Vimm's Lair: SNES Reviews - Tales of Phantasia

Super Nintendo
Tales of Phantasia

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.62
8.36
8.49
8.55
Votes: 74
Reviews: 5


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Reviewer: Indalecio Date: Oct 9, 2001
-Thanks to DeJap for translating this great game for us-

Tales of Phantasia was a gem for its days, being the first 48-megabit game for the Super Famicom (SNES). It was a giant leap for RPGs at its time.

Graphics: The graphics for this game are superb. Though not the best I have ever seen for SNES, they still surpass practically every SNES game except for Star Ocean in the graphics area. The sprites were nicely done and were even more detailed in battle, along with the marvelous battle animations that surpass even Chrono Trigger.

Sound: Tales of Phantasia has a soundtrack that is hard to beat. The music fits the mood everywhere you go. One of the songs is even vocalized. If only every game had music this good :)

Gameplay: The game was pretty fun, except for having too many annoying random battles in some areas. The puzzles were nice, not too hard, but not too easy either. There are even some mini-games, like racing a little kid, that add to the gameplay.

Overall: Download it, get the translation, and play it if you are an RPG fan. This is one you would NOT want to miss.

-Other Ratings--

Storyline/Plot (Rating: 10): This game had a unique storyline that was well though out and had no flaws. Although you are basically focused on the same goal since the beginning of the game (Defeating Dhaos), many other quests arise from this one goal.

Replay Value (Rating: 8): You would most likely want to play it over again. There are many things you probably missed your first way through and it's always fun to go back and try to find them.

Battle System (Rating: 7): Tales of Phantasia's ""Linear Motion"" battle system is much more active than the traditional Final Fantasy ""Active Time Battle"" system. Though not nearly as active as Star Ocean's ""Full Active Battle System"", it still serves its purpose and it takes a while for battles to start to get annoying. The system has flaws, of course, but it is still nice and though out.

I would reccomend this game to any RPG fan like myself. This is a MUST-PLAY.

 

Reviewer: SpyK Date: Oct 5, 2001
Thanks goes out to Square and the DeJap Translations Team for bestowing upon us a rare gem of an RPG.

The GRAPHICS in this game are quite refined and show of the SNES graphics at its best, reflections, smooth animation, even uses the same graphics type as the racing part of chrono trigger/mario kart/terranigma etc.

SOUND has always been a matter of personal taste, but personally, I did the sounds in the game, Not just the music, mind you, but also the sound effects themselves, such as waves, wind, and the clamor of battle.

The GAMEPLAY is an utterly fresh and unique experience, mainly due to the nifty sidescrolling battles. The game is rich in what are largely ignored features in most games. The buying of food, customization of item upgrades, and even a requirement of the number of battles won before certain things can happen for example. Many side quests, small and large, an overall rich and in-depth game. The storlyline is revealed with unwavering steadiness and thanks to the DeJap team, can be rather interesting at times, even PG-13 at times ;).

OVERALL if you don't have this game, GET IT! You won't regret it. It hasn't been translated for that long and already it has shrine websites paying homage to it's greatness. In my humble opinion, I believe it to be better than Chrono Trigger and the SNES Final Fantasy Series, due to it's rich story, in-depth characterizations, and refreshing overall style. If you have read this and you aren't convinced to try it, then you'll be missing out!

 

Reviewer: The Reviewer Date: Sep 9, 2001
This game is great!

Graphics:The battle graphics are AMAZING by far the best i've seen in any SNES game i've played, I thought the rest of the games graphics were pretty good too.

Sound: Some of the sounds were a bit annoying but it wasn't to bad, the music was ok it.

Gameplay: The Gameplay is great I loved the way they did the battles, the story was very interesting it kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next.

Overall: This is a GREAT game worth downloading! If you liked this one try Star Ocean, these two games are great and have the same active fighting style.

 

Reviewer: The Gamesta Date: Sep 4, 2001
This is a great game! Takes a while to beat,chlanging,unique,and the gameplay is superb!

Graphics: Definently one of this games best aspecs.Partially 3d. I'd say this game has 42bit graphics

Gameplay: Totally unique! The Fighting mixes street fighter with chrono trigger. This games genre barely falls under RPG

Sound: Good music and good effecs but the sound does get annoying after a while. not like the chrono trigger theme which i could listen to forever

overall: A good game and i would recomend it! It is well worth playing

 

Reviewer: Lillymon Date: Jun 17, 2001
Tales of Phantasia is one KICKASS game!!!

Graphics

The first 48 megabit game for the SNES, and it shows. Attention to detail like ripples in puddles and reflections on any water are much appricated. The character design is also great.

Sound

The opening theme has lyrics to it, sure they're in Japanese but who cares! They sound great! Use the latest version of ZSNES to make it sound the best. No SPC player I've found so far can handle the lyrics... :(

Gameplay

Namco patented the new 'Linear Motion Battle System' for this game! Righty so too because it rules! Top marks!

Storyline

Definitly well above par. The only game I've found that can beat it is Chrono Trigger.

Difficulty

Consistantly difficult although the final boss is far too east for my liking. Chrono Trigger comparisons come in again as I think that final boss is much harder. I haven't tried the secret hard mode yet though. The PSX version has a manic mode too...

Overall

A fantasic RPG which loses out only to Chrono Trigger. You won't regret playing it though... :)