Tales of Xillia for NA & EU 2013

BlueFuji · Joined: 20 Nov 2012 Posts: 240

Legendia's plot was fine, even with Shirley who needed to get her head lopped off. I liked Xillia, and Xillia 2's plot alot. Jude just makes somethings abit unbearable at times in the first game.

Others ranged from mediocre to just alright.
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Conn · Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 7:06 am Post subject:

Arrei · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 537

Hmm, I can get where that's coming from, but it would seem we still have a rather different situation there.

Indeed, it'd be an odd choice if people were drawn to the game for its graphics alone or its writing alone, given that neither is the series' defining aspect, but people aren't usually drawn to a series by just one thing, are they? Apart from that thing, people will need other appealing aspects to go with it, so anything else that's good, plot, music, graphics, whatever, becomes part of the draw as well. Single out an aspect and say it's strange that it's part of the draw, and you're saying that aspect wasn't good, which could apply on an individual game's basis. Expand it to the whole series, though, and you're saying none of the games had a story good enough to be part of the draw.

After all, we can be a fan and not play every game in a series, or we could even be a fan of what a series is capable of at its higher points and just be aware that some games could be well-rounded enjoyable experiences while some other games could be Tales of the Tempest.

As for the characters, I wasn't exactly saying the characters' development and interactions were always closely related to the main plot, but that they provide additional events and writing for us to evaluate when sizing up a game's writing as a whole. A relatively by-the-book main plot could be paired with fresh and interesting character quests, for example, and together they tell a "story" that's pretty good despite a bland main plot, or every character could have their personalities and quirks ripped straight from some popular show and cause the entire kit and caboodle to be entirely cliche and forgettable.

Conn · Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:06 am Post subject:

I think you missed the context that kickstarted this discussion. Dcrigg said the reason he doesn't think Graces is worth playing is because he's already spoiled himself on the ending. That lead me to remark that story shouldn't be why anyone plays Tales— ie that the story shouldn't be the deciding factor of whether to play a Tales game or not, because there are much more exciting reasons (the gameplay and characters).

As for the story bit, I think this is a case of us interpreting the term differently. You, obviously, use "story" as a synonym for "the writing" (which is fair enough, don't get me wrong); I tend to refer to each aspect of the overall "writing" separately (story, character development, character interaction, pacing, etc). So when I say "Tales has poor stories" I'm specifically talking about the the sequence of events, the twists, the conflicts and resolutions and such, not the writing as a whole.
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Arrei · Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 537

I'm aware of the context - I chose to stay away from that kerfuffle after being as baffled as the rest of y'all. I was solely targeting that line, which is often used whenever someone says they like (or don't like) a Tales story. I don't think I could even count the number of times I saw someone try to be witty and go "Wait, people play Tales for the story?" in the middle of a discussion about plot. So you'll have to forgive me if you only meant to say there's more exciting things to play the series for, because that particular line is oft used in a specific context.

And yeah, that's pretty much the case here for the "story" and "writing". I've found that even stories that explore little new ground can be enjoyable if other parts make up for it, so I've come to judge the whole package as one.

Conn · Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:37 am Post subject:

That's understandable. Hell, I've probably made a few of those potshots myself.

I get what you mean about all the things tying together, the package being more than the sum of its parts, etc... I'm just, uh, very fond of breaking things down and looking and them separately, as well as using terms in such a way that they never overlap. I understand how this could be very confusing to one who isn't quite familiar with me.
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Dcrigg · Joined: 17 Nov 2012 Posts: 102

Happy Christmas Very Happy

people

On my first my day I was playing my christmas games Resident Evil 6,Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and Assassins Creed 3.

noy0801 · Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Posts: 15

Radge · Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 976 Location: Town of Duwang

Why not Graces f? Surely you can play it for the battles?
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My Backloggery - BLESS XSEED!

froexen · Joined: 09 Sep 2010 Posts: 366

Yume Hanabi · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 5816

Guys, drop it. If he doesn't want to play Graces, he doesn't want to play Graces. Nothing you say will change his mind, and it isn't nice to judge.
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~Find my Tales of translations on LJ or on Tumblr~

Conn · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:19 pm Post subject:

It's just baffling that he keeps coming up with these nonsensical excuses. If he just doesn't want to play it, that's fine, and he should have simply said so.
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siphry · Joined: 13 Nov 2012 Posts: 330

To me, it's not just that he doesn't "want" to play Graces, it's that refuses to for the most absurd reason ever.
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JiCi · Joined: 14 Mar 2010 Posts: 307