Tales of Legendia

Written by Adam Woolcott  on November 28, 2005

First Impressions: Now, Namco Ц about that PSP version of Tales of Eternia...

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Though popular amongst many die-hard RPG fans, the Tales series has seen few releases outside of Japan. Three to be exact; Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2 on PlayStation (thought TOD2 was actually Tales of Eternia, there is a real TOD2 in Japan for PS2), and the popular Tales of Symphonia on GameCube. Even with a dedicated fanbase, Namco USA seems unwilling to bring the entire series out. At least we're getting one new Tales game, in Tales of Legendia...even though there's more interest in the upcoming Japan-only release, Tales of the Abyss. Beggars can't be choosers though, and thus Tales of Legendia will do, because hey, it looks like it'll be a fine role-player when it ships in 2006. Using a unique battle mechanic on top of the traditional Tales system and a strange take on your average RPG storyline, Tales of Legendia is shaping up to be another solid role player in a year where the RPG will dominate the PlayStation 2.

Tales of Legendia puts you in the shoes of Senel Coolidge, a youth who possesses the ability called Eres, which is just another fancy term for magical abilities. He shares this trait with his sister Shirley, who uses a Quill Pen in battle for such an occasion. Anyway, one day Senel and Shirley were out in their boat exploring when a strange island popped up out of nowhere and capsized their ship. When the duo comes to, it becomes evident that it's not just some island, but actually yet another ship, known as The Legacy. That's pretty much all we know of the main storyline. In addition to Senel and Shirley, there's a handful of other, quite weird characters you encounter on the way who join your quest. Unlike previous Tales games though, these characters have more importance, thanks to an unusual plot mechanic. Basically, the game is split into two parts; the main storyline that deals with The Legacy, and character quests. When you clear the main storyline, these character quests open up, which are mini-adventures to flesh out the party members Ц definitely a unique way of handling character development. Like all other Tales games, there's a heavy influence of anime, and many major plot points will be shown using fully animated FMV.

In a move many will find disappointing, Tales of Legendia once again returns to random battles, something that was done away with in Tales of Symphonia. However the traditional LiMBS (or Linear Motion Battle System) that's been in other Tales games. If you've never played a Tales game before, the Linear Motion Battle System is basically a real time system, only wholly contained in a 2D space. It's like Star Ocean 3 only without the ability to move around the map, as you simply can go from left to right in Tales of Legendia. This latest Tales game brings in a new trick, with the X-LiMBS, with the X meaning crossover. In short, this makes the fighting engine more like something you'd see in a traditional 2D fighting game, but with mechanics similar to Tekken or Soul Calibur. For instance, Senel uses his fists to do battle, and with this system in place it will include some special commands for different moves like a fighting game. Other characters, such as the swordswoman Chole Valens, use more Soul Calibur-like techniques, while others have projectile-based action using Eres and other forms of magic. It doesn't look like it will change the basic function of the battle system but it's going to feel a bit different than the one in Symphonia. Unfortunately Legendia will lack the multiplayer option that was in Symphonia that let another friend hop in to control another character in battle.

As you might expect, the visual style could very well come straight out of an anime, as the colorful cel-shaded engine demonstrates. It looks even more this way than Tales of Symphonia which definitely had the same influence. There's going to be a ton of FMV cutscenes as mentioned, all in the style of your usual animation. Though the characters are anime-styled, they had real motion capturing done for them, thus even if they look cartoony, they'll have true-to-life movements whether it be walking, running, or doing battle. Voice acting will return, and hopefully it's a bit better than Tales...while sure, Kratos and Sheena had great voice actors behind them, a certain Colette got really annoying after a while. In a Tales first, the soundtrack was recorded completely by an orchestra, so it can be expected that the music will be booming and rich, complimenting the epic storyline the game likely will have.