Tales of Zestiria Review
Platform: Ps3, Ps4, PC
Developer: Bandai
Publisher: Bandai
Author: S.A.
Here lies the fifteenth instalment in an already extremely successful franchise. While Tales of Zestiria hardly changes the game mold in any way, sticking to tried and proven methods of success, it still provides hours of entertainment for the avid gamer. This success for the Tales series brings lies in the feeling of adventure and fantasy that is still present within its world, reminding us of boyhood RPG games, and allows us the player get involved in the story dynamics of truly loveable characters.
This is our new cast, you’ll love em…probably.
Tales of Zetiria starts its new fictional wonderland on a continent called Glenwood. This lovely piece of land is divided between two warring superpowers: the Rolance Empire, and the Hyland Kingdom. There are many who profit from the ravages of war, but none more so than the guild scattered throughout the land. These scattered groups profit of the conflict by doing what they do best, good business. They are employed for acts ranging from the transportation of goods, to good old fashion assassination.
People need to get paid right?
If a war torn country and ongoing competition between rival guilds isn’t enough to keep you on your toes, then mayhaps monsters throughout the land might. Throughout the world of Glenwood are impurities known as “malevolence” which are generated by the negative emotions of humanity. These emotions tend to transform the living, the dead and even inanimate objects into monsters known as Hellion’s. These creatures pose a threat not only to our safety, but also the worlds. That said, our work is cut out for us in the world of Zestiria, which often has us fighting to survive. It also doesn’t help that our main objective in the game is to search, with our young protagonist Sorey, for the main source of malevolence that plagues the land.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Or else you’ll look like this!
The game play in this title is just as fun as it’s predecessors, and often has you paying attention to your environment due to how it will affect your characters. The game employs a system that doesn’t separate the battle world from the game play, as many RPG’s do, but rather starts the encounters in the same space of exploration. These fights are called “Real Map Battles” and are important to take note of in your attempt at success. I say this because a players fighting ability will change depending on the environment they are engaged in, making their attacks weaker or stronger accordingly. However, don’t let that discourage you. Your character will also have access to special skills known only as artes which can turn the tide of battle if used effectively. Depending on the race of your character, you will either specialize in melee based attacks or long range magic. If used effectively these attacks can interrupt normal attacks and allow you the advantage on the battlefield. We are also allowed access to typical standardized spells made for attacking or healing and play a key role in keeping our characters alive from one fight to the next.
…Is that Ryu’s Hadoken?
If that doesn’t sound inviting enough to you, the game has added what I feel is a funny quirk. The ability to side step or dodge an enemies attack at pivotal moments. If done correctly this move can stagger an opponent and leave them open for a beating. On top of that, we have access to the “Armatization” skill with the characters Sorey and Rose. This ability allows us to fuse with a chosen party member and become a more powerful hybrid form for a short duration of time. While in this powered up form the character can perform moves that normally wouldn’t be accessible to them, with devastating consequence for our foes.
Without a doubt Tales of Zestiria, much like the previous Tales games, is a fun play through. That said it isn’t a must by for the new year due to it’s played out gamestyle. However, if you like a good old RPG game that has you surprisingly attached to your characters, much like it did me, than I suggest you pick this game up and give it a whirl. It’s sure not to disappoint.
Follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest posts, or to recommend a game for the team to review: @TheSaveSpot1
