I LOVE watching people play Tales of the Abyss for the first time!! It's honestly life-changing for me (genuinely, my life changed bc of it) and I really love seeing people discover it and love meeting new friends who also likes it. Luke is still, even to this day, my #1 favorite fictional character ever.
I also love how Abyss handles the 'really powerful character is weakened to join the party' bit. There's some random point later on when Jade mentions he's finally back up to his pre-story strength. I also love how Jade, age 35, constantly goes on about how he's an old and decrepit man, and then while everyone else has to struggle to do the moving box puzzles, he casually shoves them with one hand behind his back.
Over the years, Abyss has slowly been getting the recognition it rightfully deserves. I played it day one on the 3ds, and after I finished it, I always knew it'd be one of my favorite games of all time. Now days I do consider it my favorite game. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it as much as you did.
Literally learned the guitar to be able to play "Karma" (the opening) by Bump of Chicken. I love almost all the tales of games, but this one is my favorite. Natalia is still my profile picture to this day. Had an amazing time playing this with my brothers and sisters. Literally bought my sister a Tear figurine last week and we aren't the figurine type family. Wish this was on steam to relive with them through remote play
Always cool to see new people discovering Abyss! Genuinely one of, if not my favorite RPG ever. It’s impossible to list all the things I love about Abyss in a comment, so I’ll just add one on to what you’ve said. The worldbuilding, particularly in its magic system, is genuinely unparalleled among all the games I know of. Fonons, Lorelei, the Score… All the “jargon” the game throws at you… It not only holds up to scrutiny, but it actually makes the game *better* to do so, as every event in the story has a “how” and a “why,” and every aspect of the world was constructed such that this story is its natural result.
ToA is one of my top 5 all time favourite games. I was obsessed for a long time and still love it all these years later. It’s probably does the best job of any media I’ve consumed of tying together theme, character, plot and even gameplay and music. It’s creates an amazing synergy that I have yet to see any game replicate. As a narrative experience, it’s as close to perfection as I think you can get. PS A lot of people miss the contamination side quest, which ads even more to the story and the ending. ToA is one of the few games that side quests actually add to the story. It’s also a game that rewards you putting thought into it, which is great for people who like to analyze stories and games.
I rarely see content with tales of the abyss so it’s always nice to see videos like this pop up! It seems dramatic but tales of the abyss is a game that genuinely shaped the way I view games and story became number 1 for me too. I wasn’t much of a gamer, I only played my 3DS at the time and I stumbled upon tales of the abyss as a used copy by accident without knowing anything about it in like 2012/13 and the story completely blew me away, I wasn’t expecting it at all and every couple of years I keep thinking back to it. Probably because I played it so young and never played something so character and story driven before but it had a hold on me. I wanted to get into other tales of games recently and tried Vesperia as well but I struggled to keep going, I thought maybe it was my own bias but I struggled to get into the characters and story the same way I did with abyss. I was thinking maybe I didn’t give it a chance and maybe it gets better, but from what you said it seems like it won’t be for me either. Of course tales of the abyss has a lot of flaws and has things that didn’t age well, but from the stuff I care about more it doesn’t bother me. I keep wishing they do some sort of remake or remaster of the game to make it more accessible and it would be cool if voice acting can be added to the skits too but at this point I feel like it’s very unlikely that’s going to happen. I’ve seen a lot of people not give the game a chance since they think Luke is too unlikeable at the beginning and they can’t get past that, I never had that issue. Of course during the build up to the big event that happens in act 1 he gets more and more insufferable, but as you said. I always felt like it was understandable why he felt that way and how he acts that way. And you can see the kindness in him too, with people who give him that same kindness and patience back and he is the perfect example of how to do character development. It felt so believable and he didn’t just change once and that’s it, he struggles throughout the entire game and even goes the opposite direction with his self worth. People say that’s annoying too but he’s so understandable that I can’t hate him. I’ve also seen a major complaint in general that people say that the abyss cast is very unlikeable and mean to each other, and they can’t get into it since they don’t automatically have that ‘found family’ feel from the get go like other tales of games have. But for me personally I always saw that as a strength too? Yes, I agree they all can be mean and go too far but to me they’re all realistically flawed and it makes complete sense that they act the way they do. People complain they’re hypocritical too, and they are and I think that’s also a point that they realise later on. Like you said, it makes sense how Guy reacts compared to how Jade and Anise react. Obviously all characters go through their own journeys and character development but Guy out of all of them to me had his biggest character development already before the events of the game so he’s more about acceptance than anything. It’s a very unpopular opinion but I also like Anise too, I do think she would’ve benefited from toning it down at the beginning since it was too much earlier on and I don’t like the whole idea of children flirting with adults but I actually feel like later in the game when she’s actually more developed and herself I really liked her. She had so many great moments with interactions with other characters and she can be one of the funniest too. This might be unpopular too, I’m not sure. But I always loved the antagonists too, some were obviously stronger than others but I really loved the consistency of the god generals and how they directly linked to someone in the main cast and how they were a consistent threat. I don’t know if other tales of games do this, but it felt so refreshing and even though some motivations were better than others they all felt understandable. Like I understood why they were doing what they were doing and you could feel that they all had their own goals and you could feel that with their interactions. Like with Dist obviously being loyal to no one and doing his own thing, and you could feel Sync not having much purpose other than what he’s doing. Van as well, even with his how he does things being so twisted at points it’s understandable why he thinks the way he does and why in his mind he sees the world as so brainwashed that it’s the only way. And he does make a lot of valid points that other characters agree with even if he goes about it the wrong way, and they point out. They both want the same thing but it’s the actions that are different. You can understand why he’d have people on his side that believe in what he does and are willing to fight for it, even though it seems messed up. Mohs though? He’s the worst. That’s all. Sorry this is basically a long rant of nothing, but it’s so hard to find anything new with content with tales of the abyss now so seeing this brought back the hyperfixation I had for a bit. As I said, it obviously has a lot of problems but I do hope they decide at some point to at least just do a remaster on newer consoles because it would be cool for more people to discover the game (and I want to see more content of it)
Abyss is my favourite tales game along with symphonia and phantasia, i like phantasia because it was probably my first childhood tales that introduced me to the series , but abyss story is so deep and character design is amazing , this game definitely needs a remake cmon bandai
A lot of people who don't like Abyss seem to mostly really dislike Luka as a character because of how he is in the early game. Which I 100% understand cause Luke is awful early game, and sometimes it's difficult to parse that someone has genuinely, totally changed as a person when you've spent so long with them how they used to be. Which imo is more evidence towards how strong Luke's character arc is. It's really tragic this game has been left to rot by Bamco. As much as I'd love the Xillia games to be ported, Abyss really deserves it most.
