#i like zestiria! i do!

[leafeonb]

she deserves to have an emo phase i think

[igneouswyvern]

....................run

[lildoodlecat]

so maybe im a little obsessed with pitanui dolls

every day i am tempted to get more‚‚

[mistbow]

I was in Zesty equipment grinding hell for this and it still kinda makes me a bit sad that this localization totally misses the reference.

(Sanctified Astral Mastery btw, Mikleo’s rarest staff since it drops from Level 90+ enemies lol)

In Japanese it was a reference to Mix Master (ミックスマスター), one of the extension spells in Crazy Comet (クレイジーコメット), originally coming from Destiny 2 (and also in Hearts).

It’s 星河ミックスマスター, which I would probably translate to something like Galaxy Masterstroke? Galactic Masterstroke? Since Masterstroke is what Mix Master is localized as in Hearts R anyway.

This is how the weapon looks like:

Which kinda looks like Harold’s staff (or not really lol) except with Meebo colors. As a D2 fan I’m, again, very sad the localization misses this LOL.

Though if only Mikleo really had Crazy Comet and its extensions (Twinkle Star, Mix Master, and Princess of Mermaid... after all, Princess of Mermaid is a Water spell too in D2, and I guess the rest can count as non-elemental like in the original D2 too, so Void I guess lol). I also am wondering what’s with Mikleo and being star-themed, for some reason, since his sanctified circlets are named after the stars in the twelve zodiac sign constellations. Oh well, if anything, it goes well with his Prima Stella costume lmao.

[alittlebitofpeculiarity]

i thought i already permanently escaped from the grasp of the tale of franchise but i couldn't. i came back crawling desperately 10 years later while clenching my fists and gritting my teeth out of sheer fucking guilt.

images of yuri, lloyd, luke, and jude came flashing into my mind and i just wanted to know what was going on in the series already... what games have they developed that will drag me deeper into this hell hole. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE MULTIPLE MOBILE GAMES AND SIDE GAMES ALREADY?

[mxdotpng]

the zestiria anime fixes and also messes up many things at the exact same time its actually kind of impressive i have to salute them for it

[astrxealis]

AOWHHHHHHHH FULGUR LIKES TYPE-0 TOO HELL YEAH !!!!!

[xiomeebo]

I really want to pick abyss and graces back up, but man Just when the vesperia brainworms were just wearing off in came psekai

[no-fxn-club]

I beat alisha’s DLC tonight and that finally battle was so much worse than the main story’s last battle I was fucking googling how to beat it

[alteredphoenix]

I haven’t drawn my girl Airi in a while, and I remembered I had a concept sketch (on the left, third pic) of her in a different displacer-styled outfit that’s geared toward the endgame so I decided to draw her in it (give or take a couple minor changes). I didn’t have the ripa (the sword) in mind when I did the sketch so I’m okay with her just holding the shep (the ritual staff, although I sort of had a chakram in mind).

This is normally an outfit reserved for displacers that have achieved acclaim, recognition, and risen through the ranks. It’s safe to say you can tell how notable and skillful a person is based off their outfit: the more elaborate it is, the more prestigious they are. However, some displacers would tell you they prefer the practicality of their uniforms over the gaudy ceremonial that belies their rank, and this is one such outfit that exudes the former over the latter.

Airi was not in the displacer forces for very long, having just been freshly minted as a new recruit when war between civil unrest between the lower classes and the Diamond Court, the Outer Essering’s elite, ruling government body in the nation, ramped up and engulfed the continent. As resources were being drained the longer it went on, the battle-garb for displacers were simplified, no different than what impoverished monks would wear, and would have been called humble under different circumstances.

In another world, Airi would have seen the end of the war and been promoted to a higher rank where she would wear this outfit. However, a fateful bout with Astolfo Orlando, a wanted fugitive, and his contracted demon known only as Ghestalt saw her fatally wounded and would have been left for dead if not for the long, ephemeral reach of the Demon King-In-Exile. 

