Tales of Phantasia

"Something at the peak of perfection..."

Sometimes, I wonder why Namco/Tri-Ace didn't bring this little work of art over to the USA... It could have been a sure hit that no one would ever dare to pass up.

Graphics- 9/10
Ok, what can I say??? On the field, the view is fully overhead... that means, you can see the whole area from above... That's quite a big plus in RPGs like this one, but you'd expect that from the best... Namco. The sprites were also really so cute... both on the field and in battle... But, for the very same reasons I like the games' graphics, I wish that they did more emphasis on it.

Sound- 8/10
The music fits the game fine... the tracks are worth listening to. You'll love the tracks like 'The Final Act', 'Fighting Spirit' and lots of others... Namco was even nice enough to put in a cd player-inspired sound test menu which allowed you to access them anytime you want to. Though, sometimes, the music really gets cheesy, especially when you get used to it.

Story- 10/10
I won't spoil anything for you but even if the story is just plain simple..., it's gonna be enough to drag you into playing Tales of Phantasia. They combined various elements from adventure, action, (some tiny bits of romance and some other "unexpected" stuff) to bring you a funny, fast-paced action-packed adventure!

Replay Value- 10/10
Once you finish the game, you'll be definitely craving up for more... I did. The game just presents itself in a way that you'll really want to play it again... from start to finish. With its cool 'Linear Motion Battle System', seemingly cute characters and story, crystal clear voice samples, believe me, you won't get tired of it even if you haven't played for months.

Gameplay/Controls- 6/10
Sadly enough, this is Phantasia's real "weakness". Why? First of all, during a battle, you'll have to "pace" yourself with your party... and yes, even with yourself. You only get to control the main character during battle, *and*, you don't have quite that much amount of control over him. Pressing the 'attack' button automatically sends Cless running toward the enemy party... and you can't cancel his actions. This results in getting killed almost EVERYTIME you're not prepped. Also, your skills are "ranged" in a way... What's "ranging"? Well, most skills (like teleport attacks, projectiles) are more effective from afar (it's obvious) and more "melee" attacks are real killers head-on. But, each skill can be only assigned to one of the controllers 'shift' (top L/R) buttons. And what's worse, if you equipped a skill to a "long-range" slot, you can only use it from a distant area... Thankfully, that's fixed later in the sequels. So, you'd better plan what skills to use rather than to change them every battle because the attack system isn't that friendly.

Innovation- 10/10
Ok, the battle system is what makes the game shine and fall. This is the first time a full real-time RPG with lots of stunning characteristics was released for a 16-bit system... That's innovation at it's best.

Is is worth it?
Yes. If you loved (and still do love) Tales of Destiny, and Tales of Destiny II, you'd better check this out... It shows the roots of the famous LM Battle system and further shows how great Namco really is.

Cress' overall rating- 10
You know, if it weren't for the "buggy" control system and the fact that it wasn't really ported over to the States, I'd consider this to be the most "perfect 16-bit" game. I bet you, it'll blow all of the other "traditional" RPGs out of the water.

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