The latest edition to the Tales series is an innovative game which improves on most mechanics that scarred ToS.
Pros:
- Addictive battle system, with a more lenient Grade system.
- An almost archaic but innovative OST featuring war chant-like songs.
- Great cast of characters, brought to live by mostly rock-solid voice-acting.
- Old-school type backgrounds and vivid scenery bring the game to live.
Cons:
- Random battles may get on some people's nerves, while leveling is slow as ever.
- Problems with overworld travel, including a generally bland landscape to traverse and a viewing width which is a bit too horizontal.
- Somewhat regressive graphics when compared to Tales of Symphonia's.
GAMEPLAY:
Gameplay and the battle system of an RPG are really important. If the developer can nail these two aspects of the game down, a mediocre "everything else" will still net you a great game. This is exactly the case with Tales of Legendia. Unlike its predecessor Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube, Legendia's battle system has reverted back to those of the SNES. This Linear Motion system of the older Tales games was what made them so distinct. With Symphonia, the series took on a different approach, and while it wasn't necessarily a bad decision, sidestepping somewhat damaged its battle system.
Luckily, the speed and style of battle has been adjusted from Symphonia to Legendia. The fights are less frequent than before (generally), and they are for the most part much faster. Symphonia's battle system may have been a little too slow for the action-oriented amongst us, but Legendia's speed should be fine for the average gamer.
While it is pointless to debate which game in the Tales series is the best, it is clear that Legendia is closer to the SNES's Tales of Phantasia than it is to Symphonia. If you have played both and prefer Symphonia over Phantasia, you may want to rent this game first.
Battles take place on a linear plane. You control one character in an up to four-person party including iron erens (fighters), crystal erens (mages), or both. Special eres (skills/spells) can be set to the circle button in junction with a directional button. Using simple timed hits, you are able to chain attacks into combos over 100 hits long. Each character has his/her own advantages and disadvantages, and many enemies has elemental resistances and weaknesses. All this affects your grade for the battle, which makes for a strategic encounter occasionally.
Aside from the battle system, Legendia is your run-of-the-mill game with typical RPG conventions. There are chests to open, dungeons to explore, and what have you. Treasure usually comes in the from of a Bottle or Gel of some kind, and equipment are scarcely to be found. While there is a Collector's Book which keeps track of everything you have ever owned in the game, the task of acquiring every item seems a little pointless as you would never use over half of the items.
There are also puzzles in the game; of the "push the blocks" type. These are by no means interesting nor challenging, and brings back the Sorcerer's Ring from previous games for no apparent reason other than to act as a throwback for veterans. Thankfully, dungeons in Legendia are nice and short, with a few exceptions.
The story moves along relatively fast, and should keep you on your feet. Having said that, the story does have a bundle of flaws.
The story follows Senel and his sister Shirley. The former goes on a quest to save the latter, to sum it all up. Nothing that surprising happens, but an impressive cast of lively and heartfully portrayed characters give the storyline the little boost it needs to keep the player returning for more. Norma and Moses is particular make for some comedic cutscenes, as does the awkwardness between Chloe and Senel at times. The voice acting is solid, but sounds like it was put through a filter of some kind. It's a little minor detail which most will overlook, but it's there, and might be annoying to some.
GRAPHICS:
Legendia isn't too impressive in the graphics department. It almost seems like a step back from Symphonia's amazing cel-shaded renders. The 3D-esque experience is hardly cutting-edge on the PS2, with clippy edges which become extremely apparent during battles. The graphics in all could have been cleaned up quite a bit. While the backgrounds of towns and dungeons look generally great, the overworld map provides a dull-looking and annoying experience. Even most backgrounds suffer from a faded look, as if the brightness option was cranked up to the max. The colors could have looked better, more vivid, and crisper as a whole.
SOUND:
Some people may love the tracks of Legendia, while others may not. Generally the music is not as orchestraic as in other RPGs, but that really doesn't make or break the game in terms of sounds. If anyone is wanting for a reference, the best place to look at is Chrono Trigger, in the prehistoric age. The ambivalence of Aya's clansmen is similar to Moses' theme, and also the overworld theme. The music in Legendia is will be fine to most gamers, as it is overall a decent job. Nothing spectacular, but also not horrible.
VALUE:
Look for beating the game in roughly 40 hours. However, after the game's main story has been cleared, there is still many things to do. Each character has his/her own side quest, as well as numerous other quests for you to undertake. Expect leveling grinding if you are a perfectionist, as these side quests will combine for a very lengthy game. Grade, as in previous games, can be spent to carry over stats/titles/items/etc... to the next playthrough. But with titles not playing much of a role in Legendia, this option won't appeal to most.
TILT:
Most of Symphonia's faults have been addressed, and personally I like Legendia's old-school Tales look over Symphonia's. Faster battles mean more people will be pleased. Being more lenient also means the same. Any person can get into and enjoy the game to some degree, even if he/she is not a RPG fan. Titles taking a backseat (no bonuses when leveling, etc...) in Legendia is a pain, but it can't be helped. More frequent upgrades for equipment would have been nice, as would have faster leveling. However, the experience remains intact, and Legendia is one of the few RPGs I will even touch these days.
BOTTOM LINE:
Anyone pleased with either Tales of Symphonia of Tales of Phantasia/Destiny/Eternia should be pleased. Meaning, Tales fans, this one's for you. Any RPG fan will also be pleased, if real-time battles is your thing. While not a fully 3D game in any sense of the manner, Legendia is a very approachable game. There is a lot for perfectionist and casual players alike, but if you're looking for a twisted, philosophical story behind the game, look elsewhere.
Other Games in Series:
Tales of Symphonia (GCN), Tales of Phantasia (Super Faticom, GBA), Tales of Destiny (PSX), Tales of Destiny 2 (PSX)
Import Games in Series:
Tales of Rebirth (PS2), Tales of Eternia (PSX, PSP), Tales of the Abyss (PS2)