The Tales series began its long journey with Tales of Phantasia, originally released on the Super Famicom in 1995. While many RPGs of its era stuck to traditional turn-based combat, Phantasia introduced the innovative Linear Motion Battle System — letting players move characters in real time along a 2D plane. It was revolutionary, setting the blueprint for every Tales game that followed.
Beyond gameplay, the title pushed the hardware to its limits: it was one of the first console games to feature voice acting, and its detailed sprite art and soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba gave it an epic feel unmatched at the time. The story of Cress Albane, Mint Adenade, and their allies — spanning across time itself to fight the dark lord Dhaos — is a timeless tale of friendship, sacrifice, and destiny.
Tales of Phantasia has seen multiple ports and remakes over the decades (PlayStation, GBA, PSP, and mobile), each with adjustments to visuals, voice acting, and battle systems. However, not all versions are equal: some cut content or suffered from weak localizations, and to this day, there is no single definitive edition easily available worldwide.
Bringing Tales of Phantasia to modern storefronts like GOG would not just preserve the birth of one of JRPGs longest-running series, but also make it accessible to new generations in a way that’s faithful to its legacy. An ideal rerelease would combine the charm of the original with the refinements of later ports, ensuring fans can experience the game that started it all — the spark that ignited the Tales franchise.