Tales of the
Abyss (PS2)
From
Namco
Pros:
Wonderful plot filled with mild politics, character
development, and philosophical struggles. Fast paced battle
system that is nothing short of addictive and a true treat
for jaded RPG fans. A good balance of a small enough world
to enjoy, but large enough (through optional quests) to get
involved with.
Cons:
L...O...A...D...I...N...G...is slow. Long learning curve for
some battle mechanics. Too easy to miss some of the most
enjoyable side quests. The world map doesn't bring anything
good to the experience. The skits are still not voiced for
American gamers! Unusual difficulty.
The Tales
series from Namco has been a strong staple for the more
hardcore of RPG elite for a good several years. Despite not
having the best of receptions, or releases, in the US, the
series has always been a great source of excitement for RPG
geeks.
When Tales
of Symphonia came out for the GCN a couple years ago, it not
only brought Tales into the current generation in full
force, but it also introduced a new step in the evolution of
Tales games. In name, it brought about 3D battle mechanics.
This step not only allowed the games to feel more natural,
but it also helped to bring the Tales games to a larger
audience of people, who may have been turned off from the
pains of the 2D battle system of previous Tales games
(myself included).
With the
PS2 generation coming to a close, Tales of the Abyss may be
the last new Tales game to be introduced on this
soon-to-be-laid-to-rest console. It also may be the end of
this generation's chance to have this series. So, the
obvious question remains; does the PS2 era Tales games go
out with a bang, like how ToS brought them in, or will it
end with a whimper, like how Tales of Legendia was showing?
Plot
This plot
begins about as cliché as humanly possible. Before you run
away, however, there are some nice developments...
You are
Luke, a young noble and the fiancé of the only princess of
the Kimlescan royal family. You also are a young man who
came down with complete amnesia seven years prior to the
opening of TotA. Because of this condition, you have been
locked within your family manor for these years with no real
knowledge of either the outside world or the people who make
up this world.. So, the clichés are being checked
off...noble? Check! Amnesia? Check! Ignorance? Check!
It all
starts to become more novel as you progress, however. One
day, as you are training your swordsmanship with your
teacher, Commandant Van of the church of Lorelei, and your
attendant Guy, Van is attacked by an unknown female
assailant. In the chaos you manage to become involved and as
you block an attack from this woman, an explosion of energy
consumes you and her. You and her will wake up half a world
away from your home, and deep into enemy territory.
Soon, you
learn this woman, Tear, is the sister of Van and is also a
member of the Church of Lorelei. You also learn more of the
nature of the world and the three powers that dominate it;
Kimlesca, Malkuth, and the Church of Lorelei. However, the
biggest lesson you learn is that by living a sheltered life,
Luke will be an insufferable brat for the first dozen hours
of TotA.
Luckily,
with a little time, characters begin to appear and join Luke
and Tear in their quest to get Luke back home. You also will
watch as these characters develop into something far more
complex than they initially appear to be. Luke will shed his
idiotic exterior, Tear will become more than just a
cold-hearted bitch with the goal of killing her brother, you
will learn why she wants to kill her brother, and you will
watch as two kingdoms go to war and eventually enter the
only constant cliché of this story; the quest to save the
world from an insane super powered villain.
Ultimately, the plot will develop in the course of the
adventure. While the initial plot is for Tear to get Luke
back home, this will soon change as your party obtains a
high ranking military officer of the enemy nation of Malkuth,
along with the leader of the Church of Lorelei. Soon the
plot to get one spoiled brat home turns into a epic quest to
restore peace to two rival nations...and then into a
philosophical question of determinism versus free will as
the prophetic Church of Lorelei's teachings are challenged
by a group of rebels bent on giving the world free
will...via it's destruction.
While the
plot does take a few hours to get rolling, it does develop
quite nicely with time. In particular, character development
and interaction will be the most important part of this
plot. Party members will betray each other, save each other,
and overcome long standing psychological disorders. Also,
while many deep and less than jovial elements are present,
an overall tone of silliness (such as Guy's fear of touching
women and his constant need to do so while protecting their
lives) will keep the plot fun and interesting all the way
from about hour 8 to the end (which could easily go to hour
80). Clichés may be present, but they will not be dominant
in this story as it constantly evolves through some
interesting and novel plot twists. However, it doesn't just
twist on the basic elements of what you're doing next...but
more on why you're doing it and the philosophical,
emotional, and military implications of your actions.
When it's
all said and done, this is one of my personal favorite plots
for a console RPG. While it does take a few hours to really
begin (which is becoming a sad norm for the console RPG
world) and the ending is nothing short of pathetic, the
middle is unbelievably fun and riveting. Most of all, expect
a deeper plot than ToS, but also a less light hearted plot.
