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Tales Studio is in trouble

C

cress2000

Member
MechaX said:
The Tales fan-translators do good work, but are notoriously slow/understaffed. Says something when games like Dragon Quest V, Front Mission 5, and even Namco X Capcom can get fan-translations quicker than a Tales game even despite how all three probably have just as much text as a Tales game. Personally, I always wondered why they never just get the menu/item stuff out of the way first for their projects like they did with Destiny 2.
Click to expand...
Tales games actually have a lot of menu text. And it just happens we tend to be OCD/perfectionist about what we do. We don't like translating literally either, so multiple passes at the text to spruce it up happens all the time.

The current menu patch out for Destiny 2, considered a pre-alpha, still needs to be finished and more refined. The vast majority of it is translated, and maybe well enough for most people...but my standards are higher than that.

Anyways, after Phantasian Productions (me) finishes Phantasia PS1 and Absolute Zero finishes Innocence most likely within this year, strides will be made on Destiny 2 and the Destiny remake. Complete menu patches for both of those games should follow within a few months once full attention is brought back to them. I want to work on new script tools for those games to help streamline things more.
 
I

InternHertz

Member
I'm a Tales fanboy and I really hope it won't affect the release of future games in the franchise and also the quality of those games...
I'll pray they find a solution to keep the studio afloat.
 
T

TreIII

Member
Make a 2D HD Tales game with an upgrade of Tales of Destiny - DC's battle engine, and I'll care about this series again.

Until then, this series has outlived its appeal to me.
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
I still don't know why JRPGs coming from small outfits haven't been focusing on DD channels with PSN and XBLA (or dedicated releases on Games on Demand). Seems like a perfect space, IMO.
 
V

Varion

Member
Teppic said:
I just want the new team symphonia game, sack the rest :p
Click to expand...
Personally I'd love a collaboration between Destiny and Symphonia. I've really liked the stories and most of the characters in the Team Symphonia game, but the battle system they use is starting to feel quite slow. Graces, on the other hand, had my favourite combat system in the series, but really weak characters and plot.

Stick them together and it'd make an awesome combination, preferably with Vesperia's graphics engine.
 
X

xero273

Member
IntelliHeath said:
with those fan translation, let me guess it require homebrew or modded to running those translation?
Click to expand...

for the ps2, it does. I'm not sure about ToG, but ToG will use the same method as fatal frame 4 for the translation.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
It's all Namco's fault, too. That's worst part of this.

If the studio is really in trouble, I hope to god that a company like Atlus can save them. Buy the IP and the studio.

People keep talking about how Tales games always bomb, but that's only because people are comparing it to what it did in the past with Destiny and Symphonia. When compared to other JRPGs, it sells tremendously well for a series not under the Square Enix umbrella. Atlus can easily make this series work.
 
P

Peff

Member
Oh, boy, a fan translation of both versions of Rebirth? Nice! Did they add anything for the PSP version?
 
L

lsslave

Jew Gamer
ZealousD said:
It's all Namco's fault, too. That's worst part of this.

If the studio is really in trouble, I hope to god that a company like Atlus can save them. Buy the IP and the studio.

People keep talking about how Tales games always bomb, but that's only because people are comparing it to what it did in the past with Destiny and Symphonia. When compared to other JRPGs, it sells tremendously well for a series not under the Square Enix umbrella. Atlus can easily make this series work.
Click to expand...

It most likely is Namco's fault, I have to agree.

I'd have bought all the DS Tales games and was waiting patiently for Graces. Their refusal to release their Tales games costs them.
 
Y

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
MightyHedgehog said:
I still don't know why JRPGs coming from small outfits haven't been focusing on DD channels with PSN and XBLA (or dedicated releases on Games on Demand). Seems like a perfect space, IMO.
Click to expand...
Tales Studio makes massive games. They wouldn't make sense on download services.
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Y2Kev said:
Tales Studio makes massive games. They wouldn't make sense on download services.
Click to expand...
Then they should retool and alter the scope of their production values in accordance with a level of risk they can sustain. RPGs don't need CG or traditionally-animated sequences to tell a story where most of the communication is still done via dialog boxes.
 
