Tales of Eternia Remastered
Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $29.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
Sometimes it feels like Bandai Namco is throwing darts at a wall filled with various Tales games when it comes to selecting what title to target next for their “Tales Remastered Project.” Over the past two years we’ve seen Tales of Graces f, Tales of Xillia, and Tales of Berseria all remastered and now the company has chosen to go the furthest back they’ve ever gone with their project, all the way to the PlayStation 1 game Tales of Eternia. Not only is it a bit of an odd choice given its age, but also the fact that it was already ported once to the PSP back in 2006 compared to other titles that remain locked onto certain platforms or completely inaccessible to modern audiences. That being said, Tales of Eternia always had a decent following back when it was released, hyped up with an anime and even a short lived MMO, so now that it is getting a full remaster with Tales of Eternia Remastered, is the third time the charm?
Story
For as long as anyone can remember in history, the two planets of Inferia and Celestia have been held in perfect balance, one above the other, through the mystical Orbus Barrier that keeps the realms isolated but thriving. However one day a strange girl comes crashing down from the heavens into the small village of Rasheans where childhood friends Reid Hershel and Farah Oersted track her down and find out that her name is Meredy and not only is she accompanied by a cute little squirrel-like being known as Quickie, they also cannot understand a single word she says. With her unusual appearance, strange clothing, and triggering an attack by someone seemingly pursuing Meredy, the village elder forces Meredy to leave the village at once, with Farah vowing to help protect the innocent girl and Reid tagging along since he can’t let a childhood friend go off alone.
In an effort to understand what Meredy is saying, they track down a former friend turned scholar named Keele who figures out that she is speaking entirely in the language of magic, or at least the type of magical chants that Craymal Mage’s use on Inferia. After further pursuit of knowledge, the group manages to finally uncover a way to understand what Meredy is saying and allows communication between the group, but what Meredy has to reveal is far from good news despite the fact that the cheerful girl can finally interact with at least two of her fast friends. She informs the group that the gap between Celestia and Inferia is closing at a rapid pace called the “Grand Fall” and if something isn’t done it will result in both planets colliding with one another and annihilating everyone.
With Meredy only knowing that gathering the Great Craymal elements will help aid their cause, such as Undine, Sylph, Gnome, and others, the party begins to seek out these elementals before attempting to turn to a higher power, only to find out that the long held hatred for the Celestian’s by those down on Inferia is far stronger than they could have ever expected and the nobility of a nation is far more obsessed with their own pomp and circumstance than to declare an emergency. What starts out as a request for assistance turns into an execution attempt followed by a declaration of war on the planet of Celestia, saying that Inferia will find a way to invade the world above to put a stop to their plans, leaving Reid, Farah, and Meredy left scrambling to find the Grand Craymal’s first and outrun the invasion plan of the misguided fools.
Tales of Eternia Remastered‘s overarching narrative won’t be too surprising for many outside of a few late game twists and some revelations about Reid that have been hinted at since he first met Meredy, but other than that this is a classic type of storytelling about a group of unlikely heroes gathering up strength with the elements to overcome the great danger that is about to doom the worlds. Where the game’s narrative truly shines is with the characters and their interactions as Reid, Farah, Meredy, and to a lesser extent Keele all have their own little quirks and character arcs that see them develop throughout the course of the storyline. A lot of this is helped through skits that happen whenever the player camps out at a campfire or somewhere similar as it helps showcase elements of the characters that players otherwise would never see in the general storyline. That and Meredy is an absolutely adorable character through and through with her sheer positivity.
One unfortunate element about the game being so focused on the four primary characters that players are introduced to in the first few hours is that the other party members that eventually join the player’s cast of characters feel like they are joining an already established friend group and are often shuffled off to the side or made to feel less important. This is likely still an issue due to the game’s age but seeing the likes of Chat and Max still be given the same type of backseat treatment, especially since Chat has a lot of potential as being the oddball loner of a pirate captain, is a disappointment and it would have been nice to see at least a little extra touch-ups to make their inclusion feel more important beyond their narrative uses.
