The reason for the color palette is simple...the mid 2000s aka "the brown era". It wasn't just first person shooters. We went from FFX to FFXII,Wind Waker to Twilight Princess and even Sega Rally 2 to Sega Rally 2006. They managed to make an off road dirt racing game even more brown.

Thats funny, It's my favorite Tales game because of the same reasons you think its average. I play Tales for the story and characters, and gameplay comes second. In my opinion, the more simple the combat system the better (without it becoming mindless). I do like tales combat, but its mostly a means to an end for me to get to more story. I never really take the time to deeply learn the combat systems, i just get good enough that I can finish the game without pulling my hair out. Great video. It weirdly made me realize more about why im a tales fan even though its for different reasons than yours

I mean this the best way possible: Tales of the Abyss is a wonderfully written, immersive visual novel in which every chapter has a fun but basic combat system for you to play with in between the dialogue.

Actually refreshing to see a video on the game from a gameplay-first standpoint. Suffice to say, that won't be the perspective my upcoming video on the game will be from but I think it does a lot to validate your video more so than my own haha. I'll just be another voice in the void saying the same things as most people, though echoing a lot of your sentiments about combat. Also, I almost never hear anybody talk about the cast besides Luke so hearing that Anise being hated is wild to me haha. I actually love her. Her family plight has some good moral quandaries and her sarcastic booing of things she doesn't like always made me smile.

Yeah it's interesting to see a someone else come at this from another point of view like you did. That's why I appreciate your videos so much. I grew up playing abyss as a kid and the main reason I play takes games are for the story, so that's why abyss was always one of my tops in the franchise. Never really thought about combat too much because I was enjoying the story so much. Nostagia has a strong effect on me for this game, but watching your reviews have really made me see some of the flaws that I ignored playing it. Very well done as usual! BTW sounds track is one of the tips in the franchise! Aramis flooded cavern is my favorite tales track of all time.

As someone who's 100% the target audience for Abyss' lore/character-dense focus over gameplay, I agree so much with your conclusions that I've felt tend to get drowned out in the fandom. When I found your channel, I was admittedly surprised at your overall opinions on the series, until I found out that you're the type of Tales gamer who plays for the combat systems above all else. Your channel has really clicked for me after that realisation, me being someone who plays for the Tales gameplay least of all because I suck at fully utilising the depth of the battle systems lol I've never been able to choose a favourite Tales game because, as someone who sees the gameplay as enjoyable filler between story beats, all Tales games differ in what they excel at to me. It's pretty dang special how Tales always has something for whatever reason you may be playing the franchise for (: worldbuilding/combat systems/character interaction/story/overall experience/etc). Really makes me appreciate the hit-and-miss stuff of every entry, in the same way you mentioned being glad at the different angles Abyss brought to the table of the series. Abyss really hits different. It so has its own identity, and I'm so happy to have found a Tales YTer who recognises this, reviews the overall series from the (rarer) gameplay perspective, while staying respectfully nuanced. The video ended up pretty valuable to me even if it was a hard topic for you!

The thumbnail looks like a Christmas special

While Abyss is my number one, and my first Tales game, it's nice to hear another's perspective. Also, old age has made me realize Abyss did have some rather BS moments in it. I'll never forget walking through the Cathedral to reach the Library, having to go through 3 of the same hallway... I love the story, and cast. But I do agree that combat left something to be desired. When I played Vesperia, I was blown away how much of an upgrade it's Overlimit system was over Abyss.

Abyss is my favorite Tales game based solely on its story, characters, and setting. I one-hundred percent agree on the fact that the game mechanics are very basic....but on the other hand with Vesperia having a much more involved combat system, I just couldn't get into it as much as other entries. I felt Vesperia had a weaker cast and story which for me in a JRPG is the incentive for playing. I still like Vesperia though, a Tales game is still a Tales game. I see the narrative aspects in the Tales series as the hook to get players to dive in and I always like to see others' viewpoints and why they love the series.

Tales of the Abyss is still have the BEST Cameo battle in all Tales series!!! the 4v4 battle is so insane, When Jade Uses Meteor Storm and Suddenly the Enemy Philia also Cast Meteor Storm, It so EPIC!!!

The only lack of this game is we have to press button to make conversation continue

I think you can understand what makes Abyss so key, outside of how well crafted the stories and characters are, by viewing it not as bland or vanilla but rather as being lean. Abyss doesn't have much to any fat on it which makes it a very smooth and enjoyable experience.

Amazing work as always. Feel like iver been waiting for this for a long time. Keep up the awesomeness

Hope everyones ready for ARISE on friday. Hope everyone in this great community enjoys it.

Interesting. I felt the same way with Vesperia. Sure, the combat was fun and the art style is gorgeous and all, but it's just not for me.

Tales of The Abyss is my favorite game in the series, and my favorite rpg period. I’ve played this game so many times throughout my life. As far as character writing and world building goes, it beats out other Tales games afterwards.

When it comes to character development Luke has the best in the entire tales of series

This game just MIGHT deserve a remake like tales of destiny, where the gameplay gets overhauled, and more of the undertold storybeats gets emphasized.

"Anise is over hated" THANK YOU. She was a cool character also she was fun to play along side Guy the power ranger I understand your feelings about this game but it's the first game I finished and I love all the characters. I really honestly wish I actually understood the combat because I'm gonna be blunt I suck at it Also Meaning of birth nice

Jade is my favorite Tales of character. He is so iconic. 😂😁

This game has a special place in my heart. It was one of the games my late best friend use to play with us

Yeah it definitely has a unique feel too it, something about just the feel alone I think would make people quite like it,I mean if this game was purely a book I read years ago it probably would be part of my all time favorites. For it's time the combat definitely is nice for those who are still new too this type of game. Cool good video. All nicely put.

Tales of the Abyss will always and forever have a Special place in my Heart so i hope that one day in my next life i'd be Reborn in a Isekai world like Tales of the Abyss

Yooooo the rare Zaffre upload No but seriously banger review as always man

Neat. I’m still playing through so I’ll watch this another time

Alright, I have to disagree on the combat. I actually prefer this over Vesperia, because Vesperia alters your artes permanently and requires weapons, as opposed to Abyss' situational and flexible style. I actually found it somewhat intense trying to make sure the fields were served for my purposes, not my enemies' especially during the God General fights. Abyss definitely felt more strategy and team oriented whereas Vesperia is all about style and cheese. Honestly, I found myself playing either Jade or Tear often to give the AI some sort of advantage while setting up some combos. I wish there was something like this, which Arise seems to be doing itself with its perks system, but I get why it's not making a comeback in any shape or form later. This turns Tales combat into a slog. It's slow, somewhat clunky and doesn't always work. I still love it, especially since it forces you to really think about your gear and items and I prefer to think through my fights rather than cheese through my fights. Ironically enough, my feelings for Vesperia are your feelings for abyss. Except, they're flipped on combat and story. Going from a dynamic character like Luke to a somewhat static character like Yuri (yes, I saw your videos on Vesperia) and by extension, their party members just felt... bland. Raven was your typical traitor character, Judith was borderlining it and had no real follow through or pay off, Rita was shallow, Estelle was probably my favorite, but I can't even remember the rest. Why would I keep playing a jrpg if the characters don't resonate with me? Vesperia's story also felt like a lot more back tracking than Abyss did, and most of it was very similar. And good GOD, the game's story themes felt shallow. Again, it might be because Abyss was built around its story, but Vesperia felt like it was built around its combat. I'm hoping Arise balances it like Berseria and Xillia did though.

I've been waiting for this! And by this, I mean more quality content from Zaffre.

Great video as always I am happy to see you uploading again! I'm actually kinda curious where you would rank Abyss since it's one of your least faves. This might be controversial and unpopular but Legendia is still my favorite Tales Of game in the series

Do you have a tales of arise review coming? I never played abyss. Really want a remake

I've been anticipating this for so long! Good as always. I just wish it was longer! I'll echo what everyone else has said about the great story and characters. And not just Luke, but ALL of the main cast (thank you for realizing Anise is way overhated lol). When I replayed it earlier this year my appreciation of Natalia also doubled from what it used to be. I also love the sort of "rival party as antagonists" trope. Its a big reason as to why the God-Generals are my favorite antagonists of the series, followed by the Chimeriad in Xillia. I think you're right about the more basic combat system and mechanics, however, I am a simpleton and therefore appreciate the simple yet efficient use of AD Skills, Overlimit, FoF circles, etc lol. And, honestly, I find combat can be hype as hell during the occasions when everyone (party members AND opponents) is just reeling off their FoF artes at each other. I live for those moments.

Abyss is easily the most Final Fantasy-esque entry in the series, if that makes sense.

i cant wait for your Arise review!!!!

Yes bro! I’ve been waiting for this video and review from you for so long now lol

I absolutely love Tales of the Abyss , it's the first game I've ever played in the series, and it's still my favorite.

It's always interesting to see someone else's drastically different views on one of my favorite games and I totally respect your viewpoint. I'll freely admit, a good amount of my adoration for this game is from first game bias but I also love it because it's basic. A lot of other Tales games have more spectacular combat but that also makes it a bit trickier because I have to commit more to it. Abyss I can revisit for a safe, consistent and fun adventure

