Why aren't Tales games more popular?

[HolyBaikal]

I'm a big big biiiiiig fan of the Tales games. It's my most favourite game series of all time. And I know there are other fans who know how wonderful Tales is, too.

But I often feel kind of alone. Because it seems like people talk so much about Final Fantasy and other game series, instead. I have a harder time meeting someone who has heard of Tales of Symphonia than Persona 4. Or any Final Fantasy game.

But Tales of Symphonia is my favourite video game of all time. And Tales is my favourite game series of all time. Tales isn't unheard of, but it seems less popular than I would expect. And I feel like.. like such a wonderful series deserves more attention.

Why is that?

 

[Jamix012]

I feel like Action JRPGs aren't as popular as turn based ones. For what it's worth Tales is the most popular action jrpg, I think?

 

[MikeyB]

I'm a big big biiiiiig fan of the Tales games. It's my most favourite game series of all time. And I know there are other fans who know how wonderful Tales is, too.

But I often feel kind of alone. Because it seems like people talk so much about Final Fantasy and other game series, instead. I have a harder time meeting someone who has heard of Tales of Symphonia than Persona 4. Or any Final Fantasy game.

But Tales of Symphonia is my favourite video game of all time. And Tales is my favourite game series of all time. Tales isn't unheard of, but it seems less popular than I would expect. And I feel like.. like such a wonderful series deserves more attention.

Why is that?

I like the gameplay of Tales games, but the stories are anime tripe. They're never going to appeal to a crowd that isn't already receptive to children with giant eyes.

 

[Enthus]

I like thing. Why don't other people know about thing? They know about other thing.

 

[Zafir]

Very little marketing.

I'd imagine the anime asthetics probably put people off too. Not to say Final Fantasy isn't anime inspired with it's designs, but it doesn't go quite as far.

 

[Ketkat]

Very little marketing.

I'd imagine the anime asthetics probably put people off too. Not to say Final Fantasy isn't anime inspired with it's designs, but it doesn't go quite as far.

I don't see how Noctis looks like from anything but an anime, or lightning for that matter.

 

[sörine]

Symphonia outsold Persona 4 in the west. I think the problem is that Symphonia was the only Tales to ever really break out overseas. Xillia did pretty well too though.

 

[z1ggy]

I´m currently playing Tales of Xillia and it isn´t that great. It's a decent game, but i can see why Tales of games aren´t more popular.

Too many cliches, character designs are meh, etc.

 

[Reveirg]

Personnally, Tales games fail to have the same impact on me than Persona/FF because of the somewhat cliched story and average soundtracks. They're still some of my favouriye games and I'm glad the series is staying really healthy.

As for their popularity, I think it's simply "too anime" for a lot of people.

 

[120v]

they're pretty run-of-the-mill B-tier jrpgs. not a necessarily a bad thing... but shouldn't be a mystery why it isn't up there with the likes of final fantasy

 

[Nightengale]

I don't see how Noctis looks like from anything but an anime, or lightning for that matter.

They look like they're from a J/K-Pop band.

Anime just looks like artwork.

 

[HolyBaikal]

Symphonia outsold Persona 4 in the west. I think the problem is that Symphonia was the only Tales to ever really break out overseas. Xillia did pretty well too though.

Oh, well that's nice!

.. I wonder why I've met so many people who have heard of Persona, who haven't heard of Tales.

 

[Hugstable]

For me I really like the series, but each game has it's own fair share of problems that would hold it back from ever reaching anything outside of it's niche audience. Like some games will have awesome battle systems, but laughably bad story (Graces) and some will have a decent story, but the battle system would be the basic Tales battle system with TP which I don't usually enjoy as much the the more fun battle systems like what Graces or Destiny Rebirth had.

Personnally, Tales games fail to have the same impact on me than Persona/FF because of the somewhat cliched story and average soundtracks. They're still some of my favouriye games and I'm glad the series is staying really healthy.

As for their popularity, I think it's simply "too anime" for a lot of people.

Exactly. The soundtracks haven't been all that great recently (can't speak for Zesty) and the stories need alot of work. The characters are usually fun, but it's not hard to see why the games aren't popular here.

 

[Zafir]

I don't see how Noctis looks like from anything but an anime, or lightning for that matter.