Game Play
If you've
played Tales of Symphonia, then you know most of the basics,
already. So, if you're a ToS fan, please excuse the
redundancy.
Like with
most standard console RPGs, TotA is split into three main
parts. First off is the world and city exploration events.
These consist of you walking around on a map of either large
(world) or small (city) proportions. In cities, you have the
usual plethora of NPCs to talk to and learn about the world
from, shops to purchase food, items, and equipment from, and
the important plot related NPCs who will advance the general
quest.
Inside of
cities, the game is what I view as near perfection. You will
have a couple dozen NPCs in a single city. This may not
sound as impressive as the massive world of recent Square
Enix games, but it doesn't need to be. In fact, by limiting
your interactions to only a few hundred people in the entire
game world (rather than FFXII's hundreds in the first city
alone), you are ensured that most conversations you have
will be important enough to listen to. There is no feeling
that you've watsed your time by talking to a hundreds of
idiots who serve no purpose beyond frustrating you as you
play time ticks higher and higher while your satisfaction
ticks down equally as fast.
There's
also the standard assortment of shops as you'd expect in
most RPGs. You have weapon shops, armor shops, item shops,
and food vendors (since Tales games always include the
in/famous cooking system). However, unlike in most RPGs, the
prices of these shops work on a far more complex system of
supply and demand. Each town will obtain certain goods from
a given location. For example, Engeve, the farming
community, will grow most of the worlds produce. Thus,
produce prices tend to be cheaper in Engeve than a city
across the world that would need to transport their goods
from Engeve. Also, you can effect the trade interactions of
cities by fulfilling almost any of TotA's numerous (and fun)
side quests. Additionally, other factors, such as war, can
effect the prices and selection of good for sale...and the
price you get for selling your collected goods.
Lastly in
the towns are the important NPCs. Most of these characters
are voiced, when in a plot related discussion. Some are
related to the main quest, while others will blend in better
with the commoners of a town and be the keys to starting or
progressing a side quest. So, with such a balanced number of
commoners and important NPCs in the game, you will always
have plenty to hear, and very little to be upset about.
However,
when you leave the static camera of a city (or dungeon) and
enter the main world map, you will have something to be
upset about. The world map is big...very big. It's also
mostly empty. This on it's own is not too bad, except when
trying to find a location for the first time (before it's
added to your personal map of the world), but the fact that
you move rather slowly is. Also, the world map allows for
you to rotate the camera, which you will need to do to avoid
missing any of the important areas. However, the world's
visuals will load as you rotate the camera, so loading is a
slow and lag filled endeavor.
However,
to make world travel bearable, TotA includes no random
battles...sort of. If you are not a fan of random battles,
then TotA has a good alternative. Monsters will randomly
appear on the map, but you can see them and what type of
monster is in the mob before you ever begin the battle. Some
monsters will actively seek the party while others will not
take notice. Also, even if you are being perused, you always
have the option to run from the mob before combat can begin.
The world
map also offers a couple of other features. For one thing,
there are the search points. While the relationship
controlling skits of ToS are gone, search points take their
place. If you search one of these locations, you will find
an assortment of trade items. These can be exchanged at one
specific store in the world that will take your trade items
and give you the ability to custom order equipment based on
the ingredients you've delivered. Some of the best items in
the game can be found only this way. Also, you can even use
these to cheaply buy the more common healing items and
pieces of equipment.
The other
feature of the map is the old standard of RPGs. You will
obtain a boat at one point, a land traveling craft, and also
an airship. All of these modes of transportation will offer
the typical splendor of battle-free traveling. Later on,
you're aircraft will even include the overly enjoyable
ability to "autopilot" your group to any city, without
having to waste time going there yourself.
Another
feature of the typical exploration in TotA is the Tales
staple; Skits. At various points during the game, typically
with plot progression or when certain requirements are met,
you will be prompted to hit the select button. This will
initiate a "skit". The faces of involved party members will
fill the screen as they talk to each other about various
bits of background knowledge. These can range from serious
(like questions between Tear and Luke about why Tear is
trying to kill Van) to silly (like how if you chose to fight
a battle wearing an optional swimsuit costume, why that
character would chose to wear such clothing in a life or
death battle). While the skits can be quite entertaining,
they still suffer from the typical Tales American
localization syndrome; the Japanese version had voiced skits
and the American one has no voice, but the text moves in
time to the voices. If you're bored with a skit...well,
you're out of luck as you cannot speed the written dialogue.
The same
sort of game play mechanics from world exploration continue
into dungeons, but with the added puzzles involved in
dungeon exploration. If you enjoyed the puzzles of ToS, then
TotA is great for you. If you hate puzzles in dungeons, then
TotA is also a good choice for you. Since most of the
required puzzles are quick and simple, they will leave
puzzle haters happy. Meanwhile, the puzzles for optional
areas can lean closer to the hard side and be ideal for
puzzle fans.
