CORBIE'S GAME BLOG

Okay so Tales of the Abyss isn't all that forgotten since it's only been out for a short time, but I decided to give it a spot on here due to the fact that it came out so late in the Playstation 2 system's life that many RPG fans have likely missed it. I'm shocked at how many of my RPG friends online that don't even know it exists, let alone played it. Those who are familiar with my love of the "Tales" series know that I'm always a sucker for a Tales of game. I own every one that's been released here in the US and a couple that haven't, but of them all, Tales of the Abyss is the one I love the most. Almost every single facet of the game, be it storyline, visuals, music, or battle system, is executed beautifully and make playing the game a lot of fun. In fact, it's almost impossible for me to find anything to gripe about, which for me is very unusual. : )

There are very few games that can literally capture my attention at the very beginning of the game and not let go of it until the credits roll but Tales of the Abyss can do it with ease. Not only does the game sport an absolutely fantastic storyline, it also manages to keep the plot moving along at a steady and increasingly interesting pace throughout the entire game. And this is no short game either so that's saying a lot about just how well the storyline functions in this game. The battle system is still pretty much the same system that's made the Tales series what it is today, but it's been tweaked a little to make the entire experience a bit smoother and easier to come to grips with this time around. Even those who haven't played the Tales series before will find that it's very easy to get your feet wet early in the game and it makes doing battle a lot more fun later on in the game. The music is the best the series has ever presented and the voice acting is among the best I've ever heard in an RPG. Visually the game doesn't look quite as good as Symphonia did on the Cube but it's still very nicely done and has that same "soft" look to it that was made popular in Tales of Symphonia. If you haven't picked Tales of the Abyss up yet, put it on your list. It's one of the best RPGs to come out of the PS2 era and is right up there in my top 5 RPGs of all time. Think of it as the Chrono Trigger of the Tales series. It's good in every single category.