After recently finishing Tales of Zestiria while using a guide to make sure I missed no relevant sidequests and fought all mini bosses etc., I just can't defend Zestiria as a good game A game I enjoyed, sure. There were definitely more fun times than bad times, but the bad times left a much greater impact on me. The story just wasn't there and seemed like an afterthought until Lohgrin, the character development for everyone that isn't Sorey and Mikleo just didn't feel there or didn't feel impactful (much like Sorey and Mikleo's development), building up the gear you want is next to impossible without playing on higher difficulties, and the game suggests that you explore these empty wastelands that you spend an hour scouring just to come out with nothing you couldn't have gotten elsewhere for more money but save a lot of time And my biggest pet peeve: Al that aren't aware of how to play the game they're in Sorey and Rose will happily rush down a caster with hiddens, which only accelerates the casting. Seraphs don't utilize chain casting on a regular basis, or any basis at all, and thus will try to heal or cast a big spell on their first action. The only thing they did do right was armatize to revive On the topic of Alisha/Rose, I didn't mind Rose's presence in the party. I enjoyed having her as the human companion, and she brought life to the group (which isn't saying much in a game that's focused more on making puns that being coherent). Alisha bothers me on a personal level because liked her as a party member and as a character, and she grew on me fast. When ignoring my personal feelings towards Alisha, it still bothers me that she leaves abruptly with nearly no prior buildup to said decision, and the fact that the stores still stock her equipment throughout the whole game suggest that removing her from the party was a last minute decision
But on a positive note, I enjoyed the cast (as per usual with Tales), the combat was fun once I got the hang of it, and the gear customization was a cool idea that I had fun playing around with. Title leveling was great to have back, and it's one of the few games where I got to run through the game as a healer without having to play more like a melee fighter than a healer to make up for the lack of intelligence your party displays in combat