Tales of Eternia

[Aylmer]

I've been jonesing for a true handheld rpg and I've given thought to Tales of Phantasia on the GBA, but when i went to get it, I ended up with Pinball Hall of Fame instead. go figure.

So today, I was looking for an audio cd, and was in Fry's Electronics, where they usually have a decent selection of import games for the DS and PSP. While checking these out, I spied Tales of Eternia. this version is a euro-import, and is the first one I've purchased (I have JP imports). I love the Tales series, with the wonder chefs and the combo based combat with user programmability of allies, so I coughed up the $50.

when i got home, I fired it up, and within minutes knew i had done the right thing. this is one of those JRPGs that sucks you right into it's game world and does not let up. before I knew it, two hours had gone by and I had to force myself to put it down for business.

It's due for a U.S. release in October, but, IMO, it's worth the extra $10 to play it now. It's not just a rehash of the PS version. it's been redone for the PSP widescreen format with extras, and it is sweet.

a side bit of entertainment is the game rating system employed by the EU. this is the first time i've seen it. they are even more steeped in political correctness than the US is. instead of ESRB, they have PEGI. There are five age levels, 3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, and 18+. and their warnings are Violence, Bad Language, Fear, Sexual Content, Drugs, and Discrimination. And there are Parental Control Levels like for DVDs. bizarre.

[T.Tashi]

I've been debating importing Tales ever since it came out there. I opted for Legend of Heroes II, which is a good (if not extremely average) JRPG, but clearly Tales seems to be the better game. If they do something different with the US version I might wait, but if not I'm gonna go ahead and order it. It's been on my ebay watch list for a couple months now.

Europe does have some heavy game censorship. I think in Germany (this was back in 2000 I think) I read the blood cannot be red. It's green or some other colors, unless you buy special "adult" versions of the games, and many games have human opponents replaced with robotic or other non-human characters to kill. And games like Wolfenstein are obviously banned in Germany.

[Gadfly2317]

. And games like Wolfenstein are obviously banned in Germany.

Really? I thought the current german gov was very anti-Nazi. Seems like it would be ok to kill nazis.

It seems like a very Nazi kinda thing to ban a game where you kill Nazis. Perhaps we should invade Germany again. The middle east is not a real challenge.

[Aylmer]

I've been debating importing Tales ever since it came out there. I opted for Legend of Heroes II, which is a good (if not extremely average) JRPG, but clearly Tales seems to be the better game. If they do something different with the US version I might wait, but if not I'm gonna go ahead and order it. It's been on my ebay watch list for a couple months now.

Europe does have some heavy game censorship. I think in Germany (this was back in 2000 I think) I read the blood cannot be red. It's green or some other colors, unless you buy special "adult" versions of the games, and many games have human opponents replaced with robotic or other non-human characters to kill. And games like Wolfenstein are obviously banned in Germany.

I am taking a break from it right now to charge the battery. IMO, this Tales is right up there with Symphonia in addictiveness. Knowing what I know now (four and a half hours in), I would have imported it as soon as I could have. The graphics are beautiful, and there is awesome voice acting, which I have trouble getting used to on a handheld. I love the combat, my hands are throbbing like a bytch.

BTW, I saw a 4gig duo at lik-sang for $199. I paid $119 for my 2gig a while back at Target.

[T.Tashi]

There's a few European countries (maybe more than a few) that are extremely sensitive about any type of Nazi material no matter how it's presented. France even sued Yahoo! over an auction where Nazi stuff for sale was viewable by people in France.

Switching gears 'cause I'm too lazy to cut and paste, I really enjoyed Symphonia a lot. That was actually my first Tales RPG. I'm generally very weary of Japanese real-time action RPGs. I think Western developers to the action side a lot better, while the Japanese rule the turn-based stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised with Symphonia. So I may import that and Breath of Fire 3 and hopefully I can get someone to cut me a deal on the shipping. It's the only BoF I haven't played.

