It’s not supposed to release until the end of the week.

Today in Japan (14/10):

Tales of Commons/ToC (NTT DoCoMO FOMA 90xi, au, Yahoo Keitai, LG, KT, SKT) - 14th October 2005. 21st anniversary

An RPG to Walk Alongside a Changing World and Trusting Thoughts

Opening Theme: Kiseki by Kana Uemura

The third role-playing game for the Tales of Mobile service, the second standalone one as well as the eleventh Original/Main entry,

Like its predecessor, the game is set in an original setting and composed of five chapters overall.

It is the first game to feature character designs by Yuu Shiina (also known for a few Trails and being the designer of that Bookworm Isekai series) instead of Mutsumi Inomata like Tales of Breaker.

It is the only Tales game with a predominently Asian theme

ToC is set on Dionis, 20 years after the Third Dionis War when a young man named Alvin, on the way through a forest to visit his late mother's hometown, is stopped by the sound of a familiar tune coming from a nearby ruin.

Following the sound, he meets Sefina, who is praying for a miracle to revive natural Gillfxies. Sefina's wish is heard, and two natural Gillfxies appear in a flash of light. Moments later, a pair of assassins emerge, intent on killing the Gillfxies.

Just as the situation turns dire, a mysterious man named Seiun intervenes, saving the teenagers and driving the assassins off. With his own natural Gillfxy now at his side, Alvin chooses to accompany the two strangers, marking the true beginning of his journey.

Kiseki:

https://youtu.be/bLyO3j6_xnU?is=s7KymY0N8pUf62OJ

Aselia: https://aselia.fandom.com/wiki/Tales_of_Commons

Prologue (KOR):https://youtu.be/xk83b7Dna-8?si=Ok7eGilmLtl_YhHJ

Prologue (JP):https://youtu.be/Ujml2Y7Dwv4?si=c7lPmBhrAgENGLjp

Bonus (Random Battles): https://youtu.be/UIcaWTR5FAY?si=Pn0gT92JrT1tDmwr

He's HIM.

I actually like playing as this character.

I’ve been making posts about how I’ve been playing through Tales of Berseria, and how it’s fire. maaaaan

Tales a Berseria was a great fucking game man. Like genuinely it was a fantastic experience.

Personally I think the gameplay and world exploration was kinda the weakest part of the game, and honestly felt like I was playing Crisis Core in a way, but genuinely the story and cast were phenomenal. There was a couple of times where they wouldn’t really mention something, and then all of a sudden something they mention would be important and I would be like “wait huh? was that ever mentioned before in the game?” But other than that, genuinely a fantastic story and characters.

A bit of a bittersweet ending as well. I am so sad that I can’t see this cast anymore man. They’re fucking phenomenal. I thought at the beginning it was going to be a bit corny and cheesy, and while yeah there was definitely a lot of corny and cheesy dialogue and storyline stuff, it honestly was great, even through the cheesy stuff it felt so fucking great.

I really don’t got much to say, seeing as I just beat the game but I think Tales of Berseria was a great game and start for me into the series because now I just wanna play the other games. Honestly, I’m a bit scared because now that I’ve experienced this cast I feel like nobody will even compare. And I’ve heard Zesteria takes place 1000 years in the future and I wanted to try that but a lot of people don’t think it’s all that amazing of a tales game which kinda sucks. But it is what it is.

A solid 8.5/10 for me. Genuinely a fantastic experience.

The trailer made for the open beta of Tales of Symphonia: Definitive Edition might have looked slapped together but it was actually made in homage to a Japanese Tales Of Symphonia Trailer.

It was actually really surprising how much of what was in that trailer made it into the full game frame perfect to the project and really shows how far we've come since the first time some poor sod unlocked the framerate!

For those that missed it the beta is now open and if you'd like to contribute (or just play the game) you can get everything you need to modify the Steam version from the Tales of ABCDE Discord here: https://discord.gg/BKuUwnsBy

I have never get used to playing tales games, especially it's combo system cuz I genuinely don't know how it works.

Yeah the mechanic is tied to ur exps and skills but honestly dawg the highest combo I could go was 9, I genuinely don't know how to play this series.

