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better then ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

hey i just bought this game yesterday from Ebgames and man shocked how good of a job that Namco did, better then Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Destiny 2. the graphics are cool the characters the story everthing. If u like any these series then its worth getting this one
Story 5/5
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 5/5

Tales of Legendia, an epic quest and a rought fight!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ahh Tales of Legendia, one of few games to introduce itself to you, take you away, pull you close then sucker-punch you in the face. Not that those are bad things, mind you; Legendia's a fantastic game with lots of inspiration and is guaranteed to immerse you in its world.
The deeper you get, the more lifelike and difficult it becomes...It's a rare quality for a video game nowadays, and should be relished by any fan who likes their RPGs fast and furious with emotions and tension on high.

The story of Legendia takes place all upon a giant ship known as The Legacy. Senel Coolidge and his sister, Shirley Fennes crash upon The Legacy, believing it to be an island. Soon enough, people start to come after Shirley, referring to her as the "Merines" and so starts Senel's quest to protect his sister, and to unravel the mysterious behind the giant ship they wound up on.
Friends are to be met, with their own pasts and problems. All willing to help Senel for his noble cause, or even for their own reasons, characters such as Will Raynard, the nerdy sheriff of Werites Beacon and Chloe Valens, an honourable knight of Gadoria appear to add their pieces to the ever-growing puzzle that is Tales of Legendia.

After completing the epic main story of Legendia, the player is given a chance to dig deeper into the pasts and present lives of the wonderful characters they meet on the island. These Character Quests offer deep insight into each character and have wonderful plot direction, though more abstract than the main story at times, the substance and enjoyment is still where it belongs.

Throughout the game, random encounters in dungeons and on the Legacy's surface are to be fought. Tales of Legendia makes use of an RPG-fighter hybrid combat system known as the X-LMBS, or Crossover Linear Motion Battle System. Essentially what the name entails, is that the party of four fighters will be fighting on a two-dimensional plane, although with three-dimensional graphics; directions are limited to up-down, left-right.

The battle system is of course, played in real-time with X set to launch normal attacks and O to launch special techniques known as "Eres" in accordance to the direction pressed. (Other buttons are used to access the menu or as shortcut keys for other attacks.) The techniques set to the directions may be changed at any time, in or out of battle, so the first character's selected list of moves is created by the player.

Eres come in two varieties, the people who use them being "Eren."
Crystal Eres are the typical ranged magical spells mages use in RPGs, where-as Iron Eres are physical attacks and combos.

Crystal Eres are learned by levelling up a Crystal Eren to a proper level, at which they acquire a spell book. When the right amount of Eres Stones, according to the spell, are acquired from enemies of different species, the Eres will be available to use.

Iron Eres are learned by levelling up an Iron Eren and at the proper level, they may use the new Eres technique. When an Iron Eres is used 50 times, it is mastered and usually automatically combined with other Iron Eres to form Arcane Eres, an advanced skill that also can be mastered.
Compound Eres are a special type of Iron Eres that is formed by combining three separate mastered Iron Eres outside of battle to form an attack. Depending on the character, some requirements may apply for the attack to initialize and all Compound Eres require a high amount of TP, or tech points.

Senel has a special type of Iron Eres, that allows him to throw enemies when they are knocked down, or in the "Down" state. Each skill applies to enemies of various weights, so obviously, you cannot use a throwing Eres of the Feather weight on a bear (which would probably be a Heavy weight.) Of course, when using throws of heavier weights on lighter enemies, the throw of the lower weight will be used instead.

The other attractive aspects of gameplay involve baking and customization. Customization being available only late in-game, involves making weapons out of various components as opposed to buying them in shops.

Baking features making various types of bread dishes, which you learn from the quirky Mimi Baker. Finding her hiding inside a spinning goofy, and out-of-place object on the field means acquiring a new recipe after a funny cutscene.
Taking the right ingredients to a bakery or an oven somewhere on the Legacy, then selecting the bread you want to make is all it takes. Then anywhere on the field when necessary, the Square button brings up the bread basket where you can eat your currently stored bread, healing the entire party with its affects.

Now that you know how the game lays out, here's a summary of how it all feels and works in the end:

Gameplay -/10/-
Legendia's gameplay is not flawless, but that does *not* stop it from being one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences on the console. Its combat system is fast, immersive, dangerous and difficult. On any difficulty level there is sure to be a challenge for any player, young or old.
With classic RPG conventions, but with the flair and finesse of a fighting game, every battle is engrossing and will definitely make any player be on their toes while smacking down monsters and saving the world.
The amount of thinking that goes into fighting and the sheer amount of varied techniques can aid or hinder you, but soon enough into the game anyone can be slaying demons with ease, though be sure to expect some challenging fights, as the difficulty curve is very steep and really makes you think about how you're fighting.