Loving the content bruh

Ok wow... glad I'm not the only one. I remember way back when this game came out, I didn't have a PS2. But I found a KZfaqr who did. Misty/Chronexia (Back when he did LPs.) I was immersed in the way he got into the story and characters. I fell in love with Guy. So I find the 3ds version popped it in and got through a descent chunk of the game and got completely lost. I had to look up a walkthrough to tell me exactly where to go, More than once... my god the game didn't relay location info very well. I even remember this one scene: (Paraphrasing) I don't exactly know where I was but the party grouped up for a "Next Objective Pow-wow". There's a little bit of a discussion until Guy and Jade bring up something and Jade goes. Jade: Oh that's in Ketterberge I happen to have grown up there. Luke: Ketterberge... Tear: (Gives historic background on Ketterberge.) Jade: Yes I can get us there I know it like the back of my hand. Luke: Alright guys let's got to Ketterberge. The scene ends. Me: Alright so where's Ketterberge? -- I swear its like being in a DND group and one of your party members is all like "I grew up in this location." The party leader: "Ok let's go there..." The party would lets say get lost for a bit. "So Jade where is Ketterberge" and Jade simply not saying a word. Like its your next step and you basically halting the journey. I checked Luke's Journal entry many times it said no indication that Ketterberge was up north. This happened more than once. Luckily a couple of times LUKE thinks "Ok this location is North-East of Ketterberge." But he didn't mention that I had to pass through a gate in Ketterberge to reach another location. I swear I needed a walkthough like almost 15-20 times. I had fun with the combat system shame everyone was item stingy except for the Life Bottle and Party-wide Healing items. Me after the only games I played being Symphonia and DOTW where everything was streamlined. Also I didn't know you could free run in this game. Also there is this feature called Wing Bottles... so like Symphonia before it you have save points. Though unlike syphonia Green ones are full recoveries but if you have a Wing Bottle you can go to the entrance of a dungeon. Yeah I managed to only obtain like 2 over the course of the playthrough no shop sells this item, I went to all of them. Also kind of wish the Sorcerer's Ring did a little more than Fire and Rock Smash.

I miss so much Zaffre,i don't think the game was the better in the series,BUT just for Luke character this is my favorite Tales of...

Your opinion of this game is very similar to mine. The game is great but when compared to other entries its basic in the gameplay department. The one thing I praise is the cast of characters and plot. I understand the praise this game gets but for me personally, there are so many Tales games I'd rather play. Great review Zaffre!!

I need some help. At the college I go to, there’s an extracurricular orchestra that plays video game music, and I want to write a Tales of the Abyss medley for it. However, I can’t really decide what songs to include. There are some that I know I would have, but Abyss seems to have a lot of iconic songs, making the decision pretty hard. Songs I know I’d use: - Tear’s Song (I’d really like to open with somebody doing Tear’s song a cappella). - Karma (I like the opening too much to not include it here). - Meaning of Birth (Come on. It’s a violation of the Geneva Convention to write a Tales of the Abyss medley and NOT include Meaning of Birth in there. Yes, I know it might seem pointless to have both it and Karma in the medley, since Meaning of Birth is a remix of Karma, but I think differentiating them enough is possible to do. It has a few differences from Karma already, like a few notes getting held longer, plus the instrumentation is quite different too. Karma also has lyrics, so I would include those too; we did Baka Mitai from Yakuza last semester, so they can handle Japanese lyrics). I would probably include a total of 4-5 songs in this medley (I have 2 decided so far; Tear’s Song doesn’t count toward this total because it’s so short, and I’m only doing one loop of it). What other songs should I include?

I actually agree with this, although the game can be fun... It's a bit too simple & not the good kind of simple since everyone plays the same & the FoF (Field of Fonons) pretty much restricts you from being creative or playing a mixed build if you wanna deal the most damage, which kinda sucks! Even now, I'm not a fan of the FoF system & yeah, it's not for everyone & it's definitely more build on storytelling & making that its focus & while that's good... Focusing on just one specific thing does more harm than good, like how Graces F has very fun gameplay... Yet the characters & story are mediocre at best, Abyss is kind of the same way. While the stories & characters are great... The game focuses so much on these 2 things that the actual gameplay feels lacking to say the least, although its definitely a game i really love... That's mostly because of the narrative since I'm a lore/story kinda guy, i don't love the game for its combat system since while its ok & i can have fun with it... It's pretty boring due to how it works

Great review of it as always Zaffre.

I think Abyss may have been popular because it was a handheld game, and may have been more accessible for people who could not afford home consoles. I, for one, only ever had access to GB, GBA, and the DS/DSlite during my childhood. So my gaming experience as a kid was restricted to handheld games.

Great review you definitely made me want to play the tales series as a whole with all your reviews. Also do you plan to play the trails of series?

This was the first tales game I ever played in history and to me it is the best they need to go ahead and make a remaster version of this one too

Good timing! I’d just been thinking lately about how I still need to finish this game. It’s the one I’m by far closest to beating that I haven’t already done so.