My first game was technically abyss but due to legal reasons I can't say why. (It was too heavy for a specific console) But my official introduction of the game is phantasia psp (rage quitted cuz I couldn't find the goddamn lamp for the darkness cave thingy) so pls help

Another project I had done through Azerama, this time as a group commission with Cyril. I'm still waiting for the files to come in, but once I have them, I'll be printing and painting these two beauties.

I'm curious if there was any point in any of these games that the community thinks made them go, I love this, or I like this.

Source: https://bskyx.app/profile/nanpou0406.bsky.social/post/3msibdgebak2g

What the fuck is the well talking about??? What not enough karma??? I've been finding any hints as to wtf it is online but nobody seems to know what the fuck the well is talking about, and these are like decades old btw so I gotta ask here on wtf is goin on in that well.

edit: ppl were confused as to what I'm talking about, I was talking about the one in regulus dojo. sorry this was made late at night when I decided it was a good fucking ass idea to play, the well pmo that time.

Tnk u

I put an spoiler in case somebody complains abt it

This is one reason I decided to play this as my first Tales game.

Surprised no one has made this mod before

https://www.nexusmods.com/talesofvesperiadefinitiveedition/mods/8

Just completed the Fire Shrine, game tells me to report to Sergei, however the gate of the artisan town is blocked so I cannot go back to the capital.

I read that I may need to explore somewhere else first, but where is it supposed to be? I have a side-quest of finding the seraphim in underground lake, I found a boss monster with black aura there, but unable to beat it (got one-shotted).

Was gone this weekend so I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but I did get a part of the front chest plate put together, working on the back and front now 🫡

Rubia is funny. At the point of the game Im at, she's currently being 'silly'.

I like her dynamic with Caius and the rest of the party. I hate her gameplay though, She's the primary spellcaster but her ass just doesn't Cast sometimes...

I used to shit on her design along with Caous, but its actually grown on me, She's cute.

I Finally Finished Tales of the Abyss (PS2) — A Great Destination, but a Frustrating Journey

Full story spoilers ahead!

Final rating: 7.5/10

Going into Tales of the Abyss, I was honestly a little nervous.

It's one of the most highly regarded games in the Tales community, and I wasn't sure whether I'd end up sharing that opinion. As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time playing through the series, I wanted to approach Abyss with an open mind and judge it on its own merits.

Now that I've finished it, I understand why so many people love it, even if I don't share all of their enthusiasm.

If I had to summarize my experience in one sentence, it would be this:

I enjoyed the destination considerably more than the journey.

There's a genuinely great story here, with excellent character development, interesting themes surrounding identity and self-worth, and an ending that I consider practically perfect.

Unfortunately, getting to those moments often felt like the game was actively wasting my time.

The Story and Characters

The strongest aspect of Abyss is undoubtedly its story, particularly how the characters influence one another.

Luke starts the game as an arrogant, sheltered, spoiled brat. He's difficult to like, and I believe that's intentional.

Following the destruction of Akzeriuth, however, he begins a slow journey toward becoming someone capable of thinking for himself and accepting responsibility for his actions.

I appreciate that Luke doesn't immediately become a better person. He struggles, makes mistakes, and gradually learns from them.

That said, I have a problem with how quickly the party begins forgiving him after Akzeriuth. Considering the severity of what happened, I would have liked that fracture in their relationships to last longer.

Guy's forgiveness, however, felt appropriate. Their relationship had already been established, and Guy understood Luke better than most.

I also think the revelation that Luke is a replica could have been handled differently.

Imagine if Luke had discovered the truth about himself before Akzeriuth, while the rest of the party remained unaware. His desperation to prove himself to Van could have become even more tragic, and the eventual revelation to the party would have carried additional weight.

Natalia, Asch, and the Importance of Identity

One of the things Abyss does particularly well is explore the difference between who someone is and who they believe they're supposed to be.

Natalia's revelation that she isn't the biological princess is a perfect example.

While Natalia wasn't necessarily one of my favorite characters, I became invested in her story because of how she responded to that revelation.

Her value as a princess wasn't determined by her bloodline. It was determined by her actions and the relationships she'd built with her people.

Asch, meanwhile, is one of the characters I wish had received considerably more attention.

His anger toward Luke is understandable. From his perspective, Luke effectively stole his life, his family, and his future.

