Best and worst character directions (possible spoilers)

What do you think are the best and worst directions that the Tales writers have taken certain characters in?

In my opinion, the best are:

(spoiler alert)





Lloyd: In the first Symphonia game, they did a lot of things right with this character. He was funny, but was also caring and heroic. He had a lot of great moments in all of these ways and I really liked the relationship he had with Collette and how he ended up rescuing her later in the game, along with their scene in Flanoir.

Zelos: They did so many things right with this character. Even though he's far from the only thing making the game worth playing, he has so many of the game's most entertaining moments. Any time you see his face in a character skit, you know it's going to be good. I also liked how they wrote his character when he seems to have gone evil (depending on which character you speak to in that hotel scene) and I'm glad they chose to make the more common scenario as the canon one for the sequel.

Asch: Even though the character was always a jerk towards Luke, I liked how they were able to do it in a way that made you feel for him. They make it clear that the character is troubled, so even though you want the two to make amends, you're most of the time not too frustrated. Although later on Asch does become more of a jerk than he needs to, but I like what's done with him and Luke in the ending.

The worst:

Lloyd in Dawn of the New World: I'm glad it turned out that he wasn't a bad guy after all, but what I really disliked was that they put him in a relationship with a much older schoolteacher. In the first game, they made it clear that Collette was his love interest and given the way their story is written, it made no sense doing what they did with Lloyd in the sequel and it just didn't fit the character.

Yuri: Although I haven't played Vesperia, I watched play-throughs through part of the game and of what I saw, Yuri was one of my favorite things about it. There was just a lot to like about him, but I've heard mixed things about a darker direction that he goes in later in the game. Some say that that portion was well-written, while others thought it was a terrible idea. I do know that it's been described as action that "will test the threshold of some gamers morals."
For those that played through this game, what did you think? I've been thinking of getting an X-Box system just to play it (I couldn't finishing watching the play-throughs because RPGs are meant to be played instead of seen). I'm curious to know what happens, but am also wondering if it'd be better for me to find out on my own instead of hearing of it in advance.

Ludger: I haven't played Xillia 2, but my friend told me that you have to kill him off to get the good ending. This is one case where I feel a game on a system I don't own is a blessing in disguise.






(end of spoilers)

Paladin Cecil wrote:

what I really disliked was that they put him in a relationship with a much older schoolteacher. In the first game, they made it clear that Collette was his love interest and given the way their story is written, it made no sense doing what they did with Lloyd in the sequel and it just didn't fit the character.

Most of the things Lloyd (and Yuan) did in that game didn't make much sense. However, that you felt that the older women part was a problem is kind of funny to me. It adds to Lloyd's character because he never was in a real relationship with Colette or anybody else at that point, iirc.

What I found annoying was that he never talked to his friends. Never. The reason, why he didn't, was pretty stupid, too.

inb4cheria

Anyway, best has to go to Reid, if for no other reason than that he's my favorite Tales character, so his growth over the course of Eternia really sticks out to me.

As for worst, well, as generic of an answer as it is, Luke. At first he was basically another Senel, starting off as a snot-nosed brat but eventually warming up to heroes and learning to behave... until you get to the Geo Pass, where the writers suddenly remembered they wanted to make him have a sudden change rather than a gradual one, so they shoot his douche factor up by 100%.

His "development" after when he cuts his hair thus comes across as forced and he loses alot of the personality he had that made him a likable character. I think even Namco has started noticing that Long-hair Luke offers a better angle to work with in terms of character interaction, consider how that version has been in practically every crossover.

Portraying Arietta as the villain instead of Anise.

Abicion wrote:

Portraying Arietta as the villain instead of Anise.

This was also a bad decision on the writers' part.

I think the direction they took Karol through in Tales of Vesperia was the best. After seeing Genis essentially remain the same after a long journey, it was nice to have such growth for a character of someone that age.

As for the worst, I just have to agree with Paladin Cecil on Lloyd in DotNW. I don't think I could have explained it better than you.

Paladin Cecil wrote:

For those that played through this game, what did you think? I've been thinking of getting an X-Box system just to play it (I couldn't finishing watching the play-throughs because RPGs are meant to be played instead of seen). I'm curious to know what happens, but am also wondering if it'd be better for me to find out on my own instead of hearing of it in advance.

I can't justify someone else buying a system for one game, but perhaps if you can find a cheap 360, it is worth it. That is my opinion. I will admit that the way Yuri views the world does make me think about how I view the world and how I wish I were at times. However, that discussion may be better saved for after you have either played the game or watched the walkthrough of it. However you go about doing it, I feel like you should experience it in some way. In my opinion, the gameplay for Vesperia is slower than that of Abyss and probably the other Tales games as well, so prepare for that if you do decide to buy the system and play the game. It just takes a little getting used to.

I'd say just wait for the fan translation of the PS3 version to come out. It'll be out within a few months, according to their website.

Sounds cool. How do I get a copy?

Import the PS3 version and wait for the translation patch to be released.

Okay, thanks. I'll keep that in mind.