For most of Airi’s story, I like to imagine she’s wearing her friend Lina’s outfit, which is admittedly no different than what any person regardless of gender would wear, and wields her ripa, for her own was lost in the fight against Astolfo.  It is thanks to Iryna, the young girl who knows about the changes in the world since Airi’s stasis, that she is able to take the first steps into the current era. However, sometime later, the weight of the role of being His Chosen Hero and the ever-present fact that she now lives in a world that has moved on without her and seen her family dispersed wears her down, and soon the ripa is shattered and the garb tattered to reflect her fraying mental state. Eventually, both Airi and Lina agree to burn the outfit, signifying the end of a troubling, bloody chapter in Airi’s new life as the King-In-Exile’s daemon familiar.

I do think she gets another outfit (and ripa) after that one that’s similar to it, and later on she acquires this one. I meant to give it some draconic features that would make her stand out from the other displacers (although at this point I would honestly compare her role to that of being a mercenary or “substitute Soul Reaper” a’la Bleach), except that’s only really apparent on the boots (and they’re not pointy enough!)...but it’s a concept, it’ll do. But I also like the other, simpler design, so maybe she’ll get both or a mix of the two in the future *shrug*

[ecargmura]

Japanese Tales Fans Vote Their Favorite Tales Games In Recent Survey

Japanese website Net Lab has made another Tales related survey for fans to vote; the topic this time is favorite Tales games. The poll ran from June 27, 2023 to July 4, 2023 and has a total of 10, 344 votes overall.

Before I reveal the results, there are three things I want to let you know:

This is a Japan-only poll because the admins did not want overseas fans to vote due to possible illegal voting.

Fans can vote up to three games.

Please do not be vocal about the games/titles you hate or don’t particularly; if you don’t have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself.

Here are the results from 1st to 24th (I’ll add in the number of votes the game has received and a comment that pertain to the respective game translated via Google Translate and me trying to make it as cohesive in English):

Abyss - 1176 votes

Comment: Bamco, are you seeing this? I’m forever waiting on a full remake of Abyss.

2. Vesperia - 1035 votes

Comment: My favorite is Tales of Vesperia. My first Tales game was Legendia, but Vesperia is the first one I’ve cleared. The Switch version is super packed and I have beaten the secret boss. I had a super hard time with that boss battle. I love Yuri so much.

3. Zestiria - 983 votes

Comment: It’s been a long time since I graduated from the Tales series, but Zestiria made me want to come back. There may be times where I feel unreasonable, but I’ve come to like this work, including that “do-it-yourself” thing. I really like it.

4. Symphonia - 962 votes

Comment: Before I played the first 3D game, I was a little worried, but when I opened the lid, I was hooked on the perfection that surpassed the previous work. I love the characters, the story, the music and the system.

5. Phantasia - 701 votes

Comment: For me, it’s Phantasia, which I played for the first time and became the most memorable. I want it to have a remake like Destiny.

6. Eternia - 693 votes

Comment: One vote for Eternia with a smooth battle system!

7. Destiny - 601 votes

Comment: Just remembering that scene with Leon breaks my heart. My favorite work of all time. I want to play again, so I’ll be waiting for a port!

8. Berseria - 529 votes

Comment: Because the first game I played was Tales of Berseria, I got hooked onto Velvet.

9. Graces F - 528 votes

10. Xillia 2 — 508 votes

11. Destiny 2 -  456 votes

12. Arise - 367 votes

13. Rebirth - 311 votes

Comment: I love Rebirth’s battle system and characters so much!

14. Legendia - 294 votes

Comment: Legendia, when will you get a remake or a port? I’ve been waiting…

15. Xillia - 176 votes

16. Luminaria - 171 votes

Comment: Luminaria is the best! I want to see the continuation someday!

17. Innocence R - 168 votes (tied)

Comment: Tales of Innocence (DS version) makes me want to play regularly. A work that I love and value so much that I lose my vocabulary.

17. Dawn of the New World - 168 votes (tied)

19. Crestoria - 148 votes

20. Hearts R - 134 votes

Comment: Tales of Hearts for DS is my favorite work, not the remake version of Hearts R.

