Ah, Tales of the Abyss. I'll readily admit I wrote this game off far too early on. I made it about halfway through the first act, had had enough of how irritating the main cast seemed and how aimless the plot felt, and abandoned it for the longest time.
But that was a mistake. First impressions were certainly not indicative of what the game would become over the course of the nearly 40 hours I spent with it. Luke went from insufferable arse to lovable hero. And I likewise became equally attached to all of his fellow main cast members (Anise less so, but she's still decently tolerable).
In what I would describe as a very natural progression (something that's often hit or miss in JRPGs), each character came into their own, evolving from personified tropes to memorable comrades, however cliche that may sound to say so. Guy and Jade are favorites for me, with Guy being the ever-faithful best friend with an interesting arc of his own, and Jade being an unfailingly sarcastic jackass in the best possible way.
Additionally, the main plot is also well done. RPG plots tend to not always match the quality of character interactions, letting a focus on one overshadow the other, but Abyss largely avoids this imbalance. The main plot progresses very nicely (relatively minor pacing issues in some parts of the adventure aside) and ultimately reaches a (mostly) satisfying conclusion.
My only nitpick with the story is how the fonon lore pervades everything. That's not inherently bad, but so much terminology is thrown at the player in the early hours that you feel as confused as Luke does hearing it for the first time, and many times after that. Perhaps that was intentional, to reflect Luke's confusion; perhaps not. Either way, it's a small gripe, regardless.
As far as visuals and audio go, there's a fair amount to like in Abyss, especially given how it's not far from being 20 years old at this point. Colors are vibrant, characters look decent - not much else to say, either positive or negative. The world and models are also helped to look a bit sharper on the smaller 3DS screen as well. Abyss's music also impresses, with the standard battle and boss themes being personal favorites out of the score (pun absolutely intended :p).
Gameplay-wise, Abyss is perhaps a little more mixed. The world is often tedious to navigate because of the frustratingly slow run speed as well as how disorienting location placement seems at times. Only by the game's end did I finally start to get a good sense of where everything was, but by then I already had unlocked fast travel to go exactly where I needed to, so it was rather pointless. Dungeons are also somewhat lackluster, yet I can't even complain about this. I prefer solutions to be simple if it means I don't waste time running around in circles because the answer is too obscure. I don't play RPGs to spend hours running around a bunch of hallways and rooms. The action is generally at the forefront, which is ideal.
Beyond those issues, the combat (Tales' trademark linear-motion battle system) is a joy. Simple enough to learn, yet sufficiently complex for those who want to reach its skill ceiling. I was quite partial to controlling Guy through most of the game as his speed in battles was preferable to Luke's overall higher attack power. The casters and Anise didn't appeal to me, so I hardly ever made use of them. I'm sure they have their fans though. Just not for me. Unga bunga sword swinging is more my speed in Tales.
One area that RPGs can flub up quite easily is enemy quality and difficulty balancing (the newest entry in the series, Arise, is a good example of this), but Abyss stays quite steady, if on the easier side of things. Most enemies and bosses don't feel like HP sponges, nor do they typically have attacks or abilities that feel unfair. Bosses especially have pleasantly brief, yet engaging fights, never overstaying their welcome.
Overall, Abyss was a joy to complete, and a very pleasant surprise for me, as I went from being indifferent to it to outright loving it. It was the first Tales game I played, though I finished Arise earlier this year before coming back and completing Abyss. Where Arise sparked my interest in Tales, Abyss truly made me a fan of the series.
But that was a mistake. First impressions were certainly not indicative of what the game would become over the course of the nearly 40 hours I spent with it. Luke went from insufferable arse to lovable hero. And I likewise became equally attached to all of his fellow main cast members (Anise less so, but she's still decently tolerable).
In what I would describe as a very natural progression (something that's often hit or miss in JRPGs), each character came into their own, evolving from personified tropes to memorable comrades, however cliche that may sound to say so. Guy and Jade are favorites for me, with Guy being the ever-faithful best friend with an interesting arc of his own, and Jade being an unfailingly sarcastic jackass in the best possible way.
Additionally, the main plot is also well done. RPG plots tend to not always match the quality of character interactions, letting a focus on one overshadow the other, but Abyss largely avoids this imbalance. The main plot progresses very nicely (relatively minor pacing issues in some parts of the adventure aside) and ultimately reaches a (mostly) satisfying conclusion.
My only nitpick with the story is how the fonon lore pervades everything. That's not inherently bad, but so much terminology is thrown at the player in the early hours that you feel as confused as Luke does hearing it for the first time, and many times after that. Perhaps that was intentional, to reflect Luke's confusion; perhaps not. Either way, it's a small gripe, regardless.
As far as visuals and audio go, there's a fair amount to like in Abyss, especially given how it's not far from being 20 years old at this point. Colors are vibrant, characters look decent - not much else to say, either positive or negative. The world and models are also helped to look a bit sharper on the smaller 3DS screen as well. Abyss's music also impresses, with the standard battle and boss themes being personal favorites out of the score (pun absolutely intended :p).
Gameplay-wise, Abyss is perhaps a little more mixed. The world is often tedious to navigate because of the frustratingly slow run speed as well as how disorienting location placement seems at times. Only by the game's end did I finally start to get a good sense of where everything was, but by then I already had unlocked fast travel to go exactly where I needed to, so it was rather pointless. Dungeons are also somewhat lackluster, yet I can't even complain about this. I prefer solutions to be simple if it means I don't waste time running around in circles because the answer is too obscure. I don't play RPGs to spend hours running around a bunch of hallways and rooms. The action is generally at the forefront, which is ideal.
Beyond those issues, the combat (Tales' trademark linear-motion battle system) is a joy. Simple enough to learn, yet sufficiently complex for those who want to reach its skill ceiling. I was quite partial to controlling Guy through most of the game as his speed in battles was preferable to Luke's overall higher attack power. The casters and Anise didn't appeal to me, so I hardly ever made use of them. I'm sure they have their fans though. Just not for me. Unga bunga sword swinging is more my speed in Tales.
One area that RPGs can flub up quite easily is enemy quality and difficulty balancing (the newest entry in the series, Arise, is a good example of this), but Abyss stays quite steady, if on the easier side of things. Most enemies and bosses don't feel like HP sponges, nor do they typically have attacks or abilities that feel unfair. Bosses especially have pleasantly brief, yet engaging fights, never overstaying their welcome.
Overall, Abyss was a joy to complete, and a very pleasant surprise for me, as I went from being indifferent to it to outright loving it. It was the first Tales game I played, though I finished Arise earlier this year before coming back and completing Abyss. Where Arise sparked my interest in Tales, Abyss truly made me a fan of the series.