers. The game does a good job adding sidequest moments that are decent detours. I will say that the OST or music is pretty good, one thing I really did like.

    Plot - Characters

    The characters were not bad, they're likable but half of the cast remained static until very specific moments. There wasn't any build up to really know the characters. There's no progression and it feels like certain characters were meant for a single moment. You don't get to really know these characters in the end. The attachment wasn't there. Without that attachment, the big moments didn't hit very hard.
    The main character was weak. They were trying to create the naive, innocent, but just guy. He came off too heavily as the just guy and now you have your cliche superhero. Wasn't awful but he never really felt like a believable character. There wasn't a wholesome bit that made him feel true. Cliches killed this kind of character making him stale.
    There is also this huge bit that weakened the plot a lot. I don't know if there was conflict between writers or if they just thought it was a good idea. But there are two heroines, one that sort of just disappears from being a major plot point to a side character, and then the main one. This weird switch creates this dynamic which weakened the main heroine and completely trashed the second one. They tried to juggle both but it didn't work. It feels forced and unnecessary.

    Plot - Story
    The foundation had so much potential but ended up being weak. This was because of this spiritual matter point did not deliver well. If you worship a spirit, it will bless you. If you don't, you are stuck with poverty and disease. This was shaky from the start. To save humanity is to save people from themselves and get them to believe in spirits. For this to be successful, both of these point have to be good. There was a bunch of saving people which worked but the next step of involving spirits was bad. "i lost hope in people, but I promise I won't again since you kicked my ass," the spirits you meet are the least interesting things you'll encounter. This step didn't work making the entire human and spirit relationship feel a little pointless. It hurt the story as a whole.
    There were a lot of technical story telling that damaged the plot. You will get explanations on the foundations of the story that feels forced and unnaturally convenient. Things that do need a bit of explanation are not there. The Zestria world is complex and lack crucial details for it to make sense. How are Shepard's create and why was the (blank, for the sake of spoilers) made it impossible to have any other?
    There were moments that were pretty good. But there weren't many, not enough to be able to overlook the major flaws in the story.

    Verdict.
    Seven seemed generous when I reread what I typed. I enjoyed the Tales series, it has a special place in my heart. That made it hard to give it a six which is close to unplayable in my brain. There's so much to talk about but not enough time. I'll say this much, if you like past Tales game a lot, you'll be able to overlook most of these flaws and have an enjoyable experience. It still has the same Tale charm that drew me in at first. If this is your first one, it is highly unlikely that you'll enjoy this game.    … Expand
  45. Lwkasmax
    Aug 14, 2021
    7
    Great story and characters despite some cliche and the devaluation of the character alisha. combat with camera issues and overly complex character progression system
  46. aaronnmp96
    Jan 31, 2023
    7
    It could be better, he has charisma and is very well run, the story is a bit slow and the Maps are too big to go on foot.
  47. Super_Cloud
    Jan 1, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had high expectation and unfortunately they were not met, the battle are great but i had more fun in Xillia 2, the story is nothing special, you become the Shepherd and you go save the world from the bad guy... There is not alot of interaction between the character compared to other tales, unless you read every skits there is not enough to make them likable. Some cut-scene in the game are really awkward, one character dies and the game try really hard to make it sad but they come and go way too fast... I really loved the music, they are great. I finished the game and ex dungeon, i liked the game but the game was really lacking, i prefer Xillia 2 alot more.… Expand
  48. Thrumgar
    Oct 21, 2015
    6
    Pros:
    -Good voice acting
    -decent combat
    -beautiful art style and graphics

    Cons:
    -The camera
    -the button mashing
    -the generic story

    It's decent but I'd stick to other games for your RPG fixes
  49. ender424
    Oct 21, 2015
    6
    12 hours into the game so far so only first impression but I will say that I have enjoyed previous Tales games much more. It has been a disappointing experience so far; I all I can think of is moment where the game had me carry an invisible heavy crate and slowly walk it over to the weapons shop. HOW IS THIS FUN?!
    Combat is easily best part so far despite the convoluted skill system and    12 hours into the game so far so only first impression but I will say that I have enjoyed previous Tales games much more. It has been a disappointing experience so far; I all I can think of is moment where the game had me carry an invisible heavy crate and slowly walk it over to the weapons shop. HOW IS THIS FUN?!
    Combat is easily best part so far despite the convoluted skill system and annoying camera (if you corner enemies to edge camera jitters and at times your fight can even be completely removed from view. literally cannot see what is going on).
    Characters are likable but not interesting. Story is cheesy and cliche. I AM THE CHOSEN ONE AND MUST SAVE THE WORLD! Yawn.
    Dungeons and dungeon puzzles are uninspired and boring as hell. Overworld map designs, while visually pleasing (though hardly impressive) have archaic designs like unnecessary and inconsistent invisible walls. Oh no! Can't walk over this small creek, don't wanna get my boots wet!
    It's **** like this (and the weeaboos who defend it) that hold JRPGs back. To be honest I think this is the last Tales game for me; there are simply no signs of progression coming from this series. Luckily we have Xenoblade Chronicles X coming soon which looks much more promising.    … Expand
  50. Honn
    Nov 3, 2015
    6
    I had high hopes for this game as I am a fan of the series, but unfortunately it has been a letdown. It's not really a bad game, but I wouldn't call it a good game either.

