Thank you for all of the love and discussion this video has gotten. It seriously means the world to me! I plan on replying back to everyone ASAP, I've just been taking a little break from youtube and such. (Being lame and just living my life lol.) I'll be back soon, I promise! Just keep in mind that this list only consist of games that I've personally beaten in the series. I don't think it's fair to add certain characters if I haven't seen their entire character ark play out yet. I'm also actually in the process of playing through TOE at this moment too. So far, so good! Again, seriously love our fandom, and appreciate everyone of you for even watching this video. Till next time!
I was surprised to see sorey in the top three. Maybe zestria just left too bad a taste in my mouth (to the point that I never bothered to finish it) but I never expected him to beat my og favorite.
..... In my opinion: 1. Stahn Aileron cause his comedic and character growth really takes me (different from his son *cough so dissapointing) 2.the good old Reid Hershel, same like stahn but with much more plot and development the best I think, you wanna know about him.... Play Tales of Destiny II or eternia in japan name for psx(why they dont remake this like Final Fantasy remake their FFVII) 3. Is the end of this video and i am playing right now Yuri lowell from tales of brave vesperia(I add the brave so what? Got a problem?) First come out in Nintendo gamecube, even when i had ps2, I am more interest in this game, and they port it with HD in PS3 but i dont have ps3 skip to ps4 And surprise this game was in this port too holy molly and now i enjoying All the story, and the detail , the grinding which is hard cause the system for enemy is like symphonia, but the artes, the story, the plot of each character, daaaaaamnnn
What I liked about Yuri was that it isn't immediately about saving the world. It was just catching a thief that screwed his neighborhood over. Do the deed when needed.
And he was in the right to kill when he did to give justice for others and he accepted that he did crimes for good and would of taken his punishment after everything was over but he was free after saveing the world
i agree that yuri is an excellent protagonist i only wished that the history and the gameplay feeling of tales of vesperia was better but at the same time some of the other characters are a bit anoying while other complement yuri and the history better
Also unlike other protags, He doesnnt need to mature. he already is which was refreshing, compared to characters that start out very immature or naive. Yuri already has a understanding of how the world works and breaks the mold of previous Tales games by being more in control with his destiny and willing to eliminate the foes that are a threat to society put it into perspective other MC of tales when getting into a fight or trouble are like this MC: c-c-can i do this, ill do what ever it takes Yuri: Lmao
Lloyd is actually more dynamic than you give him credit for. He isn't that steadfast, unflappable paragon that he seems once you look closer. Lloyd breaks the rules to protect Collette and to save Marble, he gets frustrated with Collette and he gets so frustrated with his situation that he nearly throws his exsphere into the sea, and would have killed Kvar if Kratos hadn't stepped in to get his revenge. Lloyd is a great character and one of my favourites!
I liked velvet because her hatred and reason was well justified, and being imprisoned for 3 years does something to your mental state. Her being with an imagination of her brother and see how she was acting was pretty heartwarming seeing the old velvet with her brother, all to see she knew he was fake the entire time. Her development throughout the game was lovely as well.
She had trusted that man for years with her younger brother, only to find out he had been using them the whole time and is the one who kills her brother. Then imprisoning her for 3 years afterwards, of course she wouldn't trust anyone no matter how much proof they give her. Took some guy several years to show his true colors, she refused to make that mistake again. Such a beautifully done character, top 3 MC's for me
Let's see Velvet had her entire life destroyed in the span of one night, had her brother who she was struggling to keep alive killed, her entire village turned into monsters, was betrayed by her mentor, turned into a monster herself, thrown into a hole in the bottom of a prison for three years with no contact outside of the monsters that she had thrown at her in a kill or be killed scenario... yeah that kind of betrayal and ptsd makes for a really trusting character.
Yeah, I agree with you. If my younger brother was killed before my eyes by someone I trusted. I would likely lose my mind as well. But I’m not gonna lie, Velvet was a total a**hole throughout the whole story (except at the end). I understand being mad and wanting to avenge your brother (hell bent on revenge), but sheesh. That kinda attitude is better for a side character if you ask me. I was for her at the beginning of the game, but 3/4ths of the way through, I was like, “Stop whining *****! And don’t turn on the very people helping you!” Then she finds out, she really didn’t have as much reason to be angry as she thought...” Sigh, I almost didn’t finish the game because of her... the protagonist... (Yuri is fav, FYI).
@Tobias Cox In like almost at the end of the game, her "development" wasn't gradual and was mean as fuck through the entire thing up until she fucked up and the remorse finally clicked in her head.
@@Crok425 Velvelt is so much more complex than that. In the start of the game she is almost sickeningly happy and Artorius rips the only thing that gives her happiness away, leaving her with nothing but anger. And yet, she still has that caring side, she just chooses not to show it. The whole game is about breaking down the walls she built around that part of herself. and it is a gradual. slow breakdown.
@@golfer435 Yes, that is true, the game is about her breaking that wal but it isn't gradual. Some parts where good on breaking that wall, but it wasn't a gradual character development as you make it out to be. Her actual development and wall break down is when she killed Oscar, which is almost near the end of the game, making that not gradual but almost rushed. I won't deny there are instances of good development before that point but they are few.
Crok425 Though you think Velvet's char development sucks, well not for us. Those imperfections that you stated seem perfect for us. Maybe you didn't fathom her personality very well... or maybe we're the ones who didn't see her through. But who knows. In the end, we still like and love Velvet. There's nothing you can do for us to agree with you.
Luke was seriously my favorite protag, he just...felt like a real character. Everyone's got their issues, but it felt like he EARNED his growth, earned his respect. Yes, part 1 Luke is very...bad...but it was a necessary evil honestly, and you come to respect and even like Luke by the end.
The most famous line i heard in tales of the abyss is when luke trying to change his bad personality and tear said that "it is easy to gain trust, but it is not easy to regain trust"
I'm gonna make my case for Velvet being great here. 1. She's shown to be compassionate throughout many points in the game, but you just have to look for them. I believe that Eleanor is supposed to kind of be the player's way to learn things about Velvet, with her journey mirroring our own. We slowly realize that even after years in a prison just murdering things (which would probably drive the average person insane) there are bits of the old Velvet left. This is also shown in the revisit to her home town. 2. As for her team mates "trying to help her achieve her goals", for the majority of the game that just really wasn't true. Aside from Laphi, who followed her blindly because he literally couldn't think for himself, everyone else had ulterior motives and their objectives just so happened to align with Velvet's. They weren't helping her, they were using her to help themselves, and Velvet did the same. 3. I think anyone would have control/trust issues if they literally saw their brother be murdered by someone who acted as their guardian, along with then throwing them in a prison for years to do nothing but murder monsters. That isn't something someone just gets over in a few days. That stuff would scar for life. So yeah, just because a character is bitter, spiteful, distrusting, and controlling, doesn't mean they're not a well written character. In fact, I think Velvet is all the better for it.
As someone who went back in forth on whether or not I even liked Velvet, I agree. Heck, her not always being likable could be said to be the point, and for the writers to hand us that character, and say "this is your protag, and you gotta deal with it" is acrually fascinating. Still split on Magilou, though. Less if she's likable, and more "Is her humor actually funny to me or not?" Which again, may will be the point.
i couldn't agree more with you, i find that velvet is actually well written, you can empathize with her in many points of the game and that i think gives her a little realism, also you can see in the game just how broken and torn apart she was by what happend, still playing through the game but liked it a lot
I just beat the game last night and your right velvet is if not one of the best written tragic story characters because you see her grow little by little near the end of the game and even before and during the final dungeon velvet talked to rokuro,eizen,magilou,phi and elanore like friends not like people she didnt know or cared about that shows how a broken heart can be slowly put back together
Dude, I love Yuri. I've been playing the Tales of Vesperia remaster for the last week and its so great getting to experience his growth as a character all over again.
yeah i think i finished the campaing( with a tales game you dont know if you miss a side quest that opened the history more) and while yuri personal histoey is excellent the plot at as whole feels so rushed to the end i though that whne all the spirits were created and you saved the girl(i forgot her name) you will face the enemy mosnter to finnaly pur the things in order well at least for me once i defeat the antagonist at the top of the tower the treat is dealt in a cutscene which for me was anticlimatic if ididnt unlock he true ending please tellme so i can replay the game and look for it but at is stand i didnt like vesperia as much as other tales games mainly symphonia and phantasia ( i only could play some of abbyss but i liked it)
I personally LOVE Velvet. The prologue is a really powerful part of the game to me. We see the life that she had and loved before her village was ravaged and her brother was brutally murdered in front of her eyes. Throughout the story Velvet does show tiny glimpses of her compassion so I disagree with you there. She doesn't uneededly murder people. She is willing to do anything to achieve her goal (killing artorious) but she still shows a TINY bit of morality through her actions. She's not obsessed with her brother. She's obsessed with AVENGING her brother. She just cares like any older sister would for her ill younger brother. I think her arc was masterful (maybe not on the level of Luke or Yuri) but nonetheless masterful. Her character is VERY mature for the tales series lol. Small subtle things really hit me about her character. Like her lack of taste for regular food. She literally can only taste blood. It's sad. But I do understand your viewpoint. Your list is pretty spot on though.
I totally think Jude and Millia got a fair amount of character development over the course of Tales of Xillia. With Jude learning the importance of conviction while Millia learned the importance of compassion for others. It's a small but steady gradual change over the course of the game that I noticed when I played the game.
Milla is one of my favourite characters in the series, both gameplay-wise and character-wise. Sure, she's a lot more reckless and even stupid than the game itself ever calls her out on, but there's something about her sheer bloody-minded determination that I find somehow inspiring. Her later development in terms of embracing her humanity makes her very well-rounded, even if she does take something of a backseat in the second half of the story (to demonstrate Jude's growth I guess). It also helps that she is, to me, the best and most fun interpretation of the Magic Knight type character in the series. Moreso than Richard, moreso than Zelos or Kratos, and while I don't think Abyss really counts, I'll say moreso than Jade or Anise as well. Spirit Shift was a very cool mechanic and I would love to see a variant of that return at some point. I mean she is, I think, the only character in Xillia 2 other than broken-ass Ludger who is able to hit all damage types using only her own artes as well.
Regarding Velvet and everything you said about why you don’t really like her, I have two things to say about that. First, I’d be pretty pissed and coldhearted too if one of the only family I had left was killed in front of me by the other only family I had left. Second, Velvet does begin to warm up to the rest of the party over the course of the game, and it actually starts earlier than you’d think: with Laphicet (the malak, not her brother). She gives him a name and is one of the people who helps him discover himself, along with Eizen and Rokurou. Velvet is second only to Luke in terms of my favorite Tales protagonists, and she may very well be my favorite female protagonist in all of gaming.
Velvet is the certified edgelord in Tales series, much like annoying Sasuke out for revenge. Luke's character development is a masterpiece. While his weakness was obvious, it certainly understandable as to why. The fact that the others found it hard to trust him again and him putting in effort to change really made the annoying wait worth it
My top 1 will always be Luke, true he was annoying at the first half of the story... But i like his development more than any of the tales MC... His change was truly a touching. :3
To be honest, the only reason he'd be in the same spot on my list is that I cant immediately go into a new playthrough strictly because of him. His character goes on a great journey throughout the game, but that starting point is almost nails on a chalk board for me.
@@linkplayer20 honestly debating on buying the definitive edition as I've never played vesperia. I just was looking for that super fast paced combat from Abyss when u put the time in.
@@michaelmoran6364 you'll definitely find that in vesperia. Plus, it has all the cut content that didn't make it stateside during its original release.
Yeah he is not a typical Japanese character like, " I'm 12 (or 16) and i'm going to save the world," kinda of gets boring with that kind of shit. That's why I have two copies of Tales of Vesperia cause Yuri is such a bad ass and does things like an adult.
That is refreshing that he isn’t the typical mid teen who saves the world. And it helps that he treats Estelle and Rita like he does - a 22 year old wouldn’t be hitting on high school kids and I was just kind of waiting during the game for the point where they fall in love or something but I was happy to see that it didn’t go there. If anything he was more interested in Judith, which is again more realistic.
This is way to late but just a heads up: Your judgements are valid and all but it kinda feels like you judged them on “what trope they are” rather than “ *How* well the *execution* of said trope is”
My personal favorite is Luke with Yuri as a close second. The annoying start to his character was crucial to making his growth all the more impactful and meaningful. So I see the annoying parts of his character as a plus because it allowed him to grow. ***SPOILERS BELOW*** He goes from entitled, whiney, sheltered rich boy to having a purpose but being used to realizing that he is responsible for so many deaths to finding out he's a clone to total dispair despirately trying to make any good come out of his life no matter the cost to recognising his true value.
Sleep Deprivation That clone bomb blew my mind when I first played the game! Loved the fact that he was able to take all of that despair and sorrow, and make something truly beautiful out of it. I need to eventually watch the anime version of Abyss one day. Wonder if it can match the beauty of the original game.
Abyss is one of my favorite games of all time because of the incredible storytelling and character development. Also, that moment where Luke stays in the blast assuming he's going to die because he's made of 7th phonons. All because he felt it was his way of redemption and giving his life was all he was worth. And after finally realizing just how important he is to his friends and especially tear. Speaking of, Tear is easily the best female character in any tales game ever!
Sleep Deprivation She's in my top 3 for sure! Love their chemistry through-out the game. I still think I like Chloe just a little more though... That whole female knight thing just gets to me. X.X
Sorey should be as high as he is, but for different reasons. The reason Sorey works is because his positive flat design meshes incredibly well with the setting and the other characters around him. Yes, he's pure of heart, but that doesn't other shepherds have been pure of heart, yet they gave into malevolence, so there's always a lingering question of what makes Sorey special compared to other shepherds. Whenever he shows too much care for Alisha, there's this feeling of great risk, that his genuine human feelings may lead to catastrophy due to his position as the Shepherd. Sorey doesn't really go through an 'arc' because there is no 'lie' that he tells himself that must be overcome. He instead has a 'truth' or a set of core values that he takes with him in every encounter, and other characters bounce off of that and develop from that. They have faith in him, they challenge him, etc...