Few games can challenge a player to such a high point while still retaining their charm; Legendia pulls this off very well, so well, in fact, that you won't be able to blame anybody but yourself if you see the ominous Game Over screen.

Graphics -/8/-
From animé cutscenes to super-deformed field-midgets to smooth and slick battle models, the graphics in Tales of Legendia are superb. They are not something that everyone will love right away, but sooner or later even the coldest of hearts will thaw watching the little guys power-walk onto the screen.
Cutscenes are pulled off nicely in Legendia, with a mix of models talking amongst themselves to a wide-screen viewing window featuring art of the characters. The all-encompassing field shots and the close-up imagery of the windows add dimensions to story-telling and character emotion ; they are a nice touch that really work well in the game.
As battles are fought on a 2D plane, many may think that the in-battle animation is limited. This is not the case! The plane is set up well so that the characters can move in full 3D while movement is limited to the side-scrolling the Tales series is known most for.
Overall the graphics and animation of Legendia are fantastic, but occasional bland textures of fields and the world map lead to a slightly less than impressive set of locales. Each place on the Legacy have lots of feel to them, but sometimes they appear a little too soft.

Sound -/9/-
Tales of Legendia is again, one of few games to feature something so great. The top-quality acting and voicework that has poured into the game really show, adding more dimensions to storytelling and cutscenes. In battle, voices are aggressive and notable. Outside, emotion can be heard and conversations feel as they should, important and epic, or calm, sweet or emotional.
A few characters hit the low end of the quality spectrum, and there are slight issues with repetition of attack names in battle; add the fact that the Character Quests lack it in cutscenes, it may become a bit disappointing later on. Overall, however, the voices featured in the game are irreplaceable and truly feel like they belong in the game.

Legendia's music is also well composed and orchestrated. Every area has the perfect surround of music, and it all comes together to bring each locale to life. Cheery drinking shanties, dark and cool pub tunes, epic battle tracks and despaired softness; it is all there. Go Shiina, the game's composer, really added something to the game that it could not be without...Hopefully such great work is featured in later games in the Tales series, as Legendia was granted.

Value -/9/-
The final line is that Tales of Legendia lasts. From 30 hours or main storyline, and 40 hours for Character Quests (great for added character development) the game never seems to end, and any player will like it that way. And even after, there's more fun to be had with challenging yourself to be better, to track your records and restart with what you've earned already. Legendia gives the player many chances to continue on with their experience even when the game's story is finished.

In the end, Tales of Legendia continues the tradition of great games in the Tales series. With great gameplay and production values, it is not to be missed and any PS2-owning RPG fan will just love it to death; casual or hardcore.
All we can hope for now is that we will see more of this series in the future and that the art from Tales of the Abyss featured on the back of the manual was hinting at something...

Tales of Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: March 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Tales of Legendia Review
3/5/06
By Dack.

Tales of Legendia, is the newest entry in the "Tales of" series to come to North America. ToL features an all new battle system, that feels like a fighting game, a awesome new story, and some nicely done anime cut scenes. The game starts out when Senel, the hero of the story, and his sister, shirley are in the ocean on the bring on sinking when all of a sudden, a wave pushes them onto the shore of a giant ship. Soon after shirley gets kidnapped, and that's where the adventrue begins. The game plays diffrent then any game I have played before. It's a pretty open ended world. There is one big town, which you can warp too, to buy any suplies you might need. When you first go to a area, you can open up the vent, which lets you warp there anytime you want, which cuts down on travel time.
I really didn't expect ToL to be a great RPG. But I was pleasently mistaken. ToL is one of my favorite RPG's, and is in my top 10 for sure. The game draws you in and never lets go. There aren't any spectacular Cut Scenes, or insaine plot twists, but it's a funny enojyable innovative RPG. The battle system, is meant to be like a fighting game, and it is interesting, but in the end, it's hitting the same two buttons over and over, which makes it a little too repetative. The coolest race of people are in this game, The oresoren. The oresoren are little Fuzzy Creatures, who are good at building things *ors ors*! The soundtrack in this game is suits it, and is very enjoyable as well. The main story line can be cleared in about 30 hours, and the character quests in about 20 or so.
In closing, Tales of Legendia is the best RPG of 2006 so far. If you are a longtime RPG fan, or new to the series, you will want to check this game out

Story: A very enjoyable and interesting story that draws you in, and doesn't let go; 9/10
Graphics: Suits the game, but are at times to simple; 8/10
Music: Very nice soundtrack, the song selection fits every area; 9/10
Gameplay: Fighting system is flawed, but the basic game plays good: 7.5/10

OVERALL: 8.9/10: Great RPG.