    The system: The system starts of good with Armatization, the fusing of two characters into a new character with new abilities. This is both a fun and tactical addition to the game, and fits well into the story. Bonus    I had high hopes for this game as I am a fan of the series, but unfortunately it has been a letdown. It's not really a bad game, but I wouldn't call it a good game either.

    The system:
    The system starts of good with Armatization, the fusing of two characters into a new character with new abilities. This is both a fun and tactical addition to the game, and fits well into the story. Bonus points for this! Unfortunately the other additions do not follow this example. The title system is neither informative or engaging in any way. The item system introduces random attributes that you want to line up on a grid to get extra bonuses, which sounded interesting but works badly in practise and becomes a chore to deal with. The element and arts system also sees some needless complications that do nothing to help the game along. On top of it all the controls are a bit clunkier than in previous games as well. Nothing that can't be handled, but it detracts a bit from the experience.

    All in all, combat is still Tales and still pretty fun. The bad stuff can be ignored most of the time, but it is a shame that the interesting new additions are outweighed by the new flaws.

    The Story:
    The biggest problem with the game is that the story is just... bland. It feels like they just checked of a list of things that should go into a Tales game and called it a day. Granted, all Tales games follow the same basic formula but the difference this time is that it feels like they put very little effort into it. The story is a bare minimium, and since the story is the main reason I play games like this it simply doesn't cut it.

    The game also lacks proper world-building. Oftentimes the characters clearly understand something that is never explained to me as the player, and this leads to frustration. Several aspects of the worlds history are also kind of confusing, but concepts that appear almost contradictory never being explained.

    The story also way, WAY, overuses the whole "I know the answer but you need to discover the truth for yourself" trope. It can work on occation, but in Zestiria this is the norm for pretty much the entire game! It gets old quickly.

    The characters:
    Again, bland. Characters are very one dimensional and there is not much character development to speak of. They are likable yes, but nothing beyond that.

