Due to the rather extensive history of this game, I think it is important that I let you know my personal Tales experience. I wasn’t one of those people who played and loved the original Japanese version on Super Famicom. This review will not discuss the differences between the two versions. The first and only Tales game I played prior to this one was Tales of Symphonia, and I loved it. I think most of you will be in a similar situation as me, so I hope this review will be helpful.

So how does the action-oriented 3D battle system found in Symphonia translate into 2D? Surprisingly well, actually. Fights take place on a single, side-scrolling battlefield, and the player takes control of one character while the rest of the party is automatically controlled based on the strategies given to them. Pressing the A button plus a direction will make your character perform a normal attack, while you can set up to four special "Skills" to the B button and perform them whenever you want, at the expense of your technique points. The vast majority of the fights boil down to holding a direction and tapping A until all the monsters are dead. This can get rather old, but there are just enough bosses and other special fights that require a certain level of strategy to keep you interested.

Unlike Symphonia, Phantasia is filled with random encounters. They are very frequent and could be reason enough to avoid the game if that isn’t your idea of fun. The problem is that you may spend the vast majority of the game feeling quite over-leveled. Many of the boss fights felt like normal fights. Tap A, the boss dies, and no one in the party lost more than 20% of their health. On the other hand, certain sets of normal monsters can prove to be so difficult that you have to run if you don’t want to die. There are points in the game where you will be attacked by five spell-casting monsters who constantly cast an area-of-effect spell that can kill the weaker members of your party in three hits. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it can be very frustrating and make the game feel quite unbalanced.

The main story behind the game is where things get a little strange. Though fundamentally different than Symphonia, the means of achieving your goals are actually quite similar. These similarities go from being a fun way of linking the two games within the Tales universe together, to feeling like the writers and developers were getting a bit lazy. To confuse things even more, knowing that Symphonia was actually developed years after Phantasia, this should be a fault with that game rather than this one, but given the fact that most people who aren't from Japan will most likely be playing them in reverse order, it feels like this one is the rehash.

If you are wondering why this game is rated Everyone 10+ and not just Everyone, it becomes obvious as soon as Arche, the frisky spell caster, joins the party. In a very short amount of time, she convinces a captain to sail the group across dangerous waters by claiming she will make it “worth his while", and then she has an implied sex dream about Cress, the main character. In all honesty, I’m surprised the game isn’t rated Teen. The game isn’t short on death and sorrow, either. Towns and families are exterminated. Some characters are motivated by vengeance alone. Don’t let the eight legged Pegasus with the cheerful kids riding it fool you. The story is heavy and may be over the head of many younger gamers.

Visually, the game looks great. Character design is top notch, and battle sprites sport a great chibi style that never gets boring. Towns and dungeons each have their own unique feel, and sometimes the backgrounds look almost too good. In some of the areas, specifically forest ones, I often found myself missing paths because the backgrounds made them look impassible. As you obtain new weapons and shields for the characters, they actually show up in the battles. Cress can use axes, swords, and spears, and each one gives him a different feel visually. Playing this game makes you understand why Nintendo is trying to keep the GBA alive.

Overall, Tales of Phantasia is a solid RPG with the refreshing active battle system the series is famous for. If you are a fan of the genre, this one is tough to pass up. It probably won’t convert your "RPGs are for nerds" friends, though. Had Namco actually released this game for the SNES way back when, it’d be interesting to see how North America’s RPG scene would have changed. Would everyone still automatically think RPGs and turn-based battles go together?