[PS2] Tales of The Abyss

I'm really enjoying the game. The graphics are shitty, the music is the usual Sakuraba-lite and the story is nothing terribly new but somehow, it all comes together to make a highly enjoyable experience. The entertaining characters (and great localization) certainly help.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Rocca

Graphics are pretty awesome actually. Aside the map glitching out all the time and dropping to 20-10frames, it looks great.

Well, I came from VP2 (which is one of the best looking games on the PS2). I'm not generally a graphics whore so the bland TotA visuals don't bother me (unlike the load times which border on Suikoden V level at times).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The more I go through the game (I'm at 10 hours now), the less interesting the characters are. Most of them are archetypes (as entertaining as that can be). Fortunately, the battles are great fun (albeit easy, excepting the occasional boss).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The lack of skit voices is irritating (more so than with ToS because there's more fo them). Worse yet, you can't speed up the text so you're stuck waiting for the skit to proceed (and they're rarely interesting, unlike ToS's).

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The overworld map is awful, isn't it? It looks bad, it's sluggish and load times are atrocious (check out the 12+ second load times from battle to world map). I learned pretty quickly to dodge enemies as much as possible while there.

I was speaking idiomatically.

At first, I found the game a bit slow. And then one night, I started playing when the game clock was at 9:30 and finished at 22:30. I couldn't believe it. I was completely captivated.

I beat Xenosaga III just before TotA and I actually think TotA has the better story and characters (although they're both very very good).

I'm at around 28 hours now and I suspect I'm nearing the end of the game. I'm at the point where...

Spoiler:

I entered the volcano in search of a Sephiroth. At this point in the game, there's this amazing sense of dread. Every time I go to do something important (which is pretty much any time I do something, *period*), I fear that Van, the Six-God Generals or Mohs will come along to make things difficult. Sadly, my fears have often been justified.

Obviously Luke gets the most development as a character but I'm surprised at how in-depth the game goes with the rest of them (aside from Anise who remains pretty much useless and unexplored).

I'm sure that I've missed a LOT of sidequests. I don't tend to do them in RPGs (as they're usually aside from the main story and a distraction). Especially in this game, I've just been plowing through because I want to get to the next plot point as soon as possible. A second run-through will be in order, methinks (especially if the extra stuff leads to further character development, ala Symphonia).

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Forsety

You're actually not as close to the end as you think. I'd say you passed the halfway mark a little bit ago, the last time you saw Sync; which shouldn't have been more than a little bit before where you are at currently.

Are you SERIOUS? How can the game sustain that much plot? There doesn't seem like there's much story left...

That and I looked at a FAQ and it seemed like I was near the end. Maybe the last few areas are just REALLY big.

FELIPE NO

Exciting! I wanted to finish this game before FFXII came out but I think I'm going to stick with it for a while longer. I don't mind spending more time with these characters.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I had no issues with the voice acting. I was actually pretty impressed because there's gobs of it. Only Xenosaga III can compare with the amount of voice acting TotA has.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I didn't mind ToS's voice acting (or cast). Lloyd was a little too perfect for my tastes but Luke more than made up for that.

Most amazing jew boots

The load times in this game were so bad that I made it a rule to dodge all battles on the world map. They're not too bad in dungeons.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by heero_yud

If you cheated, then there wouldn't be a problem. But if you didn't cheat, you would realize that it was tough time when you fight boss

Uh, huh? Like most Tales games, I went through it regularly fighting every dungeon enemy I could (and not worrying about leveling). A few of the bosses were irritating but on the whole, it wasn't a difficult game.

How ya doing, buddy?

There are a few tracks that are missing from the OST (including, oddly enough, the one track that plays during the majority of the dungeons). There is a chance that the track you're looking for is on the fourth disk. It's hard to remember. The music in the game wasn't exactly memorable.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Ha! Fourth disk! I totally called it!

I actually thought ToS's music was more effective in the game. I'm not saying it was brilliant music by any means but it held slightly more weight. I haven't found a Tales score that I've liked yet.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

My feelings on ToS's music are much the same as those I have for the locales: boring, sometimes irritating and ultimately forgettable. In ToA's case, the areas are much more interesting than Symphonia's (though that really isn't all that great of an accomplishment) and the music as well. Still the same thing as the previous game, mostly throwaway tracks with some interesting things present.

A lot of the music for ToS and ToA felt like something cranked out of an RPG soundtrack generator. It's difficult to blame the composers because for the most part, they're writing music to archetypes.

"Here! Write music for a generic desert town! And then write music for a generic snow town! And don't forget the music for the generic peaceful village where you just KNOW things are gonna go to hell!"

Fortunately for ToA, it had a world more interesting than what they were able to muster for ToS.

FELIPE NO

Quote:

But why not blame them? Are they not like Sakimoto over at SE, or Uematsu in previous years? Unless the environment over at Namco discourages creativity or is rather strict about what kind of music is needed, it essentially falls of them.

Well, the Tales series (aside from Legendia) has a very specific sound, whether I like it or not. Also, the music is written very quickly on what appears to be a limited budget. There's often a reason why gigantic RPG soundtracks suffer in quality (especially when one composer is forced to write over a hundred pieces).

In the case of this particular series, two men do the majority of the work. My guess is that since they've got a system down that appears to be working, they don't want to disrupt it. Admittedly, it DOES work but just barely. It's effectively sonic wallpaper.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I think my favorite ToS track was the one that played when you fought any angelic being. "Beat the Angel", I think it was called.

Not because it was anything special (it wasn't) but because it sounded very different from any other battle theme in the game. It stood out.

Jam it back in, in the dark.