    So all in all, not terrible but not good. The system is ok but nothing more, the story is bland and while it has it's moments there is a lot of just going through the motions, and the characters are forgettable. If you really like Tales games then you will probably find it at least acceptable, but you might want to sit this one out.    … Expand
  51. Nathan1423
    Jun 12, 2020
    6
    6 is giving it the benefit of the doubt. Easily the most boring opening hour and a half of any game I've played. Combat feels clunky. Seems auto-mode focused. Seems a little too easy. Maybe this game would be good for very young people like around 10-13. Voice acting is decent. Script is generally poor although conceptually decent. I tried so hard to play this game for more than an hour6 is giving it the benefit of the doubt. Easily the most boring opening hour and a half of any game I've played. Combat feels clunky. Seems auto-mode focused. Seems a little too easy. Maybe this game would be good for very young people like around 10-13. Voice acting is decent. Script is generally poor although conceptually decent. I tried so hard to play this game for more than an hour and a half but I literally could not. Might be good as a first video game for a young person.… Expand
  52. nubsauce
    Jan 24, 2017
    6
    The worst story out of any Tales game I've played to date (from Xillia, Vesperia, and Symphonia). Characters are dull, and combat isn't fun. :/ I could never get into a rhythm like I did other Tales games, due to the combat system wanting you to stop and recharge all the time. The story was engaging at first but quickly became dull and tiresome after the 15 hour mark. Some people said itThe worst story out of any Tales game I've played to date (from Xillia, Vesperia, and Symphonia). Characters are dull, and combat isn't fun. :/ I could never get into a rhythm like I did other Tales games, due to the combat system wanting you to stop and recharge all the time. The story was engaging at first but quickly became dull and tiresome after the 15 hour mark. Some people said it gets better after the 15 hour mark, but no, they actually did a good job on the setup and making you intrigued on where it goes. It goes nowhere with this setup and instead goes in the most cliche, boring way possible.… Expand
  53. Editman3
    Apr 8, 2017
    6
    Game is good but my issues are
    -Story is way too straightforward and Lacks in-depth
    -Characters are forgettable at times
    -Worst Camera I've seen in battle of an ARPG
    -Gameplay that could use some improvements
    -Dungeons Looks the SAME
    not bad but the camera, and Weak story lands this game at a 6/10
  54. Toastclaimer
    Feb 20, 2018
    6
    The plot is a standard fantasy afair; nothing really unexpected is going to happen. The combat is unique but somehow manages to be both overly simplistic and overly complex at the same time leading to countless frustrations; there's so many figures to pay attention to and attack mashing is the best way to win. The best thing Zestiria has going is the characters which are unique from eachThe plot is a standard fantasy afair; nothing really unexpected is going to happen. The combat is unique but somehow manages to be both overly simplistic and overly complex at the same time leading to countless frustrations; there's so many figures to pay attention to and attack mashing is the best way to win. The best thing Zestiria has going is the characters which are unique from each other and at least try to be interesting and well developed and avoids overly used tropes. Overall Zestiria is a flawed game; but not a bad one. Avoid it if your not made about JRPGS though as it comes packing all the standard affairs warts and all… Expand
  55. TheRedHood1
    Feb 4, 2019
    6
    This games if not very good to me. I don't like the combat and how they changed the Tp system I think it is stupid that you have to stand there while you wait to do more combos and it runs out so quick but to say I had no fun with it would be a lie. I do not like the main character for many reasons and his partner Mikleo but the other like Edith are shining examples of good party membersThis games if not very good to me. I don't like the combat and how they changed the Tp system I think it is stupid that you have to stand there while you wait to do more combos and it runs out so quick but to say I had no fun with it would be a lie. I do not like the main character for many reasons and his partner Mikleo but the other like Edith are shining examples of good party members but most of the others just felt like stereotypes that did not go anywhere. The story was good up until one point where it just started to annoy the ever living crap out of me. And that stupid water dungeon is one is the worst things ever and is one of the worst dungeons I have ever played and ruined the games for me.… Expand
  56. Irisen
    Dec 6, 2018
    6
    This game is average by all means. The graphics are meh, the plot is incredibly unoriginal and the characters are not complex in any way.
    However, it does have some novelty in its dungeons and in the way you can use the different Seraphims' powers. Despite the lack of originality in most of its aspects, Tales of Zestiria remains an entertaining game to play, if you have nothing better to    This game is average by all means. The graphics are meh, the plot is incredibly unoriginal and the characters are not complex in any way.
    However, it does have some novelty in its dungeons and in the way you can use the different Seraphims' powers. Despite the lack of originality in most of its aspects, Tales of Zestiria remains an entertaining game to play, if you have nothing better to do. I enjoyed it but, objectively, it's not that good.    … Expand
  57. Kenmei
    Nov 4, 2015
    5
    Tales of Zestiria represents a disturbing trend with the Tales series: Their lack being able to adapt to the times. The Tales formula is in full effect here, meaning a game with a fairly simple story and characters that comes with a wonderful action RPG battle system. However, you can easily see how stale the formula gets, especially when they don't even try to make a compelling story. TheTales of Zestiria represents a disturbing trend with the Tales series: Their lack being able to adapt to the times. The Tales formula is in full effect here, meaning a game with a fairly simple story and characters that comes with a wonderful action RPG battle system. However, you can easily see how stale the formula gets, especially when they don't even try to make a compelling story. The whole story is pretty much the pure definition of a cookie-cutter fantasy JRPG. You play a young guy who has to save the world from what essentially is the devil. Past games have put a bit of a spin on that with either compelling characters or at least an interesting hook. Not this game. The story is extremely boring and, for the first time since I've played a Tales game in the past 15 years, I wanted to quit before I got the end. The characters range from extremely boring to moderately funny. However the best characters dont join the party till VERY late in the game and it may be hard to sit through till that point.
    Usually the saving grace for Tales games is the battle system and the tweaks they made to this version really drag the game. Uncharacteristic horrible camera angles and the replacing of the TP system with a 0-100 recharging mana pool makes button smashing a bit easier than past games. The battles can still be tough, especially at higher difficulties but it feels more streamlined than anything and the occasional bad camera angles really took me out of some fights.
    I do have to make special mention of the music in this game though as it's some of the best ever done in a Tales game. The music did a wonderful job at trying to set the stage, whether things were going well or not, it did a great job of drawing you into the action, even if that action was either a bland cutscene or a battle with horrible camera angles. The music is alot of the reason why I've given the game the score that I did. It's that good.
    I am a huge Tales series fan and it really pains me to have no liked this game at all. I'm hoping that Bandai Namco gives the series a bit of a jolt in the upcoming release, and it looks like they might have started that with a female main lead. But as for this game, it's probably the worst non-sequel game in the series and a major disappointment for the JRPG field on next-gen platforms. Even Tales series fans will have a tough time getting through this one, especially if they're looking for a little bit of substance to go with the series.    … Expand
  58. SaintJames012
    Jul 19, 2018
    5
    Zestiria is a boring, tedious, and uninteresting tale of a naive blank-slate of a main character who goes on an epic quest to defeat the literal being of Chaos. Honestly, Zestiria is not that bad of a game, but from a studio that brought about such colorful cast of characters like one sees in Tales of Vesperia, it is easy to see why Zestiria is such a bland title. The combat and gameplayZestiria is a boring, tedious, and uninteresting tale of a naive blank-slate of a main character who goes on an epic quest to defeat the literal being of Chaos. Honestly, Zestiria is not that bad of a game, but from a studio that brought about such colorful cast of characters like one sees in Tales of Vesperia, it is easy to see why Zestiria is such a bland title. The combat and gameplay is what you would expect from a tales game, a smaller rendition of the dungeon you walk through in a 4vAll button masher that is oh so satisfying once you learn the combination of moves to win fights. The story itself is not bad either, offering the story of a young boy who is deems the savior of the world despite being obviously too young and naive to actually fulfill the role adequately. The majority of the story is his tale of growing both physically and mentally to rise up to achieve his duty. The major problem with the game is the lack of a powerful cast of characters. Let's be frank here, the main roster is weak when compared to others like Vesperia. In a game that ranges at anywhere from 45-120 hours, the strength of the cast is a major factor in whether or not a game can work, and to be honest it does not work here well at all. Unlike other rosters that featured characters of different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and whatnot, the roster this time around share a lot of similarities, not only in character creation, but also how their characters react. Almost every single one has an air of angst about them that has little difference between the characters. While Mikleo and Edna are inherently different characters, their portrayal and interactions are not that different from each other. In addition, the difference between Sorey and Alisha are pretty minute as well when it comes to interaction and chemistry. The game is simply not that interesting both in characters and world compared to other titles. While the game is not bad, it is not that good either. It sits at the crossroads of competence and monotony, overshadowed both in the past with Vesperia, and the future with Berseria.… Expand
  59. Nel
    Aug 7, 2017
    5
    TAles of zestiria is an jrpg games which means that they are usually grindy, but this game is not very grindy, but instead you have to take long hikes for no reason between destinations that they only tell you one thing, and then you have to walk all the way back, which gets very frustrating. Also the description on items is not to be trusted.
  60. Zenketsu
    Oct 25, 2015
    5
    + Many improvements compared to the previous games
    + nice soundtrack
    + good controls