I

IntelliHeath

As in "Heathcliff"
xero273 said:
for the ps2, it does. I'm not sure about ToG, but ToG will use the same method as fatal frame 4 for the translation.
Click to expand...

Edited: I googled it but yeah it would be perfect if I have japanese wii.
 
A

Aeana

Member
MightyHedgehog said:
Then they should retool and alter the scope of their production values in accordance with a level of risk they can sustain. RPGs don't need CG or traditionally-animated sequences to tell a story where most of the communication is still done via dialog boxes.
Click to expand...
So have you ever actually played a Tales game, or...?
 
E

ElectricThunder

Member
Gah, I still have hope for RM 2 on PSP....a little at least. They really need to do things differently with getting the games out there...

:still dreams his madman's dream of a Tales Cross-Universe Roguelike of some configuration:
 
R

Rpgmonkey

Member
If Tales Studio were to ever die, I hope the franchise dies with them.

I...don't have high hopes anymore for a really good Tales game that wasn't made by Tales Studio.

Varion said:
Personally I'd love a collaboration between Destiny and Symphonia. I've really liked the stories and most of the characters in the Team Symphonia game, but the battle system they use is starting to feel quite slow. Graces, on the other hand, had my favourite combat system in the series, but really weak characters and plot.

Stick them together and it'd make an awesome combination, preferably with Vesperia's graphics engine.
Click to expand...

Hearts is probably your best bet if you never played it.

I haven't played Graces yet, but I think Hearts had a better plot and cast than any Team Destiny game (I enjoyed them more than Symphonia and Vesperia's too, but eh), and it spices up the Tales-style gameplay a bit more than your usual Team Symphonia game (though I wouldn't say the gameplay is as polished as it would be in a Team Destiny game).
 
X

xero273

Member
Peff said:
Oh, boy, a fan translation of both versions of Rebirth? Nice! Did they add anything for the PSP version?
Click to expand...

psp has arena, some new weapons and titles. new cut-ins for some mystic artes.
 
J

Jezan

Member
Kurosaki Ichigo said:
Probably the best thing to happen to the series since 2005.
Click to expand...
lloydsad.jpg
:(
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
MightyHedgehog said:
Then they should retool and alter the scope of their production values in accordance with a level of risk they can sustain. RPGs don't need CG or traditionally-animated sequences to tell a story where most of the communication is still done via dialog boxes.
Click to expand...

:lol

Tales games only have traditional animation in the intro and maybe only 3 minutes in-game at best. 99.99% of the story-telling is done in-engine, real-time, with dialog boxes. The only thing they could really cut is mo-cap, and that's been only a recent edition to the series with DotNW and Graces.
 
V

Vanille

Member
Varion said:
Personally I'd love a collaboration between Destiny and Symphonia. I've really liked the stories and most of the characters in the Team Symphonia game, but the battle system they use is starting to feel quite slow. Graces, on the other hand, had my favourite combat system in the series, but really weak characters and plot.

Stick them together and it'd make an awesome combination, preferably with Vesperia's graphics engine.
Click to expand...

Wasn't Graces a collaboration between Team Symphonia and Team Destiny? From what I understand, Tales games won't be made by a single team anymore, and will instead be developed by a mix of both.
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Aeana said:
So have you ever actually played a Tales game, or...?
Click to expand...
I have, but I admit that I haven't played the ones out of this gen beyond Vesperia. I just don't see why going DD is such a problem for those titles.

ZealousD said:
:lol

Tales games only have traditional animation in the intro and maybe only 3 minutes in-game at best. 99.99% of the story-telling is done in-engine, real-time, with dialog boxes. The only thing they could really cut is mo-cap, and that's been only a recent edition to the series with DotNW and Graces.
Click to expand...
Right. That's what I thought. So, it doesn't seem out of the question at all to slim them down to the essentials that most people buying them really care about anyway. I mean, we're talking about a situation where it's either more games or no more games. Something has to give.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
Rpgmonkey said:
If Tales Studio were to ever die, I hope the franchise dies with them.

