Tales of Destiny

"Tales of Destiny: Dense as lead, cool as ice"

Tales of Destiny is a great game, and a great departure from the normal RPG fare. It is guilty of fewer of the RPG Cliches than most, and the graphics are, in a word, cute. The massive sound library of the game can be accessed from the main menu (it's abridged: you can't hear the characters announcing their attacks, just play the game!)

Originality
This is where the RPG cliches come in. The game contains, thankfully, no giant robots to speak of, but does have one sleepyhead, a few mad scientists (who don't play a HUGE part in the plot), and the required one amnesiac girl (not to mention the absolutely obligatory false ending). The Swordian idea is good, but isn't really explored much by the story. It seems to be rehashed from legend (i.e. the Singing Sword, et cetera), but who cares, when the Swordians contribute so much to the dialogue?

Gameplay
The world map is navigated in the standard North-South-East-West fashion, as is the rest of the game (except when you are on a ship, a vehicle perfectly capable of oblique travel). Absolutely WHENEVER you are on foot, you can run, a nice way to get around without dealing with so much scenery. Battle is executed with your compatriots acting as a loosely defined party of AI acting independently of each other (and you, unless you tell them specifically to do something), and they normally follow guidelines which you set from the Strategy menu. You control the main character, Stahn Aileron, and manual control in battle is a challenge (thankfully there are Semi-auto and Auto modes in battle, accessed by pressing Select). The further into the game you get, the more elements enter into your battle strategy, and the denser the gameplay gets.

Story
The story is, unfortunately, the basic Save-the-World scheme. However, the sides stories command more interest than in any other game. An extensive world has been created for this game, complete with political and economic aspects. Copious mini-quests permeate the game, and the replay value is enhanced by myriad ways in which one can play.

Graphics
Okay, they look rather 16 bit-ish, but with the graphics smoother of the PlayStation 2, I find it hard to care at all about the graphics. The jewel case boasts an Anime opening and closing, which I look forward to seeing.

In short, Tales of Destiny is a game that is undeservedly overlooked by many. I feel lucky to have received the recommendation of it from a friend. I can't give it a 10, because it certainly could have been better (so could most of its contemporaries), but I can't give it an 8 either, because of its rich character interaction and gameplay. Thus, it gets a 9. Now go play it, you schmuck!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/02, Updated 01/30/02