This will be my first review here on vizzed!

Tales of Phantasia is the first game in the "Tales of" series. First released for SNES, then GBA and then PSX, etc. I'll be reviewing the PSX version of the game, which is in my honest opinion, the best out of all other versions. Tales Of Phantasia was originally released on the Super Nintendo in Japan of 1995, and overall, I will point out that for 1995-1998, this game is amazing. I was expecting so much less and was quite surprised with how great this game is. Overall, in this review I will be comparing this game quite often to it's older versions. 

For those who are already familiar with the Tales series, and are also familiar with one of the most popular game, Tales of Symphonia, you'll realize that Symphonia was released as a long/distant prequel to Phantasia, and Phantasia is basically what happens many years after Symhponia. You will definitely see and pick out familiar names! 

[Tl;dr for those who are deciding what version to play - PSX is the most recommended as it includes many new features such as cooking, a new playable character, 3D world map, more weapons and items, and a new slice of story added to the game. Graphics are a lot more better too, and game play is a lot smoother. However if you prefer the very original/very first, then SNES is the one for you. GBA's graphics are rather eye-burning and not such a smooth or fast game play, so I personally do not recommend it.]

Brief summary of the plot: (Spoiler free as possible)
Tales Of Phantasia features a teenage swordsman Cless Albane who goes out hunting with his friend, and ends up meeting a mysterious spirit who lives inside of a withered tree. During their hunt, an alarm/bell is heard from the village. Cless and his friend return to witness the destruction of their village - along with the death of his parents. Cless makes a decision and sets out on a journey and meets other people who join him along with his journey. They are all transcended him from space and time to stop an evil lord known as Dhaos who has intentions on eliminating and getting rid of anyone related to the power of magic.

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Graphics [10/10]
Like stated previously, for a 1995-1998 game, the graphics are very pleasing to eyes. When compared in its own generation, ToP was one of the best looking games. Compared to the SNES and GBA version of the games, they graphics in this PS remake are so much more refined, crisp and detailed. Full body images of all playable characters are also included in their profiles, which was not a thing in other versions. Let's you understand the character a lot easier than in the SNES and GBA version, as all you had there was a not-so-detailed sprite of them, and a small head shot in their profiles. 



The environments/backgrounds in the game are detailed and sometimes have additional effects such as: walking on water will make splash animations. Overall, majority of the locations look beautiful, and I've uploaded several screenshots of what appeals/appealed to me during my game play. It's very obvious that the developers of the game put a lot of time and effort into making the backgrounds, because damn they're detailed. There isn't much more to say about the graphics, other than it's amazing.

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Sound [9/10]
Not giving this a full 10 due to a few sound errors in the rom/emulator of the game itself (but the errors aren't actually a thing in real copies of the game, so other than that, it's 10/10). Errors consist of a slight lag/delay in the music when exploring the world map, and when transitioning into a random encounter battle, but these really aren't that bad, and easy to tolerate. I can't blame anyone for this since the 3D world map itself could be causing the lag due to the larger amount of pixels. (Because the difference in the SNES world map and PSX world map is quite big) Other than that. The sound and music is actually slightly remixed from the SNES version (in a positive way!). They sound a lot more... let's say, lively, and RPG fitting. 

Voice acting of characters are great as well (I really do love the voices) and they have been remade for the PSX version (featuring a higher quality output).  Truly, the addition of voice acting adds so much more to the game than I expected. But hey, that's common sense. The point I'm trying to get across is that the voice acting is on point.
They also did well to add fine tuning remixes of sound effects for the environment.

Now to do with music... The Tales series has been praised many times for it's incredible music and soundtracks. Fun fact for you! The music composer for this game is also the same composer for the Star Ocean series which also had amazing and unforgettable soundtracks. The PSX version also includes an animated opening for the game, which features a nice catchy melody/music which is nice to listen to. 

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Addictiveness & Depth [9/10]
Tales of Phantasia has an average of 40-50 hours of completion for the storyline (and this is excluding any extra dungeons you decide to do and any side quests you come across) By doing all of that, will add you at least about another 5-10 hours of game play. Compared to the newer games in the Tales series, this is slightly shorter (newer games are 55 - 65 hours. 65 - 75 if you include side quests). For a 1995-1998 game however, 30-40 (+5/10) hours was quite reasonable, and since this was in fact the first game in the series, I can't complain much (especially since the characters and plot of the game is great!)