Yeah, thanks for this comment. At least someone's thinking really seriously here. I always think Zestiria fans (or not even fans, just the ones who like it for any reason) are more sensitive and analytic when it comes to reading the "nuances" that people simply miss. The fact that the storyboard was approved by namco Europe I guess kinda harks to that "theme" and subtlety that "other" Western audiences are not used to (imagine the editors changing Harry Potter title just because US audience finds it "boring" but not the English/British audience)... I love your interpretation. It's something I have always wanted to say myself. Thanks. Sorey has those "core values" that make him so different from Yuri... who seeks "redemption" or "negation" because he senses something wrong. But Sorey is not on the defensive like other MCs. He stands up for what he is even if the entire world disagrees. He does not have any "lies" that need to be redeemed like Yuri. UNLIKE YURI, Sorey does NOT seek "redemption" like he needs to "correct the lies" he sees in him. Sorey already knows the world is a lie... that we build our world around lies and set off each other's negativity and hate because those lies are hard to let go... That's why he accepts that the world is full of different people. Bad or good, they're all human beings. Killing is not the ONLY way of redeeming the world. Purifying is not judging "bad" people. Saving isn't self-righteous. It's a way of protecting and caring for others. That's why Sorey isn't happy purifying hellions. It's not like a shoutout "I'm gonna defeat hellions because I'm a SHEPHERD... no... it's more like "I have to do this, because even if the world hates it and denies it, it needs to be done and no one else can do it..." Most of us want to join the bandwagon and ACT COOL and WITTY like Yuri and other MCs. But Sorey is different. He can be childish, he's too geeky and bookish sometimes, and he's gay, sort-of-gay and at least once even ditched a princess... like who would even do that! But he does the unthinkable and tries to find his way through all the negativity and delusion that people don't see because it's too familiar. The fact that Sorey "sees" what's not there is exactly what Zestiria is all about. The players only looked at Alisha, but they didn't see what Sorey saw... and that is Alisha compromising her values, not like Rose, Zaveid or Sorey himself who does not believe that peace/saving the world is a political issue. On top of that though is the point (what writers I think wanted to say) that humans have resonance... we can resonate with everyone... but we are far too much on hating and negativity that we lose even that. Anyway, thanks for your comment. I agree all the way! ^_^
@@turquoisemoon3654 I've been trying to find comments about tales of zestiria, and I'm glad that I found positive comments about it :D. Tales of zestiria is the first game I played from the tales of series, so I don't know much about others. But I think Sorey is one of the best characters too. Throughout his journey, his been purifying hellions and blessing the lands. Sometimes he gets hurt physically and mentally, but only a few appreciated his efforts and other fake shepherds steal his glory. I got really annoyed at this part! I thought we were gonna beat the hell out of that fake shepherd, well sorey didn't want to because he said it will make more malevolence. I was shocked because he was right. He prioritizes the citizens feelings more than himself. Also when the game was about to end, he decided use his body as a vessel for maotelus to purify him. It didnt look like that Sorey wanted to, but he did it for the sake of everyone. When it was ending, I cried a lot and I never skipped the credits xD. His journey with zavied made it interesting, y'know cuz to bother sorey xD. So thank you guys for the comments also, at least I also know that there are people who support tales of zestiria, And Is it really that hated!?
@@loo.nyie2341 First of all, your comments were probably the best I've heard about Zesty in a long time... A few things I've found out as to why few people wanna comment positively in game sites about Zesty are: 1. Some Zestiria fans really advise others not to react to "hate" comments. The problem is, it gives these haters the "false" impression that Zesty fans don't care. If you read what these trolls say, you'll hear the same excuses: The battle system sucks or the story's a mess, but in the end all their arguments lead to one thing: they're still bitter about Rose replacing Alisha (though in all honesty it seems like Alisha was the one that was inserted in the game) and Alisha not being the MC's heroine. AND they're jealous about the attention. Compared with the "big three" (Symphonia, Vesperia, Abyss), Zestiria was the most advertised and marketed franchise, and so far Namco's most ambitious project. It's the most developed among the games with a budget that even Vesperia Definitive didn't match. 2. That said, expect Vesperia, the "loudest" fandom in the Tales to hate it. Reddit site which spreads the hate in social media (because the "hate Zesty" google search leads you to it) uses prompts that suggest that Zestiria is "the most hated game" but the site is 99.3% Vesperia (.69% other tales fans/ 17,700 members are Vespy, 124 other fans to be exact). They ask questions that sound like it was asked by ANY fan but the commentators are the same Vesperians promoting their game, and to make it worse, Reddit moderators will ban anyone who "pisses" them off (you can get harassed there and be accused of being the harasser just becoz you disagreed with the opinions of the "big three"). 3. The SorMik Canon war is still on. One Reddit moderator told me that SorMik is never canon... but you see, that's not an issue for haters to decide. The problem is, Tales games never had shippable characters, and the ones that have legit couples (Tales of Hearts, Tales of Destiny) are hardly romantic. Sorey and Mikleo had the most developed relationship that was at the center of the theme and the plot of the game. Haters can't say "gayshit" anymore becoz it's insulting but argue with them for a week and they will say it one way or another. But even so game reviewers already concede that Zestiria is one of the best Tales games that deserve to be in the top 5. It had the highest ranking among JRPGs in Europe and also the highest ranking among Tales games in surveys outside Tales. Also, survey says Sorey is a popular Tales character, Mikleo being ahead by a few notches (Tales Festival 2017). For all the hype, Alisha never got into any ranking even for the anime even if a lot of fanboys say they liked her. The best thing to do is not to listen to gamers who just hate it for personal reasons. They will try to convince you to play their game... or even buy Vesperia Definitive for you! ^_^ A lot of Zestiria fans are unaware of the hate actually... because they stay away from game sites. I was told that Zestiria has its own fan magazine in Japan and is popular for gamers and non-gamers alike. I'm not a huge gamer, I'm in college so I only have time during holidays and some weekends. Zestiria is a wonderful story for me and I love all the main characters. It's a loveable game and the fusion system is more creative than what I see in other games. But altogether, the relationship among the characters just glued me to it. That said, I know this is long, but yeah, I hope it explained some things a bit. Thanks for your comment btw, and have a great weekend! ^_^
@@loo.nyie2341 I will be a Zestiria fan until I become grandma... I think... ha ha. Let's support each other. It's the only way to fight the negativity... ^_^
I'm actually floored that Velvet is so low compared to Sorey. I thought that Velvet had an insane amount of depth and change, but Sorey... never really seemed to have the same development. Velvet may be cold and rough at first, but you also see that she has so many layers to her that define her. And with Sorey, optimistic, sweet, even a bit shy, but he NEVER SEEMS TO CHANGE, and I like characters with development. To that end, I would also put Luke above Sorey. I knew from the very beginning that Luke was flawed and annoying, everyone hates how he is, but I knew that he was destined to change somehow, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. So, my list (Of the ones I've played): -Yuri (Bit of a cheat since I watched, and I'm OFFICIALLY playing now that I have the Definitive Edition) -Velvet -Luke -Ludger -Lloyd -Jude -Sorey (My biggest love for him comes from Robbie Daymond voicing him; and, I think that Edna is a much better character than him) -Milla (I won't group them together) -Asbel (I really am not fond of his personality, and I find him to be incredibly naive, even stupid. So, yeah, kind of like Goku. But Goku has a charm about his stupidity. Asbel, to me, does not.)
The worst thing in this series is that there's a protagonist voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and a protagonist names Yuri Lowell, and they aren't the same character.
not to hate on your opinion but Velvet's hate and anger was totally justified lol I would be too if my whole world felt like it was fucked by some dude who wants to sacrifice someone i love. It was a good change of pace having an MC who isn't really out to do some good, but revenge this time around. She had an amazing development, i'd put her on the same number in your list if not lower if she stayed the same tone the entire game.
Crok425 ....lol what? Berserk is amazing and my fav manga, but telling someone that a characters personal growth in a tale of revenge is bad just because it isn’t the same as Guts is kinda silly. So all stories should be the same as Berserk?
@@noctaeucta2994 That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that while Velvet and Guts follow the same premise (almost literally) and both are assholes with good justification, but there's a difference between both. Velvet on one hand spends the majority of the game being a repetitive character (Laphi, Laphi, Laphi. Vengeance, vengeance, vengeance. Devour, devour, devour) that remains the same mean person through the majority of the game, sacrificing villages to achieve her goal up until she killed that guy who was the brother of someone and her remorse and empathy finally clicked in her head that maybe the things she did were wrong, but that was already almost by the end of the game. Guts on the other hand is also a fucking asshole after the Eclipse, being mean to everyone, using people as bait, etc... but Guts, as we've seen in the manga, hates doing these things but he's forced himself to do them for the sake of survival and revenge. He acts as an asshole to people sometimes so they stay away from him so they can stay alive since demons are after him, and when it doesn't work and people die because of him he forces himself to believe they were weak and the weak die easily, like ants. If we compare both Guts has a gradual development in his story when we see him going for revenge, little by little he changes for the better, Velvet is just a mean bitch for the majority of the story except near the end of the story where she finally admits she did awful things. tl;dr: Velvet's character development is repetitive, remains the same character until her brother shows up and finally sees the herrors of her way when she kills that guy who was the brother of that chick. Basically, she's a badly developed revenge character.
@@Crok425 Those are not the same character arc. Their motivations are entirely different. Velvet is angry and mad at the world that Artorius has created off killing her little brother, she in knows that she isnt a good guy, she just doesnt care. Berseria is about Velvet learning to care again, which is absolutely not what Berserk is about. Its apples and oranges
@@golfer435 Then it's clear you haven't read Berserk. After the Eclipse Guts is angry and vengeful toward Griffith for killing all of his friends and raping Casca which all caused a twisted world to be created. Guts also knows he isn't a good guy, but forces himself that he doesn't care, in the end Guts development is about him finding trust in others and not being alone... while both differ slightly it's basically the same premise.
@@Ultimabuster92 I mean yeah you choose what you say for him but you need to feel bad for him through the story especially towards the end die and save a life or live and lose you companion no matter the choice Ellie lives and Julius dies
Weird I always considered Velvet to be a rather compassionate person. Her companions are also mostly criminals themselves, the kind of people who would have no problem following a Calamity Lord.
ToA was my favorite with the best cast of characters and great gameplay. I'd give Luke the slight edge over Yuri because of his transformative development.
You forget that Velvet was also imprisoned for three years with no human contact, only demons being dropped in the pit, which she then had to eat to survive. It's a miracle she had any compassion left at all after that. Realistically speaking, that would absolutely break most people beyond repair, and that isn't even taking into account her hatred for Artorius. Giving her more compassion would have absolutely been unrealistic with what she went through. Also, you're looking at her by human standards. She's not human, she's a demon, a being consumed by malevolence. It is quite literally impossible for her to have been as cheery as you want her to be. Despite how much she softened up in the end, she was still emitting a ridiculous amount of malevolence. In short, considering what Artorius did to her, and the fact that she is a demon, it wouldn't make any sense for her to be more compassionate.
As much as I'm quite indifferent to Velvet myself, I have to agree. Plus, the prologue showing us the sweet version of Velvet also served the purpose of letting the player know who she really was before all the tragedy. Her developing into (or more accurately, backpedaling into) a sweet and compassionate woman during the main story would've conflicted with the whole point of her character. Knowing who she was before the main story kicked off was what initially got me interested, as I absolutely adore sweethearts like her. So, seeing someone like her get her whole life ripped apart was such an incredibly sad introduction. And despite how I feel about the character by the end of the journey, I knew damn well the woman she used to be was dead and never coming back. It just wouldn't make sense to have her change back with the type of character arc they were going for.
i feel a strong sorey-appreciating solidarity But besides that I really liked the structure of this vid and how your opinions were presented in a real chill way, it was very refreshing and I enjoyed hearing your takes on the characters a lot :-D
Velvet has got my pick for favorite main protagonist. I love how morally grey she is at the start. Her development is quite nice. Intense hate and obsession really mess people up lol.
I'm actually a fan of Velvet's story. it would be EXTREMELY difficult to get over a situation like hers, so I can completely understand why she's so angry all the time. But that's just me.
Honestly Velvet was my favorite by far. I think she is one of or the best female protagonists I've ever played. The real Velvet was what the point of the prologue was for, to see the person buried beneath the years of hatred, despair, and torture that shown through every now and then
I got to make 2 major arguments, and 2 minor. And 3 big problems.... 1. Velvet, you made the argument for Luke that you just have to put up with it till he FINALLY grows as a person. But he starts off as a complete dickhead, turns into a whiny bitch. And damn near the end of the game, he FINALLY becomes a decent person. And actually really likable, we see this a lot in side-media, he REALLY grew up at the end. Vevlet goes through something similar, but she had 2 major events that would break most people, she watches her brother be murdered by her sisters husband. A man she held a great deal of respect for as well, and then was thrown into isolation for 3 years. With her only contact being daemon's who try to kill her. But very early on we get small flashes of her humanity when dealing with Phi, and later Eleanor and Moana. It takes her a long time to truly open up yes. but we get a lot of glimpses into her humanity, despite how broken she herself is aware she is. And gets a group of broken misfits just like her who can deal with those problems. Yes she absolutely comes off as a bitch,, but to me it never felt like TOO much given what she went through. But she does have her growth, and it felt very worthwhile. After all, it was Velvet and Moana's humanity that really turned Eleanor to their side. And i'm not even done with this game yet! Again this one really bothered me because you made the argument for Luke but not Velvet =/ 2. Sorey. While you're right on what kind of person he is... He's just so....uninteresting as a MC. =/ I didn't DISLIKE Sorey. But he's just not really a main character. Sorey would have left a bigger impact as a side-character I feel. Infact, a very similar character as a side DOES make a bigger impact (atleast to me) Eleanor. I strongly feel him and Velvet's rankings should be swapped. xD (of course personal opinions and all that.) Minor 1. Lloyd, not so much his ranking, but just how you described him. While yes he is a bit of a bright-eyed anime protag, he's a lot more layered than people give him credit for, and we even see this in Symphonia proper. His anger over not being able to do anything for Collete, and his willingness to throw the world away to keep her safe. He's a much stronger character by end of game than people give him credit for. And he absolutely earns his growth! Symphonia dawn of the new world also expands on his character in bits and pieces (but you did say that we're dismissing that :P) Minor 2. Asbel, he should rank lower. Asbel is so generic, even generic side-characters would be offended being in a room with him. =/ Sophie is a borderline lifeless most of the game, and has more character than Asbel. =/ The 3 big problems are Reid, Cless and Stahn. Why were thhey missing?! XD Absolutely agree with Yuri, he not just the best Tales of protag. Honestly he's probably one of the best protags ever. While he himself does very little growing up as a person throughout his journey. He's also one character who doesn't NEED much growth, but as we learn more about him. The more he endears himself to the audience. He's not a mary sue, he knows he's not a good person. But he's also not a bad person. He very much falls into a gray area, is willing to take the punishment that comes with his misdeeds. But acts with such sincerity, and conviction. It's hard to hate on him for any of it. And to top it off the fact he pushes so many people to be their best selves just adds to it. Milla and Jude like Yuri also don't really change from where they started, but unlike Yuri they're not even remotely as compelling as characters (And I do adore Milla.) I think it's hard to write the kind of characcter who barely changes from the beginning of thheir story. And for them to leave such a lasting impression like Yuri did. The Tales team really knocked it out of the park with that one. (And that's dismissing how good his supporting cast was! god I loved Judith, Rita and Estelle....)
Yuri for me, hands down. Just because they treated his personality so well and stayed away from extreme tropes. Like, in other games he would have become obsessed with Estelle, fallen in love with her, become a white knight etc. He could have become an edgelord very easily based on the story, I was surprised it did t go there actually. He could have been the “...” “whatever” Squall type character very easily as well and any or all parts of the story. He could have been a number of stereotypes but they kept him well rounded with principles that he stuck to and how he acted, while I might not call it “realistic” due to the setting not being realistic, it was very well balanced and well presented. The game really excelled with all the characterization and I wish more games took the time to do so with their characters.
I'd put Velvet in my top 3 without any doubt. We get to see how she is before Laphicet's sacrifice, we get to see her soft side throughout the journey here and then, mainly when she's interacting with Laphi, and get to experience it yet again when we revisit Aball. The thing about Velvet is that she WANTS to keep her hatred flowing, she WANTS the satisfaction of killing Arthorius, and then she breaks when she comes to the realization that it might've been all in vain. Her development is interesting because her goal remains the same but she looks at it from a totally different perspective, she embraces the past, her memories, and she comes full circle with whom she really is. Even the voice acting does a good job of portraying that, we can hear the tone of her voice change completely, I think she's an amazing character tbh.
This dude didnt play through the whole game obviously cause every point he made is wrong. Cause she changes completely through out the game... Major fail
@@dannysandoval5837 naw you’re just salty. If you actually listened you can tell he’s played the game. He even mentioned she changes. At no point did he call her a bad character by the way.