Beyond the
puzzles, dungeons play out just like town events...except
instead of pre-set NPCs, you have pre-set monster mobs
waiting to kill you. You have the same static camera as
you'd find in towns, and the same feeling of quick and
painless exploration.
The final
important element of TotA is the battle system. This is
almost identical to the battle system of ToS. It is still in
pseudo-3D (you move in a 2D line towards your enemy, but you
can freely move with a toggled button to circle your foe)
and it is still fast and furious combat that punishes button
mashing with a vengeance (at least in boss fights and more
difficult normal battles). You, along with up to three other
party members, appear on a battle field with your enemies.
The battle begins and you have control over where you
character moves, and who he/she is selecting as a target.
Then, if you're a combat oriented character, you can swing
with a press of the X button (with combos of 3 or more hits
possible in one fluid attack), guard with the square button
(including special guards as you gain experience), and
perform pre-set special abilities or "artes" with a
combination of circle and a direction (like in Smash Bros or
ToS). You can also use the right analogue stick to select
pre-set artes for the other members of your group.
With a
real time battle system of quick motions, you are left with
the obvious; you cannot control everyone. So you have the
choice of using the AI system (which can be good...but it
can also be flat out f#@&-tarded) or finding a multi-tap,
three extra controllers, and grabbing a few friends. Yes,
TotA allows for four players to control the battles, with
each person using a different character. Think of TotA as
the closest game you can have to merging RPGs and party
games.
The
battles of TotA include two important changes from ToS and
other prior Tales games. First of all, you can free target
any spell. This means that you can place a spell with an
area effect in the middle of a group rather than having to
put it on one specific enemy. That on it's own is a massive
upgrade from the ToS system.
The other
important change is the FoF (Field of Fonon..."fonons" are
the basic component of all matter and energy in TotA)
system. When you use an elemental arte, a small ring will
appear on the battle field where that arte was released.
This circle, or FoF, will be aligned to a given element (the
one that caused it). If you use enough arts on a given FoF,
it will turn green and be a complete FoF. After this, if
you, or an enemy, use a compatible arte in the completed FoF,
it will be changed into a more powerful of arte. With trial
and error, you will soon find compatible fonons and artes
and be able to use this effect for some unique and powerful
strategies.
The final
aspect of TotA, as with most RPGs, is your characters. Like
I said, your characters will gain artes, and they will have
equipment (one weapon, one body armor, one pair of gloves,
and a single accessory to augment stats, resistances,
abilities, or rewards from battles). They also will gain
levels with each battle (including the characters not in the
battle party), and they will learn to cook new recipes and
use them (along with consumed ingredients) to restore stats
boost stats for upcoming battles.
However,
the most important aspect of character building is the C.
core system. Where ToS had you learn skills from Ex Spheres
and gain extra stat increases from leveling through what
titles you had equipped, TotA uses C. cores. BTW: Titles
still exist and some unlock fun optional costumes, but they
don't effect personal growth and instead effect minor
details of how you regain HP and TP while out of battle).
C. cores
are unique items that each character can equip one of. As
you gain levels, these will boost any number of your six
stats in a given amount. Once you've reached enough growth
in one to three stats through C. core usage, you will gain
new AD skills. These skills, of which there are literally
dozens of, will do anything from increase your defensive
abilities to increase the number of hits you can do in a
single combo. Also, they can do more unique of abilities
like granting the ability to chain certain artes in combos,
the chance to be resurrected if killed in combat, increase
resistances to status ailments, and speed up the ability to
cast powerful arcane artes (spells). These will also
sometimes unlock with experience levels. The level based one
include the ability to use "overlimit" (think of this as an
adrenaline rush), which is the only way to perform your
mystic artes (super moves).
The final
aspect of the game play of TotA is the side quests. Like
with other Tales games, there are far more things to do than
just what the basic plot gives you. Side quests will give
insights into character behavior and the nature of the
world. These can range from fetch missions to bonus dungeons
and the Tales standard quest of obtaining swimsuits for each
character. These quests are usually set to be available for
only a short time window, and that is the only negative
aspect...there is too much to miss if you are not following
a guide.
At least
if you miss any, you can always play a new game with bonuses
you purchase with "grade". Grade is back from previous Tales
games. Basically, the better you handle a battle, the more
grade you win. If you use a lot of FoF specials, beat an
enemy quickly, or use large combos, you will get more grade.
If you get hurt a lot, use healing items, or die you will
lose grade. At the start of a second (or third, etc) playing
of TotA, you can use grade to increase earned experience,
carry over your total final money, keep your world map, or
keep your consumable items...and about twenty other options.