21. Narikiri Dungeon - 91 votes

22. Others - 68 votes

I’ve seen people say “Radiant Mythology series”, “Asteria”, “Versus” “Link”, “The Rays” and “Warheit”.

23. Tempest - 56 votes

Comment: I will always love Tempest. Please remake it.

24 - Summoner’s Lineage - 20 votes

What are your thoughts about the results?

What is your favorite Tales game? Let us know in the comments below!

[igneouswyvern]

yeah he's still my favorite sorry. not sorry

[randomnameless]

It's crazy how SoV preluded 3H by making one of the protags have a tremendously contradictory mindset of humanity being better off without gods, while also relying on those same gods to fulfill their goals, the hypocrisy of which goes completely unadressed throughout the game; truly masterful foreshadowing

Who directed FE15?

lol

I've recently tried to think about this "gods BaD" shift in more doylist terms - especially since I've finally played a Squenix game recently and...

FE13 was the FE series last ditch effort, it will either work or end up as the F-Zero series, FE13 worked and FE14 followed suit.

Lolcalisation aside, FE14 had a nice plot and I engaging characters - to some people but not me, different tastes and all - but FE14 and FE13 were still FE games, as in part of the old FE series, aka a niche series. Adding dating sim/interpersonal relationship through avatars might have helped a bit, and yet, imo, it was still the "niche" FE series.

Comes FE15 where we basically have a remake, and can't add the interpersonal thing because Alm isn't an avatar (even if the game spends a lot of time praising his oranges) - how to make the game work? Sure, some weirdo fans of the FE series will buy it, and it was never supposed to sell as much as FE13/14, but if it was a 1:1 remake or just with minor adjustments? It might bomb like the Archanea remakes, and good luck coming after that - will they need another "FE13" to reignite the sales or??

And here I thought about it : FE15 was retconned with the "GoDs BaD" spiel, to make this game more in-tune with what I'd call "traditional" JRPGs where the protagonists often defy a corrupt church and "divine" being.

("Traditional" imo being the Squenix way, because while I didn't play all entries of this series, the Tales series never striked me as being particularly as, uh, vindicative against organised religion, maybe save for Symphonia 1 - Abyss' Church really wishes to help the people even if it is corrupted from within by some dude who doesn't want to let the world die and played by the big bad, Xillia has no church, ditto for Zestiria and Phantasia had Mint and... that's it? - compare this to Squenix's Triangle Strategy and Hyzante being comically EvIl and without any redeeming traits/points when all of the other major parties of the conflict have "token good NPCs" as forced as they are in the game, to make it very clear that they might have done questionnable things like invading and slaughtering civilians from a foreign nation who welcomed them at their wedding, but at least they have "MoRaLs" unlike those bozos in their desert...)

And this "let's make FE mainstream by kicking gods" mentality completely runs at odds with the rest of the FE franchise, and while I know RD basically ends like this bcs "uwu Ike defeated a GoD with the help of another who used the lead of that game as a soul jar and granted him exclusive powers to put her sister to sleep" the morale of RD's story - as seen in the perfect ending but in Ike's speech to Yune itself - is that everyone can and should try to live together, asking Gods not the fuck out to let Humanity alone, but to believe in them just like humans believe in gods.

So FE15 ends as this big, uh, mismatched clash of narrative directions - being a remake it cannot stray too far from the source material and Archanea verse : Dragons and Humans can live together (even if it means dragons must sacrifice part of themselves to do so because fuck them I guess) and dragons can help humans just like humans can, uh, not be asses and not target them because their ears are pointy or when they are weakened...

And we had the new Squenix direction where GoDs BaD and HuMaNiTy fuck yeah, which leads to FE15's hypocrisy : please trust and rely on us Gods/dragons and kindly help us when we're in deep shit, and at the same time "HuMaNiTy FuCk YeAh".

Interestingly, the Squenix direction loses in the post game campaign (the one where we discover Thabes) but is reintroduced in the official (tm) timeline, depicting basically how BaD Duma is and how much of a chad Rudy was, before his very tragic (bring the onions!) death.