While I disliked Zesteria I actually liked Sorey himself he was multifaceted had interest and was genuinely likeable. But yeah no one will ever top Luke & Yuri. I think development wise Luke takes the cake from selfish man child to what’s basically a whole new person who was willing to sacrifice himself
Really cool video, can't wait to experience Vesperia in the winter! I'd have to say my favorite protagonist is Jude I really admire the whole student label they had on him even if it didn't affect much he was pretty knowledgeable throughout the game and that was a nice change of pace. And of course the dynamic between him and all the other characters, Milla and Alvin, especially was so fun to watch. Keep doin what you're doin!
Fantasy Complex Jude is a cool guy for sure! He has the most epic fighting style IMO as well. Loved playing as him in Xilla. And I know right??? Vesperia can't get here fast enough!
Luphonix I loved his fighting style! Its kinda funny I actually saw this video when I was taking a break from editing a video about my favorite character from Symphonia for it's anniversary and it gave a lot of inspiration so thanks 🤣
Tales of Hearts R MOSTLY suffered from a horrific translation. I mean, his actual name is Shing Meteroryte. His personality is completely different in Japanese. The same is true of Asbel. He's actually kind of a badass in Japanese. For Asbel it's mostly his doofy English voice acting. Also, in Xillia 2, her name isn't Elie. It's Elle. Like the letter L.
I completely understand your choice for number 1, especially considering that he’s *literally the most popular Tales character EVER,* so much so that he was actually BANNED from Tales series popularity polls because he JUST KEPT WINNING.
man i'm late to this but velvet is absolutely one of the deepest and best made tales characters. i'd rank her amongst the top of the top. Her motivations and attitudes are completely believable within the context of the story, she covers kindness with anger and indifference but it still shows through constantly, and she shows an amazing character development cycle all the way through to the end. She was the most believable, easiest to sympathize with protag in this entire series handsdown, and only falters to yuri (imo) because yuri does about the same thing, just a little better.
So I’m one of the people that actively dislike Yuri as a character. I absolutely adore Velvet. I think she’s the best written protagonist on the series, so can you like actually tell me why you think Yuri is so good. Because playing through it, me and my cousin just refused to even include him in the main party because we disliked him and his premise that much.
Yuri is legit just a slightly better written velvet without so much edginess. His motives are much more grounded, his character is all around more stable (though i do enjoy velvets overall growth) but they both tow the line of good and bad, they both show incredible character growth, they both do what they feel they need to do for their own sense of justice. Yuri just feels like a more cool and collected velvet and i think that benefits him.
also yuri has a sense of humor, while velvet just shifts between sad and angry almost the entire game. Like i said i enjoy velvet but her character revolved a bit too much around edgy revenge and didn't have a ton of substance behind her.
Honestly, I can't say I liked Lukes story in Tale of the Abyss... mainly because I spend so much of it wishing something would JUST GO RIGHT FOR HIM ALREADY!!! I mean seriously he was a jerk at the start yeah, but once he shifts character it's just one massive emotional gut-punch after another! He gets a guilt complex the size of Russia, is constantly putting himself down, refuses to acknowledge ANY of his achievements, ends up saying that since he's a replica his life doesn't matter and eventually goes to say he shouldn't even EXIST, and the world just seems designed to REINFORCE those views. On top of that, not only has he got Asch, his original, constantly getting in his face almost every time they meet, he was manipulated, then thrown away by his teacher, a man he saw as a surrogate farther, is asked to sacrifice himself to save the planet(though to be fair, even the people asking him to do it told him not to while in private), found out he wasn't even a real human and his life up till the stories start was all a lie, and that his best friend had been planning his death as a revenge by proxy towards his "Farther, AND just when he finally decides he wants to LIVE... HE FINDS OUT HE'S SLOWLY DYING ANYWAY!!! And no, it doesn't work out for him in the end, because he DOES DIE, and the guy who comes back after the credits? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT'S HIM!!! Is it Luke? Is it Asch? Is it a new person born from a combination of both? WE DON'T KNOW!!! How can I like and enjoy such a character when I'm to busy screaming at and damning the world to just give the kid a fucking break already?! JUST! ONE! FUCKING!! BREAK!!! Oh and the icing on the shit life cake... HE'S MOTHERFUCKING SEVEN!!!
Well i think he is luke at the end,cause asch is dead at the end of the game. And I think asch gives up his body in order to keep luke alive cause luke is slowly dying cause of the 7th. Plus I don't think Tear would of been crying like she was at the end when they see luke walking back to them at the end of it.
Not to mention the first friend he makes outside of the manor ends up dying in his arms. I love Tales of the Abyss to bits, but sometimes it feels like their whole world exists for the sole purpose of making Luke suffer.
@@linkplayer20 Again. His father figure tricked him, and he's only seven. Feeling guilty and wanting to atone for his error is fine... but as time goes on it's obvious that it all goes WAY beyond that. And NOT in a good way.
@@MasterSwo I dont think so. He may have been manipulated, but he did condemn an entire city to one of several really horrible deaths. They either died from falling hundreds of stories, get crushed on the way down, were suffocated by noxious fumes, or fell into a toxic bath. I feel his level of guilt over that is really appropriate. And that's not even the most tragic part of his character. The entire second half of the game takes place because the rest of the party continuously takes for granted the common knowledge they have and that Luke doesn't. If anyone had bothered to tutor him on the old language, luke wouldn't have been clueless about the warning he was given. And that plot thread is entirely plausible. So many "stranger in a new land" and "amnesia" plots use it as an excuse to exposition dump. But Abyss's characters dont react at all during these situations until AFTER Luke screws the pooch, because only at that point do they realize something isn't right. It happens this way because luke acts on the limited information he has, while they no longer even have to think about the situation because they've dealt with it their whole lives. Luke may only be my third favorite protagonist, but the Abyss party is hands down my favorite party.
That fact that you said Jude and Milla don't grow as characters tells me you never played past their fight on that ship. Both of them are constantly growing throughout the story with the events that happen after that being the hight of their development. And yes, Velvet is angry but wouldn't you be after you watched your last sibling die in front of you just to be thrown in a pit for years just to kill demons? If you paid attention she does start opening up in her journey for revenge. Coo coo
I have to say, my top three would be Lloyd, our basic, but good, good boy. Yuri, I love him so much. His personality is amazing ok, 10/10 friend material. Aaaand Luke. Luke, my boy, my sunshine, my baby. I saw him at the start and I just knew I would give my life for him. I loved him through all the gameplay no matter how annoying he was, mostly at the 10 hours mark. If anyone would stay by him aside from Mieu, it would be me. I support my boy with all my heart. But your top is pretty cool too, I love the little love given to Lady Shadow the hEdgehog 👌
Good to see smo making a video where smo just talks about stuff. No annoying video editing, no extremely LOUD music (xD), just talking about stuff. That was a good video, just continue like that ^^
But Velvet had every right to be how she was. I just couldn't help but feel bad for her. Her teammates were there to tear away the hatred and show her joy.
I mean, I agree Yuri is best, but you go on about characters being generic and then go into such depth about Sorey being so great? He's literally the definition of generic. Also Velvet is much more like Guts than Yuri lmao Yuri > Velvet > Luke
No, if you replay the game and focus you would realise how far from generic Sorey is. His development is subtle and not dramatic or in-your-face kind of development. You can realise how far he has learnt from the start of the game till the end. The final battle alone is one stark indication. Plus the level of maturity and empathy he shows sets him apart from many main characters in JRPGs. And he is not an idiot and is willing to listen. Maybe he is 'boring' for some, but imo he is far from generic.
I can relate to Emil more on a personal level. But then, "Dawn of new world" was my first "Tales of" series aside from Vesperia being the 2nd where I was introduced to Yuri Lowell. I like Yuri because of the whole "Journey of Redemption" that goes with it. It's that kind of concept that makes for pretty edgy character development. (Especially if you've seen Tales of Vesperia: First Strike. Which is a Tales of Vesperia Movie that takes place before the events of Tales of Vesperia) I can't say that I have a favorite character. In some way or another, Characters have this tendency to grab your attention. I guess it's the battle systems that I would like to rate from worst to best not so much the characters. But you know, you grow with them, You struggle with them and you get to know more about them. It's as if you're right there with them!
I liked velvet the most, my opinion, you got a taste of her character and what she was like in the very beginning, a emotionally scarred tomboy-ish character who after inevitably and unfortunately losing most of her family tries desperately to hold onto the last hope / family she has left being laphicet no matter how bleak his survival seemed with his sickness, and through miscommunication and unfortunate events losing the last of her family, or so she thought... by one of the only last people she thought would do anything to harm her or her brother, then quickly descending into a quick revenge fueled rage awaiting for the day to settle the score, but even with her trust issues and cold hartedness through roughly 2/3 of the story you can still see as her character tone slowly shifts into a more heartfelt and caring persona like she used to be before the events, just not wanting to feel weak and express it by hiding it behind a cold exterior motive, to be fair though all of the people were pretty cold hearted at the beginning because they were all brought together with thier own motive in mind and eventually started reacting more sincere to each other as the story progressed, she just didn't as blatantly express her more caring side until she had to face the fact that she would need to put it all aside in order to defeat artorius since it was mainly her emotions holding her back instead of accepting the help she needed to accomplish that goal.
Your point over Velvet and her brother is idiotic at best. 1. Her brother was sickly and need medicine alot and she took care of him because she was the only one who could 2. She literally watched him DIE so when she found a spirit that looked exactly like him and started traveling with her ya she obsessed over him anyone would he reminded her of her brother and even acted similarly.
The real Velvet is in the skits but it's a bit buried until she confronted herself but she's basically a simple mom/ oneeson character. Kind of the opposite of a cold uncaring murder that she became to get her revenge of her family being killed. I feel like she should probably be more conflicted by her actions since she has the heart of a pure maiden but there are parts in the story where she struggles with that internal conflict. I guess she just ignores most of she feeling (except rage) so she can stay focused on her suicide mission or be a demon actually makes you more resolved.
not everybody plays the 2d games especially because phantasia is only on gameboy and that port is horrible destiny was on the ps1 and the combat is boring eternia is actually on the psp but I think it didn't release on the west so there is only the ps1 version for the west and it's reid not rid gaius is not a protagonist he's an antagonists emile is from a sequel that nobody liked the rest of the ones you listed must be from japanese only games so non japan speakers wouldn't know they're personalities
@@pralenkaman8105 what do you mean only on gameboy? ToP also on snes, psx, and the best version is ToP cross edition which is bundled with narakiri dungeon x and they make magic real time on that version. Destiny battle is boring? Play the remake then, especially DC version on ps2. Lol Caius Qualls dude, not Gaius😆...Caius is the mc of tales of the tempest in ds. I use the original name, Rid Hershel..like Tina Branford is the original of Terra Branford in ff6. And to be fair he use best tales of protagonists, so he should also mentioned all of other mothership protags...but yeah, too bad some of them aren't localized.
@@nawee242 yeah about that phantasia is on snes and ps1 but they're japanese only (if snes was released outside of japan sorry but the ps1 I know is japan exclusive) DC is again japan only I have played a bit of that and liked the battle system tales of tempest was again japan exclusive too I know you know they're japan exclusive so sorry if I'm sounding rude but that's what II wanted to say oh and by the way I plyed a patch of phantasia ps1 and that's the best way to play it in english and if there are unoficial localizations let me know because I would love to play destiny DC naikiri dungeon and the japan exclusive titles
Honestly I always found Sorey boring because he did not have any flaws, like none that would give any reason for anyone to dislike him. It could be because I did not like Zestiria all that much (freaking party restrictions and Alisha getting the short end) Yuri is great though and Jude is one of my favs, so if I were to make a list, it would probably be similar (minus Kor cause never played that) only Jude and Sorey would be switched and Cless would be near the bottom.
Velvet is in the same case as Ragna from Blazblue. Real shit goes down in their past with someone they thought were their family, them they get pretty much a Doomsday Device as a limb replacement and now they are hell bent on revenge against said person until they developed through their stories. I find her interesting because i love when a character is pretty much focused only on revenge, and slowly start to defrost through the story until they realise their full potential... And i'm a major sucker for Ragna The Bloodedge.
Your description of Sorey is spot on 👍🏻. I think he is mature and realistic just as you described and honestly I think he is unique compared to many other main characters ^^.
I agree that Sorey is pretty likeable all around. Of all the typical, tropey "regular guy who gets thrown into an adventure and ends up saving the world" protagonists, he's the one who feels the most like he's an actual person. On the other hand, he doesn't really have much character development. I would've loved to see him doubt himself or hesitate for once. I'd have loved to see him tempted and almost consumed by malevolence at some point in the game to highlight that he's actively fighting it. Not just by punching hellions, but on a personal level as well. He was much too uncorruptable.
While I agree with most stuff on your list, especially Asbel (he had so much potential to be an interesting character, being abused by his father as a child, feeling responsible for letting Sophie die and seeing his family send his own brother to another family for apparently no reason, then leaving everything behind to live on his own in the capital and live through years of rigorous training in order to become a knight starting at the age of 11; this could be an amazing story about the consequences of child abuse, overcoming trauma, and reconnection with his family while having to deal with the perils of war and internal political dispute to ruin everything! But instead, it became Tales of "I wonder how that will affect our friendship!"), I simply cannot agree with your take on Velvet at all! Velvet started the game as a very caring sister with a much younger and sick brother. She then watches a close family member, who basically rose them both in the place of their dead parents and older sister for 7 years, kill her own brother and offer him as sacrifice without ever filling her into the plan (which, if you played Berseria, you will agree with me that, had Arthorias and Raifisetto -sorry, I play the game in Japanese with no subtitles - told her about the plan, even if she wouldn't agree with it, she would have never gone in a murdering rampage and turned into a gouma, because it all happened because she had no idea why he killed her brother). After that, she lost her humanity down to the ability of feeling cold, hot or even tasting anything other than blood, was thrown into a prison for three years and forced to fight for her life devouring other prisoners without understanding why any of that was happening to her. It makes perfect sense as to why she'd go on being cold and dismissive towards other people, even those trying to help her, because the person she trusted the most took everything she loved and tortured her for years. The only thing keeping her sanity in check is her found memories of her young brother, but even that isn't a safe island for her anymore, as she keeps having nightmares with him being killed by her own hands. Once she learns the truth about her brother volunteering to become a sacrifice because he wasn't going to live past 12, she completely breaks down and starts a murdering rampage finally culminating in her wanting her own life to end. Velvet was tormented, robbed of everything she knew and loved, kept in the dark for years, imprisoned and mentally tortured by her own family and surrounded herself with criminals, demons and people who want her dead. If she were not cold or were more trusting of others, her character would be rather inconsistent and poorly written. Besides, she does get a very nice growth at the last third of the game, going back to making playful jokes casually and even thanking Magilou without any hint of sarcasm, despite the latter's demand for thanks being just another one of her jokes. She's able to call Arthorias "Arthur-nii" once again, despite still wanting to kill him, and is even able to let go of the memento she held so dear if it meant protecting Phi while making sure she wasn't hurt and worrying him again. She reaches a nice balance of how she was at the start of the game and how she became after three years of imprisonment, and I attribute that to a very well written and well paced character arc. Now, if you wanna talk about anything being disappointing in Berseria, let's talk about the combat and title systems. What a downgrade from Graces both are!
being a HUGE Tales Of fan...having played through 10 of the main titles so far... i didnt know what to expect going into this video....but i think it was a good video. i would have a few differences but i enjoyed it. Yuri would be my #1 as well :)
Will you do a ranking of your favourite group of characters from the Tales Games? It could be a ranking of all the characters as a whole, how well their chemistry was and how they bonded and played off of each other.
while to be fair, i've only played symphonia and vesperia to completion, i have seen a fair amount of gameplay of the others excluding legendia and abyss, i'd have to for the most part agree with you, aside from sorey, mainly because his character development doesn't really exist, he remains largely the same with maybe a few changes in how he approaches situations here and there. and with yuri my favorite part of his entire character is the fact that he's always honest with himself, but is more than willing to take risks to ensure that he'll be able to continue helping the world in his own way
People who are calm and happy can emotionally break easier than others when they lose someone her attitude and actions made sense for what she went through and softened again while traveling with people close to her she and yuri are my top two from they evolve and both accept there actions unlike others who would denie there crimes they were more human than say sorey they understood both sides of humanity better ps velvet was not edgey she was still mourning and her need for revenge was justified
@@tekka7780 she was put through hell people give up on others with her trauma she was not edgey just suffering be still and the others slowly healed her she and yuri are the most human mc of the tales series in my opinion
Honestly surprised with putting Sorey high up and Velvet in the lower ranks. Usually it’s the other way around. Personally I enjoy Sorey more but I also think Velvet is a higher quality character in terms of her interactions and how dynamic she is. Brooding on the surface but a sweet and caring sister with motherly tendencies. Love them both since they were my first in this Tales franchise.