This is probably not only my favorite Tales game of all time, but my favorite game of all time, period. I played it at such a crucial time in my life when I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be (as much as a 16 year old could, anyway) and the themes of the game hyperresonated with me tremendously. So seeing you, one of my favorite creators who also loves another series near and dear to my heart (Trails) review this game made me click faster than I ever had. Cheers, mate, this was an amazing video and you did the game justice.
Oh, man. I just finished playing this game for the fourth time on my PS2. Walked into a retro game store near my area and found it for relatively cheap. And BUMP OF CHICKEN sang their hearts out on this. Too bad we don't get that on the US version.
My first was dawn of the new world nearly gave up on the series there then played abyss its so good sure I like symphonia 1 as well but Abyss is on another level
I also played Abyss only a year ago and this is probably one of the best developments of the main character. And that rare case when the amnesia twist really looks cool.
Tales of the Abyss is one of my favorites, though the 3DS version IS the best version. It has the best story, and honestly some of the best gameplay of older tales games as in Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, etc. Really glad you liked it, since it's a great game.
I played this in 2011 when it was re-released for the 3DS. This game has one of the greatest character developments of any game I've played. Seeing your video makes me want to play it again!
This is a great review. Great job on expressing and explaining how great the characters and story are. And how Luke is basically us in this strange new world.
I'm glad to hear you be critical of it and also still enjoy it. I love the game, despite its warts, it's my favorite JRPG of all time, but it's definitely not perfect. It's one of the few games I'll truly miss if I can never play it again one day, so I hope it gets a good port onto modern systems some day.
Tales of the Abyss was one of the first Tales games I played, and it was a phenomenal achievement in story and character development. I will say that on the PS2 the game chugged really hard as it was pushing that console to its limits so the gameplay was very rough and sometimes frustrating. If there is a Tales game that needs a remaster, it's this one. It's hard for me to choose between Abyss and Symphonia as my favorite Tales games. Where Symphonia had a broader and more universal theme in its narrative, Abyss was much more nuanced and intricate with its character development. The confrontation between Luke and Asch was quite simply, a work of Art. This is a journey I won't soon forget, even if Bandai Namco neglects to remaster this timeless masterpiece.
Would have been happy with a PS Classics release at least. Runs great on the PS3/PS4 unofficially already, only thing holding it back is some problems traversing a few slopes later in the game. Now it's PC emulation or bust if you want to play at a reasonable resolution and framerate which is a shame for such a good game.
I don't know how I missed this video after commenting very similarly about Abyss's story on the last one! It's great to see someone playing them for the first time share a lot of my opinions on at least a couple games in the series.
Yes! I have never understood the appeal of Vesperia, and Symphonia was... well, it was *all right*, but Tales of the Abyss is second only to Tales of Phantasia, and even then, ToP only resides at the top because of nostalgia. Good to see this old game getting some attention again!
Simply without words, you describe perfectly what Tales of the abyss is, it is an adventure from start to finish and an enjoyment of its story and its characters. This is for me, the Tales of that introduced me to the saga, one day I saw the anime and I was fascinated with the world, the story and the concepts and above all the characters, the values, experiences and teaching that it leaves throughout, at the end of said anime those in charge of translating it added a note commenting that the anime came from a game and from there it took me 5 long years to actually have my first 3Ds and play it (it was totally worth the wait), I'm close to finishing it, with around 130 hours of play and it is easily among my favorite video games for the same reasons stated in the video and many more, like all the good moments (and even bad ones with frustrations jajaja) included, and everything that this game has to offer is simply gaming, greetings from Mexico!! I love seeing people who are currently playing this tales of as well, I really liked your video, new subscriber.!! ❤❤😊😊
I've been waiting for you finally cover my favorite game of all time. Abyss really made me into the type of gamer I am today. Also the world building and Character development was peak in Abyss. I'm currently over 100 hours into the ps2 version and almost 65 percent through a new game plus run
i'm really glad you enjoyed this one. it was my first console tales of (tales of phantasia bein' my first ever). while i understand that story is your primary focus, tales of vesperia, is my favorite, due to the characters and the combat mechanics. i see why you would put abyss above it in story elements. but havin' played plenty of games like star ocean, vesperia's story didn't really bug me. Abyss is arguably one of the most robust games of the series overall, and deserves its place amongst that trinity as is colloquially referred. I'm also really glad you mentioned the opening, as this game got me into the band Bump of Chicken (the guys who make the intro for this and a one piece movie called sailing day) and japanese music in general.
