Tales of Zestiria Reviews
Tales of Zestiria, despite its pointless attempt to reinvent the wheel, holds its own very well and is a solid and enjoyable RPG. Some longtime fans may end up being disappointed due to the attempt to fix what wasn't broken, but it all ultimately fits together and works well enough. This might not be the King Arthur of the Tales series, but it's still at least present at the Round Table.
Tales of Zestiria is a perfectly competent but unremarkable Tales title. It's fun to play and has a solid cast of characters, but the experience is dragged down but a lackluster plot and poor level and area design. It tries some ambitious things but generally to its detriment, and at the end of the day, it's a B-tier Tales title. If you're in the mood for a good JRPG, Zestiria fits the bill, but don't expect anything outside of the norm.
Tales of Zestiria is passable in most departments, but it makes no real effort to excel at anything. The combat and visuals aren't aging well and the story and characters are clichéd, even for a JRPG. There's some fun to be found fusing equipment, but overall the series needs to up its game.
Of course, these are all complaints that apply to previous Tales games, and with the series 15 titles old now, most of us will know how far (if at all) these issues irk us. While I would prefer to see Bandai Namco at least try and do something to modernise the series, it's difficult to really criticise it for sticking to beloved tradition. And as long as the narratives continue to be as enjoyable as they are, it's really quite easy to forgive each new game its flaws anyway.
Overall Tales Of Zestiria is a solid J-RPG but not quite next gen version we had hoped for. They still have some work to do on the series but I still had a fun time playing the game.
Tales of Zestiria offers something new in the form of a unique, more element-focused battle system and an interesting new race.
Tales of Zestiria is a good JRPG, but it always just feels like the same game in a different shell. If you didn't like Xillia or Graces, you probably won't be turned around by Zestiria. However, I like them because I know what I'm getting, an over-acted story with daft and sometimes creepy humour, all wrapped up in an action RPG that hides surprising depth.
Overall, even with its imperfections, Tales of Zestiria is a game that I truly loved playing. I am so happy I picked it up on a whim, and unless some super incredible RPG comes out before December ends, I can safely say this was my game of the year. For sure.
A long JRPG with a lot of content. Enjoyable but brought down by too many battle systems, and a story that isn’t very good. However it’s a quantity over quality smorgasboard of JRPG goodness.
Tales of Zestiria may not be the greatest entry in the Tales series, but it is certainly worth the time of any well-established Tales fan.
Tales of Zestiria is one of the worst Tales games to date.