    - bad and boring story
    - very little details
    - bad controls
  61. senblade
    Oct 20, 2019
    5
    Вымученная и жалкая игра с огромным потенциалом, - погрязшая в штампах, кривом балансе и многих других проблемах бюджетных жрпг игр.
  62. midipon
    Apr 2, 2017
    4
    Play any other 3 Tales games and you'll see what goes wrong in Zestiria. The writing is atrocious, characters are one-note *except* for when their character arc are being barfed out (and later forgotten), the battle system took what they had been building with the Xillia games and made it more obtuse and irritating, aramtization is absolutely broken, playing as a seraph isn't fun becausePlay any other 3 Tales games and you'll see what goes wrong in Zestiria. The writing is atrocious, characters are one-note *except* for when their character arc are being barfed out (and later forgotten), the battle system took what they had been building with the Xillia games and made it more obtuse and irritating, aramtization is absolutely broken, playing as a seraph isn't fun because almost all the enemies will resist you, the A.I. is ass-retarded and always dies, dungeons are flat and pointless, and the music is the same old boring Tales generica. Play any other game in the series.… Expand
  63. Dhane
    Oct 22, 2015
    4
    I tried to like this game. I really did, but after hitting the 15 hour mark I simply gave up. It's frustrating how outdated and unimaginative it is. The story is okay-ish, but never surprising. The archetype characters, the world in turmoil, the super villain and so on and so forth. The combat system is far from intuitive, and keeps you guessing for the first few hours, even after readingI tried to like this game. I really did, but after hitting the 15 hour mark I simply gave up. It's frustrating how outdated and unimaginative it is. The story is okay-ish, but never surprising. The archetype characters, the world in turmoil, the super villain and so on and so forth. The combat system is far from intuitive, and keeps you guessing for the first few hours, even after reading the walls of text the game throws at you time and time again. When you finally get the hang of it, it is forgettable at best. Its flashy appearance is just not enough. The exploration, which is one point I usually like about JRPGs, feels tedious and very little rewarding. It has you running around way too much, and doesn't let you use the fast travel system at will, which is very frustrating. The best thing about the game is the music, but unfortunately that is not enough to save this Tales title from failing. 4/10.… Expand
  64. WuTangTurtle
    Nov 8, 2015
    4
    Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia are in my top 10 favorite games of all time. Which makes me so deeply disappointed with this game. Just before this game came out me and 3 friends had a blast completing Tales of Xillia but we all ended up giving up on Tales of Zestiria.

    The camera is just awful. The camera locks onto the enemy character that Player 1 is targeting and the    Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia are in my top 10 favorite games of all time. Which makes me so deeply disappointed with this game. Just before this game came out me and 3 friends had a blast completing Tales of Xillia but we all ended up giving up on Tales of Zestiria.

