Tales of Zestiria Reviews

Tales of Zestiria is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
82 / 100
Nov 5, 2015

It's got nothing on Final Fantasy at its best, but it's still an excellent example of the genre with some fun twists on RPG traditions.

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IGN
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Oct 16, 2015

Tales of Zestiria doesn't deviate too far from its competent predecessors, but it's not a carbon copy, either. It may have linear dungeons and a less-than-stellar story, but it's open-world exploration, enjoyable customization, and flashy new Armitization feature are enough for it to stand on its own.

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5 / 10
Oct 20, 2015

The Tales franchise still feels like a great combat system in need of a much better game, especially given the banal script and dungeon design that mars this latest entry.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 20, 2015

Tales of Zestiria has some good ideas, but the experience is underwhelming and disappointing

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6 / 10
Oct 23, 2015

Unfortunately, having the camera closer to ground level exposes the sheer blandness of typical Tales environments.

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Oct 19, 2015

The dungeons are boring, the open world is sparse, and the skill system is obtuse, but a great cast keeps Tales of Zestiria moving forward. Between the cast and the combo-heavy combat system, JRPG fans will find a good deal of fun here.

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Nov 4, 2015

Tales of Zestiria desperately tries to retain its retro JRPG roots while also attempting to stay relevant. The stat-heavy nature of the game combined with numerous unimaginative dungeons slows it down to a crawl, which is unfortunate because the fast-paced combat is enjoyable. Sadly, this game tries to appeal to old and new gamers, but loses its identity in doing so.

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7.5 / 10.0
Oct 20, 2015

Tales of Zestiria plays by the book in a lot of ways, particularly when it comes to its cast and narrative. But it's still a great entry into the series, and a welcome return for old fans, especially as far as the battle system is concerned. In fact, it's even inspired me to go back and finish both Xillia titles -- that's the magic of the Tales series at work.

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7.4 / 10.0
Oct 30, 2015

Yet when the credits rolled, we didn't feel relief, but rather disappointment that the adventure was over. There's a lot to criticize in Tales of Zestiria, but the combat and characters make it enjoyable regardless. Like many good role-playing games, it's easy to get lost in, whether that means fine-tuning your strategies or watching the various character arcs unfold. At its best, Zestiria reminds us that the Tales series still has life left in it.

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8 / 10
Oct 14, 2015

Tales Of Zestiria is a highly enjoyable JRPG, with likeable characters, fun combat and an engaging plot, that's only mildly let down by a few technical hiccups and a lack of grandeur to the locations. For Tales fans, Zestiria is certainly amongst the best entry's in the franchise and one which deserves to finally enjoy success in the West.

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9 / 10.0
Oct 16, 2015

Tales of Zesteria is a fitting tribute to twenty years of the Tales series, giving you one of the greatest JRPG adventures in recent times.

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Nov 20, 2015

After almost 20 years, the Tales series is still going strong with Tales of Zestiria, which offers fast paced action-oriented combat that makes this entry yet another fun adventure in this long running franchise.

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Nov 3, 2015

If Tales of Zestiria wants to be the banner for modern Japanese RPGs, then much more effort and work needed to be done for the game to stand up amongst modern classics such as Persona 4 and Xenoblade: Chronicles.

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ZTGD
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2015

There's a lot to like in the world of Zestiria, and fans of JRPGs will no doubt find a lot to like here, but at the end of the day it's still just another Tales games. Nothing more, nothing less.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 2, 2015

Tales of Zestiria is a success in all the right ways. Combat has the potential to compete in the intricacies of any fighter out there, despite the minor camera issues. Character development is awkward, but the depth is there to compete against some of the most complex RPGs in gaming history.

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Dave Aubrey
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Oct 23, 2015

Predictable moments blended with some absolutely fantastic music and gameplay creates one of the best JRPGs of the year, if not the best. Still, it doesn't reach the heights of past Tales games.

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8 / 10
Oct 16, 2015

Tales of Zestiria is an admirable addition to the legacy of the franchise, boasting a brilliant battle system and a very endearing cast of characters. While it does falter with a few of its fresh ideas, such as its somewhat sparse open areas and its overly complex skill management, it's not enough to detract too heavily from what is otherwise a grand adventure in an intriguing fantasy world. Get through the typically humdrum opening hours and you'll find an addictive RPG with a tale well worth telling.

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Oct 16, 2015

That doesn't make Tales of Zestiria a bad JRPG. It has its dull passages and a tendency for endless exposition, but it's still brighter, more colourful and more immediately fun than any of the recent Final Fantasies, and it's arguably the best thing the genre has thrown up since Ni-No-Kuni. Like many JRPGs, it gets better the more time you put in, the more you understand its systems and the more you get to know and likes its characters. All the same, this is another solid entry in the Tales saga rather than the breakout hit you might have hoped for. It will chime well with the faithful, but it's unlikely to bring any new converts round.

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Oct 27, 2015

Tales of Zestiria relies entirely upon its entertaining, colorful cast of characters to distract players from anything even remotely tedious or derivative.

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Oct 26, 2015

Tales of Zestiria holds the series back in light of its upcoming 20th Anniversary in December. It's an uneven adventure filled with half-baked ideas. The fun, enigmatic cast and stylistic combat help Zesteria from completely falling off the RPG radar though. It's a good, but not great entry in the Tales franchise.

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