Racketboy

Tales of Phantasia (or sometimes Tales of Fantasia) for the Gameboy Advance is a port Super Famicom game that was never brought to the US SNES. It was also eventually ported to the Playstation.

Tales of Phantasia launched Namco’s popular Tales series which has since become the third most successful in Japan, after Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, although it has yet to rival those series in America.

It was the first SFC game to be 48MBit in size and was also the first to feature streamed audio voices, made possible by sound programmer Hiroya Hatsushiba. Specifically, this sound engine was titled the “Flexible Voice Driver,” and overcame the SNES’s small audio memory capacity by swapping short vocal samples on the fly. Because of this, Tales of Phantasia was feautured in Games That Pushed The Limits.

The Gameboy Advance port incorperated aspects from both the original Super Famicom version and the updated Playstation version. The sprites and battle graphics were from the PSX version, while the opening credits sequence, map, and field graphics are from the SFC version. The GBA version features a handful of original additions and sidequests, and many, but not all of the additions made to the PSX version.

It had some of the most impressive graphics ever produced on the SNES/SFC, a memorable soundtrack, and an innovative battle system (Linear Motion Battle System, a real time battle system similar to Street Fighter) that distinguished it from all other RPGs of the time.

Overall, the scores for this Gameboy release are pretty solid. While it won’t be the best RPG availible for the Gamboy Advance, it is probably something that most RPG fans would want to look into.

Review Tidbits:
” While Tales of Phantasia features both good graphics and sound, and a relatively fun combat system, it might not be a game for everyone. Even though I personally really enjoyed my experience with it, Tales might be a little more difficult for newer RPG fans to get into, considering it’s based on an older game. However, if you are looking for an old-school-type RPG to add to your collection, then I would definitely recommend giving Tales of Phantasia a try!”
Just RPG

“If you’ve played Tales of Symphonia, you will find that the combat system is not what you would expect from a typical RPG. Or let’s just say that if you’re used to play games like Final Fantasy, this will be quite a different type of battlefield. Whereas Final Fantasy made you take turns in order to “attack” your enemy, Tales of Phantasia gives you direct control of the character you’re using, and even helps you by automatically making your partners attack. Before you ask, no, you’re not limited to using Cress (though you will probably end up using him more than the other characters), and you can certainly use your friends, but most of the time, the rest of the party will be CPU controlled. ”
Gamecube Advanced

“A huge part of what gives this game a sense of life and realism is attention to detail. The designers clearly spent huge amounts of time placing every piece of furniture, plant and rock formation. Dragonflies flit through patches of sunlight and shadow, rats and lizards skitter through rippling dungeon puddles. Towns each have a unique and distinctive flavor: one goes uphill while another features canals instead of roads. The outside shape of buildings is realistically dictated by its inside layout of rooms, from bedrooms to kitchens and offices, all detailed down to the smallest cup and saucer.”
Nintendojo

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