Some thoughts after my re-playthrough of ToP PS1.
So, I'm pretty much done with my playthrough of Tales of Phantasia PS1 some days ago. I'll say this right now. I still love it! Now, I will say that before this playthrough, I have been struggling with the idea that I'm a Tales vet that never moved on from Tales of Phantasia.
To get the idea of how that mindset came to be, I have a laundry list of things observing the Tales fanbase and some other perception I got:
*The nostalgia factor. You may know that I've been having this anti-nostalgia mind set that it blinds us into thinking it's better than it really is (I will be glaring at Pokémon Red and Blue here for the sake of the analogy). I felt like my whole thing with Tales of Phantasia was just blind nostalgia.
*Tales of the Abyss's "superiority" (note I'm using that term loosely here). I have said that I was never the biggest fan of Tales of the Abyss. While my 20 year old self was not really fond of it, the current me just thinks it's okay, just that I don't see it as the be all, end all Tales game it's made out to be (however, there are areas I can give it credit where I feel is due at least). Even with that said, I still feel like I'm suppose to acknowledge its godlike status and no Tales before it or after it will ever top it.
*Story and character development being inferior and highly outdated. I tend to see Tales as a series where the fanbase wants deep stories and full fledged character development and that simplistic stories are not worth your time and are as dumb as a Michael Bay movie (back to the above about not wanting to admit Abyss's godlike status). Pretty much, Tales of Phantasia falls into the latter where the characters are seen as bland, lacking character development, and the story isn't deep. Along with the idea of sexism and horrible female character, I even been viewing my adoration for Mint Adnade in such a bad light because of that. (Let's just say discussing this stuff, like elsewhere, was the only way to get all this thoughts sorted out).
*Biggest factor here (and yes, I feel the need to bold the upcoming statement): No one gives a crap about Tales of Phantasia anymore! In fact, I'll probably say people give more of a crap about Tales of Destiny than they do this game (I don't hate you though, Tales of Destiny). Not to mention, "No one wants anymore remakes of Tales of Phantasia! Stop it already! You probably ported/remade it as many times as Square remade Final Fantasy IV!" Yeah, that too.
In a way, I probably stepped into replaying it with a cynical mind, maybe ready to give it a verbal beating for its inferiority. Only thing is...I ended up enjoying it as much as I did back then. It's true. I haven't really grown so cynical that I couldn't enjoy this.
The graphics in the PS1 version still feels as colorful and vivid as when I played it 10 years ago. As for the soundtrack, it's still great hearing these tracks with how fitting they were and greatly composed. I'll choose Tales of Phantasia's soundtrack over Tales of Legendia's soundtrack any day.
The battle system is old, I can say that (Spells freezing the action and all that other stuff). However, I ended up surprised that it really hasn't aged that badly and that I actually still enjoy it (something I can't say about Pokémon Red/Blue, even if you paid me a million dollars to say it). I have noticed my play style certainly has changed, like keeping the Technical Ring on since I had to for manual mode. There really isn't anything I can say about the battle system since, like I said, it's old. I guess it's serviceable but I somehow can still work with it and enjoy it. (Oh, just to say it right now...Groovy Arche. Still a great mini-game.).
For the story, considering I have brought up the whole thing about "simplistic story is a big no" thing, I have to really think about . It probably also comes down to pondering why I don't think of Abyss as highly as so many people do (despite how I'm willing to give credit despite thinking it's not that great). I do want to avoid using the word, "pretentious" because that would mean I'm too much of a dum-dum to see the deep story for the greatness that it is. Maybe it's that notion of, "Entertainment has to always be this thing that makes you think." Despite all that framing I'm doing here, I still love its story. I felt the pacing was good and kept its tempo. Even Edward D. Morrison's quote is something I remember. Maybe it isn't the deepest story but then again, I do feel like someone could come along and go call some so-called deep story as "convoluted" or "pretentious". If I put the story in an analogy, Tales of Phantasia looks like a simple fantasy story like how Star Wars looks like a simple space opera but they somehow woven it into something engaging.
As for the characters, this is a little difficult since I can't really give off some detailed back story or something, where I feel like most of the people want this stuff. Honestly, while it seems like Mint is a female I shouldn't be adoring, I can't hate her. While it feels like I probably should be viewing her as some one dimensional girl that's somehow sexist, I just really see such a sweet, beautiful girl in regards to Mint (Besides, I ended up learning about internalized misogyny, which is sounding like certain fans seem to react to certain female characters...and I let those fans get me falling into that trap). Suzu also falls under the category of lolis I'm willing to admit I like (even if I can admit there are ways that she does feel tacked on. After all, she was just a NPC that serves as a sidequest plot device in the original Super Famicom version). I would say in the case of Suzu being a ninja and her character development, I may feel like it's a case of less is more (though I know that's bound to be shot down hard). I guess there's not much to say really. I do like Cless Alvein for just being the nice hero, Arche Klaine for being an upbeat mage, Klarth for being a cool summoner, and Chester for being a little arrogant. If I put it this way without going into too much details, they do manage to be one cohesive unit.
