Pariable

Probably my favorite of the Tales series. The characters and the story move you throughout the expansive world. The over world works well in this one, and I wished they had chosen to continue using this formula for the more recent Tales games (rather than save point fast travels which detract from the concept of exploring the world Namco Bandai created). So lets get to why this is a 9/10 and not a perfect 10. While it meets my criteria of the holy trinity: challenging, rewarding, and emotionally impacting. I can say it does not do one thing well, it concludes too well. No spoilers, but once beating this game the concept of a new game+ is not necessarily appealing. To me that removes one aspect which is the cherry on top for the 10/10 rating, replay-ablilty. By falling short for only that I can say this is a masterful Tales game. Yuri and his crew are all perfectly written and work well with each other. You truly get a feel for all the motivations and character progressions throughout this saga. The story is a 10/10 and so are many of the side quests (for which there are many). The combat system is second (in my opinion) only to Zestiria in enjoyable faced paced beat em up and item management. The trigger events during combat give it some flare along with all the returning and new artes. Each character is unique in their fighting style so playing through parts of the story with each can be a fun change of pace. The visuals and the soundtrack are one of the best in the series, as well. You get a thumbs up from me, so go play this game!

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 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.

This is another on the list of masterpiece RPGs you must play in your lifetime. The plot from beginning to end will keep your pressing through each save unto the early hours of the morning. Not many RPGs in recent years have struck me the way Ni No Kuni has. My first qualification for such a positive rating is the holy trinity: challenging, rewarding, and emotionally impacting. In RPGs which tell a linear story it MUST be compelling. Trust me when I say, this game will pull at you emotionally. The combat system is unique and impressively intense at times. The final showdown in the game will have you enjoying every aspect of the combat you experience throughout. A perfect climax in terms of the system they used. All other bells and whistles of the game were otherwise perfect. If it didn't have so digital downloads, copies of this game would be worth 80-100 dollars in appreciation, years from now. Go play this game!

If you wonder to yourself what the epitome of SEGA can do when given the time and money look no further. This turn based RPG will go down as my number 1 for years to come. Not just due to all the nostalgia it holds years later, but because it was challenging, rewarding, and down right impressively emotional at times. The holy trinity for those of us who will grind, and sink many hours into fantastic digital worlds. When you finish a lengthy RPG sometimes you want to conclusion to mean the story is over. Sometimes you wish for a chance to continue exploring that place you quested in for so long. This game seems to satisfy all of these answers. As someone who has run through it 3x's I can say it feels like opening up a well aged bottle of your favorite loqua. There is a reason copies are around 80-100 dollars these days. Get a chance to play it while you still can!

I honestly have to rip this game and those at Bioware a new one. Why did they think this was OK to put out as a AAA title?! Worse bugs than AC Unity and far less fun (if we are comparing poor releases and buggy AAA titles). The dialogue is laughable. Honestly worse than the visual bugs and facial animations. I can forgive looks if the story has me intrigued. This did not. Don't waste your time or money on this one. I'll be playing KOTOR and remembering the good ol days of this studio as a palate cleanser.