I started with Zestiria, then got Berseria, then Symphonia, then Vesperia. I've only beaten Zestiria and I'm very close to beating Berseria, but if it isnt obvious already, I play on PC, so my choices on the games I can play are very limited. Basically to just the ones I mentioned. Zestiria will probably always be my favorite because it got me into Tales in the first place, and I think aside from the series I've grown up with and still loyal to, this is my favorite series of all time. I love every like, 95% of all of the characters in every game. But I personally want to play Abyss and Xillia very badly. As for the new one coming out. I hate to say it, but I couldn't be less excited about it. I was more excited when I didnt know what was coming, but I guess we'll see what happens from here onward.
Same here. Zestiria is the one that got me playing any game at all. Some nasty/jealous Tales fans sh*tting on it is not enough to make me change my mind that it's the best for me and will always be special... ^_^
If you look at Lloyd critically he really is a generic anime character who manages to have decent character development. It may just be me, but it's his voice actor (the same guy who played Robin from Teen Titans) that is what makes him high on the list. Also I have yet to play any of the other games since I play on PC right now, but I've seen a bit of Yuri and he seems equally well voiced which is a big plus for me.
Scott Menville is such a beast. I seriously love his voice-work too! It's so funny, because I played Dark Cloud 2 right after Symphonia and Max is also voiced by him. It seriously blew my mind back in the day.
I agree with this. Lloyd was pretty generic, but I felt like he worked in scope of the game and the Voice Actor hit it out of the park. He made Lloyd feel like so much more. All the VAs did really. It's hands done one of the better acting jobs I've ever had in a game.
I feel like hindsight is playing tricks here. Yeah, by today's standards "generic anime hero #7" does fit. But Loyd helped promote that trope almost as much as Goku did.
I agree on most, but ranking Sorey pretty high....Wat. He's the most blandest, most boring and typical "goody two shoes" main character with a cardboard cutout personality. In addition to that, he had serious lack of development throughout Zestiria, imo i'll rank Sorey almost the bottom of the barrel . But hey, its your video and your opinions i guess
Yeah have to agree, wasn't just his personality either, even the choices they made for the designs were bland and the early support cast were all pretty bland and generic, we had the loyal best friend, the pure noble female knight, and the genky cheerful girl.
Need I remind anyone of Sorey's Promise to Edna? Let alone of his ultimate conclusion and the deus ex machina that allowed himself to NOT end up like the Lord Of Calamity? Sorey's a hypocrite, among many things, but a good character he is not.
@@NTheHedgehog I don't think anyone's going to argue with you on Edna. She and Eizen both deserved to be in a better Tales game. That said, it's 100% Cool that you like Zestiria, I will bring no fault to you on that, because everyone has their own opinions, and yours isn't one i can hate due to the fact that there ARE some things one can enjoy from Zestiria despite the many things that aggravate others off from playing the game. I'll admit that one, and I'll raise you a Zestiria Tale of mine so you know I'm sincere: First time I got the infamous King of Snacks, it was an item drop, and I got the skit for it, with Edna badmouthing Zaveid saying there's no way in heck he'd ever make it, so I tried to prove her there's an exception to the rule by making Zaveid create the King of Snacks, and after a few hours of fighting and creating, while I was on my way to the save point, Sorey, the WORST cook in the game is the first to make Marron Glace, and I honestly laughed for a good few minutes. There's a lot wrong with Zestiria, and too many people have said what's wrong with that game, so I'm not typing it again, but there are enjoyable things in it, so you do you. That said, this is a Main Characters List, and we have beef with Sorey being #2. Nothing more than that.
Thanks for this video. Great topic actually! I'd say that Luke and Yuri are my favorites. For Luke, I loved him from the beginning actually, because it was such a huge change for a hero to be everything but a hero. Wasn't expecting that at first, so it seemed really refreshing for me to have a main protagonist so reluctant to be one. And Yuri because well is more mature than every other hero - he might be the oldest but I am not sure. He does what's need to be done, even when he doesn't like it. Those two are far from the "goody two shoes" that we always have for main character. The "nice kid that wants to save the world from the kindness of his heart" kinda annoys me. ^_^' But Luke, Yuri and even Velvet - even though I don't know why but I don't really love her as much as I feel I should xD - they are "deeper", more flawed and thus more human to me. Like I enjoyed playing as Milla but Jute was, again, way to nice and only with good intentions. Like we don't even know why is tagging along, when Milla has a real purpose at least. I really love Lloyd as well, but maybe it is because he was my first tales of's hero. He's a kid who make mistakes, pretty stubborn and I believe him to be a bit selfish at time - hell is willing to put his friend life in top of every one else's life, so not that heroic. haha The one that I love the least is probably Sorey. Nothing special about him but again nothing special about most of the cast of character or the game itself to my opinion. xD
I really like Kor. He's a compete airhead with really funny insults that he likes to throw around. He called this guy a "Boneless-chicken avacado shrinkage disaster."
@@Marcelo-rs8yh Play Hearts R if you have the chance. Probably the most funny game in the series. I hope we get Vita emulation one day so more people can play that one.
senel coolidge was out right bonkers. Yeah his game was ok, but as a fighter, IMO he is the best protag. He had infinites, stupid armor and invincibility on moves and he could pick up massive enemies and just toss them around like tissue paper was fun as hell.
I think that comes more from the rest of the game though. I quit zestria a few hours from the end because I just couldn't take it anymore. My only real complaint with his character is that he felt a bit Mary-Sued.
Most people won't understand this, but! I really love Ludger as a protagonist. When people complain about him being silent i get it. I can understand, but besides that he is really cool and he is dependable beyond compare. I know he basically is a self insert but that only means it comes down to interpretation. And my interpretation of him is him being strong willed, caring towards his family and him not being afraid of making difficult decisions. He would sacrifice the entire world in order to save his daughter and THAT right there is what makes him the BEST protagonist in my book. If he had to kill the entire cast in order to save Elle i KNOW he wouldn't hesitate. I mean, he killed his brother to save her. His daughter is the most valuable treasure for him and THAT makes him SO much more relatable than any other protagonist. Zestiria had an awesome cast in generel, i think. I liked almost every single character. And yes, i really liked Sorey, because he was... mature? Is that the right word? Yes, he was a good guy. But he was... i lack the proper words right now xD I liked him! That has to be enough xD So here are my Top 5 protagonists. 1. Ludger 2. Yuri 3. Luke 4. Lloyd 5. Sorey
You have no idea how much I had to scroll down to find someone who wasn't bashing Ludger. THANK YOU. Thank you for existing. Thank you for making me not the only one!! I don't understand a lot of people's thing about "Well this person doesn't talk much so he doesn't have a personality." Do y'all who say that go around saying that about quiet people in real life?? Not gonna lie though, I never finished Xillia 2, even though it's one of my faves, only cuz I understand the point of all the possible endings and I appreciate the "love is sacrifice" theme, but the narrative execution made it so that a tragic ending could've EASILY been avoided, and they didn't take it, and now it can be seen as a plot hole that exists for the sake of a tragic ending. And I'm a wuss about tragedies...
@@cosmicbreath I simply had to say something. When people complain about him, i feel the need to speak my mind xD It's a reflex almost. Jokes aside. Sometimes you have to read between the lines, when it comes to characters. Ludger is silent yes, But actions speak louder than words, i think. And when it comes to Ludger, yes, he lets his actions speak for himself. And as i said, his relationship with Elle... you don't really see that in other Tales Games.
@@Ultimabuster92 AGREED ON ALL COUNTS, MY FRIEND!! I'm the same way!! They say actions speak louder than words, but many people still are so quick to judge by words alone instead of use their brains to observe a person's actions. I love some of the other Tales protags a lot, but Ludger is my favorite as well.
I ended up liking ludger and elle a whole lot more than i thought i would. Especially considering i didnt care for them much at all when i first started x2 fresh off x1. The true ending man.. it hurts
Tales of Symphonia is the first tales game I bought, Tales of Vesperia DE is the first Tales game I played. Or rather, it's the first that I'm playING, I haven't finished it quite yet.
I always thought Sorey was a generic anime character. I honestly couldn't finish the game so I don't know how much he changed. It's not that I hated it so much I had to stop, it just felt so "meh" to me that I went out to get a new game and never went back. I may go back one day having played Berseria so I could see the connections to be a little more interested. Senel and Shirley weren't necessarily siblings. They were more like in-laws. He was in love with her sister who died but they never wed. Although the obsession was annoying. I think Senel saying "Shirley!" in the game surpassed how many times Kagome said "Inu-Yasha!" It's hard for me to rank these characters because the main character usually isn't my favorite from the cast. But I'd have to say Kyle from Tales of Destiny 2 is my favorite main character. I've never played the game but we share the same name so instant favorite.
I can definitely see how Sorey's "Mr. Positive" attitude could get old. I guess his character resonated with me so strongly because that's basically my own personality. 🤣 Senel just needs to pay more attention to Chloe honestly.... Everything works out that way! Lol I haven't gotten a chance to play TOD 2 because of translation issues, but I'd definitely love to be able to one day. Playing through Eternia on the PsP currently though. It's been such a blast so far!
Sorey never changes and the whole zesteria storyline is filled with plot holes, pointless characters and side quest that go nowhere. And the worst battle system especially when you play multiplayer
@@dancepartyinmyhead Sorry but Reid is the heroe of Tales of Eternia, the heroe of Tales of Destiny 2 is Kyle, son of Sthan from Tales of Destiny. In America Tales of Eternia it is called Tales of Destiny 2 but in Japan is Tales of Eternia
Berseria is the only Tales of game I have played and Velvet is one of my favorite video game characters. Looking forward to playing more if she is not the best.
I actually very much agree with this, especially the comments about Luke and Yuri. Luke was a great protagonist and watching him grow and change was amazing to witness and experience and is probably why I like Abyss so much. My first Tales game was actually Vesperia, and I think I got super lucky on that one. Yuri isn't even my favorite character in the game but he's definitely the perfect character needed to lead and move the game forward. It was also great to see him go from depending only on himself, to basically having an entire family! That's how I always viewed the main party's dynamic, and it really made you grow to love all of them. I don't think there's a character I can dislike.
i've opnly experienced symphonia, vesperia, zesteria, berseria and hearts r, but i don't remember hearts since its been years since i last watched a walkthrough of the game. but here's my list 1.) velvet 2.) yuri 3.) sorey 4.) llyod
Thank you for all of the love and discussion this video has gotten.
It seriously means the world to me!
I plan on replying back to everyone ASAP, I've just been taking a little break from youtube and such. (Being lame and just living my life lol.)
I'll be back soon, I promise!
Just keep in mind that this list only consist of games that I've personally beaten in the series.
I don't think it's fair to add certain characters if I haven't seen their entire character ark play out yet. I'm also actually in the process of playing through TOE at this moment too. So far, so good!
Again, seriously love our fandom, and appreciate everyone of you for even watching this video.
Till next time!
like the last part and i'm down for another journey of Brave Vesperia
Damn right about the hate velvet should be at the top no sub for you
Oh so thats why Cless and Stahn were missing.. ok then
I was surprised to see sorey in the top three. Maybe zestria just left too bad a taste in my mouth (to the point that I never bothered to finish it) but I never expected him to beat my og favorite.
..... In my opinion:
1. Stahn Aileron cause his comedic and character growth really takes me (different from his son *cough so dissapointing)
2.the good old Reid Hershel, same like stahn but with much more plot and development the best I think, you wanna know about him.... Play Tales of Destiny II or eternia in japan name for psx(why they dont remake this like Final Fantasy remake their FFVII)
3. Is the end of this video and i am playing right now
Yuri lowell from tales of brave vesperia(I add the brave so what? Got a problem?)
First come out in Nintendo gamecube, even when i had ps2, I am more interest in this game, and they port it with HD in PS3 but i dont have ps3 skip to ps4
And surprise this game was in this port too holy molly and now i enjoying All the story, and the detail , the grinding which is hard cause the system for enemy is like symphonia, but the artes, the story, the plot of each character, daaaaaamnnn
What I liked about Yuri was that it isn't immediately about saving the world. It was just catching a thief that screwed his neighborhood over. Do the deed when needed.
yes
And he was in the right to kill when he did to give justice for others and he accepted that he did crimes for good and would of taken his punishment after everything was over but he was free after saveing the world
Love in first sight lol
i agree that yuri is an excellent protagonist i only wished that the history and the gameplay feeling of tales of vesperia was better but at the same time some of the other characters are a bit anoying while other complement yuri and the history better
Also unlike other protags, He doesnnt need to mature. he already is which was refreshing, compared to characters that start out very immature or naive. Yuri already has a understanding of how the world works and breaks the mold of previous Tales games by being more in control with his destiny and willing to eliminate the foes that are a threat to society put it into perspective other MC of tales when getting into a fight or trouble are like this
MC: c-c-can i do this, ill do what ever it takes
Yuri: Lmao
Lloyd is actually more dynamic than you give him credit for. He isn't that steadfast, unflappable paragon that he seems once you look closer. Lloyd breaks the rules to protect Collette and to save Marble, he gets frustrated with Collette and he gets so frustrated with his situation that he nearly throws his exsphere into the sea, and would have killed Kvar if Kratos hadn't stepped in to get his revenge. Lloyd is a great character and one of my favourites!
Keep those nostalgia goggles in check. You can say the same thing about most of the protagonists
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS
But he did kill kvar
@@martinusmol1731 Eeeehhh...he gets a good stab in, but the kill goes to Kratos.
I liked velvet because her hatred and reason was well justified, and being imprisoned for 3 years does something to your mental state. Her being with an imagination of her brother and see how she was acting was pretty heartwarming seeing the old velvet with her brother, all to see she knew he was fake the entire time. Her development throughout the game was lovely as well.
add to that the fact that she was betrayed by someone she wholeheartedly trusted and yeah, her whole behavior definitely makes sense
She had trusted that man for years with her younger brother, only to find out he had been using them the whole time and is the one who kills her brother.
Then imprisoning her for 3 years afterwards, of course she wouldn't trust anyone no matter how much proof they give her.
Took some guy several years to show his true colors, she refused to make that mistake again. Such a beautifully done character, top 3 MC's for me
Let's see Velvet had her entire life destroyed in the span of one night, had her brother who she was struggling to keep alive killed, her entire village turned into monsters, was betrayed by her mentor, turned into a monster herself, thrown into a hole in the bottom of a prison for three years with no contact outside of the monsters that she had thrown at her in a kill or be killed scenario... yeah that kind of betrayal and ptsd makes for a really trusting character.