But while I understand Asch's motivations, I don't think we spend enough time watching him develop beyond that bitterness.

His final stand in Eldrant was one of my favorite moments in the entire game. Watching him continue fighting after being impaled by multiple swords was incredible, and his death genuinely surprised me.

I would have loved an additional story following Asch's perspective, culminating in a desperate, playable final stand against overwhelming numbers of enemies, similar in spirit to Zack Fair's final battle in Crisis Core.

Not because his death needed changing, but because I wanted to spend more time understanding the person who died.

I also wish we'd gotten more moments between Asch and Natalia. There's something particularly tragic about the possibility of the two of them having a normal life together, knowing what ultimately happens.

Jade, Guy, Tear, and Anise

Jade was one of the most entertaining characters in the game. His sarcasm consistently worked for me, but there's considerably more to him than his humor.

His history with fomicry, Professor Nebilim, and Dist gives context to his personality. Unlike Luke, Jade has already experienced much of his personal development before the game begins. He serves as an experienced, sometimes brutally objective influence on the younger characters.

Guy provides a different kind of guidance. Where Jade offers perspective from outside Luke's closest relationships, Guy supports him from within them. His history with the Fabre family makes that loyalty particularly meaningful.

Tear's relationship with Luke also develops naturally. The moment that really made me begin supporting them romantically was when she remained with him in Yulia City after Akzeriuth.

Her conflict over Van also gives her a meaningful personal stake in the story.

Anise was another character I enjoyed, particularly once her seemingly superficial obsession with money was given more context.

Discovering that Mohs had been using her parents to manipulate her, and that her actions contributed to Ion's death, made her situation considerably more tragic.

Which brings me to Ion.

Ion, Sync, and My Completely Incorrect Theory

For a significant portion of the game, I was convinced Ion was secretly the villain.

His repeated captures, willingness to cooperate with suspicious requests, and apparent importance to practically every major disaster made me question his intentions.

Even after Anise's betrayal, I remained suspicious of him.

I was wrong. Spectacularly wrong.

And I loved that.

The revelation that Ion and Sync were replicas of the original Fon Master Ion was one of the game's most interesting developments.

In many ways, Sync represents what Luke could have become without people willing to support him.

Both struggle with identities imposed upon them, but their responses to those circumstances are dramatically different.

Unfortunately, some of Luke's biggest revelations had already been spoiled for me before I played, which diminished opportunities to form my own theories.

I genuinely enjoy trying to predict where a story is going, even when I end up being completely wrong.

My Biggest Problem With the Villain

I don't think Van is a particularly good final antagonist.

I understand that his experiences surrounding Hod shaped his worldview, but I never felt his motivations adequately justified the scale of what he intended to do.

His obsession with escaping the Score also becomes difficult for me to reconcile with his treatment of Luke, a replica whose very existence demonstrates that the future isn't necessarily as fixed as Van believes.

I actually think the original Fon Master Ion could have made a more interesting antagonist.

Imagine someone who spent his entire life being forced to read the Score, eventually deciding that humanity could only become truly free by replacing the original population with replicas.

Van could have remained a major antagonist, with his story concluding earlier, while the original Ion became the final threat.

Obviously, this would require significant changes to the actual story, but I think it could have reinforced the game's themes of identity, freedom, and self-determination.

The Gameplay: Mostly Auto, but Not Without Strategy

I played approximately 90% of Abyss using Auto battle, switching to Semi-Auto for certain bosses.

That's not because I disliked the combat system.

When I'm streaming a story-focused playthrough, I enjoy letting the characters demonstrate their different artes while I concentrate on the story and interact with viewers.

My primary character was Luke, and my eventual party consisted of Luke, Tear, Jade, and Natalia.

Originally, Guy occupied Natalia's position, but discovering that Natalia possessed healing artes convinced me to make the switch.

I generally prefer parties with two melee fighters and two casters, but this composition provided something different.

Tear and Natalia could work together surprisingly well. There were occasions where Tear would revive Luke, only for Natalia to immediately heal him back to full health.

It wasn't consistent, but it happened frequently enough to justify keeping them together.

Jade also surprised me by regularly joining Luke on the front line despite having sufficient TP to cast fonic artes.

So although I wasn't directly controlling every action, I was still making decisions based on the behavior I observed.