I...don't have high hopes anymore for a really good Tales game that wasn't made by Tales Studio.
Click to expand...

What would you think of a Tales of made from a reborn Wolfteam under Square-Enix publishing? Serious question.

If anything, you would stop seeing franchise milking and the chances of localization would skyrocket.

Also, to the people claiming they spend too much on the mothership titles: hasn't Tales studio said they started working on Vesperia right after Abyss bringing over most of the staff and the assets, trying to keep costs low? I recall that from some interview or something.
 
9

9BR

Neo Member
Fuck them, they deserve it for not localizing Vesperia PS3, Graces and all the good JP only Tales.
They better solve this, I'm a Tales addict.
:(
 
L

loosus

Banned
I know it's not a popular opinion on GAF, but I think once people actually played and bought Symphonia way back when (that is, when they finally stopped hearing about the Tales series and actually sat down with it and put some time into it), they found out that they didn't really like the game at all. I think Symphonia's success was its own beginning of the end.

These games being bombs has more to do with their lack of quality and fun than any exterior motive that people seem to want to fabricate.
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
AceBandage said:
That's what they get for not releasing Graces and Vespereria PS3 stateside.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Exactly what I was thinking.

And for milking the Tales series dry for the past 15 years or making poor and uninspired sequels like Dawn of the New World.

But I also think Namco-Bandai took a hit with making Vesperia a timed exclusive on the 360. I think it pissed off a lot of Tales fans in Japan when they released a better version on the PS3 later. Didn't a lot of these fans buy a 360 just for that game?

Heck I was pissed too when they revealed the PS3 version since I just bought the 360 one not too long before that! I hated the thought of playing an inferior version.

Yeah. Not a good way to handle a franchise! Fanbase is everything to niche series like this.
 
D

Diablos

Member
Aeana said:
That train sailed long ago. John TV said as much several months ago, and if his company wasn't working on it, I don't think anybody else would be.
Click to expand...
Meh. I enjoyed it on 360 and would love to play through it again but with all the new stuff.

Anyone know if the JP import has English subs/menus?
 
B

Bel Marduk

Banned
loosus said:
I know it's not a popular opinion on GAF, but I think once people actually played and bought Symphonia way back when (that is, when they finally stopped hearing about the Tales series and actually sat down with it and put some time into it), they found out that they didn't really like the game at all. I think Symphonia's success was its own beginning of the end.

These games being bombs has more to do with their lack of quality and fun than any exterior motive that people seem to want to fabricate.
Click to expand...

Yeaaaaahhh...no. The Tales games are arguably getting better and you can tell that from comments on Vesperia PS3 and Graces. The quality is fine, the series is just being mismanaged by an awful company. Seriously, Namco makes a lot of good games but their business sense is zero.
 
Y

ymmv

Banned
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
But I also think Namco-Bandai took a hit with making Vesperia a timed exclusive on the 360. I think it pissed off a lot of Tales fans in Japan when they released a better version on the PS3 later. Didn't a lot of these fans buy a 360 just for that game?

Heck I was pissed too when they revealed the PS3 version since I just bought the 360 one not too long before that! I hated the thought of playing an inferior version.

Yeah. Not a good way to handle a franchise! Fanbase is everything to niche series like this.
Click to expand...

What about releasing Tales of Vesperia (360) in Europe 10 months after the US release just when the first information leaked out about an extended PS3 edition in Japan. The extremely long delay killed most of the hype about the game and when it came out potential buyers didn't know whether to buy the 360 version or wait for the better PS3 version (which never showed up of course).

Stupid, stupid, stupid.
 
R

Rpgmonkey

Member
loosus said:
What would you think of a Tales of made from a reborn Wolfteam under Square-Enix publishing? Serious question.
Click to expand...

