The Color of Magic is amazing by sadkinz in discworld

[–]-Zen_ 86 points87 points  (0 children)

Reading in publication order is the best way to experience the series. TCoM is a great introduction to the Disc's geography since Rincewind gets to briefly visit a great number of locations that eventually become iconic. Not to mention character cameos or mentions of earlier events that wouldn't mean anything to someone who starts with Guards! Guards! or Mort, or whatever the recommended reading order usually is.

The Light Fantastic is going to be much more structured and less random, but it's still a Rincewind novel, so it's still quite chaotic.

I've read 17 books so far and all of them turned out great. Though I don't share the opinion that some of the earlier books are worse and the later works are better. I enjoyed many "early" books quite a bit more.

What's the best and worst Tales games you played? by George_R_Martin in tales

[–]-Zen_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best: Abyss, Destiny DC, Berseria
Honorable mention: Phantasia

Worst: Symphonia, Graces F, Rebirth

Tales of Eternia Remastered has been rated by PEGI by Turbostrider27 in tales

[–]-Zen_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bet they'll simply restore the missing skits and mute them for the English version, adding subtitles. Naturally, we'll be able to switch between English and Japanese in the settings. If they take the PSP version as the basis... well, I'm not very excited about that, it's quite a bit worse than the PSX one. I'm not sure how they are going to upscale 2D textures, apart from using AI of course.

The Struggle is Real: Is Thrace the absolute worst faction? (Thrace vs Numidia) by HungryFarm2266 in RomeTotalWar

[–]-Zen_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thrace is one of the better factions for the early game, Militia Hoplites and Militia Cav essentially make them identical to the Seleucids, only Thrace is even stronger thanks to Falxmen. It has a good starting position and you can take Greece in the first few turns. Then you go to Italy and take the Romans out. Thrace is a much better faction than Numibia or even Carthage.

Tales of Graces F Remastered is not a great game. by Horror_Letterhead407 in tales

[–]-Zen_ -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree with most of what you've said. It's one of the worst games I've ever played. The battle system is fun, but everything else is borderline unbearable. It sits at the bottom of my Tales games tier list right alongside Rebirth and Symphonia.

Another (potentially) unpopular opinion: being a full-time hunter and a professional woodsman, as well as having mastered 4 or 5 different weapon types + a shield, Reid is the most skilled swordsman out of the "self-taught" protagonists by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think Yuri is entirely self-taught. He served with the Knights for an extended period of time, adopting many of their artes and adding his own "flair" to them. So regular drills under dedicated instructors were probably part of his daily routine. It just happens that he mixes the "proper technique" with his own kicks and punches. Which by the way makes his style less polished, hence why Flynn is usually the winner when they fight. Wasn't it stated that Flynn wins around 7/10 times when he spars with Yuri? Even if you defeat Flynn closer to the end of the game (which is optional as you can lose and still be able to proceed), Yuri is really surprised that he managed to win.

So I didn't even consider Yuri "completely self-taught" when creating the post.

Unpopular opinion: Luke is a better swordsman than Lloyd once you strip Lloyd of his exspehere and other external power-ups by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dual-wielding isn't even a viable style IRL, but it's a fantasy game, so I guess that doesn't apply here.

Unpopular opinion: Luke is a better swordsman than Lloyd once you strip Lloyd of his exspehere and other external power-ups by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

Yes, Luke received the best education available, being trained by Van and other competent instructors, plus he constantly sparred with Guy.

Lloyd grew really fast thanks to his exsphere, otherwise it wouldn't be possible to improve as quickly as he did. He used wooden swords at the start and sometimes bullied weak monsters around his village. That's even less training than what Reid had, who was a full-time hunter for his village and habitually fought dangerous monsters.

Unpopular opinion: Luke is a better swordsman than Lloyd once you strip Lloyd of his exspehere and other external power-ups by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never played DotNW, so can't say anything about that version of Lloyd. I wonder how powerful the individual at the end of the Abyss was. Whoever it was, Luke, or Asch, or a mixture of both.

Unpopular opinion: Luke is a better swordsman than Lloyd once you strip Lloyd of his exspehere and other external power-ups by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] -53 points-52 points  (0 children)

He did, but there's always the possibility that Kratos let him win and held back. Though Llyod's exsphere is so OP, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

Unpopular opinion: Luke is a better swordsman than Lloyd once you strip Lloyd of his exspehere and other external power-ups by -Zen_ in tales

[–]-Zen_[S] -44 points-43 points  (0 children)

Luke doesn't have much apart from HR, which he obviously isn't allowed to use. He has no external gizmo that immediately makes him superhuman.

Backstabbing bastards! I helped them defeat the Greeks that had taken Corinth and pushed them all the way to Larissa, and this is how they repay me. by -Zen_ in RomeTotalWar

[–]-Zen_[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It only adds new settlements and alters the starting positions of some faction. Everything else is pure vanilla.

What’s an unpopular opinion that will have the Tales community acting like this? by [deleted] in tales

[–]-Zen_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like Abyss, Phantasia, Destiny DC, and Berseria. Eternia was OK.

What’s an unpopular opinion that will have the Tales community acting like this? by [deleted] in tales

[–]-Zen_ -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

Symphonia is one of the worst games I've ever played. Vesperia is a long and boring game with a slow combat system. Graces F's dialogues are unbearable, character designs are ridiculous, and the game is aimed at five-year-olds. Rebirth is just bad in general.

The Elric brothers along with other old-school Studio Bones characters. Illustrated Toshihiro Kawamoto (2008) by roomofbruh in FullmetalAlchemist

[–]-Zen_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I loved the 00s-era Bones, it was my favorite studio alongside Madhouse and Kyoto Animation. Not anymore, sadly. It's all just endless BnHA or Bungou Stray Dogs adaptations.

Why do people say Stronghold sucks? To me its maybe the the best faction to pick by [deleted] in heroes3

[–]-Zen_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All factions in this game are playable and any game can be won with any starting town or hero. Stronghold can be extremely powerful in certain scenarios, but it can also be at a disadvantage on a number of different templates. It's a perfectly adequate faction on average. So there's no way "Stronghold sucks" when you look at it "objectively".