Tales of Eternia


 * This article is about the PlayStation 2 game that was released in USA as Tales of Destiny II. For the game marketed exclusively in Japan, please go to Tales of Destiny 2.

Tales of Eternia, also named Tales of Destiny II in North America, is the third Mothership Title in the Tales series. Like the Tales games before it, it is a 2D anime-style RPG. Its real time Linear Motion Battle System is far more advanced than those found in its two predecessors. Tales of Eternia is the first game in which one of its ports was released in Europe, but not in North America.

A PlayStation Portable port of Tales of Eternia has been released in both Japan and Europe, while North America knows this game as Tales of Destiny II for PlayStation only. Its North American release was titled Tales of Destiny II to avoid trademark infringement on the name Eternia, owned by Mattel in North America for the Masters of the Universe toyline. The naming choice later caused some confusion after the release of the PlayStation 2 game known as Tales of Destiny 2, a genuine sequel to Tales of Destiny taking place in the same fictional world. Tales of Eternia is not related to Tales of Destiny, except for a few brief character cameos that are typical of all Tales Series games after Tales of Phantasia.

Gameplay
Tales of Eternia carries on the tradition of the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), a system that is somewhat similar to a 2D fighting game. Commands are entered in real time, and both allies and enemies act out their orders in real time in the 2D plane. Normal attacks and special techniques are usually executed instantly, but spells have a chanting time that increases with the complexity of the spell. Unlike the previous two games in the series, Tales of Eternia executes spells in real time, probably due to the increased graphical capabilities of the PlayStation console. Therefore, spells no longer act as interrupts that freeze time, so spell effects can be dodged and evaded if the player is skilled enough, adding another dimension to the gameplay. Future games in the series would choose to retain the real-time chanting and casting system for spells.

Battle strategy options, such as individual character commands (AI behavior) and party orders, have been slightly expanded, but their functionality remains essentially intact. Much like its predecessors, Tales of Eternia gives the player a large degree of control over computer-controlled allies and the techniques they use. Since the player only directly controls one character at a time, all other characters are governed by the general rules of AI behavior set by the player before and during battle. During battle, the player can switch which character he or she is controlling, while issuing specific orders to other allies to execute certain techniques on command. However, totally controlling all of the characters' actions throughout a battle requires a large amount of micromanagement, and most players end up delegating control of allies to the AI during normal encounters. During important and difficult boss battles, the player may choose to take direct control and issue more forceful commands in order to keep the party alive and functioning at maximum efficiency.

Characters
Reid Hershel (リッド・ハーシェル) Reid is the red-haired protagonist of Tales of Eternia who wields a wide variety of melee weaponry, including swords, axes, and halberds. Reid and Farah have known each other since childhood, growing up in the same small village, Rasheans, and have become close. He is mostly known as a lazy farmer who only wants to relax in life.

Farah Oersted (ファラ・エルステッド) Farah is a hardheaded farm girl from the same village as Reid, Rasheans, and they are almost always together as childhood friends. In contrast to Reid, Farah always wants to help people in need, even before understanding the situation. In battles, she uses martial arts.

Keele Zeibel (キール・ツァイベル) Keele is a scholarly researcher who spends his time at Mintche University, investigating Craymels and their applications. Keele has the ability to cast offensive magic and summon based on what Greater Craymels are assigned to him. Keele fights with staves and maces, but his physical status is unimpressive, and it is often because of him that the party has to take pauses in their journey.

Meredy (メルディ) Hailing from Celestia and speaking a language alien to the Inferians, Melnics, Meredy is never without her companion Quickie. Meredy's home is Imen, the city of Craymels, in Celestia. Meredy has the same Greater Craymel options as Keele

Chat (チャット)

Descended from a famous pirate, Aifread, Chat styles herself an oddball pirate who is the captain of an impressive ship, the Van Eltia, but she has no crew. Before meeting Reid in the course of the story, Chat lived in relative isolation and avoided contact with others.

Max (フォッグ) The leader of the resistance group, Shileska, which is aligned against the de facto Celestian government. Shileska is headquartered in the Celestian city of Tinnsia. Max wields high-powered energy guns as a ranged attacker.

Rassius Luine (Ras) (レイシス・フォーマルハウト（レイス)) Ras originally appears to be on the party's side and serves as a playable character temporarily, but his true intentions as a Senior Knight of Inferia are eventually made clear. Ras is an agile swordsman who uses sabers in quick attacks and techniques. As portrayed in the game, Reid is not on good terms with Rassius; the two often compete, with Reid shown as jealous towards Ras's relationship with Farah, as she shows affection toward him.

