Tales of Crestoria: Is It Worth Playing? (Review)

Mobile RPGs (role-playing games) are no longer a rare sight in the gaming community. Game developers have seen the potential of mobile gaming and popular computer games are now moving to a handheld version. Tales of Crestoria is one of the newer games to make it in the mobile scene. While many criticize the game, some players are loving it and dedicate time to it.

But is Tales of Crestoria worth playing? In this article, we’ll be going through some game elements to see if it has the kick that is worth your time.

What Is Tales of Crestoria?

Tales of Crestoria is a fantasy RPG game that brings the Tales Series to a mobile platform. The game is the first Tales Series title to be made into a mobile game. Contrary to its predecessors, Tales of Crestoria is a new concept in the Tales franchise as it incorporates the mechanics of gacha games and a turn-based combat system.

If you’re a fan of the Tales Series and you’re expecting Tales of Crestoria to just be a mobile version of their previous games, you might want to manage your expectations. The game follows an entirely original plot that you won’t find in any other game in the Tales franchise. You will, however, encounter characters from other Tales games, which only adds to the excitement of the game.

That said, it’s a must-try for diehard fans of the franchise, though some critics claim that it is lacking the spice and kick that the other Tales titles have.

Overview: Tales of Crestoria Is All About the Plot

As stated, the game follows an entirely original plot and was made for the franchise’s mobile debut.

Tales of Crestoria follows a character named Kanata Hjuger in the world of Crestoria. There, he must bear the weight of his past sins while battling through enemies to find paradise in a world that wants him gone. The game centers on the concept of morality and begs to question why it’s important to society.

In this world, people must carry a Vision Orb at all times. The Vision Orb records images that are transmitted through vision centers that can usually be found in churches or plazas in the game.

Vision Orbs become useful when an individual must face trial. Much like a modern CCTV, it shows footage of the crime that citizens must judge by sending in “prayers.” Prayers sent in by the citizens will determine whether an individual is innocent or guilty.

If someone is found guilty, they’ll be branded with the Stain of Guilt, a mark of those who are judged as sinners. Once someone bears the stain, they become a transgressor that enforcers will have to hunt down to pass their sentence.

Kanata is a transgressor looking for sanctuary after being proclaimed guilty for protecting someone important to him.

While people may think that the game is too dramatic for its genre, it’s not new for Japanese mobile RPGs to have such themes. As a part of the Tales Series, you can expect to find a layer of drama under all the action. The plot provides players with a fresh take on the franchise that even new players or those unfamiliar with the Tales Series will enjoy.

Tales of Crestoria: Gameplay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IROV8mNEvcY

Tales of Crestoria breathes new life into the long-running franchise with this mobile game. There are a couple of differences between the traditional Tales Series games and this one, but its gameplay will make up for the differences.

Here’s a quick overview of what to expect from Tales of Crestoria’s gameplay.

Story Content

As mentioned, the general plot of Tales of Crestoria is entirely original. This aspect can usually make or break a franchise, especially if it’s a venture into a new gaming platform.

The plot follows the story of the player character, Kanata, and a band of his comrades as they venture through the interactive world of Crestoria. Your band of heroes will consist of characters from other Tales titles such as Cress from Phantasia and Lloyd from Symphonia to name a few.

If you’re a player who isn’t too thrilled about spending too much time on story mode, this game won’t be for you because you’ll spend the majority of your time going through and finishing the story mode. However, the most essential part of story mode that you should clear out is Chapter 2, Part 3 as this will unlock raids that you’ll need to complete your daily missions.

Battles

An RPG is never complete without exciting battle modes. Fortunately, Tales of Crestoria has a couple of them that you can enjoy.

The game essentially runs on a turn-based battle style that is Player vs. Environment, similar to that of Fate/ Grand Order. You’ll be able to deploy a total of six units with one being an optional friend unit and the other two are kept as reserve units in case the other units’ HP drops to zero.

