The thing is with most Japanese games being released in the U.S the consumers really aren`t aware that the product has a wider development or sequel in Japan. Even the most popular RPG series like Final Fantasy had some of its games unreleased in the US until later on
"Final Fantasy III was not released in the US or actually anywhere else until it was remade for the Nintendo DS last 2006. And when Final Fantasy VI was released in the US its it was called Final Fantasy III It is all very chronologically confusing how the games were released in the US but gamers didn`t really care that much since they were mostly unaware what was going on in Japan"
Well at least we got to see those games one way or the other better late than never. But sadly there are a few that slip away into the great unknown and disappear forever leaving us with just a few screen shoots.
Ever heard of the "Tales" Series of RPGs maybe you have or haven`t the series has spawned many games such as "Tales Of Destiny, Tales Of The World, Tales Of The Abyss" etc... and probably has more titles than the final fantasy franchise and probably know just as much they even have several anime series base on some games and some independent stories
Well i want to focus the attention on one series in the game "Tales Of Eternia" this game was released on the Play Station 2001 and was rereleased for the Sony PSP on 2006 I remember having it on the PS1 but never touched it until it wa rereleased on the PSP where i eventually finished it. The game was excellent one of the J-RPGS that really got me immersed the story line, the cinematics, the gameplay, I enjoyed every bit of it
Then I recently discovered that there was an MMORPG "Tales Of Eternia Online" (yup NAMCO actually did make a MMORPG) I was like wow! I wanna try that out but later on discovered that the servers were only up for a year and had to close due to low registered users
Darn! well that’s one game ill never get to play well at least i can talk about it "Tales Of Eternia Online" the story of the MMORPG is actually intertwined with the RPG. The MMORPGS events occur around the beginning of disc 2 (PS1 Version) just after Reid`s (Main Character) party crosses over into Celestia from Infernia. the game also follows the MMORPG element of being able to choose your own character class they are modifications of characters within the tales series or the none MMORPG game
(kenshi) - Swordsman - Characters modeled from Rassius Luine. Masters of melee combat, their high physical attack power is a welcome addition to any party. They have the capability to wield a variety of weapons, such as swords, long swords, daggers, spears and axes.
(Senshi) - Warrior The only character class that could equip shields, their high defense and party-oriented defense skills make them an almost indispensable frontliner in every party. Male versions are modeled from the ToE main character Reid Hershell
(Seijou Reijutsu-shi) - Cleric. The female versions are modeled after Meredy. This class specializes in recovery and status-enhancing magic.
(Majou Reijutsu-shi) - Mage. The male versions are modeled after Keele Zeibel. This class specializes in devastating magic attacks.
(Kakutou-ka) - Fighters. This class is modeled after Farah Oersted. The high agility of this class allows them to dodge attacks and perform combos with ease. They also have a limited arsenal of recovery skills
The combat system is very unique especially since the "Tales" series follows a 2-D or 3-D real-time combat system the encounters are not random like a traditional console RPG but clicking or going into contact with the enemies avatar will initiate the combat system. since the game is directly based on "Tales of Eternia" the combat system is similar with the exemption of a yellow aura on the sides of the screen which prevents other players from interrupting unless the combatant pushes the panic button to allow the player to enter and help
If the RPG game did so well on the Playstation and even was re-released on the PSP it makes me think why did the inline version of the game not do so well? There were plans to bring the game to the US but eventually was canceled so we’ll never know sadly.
Now i feel like I only finished half the game and this other half will be lost forever anyways Check back in a few days for a new article I’m taking the weekends off ; )
"Aki"