So, I have a somewhat unique situation, as someone who literally just (about a month ago) started and completed Tales of the Abyss for the first time. I've already played Vesperia, Berseria and Zestiria, and the entire thing I kept feeling while playing Abyss was "this is a really nice game, but it did not age well and they should've known better while making it". I didn't use any guides, and I just tried to learn about the game itself. I figured out the capacity cores and how they were tied to learning AD skills roughly 2/3 of the way in, and I gained a LOT in return coming up to the end of the game as a result. Especially from such lovely tactics as swapping a core to someone about to level up then swapping it back for maximum gains =D. I think the game is in a somewhat watered down version of what Zestiria felt like to Berseria when I compare it to Vesperia... as in, the devs actually played the game after it came out, and replaced the not-fun with fun, and improved heavily on the information available and the base mechanics. As an example, these were fixed going to Vesperia: Unskippable cutscenes. The need to use magic lens to see enemy weaknesses/resistances every time you want to check them. The lack of a monsterpedia. The ability to cook after checking battle details (and generally the ability to exit the details screen). The fact that for the majority of the game, ALL your arcane artes are literally some combination of your base artes and nothing else. The fact that things which have effects but no explanation of them (such as titles in Abyss) exist. The input window reading your initial input string and not allowing you to cancel it with a different input (eg if I hit basic attack 4 times then hit Arte button, most likely it'll break the combo because I don't have a 4th basic attack and not use the arte as part of the same combo string). The fact that there wasn't a way to fast travel with the flight ability until you literally did a bunch more story then it's automagically added. And more I forget as I'm typing this I think you have it down pat, though. I did enjoy learning about the game, and I don't think it's a bad game at all. For all its shortcomings like bad graphics for its time and some questionable design choices, it was definitely a game I would suggest people play, but that's largely only for the story and the experience overall. As far as the combat system and the unexplained mechanics go, I don't think I can really give it such a pass. Especially since the AD skill system DOES allow you to mix up and match up a lot WRT to the system, such as adding more basic strings and adding the ability to use Arcane artes into basic, which with the help of sunlight FSCs allowed me to do things like the flame arcane arte into havoc strike for a guaranteed and instant FoF change, for them to add those abilities SPECIFICALLY only very late game in terms of character progression and loot progression, it hurt. I had a similar issue with how long it took before you could fully unlock the combat of Vesperia (with mystic artes being the final thing IIRC) but this game was on a whole other level. Anyway, I know you play your games in English a lot, but if you ever give Abyss another try, I highly suggest trying out the UNDUB version, as the japanese audio has voiced skits and it VERY greatly improved my enjoyment of the game since story is such a big deal to this. Thank you for coming to my ted talk? Something? Idk just hope you read this and have something to think about I guess. Cows

Absolute favorite game of ALL TIME!!

Will you be reviewijg Tales of Arise?

My 3rd game after eternia and symphonia so my memory is a bit rusty but yeah i do rmbr the combat was basic and I didn't like the FOF as much. Love the way you break down the combat and skill system. Oh and do you plan to do a review of Arise soon? Just finished that game and it's awesome. :)

Yeah to me Abyss caught lightning in a bottle and managed to put itself in a league of it's own in regards to the story and how the characters act and react to the plot unfolding. It's a brilliant playthrough that always had me asking "I wonder what (insert character) is going to say about this?" and they never failed to disappoint. You are spot on with the gameplay, it's nothing special compared to the rest of the series. To me it's always been a serviceable vessel to transport the player from point A to point B in the story. Good enough to warrant it being a fun action JRPG, but not boring enough to think "They should have just made this a novel lol" As a side note, Luke and Tear's relationship is what really drove home the story for me. They are bar none the best couple in the series.

Also I love the combat In this game a lot more then vesperia. Vesperia was way too slow and clunky and you couldn’t hit enemies when they were knocked down unless you had specific spells equipped and there was recovery delay after every move it just sucked. Abyss is much more fast paced and I like the magic more.

This was an AWESOME video, Zaffre! I agree with all of this video; now I can settle in my heart why Abyss is a 6-7/10 in my eyes!

A bit on the shorter side for a Tales video from yours, but I can hear from your voice you are suffering from burnout. That and writing a script for this video must've been a serious pain, considering how.. "aight" you felt about the game as a game. Now: 4:55 - Agreed. Even on HD emulator when I did this game, I wasn't crazy about the world and looks. It didn't have the popping cellshading of Symphonia & Vesperia or the pixel art of Destiny DC & Rebirth. It's fine, but not my choice either. 9:07 - Kinda. While I do think Abyss combat is still FUN, just slashing and doing cool moves. It falls inbetween Symphonia's experimentation and Vesperia's skill ceiling. And even outside of the TP style, it doesn't quite match the tactical Rebirth, the SUPER FUN Destiny DC or the casual fast Xillia. Like you said, it's very vanilla. 12:06 - I get your point, but the same thing can be said for Yuri and Velvet these days. Those two and Luke are usually picked for "best protags" all the time. And I love those three, but I love to spread the love and talk about various protagonists. *Cough* Stahn, Veigue and Senel *Cough*. 12:40 - Yes! Finally! I also think Anise is seriously overhated. If anything, I feel bad for her and totally understand her behavior. She's a brat, yes. But don't you feel a LITTLE bit bad for her? 15:20 - Perfect use of "Mirrors" there. I too totally get why people love it. It's not for the backtracking, the kinda blocky PS2 looks or the fun but basic gameplay. It's the story and characters. And I totally understand why several mutuals amongst the Tales circle on Twitter feel so strongly for it. Shoutouts to *nexusjio* and *michelle_ktolia* as the biggest Abyss supporters! In the end. I'm kiiinda in the same boat as you, but not AS harsh! I dunno if it's my top 3 but it's certainly not bottom either! Abyss is a good game. Abyss IS a great game! I think the people who love Abyss are willing to look past some janky or barebone flaws to experience a one of the strongest worldbuildings and character developments there is.

