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Public Announcement: Tales of the Abyss 3DS is out today

Damn this game kicks my ass.

I like it alot despite the difficulty I'm having with it combat-wise.

I do prefer it this way than it being on automatic and too easy though ;)
 

Buttons

Member
Glad I bought the game, always wanted to play it during the PS2 era but it was never released in Europe. Not that far into the game yet as I am busy with so many other games, but I'm really glad I picked it up. Even most the second print run in Europe is gone so the game seems to be rare again.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
PROTIP: Bosses in this game can be brutal on hard with your characters sometimes doing single or double digit damage against bosses when on normal you'd be doing high double or triple digit damage.
 

Nairume

Banned
9 hours into the game and I still don't really know the story. Is this normal? >__>

While it's probably just bad writing, I got the impression that the constant confusing technobabble and everything going crazy melded well with Luke having no idea nor really caring what is going on around him.

It gets a lot easier to follow after a certain point in the game.
 
I don't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure the game's camera pans over to show you the new console once you've lit the oil drum. It should've done that for all of the other drum/console combinations, I think.

Finally got past that part.
I overlooked the lift near the oil machine, thinking the FAQs meant for me to take the bigger lift again. Man, that oil spider boss was tough! All my guys died except Tear fighting it

And this game is difficult to follow with all the political intrigue, the names to remember, and the whole explaination about fonons.
 
PROTIP: Bosses in this game can be brutal on hard with your characters sometimes doing single or double digit damage against bosses when on normal you'd be doing high double or triple digit damage.

Yeah... I tend to never mess with hard/manic difficulties on first playthrough. It just makes combat more boring lol.

Does this game have hidden hi-ougis with bosses on higher difficulties?
 
Gosh, all of these reports of the increasing difficulty have me worried: I'm only a few hours in, but I was actually looking forward to breezing through it as I only have time to play it casually.
 

PKrockin

Member
Yeah... I tend to never mess with hard/manic difficulties on first playthrough. It just makes combat more boring lol.

Does this game have hidden hi-ougis with bosses on higher difficulties?

I think only optional bosses have new MAs on high difficulties.

Gosh, all of these reports of the increasing difficulty have me worried: I'm only a few hours in, but I was actually looking forward to breezing through it as I only have time to play it casually.

On normal, the first boss fight with three enemies is most people's sticking point. Besides that it's fairly easy.
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
I think only optional bosses have new MAs on high difficulties.



On normal, the first boss fight with three enemies is most people's sticking point. Besides that it's fairly easy.


People found that boss battle... hard? What? Its relatively tame for Tales standards o.0
 

PKrockin

Member
People found that boss battle... hard? What? Its relatively tame for Tales standards o.0

For the second boss fight in the game, the first boss fight where you have four characters, and the first boss fight against multiple enemies (let alone three), I can see it being hard for a Tales newcomer.

Symphonia eased you into the Fire Seal boss fight a little by pitting you against Botta and his two flunkies. The foots soldiers went down pretty fast but at least you got some experience managing a full party and keeping track of multiple enemies.
 

mclem

Member
I didn't find that hard - but there's an optional fight available immediately after it which was a real test.

Succeeding in that fight has left me rather overlevelled for the content beyond it, but I guess that's no bad thing.
 

SoulFist

Member
Yeah... I tend to never mess with hard/manic difficulties on first playthrough. It just makes combat more boring lol.

Does this game have hidden hi-ougis with bosses on higher difficulties?

I'm not sure about hidden hi-ougis, but I know when you play on hard or above certain bosses will use their hi-ougis on you, when on the easier difficulties they normally wouldn't.
 
Optional bosses notwithstanding, I think the first boss fight to even give me trouble in Abyss was the one against
Largo, Arietta, and Legretta on Mt. Roneal.
And that was moreso because I was more focused on stealing that damned doll for Anise than actually figting back.
 

vall03

Member
Optional bosses notwithstanding, I think the first boss fight to even give me trouble in Abyss was the one against
Largo, Arietta, and Legretta on Mt. Roneal.
And that was moreso because I was more focused on stealing that damned doll for Anise than actually figting back.

yup, I dont think bosses in Tales are that hard. I remember in Vesperia having trouble because of getting those damn Secret Missions, but take them out, they're a cakewalk imo.
 
I find it rather sad that 20 hours into the game my eyes are still burning from the horrendous aliasing. I can't get used to it at all.

Well, a small price to pay, I suppose.
 

Luigiv

Member
9 hours into the game and I still don't really know the story. Is this normal? >__>

Yes, the story is atrocious by any objective literary standard. If you hate it that means you have normal taste. People who enjoy the story must have incredibly low standards.

Unfortunately, the story actually gets worse as the game progresses so brace yourself.
 

Link Man

Banned
Yes, the story is atrocious by any objective literary standard. If you hate it that means you have normal taste. People who enjoy the story must have incredibly low standards.

Unfortunately, the story actually gets worse as the game progresses so brace yourself.

Well that's fine and dandy, but Jade.
 
Yes, the story is atrocious by any objective literary standard. If you hate it that means you have normal taste. People who enjoy the story must have incredibly low standards.

Unfortunately, the story actually gets worse as the game progresses so brace yourself.

