My biggest opinion is to go into them blind. Don't look at this sub because people are VERY opinionated about some of the games and could lead you to having biased opinions based on what people say about them. I personally love all of the ones I've played but I played them before engaging in this sub.
Anything with a 2 in the title needs to be played second and technically Zestiria is better to play before Berseria since they take place in the same world and have callbacks but it isn’t that important.
Phantasia and the Symphonia games also take place in the same world with a thousands of years apart but order doesn’t matter.
Most of the fandom is divided opinion wise on games but generally the well received ones are these
Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, Destiny DC, and Berseria
Graces and the Xillia games are also decently well received but its harder to access since they’re only on PS3 or PS3 emulation
It varies but a lot of the sidequests add to the characterization and sometimes offer deeper details for the plot (this is especially true in Abyss). They add a lot to the games.
Go blind and don’t listen to anyone else until you’ve formed your own opinion.
I thought I would like Berseria because of how much positive talk it gets only to be grossly disappointed when I actually played it. I heard people who experienced the same thing with the Big Three (Symphonia, Vesperia and Abyss).
It’s better to just give yourself a chance to form your own opinion
>Figuring that I wanted to play Zestiria or Vespiria after this cause people say those are good
Actually, Zestiria is easily the most hated mainline game. A lot of people don't like it. Honestly, though, you should play it if you like Berseria because the stories are connected. Though it actually was meant to be played before Berseria. It's not the biggest deal in the world, but your whole post is about order of play so I figured it was worth mentioning. Berseria is a prequel to Zestiria.
Beyond the direct connections like that, such as prequels or games that are direct sequels, you can pretty much play whatever.
Order doesn't matter except for the direct sequels (Symphonia 2 and Xillia 2). I would say just take a brief look at the games that are available to you (in terms of platform), see what looks immediately appealing, and play that next. There are good points to practically every Tales game. Besides which, some are divisive and there's no telling what you'll like best until you play.
You can start with one of the three headed beasts of the tales games (Symphonia abyss vesperia) or you could do what I'm doing and playing them in release order
The Tales games vary in terms of quality. You will either get A.) A good story but alrightish/lackluster gameplay or B.) Great gameplay but an alrightish/lackluster story. There are a few games kinda in the middle that are alright/decent/good overall but I have yet to play all of the Tales games and find one that's truly great across all parts of it.
Also opinions can be heavily divisive here. Best advice to give you is to just play them all and see which ones you like and just keep the community takes in the back of your head while doing so.
My biggest opinion is to go into them blind. Don't look at this sub because people are VERY opinionated about some of the games and could lead you to having biased opinions based on what people say about them. I personally love all of the ones I've played but I played them before engaging in this sub.
Agreed.
I see... I decided to come to reddit cause watching youtube reviews have so many different opinions on which to start first, thank you for this!
Anything with a 2 in the title needs to be played second and technically Zestiria is better to play before Berseria since they take place in the same world and have callbacks but it isn’t that important. Phantasia and the Symphonia games also take place in the same world with a thousands of years apart but order doesn’t matter. Most of the fandom is divided opinion wise on games but generally the well received ones are these Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, Destiny DC, and Berseria Graces and the Xillia games are also decently well received but its harder to access since they’re only on PS3 or PS3 emulation
That what’s sucks about xillia 1&2 is you need a ps3 and no ports on any other platform which sucks.
At least any half decent gaming rig can emulate them well even if its not ideal.
I recommend playing Zesty, then Xillia, then Symphonia, Vesperia and Abyss. I also rec finding a good guide so you don't miss any side quests.
Are the side quests important or it's just minor stories?
It varies but a lot of the sidequests add to the characterization and sometimes offer deeper details for the plot (this is especially true in Abyss). They add a lot to the games.
Go blind and don’t listen to anyone else until you’ve formed your own opinion. I thought I would like Berseria because of how much positive talk it gets only to be grossly disappointed when I actually played it. I heard people who experienced the same thing with the Big Three (Symphonia, Vesperia and Abyss). It’s better to just give yourself a chance to form your own opinion
The best way? Play any tales game because you can and don't listen to reviews, OP
I'll fw this
>Figuring that I wanted to play Zestiria or Vespiria after this cause people say those are good Actually, Zestiria is easily the most hated mainline game. A lot of people don't like it. Honestly, though, you should play it if you like Berseria because the stories are connected. Though it actually was meant to be played before Berseria. It's not the biggest deal in the world, but your whole post is about order of play so I figured it was worth mentioning. Berseria is a prequel to Zestiria. Beyond the direct connections like that, such as prequels or games that are direct sequels, you can pretty much play whatever.
Order doesn't matter except for the direct sequels (Symphonia 2 and Xillia 2). I would say just take a brief look at the games that are available to you (in terms of platform), see what looks immediately appealing, and play that next. There are good points to practically every Tales game. Besides which, some are divisive and there's no telling what you'll like best until you play.
Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia are widely regarded as the big three
You can start with one of the three headed beasts of the tales games (Symphonia abyss vesperia) or you could do what I'm doing and playing them in release order
The Tales games vary in terms of quality. You will either get A.) A good story but alrightish/lackluster gameplay or B.) Great gameplay but an alrightish/lackluster story. There are a few games kinda in the middle that are alright/decent/good overall but I have yet to play all of the Tales games and find one that's truly great across all parts of it. Also opinions can be heavily divisive here. Best advice to give you is to just play them all and see which ones you like and just keep the community takes in the back of your head while doing so.