But yeah, I agree anon, FE15 was crazy foreshadowing and I guess is part of the reason why Tru Piss has this message "Humanity doesn't need Gods" targeted at... Rhea, aka a Nabatean (while Supreme Leader got there thanks to Sothis' powers!!) because the "Humanity Fuck Yeah" narrative is a staple of Squenix JRPGS, and if FE has to become mainstream, I guess to some devs, it has to copy what sells.

That would also explain why FE16 went so off the rails and forgot the tradition FE series message about coexistence, because what the fuck do you mean by "Humanity doesn't need Nabateans", after parroting for the entire game "Nabateans are to blame for the irrational world we live in" and blame "Nabatean blood" for everything wrong in Fodlan, without ever acknowledging the "evilness that lurks in the heart of men" (who aren't called Dimitri) ?

In a series that, albeit hazaphardly at times (FE8's manaketes feel forced in the lore! and the less is said about Nowi/Panne in FE13 the better we are), tried to push the "coexistence between all inhabitants of the land is the key to peace!" card - this Squenix direction feels all kind of wrong, especially when friendship with the divine beings (dragons) have been a staple of the franchise (Y!Tiki's number of alts, imo, is telling : for better or worse, Y!Tiki is, along with Marth, the figure of the franchise. She is a dragon, and she's a kid who wants to make friends. Sure it brings the loli crowd, but all those dragon children in the different games? They are a direct throwback to Y!Tiki!).

In a nutshell, I'd say the first crack was FE10's writing that made things seem like the Hero defeated a goddess and its subsequent wanking.

But I agree with you anon, FE15's change in direction and retcons were absolutely gunning for that Squenix "GoDs BaD" while keeping the "traditional" FE message which resulted in hypocrisy that showed in the writing but I guess no one really paid attention because FE15 has other issues too (I didn't before happening on FE16... even if I remember wondering why the fuck the game kept on hammering how BaD Duma was when we had people being asses right and left on their own).

FE Fodlan completely ignored the "we can coexist" message - save for subtext you can have where the optional lords who win the war and aren't Supreme Leader can have half/quarter-nabatean heirs through Flayn but her heritage is never ever mentionned in the ending cards - by completely shitting/ignoring the local dragons, they're blamed for everything wrong and don't get their voice to the chapter.

Masterful writing lol

I can't wait for the next game, let it be a remake (pls not Jugdral!!) or a new entry (Engage was developped alongside Fodlan, not after!) to see if IS will continue with the Squenix developments or return to their roots, even if they seem milquetoast, of "humans and lizards can hold hands".

---

NGL anon, during 2020/2021 and the daily "Supreme Leader was right though" threads in SF, I kind of realised that what I took for granted, aka "coexistence between humans and dragons!" being the message of FE in general, wasn't, even in what used to be the most serious board/thing.

FE as a series came to the West through FE7 where Dragons and Humans were at war, but ultimately the cast learns that dragons aren't evil incarnate and the best ending reveals that the big bad went mad because his dragon wife was killed and he tried to reunite with their dragon-human children he hid away for their safety.

So it was kind of surprising to see long-time, or at least not "Fodlan introduced" members of SF parroting the "well they can't live together" by buying the most ludicrous headcanon/fanon arguments you'd find in other series like "different lifespans" - this argument is pretty much non existent in the FE series, and I've never seen it opposed to Miccy's rule in Daien when, as a Heron Branded, she will outlive her citizens, or what, are we supposed to believe that Myrrh shouldn't interact with humans and remain in her forest because she will outlive humans, or is too "different" from them thus wouldn't have the same considerations?

FE13/14 brought the fandom wars of "new fans" vs "old fans", but FE Fodlan? Brought "casual JRPG gamer" vs "FE gamer" which usually boils down to "Supreme Leader fans" vs "everyone else".