[Aylmer]

there are copies in the US so shipping should not be that much of a problem. I bought mine off the shelf, but if you don't have a Fry's in your area, try this...

http://www.outpost.com/

FWIW, I have not enjoyed an RPG like this since Xeno1, Symphonia and Baten Kaitos. Man, the mini games...challenging mini games. Hidden areas...killer level design...awesome story with plot twists. Lots of random realtime battles, but early on you can buy Holy Bottles to keep the monsters at bay if you want. I don't do it myself, since a quick kill will net you a possible rare item.

Still, I balked at the $50 price tag, thinking that was too high for a handheld game, but this is a PSP release that's holding up to the promise of full size console depth on a handheld machine.

The 16:9 aspect ratio screen in high res makes all the difference. Just like killer DS games make use of that unique hardware, with Eternia, Monster Hunter, and Pinball Hall of Fame, the hardware is utilized to the max. These three games could not be done with the same deep feel on the DS. In the hands of the right developers, size does indeed matter. Screen size that is :)

[Renzatic Gear]

It's a shame you've missed out on BOF 3, it's the best of the bunch in my opinion (barring the fact I haven't played Dragon Quarter yet).

Now that I've got a working PSP again, I need a good RPG besides Popolocrois to tide me over in the meantime. I've been looking at The Moonlight Witch, but Tales of Eternia might pique my interest a bit more.

How long is it? Does it have a good, not overly stereotypical Japanese RPG storyline? Is it pretty difficult?

[Aylmer]

All Tales titles seem to be based around a sci fi concept of twin planets in close proximity to each other, with two different technological development paths, and many ancient legends concerning each other, etc. it's true with this Tales too. I like it a lot. Mid bosses can be a challenge, but a greater challenge is in in casually wandering the field map. you can wander into areas, away from where the storyline is directing you, to where you will encounter enemies that will hand your ass to you on a platter, so you need to save often. Most reviews I've seen say 60 hours of gameplay, and I think that may be conservative, since it can be profitable to fight battles you don't have to in search of rare armor and weps.

I played Popolocrois, and it was ok, but Eternia is several levels beyond it in terms of addictability and depth of gameplay.

Bottom line, best RPG on the PSP, IMO.

[T.Tashi]

It's a shame you've missed out on BOF 3, it's the best of the bunch in my opinion (barring the fact I haven't played Dragon Quarter yet).

Now that I've got a working PSP again, I need a good RPG besides Popolocrois to tide me over in the meantime. I've been looking at The Moonlight Witch, but Tales of Eternia might pique my interest a bit more.

How long is it? Does it have a good, not overly stereotypical Japanese RPG storyline? Is it pretty difficult?

LoH2 I guess took me about 40 hours or so. I'm not sure 'cause it didn't keep time, but it was pretty lengthy for a JRPG. It's not difficult at all. In fact, the only really tough battles are the last two, and that's only if you purposely underlevel. It does have a pretty good story, and a nice mystery and it's really the main reason to play it, and it did have a nice long meaty ending that felt satisfying, depsite the so so battle system.

I found ToE on ebay for $44 from an American seller, so that's on the way and I pre-ordered Valkerie Profile (I sold my PS1 version like an idiot) so after I import BoF3 I'll be in portable RPG heaven for a while.

[Renzatic Gear]

I found ToE on ebay for $44 from an American seller, so that's on the way and I pre-ordered Valkerie Profile (I sold my PS1 version like an idiot) so after I import BoF3 I'll be in portable RPG heaven for a while.

Yeah, I sold off my copy too....for like $15 at a used media store. I'm kinda kicking myself in the ass over that one, since you can sell it on Ebay for about 200 bucks nowadays. Hell, that's like the price of 2 hookers and a fancy dinner at Waffle House..all for the price of one game.

[Ocelot]

Yeah, I sold off my copy too....for like $15 at a used media store. I'm kinda kicking myself in the ass over that one, since you can sell it on Ebay for about 200 bucks nowadays. Hell, that's like the price of 2 hookers and a fancy dinner at Waffle House..all for the price of one game.

LMfAO I've been There!