Now, of course, I did play the Phantasian Productions translation that they finally released, so I am going to write something out about that too. I know everyone else would just scoff at that since Absolute Zero manage to release one first. I have dabbled with it but I didn't really have much interest in playing this translation. Maybe something about me said to continue waiting, even if everyone just brushes it off. I will say Phantasian Productions released it at the right time for me, where I figured really should just replay it if I wanted to get out of that funk of mine. Was waiting those 10, maybe 11 years for it worth it for me? Yes, it was. While the infamous Duke Nukem Forever took as long, if not, longer to come out than Phantasian Productions' Tales of Phantasia translation, Duke Nukem Forever couldn't live up to any hype and just being released is nothing more than a novelty (I have said it was just a mediocre game that couldn't even live up to being an awful game). At least the wait for this was worth it. Saying that, I will say that it definitely felt like a localization that would be done in the modern age. I do sense that no one will care about the fact that Phantasian Productions actually did release their fan translation just because someone else manages to do it (even though that was throughhim's first attempt at translating Japanese material). The only thing I will say is that if that's the case, then maybe the fansubbing community shouldn't have been having so many different subs of one anime. I at least can commend webmaster Cless for sticking with it after all those years and through all those major setbacks. There's also a case that the forums was when I had the most interaction when I was a bigger fan of the Tales series, so there must have been something in me that didn't want to think they'd quit their version, even if someone else already did one. I guess you can say that, "The dream will never die." (While I'm at it, I really should post something similar to this on PP's forums. Besides, I've actually wanting to thank him for choosing me to help beta test the translation. It's sentimental stuff. That's all I'll say. Then again, I think I still have their fansub of the Tales of Phantasia OVA sitting somewhere.)
I may feel some shame for favoring it over something like Abyss. The thing is...I can't hate you, Tales of Phantasia. Besides, you haven't aged that badly (at least it aged better than Pokémon Red/Blue). You aren't the first Tales game I have ever played (that was of course, Tales of Destiny). Even if I'm still having to deal with some of the cynicism I have previously mentioned in regards to this, you still remain my favorite. Yeah, even if I never really moved on from this installment. This PS1 version is certainly the version to play (or at least, a well-done port based around the PS1 version). Even if I feel like I can't be hyped up about the newer Tales, at least Tales of Phantasia still has a place in my heart.
Besides, the only problem I want is figuring out which version of Yume Wa Owaranai is the best. That's going to be as hard as figuring out which version of Sakura Wars' theme song is the best. That and hopefully I finally do convention season in a Cless Alvein costume.
---
Entry originally posted at http://clessaileron.dreamwidth.org/14977.html.
To get the idea of how that mindset came to be, I have a laundry list of things observing the Tales fanbase and some other perception I got:
*The nostalgia factor. You may know that I've been having this anti-nostalgia mind set that it blinds us into thinking it's better than it really is (I will be glaring at Pokémon Red and Blue here for the sake of the analogy). I felt like my whole thing with Tales of Phantasia was just blind nostalgia.
*Tales of the Abyss's "superiority" (note I'm using that term loosely here). I have said that I was never the biggest fan of Tales of the Abyss. While my 20 year old self was not really fond of it, the current me just thinks it's okay, just that I don't see it as the be all, end all Tales game it's made out to be (however, there are areas I can give it credit where I feel is due at least). Even with that said, I still feel like I'm suppose to acknowledge its godlike status and no Tales before it or after it will ever top it.
*Story and character development being inferior and highly outdated. I tend to see Tales as a series where the fanbase wants deep stories and full fledged character development and that simplistic stories are not worth your time and are as dumb as a Michael Bay movie (back to the above about not wanting to admit Abyss's godlike status). Pretty much, Tales of Phantasia falls into the latter where the characters are seen as bland, lacking character development, and the story isn't deep. Along with the idea of sexism and horrible female character, I even been viewing my adoration for Mint Adnade in such a bad light because of that. (Let's just say discussing this stuff, like elsewhere, was the only way to get all this thoughts sorted out).
*Biggest factor here (and yes, I feel the need to bold the upcoming statement): No one gives a crap about Tales of Phantasia anymore! In fact, I'll probably say people give more of a crap about Tales of Destiny than they do this game (I don't hate you though, Tales of Destiny). Not to mention, "No one wants anymore remakes of Tales of Phantasia! Stop it already! You probably ported/remade it as many times as Square remade Final Fantasy IV!" Yeah, that too.
In a way, I probably stepped into replaying it with a cynical mind, maybe ready to give it a verbal beating for its inferiority. Only thing is...I ended up enjoying it as much as I did back then. It's true. I haven't really grown so cynical that I couldn't enjoy this.
The graphics in the PS1 version still feels as colorful and vivid as when I played it 10 years ago. As for the soundtrack, it's still great hearing these tracks with how fitting they were and greatly composed. I'll choose Tales of Phantasia's soundtrack over Tales of Legendia's soundtrack any day.
