Now and then: Thoughts on the Tales games.

[Cless Aileron]

I actually got this topic idea from another forum and it was interesting enough to start this topic.  It was interesting because of changes with us.  Some things from the past we can still love while others is a completely different story (I should know, I ask myself, “What did I ever see in that awful game with that bobcat?” after playing that certain game again).

So, the topic I'm doing asks about your thoughts in Tales games, back then and now

I do have some guidelines on this topic.  I will only be asking about the Tales games up to Tales of Rebirth or Narikiri Dungeon 3, where the original versions of the games were released (depending on where you want to cut it off).  Now the reason I left Tales of Legendia and Tales of the Abyss out is that I don't think enough time has passed to include them.  To be fair, if I was to do the topic again next year, I would include them that time, so it's nothing personal in regards to leaving those games out.  Also, the only exception I will make is Tales of Destiny remake, since that looked like something that may have changed people's mind about that Tales universe (keyword: may).

I'll get started.

Tales of Phantasia
Then:  This was the third game in the series I have completed, some time after Tales of Eternia.  While Tales of Destiny was the first game in the series I played, it would not become my #1 favorite.  Tales of Phantasia really sucked me in and I never let go.  I loved it.
Now:  Even today, I still love as much as I did after I completed it the first time.  Even that awful Game Boy Advance version didn't kill it for me.  The PS1 version’s battle system, out of three versions’ LMB before Eternia, is the one old version of LMB I can still enjoy, despite its age (if that says anything).  I’m probably not going to say, “One more remake” because they did too many versions as it is.  It still feels endearing to me.  Still love the story.  I also still love the characters (this part, I really don’t need to say anymore here, now do I *hint hint*).  Tales of Phantasia is still close to me and I love it just as much as Final Fantasy VI.

Tales of Destiny
Then:  First game I played in the series.  Man, I was seriously addicted to this game when I played it short time after my 13th birthday.  I like to think of it as the start of the series I would later become my obsession.
Now:  Even though it was the first game I played in the series, it would be dethroned later on thanks to Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Eternia.  I loved the original at age 13.  However, I do see there were flaws playing it again.  Even with just the original, I still like the game regardless, just not as much as when I played it.  The characters I still love either way.  Now, the remake really brought the universe in full force.  Many people would think remakes are unnecessary.  They never compared both versions of Tales of Destiny before saying that, though.

Tales of Eternia
Then:  This game almost slipped past me, despite knowing it was in the same series as Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Destiny (That’s what I get for not keeping up with release dates).  Even playing it then, it lived up to my expectations.  It's tons of fun and kept me occupied for so long.
Now:  I still love this game.  There’s nothing much that changed here in regards to this game.  It still holds up for me.

Tales of Destiny 2
Then:  Just how much did I want to play this direct sequel to Tales of Destiny?  I had my PS2 modded just so I can play a legit copy of this game!  I didn’t feel let down.  Battles were fun and it was a complete blast for me to play.
Now:  I still love it.  While the story does have plot holes, there were other things I loved about it and it still remains that way.

Tales of Symphonia
Then:  Man, I was anticipating this, especially Tales of Destiny 2 really pulling me in that I thought Tales of Symphonia would be the same for me.  Well, I didn’t really like it that much the first time I played through it.  It hit me halfway through the game that it isn’t up to my expectation.
Now:  It took some extra playthroughs to get my head set straight in regards to this game.  These days, I now like it.  I grew to like the characters and I now enjoy it.

Tales of Rebirth
Then:  Well, I wasn’t in super hype mode for this game but I did want to play it.  I played it and well, it’s a great game.  Nothing more I can say here.
Now:  It's still the same deal with me and this game.  It's still a great game.  There isn’t really anything that changed here.

[Goshi]

Tales of Phantasia
Then: Second Tales game I ever played. I was considering on playing it earlier but never had the motivation to actually grab it. After my friend encouraged me to play Tales of Symphonia I gave it a try and loved it. I completed the SFC version and planned to wait for the PSX translation to finish but gave up and grabbed the PSX version anyway. Although the language barrier does rear it's ugly head every now and then, I considered the PSX version as one of the best PSX games of all time.
Now: And I still do. I've played through the PSX version far more then the SFC. I however couldn't bear the GBA port at all. I gave up on it as soon as you enter the sewers.

Tales of Destiny
Then: 3rd Tales game played. After playing ToP and moving on to this one I felt disappointed with the fact that its quite a step down from ToP. The cast was however quite interesting and it was my only motivation on completing the game. Of the Tales game this is my least favorite.
Now: I've only played through it once and I have no further intention to play it again. I do have plans on trying out the remake of it though.

Tales of Eternia
Then: 4th game. Loved it. The battle system is everything ToP's one should have been. About the only gripes I had with this game is that the music is awful beyond reason and simply unbearable to hear. The sound effects are also equally pitiful. I've played the game only twice.
Now: I have yet to start my 3rd run. The music is still terrible stuff to me but otherwise I still consider it a fantastic game.

Tales of Destiny II
Then: I got it because it was the sequel to ToD. I've yet to actually finish this game. Also Loni talks too much.
Now: I still haven't finished it. I lost motivation to do so for some reason. Also I still think Loni talks too much.

