While it brings nothing new to the genre, Tales of Eternia offers likable characters and a fast paced combat system.
“Tales of Destiny 2“. I did not expect anything from this game except to get a solid and lenghty Rpg. And that what it just is.
However you will not find anything new or something you didn’t experience in a different game of this genre before, but nevertheless this game might provide you with lots of fun if you give it a try. Anyways, if you searched for an Rpg for your PSP this game has to be your choice as there aren’t Rpgs as good as this one(except Crisis Core, but I would consider that as an Action-Rpg).
Basically you will face a typical Rpg story in Tales of Eternia. You control a small number of partymembers to save the world. You step in the role of Reid, Farah, Keele and Meredy, who have to find the so called Greater Craymals to prevent two neighboring planets from colliding.
Besides you encounter lots of enemies and new characters, who help you, and visit different cities or countrysides. However, if you want to play a satisfying Rpg you won’t be disappointed from Tales of Eternia because it delivers a decent Rpg experience with likable characters and a solid story.
The gameplay does not differ from Rpgs you may already know (for example Final Fantasy). Except in one point. The combat system. In contrast to most games of this well-liked genre Tales of Eternia’s combat system is in realtime and you won’t be able to control up to 4 characters at one time like in many Rpgs(no ATB). But you may select one character out of four and choose what kind of movements the other three characters perform. You may also set up to what extend they may use their mana(TP) or how often they have to guard and therefore protect themself.
I think the combat system is a nice feature of Tales of Eternia as it is fast-paced and gives the game a little more action. However, it may not please everyone as it may occur to become confusing when you encounter many enemies.
Tales of Eternia is a game in 2D, but still nice to look at. The backgrounds are nicely drawn and detailed and in combat mode you will see many great effects. The cutscenes are made in anime style, which I liked very much. So the overall visual design is utterly amazing as it is “just” a remake. Anyhow you will notice flaws in the background bitmaps on occasion.
What this Rpg definetly stands out with is the sound. I did like the music very much because it creates a great athmosphere that most Rpgs lack of. To this lots of dialogues have voiceover which is really amazing for a handheld game. Furthermore the sound effects in battlemode are nice, too.
Tales of Eternia is a great Rpg for your PSP and offers over 60 hours of gameplay. So it will definetly keep you playing for a long time. As there aren’t many good Rpgs released for PSP yet, you should give this game a chance.