For a direct port, Tales of the Abyss 3D really delivers.

User Rating: 9.5 | Tales of the Abyss 3DS
I'm a big fan of the Tales games. I mean, I have 3 reviews up on my profile. Now I'm going to add a 4th. Tales of the Abyss 3D is a direct port of the PS2 game of the same name from 2005. Like, exact game on 3DS. No added extras, no enhanced graphics, no voiced skits. Other then some minor changes to enemies, there is no changes to the game.

The story begins with our hero, Luke Fon Fabre, who has been locked up in his for the past 7 years due to a kidnapping 7 years prior. Luke is informed that his sword master, Van Grants, is coming to train Luke, despite it not being a training day. Van tells Luke that the Fon Master, Ion (basically the Pope), has gone missing and Van must go looking for him. As Luke and Van train, a mysterious woman comes and attempts to kill Van. Luke blocks the attack. Luke and the woman warp to a mysterious coast line. She introduces herself as Tear Grants and they embark on a quest to return Luke to his home. Along they way, they meet Guy Cecil (Luke's childhood friend), Anise Tatian (Assistant to the Fon Master), Jade Curtiss (a colonel in the Malkuth military), and Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvalder (princess to Kimlasca Lanvalder), as they embark on a quest to stop a war that was foretold to happen.

The game takes about 40 hours to finish. There are a myriad of side quests to take on as well, allowing for a lot of playability. Combat is simple. A for normal attacks, B to use Artes, Y to block, and X to open the menu. If you hold R, you can run around the battle field to avoid attacks. It's the standard combat system for Tales at this point. What makes it different is something that many fans feel makes the game a lot different and revolutionized the Arte system. As spells get thrown around, fields of effect will be formed called Fields of Fonans (FoF). They start out as clear circles that will get filled with the color of their element (Red=Fire, Green=Wind, Blue=Water, Yellow=Earth, Purple=Dark, White=Light). When you use specific arte in the field, it will add an elemental power onto the attack, changing the arte completely. For example, by using Luke's Fang Blade in a Wind FoF, it will change to Lightning Tiger Blade. This system is really nice, and nearly doubles the amount of artes a character has. Just an FYI, Dark FoF fields count as Earth and Water, Light FoF count as Fire and Wind.

You can increase your stats with weapons and armor you obtain from shops or in the field. You can also use Titles that you obtain through the story and side quests to increase stats as you level up. You can also cook to heal your self after or outside of battle.

While exploring you can use the Sorcerers Ring, which is attached to an adorable little monster named Meiu. On the field, if you press Y, he will spit Fire that can be used to hit things off in the distance. Meiu will also gain the ability to break rocks, fly, and shoot farther through side quests.

Downsides to going into Tales of the Abyss again? Well, with no enhancements or changes, you're basically playing the same game again, just on 3DS. So, while it's nice to take the game with you wherever you go, those who weren't crazy about the game the first time shouldn't go back for a second visit. Also, the lack of new voice acting just irritates me. I'd love for skits to be voice acted. Especially since some skits have some long winded explanations in them, but the text just zips on by.

Outside of that, though, I enjoy the second visit. Tales of the Abyss is my favorite Tales game that came out in America. And due to my own love for handhelds, it's nice to be able to take it along with me. For those who want a good RPG on the 3DS, or fans of the game, I highly recommend Tales of the Abyss 3DS.