Indeed it is, but I'm still finding it enjoyable (and could say the same for most JRPG stories--I'm an English major).
 

Ricker

Member
Guys,I'm noticing most of the time during the battles,there's small stuff on the ground in a circle....do I have to do something to pick those up or they are just picked in the end fight(didn't check the detail results screen,maybe it's there)?
 

jackdoe

Member
Just got this today. I was waiting for Lockerz to maybe ship my order out, but somehow my local Target had it in stock (I was genuinely surprised to see it in a B&M store, not to mention the fact that there were like six copies of it) and I had a $10 Target GC, so I figured why not. Can't wait to play.
 

Link Man

Banned
Guys,I'm noticing most of the time during the battles,there's small stuff on the ground in a circle....do I have to do something to pick those up or they are just picked in the end fight(didn't check the detail results screen,maybe it's there)?

Those are Fields of Fonons; if they are charged (the circles are colored rather than colorless), then by performing specific artes within the circle, you can trigger a FoF Change, making the arte more powerful.

The color of the field indicates which element it corresponds to. Green for wind, Red for Fire, Yellow for Earth, Blue for Water, Purple for Darkness (can trigger Earth or Water), and Black for Light (can trigger Wind or Fire).
 

PKrockin

Member
Guys,I'm noticing most of the time during the battles,there's small stuff on the ground in a circle....do I have to do something to pick those up or they are just picked in the end fight(didn't check the detail results screen,maybe it's there)?

You'll have a tutorial on Fields of Fonons soon. Don't worry about them too much now, you'll get more and more opportunities to use them as the game goes on.

The color of the field indicates which element it corresponds to. Green for wind, Red for Fire, Yellow for Earth, Blue for Water, Purple for Darkness (can trigger Earth or Water), and Black for Light (can trigger Wind or Fire).

Actually Earth is orange-ish and Light is gold-ish yellow.
 
Yes, the story is atrocious by any objective literary standard. If you hate it that means you have normal taste. People who enjoy the story must have incredibly low standards.

Unfortunately, the story actually gets worse as the game progresses so brace yourself.

if we apply literary standards every fucking videogame story is shit. Too bad it's the worst way to judge a RPG's plot
 
Guys,I'm noticing most of the time during the battles,there's small stuff on the ground in a circle....do I have to do something to pick those up or they are just picked in the end fight(didn't check the detail results screen,maybe it's there)?

This game does a terrible job of explaining the systems; in fact, in has very few tutorials on anything in the game.
 

Link Man

Banned
What about that annoying dickhead?



Not every, just 99%. The other 1% is passable if not spectacular. TotA is well below par, though, even for videogame standards.

What, pray tell, constitutes your 1%?

The story is mindless fluff, I'll grant you, but some of the performances are still entertaining if you enjoy anime.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
Just ordered this game after deciding I didn't want to miss out. Hope I'll enjoy it at least as much as the three Tales games I've played. (Symphonia, Phantasia and Destiny)
 

Ricker

Member
Those are Fields of Fonons; if they are charged (the circles are colored rather than colorless), then by performing specific artes within the circle, you can trigger a FoF Change, making the arte more powerful.

The color of the field indicates which element it corresponds to. Green for wind, Red for Fire, Yellow for Earth, Blue for Water, Purple for Darkness (can trigger Earth or Water), and Black for Light (can trigger Wind or Fire).

Ah ok thanks.

You'll have a tutorial on Fields of Fonons soon. Don't worry about them too much now, you'll get more and more opportunities to use them as the game goes on.



Actually Earth is orange-ish and Light is gold-ish yellow.

Yeah,I got the tutorial not long after I asked the question here hehe,thanks for the help guys.

Man there' s some weird,silly stuff in this game though...the Guy thing with female cracks me up and I feel sorry for poor Mieu Mieu the way Luke treats her so far lol...that animation when he steps on her and kicks her away is creepy ;)
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Little help. I'm at the point where
I just got the plane and have to choose between going with jade and Natalia. Will my choice have any major effect on the game?
 
So I heard New Game + is the one to go if you want to do all extras and side-quests. Is it true?

The only new thing that opens up is the secret dungeon, but you can always load a save right before the final boss after beating the final boss to do it on your original play though IIRC.
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
Are people already on NG+? Damn! I'm still hovering around the 22 hour mark. I haven't had time to play it because of midterms. Hopefully I can finish it before Xenoblade comes out, then I've got Devil Survivor Overclocked to tackle as well...
 

Zerokku

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
Just finished the game, clocking in at ~42 hours. Pretty great, though it didn't dethrone Vesperia as my personal fav in the series. It was definitely a stronger ending than the start, though it dragged a fair bit in the middle. I'll probably try a new game+ later on, but for now, time to chip away at more of the backlog.
 

Ultratech

Member
Yeah... I tend to never mess with hard/manic difficulties on first playthrough. It just makes combat more boring lol.

Does this game have hidden hi-ougis with bosses on higher difficulties?

The thing I REALLY hate about Abyss is how it handles difficulty. It just straight up multiplies enemy stats by X number. That wouldn't be so bad except enemies get increased defense making early game bosses a pain in the ass since you can't hardly do shit to them (re: 1st boss on Unknown).
 
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