Why do people like TOP so much???

[GummySnake]

Honestly, why is it that people like it some much? I know it was the first one, but I for one like the Destinies much better than Phantasia. And I say people like Phantasia so much because of what Absolute Zero did. The guys ova here are working on it, so I would think for him it would be smarter to work on one currently NOT being worked on. Tales of Destiny 2, or the Remake would prolly be the best. But oh well. So anyway why do people like Phantasia so much?

[throughhim413]

Cless was working on ToP first.  I'm also a huge fan of Phantasia, but with a different vision for the project from what Cless had in mind, I did my own translation (which is the Absolute Zero one you mentioned).  Phantasia is the first game in the Tales series and a great game in its own right.  People talk about romhacking like it's some kind of project to get every game ever made translated.  People work on what they love.  It's not about what would be smarter, it's about people doing what they love doing.  I wish we didn't have to keep covering this same ground.

[Carnivol]

Tales of Phantasia is somewhat of a milestone and technical marvel for console RPGs.
I have to say that I have to agree that I somewhat like Tales of Destiny more myself, but that might be because I found myself the way through Tales of Destiny before I got around to play any incarnation what-so-ever of Tales of Phantasia (All ToP experiences before that were limited to footage in magazines).
Yet, there's much more story to Tales of Phantasia, both 'cause of its countless remakes and spin-offs, but also because there's a bit of fun in the development history.


As for romhacking and projects in general. It is of course awesome when someone takes on the task of letting others enjoy something that they would normally not be able to enjoy. But romhacking and fan translations isn't always about just bringing something to the public. It's also about proving something for yourself.

I've done a lot of random text insertions, file swaps and file format tinkering throughout the past 15 years, for many many games on many many platforms. A lot of the stuff I've done was through just following some random guide in order to get familiar with stuff, some out of boredom, some accidental results and other out of pure curiosity.
And all because I feel this terrible urge just to learn stuff. And a few years ago, all of this random insanity paid off when I started to work with something I take very serious and am very passionate about, but it also enables me to bring small smiles to certain faces out there as I every now and then do some minor stuff within my somewhat limited technical abilities on request.


All in all, the reason why some people keep getting involved in fan projects is simply because of the freedom, time frame, the teamwork and most important of all, the interest in the project itself.
Sometimes, when working on official and licensed products, you've got restrictions or conditions you don't like working with, or you simply have to accept projects you'd prefer to rather not touch with a ten foot pole, simply because you either:
A) Need the Money.
B) Signed a contract.

Anyway, I'm rambling on about stuff here.

And there will come a time for ToD2 and evt. also ToDr.
Remember that it has taken almost 10 years for the first ToP PSX to show up and be complete.
Not saying that it will take the same amount of time for other projects, especially not since tools and documented knowledge these days is much better and more available than they were back in the old days.

[GummySnake]

Oooookay well you answered why YOU did it, but the question wasn't why you did it, I'm wondering why people like Phantasia the best. Most other forums people seem to like it better as well. That or Symphonia. I was just asking why you guys think that is. Also Good Job on the translation. It's good. lol.

[Carnivol]

In the case of Symphonia being another "fan favorite", I think it really is because it (just like ToP) was people's first encounter with the series.


ToP got a lot of attention for being easily obtainable online and was a huge online topic of discussion when DeJap's project was done.

Symphonia had the name of the franchise, its connections to Phantasia, first fully 3D entry and the advantage of being on a console that happened to lack RPGs, and like it's oldest brother (Phantasia) it was on a Nintendo console.

[LJkAze]

Ya your right recent tales games now seem to look, feel, and play better then TOP but my opinions is that I like TOP more then any other Tales actually rather any genre around. Though back then I did not play game as much and my brain was small so game like RPG did not exist in my book and most of the game I play was either action or fighting, so I decided hmmm I should give RPG a try and download a random RPG: "Tales of phantasia" for the SNES. When the game loaded the intro started and it was in Japaneses but I was equally as excited then music and game play was shown with voice; my mouth just literly dropped just for playing i mean watching this game for 2 minutes 

I'm wondering why people like Phantasia the best.

This why I think Phantasia is the best:

STORYLINE
In my opinion I think this is where Phantasia get the most credit from, the storyline is just spectacular. Like Carnivol said there is a lot of story to TOP, though when you play the game and you already thought you know everything but each time you advance through the story a new one adds on. For example :spoiler: Cless and Chester hunts Boar, Town get destroy, Try to take revenge, great evil king get revive, Cless and Mint get sent to the pass, etc. This game is a very long game and it take months and year to know everything. I myself still have yet to know everything about the aselian Calender

GAMEPLAY
Though the first time I play it the model was chibi sprite I was addicted to it when I first fought my first battle. This game go up to lv99 in the snes and lv999 in the later version fighting the monster further in the story was tough. Even if you did have lv999 playing mania mode is like hell.

SIDEQUEST
I am not going into detail, you who is out there that play this already understand ^_^. IF you combine game play, sidequest, and 100% for this game it will take a very long long time complete.