Abyss is my second favourite behind Vesperia, sometimes I think they're equal.

So basically what you're saying is, "unga bunga, me no want story, just smash"

Ahh yess, I remember I watched the anime before I got the game. Yet, I still got mesmerized by it.

I'm still in the early stages of Abyss. So far I am enjoying it but I do see the FoF has it annoyances. Sometimes having to run around the FoF area to setup and possibly waste artes to activate. I am playing blind too. (even though I am getting some spoils from said video)

The King is back!

Honestly I really want Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia to get remakes for updated combat. All have the best stories, but the combat hasn’t aged well for any of them. Graces curbstomps all the other games in gameplay. That’s literally the only reason I made it through that game.

So we're finally here huh? This remains the biggest hole in my Tales experience, having not ever gotten to play this game, and I really think it's a disservice. I've owned enough consoles that I think I definitely should have been able to get it on something I own by now. XD Please Namco. That said, I'll admit the game's reputation for me has been made a bit rocky due to how it's.... well, how do I put this? The people that tend to be the most critical and often rude toward the rest of the series... almost universally idolize this one. (I hear it's the same way with Symphonia and maybe a couple other entries, so I have no idea why it seems like only this game comes up this way on my end.) Suffice it to say, pretty much any time I saw bashing toward some other Tales, this game got thrown in as the 'superior' example, so that definitely left me with a less-than-soft view of the game. -Yes, surprisingly, harping on a game while hating on another one does NOT make the first game look better. Don't do that. For that reason, I can say it was nice to see a more leveled analysis of the game as a whole instead of focusing on the specific things it's known for. It sounds like it's a great story mainly because it really went all-out to be one in a way, and maybe THIS game is the one most deserving of an actual remake one day, even if they keep it to a more polished and enhanced recreation of the game's normal system. It's generally the only example I hear of Tales doing a particularly well-put-together plot. Namco as a whole does have a tendency to be a bit unfocused when it comes to their plots, focusing WAY more attention on the characters and often on what the story MEANS. Most Tales games push a lot on what the story is about, and often just do whatever it takes to get the plot where they need it to be. They also tend to introduce more plot points than they need to instead of taking more time with ones they've already got. I'm very eager to see if Arise may change this since the plot seems to have some very strong tangible elements to it, though we don't know much overall. Abyss seems to have succeeded in giving its major elements the proper amount of attention, so I'm still eager to play it sometime. I just hope it'll be an actual release when I do. Field of Fonons sounds like one of the reasons I wish Tales did more iteration on their systems sometimes, since I think they could probably fix those issues with it with some adjustments. At the least, I think making it easier to get it to build up, combined with a likely-needed counterbalance, would make it a lot better.

I've played majority of the tales games (minus Zestiria which left me bored with the story and Beseria because I just never got around to it), and as much I love Abyss, replaying it can be kind of tedious. I feel as though in comparison to some of the other Tales, there is *A LOT* of information and talking. Or at least it felt that way to me. That being said, it still features my favourite NPC to date: Ion. I love Ion. I wish I could explain why, but I can't. There's just something that I enjoy about him. Which in turn made me love Sync as well. And yes, I think the game has amazing antagonists. FOF can be kind of annoying or meaningless. I would just have Anise and Jade be on "cast spells only", turn off all their artes but Prism Sword and Bloody Howling, and then you can use all four. As a Natalia main, it made buffing the team and keeping them coming alive upon death quite easily. Poor Luke/Tear. I never used them lol. My Personal Opinions: *Symphonia* has my favourite story. *Vesperia* has my favourite characters and style (the magic in the game

I loved abyss so much and think it's the best tales game for story not gameplay that's abyss. The plot twist at the start would be where other games end but this is only the prequel of the story basically. The villains were one of the first where I didn't want to see them die as they had just as much Character as the main cast which is what villains should be. A mirror of the heroes. Anise I hate. Her story was forced as her parents were beyond stupid and I can't be sympathetic to that as they are beyond cultist level of dumb with the money issues and all. Guy grew on me growing up. Jade was amazing from the start tear kinda dislike her fow how shady she is. Natalia I loved more and more as she is basically a mirror of Luke in her story Luke is honestly the best written main character as he is a character but we can understand him not knowing the world because we don't know it either so it's just new to him as it is to us. His twist with asche and conclusion got me crying as he worked so hard each time to win back the trust of the party and such.

