Tales of the Abyss PlayStation 2
Tales of the Abyss Image
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 67 Ratings

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  • Summary: Tales of the Abyss follows the story of the young aristocrat, Luke fon Fabre. Kidnapped seven years ago, Luke returns to his family with no memories of his life before. In order to protect him, Luke's family keeps him confined to the quite lifestyle of the palace. Suddenly, Luke is thrust into the outside world and caught in the workings of the Order of Lorelei and the Oracle Knights who serve as keepers of the prophecy known as the Score. He knows nothing of those who might be his allies or those who are already his enemies. He must learn of the power of friendship and feel the pain of sacrifice. Luke's actions could save the world or destroy it. [Namco Bandai]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Thunderbolt
    90
    I despise most RPGs. I find them long, boring, and tedious. However, Tales of the Abyss is one of the few games in the genre that truly appeal to me. The story is both entertaining and memorable. The characters are well-written and interesting, and nowhere near as cliched and predictable as their Symphonia counterparts were.
  2. GamePro
    85
    When compared to past Tales games, Abyss has only really changed a handful of aspects. However, those changes are obvious upgrades and have made a huge difference in the overall gameplay experience.
  3. IGN
    83
    Some linear plot directions, long load times and a quirky battle system that sometimes degenerates into button mashing bogs down what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable RPG.
  4. Game Informer
    73
    But the marginally 3d action battle system is an improvement over the recent "Tales of Legendia", and the plotline has enough political twists and betrayals to keep you playing even if the main character is another confused youth with amnesia. [Nov. 2006, p.134]
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See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. AmandaF.
    10
    The best character development I've seen in a long time. So much emotion and heart went into this game without making it boring or stale. A very epic game, with an intense storyline. My favorite game of all time.… Expand
  2. seieko_pherdo
    8
    What make Tales Of The Abyss a great game comes with the fact that everything it does it does well. The combat is fun as always and the free run system is an nice addition. The music and character growth is done superbly. And while I'm a fan of open world roaming I tend to get lost a lot when on a boat. The game has a lot of great moments if you can forgive the repetitiveness of go here, unleash magic seal thing, repeat. Tales Of Symphonia did the same thing while I don't mind it too much it can be annoying. Another small thing that irks me is some of the more interesting places you visit in the games you only visit once. But those are small problems, although the ending may leave something to be desired.… Expand
  3. ChrisC.
    6
    Fun battle system, but also very repetetive, and hamped by AI that can't keep itself alive on any difficulty setting higher than normal. The plot is extremely weak, and the characters are extremely one dimensional. They basically botched everything Tales has ever done well, but not badly enough not to be generally fun.… Expand
  4. ransonshan
    0
    Tales of the Abyss is a game that has many great features, and some that just fall flat. Without spoilers, the story starts out really slow, and I mean VERY SLOW. It took me until the second half of the game to get fully involved in the plot, but that's when the game got REALLY GOOD. Yeah, for me the game's first half of everything was average at best, but heavily improved by the second half. The characters are hit and miss, some really good and some really poor. I can say for sure two characters by the name of Jade and Guy(yes that is his name) are the best characters in the game. The main character Luke is alright, whereas everyone else falls flat and doesn't get much interesting personality of memorable factors to them. The main female lead, Tear, is AWFUL! Her voice acting is one of the worst i've seen in a Tales game, extremely downplayed and underdeveloped voice-acting kept me from liking this character. I looked online, her voice actress had only 1 role in her career, TEAR! No one else felt the need to hire her after that performance. The graphics are not too special, they are actually similar to Kingdom Hearts graphics, though no real-time cinematic scenes are present, the in-game graphics do an ok job. Though i thought they would be ether, the graphics in TotA are ok, but what saves them are the animated scenes, they look beautiful. Finally the combat, like i said earlier everything was average the first half of the game, including the combat. Later on though the combat does get way better. In the end its a good rig, but an average Tales Game, 7/10.… Expand

See all 26 User Reviews