#068 - Tales of Zestiria Review

This week, the clan invites goodman Troy Cavanaugh on for a review two months in the making; Tales of Zestiria. We also announce Persona 5 as the next game for Cameron and Craig. Live always in the [NUDE]

Tales of Zestiria

 

Tales of Zestiria is the fifteenth installment in the long-running Tales series. The game was announced on December 12th 2013 as the 20th anniversary title. The game was initially released for PlayStation 3 and 4 on January 22, 2015 in Japan, and October 20th, 2015 in North America. The game was released on Steam October 19th, 2015.

 

Tales of Zestiria occurs on the continent named Glenwood. Glenwood is currently divided between two warring countries of Hyland and Rolance. The negative energy/emotions generated by people is manifested as what we know as “malevolence”. Malevolence transforms living, dead, and even inanimate objects into hellions. In addition to Humans, there are a group of supernatural humanoids and animals called Seraphim. Seraphim can interact with humans with a certain amount of resonance. Seraphim were once abundant, but have become scarce over time.

 

Setting:

The people of Glenwood refer to individuals who can interact with the Seraphim as Shepherds; individuals hailed as saviors, yet also feared for their immense power. Shephers appear during times of crisis. Seraphim can create contracts amongst themselves, the dominant figure is referred to as a Prime Lord, and a number of partners are called Sub Lords to support them. Glenwood also houses Dragons, who are seraphim corrupted by malevolence.

 

Plot:

Tales of Zestiria begins with two young explorers, Sorey and Mikleo (a seraph) exploring some ruins. They come across a girl, named Alisha Diphda, and bring her back to the village Elysia. Elysia is the home of the Seraphim, btw. Alisha heads home, and the party encounters a hellion called Lunarre, and follow Alisha home. The group encounters Lailah, a Prime Lord, who grants Sorey the power to fight the hellions. We then figure out that Alisha is the princess to the Hyland Kingdom. She joins the party to fight hellions, and the party sets out to fight malevolence. The main cause of this malevolence is a creature known as the Lord of Calamity. The party meets up with Edna, a earth Seraph, and Loli on the side, who joins up. Alisha ends up leaving the group because she’s a fucking resonance cazh, but ends up being used by Hylands military as a leverage to force Sorey and his friends to help them in their fight. This is when we first encounter Heldalf, the Lord of Calamity. Heldalf crushes Sorey, and before he is killed, he is rescued by an assassin named Rose.

Once Sorey recovers, he discovers that the Shepherd must go on a pilgrimage to four shrines to gain strength and fight Heldalf. Rose finds out that she has high resonance, and becomes Sorey’s Squre, along with Guns N’ Roses Gutarist/Wind Seraph Dezel/Slash. One the group clears the four trials, they fall under the trap of Symonne, a fallen seraph/Queen of the Loli’s. Dezel reveals that his true plight is to enact revenge on Symonne for her role in the death of his friends, and sacrifices himself to assist Rose in the fight.

 

The group confron the Lord of Calamity, who now wants to recruit our boy Sorey. We find out that the Era of Chaos that the game takes place in was created when the previous Shepherd turned Heldalf, a Rolance military general, into a cures immortal being by fusing him toe the seraph Motelus when he refused to provide aid to his village when it was invaded. This invasion, and failure, filled him with hatred, and thus turned him into the Lord of Calamity. We then find out that the village he failed to save was where our two friends Sorey and Mikleo were born. The party defeats the Lord of Calamity, Seraphim and Humans live in peace, and we get a cutscene where an adult Mikleo falls into a hole in some ruins, and is rescued by what is presumed to be Sorey.

 

Gameplay-

Action RPG

Armitization

Skits

Normin

Customization

Arteeehhhs