Tales of Phantasia

"A great start by Namco"

Graphics: 9
Although the details are stunning (water reflects you image, all sorts of small animations like bugs on the floor in caves and birds in the sky in villages) and the special effects are impressive, I have to give this part a nine. Why, you might ask? Because of the animations on the map. They are far from good. In the battles it's much better. We've seen better(Terranigma, Secret of Mana and Evermore)

Sound: 9.5
The sound is very impressive. They have used a large part of the cartridge just for sound. Indeed, the characters use voices. This increases, of course, the realism. They call out the name of the spells they use. There is also a vocal song. But the music itself is also good. Sure, it can't measure up to the Square titles, but still, my compliments Namco.

Story: 8.9
It's a fine story, that isn't it, but they use a lot of clichés. But it'll keep you interested all the time. By the way, if you have the ROM of Tales of Phantasia, which is translated into English by DeJap, you are lucky. The free translation gives the game a fresh twist, which makes the story of Tales of Phantasia much more fun then every other Role Playing Game.

Gameplay: 10
This can't be any other mark. It's worth a 10. (My classmate LB06 gave it an 11). The battles rule. No crappy turn based like FF and Chronotrigger (great games though) but real time battles which increases the life spend of the entire game. Also, the variety of spells, summonings and attacks if great. When you learn an attack, you can master it, so that you can use a combo move. For example: When you learn the psion bolt and the dual kick, you can master them both. Once you have mastered them both you can use the psion kick. This technique combines these two techniques to a stronger attack. If you're a great RPG-player, this'll keep you busy. It's very hard. Harder than most RPG's. So it isn't a game for rookies.

Replay: 8
I don't really know actually, cause I haven't finished it, but this always is the weakspot of an RPG. When you play it for the first time, you are always curious about what is next. Once you know, it's not as cool as it used to be.

Buy or Rent?
The game is way to hard to finish it in a short time, so you should buy it. It also appeared on the PSX.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/01, Updated 04/02/01