You mean the people at Tales Studio moving to tri-Ace and SE getting the Tales property?

After all this time, I'm not really sure what that'd entail in terms of design or quality.

loosus said:
I know it's not a popular opinion on GAF, but I think once people actually played and bought Symphonia way back when (that is, when they finally stopped hearing about the Tales series and actually sat down with it and put some time into it), they found out that they didn't really like the game at all. I think Symphonia's success was its own beginning of the end.

These games being bombs has more to do with their lack of quality and fun than any exterior motive that people seem to want to fabricate.
Click to expand...

The game got fairly good reviews and much of its sales outside of Japan come from having a bit more of a marketing push than your usual Tales game, being an above-average new RPG released in an unsaturated market, and strong/positive word of mouth.

I'm not sure why Symphonia's quality and reception should be high on the "list of reasons why Tales games 'bomb'". If anything that claim would be better placed on the lukewarm/negative reaction to Legendia, and Abyss being a technical mess, both on a system with plenty of higher quality and/or more polished RPGs.
 
U

Urban Scholar

Member
Rpgmonkey said:
I'm not sure why Symphonia's quality and reception should be high on the "list of reasons why Tales games 'bomb'". If anything that claim would be better placed on the lukewarm/negative reaction to Legendia, and Abyss being a technical mess, both on a system with plenty of high quality and/or more polished RPGs.
Click to expand...

I really don't want to change the subject but please could you explain a bit? I personally either don't see it or just not aware.
 
G

GitarooMan

Member
Lol at the idea that releasing Vesperia PS3 and Graces elsewhere would do much to alleviate this. I would love to see that to, but the Western releases of these games are not to suddenly change the tide. Symphonia was an outlier that got some good press and was released to an audience starved for a half-decent RPG. If anything, Western interest in JRPGs has declined since then and releasing a couple games that will be lucky to clear ~100k each (very lucky) isn't going to accomplish much.

What they really would have to do is try to find a way to recapture some of their Japanese popularity, which points to more DS/3DS development as an obvious possible solution (smaller budget, bigger userbase)
 
L

loosus

Banned
Rpgmonkey said:
The game got fairly good reviews and much of its sales outside of Japan come from having a bit more of a marketing push than your usual Tales game, being an above-average new RPG released in an unsaturated market, and strong/positive word of mouth.

I'm not sure why Symphonia's quality and reception should be high on the "list of reasons why Tales games 'bomb'". If anything that claim would be better placed on the lukewarm/negative reaction to Legendia, and Abyss being a technical mess, both on a system with plenty of higher quality and/or more polished RPGs.
Click to expand...
Can't say I agree at all.

First, the game getting good reviews or not is irrelevant to most people. People like a game or not based on their own experience, not anybody else's. If people wanted more of Tales, then they would have bought them.

Second, I think marketing had little to do with Symphonia's success, and I think word of mouth was actually quite negative about the game. I think the biggest reason it had success was your second reason: being a Japanese RPG released in an unsaturated market. The game was bound for some type of success regardless of everything else.

Symphonia's quality would be a huge indicator of why the subsequent games have not had as much success. Symphonia's success is exactly why you can't really blame marketing; people did give the series a shot, and it didn't go over well. If people wanted more Tales, they'd buy more Tales. They didn't/don't, though.
 
R

Rpgmonkey

Member
Urban Scholar said:
I really don't want to change the subject but please could you explain a bit? I personally either don't see it or just not aware.
Click to expand...

This applies more to the English version than the Japanese version, but:

-Long load times (in my experience some were like ~8-12 seconds, some were a more negligible ~6, even the item images had a noticeable load time, lol)
-Poor framerate when walking on the world map
-Various kinds of glitches

Here's a guide describing more notable glitches:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/929343-tales-of-the-abyss/faqs/46167

Some have to be done intentionally, some you have to hope don't pop up (or wait until game fixes itself), and some aren't really "glitches" but might be weird flaws. It's somewhat annoying, but I don't think there's anything in the game that so bad it prevents you from completing it.
 
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