As someone who cares most about gameplay myself, I can completely understand your points. However, I personally adore Abyss, and it's difficult to explain why. Yeah, the obvious explanation is "that story," and it most certainly is a big part of why I love it so much, but there are a few bigger reasons for me. Like the themes, and how relatable it is for me. "What meaning is there in being alive? Why were we born? Just to live? Is there a purpose? Why am I here?" These are questions I ask myself all the time, and in one fell swoop are questions that the game tackles, and in a surprisingly mature way. It's because of how close to home the story hits and what answers it helped me to find that I adore it so much. And on a separate note, my attachment is probably also because it was quite the bonding point for me and my girlfriend. By that regard, it was my first Tales game as well. All that, yet I still feel like I can't explain it well enough. I dunno. Look, it really is like you said. Abyss is made with a story focused audience in mind, and has found that audience because the story it tells is phenomenal. Sorry for writing a book.

Back in 2015 my friend got me to watch the Symphonia OVAs, and I loved them so much that I wanted to play it but since I had a shitty laptop and no other way to play it, I had to wait to get one that could emulate GC games, so while waiting I decided to play Abyss on my PS2, and not only was it my first JRPG, it got me back into gaming after being on and off with it for years, and made JRPGs my favorite genre. Abyss changed my life essentially, as I've met most of my current online friends thanks to video games, and even if it aged so well it will always have a special place in my heart. (That fucking overworld map though made me rage so much.)

the fun thing for me is I have the 3DS version downloaded but also have Symphonia, Berseria, & Zestiria on Steam so I need to decide which one to go for next. I've only beaten Vesperia (Switch version & holy fuck am I with everyone else on how good that one is)

I’ve only played berseria on ps4 but I absolutely loved it. I just got vesperia on the switch n will be starting that soon.

The only 3D Tales i havent played yet. I wish they would remaster this with some QoL updates. Or better yet, a Remake!

abyss is my favourite tales game so i tried replaying it a couple times the past few years and i pretty much came to the same conclusions. i played it when i was a kid so i never realised how boring the combat was. especially now that most of the games i play are for the gameplay. ofc the story is still top notch but i enjoyed it more from watching the anime (: that being said i still want a pc port and maybe add some cool things

What sets TOTA apart from other TALES is how EVERYTHING is connected... I just love how they execute the LORE and WORLD that the PLAYERS can undestand, the devs have done admirable job explaining the GAME.. even the artes that you use (TEARS HYMNS) was a great connection to the LORE... I really wish this could have a sequel... the story SCREAMS for a SEQUEL...

LETSSS GOOOOO ZAFFREE IS BACK BABYYYYYYY

12:40 THANK YOU! THANK YOUUU!!! Anise has always been my favorite. Heck, she was the one chara that made me pick up Tales after watching her through my cousin's gameplay back in 2008. Still the top 3 in my fav fictional character list ever alongside Echo from Pandora Hearts and Our Debtful Boy™ Ludger. So when that "overhated" line came up, man, super happy to hear her being appreciated. THANKYOU!!!

not done with the game yet so I'm just going to come back when I'm finished.

Despite its flaws, I still consider Abyss to be one of the best Tales games. But it's also a game I never really feel like replaying. My biggest reason for that is that I just don't like the main party, Luke and Mieu aside. It mostly boils down to their treatment of Luke after Akzeriuth, basically blaming him for something that really wasn't his fault, while conveniently ignoring that they are all _WAY_ more complicit than he is. It also pissed me off to see them constantly rag on Luke (at one point Tear actually supports the idea that he should never be allowed to be happy), yet when he is revealed to be suicidal they fucking rag on him for _that_ too, like they have nothing to do with his incredibly low opinion of himself. They are just the worst group of friends I have ever seen in an RPG, and the fact that the game never really calls any of them out on their shit is just infuriating to me. And that's not even mentioning the fact that they basically murdered Arietta for absolutely no reason, but I've ranted long enough.

Haven’t played the game, but I did check out the anime and thought it was really damn solid. Wanted to know what everyone else thought of it as an adaptation?

This is the game that introduced me to the tales of series after watching the anime way back when. I remember really hating Luke at the beginning and i wanted to drop it after a couple of episodes and watch something else instead. I'm really glad i didnt. I played almost all of the entries by now including abyss, and had a an absolute blast while doing it.

Tales of the Abyss is my 2nd favorite game in general behind Graces f.

Was waiting till I beat the game. My favorite tales game of the 4 I've played (vesperia, Symphonia, bersaria, and abyss) I love every single character and I think it had some of the best pacing and none of the twists seemed to contrived. I look forward to playing it again and getting some of titles/weapons I missed on my first playthrough

European player here. Does the 3DS version do a good job for a port to be enjoyable on its own ?

While you said the combat was a little bland, i find this is one of the only tale games where i could say its a perfectly viable strategy to play as 2 combat characters and have them switch in the middle of FOF attack to chain combos of 2 character together and you can exploit them by using special spells in conjunction with enemy weaknesses.

