Tales of Phantasia is an action role-playing video game created by Wolf Team and released by Namco for the Super Famicom. It was first available only in Japan in December 1995 and is the first game in the Tales series. Later, it was released on other platforms, including a version for the PlayStation in Japan in December 1998 and a version for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in August 2003. This Game Boy Advance version was later released in North America and Europe by Nintendo in March 2006, marking the first time the game was officially available in English. A remake for the PlayStation Portable, called Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition, was released in September 2006 and included full voice acting during story scenes. This version was later included in Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X in June 2010 with additional improvements. The game’s producers named it Legendary RPG starting with the PlayStation version, and the Full Voice Edition was called Legendary RPG Embellished with Voices. An unofficial fan translation of the original Super Famicom version was released on February 12, 2001, by Dejap.

The game is set in a fantasy world called Aselia and follows Cress Albane, a skilled swordsman who seeks revenge after his hometown is destroyed. He discovers that this destruction is part of a plan to free Dhaos, the game’s main villain, who wants to cause war. To stop Dhaos, Cress uses time travel to find allies from the past who can help him defeat him.

The game was written and programmed by Yoshiharu Gotanda, designed by Masaki Norimoto, and scored by Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura, and Ryota Furuya. The character designs were created by manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. A short anime series based on the game, titled Tales of Phantasia: The Animation, was released in 2004.

Before its 1995 release, Tales of Phantasia faced delays and development challenges, as the Super Famicom was near the end of its lifespan. The game gained attention for its graphics, original battle system, and use of voice acting. It was the first and only Super Famicom game to include an original, vocalized theme song. In Japan alone, it sold over 1.3 million copies, making it the second best-selling game in the Tales franchise in that region and one of the best-selling games in the series overall.

Gameplay

In the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), battles take place on a flat playing area that is often wider than one screen. The screen moves left or right to show where characters and opponents are located. During battles, a pause menu appears, allowing the player to choose a spell or item. Like some fighting games, players can assign items or special moves to buttons for faster use.

Unlike many other turn-based systems where players control each character’s actions, in LMBS, the player only controls the main character directly in real-time. Other characters in the party can be set to passive mode (only defending), active mode (attacking automatically), or the player can use the pause menu to make them move or cast spells. In games that support multiplayer, other party members can be controlled by other human players.

Plot

• Cress Albane ( クレス・アルベイン , Kuresu Arubein ; "Cless Alvein") is the main character of Tales of Phantasia. He is a 17-year-old swordsman from a small village. He grew up with his best friend, Chester. He learned to fight from his father and is kind and thoughtful. He develops feelings for Mint.
• Chester Burklight ( チェスター・バークライト , Chesutā Bākuraito ; Chester Barklight) is a 17-year-old archer and Cress's friend from their hometown. He is very loyal to his friends and family. He acts quickly without always thinking about the results.
• Mint Adenade ( ミント・アドネード , Minto Adonēdo ) is an 18-year-old priestess and the daughter of a famous cleric. She uses strong healing magic. She is responsible and brave, even though she is usually quiet.
• Claus F. Lester ( クラース・F・レスター , Kurāsu F. Resutā ; "Klarth F. Lester") is a 29-year-old man who knows a lot about spirits. He uses magical rings to summon spirits after defeating them. He lives with a woman named Mirald Rune, who helps him study magic and summoning.
• Arche Klein ( アーチェ・クライン , Āche Kurain ; "Arche Klaine") is a 17-year-old half-elf magician. She flies and fights using a broomstick. She is cheerful and light-hearted, but has faced discrimination because of her mixed heritage.
• Suzu Fujibayashi ( 藤林 すず , Fujibayashi Suzu ) is an 11-year-old ninja and the granddaughter of her village's chief. She was not playable in the original version of the game but became playable in later versions.

The story begins with four heroes fighting a powerful sorcerer king named Dhaos. Before he is defeated, Dhaos uses magic to travel to the future. There, he meets one of the heroes' descendants and three companions, who trap him using two magic pendants. Twelve years later, two young men named Cress and Chester return to their village to find it destroyed by a dark knight named Mars. Mars's army kills many villagers, including Cress's parents and Chester's sister. While Chester stays to bury them, Cress leaves to find help from his uncle, Olson. Olson reveals he is forced to work for Mars and steals Cress's father's pendant, locking him in jail. Cress escapes with the help of a dying woman in a nearby cell and meets Mint, a young priestess who is the woman's daughter. Together, they leave through the dungeon's aqueducts.

After reuniting with Chester, the group meets Trinicus D. Morrison, one of the heroes who sealed Dhaos. Trinicus explains that Cress and Mint's pendants were stolen and that their parents were once his friends. Trinicus is shocked to learn this. He takes them to a mausoleum, where they meet Mars again. Mars uses the pendants to free Dhaos. Mars is killed by Dhaos, and Trinicus sends Cress and Mint back in time to find a way to stop Dhaos. Chester stays behind to help them escape.

Cress and Mint arrive 100 years in the past, before Dhaos was sealed. They learn that Dhaos is fighting humans with his demon army. They seek help from a young mage named Arche Klein and a summoner named Claus F. Lester. Together, they go to Dhaos's castle. After a battle, Dhaos escapes again. The group travels to an ancient city called Thor, which has a time machine to return to the future.

Returning just moments after they left, Cress and his friends join Chester in fighting Dhaos again. They seem to defeat him, but a traveler named Harrisson from 50 years in the future arrives. He says Dhaos is destroying the world in his time. Using the Thor machine again, the group travels to the future and meets a ninja named Suzu (except in the original game). They meet elves, and Cress finds the Eternal Sword, the only weapon that can stop Dhaos from traveling through time. They go to Dhaos's invisible fortress for the final battle.

After defeating Dhaos, the group learns from a tree spirit named Martel that he is from a dying planet called Derris-Kharlan. The planet's world tree, Yggdrasil, provides all mana and life. Dhaos tried to save his planet by destroying humans, who had harmed the tree with their magic technology. Martel sends a mana seed into space to help Derris-Kharlan's tree grow again. Cress and his team return to their time.

Development

Tales of Phantasia was created by members of a group called "Wolf Team," which was originally started by Telenet Japan. The story was based on an unpublished Japanese novel named Tale Phantasia, written by the game's main programmer, Yoshiharu Gotanda. The game's world was inspired by Norse mythology, and science fiction elements were added. Some names were taken from works by Michael Moorcock and H. P. Lovecraft to appeal to fans of Western fantasy stories. Many changes were made to Gotanda's original story, including the title, character names, and the removal of some planned story parts. Because of problems with their parent company, the team looked for a new publisher. After trying and failing to get Enix to support the game, they signed a deal with Namco. The game included voice clips during battles and story moments, as well as the opening theme song. This required a high-capacity 48-megabit game cartridge. To fit the voice acting, the team used a sound system called the Flexible Voice Drive, which allowed full recording of dialogue and the theme song. The use of voice acting was a major topic of discussion before the game's release. The character designs and artwork were done by manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. The Linear Motion Battle System, which became a key feature of the series, was inspired by popular fighting games of the time. Later in development, conflicts within the team caused many members to leave Wolf Team and form a new company called tri-Ace.

In August 1998, one month before the American release of the series' second main game, Tales of Destiny, Namco announced a PlayStation version of Tales of Phantasia. This version was released in Japan the following December. The remake included new features such as an animated opening sequence made by Production I.G., redrawn character designs and backgrounds, a 3D world map, and re-recorded character audio to fit the compact disc format. Features from Tales of Destiny, like animated skits and a modified battle system, were added. The team wanted to make battles faster and allow more attacks at once. Suzu Fubayashi, a character who could not be played in the original game, became a playable character in the remake. Namco Hometek producer Aki Kozu explained that the company decided not to release an English version because of timing and market issues, as well as the team being busy with another game, Tales of Eternia. The team believed that Tales of Eternia would be more successful in the U.S. market.

In May 2002, Namco and Nintendo partnered to work on a new Star Fox game, Star Fox: Assault, and for Namco to create exclusive games for Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance. One of these games was a Game Boy Advance version of Tales of Phantasia, originally planned for December 2002. The game was first shown in March 2003 with a revised release date of June 2003, and finally released in August 2003, one month before Tales of Symphonia on the GameCube. This version combined elements from earlier versions, including the original Super Famicom opening and 2D world map, and the PlayStation remake's character voices, along with changes to gameplay. In November 2005, Nintendo announced an English version of Tales of Phantasia for release in 2006, with English voices and a new theme song due to licensing issues.

In June 2006, Namco announced a remake of Tales of Phantasia for the PlayStation Portable called Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition, released in September 2006. This version included features from the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance versions, as well as voice-overs for all story text, the ability to move in eight directions on maps, and a new "Grade Shop" feature seen in later games. The game was shown at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show.

In March 2010, Namco Bandai announced a new game, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X, which included another remake of Tales of Phantasia called Tales of Phantasia X as a bonus title. This version had a faster battle system where magic spells did not pause the action. A cellphone version of the Game Boy Advance release was made in Japan in 2010. An iOS version was released in 2013. This version was free to play but had fewer save points and relied on in-app purchases. The English version used an orchestrated theme song, similar to the Game Boy Advance version, due to licensing issues, and kept Japanese voices. The Japanese iOS version was discontinued on May 29, 2014, and the English version was discontinued on August 28, 2014.

Related media

The music for Tales of Phantasia was created by Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura, and Ryota Furuya. The PlayStation version also included songs from other Namco games, such as Rally-X, written by Nobuyuki Ohnogi, and Ridge Racer, written by Shinji Hosoe. The game’s opening theme, "Yume wa Owaranai" (meaning "The Dream Will Not End"), was performed by Yukari Yoshida in the Super Famicom and Japanese Game Boy Advance versions and by YO-MI in the PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, and Japanese iOS versions. Yoshida also sang the ending theme, "Hoshi o Sora ni" (meaning "The Star in the Sky"), for the PlayStation version. For the English Game Boy Advance release, Namco replaced the opening theme with an original instrumental piece.