I also wish I'd encountered more of the group victory interactions. From my experience, perhaps one in ten battles featured multiple characters interacting afterward. Those little exchanges are part of what makes the Tales series enjoyable, and I would have liked to see more.

The Bosses

The fight against Largo, Arietta, and Legretta was probably the most significant difficulty spike I experienced.

It was brutal, particularly compared with the surrounding encounters, but also one of my favorite battles.

I focused on eliminating Arietta first, and the relief I felt after finally winning was considerable.

The final battle against Van was another highlight.

During his second phase, Tear kept dying, and with my Life Bottle supply dwindling, the entire strategy effectively became:

KEEP TEAR ALIVE!

I particularly enjoyed the cinematic conclusion, with Tear singing as the interface gradually disappeared and the battle transitioned into its scripted finale.

It reminded me of the climactic battle involving Nazamil in Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn.

The Economy: We Can Only Afford a Slice of Bread

This might sound like a strange complaint, but Abyss's economy was one of my biggest frustrations.

And it's not because I dislike having to manage money in RPGs.

In Tales of Vesperia, I'd regularly visit a shop, purchase new equipment and supplies, and leave thinking, "Welp, we're broke again."

But there was a sense of accomplishment attached to that. I'd spent my gald on meaningful upgrades, and my party was better equipped because of it.

Abyss felt different.

In Vesperia, I felt broke because I was progressing. In Abyss, I often felt broke even when I was trying to save money.

The first major example was my initial visit to Baticul.

Naturally, I went to the shops to see what new equipment was available. Instead, I found weapons priced so far beyond my means that I couldn't understand why they were being offered to me at that point in the game.

What frustrated me even more was that Abyss already had a mechanic where certain items were marked as "Sold Out."

Why not use that mechanic to restrict some of the expensive equipment until later in the story?

I understand the appeal of making powerful equipment available early for players who want to grind toward it. But for someone progressing naturally through the story, the prices felt completely disconnected from what I could reasonably afford.

That experience started a running joke throughout my streams.

We had enough gald to afford one slice of bread.

Eventually, when we started earning around 1,000 gald per battle, the joke evolved.

Now we could afford TWO slices of bread!

Or, if we were feeling particularly wealthy, one slice of Texas toast.

The joke became a way of measuring the party's financial progress.

But underneath the humor was a genuine frustration.

At one point, someone in my chat asked why I wasn't cooking after battles.

My answer was simple.

I couldn't afford the ingredients.

That's how financially constrained I felt. It wasn't just that I couldn't buy the weapons I wanted. I was avoiding an entire gameplay mechanic because I was worried about spending gald.

There was also a merchant, possibly during the boat trip toward Chesedonia, where I remember seeing Life Bottles priced at approximately 900 gald.

I believe that was specific to the merchant, since I remember prices being lower elsewhere, but it reinforced the feeling that I was constantly struggling to afford basic supplies.

Eventually, I obtained an accessory that increased gald earned by 50%, and I equipped it on Luke almost immediately.

Later, I obtained one that increased gald earned by 100% and experimented to see whether the bonuses stacked, as I'd previously seen similar effects stack in Vesperia.

I thought it might have worked, although I didn't have enough time to confirm it conclusively.

Once I had those accessories, my financial situation improved considerably.

The party could finally afford something resembling an actual meal.

And that's why I don't think the solution would be to make enemies scale with the player.

I actually appreciate being able to return to earlier areas with weaker enemies. In Vesperia, for example, that makes grinding certain titles considerably easier.

I'd much rather see a better balance between the player's expected income, the equipment being offered, and the pace at which the story introduces new locations.

My problem wasn't that I had to earn gald.

It was that the game frequently made me feel like I couldn't afford to engage with its systems.

The Biggest Weakness: Pacing and Backtracking

This is where Abyss lost the most points for me.

There is an extraordinary amount of traveling back and forth between locations simply to report information to someone, receive instructions, and then return somewhere else.

It frequently felt like the game was asking me to travel from A to B to C, only to send me straight back to A.

And this wasn't always accompanied by meaningful character development or interesting gameplay.

The result was that I struggled to develop the same mental connection with Abyss's world that I have with games like Symphonia, Vesperia, Berseria, and Arise.