    The camera is just awful. The camera locks onto the enemy character that Player 1 is targeting and the camera gets blocked by environments, zooms in too much, and often times the players will find themselves lost outside the frame of the camera. This is the worst camera system I've seen, even an old game like Mario 64 had a better camera system.

    I'd recommend only playing it Single Player but even Single Player seems sub par compared to the rest of the series. Camera issues still apply here as well but slightly easier to manage. The difficulty seems too easy even on Hard Mode, I didn't really like any of the characters, and they changed cooking again, it kind of just auto cooks things at random...ugh, stop dumbing everything down.

    It breaks my heart that this game released in this state. I'm super glad i did not buy the Collector's Edition and now will hesitate on purchasing future Tales of games altogether unless they specifically address these issues.    … Expand
  65. SomeName
    Feb 27, 2016
    4
    I enjoyed Tales of Zestiria, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Why? Because I haven't played a JRPG in almost 10 years and could find even this cliche game to be interesting. For anyone with a bit of experience/recency, this game is in many aspects too generic to be fun for the time it takes to complete.

    -Plot & Characters: The plot is literally the #1 most commonly chosen    I enjoyed Tales of Zestiria, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Why? Because I haven't played a JRPG in almost 10 years and could find even this cliche game to be interesting. For anyone with a bit of experience/recency, this game is in many aspects too generic to be fun for the time it takes to complete.

    -Plot & Characters:
    The plot is literally the #1 most commonly chosen idea in all of game development: save the world. It doesn't get any deeper than that. The characters can be endearing and likeable at times, but tend not to develop much from their archetypes. There are also some serious plot holes/non-nonsensical decisions made by the characters that given the simplicity of the story, are very hard to forgive. Overall, this is one of the blandest plots I've seen in a game.

    -Gameplay
    The gameplay alternates from combat between overworld. The combat is enjoyable and ranks somewhere inbetween an MMORPG and a proper fighting/adventure game (such as Dark Souls). However, it takes little to no skill, mostly as there are too many fighting units, resulting in spell/skill cliusterf*** that allows you to win battles just by mashing buttons. Even the toughest bosses can go down without landing a hit, just because you can stagger/stun spam them to death. Then there is also the fact that there are too many battles vs. anything else. Most of the overworld is just empty space with a few mobs for you to grind on and not much else. You can of course do quests, but they fall into the "find this" or "kill this" model a bit too often. There are maybe 4 types of puzzles in the whole game, so not much there. Generally, this part feels very MMO-like where the ideas ran out a lot earlier than the content so the developers just made everything bigger and re-skinned the monsters a few times.

    -Art/Music
    This is just about the only moment the game redeems itself. The art is nice and colourful and many segments are animated, but not animated to the point of being an eternal cutscene game. My favourite though, is the music and hearing it is probably the only thing that kept me playing until the end.

    -Other
    --The game does have good loading times (on my PC, at least).
    --The combat framerate is low, but consistent most of the time.
    --The gear system was designed by mad people and just about nobody will ever bother trying to use it optimally.

    In summary the game has some strengths, but its main gameplay is just too generic. It's combat is better than than that of some JRPGs, but the grindy nature ruins that. I also have no idea why they bothered with an NG+, because the linear/0-decision aspect of the game gives it little replayability.    … Expand
  66. SplitMind
    Dec 22, 2020
    4
    I played this after the excellent Tales of Berseria, however this was a massive let-down in comparison.

    Firstly, the waypoints, or lack thereof. It is absolutely bewildering how many times there was simply a mission to go somewhere but absolutely no waypoint on the map to guide you. A simple solution to this is resorting to online guides, but I don't get how such a fundamental mechanic    I played this after the excellent Tales of Berseria, however this was a massive let-down in comparison.

    Firstly, the waypoints, or lack thereof. It is absolutely bewildering how many times there was simply a mission to go somewhere but absolutely no waypoint on the map to guide you. A simple solution to this is resorting to online guides, but I don't get how such a fundamental mechanic in any game is absent or at least inconsistent here.

    Secondly, the large empty arenas and severe lack of fast travel. These two are interconnected, as a pleasant and stimulating environment means you don't mind exploring like in Skyrim, however in ToZ this is inane, and combined with a lack of a waypoint, adds to the frustration. A fast travel mechanic between save points would have resolved so many issues.

    Thirdly, the stupidly messy and convoluted RPG mechanics. There is a difference between depth and convoluted messes. Zestiria falls into the latter. For the first few hours of the game that I played I was encountering walls of text after almost every battle detailing yet another game mechanic. Much of this 'depth' also seems very undermined by a battle system that boils down to button-bashing.

    I haven't even gotten to the story or graphics. These are just fine but also a bit bland. The game would be much better for me if the game arenas were smaller and more compact, rather than this faux attempt at an open world.