Tales of Symphonia
Then: 1st Tales game since I never had the motivation to nab ToP back then. Its a great game, and easily one of the best on the GCN with a fantastic battle system and unique dungeon ideas.
Now: I gave my copy to a friend to borrow so I've yet to start a 5th playthrough. I still consider it one of the prime GCN games however when look back at it I find the story to be pretty poor when compared to other RPGs in general. Then again, like ToE; I mainly play it for gameplay.

[Olimpior]

Phantasia(2nd), Destiny(1st), and Symphonia(4th) are probably the only 3 that count as great games from the series. the others had changes and stuff added that made them good, but don't know about them been noticed more if they came out as different games(not Tales I mean).

Legendia(5th) & Abyss(6th) were nice to play, but after enjoying better ones there wasn't much to say besides that they looked good and were fun to play(except for the running around back & forth, especially in Abyss cause I didn't mind that as much with Legendia).

Eternia(3rd).... I guess i'd put this in between the great and the good ones. I loved the battles, graphics, and sounds(music too). The acting/voices were horrible for U.S. version but it didn't bug me enough to stop playing it. The arena was challenging enough for the average player. I enjoyed this one pretty much.

Played the ND spin offs and they weren't bad in my opinion. I'd recommend these for Tales fans. Haven't gotten around to playing the PSP(RM) one, but heard it was pretty cool(and played it once at a friends house). So I'm getting it anyway.

Pretty much feel the same way about them now as I did then so I might just pick one up and play again while I wait for remakes/patches to the ones I missed.

[ForceCube]

Well, this will be my first post on this forum, hope you don't mind

Tales of Phantasia
I could only play ToP on a SFC emulator about two years ago, because I never found the PSX version anywhere and didn't have a GBA... so that makes it one of the most recent Tales I played.
I was pretty disappointed at the battle system, with all that short/long range crap that made me use the wrong skill by mistake MANY times... and the encounter rate was too high. That made me stop at the Tower of 12 Stars on my first play through, and I haven't beaten the game since then. The story and characters were really nice though, enough to make me still want to beat it someday. And now that I have finally gotten the PSX version and the translation patch is almost complete, I have more than enough reason to do it.

Tales of Destiny
My second Tales game, and still one of my favorites. It had one of the most interesting stories and cast of characters of all the RPGs I've ever played, the soundtrack was fantastic and the character designs looked great. I replayed it last year and still liked it as much as back then, and I'll probably never change my opinion about it.

Tales of Eternia
My very first Tales and the one I spent the most time on. The minigames were addictive as hell (WHIS *__*), the battle system was awesome and there were so damn many sidequests I couldn't put the game down until I had completed every single one of them. I liked just about everything on ToE - graphics, music, story, characters, even the voice acting was pretty good.
I still play it regularly, and it never gets old, even though I'm on my 372904889237498st playthrough.

Tales of Destiny 2
Haven't played it yet, still trying to buy a copy of it...

EDIT: Since some people are commenting about the more recent games on the series, I'll add some comments about them too, even though I haven't beaten some of them.

Tales of Symphonia
Then: It wasn't as good as I expected. I played the PS2 Japanese version, which means I had to stand those awful loading times and the other technical issues everyone complains about, but that wasn't all. While playing ToS, for the first time I felt that the fact that the story is dumb and full of cliches (which I didn't care about on previous Tales I played) actually bothered me. Fujishima's character designs didn't help, either. (Note: this isn't a spoiler, but if you're a ToS fan or a Fujishima fanboy you really shouldn't highlight this part ._.) I always found his art to be rather plain and all of his characters look exactly the same to me. Mint and Colette look exactly alike, as do Kratos and Luke. And IMO Lloyd is, in terms of appearance, the WORST MAIN CHARACTER EVER.
The battle system was great, and it's rare for me to like a 2D to 3D transition of a system in an RPG. But it was really the only thing in ToS I cared about.
Now: I plan to replay Symphonia as soon as I finish Rebirth, if the patch for Phantasia PSX hasn't been released till then. And this time I'll try to pay more attention to the good points than to the bad ones. Wish me luck. ._.

Tales of Rebirth
It's been two weeks since I started, and so far it's simply AMAZING. Arguably the best game on the series, and one of the best PS2 RPGs without a doubt. Everything about Rebirth's battle system screams "innovation", from the use of the Force Cube instead of TP to the two-person Hi-Ougis (which are the most beautiful I've seen in the series, BTW). And all the "one-lined" LMB systems now seem terribly boring without the two additional lines to switch around... but the enemy AI is way TOO smart.

As for the story, it started out simple and clichéd as in most other Tales games, but after Geyorkias (or whatever was its name) was defeated and the Humas and Gajumas suddenly started hating each other for no apparent reason it quickly became one of the most epic and beautiful stories I've ever played through. Racial discrimination in this game is shown on such an amazing way it makes all the other games based on that theme seem like a joke. Okay, I could see some of the plot twists coming hours before they actually happened (like Agarte being on Claire's body after she apparently died at the Karegia Castle ), but I don't really care.

