And after only 3 hours too. Not that I was actually playing Tales of Legendia
And I was okay with that. The “kidnapped little sister” story wasn’t exactly unique (and we actually found her pretty quickly) but the characters weren’t too bad. Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched any anime in a while, but even the telegraphed jokes were amusing. I liked the treasure island feel of the giant ship, I liked the bright happy colors, Werites Beacon was a great, lively town, the bread-making gimmick made me go awwww, Shining Hearts~~ I’ve got a craving for a ham sandwich now. And on top of all that, the battles were stress-free because I wasn’t actually playing them. I got a game over once when I first fought Moses, but I just tried again and my folks beat him easily. It was like a fun and slightly-interactive visual novel.
Why, puzzle booths, why? If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be ‘playing’ this game. Puzzle booths are block puzzles you’re forced to play at least once a dungeon just to progress. It forces you to get out of Watching Mode and actually think and move, which is the last thing I wanted to do in this game. I hate dungeon puzzles. Hate, hate, hate them. If you’re making a puzzle game, make a puzzle game. If you’re making an ARPG, make an ARPG. Just pick one, Namco, pick one!
I suffered through the first two puzzle booths, but the third one had about 5 moveable blocks plus a reflector, plus a switch. And the characters promised future puzzle booths with several switches that would need hitting. That was it for me. A younger me would have pulled out a FAQ and pressed manfully onward, but that was before younger me realized that wasting time on puzzles is part of the reason why younger me is no longer quite so young. No more of that nonsense.
And now for le coup de grace: I’m going to read all the Tales of Legendia story spoilers on Wikipedia so I’m not tempted to go back. Hmm, malevolent spirit. Hmm, aliens. Hmm, self-sacrifice and more self-sacrifice. Hmm, this guy was bad, no he’s good, no wait, he’s bad again. Ehhhh… Seeing it all in black and white like that makes it sound rather silly. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d actually “played” it till the end but whatever. Don’t blame me, blame Namco, and puzzle booths.
If you hate dungeon puzzles, you’d better not try to replay Avalon Code after all… Dungeons in that game are basically bristling with puzzles; puzzles that the player MUST clear to progress. And FAQ won’t help, because they’re all based on skill and speed. Like I said before, I’m an action-rpg veteran; yet Avalon Code remains one of the toughest action-rpg I’ve ever played, not the least because of these demanding dungeons puzzles.
Ehhhhhh… I’ll give it a try anyway. I quit once, so I don’t have any problem quitting again if I don’t like how it’s going.
Hiya, I discovered your blog a few months ago and have been enjoying your various reviews and game talks.
I played ToL back in…2006 or so, so that may be why I don’t remember puzzles booths at all. I feel like they’d be something that would’ve annoyed me, however, and I usually remember the things about games that I can’t stand…so maybe I just “Screw it” and used a FAQs for all of them, heh.
I like Tales of games in general and beat and enjoyed Legendia (for the most part), but one of the most aggravating points about it for me was that the story is divided into two halves: the main story first part, and the character quest second part. That by itself is perfectly fine, but they reused all the dungeons from part 1 in part 2, just with much tougher enemies the second time around. And again, though I don’t even remember puzzle booths being a thing in the game, there were plenty of annoying dungeons that I hated the first time, then got to go through again. Thanks, Bamco! So you probably saved yourself quite a bit of frustration by quitting where you did.
I was on the verge of just using FAQs to get through the puzzles (your mind must have blocked them out. They really suck) but once I read the story I didn’t see the point of continuing. And now you’re telling me I’d have to replay half the game all over again? NO. WAY. IN. HELL.
i don’t remember the puzzle booth either but honestly the whole game is awfull,the battle are boring even if you are playing on normal,the dungeon super dulls,the character uninteressing (well i guess norma is at least slighly funny) and the plot goes from stereotypical rescue plot to stereotypical race wars plot and somehow fuck it up twice
worst tales ever
In my book they’re all “worst tales ever.” A series this popular must have something good about it, but somehow I always end up playing the bad ones.