Yeah, I agree with you. If my younger brother was killed before my eyes by someone I trusted. I would likely lose my mind as well. But I’m not gonna lie, Velvet was a total a**hole throughout the whole story (except at the end). I understand being mad and wanting to avenge your brother (hell bent on revenge), but sheesh. That kinda attitude is better for a side character if you ask me.
I was for her at the beginning of the game, but 3/4ths of the way through, I was like, “Stop whining *****! And don’t turn on the very people helping you!” Then she finds out, she really didn’t have as much reason to be angry as she thought...” Sigh, I almost didn’t finish the game because of her... the protagonist...
(Yuri is fav, FYI).
just like sasuke -.-'
you had me till velvet
Fr💀💀
I don't agree with Velvet only because you DO see development before her break in the form of side quests. Her personality is cute.
@Tobias Cox In like almost at the end of the game, her "development" wasn't gradual and was mean as fuck through the entire thing up until she fucked up and the remorse finally clicked in her head.
@@Crok425 Velvelt is so much more complex than that. In the start of the game she is almost sickeningly happy and Artorius rips the only thing that gives her happiness away, leaving her with nothing but anger. And yet, she still has that caring side, she just chooses not to show it. The whole game is about breaking down the walls she built around that part of herself. and it is a gradual. slow breakdown.
@Tobias Cox ...And that breaking point of killing Oscar and Teresa is almost near the end of the game, as I pointed out.
@@golfer435 Yes, that is true, the game is about her breaking that wal but it isn't gradual. Some parts where good on breaking that wall, but it wasn't a gradual character development as you make it out to be. Her actual development and wall break down is when she killed Oscar, which is almost near the end of the game, making that not gradual but almost rushed. I won't deny there are instances of good development before that point but they are few.
Crok425 Though you think Velvet's char development sucks, well not for us. Those imperfections that you stated seem perfect for us. Maybe you didn't fathom her personality very well... or maybe we're the ones who didn't see her through. But who knows. In the end, we still like and love Velvet. There's nothing you can do for us to agree with you.
Luke was seriously my favorite protag, he just...felt like a real character. Everyone's got their issues, but it felt like he EARNED his growth, earned his respect. Yes, part 1 Luke is very...bad...but it was a necessary evil honestly, and you come to respect and even like Luke by the end.
The most famous line i heard in tales of the abyss is when luke trying to change his bad personality and tear said that "it is easy to gain trust, but it is not easy to regain trust"
What's a Fon Master Ion?
He’s overall a tragic hero.
I'm gonna make my case for Velvet being great here.
1. She's shown to be compassionate throughout many points in the game, but you just have to look for them. I believe that Eleanor is supposed to kind of be the player's way to learn things about Velvet, with her journey mirroring our own. We slowly realize that even after years in a prison just murdering things (which would probably drive the average person insane) there are bits of the old Velvet left. This is also shown in the revisit to her home town.
2. As for her team mates "trying to help her achieve her goals", for the majority of the game that just really wasn't true. Aside from Laphi, who followed her blindly because he literally couldn't think for himself, everyone else had ulterior motives and their objectives just so happened to align with Velvet's. They weren't helping her, they were using her to help themselves, and Velvet did the same.
3. I think anyone would have control/trust issues if they literally saw their brother be murdered by someone who acted as their guardian, along with then throwing them in a prison for years to do nothing but murder monsters. That isn't something someone just gets over in a few days. That stuff would scar for life.
So yeah, just because a character is bitter, spiteful, distrusting, and controlling, doesn't mean they're not a well written character. In fact, I think Velvet is all the better for it.
As someone who went back in forth on whether or not I even liked Velvet, I agree. Heck, her not always being likable could be said to be the point, and for the writers to hand us that character, and say "this is your protag, and you gotta deal with it" is acrually fascinating.
Still split on Magilou, though. Less if she's likable, and more "Is her humor actually funny to me or not?" Which again, may will be the point.
i couldn't agree more with you, i find that velvet is actually well written, you can empathize with her in many points of the game and that i think gives her a little realism, also you can see in the game just how broken and torn apart she was by what happend, still playing through the game but liked it a lot
I just beat the game last night and your right velvet is if not one of the best written tragic story characters because you see her grow little by little near the end of the game and even before and during the final dungeon velvet talked to rokuro,eizen,magilou,phi and elanore like friends not like people she didnt know or cared about that shows how a broken heart can be slowly put back together
She is definitely my favourite tales protagonist
Dude, I love Yuri. I've been playing the Tales of Vesperia remaster for the last week and its so great getting to experience his growth as a character all over again.
yeah i think i finished the campaing( with a tales game you dont know if you miss a side quest that opened the history more) and while yuri personal histoey is excellent the plot at as whole feels so rushed to the end i though that whne all the spirits were created and you saved the girl(i forgot her name) you will face the enemy mosnter to finnaly pur the things in order well at least for me once i defeat the antagonist at the top of the tower the treat is dealt in a cutscene which for me was anticlimatic if ididnt unlock he true ending please tellme so i can replay the game and look for it but at is stand i didnt like vesperia as much as other tales games mainly symphonia and phantasia ( i only could play some of abbyss but i liked it)
I personally LOVE Velvet. The prologue is a really powerful part of the game to me. We see the life that she had and loved before her village was ravaged and her brother was brutally murdered in front of her eyes. Throughout the story Velvet does show tiny glimpses of her compassion so I disagree with you there. She doesn't uneededly murder people. She is willing to do anything to achieve her goal (killing artorious) but she still shows a TINY bit of morality through her actions. She's not obsessed with her brother. She's obsessed with AVENGING her brother. She just cares like any older sister would for her ill younger brother. I think her arc was masterful (maybe not on the level of Luke or Yuri) but nonetheless masterful. Her character is VERY mature for the tales series lol. Small subtle things really hit me about her character. Like her lack of taste for regular food. She literally can only taste blood. It's sad. But I do understand your viewpoint. Your list is pretty spot on though.
I totally think Jude and Millia got a fair amount of character development over the course of Tales of Xillia. With Jude learning the importance of conviction while Millia learned the importance of compassion for others. It's a small but steady gradual change over the course of the game that I noticed when I played the game.
Right?!
Milla is one of my favourite characters in the series, both gameplay-wise and character-wise. Sure, she's a lot more reckless and even stupid than the game itself ever calls her out on, but there's something about her sheer bloody-minded determination that I find somehow inspiring. Her later development in terms of embracing her humanity makes her very well-rounded, even if she does take something of a backseat in the second half of the story (to demonstrate Jude's growth I guess).
It also helps that she is, to me, the best and most fun interpretation of the Magic Knight type character in the series. Moreso than Richard, moreso than Zelos or Kratos, and while I don't think Abyss really counts, I'll say moreso than Jade or Anise as well. Spirit Shift was a very cool mechanic and I would love to see a variant of that return at some point. I mean she is, I think, the only character in Xillia 2 other than broken-ass Ludger who is able to hit all damage types using only her own artes as well.
T_T love they so much
Exactly, Millia has power but little Humanity Jude has Humanity but little power. Both learn from each other and develop over the game.
Was it a waste to make him the protagonist of Tales of Xillia 2?
Regarding Velvet and everything you said about why you don’t really like her, I have two things to say about that. First, I’d be pretty pissed and coldhearted too if one of the only family I had left was killed in front of me by the other only family I had left. Second, Velvet does begin to warm up to the rest of the party over the course of the game, and it actually starts earlier than you’d think: with Laphicet (the malak, not her brother). She gives him a name and is one of the people who helps him discover himself, along with Eizen and Rokurou. Velvet is second only to Luke in terms of my favorite Tales protagonists, and she may very well be my favorite female protagonist in all of gaming.
Velvet is the certified edgelord in Tales series, much like annoying Sasuke out for revenge.
Luke's character development is a masterpiece. While his weakness was obvious, it certainly understandable as to why. The fact that the others found it hard to trust him again and him putting in effort to change really made the annoying wait worth it
velvet has plenty of reasons to not trust people and plenty of reasons to be cold/hateful.
Yuri is sooo human and realistic. I love the guy
My top 1 will always be Luke, true he was annoying at the first half of the story... But i like his development more than any of the tales MC... His change was truly a touching. :3
To be honest, the only reason he'd be in the same spot on my list is that I cant immediately go into a new playthrough strictly because of him. His character goes on a great journey throughout the game, but that starting point is almost nails on a chalk board for me.
Best tales of game ever, honestly put this one as the example for final fantasy fans
@@michaelmoran6364 that or vesperia, if I had to be completely objective
@@linkplayer20 honestly debating on buying the definitive edition as I've never played vesperia. I just was looking for that super fast paced combat from Abyss when u put the time in.
@@michaelmoran6364 you'll definitely find that in vesperia. Plus, it has all the cut content that didn't make it stateside during its original release.
You missed Cress Albane, Stahn Aileron, Reid Hershel, Kyle Dunamis and Alphen!
I like Yuri the best because he's 21, and one of the oldest protagonists in JRPG barring immortality shenanigans. He's an adult and acts like one.
The first time I played Tales of Vesperia, I was about Yuri's age. Now he seems like a baby to me... lol
Yeah he is not a typical Japanese character like, " I'm 12 (or 16) and i'm going to save the world," kinda of gets boring with that kind of shit. That's why I have two copies of Tales of Vesperia cause Yuri is such a bad ass and does things like an adult.
Yuri is 22 somewhere near the end of Vesperia. Neat they added a birthday skit for him.
That is refreshing that he isn’t the typical mid teen who saves the world. And it helps that he treats Estelle and Rita like he does - a 22 year old wouldn’t be hitting on high school kids and I was just kind of waiting during the game for the point where they fall in love or something but I was happy to see that it didn’t go there. If anything he was more interested in Judith, which is again more realistic.
It's funny how I always thought he was in his early to middle thirties. He is just portrayed to have that level of maturity.
This is way to late but just a heads up: Your judgements are valid and all but it kinda feels like you judged them on “what trope they are” rather than “ *How* well the *execution* of said trope is”
Sharp critique.
Very succinct and incisive.
My personal favorite is Luke with Yuri as a close second. The annoying start to his character was crucial to making his growth all the more impactful and meaningful. So I see the annoying parts of his character as a plus because it allowed him to grow.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
He goes from entitled, whiney, sheltered rich boy to having a purpose but being used to realizing that he is responsible for so many deaths to finding out he's a clone to total dispair despirately trying to make any good come out of his life no matter the cost to recognising his true value.
Sleep Deprivation
That clone bomb blew my mind when I first played the game!
Loved the fact that he was able to take all of that despair and sorrow, and make something truly beautiful out of it.
I need to eventually watch the anime version of Abyss one day.
Wonder if it can match the beauty of the original game.
Abyss is one of my favorite games of all time because of the incredible storytelling and character development. Also, that moment where Luke stays in the blast assuming he's going to die because he's made of 7th phonons. All because he felt it was his way of redemption and giving his life was all he was worth. And after finally realizing just how important he is to his friends and especially tear. Speaking of, Tear is easily the best female character in any tales game ever!
Sleep Deprivation
She's in my top 3 for sure!
Love their chemistry through-out the game.
I still think I like Chloe just a little more though...
That whole female knight thing just gets to me.
X.X
Tales of abyss was the first tales game I played is by far my favorite still and I’ve played 7 of them I think lol
I put Emil in that group with Luke as well. Not bear as amazing, but similar
Sorey should be as high as he is, but for different reasons. The reason Sorey works is because his positive flat design meshes incredibly well with the setting and the other characters around him. Yes, he's pure of heart, but that doesn't other shepherds have been pure of heart, yet they gave into malevolence, so there's always a lingering question of what makes Sorey special compared to other shepherds. Whenever he shows too much care for Alisha, there's this feeling of great risk, that his genuine human feelings may lead to catastrophy due to his position as the Shepherd.
Sorey doesn't really go through an 'arc' because there is no 'lie' that he tells himself that must be overcome. He instead has a 'truth' or a set of core values that he takes with him in every encounter, and other characters bounce off of that and develop from that. They have faith in him, they challenge him, etc...
Yeah, thanks for this comment. At least someone's thinking really seriously here. I always think Zestiria fans (or not even fans, just the ones who like it for any reason) are more sensitive and analytic when it comes to reading the "nuances" that people simply miss. The fact that the storyboard was approved by namco Europe I guess kinda harks to that "theme" and subtlety that "other" Western audiences are not used to (imagine the editors changing Harry Potter title just because US audience finds it "boring" but not the English/British audience)...
I love your interpretation. It's something I have always wanted to say myself. Thanks. Sorey has those "core values" that make him so different from Yuri... who seeks "redemption" or "negation" because he senses something wrong. But Sorey is not on the defensive like other MCs. He stands up for what he is even if the entire world disagrees. He does not have any "lies" that need to be redeemed like Yuri.
UNLIKE YURI, Sorey does NOT seek "redemption" like he needs to "correct the lies" he sees in him. Sorey already knows the world is a lie... that we build our world around lies and set off each other's negativity and hate because those lies are hard to let go... That's why he accepts that the world is full of different people. Bad or good, they're all human beings.
Killing is not the ONLY way of redeeming the world.
Purifying is not judging "bad" people. Saving isn't self-righteous. It's a way of protecting and caring for others.
That's why Sorey isn't happy purifying hellions. It's not like a shoutout "I'm gonna defeat hellions because I'm a SHEPHERD... no... it's more like "I have to do this, because even if the world hates it and denies it, it needs to be done and no one else can do it..."
Most of us want to join the bandwagon and ACT COOL and WITTY like Yuri and other MCs. But Sorey is different. He can be childish, he's too geeky and bookish sometimes, and he's gay, sort-of-gay and at least once even ditched a princess... like who would even do that! But he does the unthinkable and tries to find his way through all the negativity and delusion that people don't see because it's too familiar.
The fact that Sorey "sees" what's not there is exactly what Zestiria is all about. The players only looked at Alisha, but they didn't see what Sorey saw... and that is Alisha compromising her values, not like Rose, Zaveid or Sorey himself who does not believe that peace/saving the world is a political issue.
On top of that though is the point (what writers I think wanted to say) that humans have resonance... we can resonate with everyone... but we are far too much on hating and negativity that we lose even that.
Anyway, thanks for your comment. I agree all the way! ^_^
@@turquoisemoon3654 I've been trying to find comments about tales of zestiria, and I'm glad that I found positive comments about it :D.
Tales of zestiria is the first game I played from the tales of series, so I don't know much about others. But I think Sorey is one of the best characters too.
Throughout his journey, his been purifying hellions and blessing the lands. Sometimes he gets hurt physically and mentally, but only a few appreciated his efforts and other fake shepherds steal his glory. I got really annoyed at this part! I thought we were gonna beat the hell out of that fake shepherd, well sorey didn't want to because he said it will make more malevolence. I was shocked because he was right. He prioritizes the citizens feelings more than himself.
Also when the game was about to end, he decided use his body as a vessel for maotelus to purify him. It didnt look like that Sorey wanted to, but he did it for the sake of everyone.
When it was ending, I cried a lot and I never skipped the credits xD.
His journey with zavied made it interesting, y'know cuz to bother sorey xD.
So thank you guys for the comments also, at least I also know that there are people who support tales of zestiria,
And
Is it really that hated!?