I absolutely loved this game. The story was amazing. I went from being very annoyed by Ashe to being amazed by his growth. Each of the companions had their own quests that got you deeper into their backstory. It's in my top 5. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Abyss introduced and made me a fan of the Tales series. And it’s still the best entry of the series, even though there are other entries that I also love.
The games story is one of the few games that made me feel things...I remember playin it when I was a kid, and I loved the bgm, the story and the character development...one of the games where the mc truly changes and develops
I was managing a GameStop when this came out, and I remember one guy who preordered it being there before I opened on the day it came out - dude was HYPED. I had a passing interest, but I never did grab it. If I get a break in my backlog, I'll check it out - but really, the music in your video just makes me want to boot up Trails from Zero again.
Magnificent Video of the week! Dude, if I wasn't knees deep into Daybreak....and behind AGAIN on my TBP, I'd give it a shot! Maybe one day we'll get a remaster??
This was my first JRPG I ever played. And what a banger it was! Not to mention, how amazed I was, since I was playing this on the 3DS. Excellent in so many ways and had a fantastic story as well
I think the best way to play is the route you took with the HD Texture pack and the patched ISO to put in the JP voice acting back into the skits! Lets you hear how well the english casting was as they're all great counterparts to the original cast. (Also play Tales of Destiny DC, translated by Lifebottle as well!)
Symphonia will always be up there because nostalgia for me, and it got me into the JRPG genre. But if I was to re-rate them again today Abyss would be top pick from the series.
reviewing Tales with music from Trails! nice. Abyss has been on my to-play list for a couple years now. your rec may bump it up a little higher on my list!
I played it on 3DS and man oh man it was definitely one of the best tales I played (my favorites are probably still the likes of Berseria or Xillia). I wish Namco did more to revitalize the love of Tales after how much work they put into Arise through NOT-SHODDILY-PUT-TOGETHER modern console/PC ports and potential remakes for the older more dated games. I'd love to experience the first game Phantasia in a more accessible and epic rendition.
Luke's development and story of Abyss as a whole is really great, personally of the Abyss/Symphonia/Vesperia games I still personally favor Symphonia the most, might just be nostalgia, might be the anime, but I really love the game and the cast Hmmm... I should make my Tales of games & characters tier list, I am not even sure myself which ones would be on top
Thanks to you, I’m playing this on my 2nd play through to 100% complete as the Hd remastered mod is fantastic. After this, I’ll play Tales of Destiny (PS2) fan translated. You should check it out.
The plot twist was great when i was playing this game during college days i couldnt put down my controller i even missed some classes because of this game
Character development is some of the best I’ve seen in the JRPGs I’ve played. It’s unfortunate that a lot of people dropped it because they couldn’t stand the protagonist in the beginning. It was also the reason why it got mediocre review scores from a lot of people.
@@sordis3309 Because he slowly but surely becomes a better person. The game starts with you and all the other characters not being able to stand him. By the time you get to the end they consider him a dear friend whom they would gladly fight alongside. It’s not instant. But slowly and gradually. A lot more natural than him just instantly going from bad to good. I totally understand being turned off by it. But for those who push through the opening half of the game. It’s definitely worth it. I can’t blame the reviewers either. Since they would’ve had to put a lot of hours into the game before seeing any character progression. Too much time for just one game review. Also a lot of patience. Lol
@@khfreak5531 I think most people understood that Luke will eventually turn over a new leaf, it's just that the journey to that point was marred with the most asinine and abrasive character interactions in a game. That's what it felt to me at least. I dropped the game when Luke blew up the town and everyone abandoned him, I did too. I felt vindicated, you get what you deserve. For what it's worth, people who stuck through with it seems to have enjoyed it and resonated with the character. Not me though, I remember 14 year old me playing the game and hated babysitting that royal brat lol
Its hilarious because thats exactly how it feels learning about Fonons. I honestly didn't understand why they wernt in the next tales game. I just thought fonons were a Canon tales game element.
Tales of the Abyss is one of the greatest games of all time. It literally switches number 1 often with Dragon Quest XI S, with Trails of Cold Steel 2 (my personal favorite of the trails games) close behind those. I really hope Abyss and many of these great Tales games get onto modern consoles. It's so crazy that this game is still locked to the PS2 (yes there was that 3DS port but it was never going to play well on a handheld). Karma is also one of the best incorporated themes in a video game I've seen, with several different renditions of it playing throughout the game with different instrumentation to create tons of different emotions. Abyss has one of the strongest Main casts but 100% the strongest villain cast. Tales always tends to find decent grays with their villains being fallen heroes or at least having different motivations, and it sticks to it's guns when your party's goals and motivation are different, that sometimes you HAVE to fight to protect what you believe in. Spoilers below Arietta, Largo, and Asch are especially tragic characters and it gives you that bit of sadness while also momentary triumphs. And I will never get over Ion. I am forever mad about Ion. He deserved so much more than what happened to him and he is beyond tragic and beautiful as a character that pushes the theme of the game even further.
