*based on the 3DS version*

Tales of the Abyss is the eighth installment in Namco's popular "Tales of" series, and was first released on the PS2 in 2005/2006(and rereleased on the 3DS in 2011/2012, coming to Europe and Australia for the first time). When it was released, Tales of the Abyss had a lot to live up to following the huge success of one of the previous titles Tales of Symphonia(not to mention Legendia fell short for many people). Despite some of flaws Tales of the Abyss is an excellent addition to the series that sits up their with Symphonia as one of my favorites in the series and of the best games on it's respective platforms library

The story and characters are fun and engaging for the most part despite adhering to several cliche's common among JRPG storytelling.

The world in Tales of the Abyss follows a society that depends on a a "Score", or prophecy, read by a historical figure in the game, Yulia, that foretells the destiny of the world and the people who live in it. Meanwhile the game's main character and nephew to the king of Kimlasca, the immature and incredibly selfish Luke Von Fabre, is still confined(for his safety) in his manor after he was kidnapped and lost his memory. While he still gets regular visits from his loyal friend, the woman-fearing Guy Cecil and his teacher, Master Van Grants, things go awry when an attempt to assassinate Van causes Luke to accidentally teleport himself and the assailant, the battle-hardened sister to Van Tear Grants to a different country, and along their travels they meet many allies along the way, including the really fucking pessimist and sarcastuc yet awesome Jade Curtiss, a general of Malkuth, Fon Master Ion and one of his guardians Anise Tatlin, and Princess Natalia of Kimlasca, and Mieu, a cheagle who is basically the game's cute animal mascot. They also face many foes mainly involving the Order of Lorelai, who is obsessed with fulfilling Yulia's score(though the Six, The Order's main faction, has plans of their own).

The game has a pretty strong cast for the most part, with Luke though it really depends if your willing to put up with him throughout the first 4th of the game, as he is absolutely unlikeable with almost no redeeming values(and his abusive behavior towards Mieu doesn't help). However, after a certain point he vows to change, and throughout the game he changes from a spoiled brat you never want to deal with a game to a guy that you really don't want to depart with, and is easily one of the best characters in the game. The other characters are also really awesome like Tear, Guy and Natalia, and I already gushed over Jade, as he's up there with Kratos as one of my favorite characters in the Tales series. The only character I never really cared for was Anise, who only reminds me why I dislike most child characters in video games.

The game also has a strong set of antagonists, the most notable one being Ashe, who serves as Luke's Rival, but the others are also strong each with their own distinct personalities and goals that do a good job of putting them in a sympathetic light. Again the only antagonist I don't care much for was Mohs, as he pretty much serves as the game's religious nutjob.

Gameplay-wise, the battle system got a bit of an overhaul from Symphonia, with every character being fun and easier to use. On top of this, it's the first game that allows you to run freely while choosing your enemies. Techniques(now called Artes) work the same as previous games, certain artes cam be mapped to certain button placements to allow you to execute them in battle, and short cuts allow you to use any skill quickly(including your allies). Also, whenever an elemental ability is used, an elemental circle called "Field of Fonons" and can change your artes attack depending on the FOF and which arte is used. At a certain level, when you go to Overlimit, you can use an attack called "Mystic Artes" which is basically a Limit Break. Each character also has their own set of skills(called AD Skills) that amplify certain actions, and each character can fit artes with something called Capacity cores that does different effects for them.

Many key features from previous Tales games such as Cooking, Titles, Grade and Skits return and work exactly how they should. Only problem I have with cooking is that Wonder Chef doesn't make an appearance, which I find inexcusable

The soundtrack, while not as memorable compared to other JRPG soundtracks imo, is still really solid with its share of standout songs. The voice acting is also fairly strong, which is actually pretty amazing compared to the Voice Acting you hear in other JRPGs.

The game is also packed with content. The main story should take about 30-40 hours to complete, and that's not even including the plethora of sidequests to do, which range from pretty mundane tasks like being a waiter and rearranging boxes in warehouses, to fighting in the coliseum, learning more earning powerful new artes and learning more about your character's backstories. Some sidequests also include getting alternate outfits for your characters. One thing I feel the game falls short in is replayability, again coming after Symphonia where you can have different paths, even if only slightly different, this game doesn't really change during different replays. That said there are still plenty of things to do that you will either miss on your first playthrough or you can only get on subsequent playthroughs, and there's still a ton to do if your a completionist.

In all, Tales of the Abyss is an awesome game that's a welcome addition to the Tales franchise and is one of the must-haves on the PS2 or the 3DS, two platforms already lauded for having a strong JRPG library. If you have either platform, I highly recommend getting this game