@@loo.nyie2341 First of all, your comments were probably the best I've heard about Zesty in a long time... A few things I've found out as to why few people wanna comment positively in game sites about Zesty are:
1. Some Zestiria fans really advise others not to react to "hate" comments. The problem is, it gives these haters the "false" impression that Zesty fans don't care. If you read what these trolls say, you'll hear the same excuses: The battle system sucks or the story's a mess, but in the end all their arguments lead to one thing: they're still bitter about Rose replacing Alisha (though in all honesty it seems like Alisha was the one that was inserted in the game) and Alisha not being the MC's heroine. AND they're jealous about the attention. Compared with the "big three" (Symphonia, Vesperia, Abyss), Zestiria was the most advertised and marketed franchise, and so far Namco's most ambitious project. It's the most developed among the games with a budget that even Vesperia Definitive didn't match.
2. That said, expect Vesperia, the "loudest" fandom in the Tales to hate it. Reddit site which spreads the hate in social media (because the "hate Zesty" google search leads you to it) uses prompts that suggest that Zestiria is "the most hated game" but the site is 99.3% Vesperia (.69% other tales fans/ 17,700 members are Vespy, 124 other fans to be exact). They ask questions that sound like it was asked by ANY fan but the commentators are the same Vesperians promoting their game, and to make it worse, Reddit moderators will ban anyone who "pisses" them off (you can get harassed there and be accused of being the harasser just becoz you disagreed with the opinions of the "big three").
3. The SorMik Canon war is still on. One Reddit moderator told me that SorMik is never canon... but you see, that's not an issue for haters to decide. The problem is, Tales games never had shippable characters, and the ones that have legit couples (Tales of Hearts, Tales of Destiny) are hardly romantic. Sorey and Mikleo had the most developed relationship that was at the center of the theme and the plot of the game. Haters can't say "gayshit" anymore becoz it's insulting but argue with them for a week and they will say it one way or another. But even so game reviewers already concede that Zestiria is one of the best Tales games that deserve to be in the top 5. It had the highest ranking among JRPGs in Europe and also the highest ranking among Tales games in surveys outside Tales. Also, survey says Sorey is a popular Tales character, Mikleo being ahead by a few notches (Tales Festival 2017). For all the hype, Alisha never got into any ranking even for the anime even if a lot of fanboys say they liked her.
The best thing to do is not to listen to gamers who just hate it for personal reasons. They will try to convince you to play their game... or even buy Vesperia Definitive for you! ^_^ A lot of Zestiria fans are unaware of the hate actually... because they stay away from game sites. I was told that Zestiria has its own fan magazine in Japan and is popular for gamers and non-gamers alike. I'm not a huge gamer, I'm in college so I only have time during holidays and some weekends. Zestiria is a wonderful story for me and I love all the main characters. It's a loveable game and the fusion system is more creative than what I see in other games. But altogether, the relationship among the characters just glued me to it. That said, I know this is long, but yeah, I hope it explained some things a bit. Thanks for your comment btw, and have a great weekend! ^_^
@@turquoisemoon3654 Thank you too! I learned a lot from your comments.
@@loo.nyie2341 I will be a Zestiria fan until I become grandma... I think... ha ha. Let's support each other. It's the only way to fight the negativity... ^_^
I'm actually floored that Velvet is so low compared to Sorey. I thought that Velvet had an insane amount of depth and change, but Sorey... never really seemed to have the same development. Velvet may be cold and rough at first, but you also see that she has so many layers to her that define her. And with Sorey, optimistic, sweet, even a bit shy, but he NEVER SEEMS TO CHANGE, and I like characters with development.
To that end, I would also put Luke above Sorey. I knew from the very beginning that Luke was flawed and annoying, everyone hates how he is, but I knew that he was destined to change somehow, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
So, my list (Of the ones I've played):
-Yuri (Bit of a cheat since I watched, and I'm OFFICIALLY playing now that I have the Definitive Edition)
-Velvet
-Luke
-Ludger
-Lloyd
-Jude
-Sorey (My biggest love for him comes from Robbie Daymond voicing him; and, I think that Edna is a much better character than him)
-Milla (I won't group them together)
-Asbel (I really am not fond of his personality, and I find him to be incredibly naive, even stupid. So, yeah, kind of like Goku. But Goku has a charm about his stupidity. Asbel, to me, does not.)
The worst thing in this series is that there's a protagonist voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and a protagonist names Yuri Lowell, and they aren't the same character.
not to hate on your opinion but Velvet's hate and anger was totally justified lol I would be too if my whole world felt like it was fucked by some dude who wants to sacrifice someone i love. It was a good change of pace having an MC who isn't really out to do some good, but revenge this time around. She had an amazing development, i'd put her on the same number in your list if not lower if she stayed the same tone the entire game.
Read Berserk and you'll see why Velvet's character isn't well developed despite the well justified behavior.
Crok425
....lol
what?
Berserk is amazing and my fav manga, but telling someone that a characters personal growth in a tale of revenge is bad just because it isn’t the same as Guts is kinda silly. So all stories should be the same as Berserk?
@@noctaeucta2994 That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that while Velvet and Guts follow the same premise (almost literally) and both are assholes with good justification, but there's a difference between both. Velvet on one hand spends the majority of the game being a repetitive character (Laphi, Laphi, Laphi. Vengeance, vengeance, vengeance. Devour, devour, devour) that remains the same mean person through the majority of the game, sacrificing villages to achieve her goal up until she killed that guy who was the brother of someone and her remorse and empathy finally clicked in her head that maybe the things she did were wrong, but that was already almost by the end of the game.
Guts on the other hand is also a fucking asshole after the Eclipse, being mean to everyone, using people as bait, etc... but Guts, as we've seen in the manga, hates doing these things but he's forced himself to do them for the sake of survival and revenge. He acts as an asshole to people sometimes so they stay away from him so they can stay alive since demons are after him, and when it doesn't work and people die because of him he forces himself to believe they were weak and the weak die easily, like ants.
If we compare both Guts has a gradual development in his story when we see him going for revenge, little by little he changes for the better, Velvet is just a mean bitch for the majority of the story except near the end of the story where she finally admits she did awful things.
tl;dr: Velvet's character development is repetitive, remains the same character until her brother shows up and finally sees the herrors of her way when she kills that guy who was the brother of that chick. Basically, she's a badly developed revenge character.
@@Crok425 Those are not the same character arc. Their motivations are entirely different. Velvet is angry and mad at the world that Artorius has created off killing her little brother, she in knows that she isnt a good guy, she just doesnt care. Berseria is about Velvet learning to care again, which is absolutely not what Berserk is about. Its apples and oranges
@@golfer435 Then it's clear you haven't read Berserk. After the Eclipse Guts is angry and vengeful toward Griffith for killing all of his friends and raping Casca which all caused a twisted world to be created. Guts also knows he isn't a good guy, but forces himself that he doesn't care, in the end Guts development is about him finding trust in others and not being alone... while both differ slightly it's basically the same premise.
My favorite MC's are between Ludger, Velvet, and Stahn.
Wow? Ludger?
Don't get me wrong, i also love Ludger, but most people dislike him because he is a silent character
@@Ultimabuster92 I mean yeah you choose what you say for him but you need to feel bad for him through the story especially towards the end die and save a life or live and lose you companion no matter the choice Ellie lives and Julius dies
i love ludger, if u see manga ludger not silent character after all
@@squashnau it makes since it would be awkward to read a manga where the protagonist can only scream gasp and sigh
Weird I always considered Velvet to be a rather compassionate person. Her companions are also mostly criminals themselves, the kind of people who would have no problem following a Calamity Lord.
Luke and Velvet and also Lloyd are my fav and best character developement for me >.
Best story overall tied to main protag : Tales of Abyss
Best main character : Yuri
The real question is
Tales of Abyss definitive edition when?
IKR?!??!
ToA was my favorite with the best cast of characters and great gameplay. I'd give Luke the slight edge over Yuri because of his transformative development.
I have both the PS2 and 3DS version but I am totally up for a HD remaster for the PC.
I need this to happen. The DS port just didn't do the game justice.
I hope on that too
You forget that Velvet was also imprisoned for three years with no human contact, only demons being dropped in the pit, which she then had to eat to survive. It's a miracle she had any compassion left at all after that. Realistically speaking, that would absolutely break most people beyond repair, and that isn't even taking into account her hatred for Artorius.
Giving her more compassion would have absolutely been unrealistic with what she went through. Also, you're looking at her by human standards. She's not human, she's a demon, a being consumed by malevolence. It is quite literally impossible for her to have been as cheery as you want her to be. Despite how much she softened up in the end, she was still emitting a ridiculous amount of malevolence.
In short, considering what Artorius did to her, and the fact that she is a demon, it wouldn't make any sense for her to be more compassionate.
As much as I'm quite indifferent to Velvet myself, I have to agree. Plus, the prologue showing us the sweet version of Velvet also served the purpose of letting the player know who she really was before all the tragedy. Her developing into (or more accurately, backpedaling into) a sweet and compassionate woman during the main story would've conflicted with the whole point of her character.
Knowing who she was before the main story kicked off was what initially got me interested, as I absolutely adore sweethearts like her. So, seeing someone like her get her whole life ripped apart was such an incredibly sad introduction. And despite how I feel about the character by the end of the journey, I knew damn well the woman she used to be was dead and never coming back. It just wouldn't make sense to have her change back with the type of character arc they were going for.
i feel a strong sorey-appreciating solidarity
But besides that I really liked the structure of this vid and how your opinions were presented in a real chill way, it was very refreshing and I enjoyed hearing your takes on the characters a lot :-D
Velvet has got my pick for favorite main protagonist. I love how morally grey she is at the start. Her development is quite nice. Intense hate and obsession really mess people up lol.
I'm actually a fan of Velvet's story. it would be EXTREMELY difficult to get over a situation like hers, so I can completely understand why she's so angry all the time. But that's just me.
Honestly Velvet was my favorite by far. I think she is one of or the best female protagonists I've ever played.
The real Velvet was what the point of the prologue was for, to see the person buried beneath the years of hatred, despair, and torture that shown through every now and then
I got to make 2 major arguments, and 2 minor. And 3 big problems....
1. Velvet, you made the argument for Luke that you just have to put up with it till he FINALLY grows as a person. But he starts off as a complete dickhead, turns into a whiny bitch. And damn near the end of the game, he FINALLY becomes a decent person. And actually really likable, we see this a lot in side-media, he REALLY grew up at the end.
Vevlet goes through something similar, but she had 2 major events that would break most people, she watches her brother be murdered by her sisters husband. A man she held a great deal of respect for as well, and then was thrown into isolation for 3 years. With her only contact being daemon's who try to kill her. But very early on we get small flashes of her humanity when dealing with Phi, and later Eleanor and Moana. It takes her a long time to truly open up yes. but we get a lot of glimpses into her humanity, despite how broken she herself is aware she is. And gets a group of broken misfits just like her who can deal with those problems.
Yes she absolutely comes off as a bitch,, but to me it never felt like TOO much given what she went through. But she does have her growth, and it felt very worthwhile. After all, it was Velvet and Moana's humanity that really turned Eleanor to their side. And i'm not even done with this game yet! Again this one really bothered me because you made the argument for Luke but not Velvet =/
2. Sorey. While you're right on what kind of person he is... He's just so....uninteresting as a MC. =/ I didn't DISLIKE Sorey. But he's just not really a main character. Sorey would have left a bigger impact as a side-character I feel. Infact, a very similar character as a side DOES make a bigger impact (atleast to me) Eleanor. I strongly feel him and Velvet's rankings should be swapped. xD (of course personal opinions and all that.)
Minor 1. Lloyd, not so much his ranking, but just how you described him. While yes he is a bit of a bright-eyed anime protag, he's a lot more layered than people give him credit for, and we even see this in Symphonia proper. His anger over not being able to do anything for Collete, and his willingness to throw the world away to keep her safe. He's a much stronger character by end of game than people give him credit for. And he absolutely earns his growth! Symphonia dawn of the new world also expands on his character in bits and pieces (but you did say that we're dismissing that :P)
Minor 2. Asbel, he should rank lower. Asbel is so generic, even generic side-characters would be offended being in a room with him. =/ Sophie is a borderline lifeless most of the game, and has more character than Asbel. =/
The 3 big problems are Reid, Cless and Stahn. Why were thhey missing?! XD
Absolutely agree with Yuri, he not just the best Tales of protag. Honestly he's probably one of the best protags ever. While he himself does very little growing up as a person throughout his journey. He's also one character who doesn't NEED much growth, but as we learn more about him. The more he endears himself to the audience. He's not a mary sue, he knows he's not a good person. But he's also not a bad person. He very much falls into a gray area, is willing to take the punishment that comes with his misdeeds. But acts with such sincerity, and conviction. It's hard to hate on him for any of it. And to top it off the fact he pushes so many people to be their best selves just adds to it.
Milla and Jude like Yuri also don't really change from where they started, but unlike Yuri they're not even remotely as compelling as characters (And I do adore Milla.) I think it's hard to write the kind of characcter who barely changes from the beginning of thheir story. And for them to leave such a lasting impression like Yuri did. The Tales team really knocked it out of the park with that one. (And that's dismissing how good his supporting cast was! god I loved Judith, Rita and Estelle....)
Yuri for me, hands down. Just because they treated his personality so well and stayed away from extreme tropes. Like, in other games he would have become obsessed with Estelle, fallen in love with her, become a white knight etc. He could have become an edgelord very easily based on the story, I was surprised it did t go there actually. He could have been the “...” “whatever” Squall type character very easily as well and any or all parts of the story. He could have been a number of stereotypes but they kept him well rounded with principles that he stuck to and how he acted, while I might not call it “realistic” due to the setting not being realistic, it was very well balanced and well presented. The game really excelled with all the characterization and I wish more games took the time to do so with their characters.
I'd put Velvet in my top 3 without any doubt. We get to see how she is before Laphicet's sacrifice, we get to see her soft side throughout the journey here and then, mainly when she's interacting with Laphi, and get to experience it yet again when we revisit Aball. The thing about Velvet is that she WANTS to keep her hatred flowing, she WANTS the satisfaction of killing Arthorius, and then she breaks when she comes to the realization that it might've been all in vain. Her development is interesting because her goal remains the same but she looks at it from a totally different perspective, she embraces the past, her memories, and she comes full circle with whom she really is. Even the voice acting does a good job of portraying that, we can hear the tone of her voice change completely, I think she's an amazing character tbh.
But did you even finish Berseria. Because Velvet's character growth does achieve those caring and compassion points you bring up.
Yeah, she still cares just doesnt show it for a while
This dude didnt play through the whole game obviously cause every point he made is wrong. Cause she changes completely through out the game... Major fail
but at the end she left everything -.- hate that xD
@@dannysandoval5837 naw you’re just salty. If you actually listened you can tell he’s played the game. He even mentioned she changes. At no point did he call her a bad character by the way.
I loved Berseria, the only thing I didn't really like was the ending.
Oh and the secret boss, the tiny fuck.
While I disliked Zesteria I actually liked Sorey himself he was multifaceted had interest and was genuinely likeable. But yeah no one will ever top Luke & Yuri. I think development wise Luke takes the cake from selfish man child to what’s basically a whole new person who was willing to sacrifice himself
Really cool video, can't wait to experience Vesperia in the winter! I'd have to say my favorite protagonist is Jude I really admire the whole student label they had on him even if it didn't affect much he was pretty knowledgeable throughout the game and that was a nice change of pace. And of course the dynamic between him and all the other characters, Milla and Alvin, especially was so fun to watch. Keep doin what you're doin!
Fantasy Complex
Jude is a cool guy for sure!
He has the most epic fighting style IMO as well. Loved playing as him in Xilla.
And I know right???
Vesperia can't get here fast enough!
Luphonix I loved his fighting style! Its kinda funny I actually saw this video when I was taking a break from editing a video about my favorite character from Symphonia for it's anniversary and it gave a lot of inspiration so thanks 🤣
You're totally welcome man!