Sure, we had the religion hate boner because the dragons in Fodlan verse made a "Church" with catholic imagery which is a deadly sin to some - but the "dragon blood is indeed the reason why everything sucks in the world" being parroted? "Dragons cannot have power over humans because of the sheer inbalance"? What, are you implying Nergal was forced by Aenir to mate with her twice or what? Ninian was oppressing Pherae in the endings where she marries Eliwood, and humans were finally liberated when she died?

Kana is, by nature, someone who will oppress humans because they're part dragon and their blood will bring strife to the world?

So unless IS doesn't fully commit to one narrative - because yes, for all of its flak, FE Fodlan still takes time, when it remembers, to portray Nabateans in a relative positive light when it comes to them as characters and in the general background, it's just that, they're never given a voice when it comes to discussing about the plot - we're bound to have this hypocrisy :

Dragons BaD bcs Humanity Fuck Yeah

and

Dragons and Humanity can coexist and make babies for scalies/monsterfuckers out there because acceptance/diversity is a way for peace.

[sevi007]

Warning! I will be blogging about my first Tales of Abyss playthrough here. If you don't want to see it or be flooded or smth, blacklist "sevi plays tales of the abyss"

@magicmetslogic get tagged!

Soooo started Tales of the Abyss now! (I kept thinking it's called Tales of Abyss, without the "the", RIP me) Must say, this immediately felt incredibly different of a premise to Vesperia (the only Tales I have finished til now) and Zestiria (which I... maybe barely passed the prologue, lol). I think a lot of that is because of Luke and his situation. Getting into that later on.

But! Let's start from the top.

Absolutely gorgeous opening for one, really loved it. I probably got spoilered without realizing it, but with no context, that's not terrible. I remain blissfully unaware!

It immediately felt a bit faster paced story-wise. A bit more emotionally taxing on the protagonist, too. To start, I open the game and get immediately met with red-headed, hot-headed Luke (who is fittingly spoken by Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Tidus in FFX) and Ithink he's an upbeat headstrong guy - which he is but -

I barely leave his room to get thrown a skit immediately:

I hit the mental breaks when I read that because what. What. You just kept your kid inside like a pet or something?

I mean, in Vesperia, Estelle had a sheltered upbringing as well, and was certainly a bit on the naive side, but she at least was acutely aware of the world outside of the walls of her prison. Luke is not even given that, which you realize approximately two minutes into the game since his only contact to the outside world seems to be his swordfight trainer Van. I am absolutely flabbergasted. This is damaging to a kid!

(And no, this is no normal response to your kid getting kidnapped. Protecting him is one thing. Putting him on house arrest a whole other. I suspect it's not just a security thing but there is more going on here.)

And then next mental break: What the hell is Flynn Scifo doing here?

I'm joking, I'm joking. And yes I have been informed that technically, Flynn is a copy of Guy since Vespy came out later. But still. With my minimum knowledge of Tales, forgive me for immediately drawing connection to Versperia at every turn. And the likeness is startling! XD He seems to be a good guy that Guy (pft) so for now, I like the boy.

(Stop climbing outta windows like a thief though!)

Ah. Really glad I decided to explore the rooms a little. This is...

Well. I assume this was meant to be one of those anime-typical jokes of "haha, he's afraid of this or that" but... call me old-fashioned or a snowflake or whatever the correct term is but I don't think this is very funny. These two quite literally have him cornered, and he looks outright terrified of them. And instead of backing off - or Luke rescuing him - we just have to leave again? Uff. Don't like.

Never quite liked making fun of things others are afraid of, not even if it seems silly from outside.

... Oh wow. Luke is even more sheltered than I thought. This seems to be general, public knowledge, and he got nothing? Does he not get any kind of schooling while on house arrest?

From their reactions, this is not something he is supposed to know but forgot, but more like, nobody even told him. That's... okay. I seriously question his parents right now as well as Van for not teaching him even basics of the outside world.

(On the other hand, in a sense of dumbing it all down for a new player, this is quite genius. Given that Luke needs to be explained everything, so does the player learn at the same time. but still. Questionable decisions all around.)

Utterly. Questionable. Decisions.