Yes, but as I mentioned it doesn't go as far. Tales of is pretty much a direct copy of anime. In Final Fantasy it influences designs, but they twist it slightly.

As mentioned above, Noctis is more Japanese inspired than anime, really.

 

[10k]

Mostly because of the art style and anime trope story. None of the stories are memorable and it doesn't have that western appeal that FF gained from the 90's.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

The stories are poor and filled with tropes.

I'm playing through Hearts R and you can see every twist signposted before it happens. I like Tales games for the gameplay, i think vesperia was the only one where I enjoyed the characters and story too.
Symphonia is the most popular in the West, yet it's story was just a diluted version of FFX and filled with terrible VA's.

 

[HolyBaikal]

I like the stories in Tales games more than Final Fantasy games. What makes the stories cliche? Final Fantasy stories seem just as cliche to me as Tales games.
Sometimes more so.

 

[ULTROS!]

I feel like Action JRPGs aren't as popular as turn based ones. For what it's worth Tales is the most popular action jrpg, I think?

I think that title goes to Kingdom Hearts if it's quantity per title and worldwide reception.

 

[Divvy]

The story is meh, the artstyle is pretty niche, and as much as I enjoy them, they always run too freaking long. Like you could cut 40% of the length of every Tales game and you wouldn't miss anything.

 

[Vazra]

Animations are weak
Facial expressions have been mostly weak too
The Artstyle is cliche
The characters are old tired tropes
The story is cliche with cliche twists
The OST they limit Motoi with what he can do keeping the OST mostly safe non impressive pieces.


I love the series but there are many faults within them.

 

[Syraxith]

Symphonia outsold Persona 4 in the west. I think the problem is that Symphonia was the only Tales to ever really break out overseas.

Probably because the GameCube library had so few RPGs to begin with.

 

[Kagari]

Lack of marketing/real push in the west until very recently. Also the anime style is very off-putting to a bigger audience.

 

[z1ggy]

Also, i would like to point out that not only Talef of, but most JRPGs aim at a teen audience...that pulls me off a bit. And probably other people as well. Isn´t because is "too anime" (i enjoy anime and manga -mostly manga tho-) but i highly dislike things that aim to teens. That´s what i think is the main difference with their western counterpart.

 

[butman]

Because their character design look like they came out from a Slice of Life anime.

 

[HolyBaikal]

Symphonia is the most popular in the West, yet it's story was just a diluted version of FFX

Tales of Symphonia's story wasn't the same as Final Fantasy X.

I thought Tales of Symphonia was a much better game and story than Final Fantasy X.

 

[Hugstable]

I think that title goes to Kingdom Hearts if it's quantity per title and worldwide reception.

haha no other Action-RPG stood a chance, Disney and Final Fantasy stuff... KH was made to sell

 

[ZServ]

I've tried Symphonia and Abyss, didn't like either of 'em. Just seemed very boring. Slow paced story with same-y mechanics as other jrpgs.

But, I don't care for FF either to be fair. Persona is really the only one that does it for me.

 

[HK-47]

Symphonia outsold Persona 4 in the west. I think the problem is that Symphonia was the only Tales to ever really break out overseas. Xillia did pretty well too though.

I dont get why TotA ended up PS2 exclusive when ToS was such a break out game in the West.

 

[Fbh]

I'd say it's a combination of less marketing, less production values and a 100% anime style.

An yes, I realize Persona also ha an anime style going for it. But it's a different game concept, with the whole social aspect and it being set in modern day japan.

I don't see how Noctis looks like from anything but an anime, or lightning for that matter.

Both Noctis and Lightning have a japanese style art direction in their design. But they both use pretty "realistic" 3D models. Unlike the Tales games which just aim to look like an actual anime.

 

[Jamix012]

I think that title goes to Kingdom Hearts if it's quantity per title and worldwide reception.

You're right, I was forgetting. Still outside of KH you'd be hard pressed to find other popular action jrpgs. They generally tend to reside as cult classics in the heart of forum goers like NeoGAF. Think Ys and the like.

 

[Zafir]

Tales of Symphonia's story wasn't the same as Final Fantasy X.

I thought Tales of Symphonia was a much better game and story than Final Fantasy X.

To be fair. The first third was a diluted version of Final Fantasy X.

After wards it does mix it up. It steals from Final Fantasy IX instead!