Gameplay
One of the first things that players will be able to notice in Tales of Eternia Remastered is that it does not feature the “Grade Shop” that most recent remasters have included which allow for various bonuses to stat growth, item count, etc. to be triggered right away. Instead, since the game seems to have come out before that system, these mechanics have been relegated to the option menu instead. This means that, should players prefer, they can activate various quality of life features to help make the game easier or less troublesome at times should they wish. These quality of life options include the ability to boost the maximum item carry limit, have “always run” triggered, boost the amount of XP, gald, item drop rate, and even weapon mastery learned per fight, making sure players won’t have to worry about needlessly grinding out a dungeon if they find themselves underleveled. In fact, there is even the option to turn off random encounters entirely to make backtracking through a dungeon or other locations, especially in the latter half of the game, far more tolerable than having to deal with random encounters.
Combat in Tales of Eternia Remastered is similar to what many fans of the franchise are familiar with but rather than being able to run around an open area, the fights happen entirely on a single 2D line. Here, the player’s controlled character and their party, will do battle against whatever enemy they come across and use standard attacks and Artes to finish foes off. Reid and Farah serve as the primary frontline fighters while Keele and Meredy are spellcasters, though it is worth noting that outside of large-scale spells and homing attacks, some magical strikes are quite difficult to hit, especially in the middle of fast flowing action that can send an enemy up into the air or flying backwards out of range.
Chat is another solid melee based fighter while Max makes use of his elemental skills through gunfire at a range, but since both of these characters arrive far later than the primary cast, players will likely already have developed a feel for the party dynamics and unlocked many skills with their primary team by then, unless of course players want to enjoy Chat’s unusual fighting style a bit over Reid. Reid himself is also a bit of an oddball as he can wield all manner of melee weapons such as daggers, swords, axes, spears, etc. that have slightly different stats, swing speeds, and reach, but ultimately come down to whatever players feel is best.
It is also nice to note that the game now features objective markers for not only primary missions and their destinations but also markers showing side-quests and timed missions that players can undertake. These were not available in the original and do wonders to help keep players moving through the world at a solid pace, especially when it comes to side-quests. That being said, exploring the open world map is a bit bland outside of ship travel, with the only exception being the Unnamed Soldiers that reward the player with combat strategies or unmarked fields with items inside.
The title also features a rather odd inclusion of numerous mini-games ranging from rafting down a river and avoiding obstacles, kicking a ball around at opponents, and more. These mini-games are incredibly strange to say the least and also don’t handle the best, feeling like a weird afterthought even though they were in the original game to begin with. Though this is likely due to the dated design of a game well over two decades old, trying to help pad the length with a few extra tidbits here and there even if they aren’t the best.
Audio & Visuals
Tales of Eternia Remastered has been given another once-over to help improv the smoothness and quality of the sprite-work from the 2006 PSP release and it shows, especially since players can choose to swap between the remastered visuals and the original visuals at any time in the options menu. The character sprites and enemy sprites are well handled and most locations look quite impressive without feeling repetitive. The open world is a bit of a drag but thankfully the skits more than make up for it as they provide the cleanest looking visuals for each character talking in the skit.
As for the game’s voice work it is interesting to note that not only does it appear that Bandai Namco has cleaned up the localization compared to the original, they have also provided a better English voice cast to match the characters. Those who prefer the Japanese dub will still find it right there and ready to access at any time. The background music is fitting for the genre but it must be said that the game makes excellent use of the opening theme song by using it throughout important story moments as well.
Overall
Of the many Tales games that fans were hoping to get a remaster of, Tales of Eternia likely wasn’t at the top of most lists but that doesn’t stop this from being a great story with a lovable main cast that stands the test of time, even if some of the characters get side-lined a bit. With improved quality of life features to help avoid grinding and backtracking issues and the same fast-paced combat fans are familiar with, albeit on a 2D plane, Tales of Eternia Remastered is a great nostalgic RPG even if its age remains a powerful factor despite the team’s best efforts.
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