Yes I'm already going full on protective mama bear mode on Luke. Give me a caged, sad kid who tries to put on a loud and confident facade and I immediately go "mine" XD

And now, for that faster pacing...

Ma'am I JUST finished the tutorial would you please refrain from killing me til I got to practice some more!

[mxdotpng]

thinking about a game swap. for zesteria/berseria

[mistbow]

Zestiria and Shinto

I think it’s very understated that Zestiria takes a lot after Shinto (compared to say, how people keep bringing up its Arthurian inspirations, despite those inspirations being superficial relatively), especially when it’s the essence of the game itself, but I suppose it’s easy for it to go over people’s heads if they don’t truly understand Shinto itself, which to be fair is a concept that is not equivalent at all to the religions widely known in the modern West.

As a preface, if I have to be quite honest, I’m not too fond of the localization of the terms in Zestiria. In isolation, “Shepherd” is a fine translation of “導師”, they both more or less mean a person who guides, though I’m not sure how much of that idea the word manages to get across. However, coupled with “天族” being localized as “seraphim”, the game lore becomes connotated with Biblical implications, which is unnecessary and not at all what is intended, though I’d have been hard pressed myself if I were tasked to localize these terms in a way that could convey the original intent in English, but that’s not the point. The point is, I believe this loss in translation contributes to the misunderstanding, and besides, despite what you might think, the seraphim are not angelic beings, especially of the Christian kind.

With that out of the way, I would also like to clear up something else: religions and religiosity, as defined in the Western culture, do not readily apply to Shinto. It has no single founder, no canonical scriptures that are authoritative like the Bible, it has flexible moral code (or rather, it lacks a rigid moral code) due to its nature, and it is not at all a monolithic system; it’s not a unified system where the people who adhere to the faith proclaim themselves as Shintoists, because it doesn’t work that way. It is literally the “way of the kami” (神道) in that the term is used to reference the practice of worship of kami. It is not at all odd for modern Japanese people to practice this kami-worship and the rituals associated with it while also practicing Buddhism or even Christianity, for example.

The two essential, “sacred” texts of Shinto, Kojiki (古事記, literally “Records of Ancient Matters”) and Nihon Shoki (日本書紀, literally “Chronicles of Japan”), are basically history books (and they were commissioned to be compiled by the government), but they do not encompass everything there is to know about Shinto itself, since there are other books chronicling other kami as well, especially local ones. Even between the two books, mostly because of the differences in intended audience and purpose, there are naturally differences in details and interpretation of the ancient Japanese mythology, some even are contradictory (there are even differences in variants of Shoki accounts of the myth, so let alone Kojiki and Shoki). Also, I say history books (and they for the most part are history books indeed), but it is more apt to say that they are written chronicles of Japanese myths, legends, oral traditions, folklores, and such, but I would say Nihon Shoki is the more “objective” of the two. I think this part inspires Celestial Record as well as Lxi himgnowlot uz Yniitruh (or “The description of Glenwood” in English), the travel notes included as one of the special items in the LalaBit Collector’s Edition of the Japanese version of the game.

Already you can see how the historiography of Glenwood is influenced by Japanese historiography, because of the belief that has been there all along since the prehistoric times. The subjective interpretations of the situations or even origins that are not immediately knowable, especially, since both of these books are clearly written by humans (that fact isn’t hidden at all), make them feel more like they act as notes of the world, just like Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, and because of this subjective interpretation method, differences are bound to happen, even before getting to the differences of interpretations in individual readers. (By the way, the Japanese name for Celestial Record, 天遺見聞録, clearly implies this too, if translated a bit more literally, it means “the records of what is seen and heard as left behind in the Celestial.”)

