Screenshots :.
Tales of Eternia
PSP
Matt
13-06-2007
"No, I'm going to refuse and break the game in a linear state of confusion...yes I'll bloody come to the training room!"
"It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A"
"Silly name for a silly talking person"
If ever there were a system crying out for a decent RPG, the PSP would be it. Since launch day the system has been peppered with sports titles, adventure games and the odd music-based puzzler, but it’s not until now that fans of epic level-based questing have had anything to shout about.
Step forward Tales Of Eternia. Introduced to the PlayStation way back in 2000 in Japan and published by Namco, the game made its way west a year later, named Tales Of Destiny 2 due to copyright reasons. This is entirely because the Eternia part of the title bears an exact resemblance to He-Man’s homeland, and as disappointed as you may be at the news that the game doesn’t let you turn Orco into an evil black mage or Teela into a gun-wielding superhuman, developers Wolfteam have instead crafted a story which is genuinely interesting if a little hackneyed in places.
The story begins with lead character Reid and his best chum Farah noticing a small craft falling from the sky and plunging into their local woods. Instead of doing what the majority of us would actually do and run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction, both of them go and investigate the scene whereupon they find a young girl named Meredy who speaks in a language they can’t understand. Confused, they proceed to go travelling to tell their local scholar friend, and from there things explode out into the kind of epic unlikely-heroes-save-the-world type story you’d imagine.
During adventuring, ToE remains faithful to classic RPGs of yore, with Reid and crew wandering round in a zoomed-out world map screen and entering towns they find along the way. Town exploration retains the classic recipe of moving from person to person, initiating certain conversations and triggering quests that usually involve travelling to a location to retrieve an item. It might sound derivative and to a degree it is, but the storyline bubbles along in the background and the tasks remain interesting enough to sustain a good level of enjoyment.
This is helped by a selection of enjoyable side quests that are scattered throughout the world. One of these sees you entering a cooking competition with Farah, using ingredients earned by battling animals on the world map to create recipes to hopefully win you through to the next round. Reid also has his own quest: the battle arena in the capital. Levelling Reid up throughout the game and giving him a selection of new abilities will enable him to proceed further and further into what plays out as a gladiator tournament, with tantalising rewards offered.
It’s the battle system itself that sets ToE apart from its RPG counterparts. Rather than relying on the tried-and-tested method of turn-based combat, Namco have plumped for a hectic, exciting real-time 2D battle screen rather similar to classic 2D fighting games. In basic terms, you control one character at the front of your party, whilst the AI controls the other three members of your crew. You can set the AI to attack or defend within certain parameters depending on your own technique, so if you are prone to taking a bit of damage getting Farah to cast Cure often is advantageous and so on. For the character you do control, a selection of button combinations unleash attacks and special attacks upon your opponent, with more powerful attacks being learnt as you progress deeper into the game.
Progress is made all the more pleasing by the satisfying, colourful world in which you are roaming. The game looks utterly beautiful scaled down to fit the PSP screen, with well-drawn character sprites and wonderfully atmospheric settings. The game contains two vastly different worlds with each completely different in surroundings and feeling, which are fantastically conveyed through the use of varying graphical and musical touches. Voice acting is also present for the main characters, and although nothing special in terms of performance they do add a layer of character to each of your compatriots.
Generally speaking and ignoring for a second the battle system, Tales of Eternia presents itself as a classic RPG; you explore, you level-up through experience gained in random battles, you learn more about the characters as you progress and you have to save the world. Despite this, the game still remains enjoyable. It may be clichéd in almost every aspect, but the story offers enough twists, turns and scenarios to keep you clutching your PSP and peering at the screen right through the approximated 40-hours of gameplay.
Having run through the game, one gets the feeling that this isn’t merely due to the complete RPG drought blighting the PSP at the moment, either. Namco have tweaked and refined the game plenty from its original form and its packed full of subplots for the player to delve into at regular opportunities. The production values are also set high, with the game looking and sounding wonderful throughout. If this is to be the standard to which following PSP RPGs can aspire to, we’re in for some fantastically absorbing games.
Step forward Tales Of Eternia. Introduced to the PlayStation way back in 2000 in Japan and published by Namco, the game made its way west a year later, named Tales Of Destiny 2 due to copyright reasons. This is entirely because the Eternia part of the title bears an exact resemblance to He-Man’s homeland, and as disappointed as you may be at the news that the game doesn’t let you turn Orco into an evil black mage or Teela into a gun-wielding superhuman, developers Wolfteam have instead crafted a story which is genuinely interesting if a little hackneyed in places.
The story begins with lead character Reid and his best chum Farah noticing a small craft falling from the sky and plunging into their local woods. Instead of doing what the majority of us would actually do and run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction, both of them go and investigate the scene whereupon they find a young girl named Meredy who speaks in a language they can’t understand. Confused, they proceed to go travelling to tell their local scholar friend, and from there things explode out into the kind of epic unlikely-heroes-save-the-world type story you’d imagine.
During adventuring, ToE remains faithful to classic RPGs of yore, with Reid and crew wandering round in a zoomed-out world map screen and entering towns they find along the way. Town exploration retains the classic recipe of moving from person to person, initiating certain conversations and triggering quests that usually involve travelling to a location to retrieve an item. It might sound derivative and to a degree it is, but the storyline bubbles along in the background and the tasks remain interesting enough to sustain a good level of enjoyment.
This is helped by a selection of enjoyable side quests that are scattered throughout the world. One of these sees you entering a cooking competition with Farah, using ingredients earned by battling animals on the world map to create recipes to hopefully win you through to the next round. Reid also has his own quest: the battle arena in the capital. Levelling Reid up throughout the game and giving him a selection of new abilities will enable him to proceed further and further into what plays out as a gladiator tournament, with tantalising rewards offered.
It’s the battle system itself that sets ToE apart from its RPG counterparts. Rather than relying on the tried-and-tested method of turn-based combat, Namco have plumped for a hectic, exciting real-time 2D battle screen rather similar to classic 2D fighting games. In basic terms, you control one character at the front of your party, whilst the AI controls the other three members of your crew. You can set the AI to attack or defend within certain parameters depending on your own technique, so if you are prone to taking a bit of damage getting Farah to cast Cure often is advantageous and so on. For the character you do control, a selection of button combinations unleash attacks and special attacks upon your opponent, with more powerful attacks being learnt as you progress deeper into the game.
Progress is made all the more pleasing by the satisfying, colourful world in which you are roaming. The game looks utterly beautiful scaled down to fit the PSP screen, with well-drawn character sprites and wonderfully atmospheric settings. The game contains two vastly different worlds with each completely different in surroundings and feeling, which are fantastically conveyed through the use of varying graphical and musical touches. Voice acting is also present for the main characters, and although nothing special in terms of performance they do add a layer of character to each of your compatriots.
Generally speaking and ignoring for a second the battle system, Tales of Eternia presents itself as a classic RPG; you explore, you level-up through experience gained in random battles, you learn more about the characters as you progress and you have to save the world. Despite this, the game still remains enjoyable. It may be clichéd in almost every aspect, but the story offers enough twists, turns and scenarios to keep you clutching your PSP and peering at the screen right through the approximated 40-hours of gameplay.
Having run through the game, one gets the feeling that this isn’t merely due to the complete RPG drought blighting the PSP at the moment, either. Namco have tweaked and refined the game plenty from its original form and its packed full of subplots for the player to delve into at regular opportunities. The production values are also set high, with the game looking and sounding wonderful throughout. If this is to be the standard to which following PSP RPGs can aspire to, we’re in for some fantastically absorbing games.
8/10
