Full Review

Tales of Phantasia is one of the more interesting RPGs whose initial release was never seen outside of Japan. Sporting a more action oriented combat system, Phantasia kicked off the Tales series, but US fans wondered when we would ever see the game officially translated into English. Earlier this year Nintendo answered this very question when it brought the Gameboy Advance remake of the game to the West. Was it worth the wait for longtimes Tales fans? Read on to find out.

I've been with the Tales series from the very start, so I was one of the people who was looking forward to this remake with very high hopes. Unfortunately, it feels like a very rushed, bug filled excuse for a remake. Sure it's got additional features, and even a new character, but not nearly enough time was spent smoothing out the battle system, which is essentially the heart and soul of what makes the Tales series so great. Maybe those who aren't used to the series will like this port, but to me it feels like a sloppy game.

Tales of Phantasia

The story falls a youth named Cress. He and his best friend Chester have lived peaceful lives as hunters, but that all changes one day after their village is attacked during one of their routine hunts. Upon returning and seeing the remains of what was once their home, Cress sets off to get revenge for the destruction reigned upon their loved ones.

The storyline starts off a bit weak, but in no-time flat things pick up tremendously. What we've got here is a tale of revenge, deciet, and even time travel. Tales of Phantasia features a fairly large cast of rounded out characters, and they've even feature memorable by some very interesting personalities. Cress himself is forgettable, but others such as Arche (and her rather perverse dream) add a lighthearted note to the adventure.

Tales of Phantasia is at heart a random encounter, action RPG. You will wander around dungeons, towns, and the world map much like any other 16-bit RPG, but the first noticeable difference here becomes apparent once you engage in battle. The battles in this game are mostly real-time, but they take place on a 2-D plain. You can only control Cress, but you can move him left or right, but he can also jump and duck. THe goal in each battle is to decimate the enemy party using a combination of magic, special techniques, and slashing your weapon at them.

The Tales games have always been somewhat unique in regards to this trademark battle system, but something went very wrong with it in Phantasia's move to the Gameboy Advance. The original game was always a tad slow during battles, but there are added problems with this remake. Now everything moves even less smoothly because these encounters are riddled with slowdown. The game stops moving for around half a second every single time damage is registered to any character in either party. This makes everything sluggish, and at times, barely playable. This problem ruins the entire game, it's that bad.

The worst part of it all is that this problem wasn't in the original game!

If it wasn't for that drawback there would be no problems with Phantasia's battle system. It's one largely based on strategy, where timing, managing, and placement are all key. You can have up to four characters at once in your party, but you can only control one. This means that the rest of the cast will be managed by the computer. Letting the game manage everything wouldn't be that fun, and so Phantasia allows you to set specific strategies for each of your characters. While you aren't given a ton of choice, it's still perfectly functional.

The characters have also seen specific upgrades from the original version. For example, in the Super Famicom edition Chester was used solely for attacking as he lacked magic. That's changed for this remake. The title system, which was introduced later in the series, is also found in this version. This determines exactly how your characters stats will grow, and allows you to do a fair amount of customization with them. The title system is alright by me, and it's kind of cool to see them put it in this remake.

The difficulty is a bit unbalanced in this title. While it's not an uncommon thing for a character or two to die, I never experienced a single game over, or felt like I was close to completely losing. Keeping your entire party alive may be tough, but full out losing? Nah. So in one sense it's a difficult game, and in the other, not so much. I personally am a bit of a perfectionist in regard to keeping the entire party alive, so this played fairly heavily on my nerves. Still, it's nothing that RPG fans haven't had time to get used to, so it shouldn't be a problem for more classic oriented gamers.

The graphics are a mixed bag. On one hand, there's a certain washed out watercolor fantasy look to the style, and it's actually very cool. On the other hand you've got the horrendous character designs. Instead of going with the original's designs for each character, this remake updates them in the super deformed chibi style used in Tales of Destiny for the Playstation. Some people may like this, but I personally think it looks absolutely horrendous. I didn't like it in Tales of Destiny, and I certainly don't like it here. What's more is that during battle these characters are huge, further adding to their awkward appearances.

Sound too, is a mixed bag. The music has all been downgraded from the Super Famicom version, but most of the music still sounds pretty good. The battle theme, and fighting of the spirits are still as legendary as they were from the original. Now the problem here is in the voice acting. Yep, this game comes equipped with voice acting, but it's beyond bad. Not only is the overall quality terrible, but the actors overact to the extreme. This goes for both the voiced sequence at the beginning of the game, and all of the battle cries. Overall the music is pretty good, but just mute the volume whenever a character is about to speak and you'll be okay.

Controls are exactly as you would suspect. Nothing bad, but nothing good. Perfectly functional, though extended play will seriously hurt your thumbs thanks to the bad directional pads on all of Nintendo's handheld systems.

Final Recommendation
Tales of Phantasia was once a great game, this version of it however is not. The battle system is completely broken by slowdown, and at times it can be barely playable. It's sad really because this game has an excellent storyline, fun cast, and it takes place in a very interesting fantasy world. Not even the most devout Tales fans should venture into this one.