When it comes to RPGs of any kind, I usually have story and game play on equal footing. I only saw this game through a walkthrough, so feel free to correct me in anything I may get wrong this point on. First Luke: To put it simply he was a jerk at the start. However, when he started to actually feel a conscience from other people dying I couldn't help but to like that. The reason why is because many jrpg protagonist, or protagonist in general, kind of skip over the whole killing bit. Except if the villain does it.That being said, I would have preferred it if Luke had a more gradual character development to a nicer person rather than the sudden shift that the game pulled off. Almost like a switch was flipped. Which I guess makes sense considering what happened to make him change, but it's kind of weird that he knew how to do all the things that's required to be a nice person almost immediately when countless times before he was confused as to why everyone belittles him because of his attitude. Jade: If you know his backstory you know exactly what you're getting. He's true to the character. Anais: The child character... With military power. I wish it was explained more as to why she's taking such a high rank in the military instead of her parents. It would seem her parents can't properly defend themselves, but I don't think it was ever explained as to why that is. I get they're overly trusting but they don't seem to be able to defend themselves at all. I know about the debt but that's pretty much all I know about them. Oh, also when Anais acts know where Ion was and they told her with great accuracy. Natalia: The relationship between her and her father needed to be fleshed out much more. It felt like something that was just thrown into the story rather than anything substantial. Ash: A lot of information about Ash is missing. Also, why he rejects the notion of going back to his family and becoming Luke again. If he was truly angry at Luke for taking his family away he could easily strain it out at any given time long before the game started in fact. Guy:I want to see as to why he values his and Luke's friendship so much. Especially since he has animosity towards Luke's father and swore to kill off his family. It was explained somewhat, but I believe it should have been looked into more. Like where did all the animosity go. And why does he still not like Ash so much. I think his whole situation could have been better explored. As for Tear: Well just like Jade she's extremely straightforward. Even more so. I suppose when she's next to Luke as I believe she is the main female lead it might be jarring. Replicas: The concept was greatly underutilized. There was a lot of strategies that the six God generals could have easily made to get in the main characters way. Putting a replica in the various military characters positions is one of them. Thus giving false Intel to their enemies. The concept that the replicas showing up caused an overpopulation problem. (Which is strange by itself cuz a lot of people who had replicas made of them died instantly.) And speaking of the god generals... Van: Van's first defeat at the hands of the main characters and his second defeat are practically exactly the same except for a small differences. Making it seem like the plot was going much longer than it should have when time could have been focused elsewhere. He always felt like a henchman to somebody else to me. I always felt like he would make a good right hand man to the first made replica the copy of Nebulim. Do to all of his planning if you look closely to it you realize just how stupid it really is. He wants to make a world with nothing but replicas. Not taking into the fact that many of those replicas have to replace the jobs that the people currently living has. And when replicas are born they're incredibly basic. Which means that the Republicans more than likely wouldn't be able to fend for themselves or take responsibility of the current technology that is in the world and would lack various other skills needed for survival. So one would consider the human race to get extinct twice. TLDR: A lot of things in the story could have been fleshed out a whole lot more.

This is my favorite tales game of all time. I'm hoping the next TOA (Tales of arise) lives up to the hype

If I’m being honest your description of why you didn’t enjoy the combat is spot on for me for all tales of games I tried. Couldn’t finish any of them. I feel like I’m missing something if you think those are much better but I just don’t really understand what’s the difference between this and vesperia

Okay, at first my reaction to your review was pure rage. Abyss wasn't my first jrpg, but it was what sold me on them, my jrpg baptism, if you will. Even with all the praise its story gets, I don't think there is nearly enough analysis or appreciation of the flawless world building and real world imagery that goes in to this game. I don't think most people know about the deeper inspiration this game takes from Qaballah Judaism and just how incredibly that imagery is integrated in to the game and its story. Let's not forget the faithful adherence to musical imagery and nomenclature within the Church of Lorelei and the magic system. This game's story and setting is nothing short of masterful and it is a crime how few people have experienced it outside of Japan although, that can be said for most of the tales series. But I have to say, I take issue with your criticism of the FOF mechanic. I build a lot of my gameplay around casting altered spells and using sunlight fon slots to enable alerted artes on lower leveled fields. There is a bit more depth in the combat than I think you give it credit for, but not too terribly much. My intense feelings about this game aside, as I listened to your criticisms, fresh off of playing Tales of Arise myself, I realized how good your points are when it comes to gameplay. I wish I could say I truly enjoyed playing as Tear, Natalia, Anise, and Jade, but I just don't, not like I loved playing every member of the parties in Berseria , Vesperia , or Arise. There is something to be said for the lack of proper difficulty as well and I'd go so far as to call it manufactured. What I'm trying to say is, yes, my favorite game is flawed and you are a big part of why I can admit that now. All that being said, I think I appreciate tales of the abyss more than you do because, at least to my taste, the story is so enjoyable I don't really notice the gameplay flaws. After all of that, I think what it comes down to is that the tales community have diverse tastes. Some of us put more value on gameplay, others on story, yet others on music and world building. However, what unites our fanbase is a deep appreciation for just how well Namco Bandai crafts a good story and the care they put in to its presentation.