I absolutely loved this one,it isn't my favorite (that honor belongs to Tales of Graces f),but it is very high on my list of favorites in the series for sure.
I've only played the 3DS port upon release in late 2011, but I really enjoyed Tales of the Abyss. However, Tales of Eternia is my personal favourite Tales games and I would recommend playing that next - it also helps that the PSP port is (surprisingly) still very reasonably priced. Admittedly, I've never played Tales of Destiny R, which is often considered the best Tales game.
My favourite game! The bad part I would point that the villains are always the same guys coming over and over again, I know that they have their charm, but they could save their presence for other cannon fodder, I hardly perceived them as a threat.
Yes it does, and its the best Tales game in the series and one of the best JRPGs ever made yet no one gives it the flowers like a Chrono Trigger but it’s up there
Abyss was pretty good to me. Biggest problem was revisiting towns constantly to meet one person. I swore looking for spinoza or whatever his name for 30% of the game 😂
I mean i guess it’s annoying but im pretty sure that’s a completely optional side quest lol. Im pretty sure the characters keep saying to Luke that’s it’s pointless
@@flamehiro oh no 😭 I’m sorry you had to find out this way lol… but yes… that was completely skippable. It was just a side quest of Luke trying to beat Asch which he never does, but you could just go to the destination everyone is telling Luke to go to instead which is their actual goal lol
Ah, I was hoping you would make a video about this game when I saw you tweeted about it. I think Symphonia has the best themes, but Luke is such a great protagonist and some of the best development I have seen. Vesperia ... I really don't like to talk about it because people get mad at me. I am also very lucky I got a 3DS copy. Now on to watch the thing.
The Tales of Series is an underrated franchise. Symphonia will always be my favorite of the franchise, but Abyss inches ahead slightly when it comes to main character growth - Luke and Tear are just fantastic.
I remember playing this game and that intro instrumental is fire still. The story and the characters were all fantastic. wish I could replay it on modern platforms. I had the 3ds game back in the day but sold it sadly wish I didnt.
Ah, Abyss... It was my introduction into the Tales series. First time I've seen anything different from the usual turn-based RPG style. I was so enthralled by this "new" take on the battle system that I paid little attention to the story for about half of the game, thinking the game was nearly over only to realize it was much, Much longer than I initially thought. I seem to recall a lot of people saying they had the same experience when fighting a particular character for the first time in the game as well....
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
If you liked this one, check out my other retro reviews!
📌 ruclips.net/p/PLOiA_KESrFhSxSJGg1DMyn3RNF_HlImDa
I LOVE watching people play Tales of the Abyss for the first time!! It's honestly life-changing for me (genuinely, my life changed bc of it) and I really love seeing people discover it and love meeting new friends who also likes it. Luke is still, even to this day, my #1 favorite fictional character ever.
I also love how Abyss handles the 'really powerful character is weakened to join the party' bit. There's some random point later on when Jade mentions he's finally back up to his pre-story strength.
I also love how Jade, age 35, constantly goes on about how he's an old and decrepit man, and then while everyone else has to struggle to do the moving box puzzles, he casually shoves them with one hand behind his back.
Jade is the greatest.
Now that I have reached and passed his age (36) I talk about myself as being old and decrepit 🤣
When I first played Abyss Luke left such a profound impact on me that even now I would still call him my favourite JRPG protagonist.
Man, the tales of the abyss are something special, and you said it best, the character and story work together so well.
Wheres the remaster lol
Abyss is straight up my favorite game of all time. I hope they bring it to more consoles cause that ending had 18 year old me crying like a 4 year old
So I just beat the game as an 18 year old and I bawled my eyes out too. Such an awesome game, I'm so happy I got to play it
@@skeetybootthere’s just something about playing tales
Of the abyss when you’re 18 I guess
It was the first Tales of Game I ever played and I originally played it on ps2.
@@Dbzmaster159same I’m so happy I decided to by a PS2 copy on a whim, legit best financial decision I’ve made
Over the years, Abyss has slowly been getting the recognition it rightfully deserves. I played it day one on the 3ds, and after I finished it, I always knew it'd be one of my favorite games of all time. Now days I do consider it my favorite game.
I'm glad you were able to enjoy it as much as you did.
One of best character development gaming character of all time for me
Vesperia brought me to the series, but Abyss is where I fell in love. Glad to hear it held up in your esteem!
Same story here.
could not get into vesperia, found the gameplay a bit too clunky, and the characters did nothing for me.
Literally learned the guitar to be able to play "Karma" (the opening) by Bump of Chicken. I love almost all the tales of games, but this one is my favorite. Natalia is still my profile picture to this day. Had an amazing time playing this with my brothers and sisters. Literally bought my sister a Tear figurine last week and we aren't the figurine type family. Wish this was on steam to relive with them through remote play
I saw a couple of Luke figures last year while in Japan. Be interesting to see if I see any more.
Always cool to see new people discovering Abyss! Genuinely one of, if not my favorite RPG ever.
It’s impossible to list all the things I love about Abyss in a comment, so I’ll just add one on to what you’ve said. The worldbuilding, particularly in its magic system, is genuinely unparalleled among all the games I know of. Fonons, Lorelei, the Score… All the “jargon” the game throws at you… It not only holds up to scrutiny, but it actually makes the game *better* to do so, as every event in the story has a “how” and a “why,” and every aspect of the world was constructed such that this story is its natural result.
