Tales of the Abyss

"Very, very underrated"

Story -10/10-

Every great RPG is backed with a great story. This one is no exception. Tales of the Abyss goes above and beyond in this category. There are plot twists, but not so many that you can't keep track. Also, it's pacing is perfect. you never learn to much at one point, but you don't go too long without finding out something new. A few lines seemed to get repetitive, but not so much that it annoyed me. The content was amazing, but detailing that would ruin it.

I give story a perfect score.

Gameplay -8/10-

If this was based solely on the battle system, I would not be able to give this game anything lower than a 10. It's the same system as Symphonia, but with a few added tweaks.

First, FREE RUN. A certain skill acquired early in the game allows you to run in any direction you want, by holding R2. You can't use actions while using free run, but it helps avoid attacks. Letting go of R2 puts you back in the linear formation. Many other new skills appear in this game as well, and unlike Symphonia, you don't have to pick and choose. You can equip any and all of them!

The strategy system used in Symphonia is also souped up a bit. Many more options. But the AI seems to have improved a bit as well, now that they can use items. And to make sure that the feature of AI using items wasn't a negative feature, the AI will announce they are using a certain item before using it, and you can order them not to. Very handy.

The best part, FoFs. I'm not explaining the entire Fonon system, but I'll explain the best part. When someone uses an elemental (Fonons are pretty much elements) a Field of Fonons is created. Some attacks (artes) will react when used in that field, turning into a different, powerful attack. It can be very useful when you get used to it. It's especially useful when the main character learns a few techs that allow him to make and use his own FoF's.

As you see, the battle system has been beafed up quite a bit. But alas, there is a downside to gameplay. The backtracking.

Traveling in this game is kind of boring. At first it's okay, but it gets old fast, since it's the same thing. You get to a town, find something out, move onto another, and so on. There is a lot of travelling from town to town, with sometimes no action in between. You also revisit a lot of dungeons, which can be annoying. Still, it's not that bad.

But what makes backtracking and traveling really bad, is the load times. If you think it's bad going to places you've already been, for very little reward, then try doing it while waiting 5 seconds between screens. Load times are okay when interested, but when you are going through a dungeon you've already seen, load times make an already boring time more boring. Of course, yuo get used to the load times eventually. It took me half way through my first playthrough to do it, but I no longer care.

Characters -10/10-

My personal favourite part of the game. The characters were all well made. Even the main character has tons of growth, and was interesting throughout the entire game. I find it rare to have a great personality for a main character, but Luke definitely kept me interested.

What's even better, is that the other party members all have large roles. They all had a good reason to fight with Luke, and they also had a lot of development. Any one of them could have been placed as main character, and the story would have flowed well, just not as well as it did.

Special mention goes to Jade. One of the video game characters I've ever witnessed. Great personality, some depth, comedy, and very useful in battle. The world needs more Jade.

Graphics -8/10-

Sure, it's not as good as that new FF movie, FFXII. But they are still great. I think it surpasses Symphonia, at least in art style. The game was very well polished, and has very few flaws in this category. Nothing exceptional though.

Replayability -9/10-

Only one ending, not many scenes will change, and no optional characters. What makes it worth playing again? Grade shop and sidequests galore. You missed something the first time. Guaranteed. Plenty of sidequests to embark on, even on your second, third and fourth playthroughs. And the grade shop helps you with those sidequests.

The grade shop allows you to spend your hard earned grade (Plus a 1500 grade bonus for beating the game) on useful things for the next playthrough. like carrying over items, gald, AD skills and other useful things. It also can change things, like experience earned, grade earned and how much HP you start with. It's a great feature. Worth mentioning, even though it's not new to the series.

Rent or Buy?

Buy it. Buy a second copy, just in case something happens to your first. This game is amazing. If you like RPGs, you'll love it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/06