Tales of Destiny

"A great RPG...To say the least."

A truly great game.Namco isn't use to making RPG's but nonetheless they've made a masterpiece.It was quite enjoyable throughout the entire game.It had a great battle system and memorable characters.

Story:

The story follows Stahn Aileron.He is a stowaway on a giant dragon ship.He finds Dymos,a mysterious sword that talks and then becomes entangled in a chain of events that threatens to destroy the very existence of his planet.Stahn and his friends try to uncover the secrets of an ancient civilization.

This comes from the back of the case.Although this is just a summary...The games gets much,much deeper as the plot unfolds and certain events occur.

Gameplay

I'll get straight to the point...The game was fun...Really,really fun.It was an enjoyable expierence from start to finish.At times it was hard to put down my controller.With a great story,a good battle system and detailed characters Tales of Destiny is a top notch title to say the least.I didn't find it that difficult...However,there was some bosses that I needed to level up for.The control is fairly basic...Nothing too complex here.Read the instruction manual and you'll be just fine.

Graphics


Nothing spectacular here.Normal 2D graphics with some nice detailed enviroments.Has nice anime opening and ending.It has the usual super-deformed character looks and the spells look good.But remember!Graphics don't make a game(remeber that Squaresoft!).

Audio

The music was ok...Nothing exceptionally good...But nonetheless it was good.Has some room for improvements though...


Battle-System


This was a major highlight to the game.It had over 100 different spells,a LOT of weapons and it was in real time.Namco has really made some innovations with the battle system here.I just hope that other devlopers make a battle system like this...Or even better.

Replay value:I played through it quite a few times and I still like playing through it.It's not one of those games in which you beat,then let it collect dust.

Rent or Buy:I you like RPG's then you must buy it.Even though it is an RPG,I'm sure that all types of gamers will enjoy playing Tales Of Destiny.But you should rent it first and then decide.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/00, Updated 04/24/00