ToA is one of my top 5 all time favourite games. I was obsessed for a long time and still love it all these years later. It’s probably does the best job of any media I’ve consumed of tying together theme, character, plot and even gameplay and music. It’s creates an amazing synergy that I have yet to see any game replicate. As a narrative experience, it’s as close to perfection as I think you can get.
PS A lot of people miss the contamination side quest, which ads even more to the story and the ending. ToA is one of the few games that side quests actually add to the story. It’s also a game that rewards you putting thought into it, which is great for people who like to analyze stories and games.
Glad to hear you enjoyed Abyss. The story and characters are easily the best part like you said. I should replay it one day.
I rarely see content with tales of the abyss so it’s always nice to see videos like this pop up!
It seems dramatic but tales of the abyss is a game that genuinely shaped the way I view games and story became number 1 for me too. I wasn’t much of a gamer, I only played my 3DS at the time and I stumbled upon tales of the abyss as a used copy by accident without knowing anything about it in like 2012/13 and the story completely blew me away, I wasn’t expecting it at all and every couple of years I keep thinking back to it. Probably because I played it so young and never played something so character and story driven before but it had a hold on me.
I wanted to get into other tales of games recently and tried Vesperia as well but I struggled to keep going, I thought maybe it was my own bias but I struggled to get into the characters and story the same way I did with abyss. I was thinking maybe I didn’t give it a chance and maybe it gets better, but from what you said it seems like it won’t be for me either.
Of course tales of the abyss has a lot of flaws and has things that didn’t age well, but from the stuff I care about more it doesn’t bother me. I keep wishing they do some sort of remake or remaster of the game to make it more accessible and it would be cool if voice acting can be added to the skits too but at this point I feel like it’s very unlikely that’s going to happen.
I’ve seen a lot of people not give the game a chance since they think Luke is too unlikeable at the beginning and they can’t get past that, I never had that issue. Of course during the build up to the big event that happens in act 1 he gets more and more insufferable, but as you said. I always felt like it was understandable why he felt that way and how he acts that way. And you can see the kindness in him too, with people who give him that same kindness and patience back and he is the perfect example of how to do character development. It felt so believable and he didn’t just change once and that’s it, he struggles throughout the entire game and even goes the opposite direction with his self worth. People say that’s annoying too but he’s so understandable that I can’t hate him.
I’ve also seen a major complaint in general that people say that the abyss cast is very unlikeable and mean to each other, and they can’t get into it since they don’t automatically have that ‘found family’ feel from the get go like other tales of games have. But for me personally I always saw that as a strength too? Yes, I agree they all can be mean and go too far but to me they’re all realistically flawed and it makes complete sense that they act the way they do. People complain they’re hypocritical too, and they are and I think that’s also a point that they realise later on.
Like you said, it makes sense how Guy reacts compared to how Jade and Anise react. Obviously all characters go through their own journeys and character development but Guy out of all of them to me had his biggest character development already before the events of the game so he’s more about acceptance than anything.
It’s a very unpopular opinion but I also like Anise too, I do think she would’ve benefited from toning it down at the beginning since it was too much earlier on and I don’t like the whole idea of children flirting with adults but I actually feel like later in the game when she’s actually more developed and herself I really liked her. She had so many great moments with interactions with other characters and she can be one of the funniest too.
This might be unpopular too, I’m not sure. But I always loved the antagonists too, some were obviously stronger than others but I really loved the consistency of the god generals and how they directly linked to someone in the main cast and how they were a consistent threat. I don’t know if other tales of games do this, but it felt so refreshing and even though some motivations were better than others they all felt understandable. Like I understood why they were doing what they were doing and you could feel that they all had their own goals and you could feel that with their interactions. Like with Dist obviously being loyal to no one and doing his own thing, and you could feel Sync not having much purpose other than what he’s doing.
Van as well, even with his how he does things being so twisted at points it’s understandable why he thinks the way he does and why in his mind he sees the world as so brainwashed that it’s the only way. And he does make a lot of valid points that other characters agree with even if he goes about it the wrong way, and they point out. They both want the same thing but it’s the actions that are different. You can understand why he’d have people on his side that believe in what he does and are willing to fight for it, even though it seems messed up.
Mohs though? He’s the worst. That’s all.
Sorry this is basically a long rant of nothing, but it’s so hard to find anything new with content with tales of the abyss now so seeing this brought back the hyperfixation I had for a bit.
As I said, it obviously has a lot of problems but I do hope they decide at some point to at least just do a remaster on newer consoles because it would be cool for more people to discover the game (and I want to see more content of it)
Abyss is my favourite tales game along with symphonia and phantasia, i like phantasia because it was probably my first childhood tales that introduced me to the series , but abyss story is so deep and character design is amazing , this game definitely needs a remake cmon bandai
A lot of people who don't like Abyss seem to mostly really dislike Luka as a character because of how he is in the early game. Which I 100% understand cause Luke is awful early game, and sometimes it's difficult to parse that someone has genuinely, totally changed as a person when you've spent so long with them how they used to be.
Which imo is more evidence towards how strong Luke's character arc is.
It's really tragic this game has been left to rot by Bamco. As much as I'd love the Xillia games to be ported, Abyss really deserves it most.
Rather Luke over many others, I know that for a fact.
