#22

Tales of the Abyss (Originally released in 2006 on the PS2.)

The Tales series usually boasts some of the best fighting you will find in a rpg. Tales of the Abyss follows this tradition and adds a 3D element to the action style combat. In a Tales game, you enter combat like any other rpg, but these games give you the ability to roam freely on the combat map with a character of your liking. In older games you could only move left and right on the map, but in Abyss they made it north and south to make it much more open and spacious.

Tales games provide you with unique characters, all of which have skills they can learn through combat experience. These skills are often powerful and very gorgeous when performed. Abyss does no shy away from this as most of the top end skills are like a small cut scene of action.

Abyss has a character I can't help to feel for. The main character Luke is such a deep and interesting character to me. I feel like in some ways me and him are so very much alike. The game starts out with Luke being this overly obnoxious, selfish, and supremely ignorant to much of the world and its activities. In short, Luke is a character the game wants you to despise. He is the son of some noble and acts like a spoiled child most of the time. He thinks he is entitled to everything and does not feel the need to put any effort to get anything he wants. His naivety is taken advantage of and he causes a horrible massacre to befall helpless people because of it. During the game, his friends leave him because they feel he is too much of a burden for them to deal with. He betrays their trust and Luke is stuck dealing with the burden of what his actions did. Eventually Luke grows up and tries his hardest to re-earn the trust of his friends. Luke is one of the best examples of character development I have seen in a rpg. You start hating this character, then you sympathise him because he is a naive fool, then you feel happy for him when he goes out of his way to better himself. Tales hit that part of the game right on the head.

The Tales series staples are all found in this game. You can cook, watch skits, find costumes, and collect titles. Fighting is the real strong point of the game, though. I can fight for hours and its always something different because everyone has different skills, so you can find who you are most comfortable fighting with and play around with all the abilities they can use. Moves are assigned by buttons and you have plenty of moves to assign. You get four slots for your moves, so the space is limited, but you can pick and choose what goes where and with so many abilities to choose from, you can create something all to yourself and your play style.

Tales of the Abyss is one of the better Tales games I have played. It brings everything you enjoy from the series and personifies it. Every part of the game is fun and enjoyable and before you know it you are reaching the end of the game. The atmosphere in the game ranges from funny moments to very somber situations. It handles all of the very well and its a favorite of mine. I throw it up there along with all of those old SNES classics. A classic in the middle ages of RPGs. It's that good.