Now, we get to the core of this, namely kami (神). Kami is often translated as simply “gods”, but this is, again, very misleading and not at all a good explanation of their nature. Kami, unlike the god(s) in other religions, do not come before or after the cosmos, they are the phenomena themselves and they are ubiquitous. A popular descriptor for them is “spirits or forces of nature” but even this is a simplification of what they really are. Kami describes the mind (心), an underlying principle (基本的原理), the divine to be worshipped (祭る), to be believed in (信じる), to be respected (崇める), to pray to (祈る), to be served (仕える), to be devoted (捧げる), to be given gratitude (感謝する), but most of all, kami possesses an eminent quality that is out of ordinary, that inspires the feeling of awe (畏怖) inside us all. To be in harmony with these awe-inspiring aspects of nature is to be conscious of the way of kami, and all phenomena are candidates for this designation, e.g., the sun, moon, mountains, or even great persons, heroes or leaders. However, to experience the kami presence of any one of these aspects of nature requires a pure and bright heart (清き明き心), which is an emotional, mental, and volitional condition that is not easily attained.

Here, I want to sidetrack to one of the above descriptors, that is, kami are to be worshipped (祭る). If you notice, it is the basic verb form of the word “festival” in Japanese, “祭り”. This is because one of the most crucial deeds toward kami in Japanese view is 祭る. The Japanese tend to be more religious when it comes to ceremonies than to the daily life. Worshipping kami in Japanese sense is different from other religions; whereas for some faith, the worshipping rite seems solemn and preoccupied, on the contrary, many Japanese worshipping ceremonies are very energetic and festive. Though the sacrament can be broken down into two parts: solemn ceremonial ritual and exuberant celebration, only the second part allows many people to participate more. In Zestiria, one of the biggest examples of this is the Sacred Blade Festival (聖剣祭).

But back to kami as beings. They are noble beings to be venerated, and there is a concept of Yaoyorozu no Kami (八百万の神, literally Eight-Million Kami) because there is an infinite number (eight million represents uncountable, just like how 8 as a number is often used to describe “infinity” in many cultures) and it is impossible to know them all (and it’s not like that uncountable number is static either... since humans can turn into kami and kami can inhabit any kind of object, that number naturally expands). Of course, with that many number, kami can vary from one another—they’ve been described as jinkakushin (人格神), or divine beings that have human-like qualities in that they have personalities and emotions of their own. This means that there are both benevolent kami and evil kami, so to speak. They can both bring blessings or harm to humans, and this duality means that kami are both revered and feared. Again, awe-inspiring aspects of nature. Which means Shinto as a religion isn’t exactly concerned with the afterlife like many religions, but with the nature itself, with the current life, as it is our world that is sacred. This is also true for the seraphim and the world in Zestiria.

Another term that is borrowed from Shinto is kegare (穢れ), which I usually translate to “taint” but in the context of localized Zestiria, it is known as malevolence. This, I feel, is another case of the localization causing even more misunderstanding than necessary; the kegare in Zestiria might not map 1:1 to the same concept in Shinto, but they are both fundamentally not a form of moral judgement, and whether the kegare itself is caused by a deliberate act, as for example in the case of a crime, or by an external event, such as illness or death, is secondary. As such, it is wrong to equate it to, say, Christian idea of sin, which malevolence, as a word that inherently suggests evil, kind of conveys to people. Kegare in Shinto is impermanent, as they can be remedied through purification. The concept of purity in Zestiria upholds the same quality being uphold by Shinto, namely, “真” which can be translated as “sincerity” but more literally, it means “truth.” Being true to yourself. This idea is reflected in the aforementioned “pure and bright heart” (“清き明き心”) since “pure and bright” in this case implies something that is transparent, that which is clean and clear, from the kanji themselves (to easily explain this more: 清 means “clear” and the Japanese word for transparent, for example, is 透明, which contains 明).

The Armatus (神依, kamui), as the highest power a Shepherd could have and described as the divine might (神威, which can also be read as kamui), is then, alikened to kamioroshi (神降ろし) in Shinto. Like the name implies (it literally means “descent of kami”), kamioroshi is a divine invocation held in that deity’s honor, to take possession of the one who invokes them. Since seraphim, who are based on kami, are forces of nature beyond mortal understanding, the Armatus again incites both reverence and fear of its powers.