Facts, I constantly get irritated by his attitude early game, especially his actions towards mieu
This is probably not only my favorite Tales game of all time, but my favorite game of all time, period. I played it at such a crucial time in my life when I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be (as much as a 16 year old could, anyway) and the themes of the game hyperresonated with me tremendously.
So seeing you, one of my favorite creators who also loves another series near and dear to my heart (Trails) review this game made me click faster than I ever had. Cheers, mate, this was an amazing video and you did the game justice.
Oh, man. I just finished playing this game for the fourth time on my PS2. Walked into a retro game store near my area and found it for relatively cheap. And BUMP OF CHICKEN sang their hearts out on this. Too bad we don't get that on the US version.
Abyss was my entry to the tales of series. I thought every story after and before would be just as good but boy was I wrong lol
My first was dawn of the new world nearly gave up on the series there then played abyss its so good sure I like symphonia 1 as well but Abyss is on another level
I also played Abyss only a year ago and this is probably one of the best developments of the main character. And that rare case when the amnesia twist really looks cool.
Genuinely, it’s been my favourite game since I played it 15 years ago. The music, intro, story, characters and themes are unmatched
Its a GREAT game that shows peak character development!!
Tales of the Abyss is one of my favorites, though the 3DS version IS the best version. It has the best story, and honestly some of the best gameplay of older tales games as in Symphonia, Abyss, Vesperia, etc.
Really glad you liked it, since it's a great game.
I played this in 2011 when it was re-released for the 3DS. This game has one of the greatest character developments of any game I've played. Seeing your video makes me want to play it again!
Glad you liked it too. It's my favorite in the whole series. My second favorite is probably Tales of Graces.
This is a great review. Great job on expressing and explaining how great the characters and story are. And how Luke is basically us in this strange new world.
I'm glad to hear you be critical of it and also still enjoy it. I love the game, despite its warts, it's my favorite JRPG of all time, but it's definitely not perfect. It's one of the few games I'll truly miss if I can never play it again one day, so I hope it gets a good port onto modern systems some day.
No game is flawless at the end of the day, we've got to be balanced with these kinds of things.
By far my favourite Tales game. Fantastic game, and criminal that it isn't available on modern platforms.
Bandai Namco just don't really care.
Definitley a game that will stay with me forever
Tales of the Abyss was one of the first Tales games I played, and it was a phenomenal achievement in story and character development. I will say that on the PS2 the game chugged really hard as it was pushing that console to its limits so the gameplay was very rough and sometimes frustrating. If there is a Tales game that needs a remaster, it's this one.
It's hard for me to choose between Abyss and Symphonia as my favorite Tales games. Where Symphonia had a broader and more universal theme in its narrative, Abyss was much more nuanced and intricate with its character development. The confrontation between Luke and Asch was quite simply, a work of Art. This is a journey I won't soon forget, even if Bandai Namco neglects to remaster this timeless masterpiece.
Would have been happy with a PS Classics release at least. Runs great on the PS3/PS4 unofficially already, only thing holding it back is some problems traversing a few slopes later in the game. Now it's PC emulation or bust if you want to play at a reasonable resolution and framerate which is a shame for such a good game.
I don't know how I missed this video after commenting very similarly about Abyss's story on the last one! It's great to see someone playing them for the first time share a lot of my opinions on at least a couple games in the series.
Yes! I have never understood the appeal of Vesperia, and Symphonia was... well, it was *all right*, but Tales of the Abyss is second only to Tales of Phantasia, and even then, ToP only resides at the top because of nostalgia. Good to see this old game getting some attention again!
Simply without words, you describe perfectly what Tales of the abyss is, it is an adventure from start to finish and an enjoyment of its story and its characters. This is for me, the Tales of that introduced me to the saga, one day I saw the anime and I was fascinated with the world, the story and the concepts and above all the characters, the values, experiences and teaching that it leaves throughout, at the end of said anime those in charge of translating it added a note commenting that the anime came from a game and from there it took me 5 long years to actually have my first 3Ds and play it (it was totally worth the wait), I'm close to finishing it, with around 130 hours of play and it is easily among my favorite video games for the same reasons stated in the video and many more, like all the good moments (and even bad ones with frustrations jajaja) included, and everything that this game has to offer is simply gaming, greetings from Mexico!! I love seeing people who are currently playing this tales of as well, I really liked your video, new subscriber.!! ❤❤😊😊
Easily one of the best JRPGs I've ever played. I would love to see a remaster/remake of this game.
Abyss is my favorite game of all time. A remake would blow my mind.
Actually started up a fresh playthrough of Abyss about a week ago, so I will leave a like and come back when I finish!
So looking forward to it!
I've been waiting for you finally cover my favorite game of all time. Abyss really made me into the type of gamer I am today. Also the world building and Character development was peak in Abyss. I'm currently over 100 hours into the ps2 version and almost 65 percent through a new game plus run
i'm really glad you enjoyed this one. it was my first console tales of (tales of phantasia bein' my first ever). while i understand that story is your primary focus, tales of vesperia, is my favorite, due to the characters and the combat mechanics. i see why you would put abyss above it in story elements. but havin' played plenty of games like star ocean, vesperia's story didn't really bug me. Abyss is arguably one of the most robust games of the series overall, and deserves its place amongst that trinity as is colloquially referred. I'm also really glad you mentioned the opening, as this game got me into the band Bump of Chicken (the guys who make the intro for this and a one piece movie called sailing day) and japanese music in general.
This got me into the series. One of my absolute favorites.
I absolutely loved this game. The story was amazing. I went from being very annoyed by Ashe to being amazed by his growth. Each of the companions had their own quests that got you deeper into their backstory. It's in my top 5. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Abyss introduced and made me a fan of the Tales series.
And it’s still the best entry of the series, even though there are other entries that I also love.
The games story is one of the few games that made me feel things...I remember playin it when I was a kid, and I loved the bgm, the story and the character development...one of the games where the mc truly changes and develops
I was managing a GameStop when this came out, and I remember one guy who preordered it being there before I opened on the day it came out - dude was HYPED. I had a passing interest, but I never did grab it. If I get a break in my backlog, I'll check it out - but really, the music in your video just makes me want to boot up Trails from Zero again.
Magnificent Video of the week! Dude, if I wasn't knees deep into Daybreak....and behind AGAIN on my TBP, I'd give it a shot! Maybe one day we'll get a remaster??
So much nostalgia. I knew I loved this game, and is my favorite tales game..but man. That opening is so amazing.
The opening is killer!
Man-so many people have issues with Anise. She was adorable and funny. And she made my top three or four favorite characters.
This was my first JRPG I ever played. And what a banger it was! Not to mention, how amazed I was, since I was playing this on the 3DS. Excellent in so many ways and had a fantastic story as well
I have always loved the Tales series and Abyss has always been one of my favorites within the series. Actually am currently replaying it!
Fond ps2 memories glad u got to experience this great game 😊😊😊😊
Gawd that intro theme is such a banger. I would always listen to it. Same with xilla
Tales of the Abyss still have the BEST CAMEO Battle!
The 4v4 fight is so EPIC!
Yes! My favorite Tales of, hands down!
I really hope they remake this one, I would buy it for sure, since it is the Tales that got away and everyone praises
I think the best way to play is the route you took with the HD Texture pack and the patched ISO to put in the JP voice acting back into the skits! Lets you hear how well the english casting was as they're all great counterparts to the original cast. (Also play Tales of Destiny DC, translated by Lifebottle as well!)
I swear I died laughing as soon as you said "about the Fon arts extrapolate". Ah that math meme.
Guy and Tear are those homies u need for life.
Symphonia will always be up there because nostalgia for me, and it got me into the JRPG genre. But if I was to re-rate them again today Abyss would be top pick from the series.
reviewing Tales with music from Trails! nice. Abyss has been on my to-play list for a couple years now. your rec may bump it up a little higher on my list!
Blame Bamco for that, can't use any of the music without getting a copyright hit.
They don't make games this good anymore, by far one of my favorites of all time !
I played it on 3DS and man oh man it was definitely one of the best tales I played (my favorites are probably still the likes of Berseria or Xillia).
I wish Namco did more to revitalize the love of Tales after how much work they put into Arise through NOT-SHODDILY-PUT-TOGETHER modern console/PC ports and potential remakes for the older more dated games. I'd love to experience the first game Phantasia in a more accessible and epic rendition.
This is like my comfort game
Luke's development and story of Abyss as a whole is really great, personally of the Abyss/Symphonia/Vesperia games I still personally favor Symphonia the most, might just be nostalgia, might be the anime, but I really love the game and the cast
Hmmm... I should make my Tales of games & characters tier list, I am not even sure myself which ones would be on top
Thanks to you, I’m playing this on my 2nd play through to 100% complete as the Hd remastered mod is fantastic. After this, I’ll play Tales of Destiny (PS2) fan translated. You should check it out.
The plot twist was great when i was playing this game during college days i couldnt put down my controller i even missed some classes because of this game
Character development is some of the best I’ve seen in the JRPGs I’ve played. It’s unfortunate that a lot of people dropped it because they couldn’t stand the protagonist in the beginning. It was also the reason why it got mediocre review scores from a lot of people.
Makes no sense to me. I was happy to have a character like Luke for a change.
@@TheKisekiNut Same. Also, Yuri Lowenthal did great as Luke. He’s pretty great in every voice role he does. Lol
I'm one of those. Why in the world would I keep playing a game where the main character pisses me off? Makes absolutely no sense to me.
@@sordis3309 Because he slowly but surely becomes a better person. The game starts with you and all the other characters not being able to stand him. By the time you get to the end they consider him a dear friend whom they would gladly fight alongside. It’s not instant. But slowly and gradually. A lot more natural than him just instantly going from bad to good. I totally understand being turned off by it. But for those who push through the opening half of the game. It’s definitely worth it. I can’t blame the reviewers either. Since they would’ve had to put a lot of hours into the game before seeing any character progression. Too much time for just one game review. Also a lot of patience. Lol
@@khfreak5531 I think most people understood that Luke will eventually turn over a new leaf, it's just that the journey to that point was marred with the most asinine and abrasive character interactions in a game. That's what it felt to me at least. I dropped the game when Luke blew up the town and everyone abandoned him, I did too. I felt vindicated, you get what you deserve.
For what it's worth, people who stuck through with it seems to have enjoyed it and resonated with the character. Not me though, I remember 14 year old me playing the game and hated babysitting that royal brat lol
Its hilarious because thats exactly how it feels learning about Fonons. I honestly didn't understand why they wernt in the next tales game. I just thought fonons were a Canon tales game element.
Yesssss, i knowit that you gona love my favorite tales of
Endgame spoilers start at 14:44, and end at 15:52
My number one favorite tales of game, and in my top 3 games of all time.