Thanks so much for even watching.
Looking forward to our collab soon as well.
Happening soon, I promise!
Luphonix oh yea like I said no rush, I'm getting ready for college so I'm plenty busy in the meantime.
I respect that you put Sorey up there. He is underrated af.
Tales of Hearts R MOSTLY suffered from a horrific translation. I mean, his actual name is Shing Meteroryte. His personality is completely different in Japanese. The same is true of Asbel. He's actually kind of a badass in Japanese. For Asbel it's mostly his doofy English voice acting.
Also, in Xillia 2, her name isn't Elie. It's Elle. Like the letter L.
A true Tales of... fan!
@@MystericaAuraFende =) I like your portrait!
@@DeltathRiylaan hehehe Thanks 😅
Thanks. This needs more likes
Yeah right, it is just too weird to hear shing's name in english
I completely understand your choice for number 1, especially considering that he’s *literally the most popular Tales character EVER,* so much so that he was actually BANNED from Tales series popularity polls because he JUST KEPT WINNING.
man i'm late to this but velvet is absolutely one of the deepest and best made tales characters. i'd rank her amongst the top of the top. Her motivations and attitudes are completely believable within the context of the story, she covers kindness with anger and indifference but it still shows through constantly, and she shows an amazing character development cycle all the way through to the end. She was the most believable, easiest to sympathize with protag in this entire series handsdown, and only falters to yuri (imo) because yuri does about the same thing, just a little better.
So I’m one of the people that actively dislike Yuri as a character. I absolutely adore Velvet. I think she’s the best written protagonist on the series, so can you like actually tell me why you think Yuri is so good. Because playing through it, me and my cousin just refused to even include him in the main party because we disliked him and his premise that much.
Yuri is legit just a slightly better written velvet without so much edginess. His motives are much more grounded, his character is all around more stable (though i do enjoy velvets overall growth) but they both tow the line of good and bad, they both show incredible character growth, they both do what they feel they need to do for their own sense of justice. Yuri just feels like a more cool and collected velvet and i think that benefits him.
also yuri has a sense of humor, while velvet just shifts between sad and angry almost the entire game. Like i said i enjoy velvet but her character revolved a bit too much around edgy revenge and didn't have a ton of substance behind her.
Jeremiah Brooks so it’s more of like a personality thing? Like his personality is just more palatable? Ok I can get with that.
yep yep! And that might just be personal preference on my end tbh
Honestly, I can't say I liked Lukes story in Tale of the Abyss... mainly because I spend so much of it wishing something would JUST GO RIGHT FOR HIM ALREADY!!!
I mean seriously he was a jerk at the start yeah, but once he shifts character it's just one massive emotional gut-punch after another!
He gets a guilt complex the size of Russia, is constantly putting himself down, refuses to acknowledge ANY of his achievements, ends up saying that since he's a replica his life doesn't matter and eventually goes to say he shouldn't even EXIST, and the world just seems designed to REINFORCE those views.
On top of that, not only has he got Asch, his original, constantly getting in his face almost every time they meet, he was manipulated, then thrown away by his teacher, a man he saw as a surrogate farther, is asked to sacrifice himself to save the planet(though to be fair, even the people asking him to do it told him not to while in private), found out he wasn't even a real human and his life up till the stories start was all a lie, and that his best friend had been planning his death as a revenge by proxy towards his "Farther, AND just when he finally decides he wants to LIVE... HE FINDS OUT HE'S SLOWLY DYING ANYWAY!!!
And no, it doesn't work out for him in the end, because he DOES DIE, and the guy who comes back after the credits? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT'S HIM!!!
Is it Luke? Is it Asch? Is it a new person born from a combination of both? WE DON'T KNOW!!!
How can I like and enjoy such a character when I'm to busy screaming at and damning the world to just give the kid a fucking break already?! JUST! ONE! FUCKING!! BREAK!!!
Oh and the icing on the shit life cake... HE'S MOTHERFUCKING SEVEN!!!
Well i think he is luke at the end,cause asch is dead at the end of the game. And I think asch gives up his body in order to keep luke alive cause luke is slowly dying cause of the 7th. Plus I don't think Tear would of been crying like she was at the end when they see luke walking back to them at the end of it.
Not to mention the first friend he makes outside of the manor ends up dying in his arms.
I love Tales of the Abyss to bits, but sometimes it feels like their whole world exists for the sole purpose of making Luke suffer.
I mean. To be fair to your first point, he basically left a crater the size of a small city with a kill count to match.
@@linkplayer20 Again.
His father figure tricked him, and he's only seven.
Feeling guilty and wanting to atone for his error is fine... but as time goes on it's obvious that it all goes WAY beyond that.
And NOT in a good way.
@@MasterSwo I dont think so. He may have been manipulated, but he did condemn an entire city to one of several really horrible deaths. They either died from falling hundreds of stories, get crushed on the way down, were suffocated by noxious fumes, or fell into a toxic bath. I feel his level of guilt over that is really appropriate. And that's not even the most tragic part of his character.
The entire second half of the game takes place because the rest of the party continuously takes for granted the common knowledge they have and that Luke doesn't. If anyone had bothered to tutor him on the old language, luke wouldn't have been clueless about the warning he was given. And that plot thread is entirely plausible. So many "stranger in a new land" and "amnesia" plots use it as an excuse to exposition dump. But Abyss's characters dont react at all during these situations until AFTER Luke screws the pooch, because only at that point do they realize something isn't right. It happens this way because luke acts on the limited information he has, while they no longer even have to think about the situation because they've dealt with it their whole lives.
Luke may only be my third favorite protagonist, but the Abyss party is hands down my favorite party.
I like this video and I found it funny that you highlight Sorey positivity, cause this is reason why he make me nuts, always positive...
Jade the necromancer 10 out 10 was the best character
Try play the game with japanese voices, then Jade will be 100 out of 10
@@3nkidu465 yes too bad i have eng disc
Can you imagine Jade and Genis mid conversation as Zelos cuts one of them off? I'd pay to see that animated.
That fact that you said Jude and Milla don't grow as characters tells me you never played past their fight on that ship. Both of them are constantly growing throughout the story with the events that happen after that being the hight of their development.
And yes, Velvet is angry but wouldn't you be after you watched your last sibling die in front of you just to be thrown in a pit for years just to kill demons? If you paid attention she does start opening up in her journey for revenge. Coo coo
Her anger is justified, that much is indisputable.
It doesn't mean we have to like her either though.
I have to say, my top three would be
Lloyd, our basic, but good, good boy.
Yuri, I love him so much. His personality is amazing ok, 10/10 friend material.
Aaaand Luke.
Luke, my boy, my sunshine, my baby. I saw him at the start and I just knew I would give my life for him. I loved him through all the gameplay no matter how annoying he was, mostly at the 10 hours mark. If anyone would stay by him aside from Mieu, it would be me. I support my boy with all my heart.
But your top is pretty cool too, I love the little love given to Lady Shadow the hEdgehog 👌
Good to see smo making a video where smo just talks about stuff. No annoying video editing, no extremely LOUD music (xD), just talking about stuff. That was a good video, just continue like that ^^
But Velvet had every right to be how she was. I just couldn't help but feel bad for her. Her teammates were there to tear away the hatred and show her joy.
I mean, I agree Yuri is best, but you go on about characters being generic and then go into such depth about Sorey being so great? He's literally the definition of generic. Also Velvet is much more like Guts than Yuri lmao
Yuri > Velvet > Luke
i hate zestiria can't even play with thisd generics characters worst tales of ever.
No, if you replay the game and focus you would realise how far from generic Sorey is.
His development is subtle and not dramatic or in-your-face kind of development. You can realise how far he has learnt from the start of the game till the end. The final battle alone is one stark indication.
Plus the level of maturity and empathy he shows sets him apart from many main characters in JRPGs.
And he is not an idiot and is willing to listen.
Maybe he is 'boring' for some, but imo he is far from generic.
I can relate to Emil more on a personal level. But then, "Dawn of new world" was my first "Tales of" series aside from Vesperia being the 2nd where I was introduced to Yuri Lowell. I like Yuri because of the whole "Journey of Redemption" that goes with it. It's that kind of concept that makes for pretty edgy character development. (Especially if you've seen Tales of Vesperia: First Strike. Which is a Tales of Vesperia Movie that takes place before the events of Tales of Vesperia)
I can't say that I have a favorite character. In some way or another, Characters have this tendency to grab your attention.
I guess it's the battle systems that I would like to rate from worst to best not so much the characters. But you know, you grow with them, You struggle with them and you get to know more about them. It's as if you're right there with them!
I liked velvet the most, my opinion, you got a taste of her character and what she was like in the very beginning, a emotionally scarred tomboy-ish character who after inevitably and unfortunately losing most of her family tries desperately to hold onto the last hope / family she has left being laphicet no matter how bleak his survival seemed with his sickness, and through miscommunication and unfortunate events losing the last of her family, or so she thought... by one of the only last people she thought would do anything to harm her or her brother, then quickly descending into a quick revenge fueled rage awaiting for the day to settle the score, but even with her trust issues and cold hartedness through roughly 2/3 of the story you can still see as her character tone slowly shifts into a more heartfelt and caring persona like she used to be before the events, just not wanting to feel weak and express it by hiding it behind a cold exterior motive, to be fair though all of the people were pretty cold hearted at the beginning because they were all brought together with thier own motive in mind and eventually started reacting more sincere to each other as the story progressed, she just didn't as blatantly express her more caring side until she had to face the fact that she would need to put it all aside in order to defeat artorius since it was mainly her emotions holding her back instead of accepting the help she needed to accomplish that goal.
Your point over Velvet and her brother is idiotic at best.
1. Her brother was sickly and need medicine alot and she took care of him because she was the only one who could
2. She literally watched him DIE so when she found a spirit that looked exactly like him and started traveling with her ya she obsessed over him anyone would he reminded her of her brother and even acted similarly.
The real Velvet is in the skits but it's a bit buried until she confronted herself but she's basically a simple mom/ oneeson character. Kind of the opposite of a cold uncaring murder that she became to get her revenge of her family being killed. I feel like she should probably be more conflicted by her actions since she has the heart of a pure maiden but there are parts in the story where she struggles with that internal conflict. I guess she just ignores most of she feeling (except rage) so she can stay focused on her suicide mission or be a demon actually makes you more resolved.
Will never forget that Luke was basically a 7 year old in a 17 year old body
And Tear still tried to hit that xD
@@colorblindgiraffe8114 Tried? she succeeds . XD
@@MrWanton16 *KEK FUCKING W*
Man, I like this guy! Finally someone who appreciate Sorey
Sorey was the only reason I stuck through zestria as long as i did.
Where is Cless, Stan, Rid, Veigue,, Kyle, Luca, Caius and Emil?
not everybody plays the 2d games especially because phantasia is only on gameboy and that port is horrible
destiny was on the ps1 and the combat is boring
eternia is actually on the psp but I think it didn't release on the west so there is only the ps1 version for the west and it's reid not rid
gaius is not a protagonist he's an antagonists
emile is from a sequel that nobody liked
the rest of the ones you listed must be from japanese only games so non japan speakers wouldn't know they're personalities
@@pralenkaman8105 what do you mean only on gameboy? ToP also on snes, psx, and the best version is ToP cross edition which is bundled with narakiri dungeon x and they make magic real time on that version. Destiny battle is boring? Play the remake then, especially DC version on ps2. Lol Caius Qualls dude, not Gaius😆...Caius is the mc of tales of the tempest in ds. I use the original name, Rid Hershel..like Tina Branford is the original of Terra Branford in ff6. And to be fair he use best tales of protagonists, so he should also mentioned all of other mothership protags...but yeah, too bad some of them aren't localized.
@@nawee242 yeah about that phantasia is on snes and ps1 but they're japanese only (if snes was released outside of japan sorry but the ps1 I know is japan exclusive) DC is again japan only I have played a bit of that and liked the battle system tales of tempest was again japan exclusive too
I know you know they're japan exclusive so sorry if I'm sounding rude but that's what II wanted to say
oh and by the way I plyed a patch of phantasia ps1 and that's the best way to play it in english and if there are unoficial localizations let me know because I would love to play destiny DC naikiri dungeon and the japan exclusive titles
i literally only watched the video to see where cless ranked.
@@pralenkaman8105 tales of eternia got release in the west as tales of destiny 2, coz at that time the west marketing dev thought its a sequel
velvet brought me back to the series lol she was amazing
Honestly I always found Sorey boring because he did not have any flaws, like none that would give any reason for anyone to dislike him. It could be because I did not like Zestiria all that much (freaking party restrictions and Alisha getting the short end) Yuri is great though and Jude is one of my favs, so if I were to make a list, it would probably be similar (minus Kor cause never played that) only Jude and Sorey would be switched and Cless would be near the bottom.
Velvet is in the same case as Ragna from Blazblue.
Real shit goes down in their past with someone they thought were their family, them they get pretty much a Doomsday Device as a limb replacement and now they are hell bent on revenge against said person until they developed through their stories.
I find her interesting because i love when a character is pretty much focused only on revenge, and slowly start to defrost through the story until they realise their full potential... And i'm a major sucker for Ragna The Bloodedge.
does she have sister complex like ragna?
i miss Raggy the edgy
No Ragna no blazeblue
I meant raggwnabadguy
Velvet might have a brother complex.
@@thinaxanel378 lol could be
Personal I find Elle, Ludge and Rollo to one of the best thing about the tales of franchise. I just lover their interactions in Xillia 2
Your description of Sorey is spot on 👍🏻.
I think he is mature and realistic just as you described and honestly I think he is unique compared to many other main characters ^^.
I agree that Sorey is pretty likeable all around. Of all the typical, tropey "regular guy who gets thrown into an adventure and ends up saving the world" protagonists, he's the one who feels the most like he's an actual person.
On the other hand, he doesn't really have much character development. I would've loved to see him doubt himself or hesitate for once. I'd have loved to see him tempted and almost consumed by malevolence at some point in the game to highlight that he's actively fighting it. Not just by punching hellions, but on a personal level as well. He was much too uncorruptable.
Thank you very much. Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪🔥🤙🏼
While I agree with most stuff on your list, especially Asbel (he had so much potential to be an interesting character, being abused by his father as a child, feeling responsible for letting Sophie die and seeing his family send his own brother to another family for apparently no reason, then leaving everything behind to live on his own in the capital and live through years of rigorous training in order to become a knight starting at the age of 11; this could be an amazing story about the consequences of child abuse, overcoming trauma, and reconnection with his family while having to deal with the perils of war and internal political dispute to ruin everything! But instead, it became Tales of "I wonder how that will affect our friendship!"), I simply cannot agree with your take on Velvet at all!
Velvet started the game as a very caring sister with a much younger and sick brother. She then watches a close family member, who basically rose them both in the place of their dead parents and older sister for 7 years, kill her own brother and offer him as sacrifice without ever filling her into the plan (which, if you played Berseria, you will agree with me that, had Arthorias and Raifisetto -sorry, I play the game in Japanese with no subtitles - told her about the plan, even if she wouldn't agree with it, she would have never gone in a murdering rampage and turned into a gouma, because it all happened because she had no idea why he killed her brother). After that, she lost her humanity down to the ability of feeling cold, hot or even tasting anything other than blood, was thrown into a prison for three years and forced to fight for her life devouring other prisoners without understanding why any of that was happening to her. It makes perfect sense as to why she'd go on being cold and dismissive towards other people, even those trying to help her, because the person she trusted the most took everything she loved and tortured her for years. The only thing keeping her sanity in check is her found memories of her young brother, but even that isn't a safe island for her anymore, as she keeps having nightmares with him being killed by her own hands. Once she learns the truth about her brother volunteering to become a sacrifice because he wasn't going to live past 12, she completely breaks down and starts a murdering rampage finally culminating in her wanting her own life to end.
