Localization isn't just about directly translating words for foreign audiences. It also involves interpreting cultural elements for inexperienced players. Tales of the Abyss could benefit from that.
Nelia writes: "RPG party members can easily make or break your RPG experience. We've thrown together a list of some of the best party members we can't help but love."
The Tales games may be less recognizable than the Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games, but that doesn't mean that they aren't worth playing!
“Tales series is considered one of the top three Japanese RPG series next to RPG giants like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.”
How you gonna talk about the top three JRPG franchises and not mention Pokémon, the top selling series in the genre?
This is how the top JRPG series stack up
1. Pokémon - 340M
2. Final Fantasy - 144M
3. Dragon Quest - 78M
4. Monster Hunter - 52M
5. Kingdom Hearts - 30M
6. Souls - 25M
7. Tales of - 20M
Huzaifah writes: "Now I can’t talk about this game without letting my bias seep into the writing, but trust me when I say that if you’re a fan of the JRPG genre, you need to give Tales of The Abyss a chance."
It’d be great if Tales of the Abyss was remastered for modern consoles or even just released as a PS2
Classic on PS4.
“The game does fall into some cliche fantasy tropes over the course of it’s run, which is disappointing, but not a deal breaker in any sense.”
One of the greatest appeals of the Tales series is how various plots that start as cliche as the setting could get but later go on to subvert and deconstruct the very tropes they employ, often by drastically highlighting the nasty downsides of them.
This was a great game. Vesperia is still my favorite but this one was very good. 3DS version is my favorite. Less loading and the map display is much more convenient. They need to make a tales of collection for the PS4. Itd be cool on switch too but idk how the licensing situation would be for the PS1-PS4/PSP-PSV exclusive entries
Abyss is my favorite one of all! since I can't stand low resolution, I replayed it recently via PCSX2 (I own the original game and system) so the loading times were insanely fast compared to any other version.
I would gladly re-buy it on my PS4 :)
i think this game has the best character development in any tales game sense luke goes from a brat rich kid to a true hero is great
I want to try Tales of the Abyss, but the only Tales game I tried was Tales of Hearts and I didn't really care for it. Any recommendations?
Hiring a team of good translators would hike the cost of the transition from Japan to the US enough to kill a fair number of NA-bound JRPGs.
JRPGs are usually made with *very* small budgets (because they don't sell very well outside Japan), and can't really afford to spend too much on localization.
^
This. I think people would prefer a western release that is only decently translated than to not receive these games at all.
I fear the day when "localization" means turning it from whatever it is into a shooter so it will sell in the West. I for one love the anime style and periodic goofiness that is a pratfall in the middle of seriousness.
Ah, PS2 RPGs. You damn beautiful weirdos.
I'd like to think that culture clash instances and translation issues like Abyss have cropped up less frequently since the game's release on the PS2. Development for Japanese games today probably have western audiences in mind a little more, at least to some extent, so the script is written with more universal appeal. I mean, these things will always be there, especially for those games that are very Japanese and localization wasn't on the table until after its release, but I think we've made some great strides in handling it. Especially companies like Atlus.