    Overall, this is not the RPG you were looking for. By now there are a plethora of options on the PS4, many of them better than this.    … Expand
  67. phoenixsaturn
    Nov 14, 2019
    4
    A game that unfortunately fails to live up to the high standards of its predecessors. Tales of Zestiria is an ugly, buggy mess of a game with forgettable characters and a frustrating plot.

    Despite now occurring in the overworld battles are nothing to write home about, mostly involving entering into Kamui form and mashing to overwhelm opponents. The main characters, Sorey and Rose,    A game that unfortunately fails to live up to the high standards of its predecessors. Tales of Zestiria is an ugly, buggy mess of a game with forgettable characters and a frustrating plot.

    Despite now occurring in the overworld battles are nothing to write home about, mostly involving entering into Kamui form and mashing to overwhelm opponents. The main characters, Sorey and Rose, cannot be removed from the battle party, and with the combination of the aforementioned Kamui mode the Tales Series' typical 4 player co-op does not function properly in this game. The transition is also buggy and you can often get trapped inside walls or behind rocks in battle mode, meaning you'll have to rely on your CPU allies to end battles and free you if you fall victim to this glitch.

    The story is incredibly frustrating, relying on tired anime plot cliches to attempt to advance it. The heroes will have you rolling your eyes while the villains will bore you with their cookie cutter molds of personality. The Tales Series' typical attempts at subverting some of the story elements are present, but executed very poorly in this installment. I would not recommend this game and would suggest either skipping right to Berseria or going back and playing one of the series' older installments.    … Expand
  68. Reekum
    Nov 20, 2021
    4
    As with many other games, theres something good beneath all the trash in this one.
    Battle system is ok. Better to play in normal and just use attacks, defense, dodge and free movement than to care about the insane amount of gear buffs and passive abilities. History is so, so at the beginning but seriously drags towards the middle and third act is a lot of padding with even worse    As with many other games, theres something good beneath all the trash in this one.
    Battle system is ok. Better to play in normal and just use attacks, defense, dodge and free movement than to care about the insane amount of gear buffs and passive abilities. History is so, so at the beginning but seriously drags towards the middle and third act is a lot of padding with even worse storytelling and petty dilemma, tries to hard to not be good vs evil and turns out repetitive and ridiculous which is the main reason why i give such a low score, I just wanted it to end.    … Expand
  69. Dustofwarfare
    Oct 28, 2021
    4
    I really loved Tales of Berseria, which I actually played through first before this, and....this didn't really do it for me? The characters were too saccharine and a bit too bland, the story didn't grab me and I found the combat boring and glitchy. There were some nice moments -- I LOVED Edna -- and I liked seeing the connections to Berseria, but honestly, this one was a miss for me. II really loved Tales of Berseria, which I actually played through first before this, and....this didn't really do it for me? The characters were too saccharine and a bit too bland, the story didn't grab me and I found the combat boring and glitchy. There were some nice moments -- I LOVED Edna -- and I liked seeing the connections to Berseria, but honestly, this one was a miss for me. I liked Berseria much better, both in terms of gameplay and character/story.… Expand
  70. Wrex
    Nov 5, 2015
    3
    As much as I have enjoyed recent Tales games, Zestiria is profoundly disappointing. My thoughts reflect that of the 'negative' reviews out there;
    - subpar graphics
    - cliche characters and plot lines - systems/mechanics that take far too long to unlock for the player, and then when they do, they start to become convoluted and unnecessary - an "open world' that is nothing more than a    As much as I have enjoyed recent Tales games, Zestiria is profoundly disappointing. My thoughts reflect that of the 'negative' reviews out there;
    - subpar graphics
    - cliche characters and plot lines
    - systems/mechanics that take far too long to unlock for the player, and then when they do, they start to become convoluted and unnecessary
    - an "open world' that is nothing more than a larger area map that is sparsely populated with points of interest
    - a battle system, that in my opinion, is a step down from more recent Tales games. There is far too much pause interrupting the flow of battle
    - just the general feel of the game is something I would've expected from a generic JRPG from a decade or two ago    … Expand
  71. Matt32767
    May 11, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very bland... Oh so very, very bland.

    The story of this game is just boring. There's no real twists or turns that make you feel like something amazing that lurking behind the scenes and pulling the strings suddenly gets revealed and you're like Oooooooh! The secrets that are revealed left me with a feeling of, "Really? That was the big deal? That's why you were always playing dumb, madame party member? Pfft!"

    The majority of the party members as well are just as bland. Like a lukewarm bowl of porridge! You dig your spoon in to this porridge hoping to find some brown sugar, a piece of fruit or perhaps a bit of cinnamon! Just to work your way to the bottom of the bowl and find out that, no, you're just eating lukewarm porridge.

