Tales of Phantasia

"I can die a happy man now that I`ve played this masterpiece."

ToP is a classic, one of the best games ever created, the problem is that this masterpiece was never released outside Japan, so it`s very hard to find an even more to play (of course is in japanese). Too bad.

Plot (10/10): It involves time travel, lost cities, ancient powers, etc, then the interaction between you party members is great and adds a lot to the story. Cool.

Graphics (10/10): Ok graphics aren`t that amazing, this is a remake of the Snes version, but they are very, I mean VERY beautiful. For this remake the graphics have been enhanced with some 3D effects during the battles, an anime opening sequence, a new look for the main characters (their original look in fact because in the original version the main character weren`t exactly as they should be according to they portraits and their original artwork), a better looking menu, better character portraits, new combos for Cless and Suzu, the overworld is now in 3D, etc.

Music (10/10): Now, in my humble opinion, the original Tales of Phantasia for the Snes featured the BEST soundtrack ever made, not even Final Fantasy VII had a better one, even considering that ToP was for the Snes, from the excellent opening song to the marvelous battle music or the the incredible and catchy town melodies everything was simply outstanding. Anyway, for this PSX remake the music has been redone to CD quality, and believe it or not, the Snes one was much better. Anyway the music is fantastic, no doubt about it.

Gameplay (10/10) : P-E-R-F-E-C-T, that simple.
There`s only one game in the world with a battle system as good as this one, and that`s Grandia, everything else just can`t be compared at any rate. The battles are a mix of action-rpg and traditional rpg, they are side-scrolling and you are free to move from left to right, when you press the attack button your main character runs toward the enemy and attacks, then you can attack all the times you want while trying to avoid his attacks, the rest of the party awaits until you tell them to do something (or they`ll attack if you let the AI to control them). There are summonings, outstanding magic spells, and special skills too, this special skills are cool because they have to be mastered and found around the world from various people, and doing so is really fun.

Characters (10/10): Legendary ones!!!, I`ll never forget Cless, Mint, and the rest of the bunch, never. They were made by Kosuke Fijishima (Ah! My Goddess, You are Under Arrest, Sakura Taisen, and many more), who happens to be one of my favorite manga artists, I love his artwork, is really impressive.
The new playable character is one of the most important additions in this remake, if you played the Snes version you`ll know her, its Suzu, the little ninja girl from the hidden village Japon.

Conclusion: Too good to be true.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03