So far, the only thing that's really annoying me in ToR is the size of the dungeons. The first ones were big and took me some time to explore, but since the Mesechina Cavern none of them seems big enough for me. Some of them don't even have more than six rooms, which sucks majorly. Especially with the battle system being as good as it is.

Tales of Legendia
Then: It was actually my third Tales, after Destiny and Eternia, so I wasn't expecting a 3D battle system like everyone else. Because of that, I kinda enjoyed the battles (though I have to admit Senel's 3-hit combo gets old INCREDIBLY fast, the enemy AI sucks ass and the spells are anything but impressive). What REALLY annoyed me instead were the level designs. The dungeons were all just looooooooooooooong straight lines with the same background over and over, some danger zones here and there, and a Puzzle Booth at the end (man, I hate those puzzles SO much...).

The story, on the other hand, was nothing short of PERFECT. Though after playing Rebirth I'm starting to realize where much of the creators' inspiration came from (silent white-haired guy whose "friend" - or, in Senel's case, sister - is kidnapped by someone, two races fighting and discriminating each other and so on), it still manages to be highly original for the most part, and has some cool plot twists and the best cast of characters in the entire series IMO.

Now: Though I liked Legendia's story a lot when i first played it, I tried to complete the character quests (which I hadn't done before) recently and dropped it as soon as I had to reenter the first dungeon. I still consider it my least favorite Tales game. That's mainly because it just doesn't feel like a game of the series at all. It doesn't have Hi-Ougis, vehicles on the World Map, blue backgrounds on the menu and dialogue boxes (yeah, I miss that a lot >_>), a way to use the Sorcerer's Ring on the dungeons and not on some stupid booth... and Shirley's still as annoying as ever. Bleh, Ferines.

Tales of the Abyss
Haven't played more than two or three hours yet I guess, but I liked what I did play. The system looks good, the character designs are at least bearable, unlike Symphonia, and the intro movie was PURE AWESOMENESS. Can't wait to have a chance to play it until the end.

[Cless]

Phantasia: Well, you can't argue that it isn't classic... unless you're one of those die-hard haters of the series. After hearing so many things about it (it was practically legendary then) I gave the SNES a ROM a try the instant it was playable in ZSNES .700, sometime in 1998. This game (along with Star Ocean) went along to become something of a complete revolution in RPG gaming for me. I was an instant fan, and as soon as I was able, plunked down $100 to own an original copy (Japanese SNES games were mega popular on eBay back then, and ToP was a trophy). Yay for the dawn of RPGs with action-driven combat! (unfortunately, the original SNES ToP has really aged terribly. It's just too annoying to play after all the refinements and improvements made to the series since)

The PSX version came along. Back then I didn't really think how ridiculous it was to have a ground-up remake come out in just a mere 3 years after the original game's release. I guess at the time, someone high up felt that the SNES version just didn't do the game justice, so they reused and enhanced the Destiny engine for it.

At any rate, I tried to get the PSX game earlier than I did... anyone remember GameCave? That store always had a few pages dedicated to it in the back of some game magazines (especially GameFan). I sent a money order. After 6 weeks of nothing, I called and asked for a refund, and they said they'd send it. I never received it. Assholes. And I used to think their ads were the greatest thing ever. Thankfully they went belly up and I ended up getting the game on eBay.

I was initially confused with the game. I purchased the OST CD before playing it, and was disappointed with the soundtrack. I assumed that the PSX version was going to sound like the OST CD (which was, in fact, the PSX game's midi data running through a much higher quality synth). While the soundtrack CD still contains my favorite renditions of the game's music (in most cases), the PSX soundtrack started to grow on me while playing it, and I now even prefer it to the SNES one. That said, after absorbing all the improvements and refinements made to the game... well... I think starting a translation project that has been active for almost eight years speaks volumes on that.

I would rank Tales of Phantasia (PSX) as #4 on my list of favorites in the series. Nostalgia wants me to put it higher though...

Destiny: Initially hated this to death. It was way too unbalanced. Easy enough already + too many battles = way more EXP than you'll ever need to finish the game with. Not to mention with so many battles, dungeons took forever... it put me to sleep. It was really, really boring. The first time I played, I stopped playing when I reached Terazzi. I replayed it a little while later and gained a bit more appreciation for it, but it remains towards the bottom of my ranked list. The original PSX version, anyway.

To show how friggin' mindlessly easy this game was, I used a GameShark code to put Leon solo in the party at the very end of the game. He was at the same level with the same equipment as you left him when he died. Level 27 or so in my game. I pit him 1 on 1 against his zombie form... and I still managed to beat the zombie! 1 on 1! It was actually slightly challenging, but still! Normally it's four high level members against him. Lolz.

Although I haven't played the PS2 remake past first hour and a half or so, I was mighty impressed with what I played. From dud to stud, just like that. I wish ToP would receive the same treatment. Thank you Namco, for wearing the ToP name thin with your two incredibly pointless ports.

I'll give the remake a more serious go when the DC version hits. I'm quite sure it's one of the best games in the series.

Eternia: Fantastic. I didn't expect this to surpass Phantasia PSX, but it did, for me. Battles are much faster, no disruptive spell-pausing, and has a party member AI that actually doesn't stand around like a bunch of morons anymore. They actually FIGHT. Wow, they completely perfected basic battle system of the series. This game has aged very well, and still holds its own against modern entries in the series. No need for a remake here. Third favorite in the series.

Destiny 2: This game felt way too alien when I first played it. They threw out almost all the legacy stuff I grew to recognize and really changed up the gameplay. I guess that since Eternia brought forth perfection of the basic gameplay, there was no need to continue using it, so they decided to become experimental and try out new twists to the formula.

As we've translated the menus, the game has begun to finally make some bit of sense to me. And it looks like there is a great game beneath all that Japanese. I've never beaten this game, but I think it may be high on my list when the translation is finished.

Symphonia: Amazing. I loved the series' first take on bringing the battle system to 3D. It plays much like Eternia except on multiple 2D planes, and the EX Skill system added some additional flavor. Star Ocean games had nothing on this, not even SO3. I also greatly enjoyed the atmosphere in this game (has the best one in the series, IMO). Despite being horribly cliche I kinda liked the story and characters, and being even distantly connected to Phantasia was just icing on the cake! Second favorite.

Rebirth: Series fatigue for me started rolling in as early as this title for me, for some reason, even after feeling amazed with Symphonia. Perhaps it was only because by this point I was already overwhelmed by a huge backlog of unplayed games (which is now larger than ever). But I played it anyway when it came out. I can honestly say I did not see what everyone else did in this game, as impressions among the hardcore Tales fanbase were almost universally glowing. I can only attribute this to series fatigue and the fact that I didn't really understand this game ala ToD2. By this point my patience for playing games in a language I don't understand was much thinner than it used to be in 1998-2001. If I am ever able to understand this game, it might be higher on my list. I did actually finish it, unlike ToD2. For now I'd probably put it slightly above Destiny PSX.

Legendia: Kill it with fire. It had some good music, and perhaps a story and cast better than series averages, but the gameplay completely falls flat on its face. I could go on and on, but I'll try to keep this short. The dungeons suck. They start off okay, but every single one ends up being longer than the previous one! Some had some really cool art direction, but that doesn't save it.

Battle system is clunky. Too many palette swapped enemies, all of which fight with the same crappy AI. Almost every battle can be won by mashing the attack button and randomly spamming special attacks. So late in the game enemies have HUGE amounts of HP so the battles drag and drag and drag. For some reason, I also found it much harder to actually follow battles than other games in the series. If Destiny put you to sleep, Legendia will put you in a coma.

I think someone mentioned that Legendia was a game in development just after Eternia, but then it was shelved. Then it was revived and finished. They should have left it on the shelf. It only helped make brand fatigue WORSE.

Too bad such a great localization effort was wasted on this dreck (if you kindly ignore the character quest voice debacle, which wasn't really the fault of the localization sector). Should have been used on Rebirth.

Obviously, this game is at the bottom of my ranking, a quite a few orders of magnitude below Destiny PSX.  It's one of the worst RPGs on the PS2, period.

Abyss: Heavier brand fatigue plus the excitement of it refining on Symphonia's formula made my acceptance of this a bit weird. Hell, they added a feature that I dreamed up that I wished was in Symphonia, and it was added in pretty much EXACTLY as I had envisioned it... officially called Free Run.

I regret to say that I have not finished this game (for some reason), but as of now it still firmly stands as #1 on my favorites list. I've enjoyed the cast more than most other entries in the series, and found it much more interesting, as well as the story as whole (from what I've seen). This combined with Symphonia's cool gameplay at a higher level, it's hard for me to not like it above all the others.

However, it's not completely flawless. Unfortunately, the game engine is based on that horrible Symphonia PS2 port. So (most) loading times are still terrible, the game doesn't run as smooth, and graphics themselves aren't what they could've been had it been coded from the ground up with the PS2 hardware in mind. I'm at least grateful that they optimized the battle engine, as it runs at 60FPS and loads fast. Unfortunately, they had no time to do this from the ground up as they had to meet the 10th anniversary deadline.

I still dream for a Wii port based on the Symphonia GC engine with all the technical issues ironed out, plus perhaps some improvements and additions. Come on Namco, Tales of the Abyss Director's Cut for Wii. (and bring it to the US!)

That said, I have never been a real big fan of the spin-offs/crossovers/side games. Main series all the way.

[Kogahazan]

Tales of Phantasia
The first game of the series I played. I heard about it for a while but in a sea of other SNES games, it didn't catch my attention enough for me to look into it. One day I was reading Nintendo Power and saw an article for Symphonia and the character designs really piqued my interest. Since it was a preview of the game, there was still a times off before it would be released and then Phantasia came out from the back of my mind.

Then: I played DeJap's translation as probably many first-comers to the SNES version have. Looking back, I see how a few things got fudged but it doesn't matter as I have largely forgotten everything but the main ideas of the story. Initially amused at the boat scene, I could tell it was greatly exaggerated. I thought the long range/short range system was weird but I got used to it. I liked the story, as unpolished a translation it was. I loved the music, especially The Second Act, Take Up the Cross, Fighting of the Spirit, Perverse Religion, and Be Absentminded.