The battle system is old, I can say that (Spells freezing the action and all that other stuff). However, I ended up surprised that it really hasn't aged that badly and that I actually still enjoy it (something I can't say about Pokémon Red/Blue, even if you paid me a million dollars to say it). I have noticed my play style certainly has changed, like keeping the Technical Ring on since I had to for manual mode. There really isn't anything I can say about the battle system since, like I said, it's old. I guess it's serviceable but I somehow can still work with it and enjoy it. (Oh, just to say it right now...Groovy Arche. Still a great mini-game.).
For the story, considering I have brought up the whole thing about "simplistic story is a big no" thing, I have to really think about . It probably also comes down to pondering why I don't think of Abyss as highly as so many people do (despite how I'm willing to give credit despite thinking it's not that great). I do want to avoid using the word, "pretentious" because that would mean I'm too much of a dum-dum to see the deep story for the greatness that it is. Maybe it's that notion of, "Entertainment has to always be this thing that makes you think." Despite all that framing I'm doing here, I still love its story. I felt the pacing was good and kept its tempo. Even Edward D. Morrison's quote is something I remember. Maybe it isn't the deepest story but then again, I do feel like someone could come along and go call some so-called deep story as "convoluted" or "pretentious". If I put the story in an analogy, Tales of Phantasia looks like a simple fantasy story like how Star Wars looks like a simple space opera but they somehow woven it into something engaging.
As for the characters, this is a little difficult since I can't really give off some detailed back story or something, where I feel like most of the people want this stuff. Honestly, while it seems like Mint is a female I shouldn't be adoring, I can't hate her. While it feels like I probably should be viewing her as some one dimensional girl that's somehow sexist, I just really see such a sweet, beautiful girl in regards to Mint (Besides, I ended up learning about internalized misogyny, which is sounding like certain fans seem to react to certain female characters...and I let those fans get me falling into that trap). Suzu also falls under the category of lolis I'm willing to admit I like (even if I can admit there are ways that she does feel tacked on. After all, she was just a NPC that serves as a sidequest plot device in the original Super Famicom version). I would say in the case of Suzu being a ninja and her character development, I may feel like it's a case of less is more (though I know that's bound to be shot down hard). I guess there's not much to say really. I do like Cless Alvein for just being the nice hero, Arche Klaine for being an upbeat mage, Klarth for being a cool summoner, and Chester for being a little arrogant. If I put it this way without going into too much details, they do manage to be one cohesive unit.
Now, of course, I did play the Phantasian Productions translation that they finally released, so I am going to write something out about that too. I know everyone else would just scoff at that since Absolute Zero manage to release one first. I have dabbled with it but I didn't really have much interest in playing this translation. Maybe something about me said to continue waiting, even if everyone just brushes it off. I will say Phantasian Productions released it at the right time for me, where I figured really should just replay it if I wanted to get out of that funk of mine. Was waiting those 10, maybe 11 years for it worth it for me? Yes, it was. While the infamous Duke Nukem Forever took as long, if not, longer to come out than Phantasian Productions' Tales of Phantasia translation, Duke Nukem Forever couldn't live up to any hype and just being released is nothing more than a novelty (I have said it was just a mediocre game that couldn't even live up to being an awful game). At least the wait for this was worth it. Saying that, I will say that it definitely felt like a localization that would be done in the modern age. I do sense that no one will care about the fact that Phantasian Productions actually did release their fan translation just because someone else manages to do it (even though that was throughhim's first attempt at translating Japanese material). The only thing I will say is that if that's the case, then maybe the fansubbing community shouldn't have been having so many different subs of one anime. I at least can commend webmaster Cless for sticking with it after all those years and through all those major setbacks. There's also a case that the forums was when I had the most interaction when I was a bigger fan of the Tales series, so there must have been something in me that didn't want to think they'd quit their version, even if someone else already did one. I guess you can say that, "The dream will never die." (While I'm at it, I really should post something similar to this on PP's forums. Besides, I've actually wanting to thank him for choosing me to help beta test the translation. It's sentimental stuff. That's all I'll say. Then again, I think I still have their fansub of the Tales of Phantasia OVA sitting somewhere.)
I may feel some shame for favoring it over something like Abyss. The thing is...I can't hate you, Tales of Phantasia. Besides, you haven't aged that badly (at least it aged better than Pokémon Red/Blue). You aren't the first Tales game I have ever played (that was of course, Tales of Destiny). Even if I'm still having to deal with some of the cynicism I have previously mentioned in regards to this, you still remain my favorite. Yeah, even if I never really moved on from this installment. This PS1 version is certainly the version to play (or at least, a well-done port based around the PS1 version). Even if I feel like I can't be hyped up about the newer Tales, at least Tales of Phantasia still has a place in my heart.
Besides, the only problem I want is figuring out which version of Yume Wa Owaranai is the best. That's going to be as hard as figuring out which version of Sakura Wars' theme song is the best. That and hopefully I finally do convention season in a Cless Alvein costume.
---
Entry originally posted at http://clessaileron.dreamwidth.org/14977.html.