AC Weigh-In: October 2018

Who's in your ideal Tales team?

We discuss ideal Tales teams, dream cross-overs and favorite Mystic Artes and character designers in the October 2018 issue of AC Weigh-In!

For this edition of AC Weigh-In, we have:

a745
Head Admin,
Site Designer,
Founder
DimensionSlip
News/Content Writer,
Back-End Support
AC Radio Host
Grace
Content Writer
lessiehanamoray
Content Writer
Khayyaam
Social Media
Flamzeron
News Writer

Which Tales cast is your favorite out of the franchise?

a745
I have a very strong like for the Tales of the Abyss cast. Out of all the Tales game characters, Abyss hands down had very diverse, relatable people who each had their own realistic-looking problems and they all showed growth through them - albeit to different degrees, but growth nonetheless. The game also touches on how they were built as a character, specifically having a good balance of backstories and their present predicaments - making them very wholesome characters you'd want to see the outcomes of.
DimensionSlip
Abyss! What did you expect, really. I love the evolution of the party's dynamics, as well as how their flaws and character arcs were handled.
Grace
That's honestly a hard question because I'm quite fond of a lot of casts, but for me, it's the Legendia cast. I just really love their development and how we see a lot of their deeper characters throughout the game.
lessiehanamoray
Hmm. That's tough, but probably Xillia 2. I love Jude, Alvin, and Gaius so much, plus it's really diverse in ages, and I can't think of anyone from that cast I hate. Even the characters I'm pretty neutral on have great moments and the cast interacts well.
Khayyaam
Graces F. While there are individual characters that I like more from other games, I absolutely love everyone in Graces F. They're consistently entertaining and all bounce off each other really well, not just in skits, but also in cutscenes, winquotes, and even *during* battle.
Flamzeron
I really like the cast in Tales of Graces. They felt like a little family and you can even pick out who would be who in the family, like Malik being the grandfather and such. The Tales series has always had a strong cast of characters so I feel like every game's cast is special to me, but Graces' cast is just a tad more special.

 


If you could create a 6 team Tales party from existing games, who would you choose and why?

a745
I consider myself a pretty shallow person so without any regard to which character is best at fighting/healing/magic, I'm just gonna throw in all my favorite characters into the mix - that being Chester, Arche, Mikleo, Jude, Sorey and Leon. Ho ho ho~
DimensionSlip
Jade, Gaius, Ludger, Velvet, Tear, Milla, aka this is just me wanting to see a party of my favorites together.
Grace
  1. Jude - Fast, very good at combos, and a decent close-area healer.
  2. Mikleo - A very good hybrid between melee, mage and healer.
  3. Ludger - Very fast, very good at combos, and can switch between three weapons, so a very good attacker.
  4. Genis - I do like his array of spells, and he's one of my favorite Tales mages.
  5. Natalia - Very good healer and buffer and her arrows make her good for mid-range attacks.
  6. Eleanor - Aerial combo pro and like Mikleo, a good hybrid between melee, mage and healer.
lessiehanamoray
Asbel because I love him. Tear because she's my favorite healer. Jude as a secondary healer and because he's so fast, so stun lock forever. Jade for my arcane skills, and then...I originally thought Sorey and Mikleo because they're such a great team, but I'm switching my answer to Eizen and Gaius. Both have some solid healing and are pretty heavy hitters. Plus, I think they'd really get along. Not to mention that their artes are pretty different from the others.
Khayyaam
Yuri, Jade, Estelle, Pascal, Chalcedony, Ludger. Aside from just generally being my favorites, I greatly enjoy playing as all of them, and it's a good variety of playstyles to boot!
Flamzeron
First would be Reid from Tales of Eternia, because he's my favorite. In my parties, I like having some kind of structure and balance with who I use. With that in mind, I'd ideally want another melee user, like Asch from Abyss, Kratos from Symphonia, or Judas from Destiny 2. That way, I would have someone who can use magic as well if needed. I'm leaning towards Kratos, mainly because of the extra healing spells. Depending on the game, I may feel the need to double up on my character types, so having another magic knight character would be fine with me. I also like having another pure fighter like whoever I play as, so for the sake of this question, I'll say Senel from Tales of Legendia. I usually like having a strict healer, so I'd want to have Mint from Tales of Phantasia probably, though having them be able to defend themselves would be nice to so I'll go with Tear from Tales of the Abyss. My last two will be Malik from Tales of Graces and Kongman from Tales of Destiny. I picked Malik because I like his ranged abilities and I picked Kongman because, if all else fails, he can just punch our way into victory!

What kind of series would you like to see the Tales franchise crossover with in a collaboration game?

a745

Tales x Wild ARMs (Please revive this series for real and not just another mobile game) and Tales x Atelier Series would be something I'd love to see.  The two have pretty similar anime JRPG elements that I'd love to see together. I guess Xenoblade would be a nice touch, too.

If we're talking smaller scale, then have Tales of the Rays collaborate with Food Fantasy and have Yuri wear chef clothes and be the Food Soul for "Love-Filled Croquettes" because why not?