As I got more into the series, I found out about the PS1 remake. I also found out about this site's translation efforts for it so I've been putting off playing it. I got to Undine's Cavern, but that's where I stop. I will restart the game once the translation is done. I actually didn't like the PS1 version's music remixes as much. I still think they're pretty good, but it's just the old SNES synths that win me over.

The GBA version... played the Japanese version and it was bleh. The battles were slower than I remember the PS1 version being, but I still finished it for some odd reason. I played mostly to see Chester's new TP-consuming skills and Suzu. Then the American release came out and I felt little incentive to play. I originally wanted to play it so I could see the story, but then hearing about Kangaroo, the dub, and many other localization shortcuts, I decided not to.

Now: A bit glad the LR/SR stuff is gone (although there's a option in the GBA version for it). One of my favorites in the series and I'm thinking what a 3D, Abyss-style makeover could do for it.

Tales of Destiny
The third game in the series I played, after Symphonia.

Then: I played it for a little and I thought to myself, "this is Tales, alright..." but it felt bland. I ended up stopping around the time you get Philia. I started going into the other games and then started playing Kaji's ND3 patch. I gained an appreciation for the characters and then went back and it felt a bit better to play through it. I ended up liking the characters and a bit of the music.

With the remake, I played through a bit and I loved how fast it was. But I didn't get very far (Barely started looking for Chelsea at the beginning o_O) because of my backlog of games. Sort of glad I did hold off now that there's the Director's Cut coming out. Same thing happened with me and Okami. I got a good chunk done on the PS2 but stopped and now I have no interest in playing more because of the Wii port.

Now: I actually like this a bit better than Eternia, in terms of my attachment to the characters. Eternia definitely has a better battle system.

Tales of Eternia
Played after I played Destiny.

Then: THIS DUB. THIS DUB. THIS DUB. THIS DUB. THIS DUB. Hated the dub at first, but I eventually got used to it. The series battle system was really well revised and I liked it. I ended up playing to Volt's Cavern but started over to get stuff I missed.

Now: Still in my backlog of games, but it's not getting done any time soon. I liked it for the battle system alone.

Tales of Destiny 2
The reason I got my PS2 modded. I played this after Eternia.

Then: What got me was the battle system. It was a lot of fun how fast it was and it was around this time I noticed the series gives you at least two people in your first battles and if not, teams you up soon after. My friends and I got a few laughs out of the "Escape Gage." I haven't finished this either, but now the patch gives me reason to pick it up again.

Now: Still a very enjoyable game and I'll wait as long as it takes for the patch.

Tales of Symphonia
Now that I think about it, I've played the series in almost chronological release order except playing Symphonia before Destiny, after Phantasia.

Then: I totally loved the characters and a bit of the music, and still do. The localization was very smooth and natural, and the voice acting was well done. I liked the variety in the characters' battle styles and the pace of the game. I also happened to win one of those packs of trading cards that Nintendo Power was giving out in a contest. Colette, Raine, and Regal, Set 1 of 3. I keep it in the same box as the game.

Now: One of my favorite Tales, as with many other Americans. It took me a while, but I finished my third and final playthrough to get everything. I was thinking about trying to get my party to lvl 250 since I was on a x10 exp playthrough, but it was just too much. Settled for getting everyone's lvl 100 titles and getting a few lvls past 100. Probably not going back, but still hold fond memories of it.

Tales of Rebirth
Played after Destiny 2.

Then: It felt like more of Destiny 2 goodness, plus two more lines. Still don't completely understand the game and haven't finished it, but I like what I have played so far. Plus Nobuyuki Hiyama (pre-Twilight Princess voice of adult Link, among other roles) and his "KUREAAAAA" make the game for me.

Now: I still haven't finished it. Someday... someday...

Quick blurbs about Legendia and Abyss since they are somewhat recent.

Legendia, played, beat. Liked the story, didn't like all of it at first but the dub grew on me, battle system actually (no lie) almost put me to sleep one lazy summer afternoon.

Abyss, played, didn't beat. Love whenever Kosuke Fujishima does character design, don't like Luke's whiny dub voice but Johnny Young Bosch as Guy is win, battle system is superb, will beat someday...

[UraRenge]

Phantasia
3rd one I played.

Then:  First time through, I thought it was pretty damn good.  Sure, it was much clunkier than what I was used to, but I still liked it.

Now:  I love the story and characters, but the battle system......blegh.

Destiny
4th one I played

Then:  Well, it really to me was just an easier version of Phantasia with a weaker story.

Now:  The new PS2 version raises it to god-level status.  Battles are actually HARD (and fun!).  I will say, however, that there's no way I'm paying for the Director's Cut.  I'm gonna download and burn that one.  Screw you, Namco!  I already forked over 60 bucks for your game!  I'm not gonna give you another 60 for the same damn thing, except that this time it's from Leon's point of view (which means that it may only be half as long)!  You already screwed me over with Xenosaga Episode II!  Ya think I'm gonna let it happen again?!

