Tales of the Abyss

"Tales of the Abyss soars with beauty and elegance!"

Namco's Tales series is a collection of role-playing games especially popular in Japan, but not so much in America. The PS2 gains only it's second Tales game on American shores, but Tales of the Abyss surprises all who play it with excellent game play and among the best replay values for all PS2 RPGs. This game introduces a cast of rather unusual characters with odd weapons and adds new dimensions with the battle system. Those who have previously played Tales of Symphonia will feel right at home. Even better, the US version of Tales of the Abyss includes brand new Mystic Artes, along with superior voice acting to make this game unforgettable. This game will get you hooked until the very end!

The gameplay truly shines in Tales of the Abyss from the very beginning until the final boss is defeated. The world in this game is huge and full of many new game concepts. New players may be overwhelmed at first trying to understand everything there is to know about the battle system, leveling, and even cooking!

One returning feature from previous Tales games are unlockable titles for each of the various characters by completing in-game tasks or just by going through the storyline. Unlike Tales of the Symphonia, these titles do not affect level up growth, but instead are there to ease gameplay or for enjoyment. Some effects include waiving off the fee to rest at the inn, or regaining health while walking. Other titles allow you to view your characters in cool and hilarious costumes, ranging from battle uniforms to bathing suits(!). There are many titles of each of the characters, and some of the titles do have rather difficult requirements to meet. Titles will often be rewarded at the end of side quests, so it is possible to miss some titles due to the extreme length of the main story.

If titles no longer affect level up growths, then what do? Remember the EX Gems from Tales of Symphonia? Yes, they are back, only this time they have been renamed to Capacity Cores. There are 30 Capacity Cores in all, and these cores will each have unique attributes. Capacity cores will give bonuses like +2 Physical Attack and +1 Physical Defense or any combination in addition to the normal level up gains. No longer will you have to keep track of which character is equipping each title, but rather, "Who has my best Capacity Core now?" because you need to keep passing around this one C. Core to make sure everything is as strong as they can be!

So these C. Cores do give nice bonuses, but these bonuses will also unlock an entirely new feature of Tales of the Abyss: AD Skills. These skills are passive in-battle effects that you can choose to turn on or off. These AD Skills are crucial to successful battles, because only with AD skills can you enter overlimit and pull off Mystic Artes. Additional skills include recovering HP after battles, and even linking 3 basic attacks to 7! By gaining enough level up bonuses from C. Cores, you will eventually be able to unlock all the AD Skills, which will help you out tremendously in battles and will allow you to take on enemies on the toughest of difficulties.

Speaking of battles, we've got a new system here. There is an AD Skill that will allow you to "Free Run". In the older Tales of Symphonia, the character you are controlling is always locked onto one enemy, and you can only run back and forth in that straight plane. Well, Free Run will allow you run all over the battlefield as you like by just holding down one convenient button! Yes, that means that you can have one character as bait luring the enemy all over the battlefield while your other three party members are casting spells.

But which spells? Each character has dozens of moves, ranging from the basic artes to more complex Arcane artes and high level spells. Characters gain these moves through leveling up or by sidequests. With the proper AD Skills, you can even chain these techs together to form devastating combos. With these techs, a basic party of 4 members consist of one mage with healing skills, one warrior with melee attacks, another mage with powerful spells, and an interchangeable warrior or mage. New in this game are secondary attacks that are based upon the first attack. When you use any elemental tech, you will create a "Field of Fonons" that has the corresponding color to the element of the attack you used, like blue for water and red for fire. By using certain techniques on the right color, you will activate the secondary move, which are generally much cooler looking and damaging than the original. Certainly a new twist to battle and another thing to keep an eye on during battle.

The best looking skills of all are the Mystic Artes. Known as Hi-Ougis in Japanese, these are your special attacks, and you can recognize them by a little cut portrait of the characters face. The US version grants American gamers secondary Mystic Artes for their second playthrough. Every one of these Mystic Artes will make your stomach turn with excitement, since these moves are the pride of the battle system.

To make things even more complicated, you will eventually be introduced to the Fon Slot Chamber (FSC). When you obtain these different chambers, you can attach them to one technique for even more battle effects, like increasing this move's attack power or reducing the TP cost. Complicated indeed, but it becomes second nature over time.

Like any RPG, this game offers a slew of items and weapons to be used in and out of battles. There are the standard swords, staff, bow, and spear. Oddly enough, there are no shields, but there are many types of armor, bracelets, and gloves that you can buy for defense. The gels are back, and they are the potions for your adventure. Each character can also equip just one accessory. These accessories can be found in treasure chests, purchased in shops, or dropped by enemies. Some of them have rather interesting effects, so it would be a good idea to collect the ones you need! On the world map, there are a number of "search points", which are new to this game. When you visit a search points, you will get 3-7 items that you can use for crafting, or to sell off for extra money. Search Points refill when you enter or exit a place, so when you need the extra money, there is another way to get it besides fighting boring battles.

After battles, there is the option to cook. You will obtain various recipes for foods like pizzas and miso stew. Successful cookings will have various effects, like healing or recovering from status effects. After cooking one recipe for a certain number of times, you will "master" it.

After a battle, you will earn "grade" based on how the battle went. You earn points for ending battles will full HP, performing Mystic and FSC Artes, and more. These grade points can be used to purchase upgrades for further playthroughs.

