Tales of the Abyss

"Tales of the WIN"

Introduction
Tales of the Abyss is an Action-RPG filled with action from start to finish. Most people will agree that it is the best game the Tales of series has had yet, and I am one of them. The story is about 17-year old teenage boy born into a noble family named Luke. One day, someone tries to assassinate someone very dear to Luke. Luke interferes and the reaction between the assassin and Luke causes them both to be warped somewhere far away from Luke's home. Having been trapped in his own manor since forever, Luke is thrust into a world completely new to him. Tales of the Abyss is a story of politics, forbidden technology and an omnipotent prophecy of all that has happened, and all that ever will, or so they think...

Game-play: 47/50

---Battle System: 40/40
The Tales of series is famous for their trademark Linear Motion Battle System in which characters and enemies were placed on a single line to fight. The series has never been a turn-based type battle system. Everything done is active and non-stop (like a fighting game). Tales of Symphonia (Nintendo GameCube) pumped it up a notch and introduced the Multi-Linear Motion Battle System in which there were now multiple lines in which to fight on. And now Tales of the Abyss has even further improved the formula and added the feature of Free-Run to Tales of Symphonia's. When holding the L2 button, characters are able to overcome the one line restriction and move freely (a la the Star Ocean series). One cannot attack while Free-Run is induced, but it makes a WORLD of a difference in the fun-factor and play style of Abyss (named "Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System" BTW). No random encounters by the way. You can see all the enemies you fight, and once they touch you (or vice versa) you will engage in a battle (overused glass shattering).

You can customize your party members' AIs according to your tastes. You can set them to attack like normal, attack with only special techniques, attack flying enemies, conserve TP (AKA MP), use items when needed and many more features. Though be warned, the AI will be somewhat stupid during the first few hours of game play, but it will get smarter as the character itself becomes stronger.

Another new feature to the Tales of series' battle system is the Field of Fonons (FoF) system. Some artes, or special techniques, will form FoF's. Those artes will either form a partially completed FoF or a complete FoF. Certain artes will transform into more powerful techniques once activated on top of an FoF. This adds a new level of strategy and hectic fun to the battle system (they are very flashy). Capacity Cores also help govern the stat growths of characters. Every character gets a pre-determined amount of stat bonuses, but equipping Capacity Cores onto characters give them extra stat bonuses. After a C. Core has been used quite a few times during leveling, you will learn Additional (AD) Skills. Various AD Skills can be learned through regular leveling. AD Skills are basically extra fighting abilities used in battle. Now an interesting twist on artes is the introduction of Fon Slot Chambers (FSC). There are 4 types of FSC's and each type can either make your artes stronger, cost less TP, be able to steal, use FoF's more frequently, be able to heal and much more. The more you use the artes that are equipped with FSC's, the higher the level of the FSC's power.
**If this sounds extremely confusing, don't worry. I'd thought the same when I first read about this game, but you get the hang of everything within the first 10 minutes of getting introduced to it.

So far, Tales of the Abyss has the absolutely most fun battle system in any RPG to this date, at least in my opinion.

---Controls: 7/10
Though I find the battle system controls to be perfect, the controls outside the battles could use a little work on. Camera rotation can be a little slow at times. The controls of vehicles such as water vessels and aircrafts are a little on the clunky side. At times on the World Map, things can be a bit sluggish as the frame rate slows down enormously. Loading times are especially slow.

Story: 23/25

---Plot: 13/15
Seeing as how I've already mentioned the plot in the introduction, there is no need to repeat it. The plot can start off a little slow and may put off some people. But once you hit your first plot twist (and trust me, there are A LOT), the drama never lets down. The plot isn't your typical RPG story, and for that I am glad it strays from the cliche. The story is nicely told, but again, it starts off a bit slowly. At times, the game can get very complicated with a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo terms. During the second half of the game, players will find themselves traveling to the same city 5 times within 20 minutes numerous times. It can get somewhat frustrating, but thankfully the game gives you the Auto-Pilot feature for your air ship (EVERY RPG should have this feature) which is VERY helpful.

By the way, yes, there IS a love story. It's not planted all over the game and slapped on your face like certain games coughFinalFantasycough. It's told very subtly and the chemistry that develops between the two characters is great.

Also, congratulations to this game for being the first video game to cause me to tear up.