Eternia
5th one I played

Then:  Loved the battle system.  Loved it like a tentacle monster loves a female ninja.  As for the story, it was above average.  It seems like they took it, combined it with Phantasia, and that's how they came up with Symphonia's story.  One negative, which is of course, the voices.  Seriously, did they just go up to the game testers and say "Hey, as long as you guys are here......"

Now:  Still play it on my emulator every now and then.  This one really deserves a PS2 remake.  I just hope that if they do remake it, they use the Reid from TotA, as that voice was awesome.

Destiny 2
2nd one I played

Then:  After recieving multiple gamegasms from the experience of playing Symphonia, I decided to check out others in the series.  I saw some MADs of this game, it looked good.  I already had experience in playing RPGs that were in Japanese, so I ordered it off Play-Asia.  I found it stunning, all of it.

Now:  It EASILY is still my favorite in the series.  Story, battle system, I love it all.  The only negative is that I now need to use self-control to keep myself from beating my 2nd playthrough (and the God Egg just appeared too!) until Cless lets out the patch, so that I won't have to spend as much at the Grade Shop.

I'll do the rest later.

[LJkAze]

I am going by order in accord to what I enjoy more

Tales of phantasia 10/10
I never started playing game since I was around 12, well I did play a little but not rpg, and I did not have computer. When I finally got my computer my friend gave me this program and that was the first time I heard about ZSNES emulator. And he had Megaman X and FF4, one day I search online to find more rom when I got my internet I found TOP so I decide to check it out. And WOW I played and played and played. Truly amazing game, once I beat it I was sad that the game was over, so I started a new file and play again . Was really epic game that time then I heard or saw screen shot of the PS1 one, WOW major improvement. But took me 3year to find the rom. So yea it sucked a lot of my time in the years and now still playing it but on the PSP ^_^.

Tales of Eternia(Tales of destiny II) 9.9/10
Nothing I could really say bad about this game because this game was too awesome. When it first came out on the PS, I am like tales of eternia? and then I was thinking tales of phantasia so I told my friend to buy it. The story, game play, mini-game, and the amount of stuff you can do in this game was truly a fun game. Also it was MULTI-PLAYER!!!!!, though this game does look and play better this is 2nd to my favorite.

Tales of Destiny 2 9.9/10
Stupid US messed up the name of TOD2 with TOE, well I wasn't really messed up since me and friend played the Japaneses first , anyways I just love this game and the Teir1,2,3 Hi-ouji. Hours of fun, sequel to Tales of destiny 1. And more story about dycroft and the swordians.

Tales of rebirth 9.8/10
All I can say just awesome, to me this game is very hard even though I was playing with friend. But I like the combos and damage and the 3 line linear battle system. Also I think

Tales of Destiny 1 and Remake 9.5/10
I never heard about this game until we got the swordian summon in Tales of eternia. I was like all hype about it because every character uses sword. I never played this game until I played after I beat TOS. Yea the game does seem boring and using the old chibi model, but I enjoy this game as much, yes they may be a lot of bad thing or even glitches I think in this game but I still like it better then TOS. As for the remake I never really played much but would love to in the future.

Tales of Symphonia 8/10
Really nothing to say much about this game, it was the first 3d tales ever, it follow the aselian time line, and it the successor to TOP. To me the game fun and I enjoy it but there are of stuff they could of done better with it. I wont say anymore, I might change my mind once I played the PS2 one but for now that all I can say.

Tales of the abyss 8/10
Not really going to say much about this game, never put much time into this game.

Tales of Legendia 5/10
Very disappointed 

[Magicpaint]

Tales of Phantasia:
Still a classic. The music's great, characters are still charming and battle system is fun as long as you can easily adjust to its pace. It's a great game and a very important one, too. My feelings haven't changed much since then. 8.5/10

Tales of Destiny:
Felt too basic at the time; didn't build upon Phantasia much, and was too easy. The story and characters were good though, but dungeon design was quite annoying towards the end and random battles make me pull my hair out. 7/10

Now: With the remake, this is now one of my favourite games in the series. A-LMBS is insanely addictive, but music took a nosedive. 8.5/10

Tales of Eternia:
Added so much worthwhile stuff, it was ridiculous. Writing was poor, but characters were nice... but music was completely forgettable. Still a great game though, ushered in the modern era for the series. Still as good and enjoyable as ever. 8.5/10

Tales of Destiny 2:
Went all blazing with hi-ougis. I was shocked how I could use one less than 10 hrs in. battle system was insanely fast that at first it was hard to keep up. Story was retarded, but characters were great. Music was nice. 8.5/10

Tales of Symphonia:
For a 3D effort, I thought it was decent. But multi-line system wasn't quite as good as I hoped. Story and characters were meh but replay value was awesome! Music was entirely forgettable, but the game was long and beefy. 8.5/10

Tales of Rebirth:
Battle system was heaven. Still my favourite one in the series. Story was terrible but characters were great (typical for the series eh?). Music was nice and I love replaying this more than any other titles in the series. 9.0/10