The original Super Famicom version did not have a commercial soundtrack when it was first released. However, an official album for the PlayStation remake was released in May 1999 by Victor Entertainment and includes 77 songs across two discs. Radio drama albums were also made, starting with a three-volume set titled Drama CD Tales of Phantasia by Movic, released between May and July 1999. A two-volume set called Drama CD Tales of Phantasia ~Anthology~ was released between January and March 2000. Another album, Tales of Phantasia Chara Talk CD ~Panic-World~, was released in December 2001.

Famitsu Bunko published a series of seven novels written by Sara Yajima in 1999 and 2000. These include Harukanaru Jikū ("Far away Space-Time"), Shinku no Hitomi ("Crimson Eyes"), Konpeki no Kizuna ("The Azure Bonds"), Kohaku no Kairō ("Amber Corridor"), and Ruri no Yume ("The Ruri Dream"). Other books include Tales of Phantasia: The Untold History, written by Ryouji Matsuri and published by Dengeki Bunko in 1999, and Tales of Phantasia: Maken Ninpou Jou, written by Ryūnosuke Kingetsu and published by Movic in 2000.

A manga adaptation of the game, titled Tales of Phantasia, was published in the magazine Tales of Magazine by Kadokawa Shoten, starting in August 2008. It was later released as a compiled book in 2009. Each version of the game was accompanied by an official game guide and several illustration books.

Tales of Phantasia: The Animation is an OVA (Original Video Animation) adaptation of the game. It includes four 30-minute episodes and was released in Japan from November 2004 to February 2006. It was distributed in the United States by Geneon in January 2007. The animation was produced by Actas, with Takuo Tominaga directing episodes 1–3 and Shinjiro Mogi directing episode 4. The OVA’s story follows the game’s plot but adds new scenes and dialogue, focusing on the party’s encounters with Dhaos and the Tree of Life and Elves, while skipping parts of the original game’s story.

The OVA’s opening theme, "Yume no Hate" ("The Ends of a Dream"), and ending theme, "Priere," were composed by Mika Watanabe and Ikuko Noguchi, with lyrics by tomo and performed by Masami Suzuki. In 2005, Frontier Works released the Tales of Phantasia: The Animation Original Soundtrack, which includes 49 tracks and lasts 73 minutes and 15 seconds. In 2006, Frontier Works released six drama CDs, each featuring one of the game’s playable characters. Ichijinsha also published a book titled Tales of Phantasia: The Animation Art Graphy in 2006, which includes illustrations by the anime’s character designer, interviews with voice actors, and a discussion with the game’s character designer, Kōsuke Fujishima.

A sequel, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, was released for the Game Boy Color on November 10, 2000. It was the first game in the Narikiri Dungeon series. A remake of the sequel, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X, was released for the PlayStation Portable on August 5, 2010.

Reception

The original Super Famicom version of Tales of Phantasia received a total score of 30 out of 40 from Japanese Weekly Famitsu magazine. The individual review scores were 8, 7, 6, and 9. Later, in an August 2003 poll, magazine readers named the game their favorite Namco title of all time. GameFan’s panel of three reviewers gave it scores of 90, 86, and 82 out of 100. One reviewer said it was "the best RPG I've ever played in Japanese on the Super Famicom."

Sales of the game were slow during its first month. Series producer Makoto Yoshidzumi said this was because the game was released around the same time as Enix’s popular Dragon Quest VI. The game sold a total of 212,000 copies in Japan. The PlayStation remake in 1998 scored slightly lower in Famitsu but sold about 769,000 copies in Japan. The 2006 PlayStation Portable Full Voice version sold around 136,000 copies. The iOS free-to-play version was downloaded at least 150,000 times in its first five days.

The Game Boy Advance release was the first official English-language version of Tales of Phantasia. It received mostly positive reviews in the West, with an average score of 73% from GameRankings and a 76 out of 100 rating from Metacritic. Some websites, like GameSpot, praised its action-based combat system but said the game had too many random battles, which slowed the pace. IGN noted the battle system was less refined compared to later games in the series, like Tales of Symphonia, but said the graphics and audio quality were still good for a game 11 years old. The site called the story and characters "amazing" but said the outdated design might only appeal to fans of older RPGs. Editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly said fans of traditional RPGs would enjoy the game’s long dungeons and action battles, and that it still had charm. Eurogamer said the game’s late release near the end of the handheld’s life hurt its chances compared to similar ports on the PlayStation Portable. The site also criticized the game’s messy interface and poor localization compared to the Super Famicom’s fan translation.

By December 2007, the game had sold about 314,000 copies worldwide. In December 2012, Game Informer named Chester one of the best characters in the Tales series. The magazine praised how Chester’s journey to accept his sister’s death was shown in a natural and believable way.

The iOS version received poor reviews. It got a score of 35 out of 100 from Metacritic. Pocket Gamer gave it a 4/10, calling it "a port with potential ruined by obtrusive In-App Purchases." TouchArcade gave it 1 star out of 5, criticizing the heavy use of In-App Purchases and disabled save points near bosses. Digital Spy gave it a 2 out of 5, criticizing the unresponsive controls and auto-saving during fights.