---Characters: 10/10
To my surprise, I really like all of the main characters. The developers meticulously develop each and every main character, and they have their own distinct personality. The main-main character, Luke, starts off as a completely spoiled brat. But after a certain plot twist, Luke transforms almost completely and becomes a person you could sympathize with. Jade is--without a doubt--the cast's funniest character. He's sarcastic and subtle and wields a variety of clever jokes. BY the end of the game, I became very emotionally connected with the characters and I almost felt as if they were real people. Optional skits that appear during the game add to the deep characterization of the cast. I won't mention anymore of the cast. I'll let you discover them for yourself =)

Graphics: 7/10

---Environments: 4/5
Oh Em Gee. Every single town is beautiful and very nicely detailed. They are very realistic and I always take a minute to look at the entire town when I first enter it just to marvel at its beauty. However gorgeous the cities and dungeons may be, the World Map and battle backgrounds are a bit ugly.

---Character Models: 1/3
The character models are a bit ugly and look PSX-caliber. Edges are a bit blocky too.

---Visual Effects: 2/2
The visual effects (mainly the battle ones) are very nice and colorful. Artes--this game's version of spells and skills--are nicely done. The Mystic Artes--this game's version of Final Fantasy's Limit Breaks, or super techniques--are especially pretty.

Sounds: 7/8

---Voice Acting: 3/3
The voice acting is very nicely done in this game. Jade's voice is especially fitting for his personality. Only complaint I have is Tear's overly-mature voice, which is not fitting for her 16 year-old self. But there fractions of fractions are too complicated for a review, so I'll just leave it at 3/3.

---Music: 2/3
The intro of Tales of the Abyss is wonderful and one of the best intros in a game I have ever heard. The music in the game itself is alright, but nothing catchy, except for a few tunes here and there.

---Sound Effects: 2/2
The sound effects are nice. Especially when using artes.

Value: 7/7

---Difficulty: 4/4
The difficulty in this game is very nice. You start out with 2 difficulty settings, Normal and Hard mode. Once you beat the game, 2 more difficulty settings are introduced, Very Hard and Unknown. While Normal is relatively easy, Hard mode takes things to a whole new level. Unknown is HELL if you don't have the right levels and equip. Even when you do, it's STILL hell. A nice refreshing difficulty for those in need for a challenge. Keep in mind that if things ever get too rough and you want to back down, you can ALWAYS adjust the difficulty setting in-game via Start menu. Dying too much against a certain boss? Press Start, go to Config, adjust the difficulty setting. Convenient!

---Replay: 3/3
The replay in this game is VERY long. There are TONS of events, items and artes you can miss. It's actually required that you have to play a second time in order to get 100% completion. There is a collector's book for you perfectionists out there. Casual game play (meaning, not trying to complete it all, but not trying to rush either) can last for around 60 hours. 100% completion on the other hand, can span well over 100 hours. Not to mention there is a Casino (I am addicted to it) and a 2D side-scrolling mini-game called Tales of Dragon Buster in reference to an old Namco arcade-style game. Returning to the Tales of series is the Cooking System! Cooking food right after battle or outside battles can do things such as heal you or cure status effects. There is also the classic coliseum in which you find in most RPGs. The coliseum is very challenging, entertaining, and rewarding. If you have a Clear Save file anywhere on your memory card, a bonus dungeon will open up for you.

Throughout the game, you can earn or lose GRADE after each battle. Depending on how well you fight, how quickly you do it, and how "pretty" you make it, you will earn/lose GRADE. The flashier, faster, and more effective you do it, the more GRADE you earn; the more you get hit, rely on items and die, the more GRADE you lose. You can use GRADE to buy chips in the Casino (to play of course) or you can use GRADE in the GRADE Shop. The GRADE Shop is available after you beat the game. You can buy certain things such as Exp. x2, Exp x10, Exp x.5 (for you challenge-lovers), Carry Over AD Skills, Carry C. Cores and many other things for your next play through. If it were up to me, I'd make every RPG have a GRADE shop. It adds loads of replay value upon playing your 2nd (or even higher) play through.

And for the record, my first play through of this game lasted 72 hours with barely any side quests done. I am now on my second play through, thoroughly enjoying recollecting everything that I've missed (which is a TON).

***OVERALL SCORE: 91/100***

Final Recommendation
YES! I have played many RPGs in the past, and this is definitely my favorite one yet; one of my favorite games ever too. Renting simply does not let you fully enjoy the wonders this game has to offer, such as an amazing battle system, an enjoyable, well-developed cast of characters, a fresh and engrossing story, excellent difficulty (with an ability to adjust it any time you wish), and amazing replay value. Get this while you can, you won't regret it! It's made of WIN.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/06, Updated 11/20/06