This is probably around my 3rd or 4th favorite tales, which probably sounds crazy considering I've played almost all of them, even the untranslated ones.

I wouldn't be able to say Innocence is my favorite in terms of gameplay- not as a finished package at least. However, the one thing Innocence wins over literally any other game in the franchise? It feels fucking good to control. It's fast, it's snappy, no dumb turn speed and no need to rely on semi-manual toggle or doing a goddamn C analog maneouver to pivot.

In terms of the overall plot ts alright. Hits that tales standard, but not much higher than that. What it does win in however, is world building. In totality, this is probably the most fleshed out tales game so far. Every area has a culture, an economy, relationship between countries, faiths, etc. It just feels very lived in for such a small game.

In terms of the overall cast, this is where I'd probably put it above the tales average. The dynamic among the party is unreasonably good, and there are no combination of two characters that can't play off of or interact with each other. For that reason, Innocence includes skits for every combination of 2 and 3 characters, which is absolutely bonkers.