Cortyn took advantage of the summer sale and bought Tales of Zestiria. However, the JRPG won’t be played for a while.
Happy Wednesday everyone! Yes, it’s summer, and what is the best thing about this season? No, not the sun. No, not even the barbecues. Correct, the Steam summer sale. As befits the demon of the internet world, I also took advantage and refreshed my collection of RPGs. That’s how I ended up getting “Tales of Zestiria“, begging my roommate for an Xbox controller, and finally sitting down at the computer. After all, Tales of Zestiria is a traditional JRPG, and that needs one thing above all: plenty of time and peace.
And what can I say? From the start, it was exactly what I expected. A slightly overdramatic story about a fantastic world, with a somewhat simple main character who is so kind-hearted that it’s surprising he doesn’t leave a trail of pure sugar behind him or has already been assassinated 7 times due to his naivety. In summary: Exactly what I love about a JRPG.
A spoiler in the game – is that possible? Yup!
However, after about 90 minutes of gameplay (I dawdled, yes), the game presents an anime-style video sequence. And from then on, I no longer felt like playing the game. Why?
The sequence, which you can watch in the video below, reveals a lot about the upcoming story. It shows the main characters and the antagonists as well as the “important” supporting characters and clearly indicates who is on which side – I assume.
Why does this bother me? 90% of the characters haven’t appeared in the game yet. I already know who will be important in the plot, so I don’t even need to play it anymore. Sure, I don’t know the nuances and the exact flow of the story, but with so much information that the sequence provides, I have lost the desire to continue playing at all. The game spoiled itself for me. As crazy as that may sound.
Yes, I know. In an anime, such an opening would be “completely normal” (and the song is really catchy!), but it also serves a different purpose. It aims to captivate the viewer and spark curiosity about the future – after all, it’s about ratings. In a game that I have already bought, I don’t need spoilers for the future. I already own the game; you’ve already got me hooked! And so it comes that Tales of Zestiria now disappears back into oblivion for me.
What do you think about it all? Does it not bother you to be presented with all the characters of the story right from the start? Or do you just have to accept that in an “anime game” an “anime opening” comes – spoilers and all?
