Recent reviews by File2ish

Launch recommendation only if you already play SF and other fighters a lot, AND either have local buddies to play with or enjoy playing online.

Not recommended for anyone else at launch really. The game is so bare bones right now it's not even funny. Character "Story", Versus (local only, no vs CPU), Survival, and Online Ranked/Casual/Lounge is all there is right now.

The DLC will come eventually, but it's clear Capcom only wanted the game out so SFV tournaments which give qualifying points for Capcom Cup can start.

While this is one of my favorite games of all time, and having beaten it countless times on the Gamecube and a couple times on the PS3; I can't recommend it in it's current state unless this is the only platform you can get it on. The game is riddled with DRM and is causing multiple issues for users (the DRM in question is VMprotect).

It should be noted that this is a port of the PS3 version of the game, not the Gamecube version. The PS3 version was a port of the PS2 version (only released in Japan). The PS2 (and in turn PS3 and PC) version did not have cell shading as the GCN version had, some textures are lower resolutions (very noticeable on the world map), and the frame rate is locked at 30FPS (Gamecube was 60 when certain spells like Cyclone didn't kill it). These facts do not affect my reccomendation.

There are no graphics settings whatsoever. Not even FXAA, the one antialiasing type that generally comes with PC ports (MSAA would have been wonderful).

The internal resolution doesn't seem to be affected when you change resolutions, instead it appears to just render at 720p and stretch to your chosen resolution as adjusting my resolution to native and above did not help with the aliasing issues.

After adjusting my resolution above my monitor's native resolution the game would no longer launch, instead giving me an error and crashing (it's likely a problem when changing resolutions above native at game launch). I had to manually adjust the resolution to 1080p through the CustomConfig.conf in the game folder in order to have the game launch again (if this happens to you just open the file with notepad and edit the resolution).

The game is great, but this port is as bare bones as it can get. I was really hoping this would be the definitive edition of the game, but the lack of options is an utter disappointment. Visually and performance-wise, the Gamecube version is the best. Content wise this version is on par with the PS3 version (a few more costumes, abilities, and improved secret dungeon).

If this is your only means of playing the game: buy and enjoy! But if you already have the game on GCN, PS2, or PS3 it might be best to not pick this version up just yet.

There may be a patch in the future that fixes some problems, and I'll adjust my review/recommendation if potential improvements are implemented.

Gorgeous game (even when not running on max settings), has a good story and set piece moments, and the maps are well designed. The map as a whole feels about the same size as the first game in the rebooted series, but there are more optional tombs to raid and challenges to do.

Only gripe was with some performance issues. Would occasionally get a stutter where my FPS goes down below 5 for a few seconds (core i5 4690k, GTX 970, 8GB RAM), but the game was likely rendering the next area before it came into view.

Tales of Zestiria has it's fair share of problems and the game is slow to pick up the pace in the story, but is overall a good game.

While the game is visually appealing, especially for those who like anime art styles, the environments can feel bland and closed off. Especially so for the indoor dungeons. If you've played past tales games such as Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia, Tales of Xillia, and/or Tales of Graces, you'll find the game is more similar to the latter two in terms of combat and design choices.

The audio in the game is also pretty good. The English voice cast did a great job, and you might hear some familiar VAs as some of the main characters (such as Caitlin Glass [Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist and Cammy White in Street Fighter 4 and 5] and Carrie Keranen [Satsuki Kiryuin in Kill la Kill]).

Matoi Sakuraba's soundtrack is as you'd expect for a Tales game (he composed most of the prior games in the series). Go Shiina also composed for Tales of Zestiria (he previously composed Tales of Legendia's OST), and there is a start contrast in the music. You'll know when it's a track by Shiina. And that's a very good thing in my opinion.

The battles are fun overall, though I prefer the mechanics in other games in the series more (Tales of Symphonia, Vesperia, Xillia, etc.). One thing that knocks the battle system is the camera. There's no good way to control where it is outside of sidestepping around your target. In indoor areas the camera can be a real issue as it will make contact with the wall and zoom in extremely close to the character you control.

And there are some difficulty spikes later in the game. Be prepared to grind some levels or lower the difficulty if you find yourself struggling to kill regular monsters. Learning the battle system is key in this game. You can't mash out regular attacks into an arte in this game, the properties of each skill greatly affect the flow of battle (certain types of artes will make enemies cast magic faster instead of interrupting the cast, elemental resistances heavily hinder your damage output, etc.) and avoiding as much damage as possible will help a great deal (i.e. learn to time your side steps/back steps).

The story is alright by Tales game standards, even if the pacing is not great and one section of the game makes you explore to find certain items if you haven't already (forces some side quests). However, it's nothing to really write home about when comparing it to other games in the series (which is saying something considering the series isn't known for amazing stories and writing). The characters can be likeable as well, but they each fill a stereotypical role in a very "anime" fashion (innocent main character who grows into a hero, happy go lucky person, very mature for her age/appearance "kid", the "cold, quiet, harsh, yet has a soft side" person, etc.).

The puns make up for it though. Puns are the highest form of humor and the game loves to throw out puns. The localization team did a great job on that.

The crafting/fusion system is really tedious, though most players probably won't delve really deep into it. Weapons of the same name can be fused together to combine/create new skills attached to them. If you stack a certan amount of skills you gain more better effects, but if you stack too many of the same you get no effect at all. For those less inclined to figuring it out, equipping the highest stat items might be the best way to go.

Ultimately it's a pretty good game. Tales of Zestiria certainly isn't the best game in the series (subjective of course), but the good in the game outweigh the bad overall. Story is okay, certain characters can be difficult to like, some design choices are questionable, but it is indeed a Tales game through and through.

Also the use of puns is great. Recommended.

As of launch day for Ultra:

Top notch fighting game, Ultra's balance adjustments and additional systems (such as red focus and delayed wake up) to SF4 puts every character on a more even playing field, especially those who had no answer to vortexes.

The only gripe with the game is the online play. Since Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition's transition from Games for Windows Live (GFWL) to Steam servers the online play has seen a noticeable drop in quality (i.e. laggier). And the transition from SSF4AE ver 2014 to to Ultra has seen another lagtastic dip, at least for me. Matches are playable, and the "Waiting for opponent" doesn't pop up like it did in SSF4AE2014, but on occasion the match will slow down as both of us in the match try to distance ourselves from each other until the game goes back to normal speed.

It will likely get fixed over time, as the server structures between the two are likely very different. The netcode probably has been or had to be re-written to transition from one to the other, but may still need to be adjusted.

A bit short for a Metroidvania style game (beat the game first ever play with 23/34 items in 5h 03m 02s without rushing), but one of the best experiences I've had in the type of game.

You simply can not go wrong with this game. Great visuals, fun dialogue, solid gameplay.