Tales of Legendia

A traditional RPG infused with a fighting game's action and a bakery's flavor.

The Tales series is coming to the PlayStation 2 with its signature combat mechanics and a brand new story. Senel's out to sea with his sister when they're nearly killed by a runaway "island." Shirley is kidnapped shortly thereafter, and events quickly take on a life of their own. Soon Senel is exploring a vibrant world that's part isometric landscape crawl and part anime miniseries, and learning lots of new recipes for life-giving bread.

Tales of Legendia wears its old-school heart on its sleeve, and features some charming tributes to classic RPG elements--thought bubbles with exclamation points, question marks, tears, and ellipses abound--though it also packs a punch with the series' trademark fighting system. Just about every role-playing game you can name has random encounters, but the Tales series allows for direct real-time control over every move your on-screen avatar makes.

Brawling action takes place in two dimensions, so don't expect a full-fledged 3D fighter, but a whole mess of powers and combinations open up as you progress. If you're not into button-mashing and block timing, you can set some strategy options and let nature take its course, but it's hard to imagine remaining a bystander for long.

Newcomers to the series should shed any attachment to traditional turn-based combat, but fans appear to be in for another delight: beautiful graphics, magnetic character personalities, and fast-paced fighting. Let's hope Legendia can sustain your pugilistic interest for the duration of its epic, dialogue-heavy storyline.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment