Turquoise Moon

People say the anime is romance, but that only becomes obvious toward the latter part of season 2. Judging by the premise of both the anime and the light novel, which is the original source material, I'd rather say the story (plot and theme) leans heavily on the exorcism side- with the novel putting more spotlight on the politics of exorcism agencies and the somewhat novel concept of combining machine and magic (that is, supernatural forces can be contained in weapons and armory much the same way souls require vessels in the form of a human body). The light novel hardly spends more than a few snippets of conversation to reveal Natsume and Harutora's feelings. The plot revolves around Harutora transforming into a renegade exorcist in his desperate attempt to revive Natsume permanently as he ends up giving up half of his lifespan for her and being on the run from exorcists trying to arrest him for his "crimes" (i.e. necromancy is illegal). The anime might have dragged out the romance far longer than it should- while leaving out more interesting parts of Natsume and Harutora's relationship as classmates and childhood friends in the novel. In any case, the anime is unique and has its own strengths in terms of how Natsume and Harutora try to come to terms with their supposed "destinies" as potential vessels for a stronger power. Their friends display an endearing loyalty rarely found in anime and hardly can be considered annoying for long (though some of them try). Harutora may be oblivious to Natsume's feelings on the outside, but his attempt to save Natsume's soul is an irony if you think about the story's beginning. The plot twists are more subtly conveyed- and the romance has its own emotional twists (as Kon seems to have a more intimate relationship with Harutora's past than is obvious) and Natsume's own birth is filled with mystery (she's not related by blood to the current Harutora-but her original soul is part of the same family as Harutora's "other half").

People who recommend Vesperia, Berseria and other Tales games definitely would say this is NOT the best there is (you can take that recommendation as a biased fandom statement that's viral in gaming anyway). Those obsessively attached to Alisha (one of the characters here) might also say the same and suggest this is not worth your time. But having played other Tales games released before and after Zestiria, I find this to be the most entertaining of all. The combat is solid, and despite exaggerated claims about the camera, it's not something that derails from playing the game well- as it's no different from other games out there (why pick on the camera, have they never played non-Tales games?) Berseria has tutorials, and Zestiria has them too- but if you've played Tales of Graces, even the skit system should be familiar, and the mechanics are easy to learn (making button-smashing unnecessarily lazy.) Just watch out for Indignation, it will kill you over and over when the final boss uses it. As in other games, difficulty can be adjusted so go by what you can handle. Neither is the AI an obstacle unless you want it to do things you haven't done in other games. Likewise, most if not all criticisms on this game are NOT unique to this game (for example, the skills in Vesperia and Arise are more problematic for me, so is the fact that only certain characters can do healing, which is NOT the case in Zestiria). If you're an outsider to Tales, you might get some sort of culture shock though, as the twists are more subtle and try to balance cliche tropes with non-mainstream themes you may NEVER find in other shonen games. Basically you play as Sorey, a dreamer raised by seraphim in a world segregated from the human world. As a human, he has, ironically, little knowledge of how the human world works so he explores every detail with a natural curiosity. He loves ruins and basically jumps into the adventure naively BUT later realizes that the world he lives in is antagonistic if not indifferent to gods, spirits, and seraphim. Dragons are seraphim that have become tainted with malevolence- one generated by contact with humans and their corrupt politics and religion. But instead of spouting pro/anti-religion or political bias blindly, Sorey displays a level-headed understanding that heroes can't save everyone... and in the end redemption is one's own responsibility. How he achieves that understanding and what he does when he realizes it is what the game is truly about. Most of all... For the first time in ANY game, you can fuse characters and skills when Sorey "armatizes." His enemy is a force of chaos and the absolute nihilist who thinks that the best way to eliminate suffering is to do away with good and evil. A final boss like that is someone to look forward to... plus there are enough metaphors and subtle teasers to keep one guessing. And while other games use character reversal as plot twists with tons of backstory angst/drama, here you aim to see how consistent a character is to his personal credo. Lastly, the music is brilliant, operatic but not overdone (no hair-raising notes sung banshee-style). It captures the character and battle themes with enough zest to keep you playing. Watch out for "New Power Awakens," "Competing with the Honor of the Land," and "Melody of Water is the Guide in Spiritual Mist." They're some of the best music in gaming. Berseria is the dark side of the story, which Zestiria "resolves" through Sorey who approaches an age-old problem differently. This is not a spoiler, as the antithetical themes are expressed in a narrative style that makes either game a different experience on its own.