One thing I didn't care for, however, is that there are no subtitles for the skits and the audio fidelity is low quality so it has hard for me to hear them. The real charm in the game is the world and characters. I'm not one to get too mechanically involved into my RPGs, but I remember reading the combat system had been brought to be more in line with Destiny and I found it fairly enjoyable. (I also have the PSP Narikiri Dungeon version as well, but I hated the battle graphics.)

It doesn’t show it’s age like you might expect.I played the PS 1 for the first time a few years back and really enjoyed it.

The best part about playing Tales of Phantasia is just that-playing it. The exciting part about playing this game now is in the surprise of it-having played games like Dragon Age more recently it’s exciting to see a party system where relationships develop, styles evolve and different movesets are chosen to be the most effective team in combat. Additionally, playing it shows how far we’ve come with the development of RPGs but also just how many features haven’t changed at all-and for good reason. With all the assets working in tandem, the game concludes having felt like a true, original, experience. However, beyond that it has skills that evolve as you progress, characters that become more refined and a world that becomes more alive. The game shows a respect for the genre by exploring the world with rich characters and extremely engaging combat. The other thing that makes Tales of Phantasia work is in what it tries to do first-before where it tries to improve. That amazing attention to detail, no matter the graphical fidelity, help to immerse the player in the fantastic world. The game pops with color, character reactions, combat slices or explosions, reflections in water and a ripple when you walk through puddles. One of the best things about Tales of Phantasia comes in its obvious style and respect for immersion-even with technical limitations. Games like BioShock or Okami can hold up today because they didn’t seek realism-but style. That being said, when games excel in stylization, they have the ability to be timeless because they never tried to be anything more. What once looked ‘photo-real’ to us in 2010 looks like a pixelated mess now.

There is an inherent drawback to that style however-it ages, very fast.

Download tales of phantasia psp