Another Great Entry in the Tales Series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I picked up my copy of Tales of Legendia I immediately set high expectations upon it. Why shouldn't I? I had played through Tales of Symphonia multiple times, and beaten Tales of Destiny 2 as well as Tales of Phantasia. Luckily, Legendia did not disappoint me one bit.
The first and most important thing to look out for in a RPG of course is the quality of the story. There is no mistaking that the story can be clichéd at times, however, not only is it able to present the story well despite this, the originality and uniqueness of the characters is able to make this a negligible point. What surprised me the most about the story is the amount of comedy that is put forth. Sure, the other games had some of it, but not nearly as funny as what's shown in Legendia. It may seem like this would contradict the seriousness of the main story; yet, the game is able to balance it out and keeps things from getting melodramatic. It was refreshing to play a RPG for once that was able to be serious without being too serious and was able to laugh at its characters and itself at times. The character development that is presented is astounding. As I progressed through the game, I began to connect with characters like Norma, Senel, and Chloe and I really cared about what was happening to each of them. The character side quests do a great deal too as they really flesh out each individuals back story which was nice as I was able to get a better feel from where the characters were coming from. One thing I would have liked to have seen however would be some different endings or at least different character endings added. Still, the new game plus feature is great, and along with scores of mini-games, side quests and others, it gives Legendia a ton of replay value.
Some would say that the graphics are the weakest point of the game, this I would have to disagree with most passionately. Yes, the characters are not ultra-realistic looking; however, the level of detail that was put into the sprites is well done. Not only that, but the backgrounds are simply stunning. The artistic flair with which this game utilizes will make you sit back and admire for quite sometime. So while it may not be the best graphics game, it is the one of the most beautiful and artistic games to have ever graced the Playstation 2 console. This is also not even mentioning Kazuto Nakazawa's amazing character designs which rival other greats such as the legendary Tetsuya Nomura and Kosuke Fujishima who worked on Tales of Symphonia.
The battle system is undoubtedly the first thing that comes to most peoples minds when they think of the Tales series, and while this does neglect that great stories that the series has told it is true that it does have an addictive battle system and Legendia is no different. There isn't too much that is different from the battle system in Symphonia, but the ability to throw characters, going back to the 2D feel after utilizing a more 3D looking one in Symphonia, and the improvement over the Unison Gauge known in Legendia as the Climax Gauge. I found the Climax Gauge to be far more interesting than the Unison one from Symphonia since not only were you able to rack up huge combos with it, it still allowed you to be able to use a combination attack featuring all four of the characters in your party known as a Climax Combo. It would have been nice however, if new Climax Combos could have been used depending on either what level your characters were or even which character you were in control of.
Tales of Legendia most assuredly lived up to the expectations that lovers of the Tales series have undoubtedly put upon it. This is a game that should not just be enjoyed by fans of the Tales series, or even fans of real time battle systems, but instead should be enjoyed by all RPG fans. Though it may not be the first RPG to launch this year, it is definitely is an early contender for best RPG of the year despite the notable games coming out later this year. If you like your RPG's to have a great story, well developed characters, amazing artwork, an awe inspiring score by Go Shina, and an awesome battle system and you haven't purchased Tales of Legendia yet, do so immediately, you won't regret it.

Pretty Good RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Tales of Legendia is a lot like the recent Tales of Symphonia. All of the "Tales" games have been very similar and they've made suddle changes each game that makes each one play a bit differently. There are many good things about this game.

One of the best things about the game are the graphics. At first, you might hate them. The first dungeon looks terrible in my opinion, however over the game the graphics improve. Some of the dungeons are extremely well done, and each one has a different style. The character designs themselves are really good. At first I was a little bit put off, but after a few battles they grow on you.

Another great thing about the game is the voice acting. Practically the entire game has voice acting(with the exception of random npcs in towns and a few lines here and there). Senel has a very good voice actor. One of the best I've heard in a long time. Vaclav also has a great voice actor, as he kinda sounds like Jeremy Irons.

The battles are like the other tales games. You run left and right and perform combos. There are some interesting new additions to the battle system. One of them is the ability to combine various abilities into a new ability. You won't do this often, but the new abilities you create can be very powerful against certain creatures.