Would you want to play this game again? Sure! Just give it a few months or years after completion, and you'll definitely want to go back and feel the nostalgia this game distributes once again. And this is the same for other tales games too. When replaying this game, you'll be able to transfer your monster encyclopaedia (data on monsters you fight during your game play), and have a chance to play the game on a slightly higher difficulty. 

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Story & Characters [10/10]
The game is a JPRG (Japanese Role Play Game - I'm sure you've heard of them before). They normally consist of you fighting as playable characters, defeating monsters and bosses, exploring dungeons, levelling characters up, upgrading weapon and other various equipment, etc. Comparing the story to the SNES version... The PSX version of the game includes an extra playable character, and and extra piece of story in the plot (From what I remember, an extra dungeon too). The world map is changed from 2D to 3D in which you can rotate with a compass on the top left corner. (Fits the world map system in newer Tales games) 

I included a brief, spoiler free summary of the story above. Going over it again, explaining the 'prologue' in a bit more detail (may contain some spoilers for the first 1-2 hours of game play):
You will be playing as Cless Alvein (the protagonist of the game), who is training to become a skilled swordsman, just like his father. He and his dear friend Chester live in a small, peaceful village. One day, they decide to go out hunting for boars in a nearby forest. Upon finding a boar, they are eager to capture it, so they chase it down until they come across and old looking withered tree. Chester continues searching for the boar, whilst Cless observes the tree. While observing the strange looking tree, he see's a spirit who calls out for help. However, an alarm is then heard from the village, and the two boys rush back to the visitors, only to see Cless' parents dead and Chester's beloved sister also dead. Many (if not all) villagers also dead.Chester stays behind in the village to bury the deceased, but Cless leaves the village to find his uncle in a nearby town. He ends up being captured and imprisoned by the very people who brought destruction upon his village. He eventually meets a Methodist by the name of Mint, who's mother ends up saving both of them. With a special ability, they were both transported to the past where they hear about the story/legend of Dhaos. The two decide to go on a journey to defeat Dhaos, meeting a summoner names Klarth, and a Half-Elf named Arche. Eventually they get back to their own time, defeating Dhaos. However, the plot thickens, as the story not involves the past, present, but also the future.

All of the characters in this game are loveable in my opinion, and all get a part of their development in the game. There is a small cast of only 6 main playable characters, meaning it's a lot easier for them all to have an opportunity to get some development while ensuring that their role in the main plot is maintained. 
Tales of Phantasia really does focus on providing extensive introductory scenes and event for each individual character and from the beginning, it never feels as if a stranger is joining the team. Along with that, there are various different sidequests and face chats (known as "skits") add onto the development of the main story, potentially providing a background and personality for not just the main cast, but even some minor characters and antagonists. And that's what I like a lot in RPG games.
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Difficulty [6/10]
In all honesty, the controls may be a little confusing for like.. the first 30 minutes, but you'll get the hang of it in no time, so don't worry too much about that. 
In terms of game play difficulty, I wouldn't say it's too hard, but also not too easy. It's very well balanced, and for those who do find it too easy, they always have an option to change from "Normal" difficultly to "Hard" difficulty in the settings of the game. The difficulty can be changed any time you want! If you find a certain battle to be a bit too difficult on "Hard" mode, you can always switch to "Normal", and then back to "Hard". Playing on hard also gives a boosted amount of EXP and Gald at the end of battles, and better item drops. 