Story
Reid Hershel, along with his childhood friend Farah Oersted, notice an unusual change in the color of the Orbus Barrier coupled with the flight of a strange ship from Celestia. When they go to see what happened, they meet Meredy, who is dressed in a strange fashion and speaks a bizarre foreign language, and her pet Quickie. Consequently, Reid and Farah visit their childhood friend, Keele Zeibel, in search of answers regarding the identity of Meredy. Reid learns that she speaks Melnics, an ancient civilization's language. After traveling to Morle, the group receives a special translation earring that allows communication with Meredy.

They continue to Inferia City, the global capital. The group asks the King of Inferia for help, but Reid is accused of spreading fear and confusion throughout the land; the punishment is a death sentence. The princess wants to know more about what they have to say, so the group is released. Reid explains the situation, and the leaders of Inferia hold an organizational conference. The Inferians announce they will uncover the Bridge of Light and stop the Celestians from executing the Grand Fall by taking aggressive military action. The party is aided by Efreet, Undine and Sylph; the group is lead by Rem to the Bridge of Light, which resides atop the highest mountain in Inferia. After climbing the mountain, they locate the Bridge of Light in its stone sanctum. Reid's group is confronted by Ras, who tells them that his real name is Rassius Luine, a senor knight loyal to the Kingdom of Inferia. Ras loses to them in combat, and watches the group escapes via the Bridge of Light to Celestia as Inferian reinforcements arrive.

Upon arrival in Celestia, the group is greeted by the citizens of Imen, Meredy's hometown. They travel by rail to the ruined city Luishka; a professor there examines Reid's body as he houses an unknown fibrill, or magical energy. The group discovers the Greater Craymel Gnome in a nearby cave, and they enlist his help. Reid stumbles upon Chat's hut, and the party is accepted into her crew after a series of puzzle-based tests; the group now has access to the sea-based form of transportation. Using the Van Eltia, they reach Peruti, the frozen town near the dominion of Greater Craymel Celsius. Reid climbs the nearby mountain and helps Celsius regain her sanity, saving Peruti. Reid's group is invited by Max to join the Shileska liberation army in order to stop Balir, the cause of the Grand Fall. However, Meredy senses pain and suffering from Imen, so Reid decides to return there first. When the party reaches Imen, the city is in ruins with the majority of its citizens killed.

At the technologically advanced city of Tinnsia, Reid meets with Ayla and Max, the leader of the Shileska liberation army; Max joins them in their journey. After finding the Greater Craymel Volt trapped in a machine at the Ruins of Volt, the group frees him and receives his power. Using the Craymel Cannon combined with the support of Shileska, the group manages to break through the fleet loyal to Balir. Infiltration of Balir's Castle leads to Shizel, the ex-Queen who is ruling in place of Balir; Reid’s group is forced to retreat due to the powerful Dark Aurora Arte of Shizel. After improving the Van Eltia and enlisting the help of Greater Craymel Shadow, Reid is given the Divine Aurora Arte by Seyfert, the god who created Eternia. Seyfert wishes to preserve his creation, while Nereid desires the destruction of both planets; only Reid's Divine Aurora Arte can defeat the Dark Aurora Arte given to Shizel by Nereid.

The group is now free to travel between the two planets via the Orbus Barrier using the Van Eltia. The group recruits the Greater Craymel Rem at Regulus Knoll in preparation for the final confrontation at Shizel's Castle. Both Shizel and Nereid are defeated by Reid, who uses his Aurora Arte to counter that of Shizel. However, the Grand Fall continues on unabated despite the banishment of Nereid. Reid's group is forced destroy the Seyfert Ring, which forcefully connects Inferia and Celestia, using the combined power of the two Aurora Artes; this action stops the Grand Fall, but the two worlds drift apart and the party is split. Despite the separation, Chat's modified Van Eltia can fly from Inferia to Celestia, reuniting Reid with his allies.

Reception
Tales of Eternia received generally positive reviews upon its release, garnering a rating of 82 on the aggregation site Metacritic. Multimedia website IGN appreciated the gameplay, citing "a great action-oriented battle system that has no close equivalent in any other game". The Gamespot reviewer, Brad Shoemaker, stated that "Tales of Destiny II [Tales of Eternia] would not be out of place on the Super Nintendo about eight years ago" regarding graphics ; however, Doug Erickson of Gaming Age claimed that spell effects made up for this, with "boss encounters border on eye-flaying, with screen-filling alpha-loaded spells firing off every few seconds". Namco's localization effort was generally seen as sufficient, with the humor of the script translated to the North American audience, but reviewers found the game's voice acting to be deficient and unremarkable. Tales of Eternia generated enough popularity in Japan to support a thirteen episode anime series, which was run on television in 2001. Additionally, the game warranted a PlayStation Portable re-release in Japan and the PAL territories.

The language used in the game's second world, Celestia, called Melnics, has received much attention since its appearance in Tales of Eternia. In the Japanese RTS game New Space Order, the Melnics language is used as the official language of the Sacred Religious State, which is one of the four interstellar nations available to players. The language is spoken in the web novel series New Space Order -Link of life-.