Most other forums people seem to like it better as well. That or Symphonia

TOS is a good game though its a prequel to TOP, this adds on more story to the Aselian Calender which is why I like. TOS is not really popular to us serious tales fan who play almost all tales game, it only popular because its the first game to be Notice by NA nintendo fanboys who got a GC and then they just talk about how wicked it is and it spreads like a viru, then the virus spread to TOL and TOtA. After TOS, TOL, and TOTA has their own country and each of these country goes on war just to say I am better then this country. LOL this little story I made is funny but it true ^_^

Anyways I hope I answer your question and if you still don't understand why it better or if you haven't play TOP at all play the snes one first, then wait for this project to complete you will understand why we think this game is the best. NOTE = "Reason why I recommend you SNES because it the best translated TOP out there, though it already release in GBA here I have to say that the GBA is bad translation, they pretty much ruin it."

[ForceCube]

I guess everything I could say about this matter must have already been said on the previous posts, but I'm gonna say it anyway.

First of all, Phantasia. It's a great game on its own right, but even so, I'd say most of the fans of ToP like it more than the other ones just because it's a SNES game. People seem to consider all SNES games "classics" no matter how bad they are, just because they were released at a time when RPGs weren't popular, and so it "didn't do them justice".
And there's always that "it was the game that started it all" bullshit. Bah, fanboys. >_>
Atleast ToP DOES deserve the attention it gets, unlike some other so-called "16-bit masterpieces" out there.

And Symphonia... it's simple. RPG-starving console + a bunch of players who probably don't even know what a RPG is = a whole lot of potential fanboys. You can't go wrong with that.
I'm sure no matter which Tales were released for the NGC at that time, it would have the same results. It just happened to be Symphonia.



Anyways, there's no point in thinking too much about these things. People will always have their favorites, and there will always be times you don't agree with their opinions. But that won't change the fact that YOU find the games YOU like better than the ones THEY like, and that's all that matters. Keeping a good distance from Gamefaqs boards usually helps a lot

[Cless]

I started this project when it was clearly, by far and away the best game in the series. Before Eternia originally came out.

At this point, I consider it a classic RPG through and through. It's no longer my favorite objectively, but it might be in a nostalgic sense. That's why I'd like another remake that updates the game and injects new gameplay ideas like ToDR that completely reinvigorates it so that it stands up almost like a brand new entry in the series. Then it could be my favorite both objectively and nostalgically. But after these other ports, I doubt it'll happen for a very very long time, if ever.

[Frogacuda]

Oooookay well you answered why YOU did it, but the question wasn't why you did it, I'm wondering why people like Phantasia the best. Most other forums people seem to like it better as well. That or Symphonia. I was just asking why you guys think that is. Also Good Job on the translation. It's good. lol.

ToP PSX is my favorite game in the series, but not in every way. Eternia has a better battle system and better level design. But ToP is my favorite because it has the best music, the best story, and the best characters.

[EvilMan_89]

hope this isn't too dumb (or offtopic) but HOW do i use the patch when it's done? will it be released as an ISO or soemthing else?

[bungiefan]

Read the FAQ on the home page for the project. Of course he's not going to distribute a patched ISO, as that would be illegal. You have to make your own copy of your own original game disc, and apply the patch to it before burning it. Nobody distributes the games with their patch files. Doing so would be asking for a very quick lawsuit.

[Cyllya]

I've had enough fun discussing ToP's plot that I can actually call ToP-PSX one of my favorite games even though I think it really sucks. Seriously, I can't stand to play it.

[Olimpior]

Simply one of the best games ever made, not having a previous game to follow up from or copy from was a great & original idea, story & gameplay were awesome for system and time it came out. What's there not to like?

[GummySnake]

IMO: I think it's a good game, not one of the best. I dont think any of the Tales of Games are able to be called the best. Well maybe Destiny 2, and thats about it. For me the best games are like Half Life, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and stuff like that.

[EvilMan_89]

i've actually never tried this game so i will give it a try

[Goshi]

The game when released back on the SFC was simply the most stunning RPG on the system. The graphics were gorgeous , the music was beautiful, the story was memorable and there was plenty on content on the game itself. The gameplay whilst not up to par with the later games, was quite entertaining back in the time and the action based battle system was much more interesting then the typical turn based system found in most RPGs. Like Oshaberi Parodius, it also featured voice acting and lyrics in music which was somewhat mind breaking at the time.

The remake for the PSOne further enhances these features. The graphics haven't changed much but changed the main cast graphics so that they would match the artwork properly. The battle system has been improved and is no longer as stiff as the SFC version, it also further removes this stiffness with the addition of a manual mode. There is also a lot more voice acting in the game and some special movie sequences which add some form of an emotional impact on the player. Finally additional side quests, higher level cap and stronger monsters help boost the game's replay value.

When compared to the other Tales games it simply remains constant, Tales of Phantasia clearly has the best plot in the series. Destiny may come close with its fantastic cast but Phantasia has both a great cast and a great storyline. It also has far better music then the other games in the series as well. Eternia and Destiny has AWFUL music in comparison to Tales of Phantasia (Eternia in particular) and I'm one of those people who believe music plays an important role in an RPG. It helps set the mood of the story.

Tales of Phantasia remians to this day my favorite game in the series. Though I havn't played many Tales games. The only others I have played thus far are Destiny, some of Destiny 2, Symphonia and Eternia.


... Why do I have a feeling this post made no sense =(