Tales of Zestiria

its hard to say i like it more then i dislike it. i love the art of the world the characters are pretty neat the voice acting is good. the story is kinda mid, the equipment system is a bit much to learn, trying to grind for a level up is a slog, and the last boss of the game is just awful at least for me.

My first game in the Tales series. It has a beautiful story and a sad ending. I hope that the other games in the series will be as this one.

Not the best game in the Franchise, and horribly flawed by a poor producer on a power trip, Zestiria is a game with a mixed reputation for a reason. You spend most of your time fighting the camera, 30fps without the fix lowers your enjoyment by miles, the new fusion system is cool but someone also feels like it really limits you at the same time. There is plenty to dislike here for anyone looking for a good Tales game.

All that said, there is something that made me keep coming back to this game and it's the characters. Not all the characters are good (Rose), but Sorey and Zaveid made for a great time. Not to mention Mikleo who is the best girl of the game by a country mile.

It's hard to recommend Zestiria when there are better Tales games out there (every one on steam is objectively better) but if you're looking for an okay time, download the fix and have a good time.

7/10

Any game that actually makes me want to do all the optional content has done something right, in my book. Yeah, the plot is messy. Yeah, the combat is clunky. Yeah, Dezel actually sucks. But it has a lot of heart where it counts, and that wins me over most of the time including here.

Tales of Zestiria" is a game that left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, the combat system, while somewhat innovative with its fusion of physical and magical attacks, felt clunky and overly complicated at times. The story, steeped in environmental themes and moral dilemmas, seemed to have potential but was bogged down by a convoluted plot and underdeveloped characters. However, despite these criticisms, there were elements I found enjoyable. The world of Glenwood is visually appealing, with vibrant landscapes that make exploration somewhat rewarding. Additionally, the game's soundtrack is a standout, providing an atmospheric backdrop that elevates the overall experience. While it didn't meet the high expectations set by previous entries in the "Tales" series, "Tales of Zestiria" managed to entertain me just enough to not regret the time spent on it.

Tales of Zestiria is a linear, story-driven action JRPG. Its story takes place 1000 years after Tales of Berseria, which is why I recommend playing Berseria first. Both games share the same world and lore, which I like a lot (especially the concept of malaks and malevolence). The story is of a classic going-on-adventure type, not bad, but not outstanding. Tales of Zestiria is mostly a game about the characters.
Most of the characters are quirky and charming (especially Lailah, Edna, and Mikleo). I like that most characters are rather unusual and not your standard RPG troupes. Moreover, they are empathetic and do not act as stupidly naive towards each other as in some other RPG games. However, there is one main character that will join you later on in the game that I found to be wildly inconsistent.
I appreciate that the game does not have clear black and white characters or answers. For example, Sorey - the main protagonist - is supposed to take a neutral stance between different parties, which can lead to further conflicts. In addition, the game rarely gives you a choice between two options, but this does not affect the course of the story. Tales of Zestiria does not take itself too seriously and the dialogues contain a lot of humor. However, sometimes the jokes are a bit forced. I particularly like the fun little dialogues about new enemies types during combat.
The short animated cutscenes (called skits) are often great and add a lot to the depth of the characters and group dynamics. However, I sometimes found it difficult to follow the characters and their motivations. This may be because some skits can be missed if you do not regularly rest in an inn or check save points, which I found out late in the game - unfortunately, the game does not tell you when and where new skits can be activated (Tales of Berseria does this better). All six main characters have some character development, but some of them could have benefited from more depth (I have not read or watched the anime or comics that were released separately after the game). The supporting NPC characters are less memorable and serve their purpose of moving the plot along. The villains are not fleshed out enough to make you really care about them.
The level design is mostly linear. Levels occasionally have branching paths, and you get a good sense of what the right path is and which paths (the dead ends) lead to chests. There are some puzzle temples in the game, which are mostly basic puzzles with some backtracking. I wish the running speed was (permanently) faster. But you can use fast travel most of the time, and the game loads quickly. However, fast travel can sometimes be annoying when certain locations are blocked and you have to figure out which travel point is the closest available.
Most quests tend to be fetch quests, which would be annoying over time if there were not always a new dialog triggered along the quest. There are also some optional side quests without voice acting, which are mostly not that memorable.
The 2.5D combat system is similar to a fighting game with a back-and-forth dynamic: you attack until you run out of energy, then retreat briefly until you can attack again. The combat system is about blocking and taking advantage of your enemies' weaknesses. Besides elemental damage, there are three types of abilities (artes) that interact with each other in a kind of rock, paper, scissors.
At the beginning of the game, the combat system is constantly expanded and explained in short info boxes. The main problem here is that the player has to learn a lot of (conditional) rules and vocabulary in a short time. Another occasional problem with combat is that the camera gets blocked by trees or zooms in too far in narrow corridors.
Since the game is mostly not that challenging on normal difficulty, the combat system seems more complex than necessary. Exceptions are four boss encounters and especially the final boss fight. The latter I could only beat by switching to easy difficulty. Overall, I found the combat system hard to get into and a bit stiff, but it is okay.
One reason might be that I did not optimize my equipment properly: You can upgrade weapons and armor by merging them. Depending on which items you merge, you may gain or lose bonus effects. Each item also fills a number of slots in a 5x10 grid. If you equip items so that they stack or fill all the slots in a column, you will unlock bonus effects. In addition, each item gains experience points and levels up through combat. Overall, the upgrade system has a lot of potential for tweaking, but it is quite complex due to the high dimension of variables. However, each upgrade only slightly improves an item and has little effect.
The game's music is great, not the most complex, but often fits the setting. Absolute highlights are the music tracks for the four temples, which really stand out and sound quite experimental compared to the rest of the music in the game. The voice acting is good and all dialogues for the main characters are fully voiced.
The graphics are okay, considering the age of the game. The viewing distance is quite impressive. Especially the animations are nice and bring the characters to life. The cities look quite detailed, on the other hand, the environments and dungeons (corridors) feel empty, repetitive, and lack detail.
The PC port is not so good. Without a fan patch, the game would not even start on my machine due to 44 kHz sound. I also had occasional crashes during the game, but I cannot tell if that was due to the port or the fan patch. Fortunately, the game supports quick save at any time.
Overall, Tales of Zestiria is a good game, largely due to its strong focus on character, world-building, and lore. While the story, villains, and quests are decent and do their jobs, they do not really stand out. The combat and upgrade systems feel overly complex at times, though there are notable difficulty spikes during a few boss fights.
In comparison, I find Tales of Berseria to be the stronger title, largely due to its superior writing. The lore, narrative, and character development - for both protagonists and antagonists - are tightly woven together, creating a more cohesive and emotionally resonant experience. That said, both games are worth playing and have their own unique appeal.

Nice artwork, a pretty engaging story and a stupidly complex combat system. If that's your thing, this is great. It goes on quite a bit too long for my taste, but if you're into sinking tons of hours into a game to beat the hell out of it, this is a dream. The complex combat does keep it interesting, to an extent, and there are a lot of optional bosses and whatnot. A completionist's dream if you like the setting.