DimensionSlip
I already got my wish with ToRays' Valkyrie Anatomia collaboration, but if I were allowed another dream, definitely the Persona series.
Grace
Pokemon, because it's one of my favorite franchises.
lessiehanamoray
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner would be amazing with something closer to Tales combat, and it would be fun to see what Atlus and the Tales team could come up with if they worked together. I really think it could bring the action-oriented combat of the Raidou games to new levels, and that Zestiria provided a good system for the base when it comes to handling demons. Plus, he already has some dimension hopping abilities, so there's plenty of opportunities for Tales of Series cameos.
Khayyaam
Fire Emblem! That's one of my other favorite RPG series. I think skits and support conversations are similar enough too, there's a lot of potential there. Other games I'd like to see collaborations with would be Soulcalibur, Trails or even maybe Final Fantasy.
Flamzeron
Being the Dragon Ball fanboy that I am, I would love to see Tales and Dragon Ball collaborate. I could see it now; Goku would be teaching Sorey how to do the Kamehameha and Velvet would be fighting Vegeta. I imagine that the latest Tales game would be the one to get paired up with Dragon Ball, so either or those two examples may not happen, but I'd be happy either way. If they need a villain, they can just take Zamasu from Dragon Ball Super. He seems like he would fit right in...

Who is your favorite character designer from the franchise?

a745
I am leaning toward Inomata more, mostly because I find her designs to be 'prettier' or more colorful. Sure, she does make some outrageous designs at times, but her characters tend to be more pleasing to the eyes for me. I like Fujishima's designs, too, because they are mostly cleaner and simpler as compared to Inomata's, but I like colorful things, so...
DimensionSlip
I actually really like Daigo Okumura's designs! They have a very classy feel to them that I adore.
Grace
I like all of them.
lessiehanamoray
Mutsumi Inomata.
Khayyaam
Kousuke Fujishima. His designs just feel like Tales to me, and even though it's often joked that his characters can end up looking similar, they still feel distinct enough that I can tell them all apart-even for characters that intentionally look similar!
Flamzeron
I like Kosuke Fujishima's designs a lot. His deigns have a specific look to them that I like, mainly in the costume designs. I also like Minoru Iwamoto for his more grounded designs. I like that the latest Tales games have used all of the character designers. That way, we get a little bit of everyone's strengths working together.

Overall, what is your favorite Mystic Arte in the franchise? For Mystic Artes that recur in different games, which version of it is your favorite?

a745
As much as I'm not the biggest fan of Shirley in general, her Radiant Mythology 3 Mystic Arte, Urel Nelfes, happens to be one of my favorites in terms of visuals and timing of the cut-in entrance. I'm more of a visuals person over power/damage, so I guess the other Mystic Arte I'm quite fond of would be Laphicet's Chaos Bloom. I love how he combines light and dark powers to make a sort of dimensional collapse. Of course there's Indignation and its many renditions, but who doesn't love Indignation?
DimensionSlip
I am going to sound so predictable at this point, but I love Jade's Mystic Cage. While the animation in Abyss is rudimentary, the incantation is just so good, and we get to see a higher quality version in Zestiria! As for recurring Mystic Artes... it's one of those Indignations, hands down. All the chants are just amazing and my very obvious bias aside, it's difficult for me to pick a favorite among all those we have. I love Jade's a lot, but I have a soft spot for Laphicet's as well.
Grace
Jade's Indignation. I love his incantation and how it looks.
lessiehanamoray
It's probably because Tales of the Abyss is near and dear to my heart, but Jade's Indignation is probably my favorite. It feels significant when you unlock it, and it's fun to use. Not to mention he sounds really cool when casting it.
Khayyaam
Indignation, of course. Especially Jade's version. But I guess that might not count since it's not always a Mystic Arte and was not one originally, in which case I'd have to go with Savage Wolf Fury. I really like that you can mash to increase the hitcount of the move, and it felt super satisfying to hear Yuri shout "You're dead!" (Also, it's technically not a mystic arte, but shout outs to Presea's gacha Mirrage Arte in Tales of The Rays. I didn't expect to see such a violent arte in a Tales game, but it's super cool and fitting of the character)
Flamzeron
My all time favorite Mystic Arte is Kratos' Shining Bind, from Tales of Symphonia. It just looks so cool! And the way he yells out the name in Tales of Vesperia was awesome! It almost looks like Kratos is powering up, which is probably why I like it. It reminds me of Dragon Ball a little. Because of that, my other favorites are Reid's Aurora Wall from Tales of Eternia and Luke's Radiant Howl from Tales of the Abyss.

Any suggestions for next month, or anything that you want to respond to? Feel free to share them in the comments below~

Image Credits:

a745
About a745 1735 Articles
A745 (or Abby, as most people call her) is the founder of Abyssal Chronicles. She is currently a doctor, but that doesn't stop her from showing her love for the Tales of Series. She loves potato chips. A lot.