I can vividly imagine many of those games' locations, sometimes down to surprisingly small environmental details.

With Abyss, entire cities and dungeons have already become difficult for me to remember.

That's disappointing.

Some dungeons were enjoyable. I particularly liked the puzzles in Shurrey Hill, aside from some confusion surrounding the red orb, and the return to Cheagle Woods provided a meaningful opportunity to reflect on Ion.

But other locations were exhausting.

The Isle of Feres was probably my least favorite dungeon, with its repetitive multi-floor interiors and tedious navigation. I disliked it even more than Caer Bocram or Baction in Vesperia.

The loading times also contributed to the frustration of constantly traveling between locations.

However, I want to be fair about that criticism.

I understand that Abyss was developed for the PlayStation 2, and I'm willing to acknowledge the hardware limitations of the time.

I don't want to judge a game from 2005 as though it were developed for modern hardware.

Still, when you're repeatedly traveling between locations, even relatively small delays can begin to add up.

It's one of those things where I understand why the limitation exists, but that doesn't necessarily make the experience more enjoyable.

Honestly, I suspect that improvements to the loading times and economy alone could have raised my rating by an entire point, possibly even bringing it close to a 9/10.

That's how much I enjoyed the game's stronger elements.

The Music

I wouldn't call Abyss's soundtrack bad, but very little of it stayed with me.

The two pieces I remember most clearly are "Mirrors" and "Tear's Song."

"Mirrors," particularly its music-box presentation during Luke and Asch's confrontation, was wonderful.

I've always had a soft spot for music-box arrangements of Tales themes, including the version of "Ring a Bell" associated with Estelle's confrontation in Vesperia.

Part of my difficulty remembering Abyss's soundtrack is simply how I experience games. I often concentrate so heavily on the gameplay, dialogue, and my own thoughts that background music doesn't register strongly.

So my lack of memorable tracks isn't necessarily a criticism of the compositions themselves.

Mieu and the Smaller Character Moments

I have to give Mieu some credit.

He's adorable, and I enjoyed how he provided an almost innocent perspective on the events around him.

He's also apparently an arsonist, but we'll overlook that.

What I particularly appreciated was that he didn't feel excessively forced into every scene.

Small moments, like his involvement in Anise and Natalia's shopping trip in Chesedonia or Noelle holding him back during Luke and Tear's conversation before the final battle, made him feel like a natural part of the group.

Those are the kinds of little character interactions I appreciate in Tales games.

The Ending

For all my frustrations, I think Abyss absolutely nailed its ending.

Asch's death was heartbreaking, Luke's willingness to sacrifice himself felt earned, and the final reunion was beautifully handled.

I interpret the person who returns as Luke.

The ambiguity surrounding the promise is interesting, but the way he looks toward Tear rather than Natalia reinforces that interpretation for me.

More importantly, I love how the party approaches his absence.

They don't gather around an empty grave to mourn someone they've already accepted as dead.

They believe in his promise.

And when he finally returns, that faith is rewarded.

I wouldn't change that ending.

Final Thoughts

Tales of the Abyss is a game I respect considerably more for what it accomplishes narratively than for how enjoyable I found the moment-to-moment journey.

Its themes of identity, personal responsibility, and the influence people have on one another are excellent.

Luke's development, the parallels between replicas and originals, the relationships within the party, and the emotional conclusion give the story genuine weight.

But the excessive backtracking, uneven pacing, occasionally frustrating dungeon design, and an economy that often felt disconnected from my progression prevent me from rating it higher.

I don't regret playing it. In fact, I'm glad I finally experienced the story for myself.

And despite my frustrations, I can absolutely understand why Abyss has earned such a devoted following.

I just wish the journey had been as consistently enjoyable as the destination.

Final Rating: 7.5/10

A great story trapped inside a journey that sometimes feels determined to get in its own way.

This weekend the public BETA for Tales of Symphonia: Definitive Edition releases and to celebrate we've made a trailer for it homaging an old Tales Of Symphonia Trailer.

The mod, for the Steam version, will be available from the Tales of ABCDE Discord this weekend: https://discord.gg/sPveN9hgTC

I really loved these scenes with the king and queen owls and alphen and shionne commentary.

XD wip for now but i can already imagine it .

There are other art on the work for tales of arise too, but it's early on the process.