The only
solid negatives of the bulk of the game play come in two
forms. The first being the loading screens. The game will
take between 5 and 15 seconds to load a battle, despite the
battle lasting as few as 2 (literally) seconds. The other is
that the normal difficulty is usually too easy and the hard
difficulty (the next step up) is usually way too hard. There
is no comfortable medium.
Visuals
The cell
shaded visuals of ToS are gone. This could be good or bad
news, depending on your tastes (it was bad for me). Instead,
we have some of the lesser deformed character models as seen
in previous FF-styled games. While these character models
look nice and are clear, they do lack a lot of the textures
found on most modern RPGs. On one hand, this could be bad
for visual snobs, but the simplicity looks good in action,
and thus is not a detraction from the actual game.
The
detraction instead comes from the world map. While dungeons
and towns are some wonderfully designed visuals, the world
map is bland and devoid of character. There are a few
pre-set locations that have the nifty effects of sand
storms, lightning, and mist. However, the bulk of the world
is bland, and nearly lifeless.
However,
since battles are a key aspect to Tales games, it's good to
say that the effects seen in special combos, FoF abilities,
and mystic artes are nothing short of amazing and fun to
behold. When you see a chain of specials from one character
to another, your eyes will be treated in ways that few RPGs
could ever hope to accomplish.
Lastly,
there are only a few real "cut scenes" in TotA. They do come
in from time to time, and are viewable for posterity (via an
option location) once you've seen them. They employ a nice
touch of anime in an otherwise anime devoid world. However,
with so few cut scenes in TotA, one could be left wondering;
why were they only used in some events that really didn't
need the fanciful touch of anime?
Audio
Like with
most RPGs I've reviewed, this is a mixed bag. However,
unlike most other reviews, it's not a quality issue as much
as a quantity issue.
The music
of TotA is wonderfully produced. In the end, there is not
too much that is really memorable after the fact, but it is
all nicely involved in the actual mood of the game. If a
situation is tense, so will be the music. If a situation is
sad, so will the music be. It's all very appropriate and
wonderfully enjoyable. You may not walk away from TotA with
any song stuck in your head...but it's more of the type of
thing that's only missed when it's gone...and then it's
really missed.
On the
side of effects, the same could be said. The effects are all
wonderfully handled, but you will not be able to pick any of
them from an aural lineup.
Last of
all is the voice work. There are a couple of voices that can
become irritating, but all of the main parts are cast with
at least as much talent as there is a lack of talent. Some
lines may be acted with a little too much stiffness, but
each voice seems right for each character. This even applies
to your furry blue mouse-like sidekick, Meiu.
With so
much praise for the audio of TotA, you may wonder where this
"mixed bag" talk came from. Well, there are many instances
in the American version of TotA where voice work is not
present...but you KNOW it was meant to be. Hell...it was
present in the Japanese version. The best example of this is
seen in the skits (mentioned above). You see the mouths
moving, the dialogue progresses with the spoken words...but
the spoken words are just not present. This, more than
anything else, really kills the purpose of skits. With
having no control of the dialogue progression and not even
having voice work, it turns the skits into a troublesome and
annoying experience.
Conclusion
In the
end, when it's all been said, done, and played, Tales of the
Abyss is definitely a solid addition to the Tales family.
Especially after the bastard son, Tales of Legendia, put so
much doubt into Tales fans.
The
cosmetics of the game, in other words the visuals and audio,
are well executed. There isn't really anything worthy of
bragging rights for the Namco staff, but most importantly is
that there is nothing really to be disappointed with. Well,
I guess you could say one should be disappointed with the
"nothing" that is found in the lack of skit voice acting.
Beyond this omission, only found in the American version,
the aesthetics fulfill their role perfectly.
However,
the main point of interest for a Tales game has always been
the game play. Once again, TotA shines like Tales of
Symphonia did by reinventing the existing battle system by
adding novel ideas (like FoF effects) while keeping the
general feel of the pseudo-3D ToS mechanics. In fact, the
entire game engine is wonderful in execution, but does
suffer in the field of "nothing". Like how there is nothing
to do while the game undergoes it's standard 5-15 second
load times between the loading of each battle and each new
map screen.
To round
out this mostly solid experience, Namco took many cliché
plot elements and turned them on their head. They take one
of the oldest, the case of amnesia, and breath new life into
it with a unique twist that on it's own could carry the
plot. However, when the plot delves deeper into the
philosophical realm of free-will versus
determinism...nothing but net.
So,
despite a few minor annoyances, TotA is an amazing game. If
you're an RPG fan, than this is a must have. If you're new
to RPGs, but enjoy some of the newer ones (Playstation era
and later), this is once again a title worth checking out.
In fact, unless you are an RPG hater or you hated ToS, then
this game is worth at least a rental.
I happily give Tales of
the Abyss a 8.75/10...it
would've been a 10/10 with voiced skits and the elimination
of massive loading times.
Malik
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