Tales of Legendia:
Still don't understand the hate. Well I do gameplay-wise since the battle system and dungeon designs are really basic/flat, but I was still hooked because it was good enough to keep me playing anyway. Story was nice and characters were fantastic. Music was omg awesome. Just a lovely experience all round. 8.5/10

Tales of the Abyss:
Love, love, love. My favourite along with Rebirth. Battle system was an improvement from Symphonia and story + characters were really awesome. There are pacing issues here and there and the game tends to drag a bit, but overall, thoroughly engaging. Love! 9.0/10

Tales of the Tempest:
This is Tales of minus several staples. It lacks so much, it isn't even funny. yet i was still compelled to finish it -- maybe because it was incredibly short. Worst in the series, but still a little fun I guess. 6/10

[LenaAndreia]

 I've only played Phantasia, Destiny, and Symphonia. Odd for someone who comes around here, eh? A lot of this has to do with me just not having time for games lately.

 Sooo...

 Phantasia is and always will be pure joy. I played that game on ZSNES about 8 years ago, and fell in love with it. To this day I believe that it could have seriously given FF3 or even Chrono Trigger a run for their money if Namco had released it here. The PSX version--even more joy. It fixed all of the things I had complained about in the original battle system-wise, and is just more fun to play, which is a good thing. I'm really looking forward to playing it in English. ^^ The treatment it got in the GBA version was criminal, but it is a bit trippy going to Walmart and like, seeing a Tales of Phantasia box there. Never would have expected it. LOL 9/10

 Destiny was actually the first Tales game I played. My friend had it sitting around, and I remembered reading a magazine article completely bashing the game. Being the curious person that I am, I wanted to see just how crappy the game was. I played it, and to my surprised realized that it doesn't suck. I seriously fell in love with it, despite its flaws. That being said--I never was able to beat the game as my friend needed it back, and I got stuck on that effing FATE password thing. This was before my internet savy days, so I never successfully passed it. My file still sits waiting to be beaten on my memory card, should I ever be able to find a USA version of the game again. (Ironically, I own the Japanese version.)

I want to play the remake really bad--it's a shame that Namco probably won't toss it stateside. 8/10

 ...le sigh.

 And of course there's Symphonia. It was good stuff even if my first play through was interrupted by two hurricanes (each followed with a week-long blackout). I enjoyed Symphonia's battle system and liked the story for the most part, though I think that Collete gave Rinoa a serious run for her money on my "must die" list. The part of the game where she was mute was so wonderful that I actually screamed out in protest when she got her voice back. 8/10

[justin3009]

I've basically played every Tales of game except TODR Rebirth Legendia and Destiny 2.

Phantasia - I never actually played it that much but I always watched my bro play it.  I was thrilled too see how good of a game it actually was.  It kinda felt like I was playing it because we both got psyched up playing and fighting Dhaos etc..

Destiny - I remember people saying that it was so bad and it was the worst but ends up being it was one of the best imo.  The battle system was kinda slow but it was very much enjoyable.  I loved every moment of it.  Except the FATE password

Eternia - Perfected Battle system and the add-on of Hi-ougis was just simply amazing.  No words could describe how awesome it was.  Truly one of the best games in the series.

Symphonia - Loved it.  Just loved it.  Battle system got kinda annoying when you were trapped in corners but overall it was very nice.  Graphics were awesome for a first 3D game, and more hi-ougis!  Not bad VA's either but meh.

Abyss - Lots and LOTS of hi-ougis and amazing artwork.  VA's were better this time around, but Asch and luke sure did say "SHUT UP!" alot.  Probably in the 100's -cough-  Pretty interesting storyline, actually challenging on the first playthrough if you hvae no clue what your doing.

Etc..

[FSLink]

Phantasia:

Then: Was hyped for Symphonia, was hunting down the previous games to get a taste of the series before Symphonia was released...
Found the Dejap rom, fell in love with the music, gameplay, characters..

Now: SFC version is almost unplayable for me....not because of the battle system, I don't mind the awkward controls...but the encounter rate...ugh. I love the PSX and PSP versions...and I try to forget the GBA English version ever happened.
Looking forward to the patch...and waiting for a 3D Abyss-like remake. Seeing Arche's and Chester's 3D Models in Radiant Mythology makes me want it more. ;_;

Destiny:

Then: Found shortly after Phantasia with Eternia. I played Eternia first, but I preferred Destiny because of the music and characters. Though once I got into Eternia more and the battle system become awesome (Summons, hi ougis...) I preferred Eternia more. The remake's just wonderful...

Now: Like Eternia more, but the Destiny remake blows everything out of the water. >_>

Eternia:

See Destiny

Destiny 2:

Then: Modded my PS2 and this became my first imported game. Battle system was really well done, though the story sucked. >_>

Now: Same opinion really.

Symphonia:

Then: Loved it...graphics were awesome, English voice acting pretty decent.
I won 2 out of 3 of the card sets that were being given away on the Tales forums, though I only received one of them. Oh well...*keeps Lloyd, Presea, and Kratos cards in the old Pokemon cards binder*

Now: Eh....I wish they could have done more with Lloyd, he just ripped off all of Reid's moves. And I wish the PS2 version's framerate didn't suck so much. Makes going through some of the tedious dungeons worse, because the battles aren't as fun as they are on the GC version.

