Tales of Legendia

"Legendia is not a word!"

Tales of Legendia is the first PS2 incarnation of Namco's Tales series to come over to the U.S. Tales of Symphonia was released earlier on the GCN and did quite well. For those of you expecting a sequel to ToS or even the same gameplay you may be disappointed. While ToL offers real-time RPG action, it differs from ToS greatly and is more of a throwback to older Tales games at times. Despite all this, ToL turns out to be a great a game.

Gameplay: 21.5/25

Gameplay in ToL follows your generic RPG formula. Boy is thrown into adventure which he doesn't want to go to, discovers evil plot to take over the world, etc etc. Storywise, this game follows the same RPG archetype with the possibility of incest??? I won't get into it. But you might not be surprised by the story sequences in the game.

When it comes to combat, you will feel at home if you played previous Tales titles before. If you haven't, then what it basically boils is down to is pretty much an RPG version of a fighting game. You control Senel Coolidge, who likes to up close in everyone's face in the story and in battle. When a battle starts, Senel and co. will start on the left and the enemy will start on the right. You can only move from side-to-side and you must defeat the enemy this way. You are able to link attacks with your party members and form combos and this is the most effective way to damage you enemy. In addition to that, there is a climax gauge that fills up as the battle goes on. Once it's filled, you are able to stop time and damage your enemy as much as you can before time is up.

There are some downsides to ToL. Even though it may seem cynical, Senel does not use a sword. It may be just me, since I'm so used to every Tales protagonist using a sword, but it seems like most of Senel's skills through the first part of the game are very bland. Only until later does Senel get devastating combo generating moves and to me it was a fight getting through the first part of the game.

Also, some of the characters are generally not likeable. Although Moses tries to come off as comic relief at times, he just seems annoying and really doesn't have a personality or motive at times. Grune basically seemed thrown in last minute. Jay is an unappealing character that is horribly boring in combat. We don't know much about Will and as we come to learn his past, we don't find much to justify his actions. Shirley is as annoying as Collete with her "I want everyone to be happy!" attitude and annoying voice actor. Chloe, Norma and Senel were the only characters I liked and Norma does a good job of comic relief.

Graphics: 8/10

Graphically, the game looks very good. The environments are the best part of the game. They are very beautiful and vibrant and really stand out when you are playing the game. All of the characters look great on the overworld and in battle. A lot of the story driven sequence are done using either the game's in-game engine or using anime cut-outs of the characters. While they aren't amazing looking, it's better than nothing and it does help drive some story sequences sometimes.

Sound: 8.5/10

The music in this game is very good. A lot of the dungeons are filled with catchy, up-beat tunes that help keep your spirits up even though the story arc might be on a down-slope. The in-battle music may leave something to be wanted, but it gets the job done. When it comes to voice acting, I would estimate about 75% of the scenes in this game are voice acted. Of the scenes, that are missing voice acting, they probably did not need them. I will say that Shirley's voice was especially annoying as was Collette's in ToS. But if you don't mind high-pitched squealing little girls than I guess you can rule that out.

Value: 2.5/5

The main game takes about 20-25 hours to complete. Seems short for an RPG huh? Well after the main game there are character quests that help flesh out each individual character's storyline and hopefully reach a resolution. But personally, given the fact that I did not like some of the characters as I progressed through the game, I did not enjoy the character quests at all. They almost seemed tacked on to increase the game's length as the main game was both short-lived and unfulfilling as well given the story elements thrown in.

Overview:

Gameplay: 21.5/25 - Fast paced combat, unlikeable characters.
Graphics: 8/10 - Lovely environments that are beautiful and vibrant.
Sound: 8.5/10 - Nice music tracks.
Value: 2.5/5 - Main quest unfulfilling and character quests seem tacked on.

Overall: 40.5/50 = 81% = B

Bottom Line: Tales of Legendia is more of a throw back to past Tales titles and may not be for everyone. Rent this game before you buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/06