Rating
Tales of Zestiria
Tales of Zestiria is a Japanese role-playing game. It is the fifteenth main entry in the Tales series. As with previous entries in the Tales series, the game uses a variation of the action-based Linear Motion Battle System, with additional elements including a navigable open world, and the ability for certain characters to fuse into a single entity...
Details
- Released
- January 22, 2015
- Developer
- tri-Crescendo, Bandai Namco Studios
- Genres
- Action · Role-playing (RPG) · Open world
- Publisher
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco Games
How it plays
Up to 4 players
Player pulse
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Tales of Zestiria Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
In short, Tales of Zestiria is worthy of the franchise it belongs to. Fans will know what to expect at all times, and newbies will get to know the basic elements of the Tales of series and enjoy really solid and enjoyable gameplay along the way. It might not be the best title in the series (which has so many good entries, opting for one or another is purely a matter of personal opinion) because the plot falls flat at times, and the world seems too empty, but in other areas it delivers the quality that you'd expect. It's a funny, intense and engaging, and it encourages you to see it through to…
Tales of Zestiria is still a whole lot of fun regardless of the problems it has — fans will be glad to immerse themselves in the fantasy world and the rich, engaging combat, but it’s far from the series’ best efforts. Aside from the soundtrack, every component in Zestiria has been better implemented before, and some new features may baffle newcomers. With four releases in just over two years, I’d be happy to wait longer for Namco’s next instalment so they can fine-tune and restore their flagship series to its best. However, the inclusion of two post-game cameo battles, an ex-dungeon,…
Some people think that Japanese RPGs start and end with Final Fantasy. Others can recite their top five Dragon Quest combat systems from memory. For every series that goes supernova on a global scale, there are plenty more that deserve the same nerdish devotion from Westerners – starting with the Tales Of… franchise.
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.
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.
Players delve into a grand storyline and discover the zest of adventure with new characters, magical lands and action-packed gameplay that the "Tales of" franchise is known for.
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.
The Tales franchise has seen its ups and downs through the years, but Tales of Zestiria is the most disappointing entry in the long-running series since 2006's Tales of Legendia. Zestiria has flickers of greatness, such as a cool battle system and a more mature story, but they're wasted on frustrating, inexcusable gameplay mechanics. To put it bluntly, this entry feels dated. It makes you suffer through backtracking, longwinded battles, and boring dialogue.
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.
By all accounts, the Tales series is possibly the most progressive and inventive among JRPGs. When Tales of Phantasia debuted on the SNES, its use of voice clips and real-time action combat was unheard of, especially within the JRPG space. It really was almost like a fighting game combat system was placed in a JRPG shell and it worked marvelously. Fast forward to the present day and the Tales series isn’t doing much to reinvent itself anymore, instead sticking to tried and true styles of gameplay and level design. The big question is, is Tales of Zestiria, the latest in the series and first to...