Rebirth:

Then: Me: "wtf am I doing? D:"

Now: I finally understand the battle system and the cooking system, ougi system, etc pretty well, and it's shaping up to be my favorite Tales game. >_> Unlike Abyss, Legendia, and Symphonia (and to a lesser extent, Destiny remake because of the Director's Cut), it feels like a complete game.

Legendia:

Then: Awesome localization, not so awesome battle system. I remember being confused when there wasn't multi player.

Awesome localization, not so awesome battle system.

Now: I'm fine with the battle system now, the dungeons are just tedious though. >_> They should really use the composer for future Tales games, and use this 3D engine as well (though maybe make the characters full sized instead).

Abyss:

Then: FOFs = <3, fantastic character development...
Though wtf@loading times. D:
Great game overall, Free Run's always a blast.

Now: They should have delayed the game to fix some issues and add stuff. >_>
I guess the 10th anniversary was important...but....eh.

[spaceworlder]

I guess I'll join in on the fun...

Phantasia: I really loved the SNES version back when I played it. The battle system is a bit crude by modern standards, but I still consider Phantasia to be my second favorite SNES RPG, with my first favorite being Final Fantasy III. The overall plot, pacing, and amount of sidequests are better than any other Tales game. The GBA version was a major disappointment, but I'm looking forward to playing the PSX one. (10/10)

Then: Liked it.
Now: Still Like It.

Destiny: Like many people, this was my first Tales game. I was never too fond of Destiny. In retrospect, it severely lacked the balance Phantasia had (Melee attacker leading the charge, augmented with long-range support from healers and magic users), and the Swordian system discouraged weapon variety. My experience with Destiny kept me away from Symphonia for quite some time. Oh, and the soundtrack was a bunch of awful background noise. (5/10)

Then: Meh.
Now: Blegh!

Eternia: The core gameplay is great, but the storyline and world is forgettable. As a matter of fact, I've forgotten most of it. That final boss battle was really awesome, though. (7/10)

Then: Great battle system.
Now: What was the story about, again?

Symphonia: The storyline was an improvement over Eternia, as I can actually recall 99% of it. Some parts were cringe-inducing, but the Phantasia connections made for a nice twist. The battle system brought a nice 3D twist on Eternia's, but it has since become dated with the introduction of Abyss' Free Run system. Still an all around solid game, though. (8/10)

Then: Great food for my starving Gamecube.
Now: Would rather play Abyss.

Abyss: Abyss came very close to perfection, which I guess is better than failure. But it's simply irritating for a game to be so awesome and yet so incredibly flawed at the same time. For once, we had a Tales game with a battle system and story that were both compelling. Unfortunately, that game had to be marred with ridiculous load times and padded with pointless end-game town hopping. Is it so hard to give the player more dungeons and bosses? I mean, really? (9/10)

Then & Now: Great game with tragic flaws.

[Magicpaint]

Is it so hard to give the player more dungeons and bosses? I mean, really? (9/10)

I think part of it probably had to do with the fact that it was kinda rushed to coincide with ToP SFC's release or maybe it was just strictly for budget reasons. The size of Abyss' world feels too small compared to the size of the storyline -- if that makes sense...

I'm hoping for a 'remake' (on Wii?) in the way ToP PSX was over the SFC version, while fixing all those technical issues... it would be awesome.

[Kajitani-Eizan]

it would have helped if they just pulled a xenogears disc 2, perhaps with the option to pause the story at any time to go around exploring, sidequesting, etc.

[Cless Aileron]

I'm really feeling in a different mood now.  Why?  Well, look at a certain place to know why.  This is really getting me to just mention what I have been doing with Legendia and Abyss when I manage to spend time replaying them, while I'll go ahead and put my "Then" for those two games.  Besides, everyone else did the Then and Now for those games .  Also, I don't give a rat's butt what some idiot on GameFAQs thinks about my screwed up mind.

Please remember that the "What's happening right now" may change after I completed them.

Tales of Legendia
Then:  I had a hard time admitting that I didn't hate this game.  I didn't think the battle system was that bad and I didn't give a rat's butt multiplayer wasn't there.  The dungeon were subpar but the story was at least enjoyable, I love the characters. and the music is one of the best in the series.
What's happening right now:  Well, I'm feeling more honest in saying I'm still liking it.  I still like the characters and the story is enjoyable.  I still find the battles fun, believe it or not.

Tales of the Abyss
Then:  Seriously, I had a whole topic about confessing what I really thought.  No need to say things here (despite how awkward my confession sounded).
What's happening right now:  Okay, I still think Tales of the Abyss is overrated.  The graphics are still below average, music still worst in the series, I'm still seeing a weak story in the game right now.  Oh yeah, I still hate long hair Luke.  However, the cast is at least showing something to me that might think of them as merely average.  At least short hair Luke is at least getting a good start for me.  I just hope I don't see him as an awful angst character again, since that's what I'm really worried about.  That's pretty much what I have to say.