Levelling up in Phantasia has never really been a problem haha, as the monster encounter rate is a lot higher than in newer Tales games. Soo, more EXP and Gald (game currency) for you! Meaning if there is a boss you're struggling with, you can always take a bit of time to go level and gald grind. Gain a few more levels, buy the necessary items you may need during battle, and try again!
There will always be an opportunity to save your game before a boss battle begins, so you wouldn't have to go through dungeons/events all over to battle the boss again because you lost the first time. This is probably an obvious thing that is included in all RPG's, but I decided to point it out, just for the sake of it.
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Overall [10/10]
Overall is this game worth playing? Heck yeah! What are you waiting for? This old game offers everything you would expect in an RPG game. Great visuals and graphics, awesome voice acting and memorable sound tracks. In depth character development and a plot that thickens from moment to moment, and so much more! If you play this game and like it, then you should definitely try out the other games in the series. And before you know it, you're hooked onto them! From my own experience, Tales of games are addicting. The plot and characters really do make these games worth playing, and I hope this review has convinced you to try this game out haha. 

I'm also going to review and explain an extra thing...



Battle System

I don't have a set 'rating' for this, but I can say that it's good. When you complete the game, you should have rougly battled 1000 - 1200 (if not, more) enemies since you started the game. (There will be a counter at the bottom of your menu, indicating the amount of encounters you have since you started the game)

The point I'm trying to make is that the encounter rate is reasonably high - especially in dungeons. BUT, that's not a bad thing. Sure it might be tedious to get through a dungeon with all the random encounters, but at least the EXP reward and Gald reward is reasonable. You most likely wont have a problem with under levelled characters, and a problem with lacking enough Gald. If you do, just spend some time in a dungeon and you should be good to go.



If people don't like the ton of random encounters, then there is an in-game item called "Holy Bottle" that decreases the chance of you running into a battle. Along with that, if you're really level/gald grinding, and want to encounter as many battles as possible, then you can use a "Dark Bottle" that increases chances of random encounters.



The battle system itself... In a battle, you can only bring 4 characters (in this game, it is 4 out of 6 characters). You can pick your 4 main fighters in the menu of the game when you're not in a battle. You control 1 of those 4 characters (Which is the protagonist, Cless), and the other 3 are automatically controlled/computer controlled.



During a battle, it will be your 4 fighters, and the enemies you are battling. On the bottom right corner of the battle screen, there will be names of the enemies you're fighting, and how many of them there are. On the bottom left corner will be your fighters. It will state the amount of HP and TP they have. HP indicates how many Health Points the character has. When the HP hits 0, they will 'die'. If that happens, you will have to use a "Life Bottle" to bring them back to life if there are other characters still alive during the battle. If all 4 fighters hit 0 HP, you will loose the battle, and will have to start the game back from when you last saved. You will be able to use items such as "Apple Gummi" and "Lemon Gummi" to gain some HP during a battle if it's decreasing.



TP indicates the amount of Technical Points each character has. You need TP in order to use abilities. Each ability a character can use drains a certain amount of TP. When you run out of TP, you can only use normal attacking moves. You can regain some TP using "Orange Gummi's". Abilites are powerful, and it's good to use them, so be sure to always stock up on Orange Gummi's in this game, since you will rely on abilities a lot. The more powerful the ability, the more TP it will drain.



Each character will have different "abilities" they have, which are gained either from levelling up, or/and completing certain tasks and side quests. There are 2 types of abilities. One type is the direct attacking abilities, which you can use straight away. The second type (which can only be used by mages) are the casting abilities. A fighter will need to spend a couple of seconds casting the ability, and then uses it on a target.

For Cless, you can only set 4 abilites he can use during battle. The other 3 characters can use all of their abilities automatically (If you want, you can order them manually to use a certain ability on a certain enemy)

The controls during battle are fairly straight foward, and you'll get used to them in no time. (Controls and functions may be different for you depending on the way you set them up, but these are the 'original' controls)



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← = Walk left (press twice to run)

→ = Walk right (press twice to run)

↑ = Jump

Δ = Open menu

□ = Defend/block

X = Normal attacking

X + ↑ = Jump attack

X + → = Thrust attack

X + ↓ = Low/kick attack

O = Uses set ability

O + ←/→ = Uses set ability

O + ↑ = Uses set ability

O + ↓ = Uses set ability

SELECT = Pauses battle

R1 = Select Target

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Those are the basic controls to keep in mind when playing this game.



Now the only thing I can say that can be quite annoying, is the amount of time it takes for skills to finish attacking... It can be quite long, but not too long for it to become very bothersome. It's tolerable.