In 2001, the third entry in the Tales series, Tales of Eternia, was released. I didn’t really land on the Tales bandwagon until the 5^th entry, Tales of Symphonia, released on the GameCube. As such, certain earlier entries just passed me by. Now, Tales of Eternia has returned, available on PC and major consoles with a new remastered edition.

Tales of Eternia Remastered balances things out, both for franchise purists and more modern RPG enthusiasts. Every series element you would expect is here, from multiple control schemes (Manual, semi-auto, and Auto) all the way to things such as the Wonder Chef, Artes, and a storyline that involves multiple worlds and twists on what common people believe to be true about those worlds.

The story involves Reid and Farah, two childhood friends who meet a mysterious girl named Meredy, who crash-lands on their world from a parallel world called Celestia. Celestia has been separated from their world for some time, and Farah’s arrival leads to a journey that changes everything for Reid and Farah.

It is a typical Tales plot, but one that is wonderful in its simplicity. The story unfolds slowly, giving you mysteries and surprises, all while introducing these characters and letting you fall in love with them.

The progression systems are simple, leveling up in repeated battles, raising stats with equipment, etc. However, Tales of Eternia Remastered also offers something for newer Tales players who like more modern conveniences. You can adjust your outgoing damage, incoming damage from enemies, the amount of money you earn in battles, experience gained in battles, etc. This lets players tailor their difficulty, not just because the game is difficult by default (which it is) but because games from this era often required grinding and time investment that some modern gamers either A) don’t have or B) don’t want to put into them.

Additionally, you can switch between classic graphics and remastered graphics at any time, alternate between English and Japanese voice acting, and more. All of this offers a nice balance to satisfy both fans of the original and players who are enjoying it for the first time. I found myself grateful for all of this, mostly due to scheduling constraints and wanting to test just what this remaster offers.

My consensus is simple. Tales of Eternia Remastered offers a wonderful RPG experience, somewhere around 30-50 hours depending on your level of investment. Both casual RPG enjoyers and nostalgia-infused purists should find something to love here, and the hand-crafted cutscenes, heartfelt voice acting, and engaging gameplay are absolutely worth your time. If you are looking to check out some of the earliest days of the Tales Series (available on modern systems at least), this is a perfect place to start.

A PC Review Copy of Tales of Eternia Remastered was provided by Bandai Namco for the purposes of this review.

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Tales of Eternia Remastered

$29.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Beautiful animated cutscenes
• Lots of accessibility features and quality of life options
• Heartfelt Story with great Voice Acting
• Engaging combat
• Very newcomer friendly

Cons

• Combat takes some getting used to