If you like top tier gameplay, Graces f is where it's at.

Abyss is usually judged as an Older Tales game, so the combat system being simple is well known. For its time, this is hands down a top 3 tales game, but comparing it to Any of the games that came out on XBox360/PS3 or later in reference to the combat systems, is really unimportant imo, because tales combat changes/improves in every game. Great video though, watched it from beginning to the end.

Woo!! Bless

This is my favorite tales game aside from berseria

arise review when

lets goooooo~

Abyss and Legendia are my Top 2 fave tales of all time because of their story and characters though I kinda agree about what you think on Abyss gameplay.. The reason why Abyss, or maybe 80% who plays RPG back in the PS2 era (even now maybe?), is because of the STORY Story is what drives you to continue to playing until the end. Gameplay and Story has an equal rating for me always.. How many reviewers till now always say that even if the gameplay sucks, since the story and characters are good it will help you push thru the lackluster gameplay as long as it's FUN (which is all Tales game has), etc.. etc. One more thing I always don't see from retro reviews, aside from that one channel, is you must consider the hardware/year it came out as it contributes greatly on how a game will play/looks, hardware limitations and what nots.. I don't see your review of this as a PS2 game but a review of Abyss in 2021.. Great intro and analysis on the gameplay though..

yes I agree the combat is pretty bare bones but the story is top tier!

where has crosscode review gone? T_T

My fave

I think Abyss can get wonders from a remake. Take out all of the old mid-2000's game tropes of the puzzles and world map design, and I think the game part of it can match the quality of the story. It's my favorite game, I've replayed it like 8 times. But it's hard to go back to and play now cuz of the antiquated design choices

I'm honestly SHOCKED we haven't had a video from you about Arise yet! I'm about to finish up the game and wanted to hear your thoughts specifically since I think of you as the main Tales Of KZfaqr. Really, are you ok? My first thought was that you might not be around anymore when I saw you haven't posted anything in 5 months

Vesperia is my favorite ‘tales of’ but this game is my second favorite I love the characters I love the story and the creatures are awesome it’s a great game!

I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't like Symphonia, it's easily my least favorite of the Tales games I've played. I'd probably say my biggest problem with it is the people who like it.

Great Video ZaffreRevolution! Last time I played Tales of the Abyss was over a decade ago but I remember loving the cast (Especially Guy) and story with a decent not great battle system! But it has aged poorly in some areas especially when you compare it to Vesperia! You made some great points! While Abyss in my eyes is a great game and tales game overall, its not my favorite!

Having replayed this game more than 10 times on the PS2, 3DS and the emulator combined... I felt a bit heartbroken when the combat was broken down into bits. I did play Tales of Vesperia, but I found myself wanting to clear it ASAP halfway through the story because I want to play more Abyss xD Vesperia was amazing, visuals were hella more beautiful, but the combat was what killed the game for me. I felt very awkward trying to chain my combos more seamlessly like in Abyss but I don't feel the same way. I did not had much fun using Yuri in combat, it doesn't feel as smooth as if I used Luke or Guy in Abyss. I felt kinda betrayed lol. And I hate how I can't individually set the AIs battle mindset, like how Abyss is able to do so. I find myself wanting to strangle melee AIs when they run in and fall on the floor on Vesperia more than Abyss because in Abyss I can change their battle stance mid game as well. That may just be my personal gripe but I honestly felt it affected the overall outcome of the feel of my gameplay. (And what the heck Bandai why only let us use Flynn for like, less than 3 hours?? WHat's the point of adding him into the roster??) When you said the battle feels repetitive to a certain extent, I do agree. But I found myself trying to fulfill the requirements to activate everybody's second mystic arte to be feeling left out in the combat. SPAMMING the SAME skills/spells is what I want to be doing. Because for most characters they need to use the same skill x amount of times and be at y amount of HP to activate it, not to mention for some you need equip unique weapons which you can only get doing the side story quests in the story and the NPC will become unavailable once you passed a certain threshold in the main story. OH right, SIDE QUESTS. Another category completely, I know Vesperia has its own plethora of side quests to do which I clearly didn't have time to go back to it because I was actually clearing the game under a time limit for personal reasons. But, I didn't find myself craving to replay it a second time for the side quests or main story completely. Tales of the Abyss however made me want to relive the entire story as many times as I can count because it's so bloody well made. Not to mention to unlock all the side quests that can only be done when you've played the game at least once. COSTUMES. IN GAME COSTUMES where you can just unlock a title and change titles for each character to get their own COSTUMES. IN GAME. WITHOUT EXTRA MONEY. omg yes i missed the days i donned everyone in their spa costumes and have a half naked Luke doing the important cutscenes big pogchamps. I think I should stop here, if not, I feel like someone's ready to hire a hitman on me. Thanks for reading my gripes and rants :v