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Tales of Legendia

One of the top selling points for Namco-Bandai’s latest RPG masterpiece is that it is supposed to be “no ordinary action RPG, but one with a battle system build using technology from the Soul Calibur fighting game series.” That’s enough to make you lick your lips in anticipation, isn’t it? But if you pick up Tales of Legendia, expecting eye-popping 3D weapons-based fighting in destructible-environment 3D fighting stages, well… think again. While there may be some shared code between the Soul Calibur system and Tales of Legendia’s X-LiMBS combat engine, the two games’ battle systems are markedly different. As long as you enter into the game not expecting something Tales of Legendia doesn’t, in fact, deliver, though, you will find a lot to like here.

X-LiMBS stands for crossover linear motion battle system, and the goal of the technology is to make the action RPG feel more like a fighting game. But there’s a world of difference between feeling more like a fighting game and feeling like Soul Calibur. Tales of Legendia’s battles take place on a separate battle stage, similar to the battles in most turn-based RPGs, rather than taking place on the same area where you’re traveling at the time of an encounter. Once you reach the battle stage, you’ll notice that it’s a decidedly 2D, left-to-right battle stage, making the combat system feel more like Street Fighter than Soul Calibur.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The battles are action-packed. The lack of a 3D stage means characters get “stacked” so that with a single punch, three or four foes can be struck at once, however, the fights are fun and quick and addictive. Still, the random encounters come up a bit frequently in places, slowing down exploration to a frustrating degree. While I’m not a big fan of action RPGs, Tales of Legendia has an accessible enough battle system to hold a decent amount of appeal, even for those like me who prefer turn-based battles.

Battle system aside, the game’s second-biggest selling point are the character designs by renowned Japanese manga artist, Kazato Nakazawa, who is best-known to U.S. audiences for his work on the animated sequences in Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1. The character designs are appealing, but compared to Nakazawa-san’s Kill Bill work, it’s an entirely different style of work. Compared to the gritty action style of that film, the look of Tales of Legendia is decidedly on the cute end of the spectrum. Yes, the detail work is fine, especially on the cut-scene close-ups, but outside of that, the game is filled with super-deformed clichés.

For example, when excited, female characters jump up and down on the screen like rag dolls, rather than displaying more realistic body language. That’s not so bad. What’s bad is that one of the main characters, Will, is an older character who takes on a nearly parental role to the other party members and when he scolds over-excited female party members, he, well… he hits them. One could even say he b—-slaps them. The sight of this sort of physical violence against allied female party members is disturbing, to say the least. That Will never raises a similar hand to young male party members, like main character Senel, betrays an unfortunate sexism to the game. Sure, one might argue that the game is a product of a more Japanese cultural mindset and such slap-downs are perhaps not uncommon on that side of the ocean, I think by now videogames are far too global a form of media to use “it’s a Japanese thing” as an excuse. Besides, it’s an insult to all the other games coming out of Japan, which DON’T feature that kind of violence against women in them. Japan is a lot more “with it” and some American critics think, so hopefully Namco-Bandai will get the hint and make Tales of Legendia the last RPG their company ever publishes to display this kind of sexism.

Politics and cultural mores aside, the story behind Tales of Legendia is otherwise quite appealing. The short centers around Senel and his sister, Shirley, who get separated early in the game; Shirley is somewhat of a messianic figure and quickly becomes a pawn of several kidnappers of various motivations, from religious to political to just plain profiteering. Senel’s main focus through much of the game is his desire to rescue his sister. It’s a quest that quickly sweeps other up and drags them along for the ride. However, Senel is his own worst enemy; although he cares deeply for his sister’s well-being, he basically couldn’t care less about anyone else – even “cute girls” who might have the hots for him. His selfish actions consistently lead to Shirley getting recaptured or to him failing to rescue at several turns in the plot.

Tales of Legendia features a huge cast of characters, very few of them painted in black-and-white terms. Someone who kidnaps Shirley could easily become an ally later in the game, for example. With this rich cast of characters, the story is kept dynamic and interesting as Senel learns slowly to deal more kindly with folks who aren’t his sister, in order to gain their willing aid rather than ostracizing them. Certainly, Tales of Legendia isn’t exactly a work of William Shakespeare, but the story overcomes clichés and familiar situations to spin a tale craftily enough to keep gamers interested in what happens next. Add pleasant-enough graphics and competent voice acting to the mix, and you have a solid brew for RPG goodness. It may not be quite in the same league as the best SquareEnix or Atlus have to offer, but it’s not far behind.

However, Tales of Legendia is not without some drawbacks; cutscenes are sometimes to long and too frequent, without enough chances for battles and exploration to balance the game play out. Also, there’s the disturbing element found in so many RPGs of shops that “aren’t open yet,” even after it seems like you’re halfway through the game. Sure, once they open, they’re handy, but why put a shop that isn’t going to be open until you’re 25 hours into a game in the very first city you visit? It’s pointless! Boy, that’s a pet peeve of mine and it’s on full display in Tales of Legendia.

However, in the end, such gripes are minor and do not inordinately distract from the enjoyment factor the game is able to deliver. Slapdowns and sexism aside, and forgiving the fact that the company promised Soul Calibur and delivered Street Fighter in its battle system, the final verdict on Tales of Legendia is that it’s a solid entry and an enjoyable game sure to brighten up shelves in the post-holiday, late winter season. If you can look past its few faults, Tales of Legendia is a solid addition to any RPG lover’s personal library, and one you’re likely to keep even after you’ve beaten it.

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Tags: Tales of Legendia

Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Feb 28th, 2006 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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