There is only one real problem with this game, and that is the loading times. For the PS2, the loading time is really slow and only gets worse on the world map. Changing between scenes or entering a building takes around 4 seconds. Getting out of battles on the world map can really test patience, because you will often be staring at a black loading screen, especially in deserts and such where you walk slow and enemies outrun you. Saving and loading takes precious time as well. The game will also lag pretty badly at times, like in epic boss battles where everybody is using many techniques at the same time. If one could overlook the loading and lag times, then this game would be perfection.

This game can also get a little frustrating will all the dungeons. Often, the story line will throw you in some dungeon filled with puzzles and sometimes a boss lurking at the end. It is very easy to get lost or miss some items without referring to a guide. In some dungeons, there will be special save points called "Healing save points". They are colored green, and like they sound, they will heal upon contact. These make it easy to mass train without worrying about health, because you can get healed for free and faster than Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center!

The storyline is lengthy, will have you backtracking all over the world, but is still well-done nonetheless. You will be running all over the world map, through the game's many cities, and even traveling by plane! The towns and dungeons are solid, many of them quite unique and unexpected. Although the townspeople repeat the same phrases over and over again, they do make comments relevant to the storyline.

The story gives a compelling reason to play. Although it may get depressing at times, with deaths of certain minor characters. In fact, I think the part that makes this story stand out from other RPGs is the amount of times characters die. You feel as though you've met a good figure in the game, but in the next part of the story, the person dies.

All the characters have deep and interesting backgrounds, many of them sad and depressing. As you progress, you will learn more and more behind each of the characters, and even the reason why the main bad guy is the bad guy. As an extension to the storyline, you will be able to view "skits". These skits will pop up at certain points in the storyline and they provide extra dialog. Although they aren't voiced, they show funny animations of characters talking to each other and hilarious conversations.

Tales of the Abyss has quite a lineup of characters you will meet during the story, and you will find that many of them are connected to each other in unexpected ways, like long lost children, and the like. Generally, this is the best story I've played through since Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time.

Not overshadowed by the gameplay and story are the graphics. The game's environments all look beautiful, and the effects of the environments are well incorporated. In the desert, the sand will slow down your walking, and therefore lead you to being attacked more often by wandering enemies. The marsh is like a swamp, and it will also slow you down and leave you more vulnerable to attacks. The towns and cities are all unique and look cool, whether it be the snow or the beautiful blue sky. Just so you know, the background battlefield is nicely done as they fit the place you are actually in. When you are fighting in a dungeon, the background looks just like the actual dungeon and when you are fighting in a desert, the background looks and feels like a desert.

Characters look nice, although they may appear to be blocky at times. Facial reactions are anime style, and are funny to look at. The character design is detailed, colorful, and expressive. Techniques and Mystic Artes generally look stunning and are worth repeating battles to see them again. Some of the bathing suits and other costumes do look lovely. Characters have little emotion bubbles too, like hearts or explanation points that add a bit of expression to the game.

The camera angle zooms in automatically at perfect times, and show character close-ups or some aspect to pay particular attention to. This is built much like a cartoon and allows you to observe body language and little details that make gameplay shine.

The sound clearly shows the developers put a lot of thought into this game. The standard sounds are here, with the sound of footsteps, swords, and spells.

The voice acting is a definite plus, and it's very well done to say the least. The entire storyline has voice acting! The American voices sound very convincing and expressive. The in-battle voice acting is well done as well. The entire game is filled with so much emotion, from the serious chanting of the most damaging of spells to anger when a party member falls in battle. The sounds of battle are all present. Characters and enemy alike will scream when hit. Some of these battle cries may seem a bit rushed, though. After a battle, characters will say some quote and with certain characters or costumes, say something witty or funny. Throughout the story, you will hear quotes that are funny and that you can actually use in real life!

And the music must not be forgotten! The boss battle themes are fast flowing, and sound awesome enough to take out of the game and listen to when you're not playing the game! Some of the important boss battles even have their own unique battle song, and these are usually the ones that sound the best. Many of these songs are orchestrated for effect, and are pleasing to the ear. Some tunes to keep mind are "The Last Chapter", "Time For Farewell", and "Crimson Pride". These tunes kick in at the exact right time... like right when a person dies or when the big, mean bad guy shows up. These are some of the best music I've heard in a video game, and make Tales of the Abyss an even more perfect game!

This game will have you playing for a long time, even without sidequests. Just blindly going through with the story can take a good 60 hours and will sidequests, you shouldn't be surprised to find that your game timer has reached triple digit hours! However, it is worth every second, because you will enjoy it.

The normal battle with monsters are usually quick, ranging from 5 seconds to 30. Boss battles are generally longer, since they are like an HP tank. Depending on difficulty, battles could last as long as 30 minutes!

After you've played through the game once, there is a high desire to replay it again. Further playthroughs will grant you new Mystic Artes, a chance to do missed sidequests or obtain missed items to complete the Collector's Book. You can even visit the Grade Shop to buy stuff to make your next playthrough easier. Good upgrades include doubling experience earned, doubling grade earned, and allowing you to carry up to 20 of one item. Even those people who did not really enjoy this game would want to play it a second time since the game offers so much more. In fact, one would even play this game three times or even more!

I would recommend that you definitely buy this game as soon as possible, regardless of price. This is the PS2 RPG that you just can't miss because it combines all the elements of a good game in a smooth and exciting way. I've heard that this game is no longer in production, so it would be wise to head over to the nearest game store to secure a copy. No wait, I take that back. Buy TWO copies of it, just in case. Yes, this game is that spectacular. Your friends would probably want to try out Tales of the Abyss for themselves, and you wouldn't want to part with your copy. In conclusion, this game is pretty much perfect, so much so that it is worthy of TWO, not just one, purchase.

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