Tales of the Abyss (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

After Tales of Symphonia, the most successful game in the series so far, Team Symphonia’s next project ended up being Tales of the Abyss. Those that played Tales of Symphonia will see a lot of similarity between that game and this. Tales of the Abyss sees you take the role of 17-year-old Luke fon Fabre, the heir to the Kingdom of Kimlasca. Luke was kidnapped seven years prior to the game by the kingdom’s enemy, the Malkuth Empire, and completely lost his memory. Confined to the manor of his family for his own safety, he is thrown into a huge conflict when a mysterious woman breaks into his home one day.

It is the same format as previous games in the series; you move from town-to-town over a world map, clearing dungeons as you go. You can see enemies on the field map, choosing to engage or avoid them. If an enemy does spot you, it will attempt to run and force a battle situation. The battle party can consist of up to four characters, with you controlling one of them, although commands can also be issued to the computer-controlled allies through a menu. Typical battle moves apply, such as attacking, defending and using special skills. These skills and spells can be equipped to characters to aid them in battles, as well as acquire items that grant statistical bonuses when levelling-up. Most notably, the Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System resembles previous games, but Abyss was the first game in the series to introduce Free Run, which, by holding a button, lets the player run in any direction on the battlefield, rather than in a straight line only. Attacking enemies is still done in a straight line, however.

New to the game’s battle system are Fields of Fonons. When an elemental arte or spell is used, it will create a circle on the ground, known as a Field of Fonon. Artes and spells can be turned into even more powerful attacks when performed on a ‘FoF’ circle. This is known as a FoF Change, and is something you will become very familiar with, especially when taking down stronger foes. High level spells create fully completed FoFs, but lesser spells make incomplete circles. Depending on the level of the spell, you will need to cast artes of the same element a few times in the same area to create fully completed FoFs. Only then can you perform your more powerful elemental attack. Incomplete FoFs are useless until later in the game. Enemies even have the ability to use and create FoF circles.

Characters also have powerful skills known as Mystic Artes. These can only be used when a character enters Over Limit mode, after their OVL bar fills up. By making combos and performing critical hits, the bar will raise and you can unleash the fury with your special move. Boss characters also have Mystic Artes.

There are many features that make a return in Tales of the Abyss. At the end of each battle, you are awarded ‘Grade.’ How the battle was just played will determine how much Grade is received. Getting large combos or defeating enemies quickly nets you plenty, whereas having your party members knocked out or being inflicted with negative status effects decreases it. Grade is used at the end of the game to buy bonuses that can be used in the next play-through.

Cooking also makes its comeback. As you progress through the game, recipes and ingredients can be collected that can craft food for use during and after battles. These meals have different effects, such as restoring HP or curing status ailments. Cooking often will increase your cooking skill rank and even earn you new titles. Titles are another returning part of the series and can be gained in a number of different ways, including getting a character to a certain level, completing specific side quests or the aforementioned cooking system. Just like in Tales of Symphonia, titles can earn you stat bonuses and also provide new costumes.

The Sorcerer’s Ring has the same function as before, whereby it can perform a number of different abilities on the field. Your friendly little buddy, Mieu, will wear the ring to perform the various abilities learned for it as you explore the dungeons. You can use the ring as a means of activating switches via Mieu Fire, break objects with Mieu Attack, or reach new heights by using Mieu Wings. It is an important item that you will use a lot to solve the game’s puzzles.

In-between fully-voiced scenes, skits also play out at various points in the adventure. These are short conversations that feature anime portraits of the characters taking part in the skit, and usually bring out their humorous side and lighten the tone of the story. The portraits are animated, and will shake or move around the screen depending on what is happening. Some skits are plot-related, but some can only be seen through optional side events.

The 3DS allows for new features not possible in the original. First of all, the widescreen aspect ratio on the top screen means you can see more, making event scenes and overworld areas more cinematic, and also provides more room in battles. The touch screen lets you use special moves and cooking shortcuts, making it easier to perform these actions. Obviously 3D output is now added to give impact to event and battle scenes, and provides a better sense of the world in field maps. A mini map is displayed on the touch screen while on the field, resulting in batter pacing. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the game is that the load times have been reduced considerably. Many complained about the long load times of the PS2 version, some finding it unplayable and stopping playing altogether. Thankfully, being on a 3DS game card means you don’t have to worry about waiting forever for new screens to load anymore.

Unfortunately, the multiplayer co-op battles have been removed in this version of the game, and there are no additional online or SpotPass features. However, this is very minor and should have no effect on those looking for a quality RPG to go with their Nintendo 3DS.