Tales of Legendia

Gamezilla!

It has all the right ingredients to make for an enjoyable 30+ hour adventure, and if you’re willing to overlook a few of its flaws, it’s one of the better RPG experiences you can have on your PS2.

Play Magazine

With so many RPG’s vying for those last few PS2 dollars, Namco sought to make theirs stick out like a troll at an elves’ convention and so they’ve reached deep into their bag of tricks to present something truly original, while sticking to the genre’s time-honored covenants and their decidedly storybook-meets-manga design etiquette. [Jan 2006]

Digital Entertainment News

The company promised Soul Calibur and delivered Street Fighter in its battle system. The final verdict on Tales of Legendia is that it’s a solid entry and an enjoyable game

Console Gameworld

While it really doesn’t bring anything new to the genre, Tales of Legendia is an excellent RPG worthy of any RPG fan’s time.

eToychest

Despite its flaws with pacing and the emphasis on role-playing clichés, Tales of Legendia is a very enjoyable game. The disappointment here stems largely from the fact that many fans hold the Tales series to a relatively high standard and expect a certain consistent level of quality across all facets of the experience.

GameZone

It's exciting, engaging, and is unlike any other real-time RPG on the market.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

That level of minutiae separates good games from great ones, but in Tales Of Legendia, much of the detail pops up in the periphery, which enhances the experience more than it affects the gameplay.

Cheat Code Central

It takes the same old RPG elements and lengthens them or changes them in such a way as to make them a little different. It's just a re-invention of the wheel but that may be enough to keep some fans happy, especially those that like combat and treasure hunting.

Just RPG

If you’re a fan of action RPGs or just a gamer who would like to break out of the normal turn-based combat, then Tales of Legendia should be in your PS2!

DarkStation

Legendia continues the excellent Tales RPG series, thrilling fans with good pacing, strategy-laden real-time combat and very stylish visuals.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

If for whatever reason "Tales of Symphonia" didn't grab you, you might want to consider giving Tales another try with Legendia. [Mar 2006, p.87]

GameSpot

Some blemishes exist, most prominently in the tuning of the encounter rate and how world travel is handled, but genre and series fans will find it easy to like this otherwise well-crafted adventure.

Worth Playing

If you're an RPG fan looking for something new and different ... stop kidding yourself and go look into the Shadow Hearts series.

IGN

Legendia is definitely slanted towards more action-oriented role-players who don't mind breezing through an easy twenty hours before getting to the real tests of skill. Regardless, when all is said and done the game is actually pretty rewarding.

1UP

Legendia seems a sure hit among the series' dedicated fans -- provided they don't feel that familiarity breeds contempt. But for everyone else, this flawed adventure's good looks and occasional moments of cleverness probably won't go far enough to distinguish Namco's latest Tales from the last few.

PSM Magazine

A mix of incredibly simplified fighting and some elements of turn-based combat, Tales of Legendia’s 2D-style battle system continues to carry the torch for the franchise. [Mar 2006, p.80]

Deeko

It's one of the few soundtracks that I would highly recommend buying, as the quality of the music is that good.

GameShark

The game does continue on in the Tales style, but the bulk of the content is only average.

GameCritics

Eminently playable.

My Gamer

The slower pacing of the game is more reminiscent of a traditional RPG. Therefore, if you like your RPGs with the traditional save the girl story while gaining levels and fighting random battles, Legendia will surely please.

Gaming Target

There are plenty of things to do like finding recipes, item creation, or fighting in the arena. The inclusion of the second story arc lengthens the game’s life quite a bit, allowing you to put in 50+ hours.

Next Level Gaming

After how big a fan I was of Tales of Symphonia I was really hoping for more.

Game Informer

It's a decent journey, but I felt like I was along for the ride instead of in the driver's seat. [Mar 2006, p.104]

Gamer 2.0

After all is said and done, Legendia is not the best the makers of this game could have offered and had it had another few months to develop, it probably would have wound up to be a much better game.

GamePro

The PlayStation 2 certainly isn't left wanting for quality role-playing games, so though Tales of Legendia is competent and enjoyable, in the end it simply isn't memorable enough to carve more than a niche.

Yahoo! Games

A role-playing game that's just a little more interesting than the rest of the fold.

GameSpy

It's more like a Corolla -- it's fun, reliable, efficient and it'll get you where you need to go. It's not going to blow you away, but it is certainly a step above the mediocrity that is flooding the market.

GamerNode

The storyline is the main attraction here, with more character and plot development than you've seen since Final Fantasy X. However, the less-than-superior battle system, quirky music score, bad voice acting, and simplistic fighting action may bring the enjoyment level of Tales of Lengendia, for some, down to a more pedestrian level.

Armchair Empire

As it stands, it feels like Namco just didn’t know where to draw the line on content for this game.

Game Chronicles

It’s predictable, clichéd, and a bit lackluster in many ways, but it’s not flat out bad.

G4 TV

But anyone who hasn’t been indoctrinated into fandom will be put off by the thought of dozens of hours of poor scripting, repetitive combat and insistent AI.

The New York Times

Variety is less evident in Tales of Legendia, a role-playing game from Namco that forces you to do mildly entertaining things over and over until all the entertainment has been squeezed out.

GamerFeed

Tales of Legendia's unique battle system is extremely appealing, but as far as RPGs go, it's a bit too cliche for its own good.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

It doesn't take an old-school purist to realize that this game just hasn't translated well to 3D. [Mar 2006, p.105]

Game Revolution

But "long" doesn't equal "fun." Sans battle strategy, overland exploration and gameplay variety, Tales of Legendia is carried mostly by its bland story and flawed if interesting combat. And that's just not the stuff legends are made of.

Edge Magazine

Tales’ traditionally creative dungeon design comes to the rescue, giving each chapter a genuine sense of adventure as you anticipate what organic shimmers or high-tech gloss might be in store. [Apr 2006, p.90]

Gaming Age

Tales of Legendia is a pretty disappointing addition to a series of RPG’s that has managed to grow stale in the past few years.