Tales of Phantasia

"I usually talk about the bad in games, but I don't really see any"

OK, before I start into detail on the goodness of this game, let me start by saying a bit about this game. This game came out in Japan in, oh, what was it, 95? Anything you hear about this game being dirty, and containing vulgar language and such is based on a TRANSLATED ROM, meaning that a bunch of hackers translated this game to English so that non-Japanese reading people could enjoy this gem of a game. One thing that really ticks people off is that people judge the game based on a translation, rather than the actual game. So with that in mind, I'll start my review.

Graphics/Sound - Aah yes! Truly on of the best games on the SNES in terms of graphics and sound. The graphics are just truly AWESOME. The detail in the background, the nice looking characters, and some pretty good enemy artwork (though some get repetitive), nifty spells, among many other effects. I cannot think of many SNES/SFC games that come close to this awesome display of graphics. And the sound. Absolutely NO SNES/SFC game can compare to it. Admittedly, the sound of clashing swords and spells and such are average, but the voices are such a neat addition to the game.
10/10

Music - A strong point in the game, which is saying a lot, considering how strong everything else is. In this game, you'll find quick paced battle themes (most notable is a song called Fighting of the Spirit. even if you don't play this game, try to get the song, its wicked), dark, majestic, and really tragic songs to set the mood. It even has those semi-annoying songs, and the boring songs that actually set the mood really nicely.
10/10

Story - Pretty good. Better than I expected. It starts off OK, I really didn't take this too seriously, because I thought it was one of those ''oh another save the world from the villain'' plot, but it actually wasn't. It starts off with two good friends hunting, then suddenly things go wrong in the town. This game involves so much craziness its not even funny. Intriguing storyline, a cool villain, and many twists make this game's plot overall one of the better plots of all RPG. The character development was there, but a bit weak, but come to think of it, I think its only because the rest of the game was sooo strong that I expected flawless characters. Amazing, a breath-taking plot that is refreshing even to a seasoned RPG'er. Even with weaker than perfect character development, the story was still a very powerful, very good one.
10/10

Gameplay - This game is a bit unique in terms of gameplay. It plays like a normal RPG, except in battles, you are on a 2D side scrolling screen. If you are far from an enemy, you press A to run toward them, and A again to do an attack. If you are close enough, pressing A will simply attack. Pressing Up with A will make you stab (I will explain later, when I talk about weapons), and pressing B or up + B can make your main character do special moves. These special moves can be ''mastered'' with repeated use (like, use them 100 times and you master them). Once you master certain moves, you can pull off combination techniques, which allow you to basically use two specific techniques at the same time. The rest of your teammates are computer controlled. You can pick certain strategies for them, such as, but not limited to cast a lot, or dont cast a lot. One thing with the battles is that while your teammates (or you) try to cast a spell, there is a small delay time, common to many RPG's. During this delay time, if an enemy attacks you, the spell is interrupted, and you'll have to cast it again. Some may consider this a cool thing, but to me, its a bit annoying. One more thing, the encounter rate is more than the usual FF7 or whatever newer easy RPG's you might be playing, but its actually not that bad. And for challenge, lets just say the game is not easy and not hard. Some dungeons are really hard and perhaps frustratingly long (hmm.... this is a good thing by the way). So lets say the challenge is good and leave it at that. As for the rating, I WOULD give it a 9, but since I owe music a 12, I'll give it....
10/10

Well, as you may be able to tell from reading this, I REALLY love this game. It has so much going for it, and so little against. I really encourage any RPG lover, and even people who don't love RPG's, but enjoy a good one every now and again to get this game. Once you play it, you'll know why so many people praise this game as on of SNES/SFC best game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/03