Tales of Legendia

"Great start, but fails to deliever."

"The question is... To get this or to wait for Tales of the Abyss instead?

Tales of Legendia, it was anticipated by Tales fans all around especially hardcore fanatics like me. However, I was rather disappointed by the complete restraints they have decided to implement in this game.

Eitherway, if you're into lots of comedy, awkward romance and fist fights you'll certainly enjoy this one as it definately has alot of those three and also an easier gameplay.

Lets start off with Graphics then.

Graphics: 10/10
Astounding in Graphics department! It sometimes just amazes me how well they should be able to do with future Tales series. Eitherway let me point out a few of the great things about the graphics in this game.

Battle system and the background were applied nicely to suit the atmosphere. Well, thats what you expect from a Tales game. The 3D backgrounds and sprites were nicely done just to blend into the game nicely, and of course, the various battle animations too. Although I might have to admit, sometimes it's just too beautiful, I just had to push on with the game. Eitherway, this game has beautiful sprites and backgrounds, which scores a 10/10 on my chart.

Sounds and Musics: 9/10
First time for a Tales fan like me to go thru a game and find myself captivated by how well the sounds and musics are, especially certain voice overs in the US version (It suits the characters well, although not as well as the US voice over for Kratos in ToS for the NGC,)

You'll certainly be amazed at how unique the game is in the music department, instead of the traditional musics which was used, this time, they are using musics with a certain twist of orchestra and opera to it. Overall, its unique but it was used in certain spots and events which it shouldn't have since it dosn't feel right at all.

Gameplay: 3/10
2 Words to actually summerize everything up, Too Easy. The game system basically just tells the user to bash head on into everything and it also means that the battles that is in this game is awefully easy to handle. You don't really get much of excerise on strategy and careful planning in this game, well, not even Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Destiny I have this excessive amount of bashing head on with something.

Also, the game is so easy to the extent it just ruins a great game. Heck, if they have any enemies which is able to counter your every move in this game, it'll certainly make it interesting for once, but the fact remains, it dosn't.

Storyline: 4/10
My first impression when I've finished ToL (Japanese release) was "N... N... Na... NANI!?" Well, it was literally translated into "W... Wh... Wh... WHAT!?" as the story provided plenty of space for Chloe and Senel to develop, but they actually decided to make Senel stay with Shirley. A disappointment for Chloe together with Senel fans, however.

Well, enough of my personal opinions, let me just hop back into the wide perspective. Firstly, the story is a great one. Great character developments and also lots and lots of humor, however, the only thing that troubles the game is its way in forcing players to return to a certain dungeon. Especially deep into the dungeon more than once to accomplish a certain quest. That is the first and foremost con to a person who hates to return to the same maze like dungeons.

Secondly, they tend to give you easily solved quests. Which of course, the usual is "I'm going to rush an entire army and kill the commander with my... 6~8 character group without any special tactics!" which is similar to what Final Fantasy VI used, except theirs actually involves careful planning and execution. However, ToL provided yet another great character development, although not as good as games like Tales of Rebirth or Tales of the Abyss. They certainly provided a great character advancement although it would be better if they actually went ahead with some more advancement (Senel-kun and Chloe-chan anyone?).

Overall score: 26/40 or 6.1/10

Tales of Legendia is a great collection, but it failed to deliever in the story department and the gameplay department. Although it does add an interesting amount of new stuff, but it failed to actually focus more on strategy and inventory management. Thus, the level of difficulty remains at 2/10. If you like a light-hearted, straight to the point RPG, you'll love this one. But if you're the type who wants to focus on management in a Tales game, then choose games like Tales of Destiny 2 (Japanese) for the PS2 instead.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06