Tales of Destiny

"The epitome of mediocrity, yet strangely fun..."

That's right. This game is nothing special, nor is it bad. It is average. Plain and simple. Not the best of role playing games, not the worst of role playing games. Just meh...

Alright. Here is the reason for my diagnosis.

Game play

The battle system in this game is fairly innovative. It is safe to say it is one of the game's best qualities. It is similar to the system for Star Ocean: The Second Story, however it is from a side-scrolling perspective. You take the control of the main character, and can open a menus to control the other team mates. They are computer controlled with set tactics while you are in control of your main character. It is also in real-time, as opposed to traditional turn based combat. Fans of 2d fighters will surely enjoy this aspect of the game. The only gripe I have here is the almost insane encounter rate. Later in the game, you will learn spells to counter this though.

Story

Cliche city... Definitely nothing special happens here. A young kid from a small town meets some people and goes on a quest to save the world from some evil mastermind who wants to use a remnant of an ancient civilization to destroy the world. Nothing special here... These type of stories are getting on my nerves very much.

Graphics

Beyond the opening anime movie, there is nothing special to mention in this subject as well. It is your typical SNES style character sprites, on pre-rendered two dimensional back grounds. Nothing special, but I'm not complaining. I like these style graphics.

Sound

This ranges from beautiful to downright annoying. Some of the songs in this game are very well done, and some *cough* Battle Theme *cough* are just annoying. The character's Japanese voices in battle were quict to get on my nerves too. I will most likely kill myself if I have to hear Stahn scream FIYABAHLL again...

Replayability

I highly doubt it. I enjoyed it one time through, but I honestly can't say I could do it again.

Rent, or buy

Alright... I got mine for five dollars at a swap meet in California, so I can't really complain here. This game has been around for a while, so it should be fairly easy to find a twenty dollar or under used copy of it. I'd say it's worth a buy. If the cost is over that, I would most definitely rent it first, because this game is the pinnacle of mediocrity, and will not please everyone. It is good to fill in the time when you are without an RPG to play.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/01, Updated 07/18/01