7 hours and 20 minutes, to be precise. I don’t think the Tales series is quite right for me. Tales of the Tempest was bad, everyone admits that. But Innocence was supposed to be one of the good ones. So good, in fact, that Namco released a remake for the Vita, meaning they were confident in its ability to sell. And yet I just couldn’t get into it.
I will admit that Innocence is better than Tempest on almost all scores (I think I liked the Tempest opening song better though). One thing I really like is all the little skits you get to watch. It’s like the Party Talk feature in DQ games, but lengthier and more detailed. IIRC they took skits out of Tempest except for during camp scenes, and as a result I never saw a single one. It’s a real shame because you get a lot of character interaction and development and story explanation and just plain fun and games in those skits, which really helps flesh out the game world.
Aaaand… that’s about it for what I liked. Battles were just ordinary ARPG battles. Felt like I was playing a weaker, duller, less flashy version of Star Ocean. And there was too much stuff to fiddle with in the menus: Styles, style abilities, specials, weapon customization (with no readily discernible effects), etc. They also threw in “Grade points” and Guild quests, all of which I studiously ignored because they were of the Dragon Quest IX-style “Put this on and go kill 10 bats” nonsensical type.
While Tales of Innocence
What really killed me though, is the story. I may have mentioned this before, but I hate reincarnation-based stories. They reek of laziness and unimaginativeness. It’s bad when the writers pull out the bullshit near the end as a ‘shocking twist’, but it’s just as bad when the whole story is about who was who in a past life, and it turns out they all knew each other back then blah blah blah. If that’s the case, all the mysteries of the game should be clear to the characters from the start, right? But nooo, when it comes to important plot points, everyone suddenly goes, “Oops, I forgot I had amnesia!!” They remember everything except what the player most needs to know! How convenient is that? Or rather, just how stupid do the writers think I am?
You either remember everything or you remember nothing, don’t waste my time with all this “I remember all this inconsequential bullshit that nobody gives a **** about, but I’ve forgotten the super-important plot twist that should have been the first thing any sensible person recalled” crap. BUUULLLLSHIIIITTTT.
Tales of Innocence is so bullshitty, in fact, that I’m not even going to bother wiki-ing or googling what the rest of the game would have been about if I had continued. RRRRGGHHH, it’s so annoying! Every time you meet a new character or party member and you’re looking forward to getting to know them, your party members jump ahead of you and go “Hey, I know you! Long time no see! Let’s go over there and talk about the past while leaving the player out in the cold, won’t that be fun?”
Am I making any sense? I’m not sure I’m making sense. I’m just pissed off right now. Everybody shows up and joins this little in-game clique, but they won’t let me in! >:-/ It’s like I’m watching Season 10 of a plot-driven show and they’re throwing a few recaps in as a sop to the poor idiots who weren’t there from the beginning. No, no, Namco. Don’t put yourselves out on my account. Enjoy your family reunion, I’m sure you have lots to catch up on. I’ll show myself out. Goodbye, and good riddance.
Yeah…Innocence is pretty terrible, I almost feel sorry for the team who spent years translating it.
I wonder how you feel about Tales of Destiny. Most people say the battle system is incredibly dated (well, by today’s standards it is) and never give the game a chance, which is a shame, because I think Destiny has the best characters of any game in the series.
Innocence is only the second Tales game I’ve ever played (third if you count a few short hours of Symphonia), so I’ve never played Destiny before. I’m planning to play Eternia and Hearts in the future, but I’ll include Destiny if you recommend it.
No matter how they tweak the battle system it will never be more than standard Action RPG fare, so I’m more interested in what they do with the story and characters than in anything else.