Tales of Zestiria

After almost 20 years, the Tales series is still going strong with Tales of Zestiria. While certainly not the best in the series, the fast paced, action-oriented combat is a lot of fun, especially at the later stages of the game. Even with a few missteps in the story, Tales of Zestiria is yet another fun adventure in this long running franchise that may just be worth your while.

After sitting down with Tales of Zesitira for a second time, my biggest takeaway remains its wasted potential. The battle system, characters and art direction are great – don’t get me wrong – but the story falls far short of its contemporaries. It is certainly not as well rounded as the recent Tales of Xillia or its sequels. The camera issues and empty world are the other issues. and it’s clear the development team wanted to do more. Perhaps they just needed a bit more time.

While this is not an excellent game it is far from being one deserving of being tossed onto the scrap heap. If you are looking for a game with a solid combat system that is not the run of the mill turn based or active time based system then this might be the game for you. However if you are looking for a game that provides a solid and consistent narrative experience you may be put off.

There’s a lot to like in the world of Zestiria, and fans of JRPGs will no doubt find a lot to like here, but at the end of the day it’s still just another Tales games. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you don’t like JRPGs then this won’t quite be the game to change your mind, but it’s one of the best in the Tales series. Fans will love the vast improvements on previous entries, and the fact that it shares a similar sense of spirit to that of the legendary Tales of Symphonia (also coming to PC soon, and free with Zestiria if you pre-ordered it). If you’re into the genre but have never played a Tales game before then this is a great place to start.

Tales of Zestiria desperately tries to retain its retro JRPG roots while also attempting to stay relevant. The stat-heavy nature of the game combined with numerous unimaginative dungeons slows it down to a crawl, which is unfortunate because the fast-paced combat is enjoyable. Sadly, this game tries to appeal to old and new gamers, but loses its identity in doing so.