Velvet was tormented, robbed of everything she knew and loved, kept in the dark for years, imprisoned and mentally tortured by her own family and surrounded herself with criminals, demons and people who want her dead. If she were not cold or were more trusting of others, her character would be rather inconsistent and poorly written. Besides, she does get a very nice growth at the last third of the game, going back to making playful jokes casually and even thanking Magilou without any hint of sarcasm, despite the latter's demand for thanks being just another one of her jokes. She's able to call Arthorias "Arthur-nii" once again, despite still wanting to kill him, and is even able to let go of the memento she held so dear if it meant protecting Phi while making sure she wasn't hurt and worrying him again. She reaches a nice balance of how she was at the start of the game and how she became after three years of imprisonment, and I attribute that to a very well written and well paced character arc.
Now, if you wanna talk about anything being disappointing in Berseria, let's talk about the combat and title systems. What a downgrade from Graces both are!
being a HUGE Tales Of fan...having played through 10 of the main titles so far... i didnt know what to expect going into this video....but i think it was a good video. i would have a few differences but i enjoyed it. Yuri would be my #1 as well :)
*Ranks Sorey Higher Than Velvet & Luke*
*Sheves Masamune*
Nani?!?...
Of course Yuri is number . LAWL!!!!!
nicholas gerard
Ha ha!
Hopefully I didn't sound like too much of a broken record.
Will you do a ranking of your favourite group of characters from the Tales Games? It could be a ranking of all the characters as a whole, how well their chemistry was and how they bonded and played off of each other.
i completely agree with Yuri.
while to be fair, i've only played symphonia and vesperia to completion, i have seen a fair amount of gameplay of the others excluding legendia and abyss, i'd have to for the most part agree with you, aside from sorey, mainly because his character development doesn't really exist, he remains largely the same with maybe a few changes in how he approaches situations here and there. and with yuri my favorite part of his entire character is the fact that he's always honest with himself, but is more than willing to take risks to ensure that he'll be able to continue helping the world in his own way
Honestly, I don't agree with Ludger being the worst. Everything else is fine, but it's just him that I can't agree with. Good video otherwise! :)
I think it would be hilarious if velvet was actually warm, caring and trusting of others after what she had suffered.
People who are calm and happy can emotionally break easier than others when they lose someone her attitude and actions made sense for what she went through and softened again while traveling with people close to her she and yuri are my top two from they evolve and both accept there actions unlike others who would denie there crimes they were more human than say sorey they understood both sides of humanity better ps velvet was not edgey she was still mourning and her need for revenge was justified
@@annoyingPoe15 naw dog she’s edgy. Her motivations are fine but her actions and demeanor were undeniable edgy which can be annoying.
@@tekka7780 she was put through hell people give up on others with her trauma she was not edgey just suffering be still and the others slowly healed her she and yuri are the most human mc of the tales series in my opinion
She is warm at times though, not always, obviously, the circumstances didn't help with that.
Honestly surprised with putting Sorey high up and Velvet in the lower ranks. Usually it’s the other way around.
Personally I enjoy Sorey more but I also think Velvet is a higher quality character in terms of her interactions and how dynamic she is. Brooding on the surface but a sweet and caring sister with motherly tendencies.
Love them both since they were my first in this Tales franchise.
I also think than Velvet is kind of overrated, i still love her though
Strongly disagree with this list Velvet should be at least in top 3 her character development was amazing.
I respect the list but having Cardboard cutout Sorey over Velvet? She actually gets development while Sorey never changes in any way
I started with Zestiria, then got Berseria, then Symphonia, then Vesperia. I've only beaten Zestiria and I'm very close to beating Berseria, but if it isnt obvious already, I play on PC, so my choices on the games I can play are very limited. Basically to just the ones I mentioned. Zestiria will probably always be my favorite because it got me into Tales in the first place, and I think aside from the series I've grown up with and still loyal to, this is my favorite series of all time. I love every like, 95% of all of the characters in every game. But I personally want to play Abyss and Xillia very badly. As for the new one coming out. I hate to say it, but I couldn't be less excited about it. I was more excited when I didnt know what was coming, but I guess we'll see what happens from here onward.
Same here. Zestiria is the one that got me playing any game at all. Some nasty/jealous Tales fans sh*tting on it is not enough to make me change my mind that it's the best for me and will always be special... ^_^
I love Zestiria as well, it was the first Tales got into with some depth. Mikleo is my favorite in that game.
I'm curious, did you play the gcn, ps2, or ps3 version of Symphonia?
@@linkplayer20 Well, since I only play on PC, I got the PC Version. But I'm 99% sure the PC version is a port of the PS3 version.
@@CatychoVT so it didn't come with dawn of the new world (its direct sequel)?
If you look at Lloyd critically he really is a generic anime character who manages to have decent character development. It may just be me, but it's his voice actor (the same guy who played Robin from Teen Titans) that is what makes him high on the list. Also I have yet to play any of the other games since I play on PC right now, but I've seen a bit of Yuri and he seems equally well voiced which is a big plus for me.
Scott Menville is such a beast. I seriously love his voice-work too!
It's so funny, because I played Dark Cloud 2 right after Symphonia and Max is also voiced by him. It seriously blew my mind back in the day.
I agree with this. Lloyd was pretty generic, but I felt like he worked in scope of the game and the Voice Actor hit it out of the park. He made Lloyd feel like so much more. All the VAs did really. It's hands done one of the better acting jobs I've ever had in a game.
I feel like hindsight is playing tricks here. Yeah, by today's standards "generic anime hero #7" does fit. But Loyd helped promote that trope almost as much as Goku did.
@@linkplayer20 True af
I agree on most, but ranking Sorey pretty high....Wat. He's the most blandest, most boring and typical "goody two shoes" main character with a cardboard cutout personality. In addition to that, he had serious lack of development throughout Zestiria, imo i'll rank Sorey almost the bottom of the barrel . But hey, its your video and your opinions i guess
Yea Sorey was one of the most boring protagonist ever
In the arguably worst tales game
Yeah have to agree, wasn't just his personality either, even the choices they made for the designs were bland and the early support cast were all pretty bland and generic, we had the loyal best friend, the pure noble female knight, and the genky cheerful girl.
Need I remind anyone of Sorey's Promise to Edna? Let alone of his ultimate conclusion and the deus ex machina that allowed himself to NOT end up like the Lord Of Calamity? Sorey's a hypocrite, among many things, but a good character he is not.
I liked Zestiria and my opinion the best character was Edna.
@@NTheHedgehog I don't think anyone's going to argue with you on Edna. She and Eizen both deserved to be in a better Tales game. That said, it's 100% Cool that you like Zestiria, I will bring no fault to you on that, because everyone has their own opinions, and yours isn't one i can hate due to the fact that there ARE some things one can enjoy from Zestiria despite the many things that aggravate others off from playing the game. I'll admit that one, and I'll raise you a Zestiria Tale of mine so you know I'm sincere:
First time I got the infamous King of Snacks, it was an item drop, and I got the skit for it, with Edna badmouthing Zaveid saying there's no way in heck he'd ever make it, so I tried to prove her there's an exception to the rule by making Zaveid create the King of Snacks, and after a few hours of fighting and creating, while I was on my way to the save point, Sorey, the WORST cook in the game is the first to make Marron Glace, and I honestly laughed for a good few minutes.
There's a lot wrong with Zestiria, and too many people have said what's wrong with that game, so I'm not typing it again, but there are enjoyable things in it, so you do you. That said, this is a Main Characters List, and we have beef with Sorey being #2. Nothing more than that.
Thanks for this video. Great topic actually!
I'd say that Luke and Yuri are my favorites. For Luke, I loved him from the beginning actually, because it was such a huge change for a hero to be everything but a hero. Wasn't expecting that at first, so it seemed really refreshing for me to have a main protagonist so reluctant to be one. And Yuri because well is more mature than every other hero - he might be the oldest but I am not sure. He does what's need to be done, even when he doesn't like it.
Those two are far from the "goody two shoes" that we always have for main character. The "nice kid that wants to save the world from the kindness of his heart" kinda annoys me. ^_^' But Luke, Yuri and even Velvet - even though I don't know why but I don't really love her as much as I feel I should xD - they are "deeper", more flawed and thus more human to me. Like I enjoyed playing as Milla but Jute was, again, way to nice and only with good intentions. Like we don't even know why is tagging along, when Milla has a real purpose at least.
I really love Lloyd as well, but maybe it is because he was my first tales of's hero. He's a kid who make mistakes, pretty stubborn and I believe him to be a bit selfish at time - hell is willing to put his friend life in top of every one else's life, so not that heroic. haha The one that I love the least is probably Sorey. Nothing special about him but again nothing special about most of the cast of character or the game itself to my opinion. xD
I really like Kor. He's a compete airhead with really funny insults that he likes to throw around. He called this guy a "Boneless-chicken avacado shrinkage disaster."
The dumbass side quest was the best dude quest in any game ever.
@@Marcelo-rs8yh Play Hearts R if you have the chance. Probably the most funny game in the series. I hope we get Vita emulation one day so more people can play that one.
senel coolidge was out right bonkers. Yeah his game was ok, but as a fighter, IMO he is the best protag. He had infinites, stupid armor and invincibility on moves and he could pick up massive enemies and just toss them around like tissue paper was fun as hell.
Everyone loves Yuri I'm named after Yuri like come on Yuri is best guy lol
You're parents are fans of the game?
@@iCANTsleep2 yea
That's awesome
@@Shiro92224 thanks
Hate train is definitely come when you come after Velvet Crowe my favorite female protagonist in all of gaming not just the tales series
Thank GOD someone who actually likes Sorey! He's not the most original character of all times but he gets wayyyy too much hate
I think that comes more from the rest of the game though. I quit zestria a few hours from the end because I just couldn't take it anymore. My only real complaint with his character is that he felt a bit Mary-Sued.
Most people won't understand this, but! I really love Ludger as a protagonist. When people complain about him being silent i get it. I can understand, but besides that he is really cool and he is dependable beyond compare. I know he basically is a self insert but that only means it comes down to interpretation. And my interpretation of him is him being strong willed, caring towards his family and him not being afraid of making difficult decisions. He would sacrifice the entire world in order to save his daughter and THAT right there is what makes him the BEST protagonist in my book.
If he had to kill the entire cast in order to save Elle i KNOW he wouldn't hesitate. I mean, he killed his brother to save her. His daughter is the most valuable treasure for him and THAT makes him SO much more relatable than any other protagonist.
Zestiria had an awesome cast in generel, i think. I liked almost every single character. And yes, i really liked Sorey, because he was... mature? Is that the right word? Yes, he was a good guy. But he was... i lack the proper words right now xD I liked him! That has to be enough xD
So here are my Top 5 protagonists.
1. Ludger
2. Yuri
3. Luke
4. Lloyd
5. Sorey
You have no idea how much I had to scroll down to find someone who wasn't bashing Ludger. THANK YOU. Thank you for existing. Thank you for making me not the only one!! I don't understand a lot of people's thing about "Well this person doesn't talk much so he doesn't have a personality." Do y'all who say that go around saying that about quiet people in real life??
Not gonna lie though, I never finished Xillia 2, even though it's one of my faves, only cuz I understand the point of all the possible endings and I appreciate the "love is sacrifice" theme, but the narrative execution made it so that a tragic ending could've EASILY been avoided, and they didn't take it, and now it can be seen as a plot hole that exists for the sake of a tragic ending. And I'm a wuss about tragedies...
@@cosmicbreath I simply had to say something. When people complain about him, i feel the need to speak my mind xD It's a reflex almost.
Jokes aside. Sometimes you have to read between the lines, when it comes to characters. Ludger is silent yes, But actions speak louder than words, i think. And when it comes to Ludger, yes, he lets his actions speak for himself.
And as i said, his relationship with Elle... you don't really see that in other Tales Games.
@@Ultimabuster92 AGREED ON ALL COUNTS, MY FRIEND!! I'm the same way!! They say actions speak louder than words, but many people still are so quick to judge by words alone instead of use their brains to observe a person's actions. I love some of the other Tales protags a lot, but Ludger is my favorite as well.
I love Ludger
I ended up liking ludger and elle a whole lot more than i thought i would. Especially considering i didnt care for them much at all when i first started x2 fresh off x1. The true ending man.. it hurts
I liked Stahn from Tales of Destiny. That was the first Tales game and my favorite to this day.
Tales of Symphonia is the first tales game I bought, Tales of Vesperia DE is the first Tales game I played.
Or rather, it's the first that I'm playING, I haven't finished it quite yet.
Bienfu FTW!
When he went on that rant about Velvet he lost all credibility and stopped watching....
On God bro. For real.
I always thought Sorey was a generic anime character. I honestly couldn't finish the game so I don't know how much he changed. It's not that I hated it so much I had to stop, it just felt so "meh" to me that I went out to get a new game and never went back. I may go back one day having played Berseria so I could see the connections to be a little more interested. Senel and Shirley weren't necessarily siblings. They were more like in-laws. He was in love with her sister who died but they never wed. Although the obsession was annoying. I think Senel saying "Shirley!" in the game surpassed how many times Kagome said "Inu-Yasha!" It's hard for me to rank these characters because the main character usually isn't my favorite from the cast. But I'd have to say Kyle from Tales of Destiny 2 is my favorite main character. I've never played the game but we share the same name so instant favorite.
I can definitely see how Sorey's "Mr. Positive" attitude could get old. I guess his character resonated with me so strongly because that's basically my own personality. 🤣
Senel just needs to pay more attention to Chloe honestly....
Everything works out that way! Lol
I haven't gotten a chance to play TOD 2 because of translation issues, but I'd definitely love to be able to one day.
Playing through Eternia on the PsP currently though. It's been such a blast so far!
Sorey never changes and the whole zesteria storyline is filled with plot holes, pointless characters and side quest that go nowhere. And the worst battle system especially when you play multiplayer
I hate so much Shirley... When I played, her obsession with Senel make her to die in the battle... e_e
The main character from Tales of Destiny 2 is named Reid...
@@dancepartyinmyhead Sorry but Reid is the heroe of Tales of Eternia, the heroe of Tales of Destiny 2 is Kyle, son of Sthan from Tales of Destiny.
In America Tales of Eternia it is called Tales of Destiny 2 but in Japan is Tales of Eternia
Berseria is the only Tales of game I have played and Velvet is one of my favorite video game characters. Looking forward to playing more if she is not the best.
I actually very much agree with this, especially the comments about Luke and Yuri. Luke was a great protagonist and watching him grow and change was amazing to witness and experience and is probably why I like Abyss so much.
My first Tales game was actually Vesperia, and I think I got super lucky on that one. Yuri isn't even my favorite character in the game but he's definitely the perfect character needed to lead and move the game forward. It was also great to see him go from depending only on himself, to basically having an entire family! That's how I always viewed the main party's dynamic, and it really made you grow to love all of them. I don't think there's a character I can dislike.
My top 3 are:
1. Luke fon Fabre
2. Yuri Lowell
3. Lloyd Irving
I loveee Luke and the whole abyss party
Fully agree with you on Sorey, finally someone appreciated him
i've opnly experienced symphonia, vesperia, zesteria, berseria and hearts r, but i don't remember hearts since its been years since i last watched a walkthrough of the game. but here's my list
1.) velvet
2.) yuri
3.) sorey
4.) llyod
just finished beseria.
i have to say, velvet is among the most well writen character, not only in tales series