The continuation begins, and as we follow The Tales of... Series, we find that by last generation the series obviously needed to transition into 3 dimensions. What we got, for the Nintendo Gamecube, was
Tales of Symphonia. But before we go into that, there are some fine tunings I should make posthaste in regards to my last Tales of... review:
1. The Super Famicom game
Tales of Phantasia was later ported to GBA, and finally released in the US in 2003.
2. I may not have been clear about this, but in the US the 3rd installment was called
Tales of Destiny II, but in Japan it was named
Tales of Eternia.
Ok, now on to the good stuff.
So again we have the Linear Motion Battle System (LBMS), this time in 3d. Each of theses games uses tweaks of this same system (I will go a little more in-depth for Tales of The Tempest on DS, however). The battles are still a little stiff as in previous installments, but with minor tweaks and AWESOME movesets I found it hard to care. As always there are times when a foe backs you into a corner and you're done for, but if you are a cautious rpg-player you know to save save save your game!
Also new to the series are "skits", mini stories mid-world map gameplay that showcase individual/group conversations.
Tales of Symphonia was released in 2004 for us Gamecube owners frothing for an rpg. It delivered more than many of us thought possible. It was initially a disappointment at retail, but once people experienced the gameplay/storyline, strong word of mouth put this game into Namco's "Top Selling Tales of... Game."
The story is a bit over-done. Typical, even. Lloyd, our titular hero, accidentally destroys his village whilst trying to defend it. After being booted out of his hometown, he and his friend Genis begin a long trek to protect their schoolyard friend and Chosen One Colette (the ever stereo-typed blonde blue eyed damsel with about as much wit as a dead moth). The story might seems a bit drab, and make no mistake it is. What sets this game apart (and the series in general) are the characters and their development. I truly came to love Lloyd's brash decision-making, and I ADORED Zelos smooth pimpness. The characters were even designed by renowned mangaka Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, etc). I think this title is what brought the series' tone to a fully realized order. Now battling AND character development are front and center!
Tales of Legendia is a bit of an oddity. Every Tales game up until this point had had at least minor tweaks to the LMBS, but Legendia saw the series go back to a 2 dimensional battlefield. Which did a few things: 1. Pissed off some fans. 2. Delighted some fans. Me, I fell in to the in between and not really caring because
THE SOUNDTRACK IS THE BOMB. Ok, it kinda sucked but if you played the previous games or just didn't mind getting used to it, the battles are still pretty fun. The PS2 saw a treasure trove of grand rpgs, and this is one of the best!
One of many "skits."
The player is introduced to Senel Coolidge, the game's protagonist. He and his sister, Shirley, are on a boat with little hope and food running low. They arrive on an island, only to discover the "island" is actually a giant sea vessel known as The Legacy. Crazy plot twists unfold and eventually you end up saving some serious shit. What made this game truly immersible was its presentation. You beat the main quest and the end credits play. Save your game? Sure, why wouldn't I? Whats this? It's not over? Single-character quests to discover the past of each playable character? What's that? An even deeper story interconnecting everyone's singular story? Seriously, the game is epic.
This is actually my favorite Tales of... game, to be perfectly frank. The story is fantastic, the characters are all amazing, and like I said before the soundtrack is phenomenal. If you have a PS2, play this game.
Showing more Tales love to the PS2,
Tales of The Abyss saw release 8 months after Legendia. That is, Oct. of 2006. This was to commemorate Tales of...'s 10th anniversary! Hurray. This game... was stale. The battle system improved vastly, however. Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System was incorporated, most similar to Symphonia, but now with the ability to move around the entire fighting map to avoid attacks. This really made battling a lot more fun. Unfortunately, a pathetically trendy story and faceless characters prevent this title from getting really good.
So since I'm not particularly fond of it, I will sum it up as this: so begins Tales of... Series' departure into typical JRPG ugliness. It really isn't as bad as I make it sound, but it was disappointing with what high expectations Legendia left with me.
The first non-canon game in the series, we have the DS'
Tales of The Tempest. This game was only released in Japan and marked another series battle innovation in its 3-on-3 LMBS. 3 lines of attack, and you can choose between them freely. Also present in certain characters is their morph ability which allows them to change their appearance/strength to epic proportions. It featured a multiplayer mode with wireless DS-to-DS connectivity. This allowed multiple players to interact in the same world. Coins earned carried over into single player, which is cool.
The Tales of... Series is an amazing franchise for a 3rd party company. I find it actually to be among the best franchises, period. It's true that it has grown a bit stereotypical and windy, but these first games are definitely masterpieces to be enjoyed by all rpg-enthusiasts!
Thu May 30, 2013 2:01 pm by Nintendo Furniture
Calendar
Subject: The Tales of... Series Volume 2 - New Und Sehr Improve!!! 