Agreed! My first and fave Tales of series. Personally, it has the best storyline among other tales of Ive played (Vesperia, Symphonia, Arise).
I absolutely love this game. Right up with with Symphonia as my favorite
Tales of the Abyss is one of the greatest games of all time. It literally switches number 1 often with Dragon Quest XI S, with Trails of Cold Steel 2 (my personal favorite of the trails games) close behind those. I really hope Abyss and many of these great Tales games get onto modern consoles. It's so crazy that this game is still locked to the PS2 (yes there was that 3DS port but it was never going to play well on a handheld). Karma is also one of the best incorporated themes in a video game I've seen, with several different renditions of it playing throughout the game with different instrumentation to create tons of different emotions.
Abyss has one of the strongest Main casts but 100% the strongest villain cast. Tales always tends to find decent grays with their villains being fallen heroes or at least having different motivations, and it sticks to it's guns when your party's goals and motivation are different, that sometimes you HAVE to fight to protect what you believe in.
Spoilers below
Arietta, Largo, and Asch are especially tragic characters and it gives you that bit of sadness while also momentary triumphs. And I will never get over Ion. I am forever mad about Ion. He deserved so much more than what happened to him and he is beyond tragic and beautiful as a character that pushes the theme of the game even further.
4:52: I remember the first time I played this, I kept getting lost on the overworld map. Had to look up a guide to find multiple locations. Lol
this is my 2nd tales game after legendia (so bad). And was pleasantly surprised how good the story was and even is to this day 15 years later
ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES MADE ONE OF THE BEST GAMES IN MY COLLECTION
played it in like 2010 or so, meaning of birth randomly pops into my head at least once every couple months still.
Peak of the series, i should say
I absolutely loved this one,it isn't my favorite (that honor belongs to Tales of Graces f),but it is very high on my list of favorites in the series for sure.
still my favorite Tales game. The story and character development are just fantastic
I've only played the 3DS port upon release in late 2011, but I really enjoyed Tales of the Abyss. However, Tales of Eternia is my personal favourite Tales games and I would recommend playing that next - it also helps that the PSP port is (surprisingly) still very reasonably priced.
Admittedly, I've never played Tales of Destiny R, which is often considered the best Tales game.
Better late than never, my favourite Tales game!
My favourite game!
The bad part I would point that the villains are always the same guys coming over and over again, I know that they have their charm, but they could save their presence for other cannon fodder, I hardly perceived them as a threat.
Tales of Abyss is just SSS tier. Love Mystearica. Love Luke. Love Ash. Love everyone.
Abyss is even better than Symphonia.
I still remember luke and asch plot twist to this day.
I have yet to play a Tales game with a story better than Abyss.
Yes it does, and its the best Tales game in the series and one of the best JRPGs ever made yet no one gives it the flowers like a Chrono Trigger but it’s up there
When I was younger my cousin and I did everything we could in the first and second playthrough. I did wish they had a better cameo batlle.
Abyss is my favorite JRPG of all time.
One of my all-time favorite PS2 games
This is by far my favorite Tales game. The characters and the story are on the top tier list of jrpgs, no... of all rpgs.
Abyss was pretty good to me. Biggest problem was revisiting towns constantly to meet one person. I swore looking for spinoza or whatever his name for 30% of the game 😂
I mean i guess it’s annoying but im pretty sure that’s a completely optional side quest lol. Im pretty sure the characters keep saying to Luke that’s it’s pointless
@@chanbang378 it was?!
@@flamehiro oh no 😭 I’m sorry you had to find out this way lol… but yes… that was completely skippable. It was just a side quest of Luke trying to beat Asch which he never does, but you could just go to the destination everyone is telling Luke to go to instead which is their actual goal lol
Ah, I was hoping you would make a video about this game when I saw you tweeted about it. I think Symphonia has the best themes, but Luke is such a great protagonist and some of the best development I have seen.
Vesperia ... I really don't like to talk about it because people get mad at me.
I am also very lucky I got a 3DS copy.
Now on to watch the thing.
The Tales of Series is an underrated franchise.
Symphonia will always be my favorite of the franchise, but Abyss inches ahead slightly when it comes to main character growth - Luke and Tear are just fantastic.
Don't get me wrong symphonia was great BUT Abyss is so wonderful my favorite tales game and game in genral
I remember playing this game and that intro instrumental is fire still. The story and the characters were all fantastic. wish I could replay it on modern platforms. I had the 3ds game back in the day but sold it sadly wish I didnt.
There was no way I was playing on 3DS, I completely forgot how small the original one was. Barely fits in my hand anymore.
@@TheKisekiNut yup thats why I got the firem emblem 3DSXL back then, just for what ever reason I cant play handhelds anymore lol
You can get a partial undub for the game that gives you Japanese voiced skits with the English dubbed story.
Ah, Abyss...
It was my introduction into the Tales series. First time I've seen anything different from the usual turn-based RPG style. I was so enthralled by this "new" take on the battle system that I paid little attention to the story for about half of the game, thinking the game was nearly over only to realize it was much, Much longer than I initially thought. I seem to recall a lot of people saying they had the same experience when fighting a particular character for the first time in the game as well....
This game desperately need a remake or a remaster!
I haven't played this game since like 2013 so I forgot how good tear's voice actor was
Wish they port this one. I really liked Symphonia and Vesperia and if this one is part of the "holy trinity" I definitely have to play it.