The story is good. It is cliched, but it is well done. There are interesting characters and a very interesting relationship between the main character and his sister. The game is long enough so you develop a lasting attacthment to the characters.

I would highly reccomend that any fan of the Tales games picks this up. I don't think it will stand the test of time, but it's definetly a great RPG right now.

"Let's see, what was I doing just now... ?"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the first Tales game I've played, and I must admit it was a pleasent introduction to the Tales series. While I hear Symphonia is probably the best Tales game, I wouldn't know, atleast, not yet. I need to get a Gamecube to play it.

However, Legendia was a hoot of a game to play. Yes, it does have some flaws, but every RPG has its handful of idiosyncrasy's that must be tolerated.

Legendia shines in its Character Cast. There are tons of funny sayings and 'suggestive' conversations and themes. Characters consist of an overzealous Senel, the flimsy Shirly, the past haunted Chloe, The never-ending bickering between Jay and Moses, the boring and old Will, the flat chested; selfish Norma, and of course, the best character (least IMO) in the game, the forgetful, mysterious, yet extremely powerful Grune - which I felt was an original RPG character, which is rare.

Legendia's story starts to shine when you get to do the Character Quest, which starts at the end of Senel and Shirleys main quest, which eats up the main chunk of the game (35 hours or so) Senel and Shirleys quest starts of slow and irritating - the first 15 hours or so is basically you rescuing Shirley (who is ALWAYS being kipnapped) and thats pretty much it. The next 15 hours becomes alittle more interesting, but it is pretty cliched. If you can bare the first 15 hours or so, then don't give up, it does get better. The Characters Quest make baring Senel and Shirleys main quest well worth it.

The battle system is pretty much what everyone here has said. A 3d side scrolling battle system that involves melee units and spell casters. You can combine powers to make combos and combine combo's to make "arcane" combos that do alot of dmg to particular enemies (ie, "Killing Time" does massive dmg to final boss)

The Music is fantastic, a typical RPG score that offers moody ambiences, fast paced violin and guitar drivin songs, and piano and orchestral melodies.

The voice acting is good. Some voices are extremly annoying, like the Oresorens, Shirleys, Norma, and some of the enemies have cheesy voices. But I've seen much worst voice acting, so all things considered - its tolerable.

The game took me 62 hours to beat in total. It's no easy game, and does take some determination to get through - But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would consider it a "memorable" RPG - like that alongside Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy series.

Great great...oh and Great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I love the tales line and was so happy to see another one out. Its divided into 2 main games. The first one is great fun and the plot as well as game play is wondeful( not gonna provide any spoilers). Then just when your thinking what !? its over already....they hit you with the 2nd section.... Where you find out more about the people and the reasons they are as they are... Makes replaying it all the more fun the next time around.... I hope my little review helps.

bad angel, why you so bad?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: February 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

well basically all i had to say was already (...) in the reviews, and all i can say is that if you have the chance, play tales of symphonia first. this is a way different experience imo. oh and ignore the kid's review. so what if their weapons are funky. that dosen't matter.

Review from an 8-year-old girl

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The characters are awesome (officially). The game's really exciting - you should get it.

About characters - they each have their own character quest after the main part of the game. That way you'll know more about them.

It is awesome.

Good Game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: February 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Honestly this game is good. Okay but um... let's see uh.... IT'S NOT GAME OF THE YEAR MATERIAL AS OTHERS MAKE IT SEEM!People say it is better than Symphonia NAHA! NO FREAKIN, WAY! Reason 1 Norma uses a STRAW! Grune uses an URN and Shirley which ya don't really use at all uses a PEN!!!!!! But now for the positive. It's very humorful for kids but not adults. And remember the Wonder Chef he had a sex change into the Wonder Baker who constantly trips after being made fun of. The graphics I guess are actually pretty good. The combat is fun of course.But you know every about 12 steps you are in a battle What a pokemon! I think it's educational because Shirley uses a pen LOL!
We have beatiful Anime cutscenes too. We have Senel the main character who punches and kicks,Shirley his sister who always gets kidnapped. We got Will who is the smart one with a hammer and the voice of Kratos Aurion.Moses the bandit who jokes and has a spear.Chloe who seems to crush on Senel and wiels a sword as a knight. Norma who is funny and makes up nicknames.Grune uses an urn kisses Senel all the time and lost her memory. Jay the info dealer who is my favorite and wields a dagger.The envirements are cool. But before you play let me tell you that map navigation is hell!!!!!

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