Tales of Phantasia

"A great RPG with hours of gameplay."

This is the first installment in the "Tales of" series. It is pretty much a direct port of the snes version, but with up-dated graphics and more things to do. This game has it all, from good game-play to good plot. Tales of Phantasia covers all the bases, and it does it pretty well. Not an FF6 or a Chrono Trigger, but this game deserves credit for being a good rpg.

Story: 7
While the story isn't the strong point of the game, it's not something to dislike. You start out as Cress, a swordsman from the town of Toltus. One day you go hunting with your friend, Chester. When you are just about to return home, the town's emergency bell goes off, leading into the detailed, yet could have been better, plot. All in all the way the plot progresses is smooth, and it makes you feel as if you are a part of it.

Game-play: 7.5
The "Tales of" series features a LMBS(Linear Motion Battle System) where you control your character. This adds yet takes away from the fun. While controlling your character is fun and reliable, your other characters often get in your way and even leave you at a disadvantage. The position of your characters in battle is crucial. The variety of skills and magic spells make the battling more fun in many ways. Outside of battle the controls are pretty basic. The fact that you can run all the time is a large improvement over the snes version.

Sound: 7
Some of the songs catch your attention, while others drive you crazy until you want to smash the game on the floor. The voice acting is really pretty average if not worse, but at least it has voices. The sound effects are efficient but nothing spectacular. You might listen to the music at first, but after a while it will become boring(and annoying) and you will find yourself turning the music off.

Characters: 7.5
As far as main characters go, Cress is one of the most boring EVER. His personality is pretty ordinary, with occasional spouts of attitude. The other characters are good, but again, they're not all that great. This is one of the areas I wish Namco had worked on more. The fact that the characters are under-developed during the game is proof enough. Strangely enough, though, you will find yourself drawn in by the characters during the game. This, of course, will only last for a while, as the characters will quickly shallow out...

Graphics: 7.5
One of the areas of this game that does not stink! Alright! Bright and clean, the graphics help you ease into the game. They don't really take advantage of what the GBA can do, but they are definitely better than the snes version's graphics. The battle graphics are nice and usually keep you from losing your characters. The major, MAJOR flaw in the graphics is the sprites! They made them more chibi-like. Basically that means more stupid-like. However, the sprites in battle are very nice. They add to the battles greatly.

Difficulty: 6
Random battles. Need I say more? Later on the battles are easier, but in the beginning you will find yourself leveling up to avoid untimely deaths. The random encounter rates in this game are terrible, but yet not as bad as FF6. If you could handle those, than you are ready to take on this game.

Replay Value: 6.5
I'd say that after beating this game once, you will be most likely putting this game away for a bit and playing something else. But after a while you'll come back to it and remember that it was a good game. After you beat the game once, you unlock a New Game+ mode where you start a new game with all your monster list data and your collector's book data. Other than that, though, there's not too much incentive to replay the game.

Overall Score: 8
So now the question is, should you buy it? To buy or to rent, that is the question! I say buy it. Even if you've never played another Tales game, you will still enjoy this game. It has hours of great game-play and it's unique LMBS adds a new feel to rpgs. This game has it's flaws, but I can truly say that it is worth it all.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/06