Apart from the main battle mode, you’ll also be able to play in tower events, campaign events, and raids. All battle modes will put you against CPU-controlled teams and bosses.

What makes Tales of Crestoria a unique RPG is its PvP Arena where you can battle the teams of other players. There’s a catch, though; you won’t be playing against them in real-time as you’ll still be playing against CPU-controlled teams. But that still poses a challenge because you’ll be able to see the strength of the other players.

As far as battles go, you’ll still have to progress through story mode to have some of the battles. Battling in raids will earn you rewards. The more contribution that you have, the grander reward that you’ll receive.

Gacha Mechanics

Gacha games are getting very popular these days. You’ll find them mixed in a variety of genres such as RPGs and rhythm games. They usually make games more fun for new players but seasoned players will tell you otherwise.

Gacha games are usually a test of luck. You’re either very lucky to get the characters that you want or not. Everything comes at random when you’re dealing with gacha games and Tales of Crestoria is no different.

There are different types of summons in the game and they require a summon currency that comes in the form of Gleamstones, Guild Points, or Summon tickets. Depending on the type of summoning, you will need to prepare around 250 Gleamstones for a single summon and 2,500 Gleamstones for 10x summon.

Remember that regardless of how much points you spend, it still doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be getting an SSR or an SR summon. The game is much more generous than other gacha games when it comes to rolls so you might be able to score at least one SSR when you begin the game.

That said, not everyone is lucky when it comes to Gacha so it’s better to be wise with spending your summon currency.

Progression in Tales of Crestoria

How Fast Can You Level Up?

Depending on how much time you invest in playing the game, leveling up shouldn’t be a great concern as you’ll be able to progress through the game quicker. But for casual players, you might want to not only invest time in going through story mode but also try playing through the daily dungeons. Through the daily dungeons, you can earn elemental EXP potions and memoria stones among others that you can use to power-up your characters.

Playing through raids is also a great way to level up because you’ll get different power materials and even higher EXP when you participate in them. Always remember that the more time that you dedicate to playing the game, the faster you can progress.

Do You Have to Farm and Grind?

Put simply, yes. Farming and grinding is an inevitable part of playing an RPG. You will need to farm for the materials that you can use for powering-up, summoning, and leveling up. Tales of Crestoria, in particular, will require you to farm through the story mode, raids, and dungeons to collect items and level up. Grinding is also essential in the game if you want to reach a certain goal or complete a quest.

Is It Easy to Build Your Teams?

Tales of Crestoria makes it easy for you to build your teams because you can get or roll for characters when you start. It’s recommended to have a mixed-element team to balance out all their abilities, but it’s also important to have specific teams per battle or quest that you can use to counter the enemy. Mixed element teams are good for the long haul, but you’ll need to switch it up from time to time to defeat certain bosses.

Team building in the game is easy. However, what matters most is that you adequately level up all the characters that you plan to use in a team.

Pros and Cons

Is Tales of Crestoria Free?

Yes, Tales of Crestoria is free. Tales of Crestoria is free to play and you won’t have to spend anything to download and play it. However, there are also in-app purchases that you can opt to avail. In-app purchases in Tales of Crestoria are usually items and in-game currency.

You can, of course, make do without additional purchases. Whether or not you purchase items won’t affect how well you’ll do in the game and won’t have an exponential effect on leveling up.

The Verdict: Is Tales of Crestoria Worth Playing?

Tales of Crestoria, despite being a great game in its own right, is a hit or miss. Players either love it or not. The game has points for being an original Tales installation but at the same time, many technical issues affect the entire gaming experience. The plot is well thought out and is great for those who are looking for something that has a heavier storyline. However, keep in mind that the game suffers from several issues that are until now waiting for patches.

If you’re a hardcore fan of the Tales series or if you’re looking to try this game out specifically, Tales of Crestoria is available on the Play Store and the App Store. You might need a gaming phone to play this game as it has a lot of heavy graphics and its file size of 1.68 GB will just get bigger as you progress.