 

[ZoddGutts]

Symphonia outsold Persona 4 in the west. I think the problem is that Symphonia was the only Tales to ever really break out overseas. Xillia did pretty well too though.

Eh, Gamecube owners were desperate at that time to buy any game, it didn't exactly had a big library of JRPG's, as someone who own a GC shit was tuff waiting for third party releases because of how rare it was compared to the PS2 got.

 

[Dimentionalist]

Very little marketing.

This. I've introduced plenty of people to this series and they love it. When I ask them if they've heard of the series before I show them a game, they usually say, "Tales? Like Tails in Sonic?"

Symphonia is the most popular in the West, yet it's story was just a diluted version of FFX and filled with terrible VA's.

I loved Symphonia's voice acting, it's still my favorite dub in the series. Much better than the budget dub the sequel got. Poor Lloyd sounded like he had a soar throat.

 

[John Harker]

Because the content skews pretty young, especially with the art style. And the mechanics are also very traditional. It's a tough sell.

It's just not the type of experience that modern, expensive fancy box console owners want to spend $60 on any more. Final Fantasy appeals more to slightly older demo and plays nostalgia cards better for older segments, 25-35+.

Also a few other reasons people on here will flame me for saying. But it doesn't need to be a huge seller to be profitable anyway, they have the assembly line development down to a science with the franchise. They are smart to focus on profitability in domestic shores and not overtly investing in western markets so the ROI is there. Same thing with dragon quest.


That said, personally, I really enjoyed both ToS AND ToS2! Which was largely successful due in part to a nintendo marketing dollars, which isn't likely to happen ever again due to changes in priorities for console manufacturers + nintendo has their own RPG studio now

 

[HolyBaikal]

Almost all Japanese RPGs and Japanese games seem to use a popular manga like art style. :/

Pokemon uses an anime art style, and it sells millions of copies. The manga art style is popular, not just in Japan.

 

[Hours Left]

Tales generally sticks to a very specific style, and that's just not "in fashion" anymore. I love the series, but I can see why it doesn't have mass appeal.

I don't think you need to worry about that though. It does well enough in Namco's eyes to continue on and they seem very dedicated to fostering the western fan base for it now. So as long as that keeps on, we'll get to keep playing. And maybe we will have another Symphonia moment again in the future. JRPGs in general seem to be back on the upswing again.

 

[Caronte]

They look generic.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Very little marketing, also they are not very good.

 

[Green Mamba]

Stories are meh, graphics aren't exciting in any sort of way, really just b-tier all the way around.

I've dropped the series too. Really loved Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia, but Xillia was putrid trash that sullied any hope the franchise has at winning me back.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

they're pretty run-of-the-mill B-tier jrpgs. not a necessarily a bad thing... but shouldn't be a mystery why it isn't up there with the likes of final fantasy

.

 

[HolyBaikal]

To be fair. The first third was a diluted version of Final Fantasy X.

No it wasn't!

 

[CielTynave]

I dont get why TotA ended up PS2 exclusive when ToS was such a break out game in the West.

I'm pretty sure that's because when it came out in Japan originally Symphonia on GC was the lowest selling main title in the series by far. It did a lot better initially with the PS2 release.

 

[DataGhost]

I like the tales series but nothing of the games I've played have really struck out to me.

 

[t26]

How does Persona 4 has more marketing than Tales of Vesperia?

 

[HolyBaikal]

Very little marketing, also they are not very good.

The games are amazing! I've never played an RPG series that was as good as Tales to me.

Though maybe the marketing thing is true.

 

[Kanann]

edit: read thread title wrong

most of them are just so so games

 

[Cloud Strife]

IMO the stories from the games I've played (abyss, graces, xillia) are leagues behind any Final Fantasy game I've played. Very cliche with no risks taken for the most part.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

I was going to take this seriously until I saw the OP...

FF stories aren't the same.

 

[Kagari]

Almost all Japanese RPGs and Japanese games seem to use a popular manga like art style. :/

Pokemon uses an anime art style, and it sells millions of copies. The manga art style is popular, not just in Japan.

It's all about perception though. People outside the US don't think of Pokemon as anime when they see it.

 

[Crossing Eden]

There are only so many cliche overused anime tropes that people can take before they get bored. I played Dawn of the new world, holy shit that was torture. And somehow Vesperia is still the best looking one.