| PlayStation Review | |
| Category | RPG |
| Players | 1 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Review Date | 10/98 |
| Publisher | Namco |
by Mark Cooke
When I first sunk my teeth into Tales of Destiny (TOD), I was shocked, and pleased, to see the traditional, old fashioned graphics and gameplay. Although TOD has a distinctive anime look and feel, it resembles the old Final Fantasies, especially FF3. With so many people addicted to the "cinematic RPG" style of game like Final Fantasy 7 and Parasite Eve, few remember what RPG's used to be like.
Luckily,
Tales of Destiny came around and reminded us, with one of the best stories,
some of the most innovative gameplay, and more hours of play than almost any
other RPG.
The story in TOD is similar to other RPG plots in that someone is trying to take over the world, but in this case it actually makes sense. Gone are preposterous random events - they have been replaced by an intricate back story that is revealed throughout the game. A mysterious ancient device made from "Lens" (a substance made from dead monsters) has the ability to destroy the world. You're not just the average hero, blatantly recruited to stop it. Actually, you are prisoners of the king, and he is forcing you to retrieve the device for his purposes.
All the hundreds of subplots that take place between the beginning and the end are interesting - keeping the game fresh. These subplots are especially notable in TOD because there are an abundance of secrets, including a secret tower that has 60-floors. The only purpose to scaling this tower is to get one special item - now THAT is secret.
The graphics in the game at first seem like they are outdated. Small, anime sprites run around a relatively well drawn background, but it still seems old-school. Then you notice the effects. TOD has gone for a game-of-yore feel, but it has included some surprisingly modern effects. First of all, there are reflections (for water and mirrors), there are also realtime-shadows (this looks weird in 2D), and there are also weather/heat mirage effects. It's the little details that make an immersive experience.
The battle mode in the game is unlike anything that you've ever seen before. The creators at Namco decided not to just blatantly rip off Final Fantasy for their battle system like so many other RPG's have (Breath of Fire 3, for example). Instead, there is an innovative side-scrolling battle mode. It's sort of like Final Fight, the old beat-em-up brawler many people know and love.
You
control the action of the main character, Stahn, and the three other characters
in your party are controlled by the computer (based on 'aggressiveness' and
other settings you choose). You can interrupt the action to make your other
characters cast a spell, for example, but other than that they are on full automatic.
The new battle system takes some of the bore out of RPG's, the random battles
that you encounter while traveling just don't seem so bad.
The graphics in this mode are absolutely incredible to boot. The anime style is preserved completely, with fast action and cool spell effects (thankfully not overkill like FF7-8), and a plethora of special attacks that do all kinds of interesting things. Truly something all RPG fans should see.
Another innovation that TOD pioneers is the sound. Unlike most RPG's where the best sounds are just sword swooshes and the like (*clank* *bonk*), in TOD many of the characters yell and scream when they are being hit and yelp with joy when they get a clean hit on the enemy. The sound keeps the battles even more interesting. By some indescribable way, the sound makes the game more fun.
The music is also incredibly good. It isn't always the psuedo-classical music that many RPG's like to use - there are some rock and jazz songs as well as some great battle music.
Another one of the fun features of the game is the included mini or sub-games. There are simply tons of them. They are difficult and give you a nice distraction from the involving plot line. For example, in one town you can play tag with a group of kids - the longer you stay away from the kid who is "it" the more prizes you can win. Stay away for 100 seconds (incredibly hard!) and you get a special item. The game even has a space invaders clone with boats instead of aliens.
With such attention to detail, Namco has created a game that is not only fun to play from beginning to end, but is also fun to explore as well. Tales of Destiny is one of the best RPG's to come out for the PlayStation in an extremely long time. The traditional (and yet innovative) graphics, great sound, involving story, and good gameplay make this one a winner. Highly recommended.
| Revolution Report Card |
| A- |
| + Innovative + Great story + Fun + Good sound/graphics + MINI-GAMES! |