Speaking of the seraphim being said to be beyond what humans could possibly understand, I believe this is partly why the true nature of them isn’t fully revealed. Details like how they’re born (or reborn), how they grow, what they actually are... these are meant to be mythical. We will never know, we can never know for sure. Humans tend to try to make sense of their surroundings, but there are just some things out there that will remain as mysteries to us no matter how much we try to uncover it.

(This applies as well to humans not knowing their own true nature... for example, the true nature of malevolence, said to be an irony of the contradictions of humans.)

――天族について詳しく教えてください。 山本　人から転生したという天族がいたり、いくつかの方則側はあきらかになっていますが、明確にこういう種族だよ、ということはできません。どちらかというと、神霊のような存在となっています。だから、天族たちは自分はこうなんですとか転生したんですと言っていますけど、実は何をどうしたらそうなるかという部分は非常にあいまいだったり、ケースバイケースだったりします。そういう、ルールで割り切れない部分を持った種族ですね。

――Please tell us about the seraphim. YAMAMOTO: There are some seraphim who were reincarnated from humans, and some rules about it have been revealed, but it is not possible to say clearly what kind of race they are. If anything, they are more like divine spirits. That’s why, the seraphim are saying that they are like this or that they are reincarnated, but the truth is, the part about what to do to become like that can be very ambiguous or in a case-by-case basis. They are the kind of race that cannot be comprehended by mere rules.

――天族の成長は自身の思いにかかわってくるのですか？ 山本　自分の力の強い時期まで成長するんじゃないかという推測はありますが、ここも実は法則性はないんです。

――Is the growth of seraphim related to their own thoughts? YAMAMOTO: There is a conjecture that they will grow until they reach the peak of their own strength, but again, there are really no strict rules here.

And I understand how and why this would leave some people dissatisfied because they want to fully understand the inner workings of a fictional world to make sense of it, however at the same time, I think it’s not necessary for us to try pin down every detail to understand something holistically. Sometimes it’s fine to just feel it, to leave some things to our imagination even if it might seem hard to make sense of, but part of being humans is to appreciate beauty in these contradictions as well. Not everything has to have [human-knowable] rhyme or reason to it.

(While we’re at this, I would like to express a very subjective, very personal, and admittedly very biased opinion of mine: This is why I wish people would’ve been more appreciative of Zestiria as a standalone separate from Berseria, and not rely on Berseria to fill in the blanks of Zestiria. Berseria, to me, has a very distinct feel from Zestiria in the context of this, as the malakhim of Berseria don’t inspire the awe in me like how the seraphim are depicted in Zestiria. Everything in Zestiria that is supposed to evoke that sense of wonder, like the seraphim, Armatus, etc. is gone in Berseria, which tries to explain everything in a really mechanical, almost scientific way, and that beats the purpose of Zestiria with all its fantastical spirituality and vagueness that a lot of people hate but I personally really adore. And sometimes they can’t even do that right, as a lot of Berseria explanations directly contradict what is shown in Zestiria. This is also why I think intricate, overexplained worldbuilding is overrated; some details are better left hidden, imo. Even hidden is plain sight is better than directly explaining it to us.)

Of course, I can’t adequately explain everything that is inspired by Shinto in Zestiria, and this barely scratches the surface (and that’s not counting inspirations from other myths, religions, and philosophies like Arthurian Legend, Buddhism, Daoism, etc. that are also in the game), but I hope this can give you the rough idea! Zestiria, I feel, is a game that puts a great emphasis on the wonders of its world—it’s not that everything that we know is all there is to the world, and this world has lived for a long time, unimaginably so by humans, so there’s bound to be some things that we just don’t know, we just can’t know, but have been there all along, and you can feel them even if most of the times you can’t put it into definite words. If you think about how vast the world is, and that it keeps evolving in its vast history, some unrecorded... we become more aware and appreciative of how beautiful the world really is. And in the case of Zestiria, this is reflected in the curiosity of Sorey, the protagonist, of the world, along with its history, that opens up before him. The legends have and will always live, and someday they will become “hope.”