Tales of Destiny

"Great PS1 game + deserving PS2 remake = Ultimate Tales game? I would say, YES."

Tales of Destiny is the second game of Namco's popular Tales RPG series that was released way back on the PS1. After all the new Tales games released after that, Tales of Destiny still remained one of the more popular title of the franchise, and the only Tales game to ever receive a sequel (Tales of Destiny 2 on the PS2). And now, this worthy title is finally receiving a well deserved PS2 remake, making it the second Tales games to receive a remake (Phantasia was the first).

Graphics: 10/10
As a 2D game/graphics lover, I knew I was going to be in for a treat when I get my hands on this game. But I wasn't ready for this nuclear bomb at the receiving end! In case you didn't understand that, it means this game went far beyond my expectation. I can safely say without a single doubt that no other 2D games even compare to this games visuals. First the framerate. Tales of Rebirth, although a beautiful game visually, suffered from lack of frames for the character sprites. This game however, seems to have nearly twice the amount of framework as Rebirth had. As for techniques and magics, the visual will blow you away. Countless frames of animation swirling everywhere on your TV screen without a hint of lag or slowdown. The only time you will ever get a frameskip or slowdown is when you have both Woodrow and Chelsey in your party spamming Haku. The overworld map, dungeons and backgrounds are done in 3D, but they are so well done that the 2D characters will fit in almost too perfectly. You can easily notice that Namco put a great deal of effort in the graphics department. The sprites are well animated, including all the enemies and bosses. The magic and skills looks beautiful. The character's hi-ougi's will blow you away. To sum it up, no other 2D game in existence will even come close to this game's 2D graphics.

Music: 10/10
The original game already boasts an impressive soundtrack. This remake kept all of the nostalgic old tunes and fully upgraded and remixed them. The result is more than satisfying. From the popular opening theme song, to the well known battle music "Bare its Fangs", to the unforgetable "Lion - Irony of Fate". it's all there, remixed and upgraded fully. Every single track fits the situation perfectly, and you can really feel the emotion of the situation thanks to the soundtrack. Voices aren't absent either. Like every single PS2 Tales games, all dialogues are fully voiced. The famous skits are also around, you can still watch your characters converse and make fun of each other and all sort of other comical moments. And finally there is the battle voices for the magic and techniques. All are well done and sounds great. Nothing will make your ears bleed despite the amount of repetition you will hear in the battles. As a bonus, the party member Johnny even sings in some skits/event. This is also well done, even if its for fun.

Gameplay: 10/10
If you've played any Tales games in the past, you should know what to expect. Tales RPGs are one of the few RPG series where fighting never gets tedious or boring. All battles are done in real time. One button is used to attack, one button for special techniques that you equipped, and the blocking button, spell shortcuts, target switching, all there. The battles in this game are fast-paced, solid, and fun. It plays very similar to a fighting game, where you combo your enemies with your party member allies or even your friend. This game added a whole new system to the popular fighting engine. You can now battle in the air. Air attacks existed in Tales of Destiny 2, but this game really focused on the aerial battle aspect of the game.

You no longer have TP (your tech points) for your magic and skills. Instead you have a gauge, called the CC gauge. Your CC have a minimum and maximum value. All of your attacks and actions will use up the CC gauge. Normal attacks cost 1CC, skills and magic will range from 2 to 4 depending on its tier, and other actions such as double jump, and backstep will also use 1 point of CC. As long as you have enough CC points remaining, you can continue to chain and combo other attacks in one combo until it runs out. By standing still, or using the charge command (Square + Down), your CC will regenerate to the next cycle. Each cycle is the last cycle's CC maximum +1 until it reach your max CC total value, then goes back to the minimum value. For example if your CC value is 4-8. You start with 4CC, the next cycle will have 5CC, then 6. Once it reach 8, the maximum, the next cycle will be back to 4. You are not required to use up all the CC points for the next cycle. As long as you stand still for a second or use the charge command, you can go right to the next cycle. This system allows you to chain and cancel pretty much anything that uses CC during any part of the combo. Meaning you can go attack>tech>attack>skill>magic>tech...until your CC points runs out. Under the character's HP bar is the Blaster gauge. Once it fills up, you can perform a hi-ougi by pressing L1 or X+O anytime during a combo as long as a hit connects (not blocked). Most characters have multiple hi-ougis. The stronger ones are performed when the Blaster gauge is filled at different levels. All of the swordian wielders can get up to 3 gauges max, while the others gets 2.

Weapons are only available to the non Swordian members. Everyone else fights with their Swordians only. Swordians now have Capacity Points, you earn more as you level up, and these points can be allocate to different abilities, most are stat raisers, while some are effects like weapon cause sleep e.t.c. Non swordian weapons and armor are upgraded by using lens. There is a level requirement for each armor so you cannot get the strongest armor just by over hunting lens. The armors and non swordian weapons usually gives you 2 to 3 choices, ranging from a high-stat weapon/armor to a lower stat version with an ability on it. Depending on the branching you take, your final armor or weapon can have many variations.

The game stayed true to its original self. All the town, dungeons, characters, events and story remains relatively the same. The dungeons are for the most part redone, so you won't be breezing through them even if you played the original. The puzzles of old are still around, along with new and tougher puzzles. Some puzzles can be really difficult to solve, and dungeons will take a lot of your time to solve, especially during the second half of the game.

Content: 10/10
Like most Tales games. Finishing the game will allow you to replay the game with more power/benefits/handicaps by means of the Grade Shop. However, this game took the grade system out. You no longer get Grade points from battles. Instead you unlock a couple of options you can turn on or off once you finish the game. Some of these options are similar to what you could buy with grade points in other Tales games. Your titles and a few other things are automatically inherited.

There is still a bonus dungeon. You can fight difficult monsters inside while getting more goodies or challenging yourself. The game still have difficulty options, from simple to hard, and more. The arena is still around, you can battle it out and win prizes. The only disappointment here is that there are no Cameo Arena battles like most other Tales games. You don't get to fight other Tales party members in this game sadly. However, to make up for this, you get a couple of "special" battles that are pure fan service. Auto-levelers beware. Namco implemented a easter egg that will stop people from auto-leveling. You will encounter a special someone if you are in the same area for hours fighting nonstop. And needless to say, your chances to win are as good are zero. More fan service has been done, such as a special shop in the bonus dungeon that have effects that will please the fans greatly.

Rent or Buy:
2D game fan? RPG fan? Anime fan? Fighting game fan? If any of these applies to you, go buy the game. You might be already aware, but this game is only available in Japan, so you have to import this game. However, believe me, its well worth the extra cash. This is one of the best games of its kind in existence. Even if you are Japanese illiterate, that won't stop you form playing the game at all, especially since the original PS1 game is available in English, most people who played it should already know the story. Not owning this game is like questioning whether you are really a 2D, RPG or Fighting game fan at all. If you are, this game is a must-have.

Final score: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/06, Updated 09/04/07

Game Release: Tales of Destiny (JP, 11/30/06)