As much as I enjoy the Tales series, and I'm close to having all of the English ones complete, I don't think the series is great in the same way FF or SMT is for me. I don't even know why, really. Tales combat is a big sore point for me, because it always feels like it's being intentionally kneecapped for no good reason. 3 hits -> Base Arte -> Arcane Arte is way too simple and boring, and only with Xillia was that requirement lifted. Graces and Zestiria are the most technical, but that's mostly just knowing when to dodge, the actual attacks are nearly braindead because nearly everything combos with everything, The writing is usually very good, even if it does get a little too anime at times to be taken seriously, but I think my biggest problem is the presentation. Scenes have never looked good in 3D Tales games, and that was when FFX and SMT Nocturne were showing what the PS2 could do. Why does Symphonia look like a PS1 game, and why in Xillia can they still not figure out how to make characters move naturally in cutscenes? It all just feels like something the creators love, but are never given the right tools to fully realize their vision. FF games sometimes fall flat because they overextend, and SMT games are pretty much exactly what the creator wanted and nothing else, but Tales games feel like they had someone else keeping them from being too ambitious or pushing the tech and stories too far to make something that really stands out.