Tales of Phantasia

The Bottom Line

The Tales Of series by Nintendo has proven to be one of the more popular role playing game series, spawning hits like TALES OF LEGENDIA, but the original game, TALES OF PHANTASIA, has never been released in the US until now. Originally a Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) game, TALES OF PHANTASIA has been reborn on the Game Boy Advance. The game follows Cress, a young boy who finds his life completely changed after a hunting trip with his friend. He ends up leaving his home on a quest to right past wrongs and learn about the history of his world. As with all RPGs, Cress meets up with several other characters during his quest, leading to the player controlling a party of different characters through much of the game. Battles in TALES OF PHANTASIA aren't the traditional turn-based fights that most RPGs use. Instead, players can make Cress perform different attacks by pressing the D-pad. Players can also chain together attacks and, as Cress levels up, learn new moves to use. The game also has the option of putting Cress on automatic attack so players can chose different actions for his companions, who generally fight on their own. TALES OF PHANTASIA, while certainly an older title, holds up very well in regards to storyline and characters. Players who have enjoyed the other TALES OF games or like RPGs won't mind the slightly dated graphics.