    There were times when Sorey had a real chance to go through some sort of emotional turmoil that could lend itself to an even greater story and help the player form some sort of emotional bond with him, but nope. He just kinda shrugs it off without any emotional change whatsoever and continues skipping along.

    Apparently you can do whatever you want in this world, and if you don't feel guilt or have any emotional reaction to your actions, you're good! Want to murder people? Hey! As long as you don't lose any sleep at night you're good! No evil can touch you! Go ahead! Commit genocide and dip the corpses of the vanquished in candle wax and stick them in a birthday cake! As long as you don't feel bad about your little sister blowing out those candles on her birthday you're good to go! Step off a curb into a puddle and splash someone next to you by accident and feel bad about it and you'll become possessed by evil! There is no greater sin than having some sort of internal conflict in this games world!    … Expand
  72. tonka819
    Nov 4, 2015
    3
    Bought it because of the solid reviews I saw on here. I didn't enjoy it at all. Dialogue/story just came off as too stereotypical for this genre and the gameplay was confusing. Graphics also felt like I was playing something from prior gen. Just overall, not that enjoyable.
  73. InvertedWave
    Dec 25, 2015
    3
    One of the worst recent Tales game imho. Boring generic anime characters, shoe horned Waifus, bland combat, boring environment setting ans story. If you want a good recently released Tales game play XIlla 1 and 2 (especially 2) They are way better than this garbage. I've been a Tales fan since the release of Vesperia on the Xbox360 and I have played every Tales game released up into thisOne of the worst recent Tales game imho. Boring generic anime characters, shoe horned Waifus, bland combat, boring environment setting ans story. If you want a good recently released Tales game play XIlla 1 and 2 (especially 2) They are way better than this garbage. I've been a Tales fan since the release of Vesperia on the Xbox360 and I have played every Tales game released up into this point. I have to say this is the worst installment out of the series.… Expand
  74. natanfk
    Feb 20, 2017
    3
    This game is just BAD. The story and the characters are absolutely boring, and it has a very stupid religious message. The combat system (actually, every system in this **** game) is confusing as hell, and the game tutorials just make it worse. Graphics are terribly outdated. You'll probably win all battles, but you won't know what the hell you're doing. Translation to portuguese is veryThis game is just BAD. The story and the characters are absolutely boring, and it has a very stupid religious message. The combat system (actually, every system in this **** game) is confusing as hell, and the game tutorials just make it worse. Graphics are terribly outdated. You'll probably win all battles, but you won't know what the hell you're doing. Translation to portuguese is very bad, and I couldn't change it to english (you can only change the audio). Exploration is nonexistent, there are some very big maps with nothing on it, they are there just to be big. Also, the price is WAY too high for what this game is worth. This is my first "Tales of" games, and seeing this **** I'm don't intend to play any of the others. The only good things are some fun battles and voice acting.… Expand
  75. Dynel
    Jul 21, 2016
    2
    After playing the game for about 15 hours, I gave up on it. Here's why:

    Story, Main component of ANY RPG. Bland, repetitive and unoriginal. It felt new at first, then, it fell into the mold of some other RPG's. Can't exactly point which because the story felt over used and forgettable. It never hooked me in, which is a huge part of any rpg. Graphics, the only "salvageable" thing    After playing the game for about 15 hours, I gave up on it. Here's why:

    Story, Main component of ANY RPG. Bland, repetitive and unoriginal. It felt new at first, then, it fell into the mold of some other RPG's. Can't exactly point which because the story felt over used and forgettable. It never hooked me in, which is a huge part of any rpg.

    Graphics, the only "salvageable" thing about the game. it still felt like I was playing some old 90's game though. Nothing impressive. Exploration felt lackluster and unrewarding.

    Battle System. While the addition of the fusion mode made it fairly new, it still felt old and outdated. Be either Overpowered or underpowered.

    Music and Voices. I always set up to listen to Japanese voices, as their are far superior to the cartoonish english voices. Intro was okay-ish, but, nothing good either.

    Other mechanics, Gear progression is very stupid and unoriginal. It felt like some outdated and badly made mmorpg. "level" gear by fusing it with other gear of the same name until it reaches a certain level, then you can morph it into the "next level". Am I back in Blade and Soul?! I have to say, gear progression is the single and most stupidly BORING decision for a jrpg EVER. The grindy nature of the game felt like a mmo... without the "rewards".

    Overall experience, Lackluster is the word for this game. Story is easy to guess. Characters are cliched and could see events coming miles away, therefore, no twists in the story that or nothing I couldn't see coming. Main character is forgettable, lacks resolve or a motive to do something aside from wanting to explore ruins, for a person supposed to save the world, exploring ruins feels... moronic. All in all, this game doesn't feel like any Tales of... game. Get something better or wait and see if Berseria improves.    … Expand
  76. hi-lite
    Oct 22, 2015
    2
    Isn't JRPG.
    Isn't Tales game.
    Inhumane character that can’t be completely understood.
    All unresolved.
    Sorey without showing the passion, has left this world.
  77. talesfan
    Mar 30, 2016
    2
    I've played all of the Tales games that have been imported and this is the worst one of the lot. I'm not sure what the developers were thinking when they devised this plot that is so linear there's no challenge or "surprise" coming. Seriously, there are four shrines and to gain powers (Mystic Artes), Sorey must complete the shrines.

