Two (4?) new Tales games announced.

[Frogacuda]

I refuse to beleive that the encounter rate could be even half of what it was in Destiny. I also really like the background art in Destiny 2, though not as much as Eternia's. I find it hard to beleive that the plot could be as bad as Destiny's "We're Sorry Mari- er, Stahn. The pinc- er, bad guy is in another castle" plot, either. The SP guage thing is goofy though, and goes against the grain of the improvements made in Eternia. I can imagine hating it.

(I really just didn't like Destiny much. Total rush job. Though I guess Destiny 2 could be a worthy successor in that regard, too...) In japan, Destiny and Destiny 2 were the most popular in the series, even among series fans. I don't know what's wrong with people sometimes...

[AaronChance]

I refuse to beleive that the encounter rate could be even half of what it was in Destiny. I also really like the background art in Destiny 2, though not as much as Eternia's. I find it hard to beleive that the plot could be as bad as Destiny's "We're Sorry Mari- er, Stahn. The pinc- er, bad guy is in another castle" plot, either. The SP guage thing is goofy though, and goes against the grain of the improvements made in Eternia. I can imagine hating it.

Was the encounter rate every five steps? Because that's what it is in Destiny 2. And you know what's worse than playing Stahn going to various places with no actual purpose? Playing his whiny son doing the exact same thing. The SP gauge is probably even worse than you imagine it. It's not a factor in quick fights, but basically it kicks in whenever a battle is getting really good and ends up ruining it every time. It doesn't add anything to the challenge either since your team mates are constantly healing you.

(I really just didn't like Destiny much. Total rush job. Though I guess Destiny 2 could be a worthy successor in that regard, too...) In japan, Destiny and Destiny 2 were the most popular in the series, even among series fans. I don't know what's wrong with people sometimes...

Destiny 2 feels like a rush job in almost every aspect. It feels like they threw it together and didn't actually try playing it because it may look good on paper, but actually playing it everything just breaks down. I find it really surprising that anyone can even like this game, especially people who have played other games in the series. But then I never thought the majority of Japanese gamers had very good taste in games.

[ferricide]

I find it hard to beleive that the plot could be as bad as Destiny's "We're Sorry Mari- er, Stahn. The pinc- er, bad guy is in another castle" plot, either.

probably not, but as soon as i started playing it all of the bad memories of destiny 1's story started flooding back to me ... and i lost interest so quickly. plus, as ammadeau said, the battle system forcing you to just stop all the time is really, really, not so hot.

hrm, i have a non-Mega Hits! version up for grabs. PM me! =)

[AaronChance]

Here's the plot of Destiny 2 in it's entirety:

Mystery Girl: I am looking for the hero.
Stahn's Son: I'm a hero!
MG: No, you're not.
SS: Yes, I am.
MG: Not!
SS: Am!
MG: Not!
SS: Am!
Mystery Villian: Hahaha, I am very evil and will kill you all.
SS: My friends just kicked you ass. I helped a little.
MV: I will vanish for now because the game isn't long enough.
MG: Maybe you're the hero.
SS: I told you I was!
MV: I have returned! I can't possibly lose this time!
SS: You are already dead.
MV: I am slain!
MG: Okay, you're the hero after all.
SS: See? I told you I was!

[Frogacuda]

Was the encounter rate every five steps?

'Bout every 2-3 steps, seriously. Even in the dungeons that didn't have random encounters. It was unreal. The SFC Phantasia was like that, too, actually, but the remake fixed it.

Destiny 2 feels like a rush job in almost every aspect.

The development cycle was like half or 2/3 of what Symphonia got, so you might not be that far off...

You'll probably still like Symphonia, though. It has none of the problems you mentioned. No random battles anywhere in the game, and they went back to the fast and frantic Eternia style battling. And it's pretty and has fun characters.

[ferricide]

eternia is IMO the best game in the series. and then phantasia remake. of course, this is from the perspective of someone who got involved in the series on the playstation.

phantasia might have more appealing overall feel than eternia, even, but the polished-ness of eternia is lovely. and i like the english text, although the story is nothing special.

TOD2 really seemed like a step back from eternia to me, or at least a step sideways. less polish and although high-res it didn't really look better at all, for various reasons, including the fact that the sprites are always way scaled in, in the battles. and have ass animation on the map so it doesn't matter if they're high res.

[Frogacuda]

eternia is IMO the best game in the series. and then phantasia remake. of course, this is from the perspective of someone who got involved in the series on the playstation.

I won't call ToS my favorite before I play the english version, but it is in many ways the best of both worlds there. I've described it as "Tales of Phanternia" myself a few times. The gameplay and battle system are evolved from eternia, the story is built on Phantasia, and the art's a mix of both.

[ferricide]

phantasia remake has a really pleasant anime/fantasy feel that's kind of eschewed by latter games; i'd be happy to see that come back. i don't hate mutsumi inomata but i'm not crazy about him (her?) either. the whole *world* has a very different feel in phantasia than eternia or even than ToD, so it's not a technological thing.

[Frogacuda]

i don't hate mutsumi inomata but i'm not crazy about him (her?) either.

Inomata is female.

[AaronChance]

Inomata is female.

Does she have a head bigger than her body and a neck the width of one electron? That would explain her character designs.