A look back at: Tales of Destiny

Well, I'm a bit slow with the Tales series, only really doing both this and Phantasia. No real major things to note overall though, both series are quite story-driven with an interesting combat system.

So Tales of Destiny, the first game for the PSX and the first Tales game actually released outside of Japan (Phantasia had a remake later but it sucks). Destiny honestly felt a lot easier to play than Phantasia, mostly because of my former experience with Phantasia coupled with the much easier to use Playstation controls. And in this game, there's more physical fighters than just the main character in this game. The concept of Swordians is pretty good, although having them talk is pretty awkward if you ask me. At least we get to see what they're capable of. Dymlos sucks magic-wise, but good physically, while Clemente is the exact opposite. Atwight and Igentos are both interesting in their own ways, while your short-lived time using Leon as a character reveals that the Earth Swordian Chaltier is also somewhat interesting. To be frank, I'd rather have the conversations between the humans rather than the Swordian interactions. Sure, at least they provide some sense for the plot, especially at the very end of the game.

There's always the character archetypes to look out for. Stahn is somehow considered the "idiot hero" and while he may be quite dumb at times, he's not the dumbest protagonist I've seen. Wain from Lufia: The Legend Returns outright eclipses him in idiocy. In this game, Stahn's main idiotic trait is honestly just being a heavy sleeper. Then you have characters like Leon, who pretty much is a fanservice character by how he looks and how badass he is. That pretty much sums him up. Other characters, well, Rutee's growing on Stahn is pretty lame, and I'm not too keen on Garr as a character overall. Mary is somewhat interesting by having amnesia, then remembering who she was the moment you visit a town. The plot is about the antics of thieves at first, which Stahn joins and Leon stops*, then having to do dirty work with Leon until that's finished and we finally beat Lydon. Only then do things start to get apocalyptic, former bosses and acquaintances become enemies while a whole slew of optional content, including the very cryptic Tower of Druaga minigame, show up. As interesting as all this is, I really can't help saying this isn't anything too spectacular. It does a good job being a decent RPG, and that's basically that. It does have quite a lot going for it though, so that's why it's still recommended to give it one go.

*Okay if you are cheating or overleveled somehow you can have Stahn, Mary, and Rutee beat Leon, which actually unlocks a sort of bad ending, which is just the thieves doing their thing. It's kind of lame.