    Not only that, but the characters weren't all that    I've played all of the Tales games that have been imported and this is the worst one of the lot. I'm not sure what the developers were thinking when they devised this plot that is so linear there's no challenge or "surprise" coming. Seriously, there are four shrines and to gain powers (Mystic Artes), Sorey must complete the shrines.

    Not only that, but the characters weren't all that endearing, and were mostly tropes. Laliah's ridiculous babbling instead of giving information because of some perceived "pact," made this even worse.

    Finally, the game mechanics were terrible. There were times when the battle camera was so off, I couldn't tell what I was fighting.    … Expand
  78. leejaku
    Jan 6, 2019
    2
    Literally one of the worst games an JRPGs I've played in my entire life. Map exploring feels like a ps2 game, combat system is totally broken and chaotic due to the worst possible camera, items and skills are so confusing that having beaten many other jRPGs myself and my friend ( playing co op ) wasn't enough to understand even a bit. Play other games
  79. Ingleberg
    Mar 30, 2021
    1
    easily the worst game ever made in this budget range. please never release a game again
    ridiculously convoluted battle system thrown at you with myriad and unending popups that you can never view again (i hear maybe towards end-game, so good luck)
    repetitive boring combat environments completely devoid of texture or furniture almost at all boring characters, boring setting, horrible    easily the worst game ever made in this budget range. please never release a game again
    ridiculously convoluted battle system thrown at you with myriad and unending popups that you can never view again (i hear maybe towards end-game, so good luck)
    repetitive boring combat
    environments completely devoid of texture or furniture almost at all
    boring characters, boring setting, horrible UI, horrible music, and HP bullet sponge bosses that make you want to tear your hair out
    buy a copy and immediately burn it
    the only satisfaction i got from this steaming pile was from deleting it    … Expand
  80. fallouts
    Oct 20, 2015
    0
    Tales games are like the Call of Duty and AC of JRPGS....I liked these games in the past but this release clearly demonstrates that they need to take a break and innovate. The combat system is decent if samey, but the story and exploration is so lackluster, the things that matter in an RPG. Get Divinity, Witcher 3 or Xenoblade CHronicles X instead.
  81. Gamepro3093
    Dec 26, 2022
    0
    Horrible game. The story is rote and uninteresting and lacks any memorable moments, the characters are one note and boring, the music is completely forgettable, the systems (ie combat, upgrading, fast travel) are unnecessarily convoluted and poorly executed, the environments are big but empty and you’ll be going through them way too frequently. Play Vesperia, Symphonia, Berseria and AriseHorrible game. The story is rote and uninteresting and lacks any memorable moments, the characters are one note and boring, the music is completely forgettable, the systems (ie combat, upgrading, fast travel) are unnecessarily convoluted and poorly executed, the environments are big but empty and you’ll be going through them way too frequently. Play Vesperia, Symphonia, Berseria and Arise and leave Zestiria in the trash where it belongs.… Expand
  82. HabarB
    Apr 17, 2020
    0
    I've been trying to like this JRPG because I'm a fan since the '90s so I picked it up again after I dropped and uninstalled this 2 years ago -- but now I've really lost patience and love for it because of:
    - the overly complicated combat and game mechanics,
    - persistent hand-holding and tutorials (just let me the player figure out the game) - the music is forgettable: I can't even    I've been trying to like this JRPG because I'm a fan since the '90s so I picked it up again after I dropped and uninstalled this 2 years ago -- but now I've really lost patience and love for it because of:
    - the overly complicated combat and game mechanics,
    - persistent hand-holding and tutorials (just let me the player figure out the game)
    - the music is forgettable: I can't even remember how any of its BGM sounds like now after playing for 9 hrs.
    This JRPG is a solid example of making a simple and outdated game design disguised into something sophisticated by placing much too many rules and terms just for the sake of making everything seem the game has depth.

    Heck, Tekken 7 and Soulcalibur 6's are more easier to follow and play than the battle/fighting system of this super otaku (Japanese for nerd) product. I'm not too sure now if I'll try it again the 3rd time after 2 years.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
5
#5 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 59
  3. Negative: 1 out of 59
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 3, 2016
    63
    Tales of Zestiria is just bad and lazy entry for a 20 year old series. [Jan 2016]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 5, 2016
    75
    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.
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  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 16, 2015
    70
    Beyond its puddle-deep characters, Zestiria is a decent addition to the series. [Christmas 2015, p.86]
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