History VideoGame / TalesOfPhantasia

* {{Deadpan Loli}}: Suzu.

* {{Pettanko}}: Arche.

* PrepareToDie: When you meet Demitel Cress says "[[YouKilledMyFather You killed Rhea's parents.]] PrepareToDie". Though, he should've at least said {{Hello}} and [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya give his name]] first.

** Dhaos ''is'' a very good candidate for AntiVillain, but this isn't obvious to Cless' party or the player due to ever only seeing him when he's in the middle of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. In the prequel novel ''Katararezaru Rekishi'', it's revealed that Midgard had been developing magitech weapons since before he arrived on Aselia, to combat the hordes of demons ''already hostile'' toward it. Dhaos attempted to talk down the head of the magitech research, Reisen, but Reisen suspected him of being a demon due to his alien mana and refused to listen to him. He then proceeded to ''attack Dhaos'', and although Dhaos escapes, his close friend Winona is severely injured in the attack, and Reisen claims Dhaos attacked first, making him a fugitive and a wanted man, hunted by the guards of Midgard. Left with no other choice and no option to negotiate, Dhaos aligns himself with the demons attacking Midgard, in the hopes of stopping magitech development as quickly as possible. However, although he commands loyalty over his demons, ''he is not omnipotent or omniscient,'' and several of his demons go out of control, resulting in far more body counts than Dhaos would have liked.

Due to ExecutiveMeddling (most likely brought on by a desire to make the game better compete with the then newly-released ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'',) the original development team schismed and mostly broke away from Namco after the game released, going on to reform into TriAce and create the ''StarOcean'' series.

->''If there is evil in this world, it lurks in the hearts of man.''
-->--Edward D. Morrison [[spoiler:quoting Dhaos]]

A four-episode {{OVA}} based on the game was created in 2004, and licensed and dubbed by {{Geneon}} three years later.

''Phantasia'' also invented many of the series' set pieces. A huge number of the moves that later ''TalesSeries'' swordsmen would use come straight from Cress' playbook, which would later be known as the "Albert Style" of swordplay. Phantasia also introduced the basic spell list, most notably the high-level magic "Indignation" (which comes with its own incantation too).

Due to ExecutiveMeddling (most likely brought on by a desire to make the game better compete with the then newly-released ''ChronoTrigger'',) the original development team schismed and mostly broke away from Namco after the game released, going on to reform into TriAce and create the ''StarOcean'' series.

* SceneryPorn: It would be remiss to discuss ''Tales of Phantasia'' without mentioning that it ranks among the most graphically beautiful games released for Super Famicom, and probably the most graphically advanced RPG of the 16-bit era. Effects now taken for granted like reflective water and mirrors, rippling water effects, realistic weather, etc were revolutionary at the time this game was released. Also, contained far more voice acting than most 16-bit console [=RPG=]s, and the music is considered among the best of any SFC game. This level of detail required a 48MB cartridge; compare with ChronoTrigger at 32MB, and FinalFantasyVI and EarthBound at 24MB. StarOcean is the only other game for Super Famicom/SNES to require such a large cart.

A psuedo-sequel called ''Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon'' was released for the GameBoyAdvance in 2000. It would later get an UpdatedRerelease on the PlaystationPortable (along with the original ''TalesOfPhantasia'' game) as part of the ''Tales of Phantasia X'' project celebrating the 15th anniversary of the game's release.

The story is set one hundred and seven years after the conclusion of ''Phantasia'', and focuses on two twins named [[OriginalGeneration Dio and Mell]]. One day, the two twins are met by a mysterious woman who prophesies a "doomed future" for them both unless they complete the Ordeal of Spirits, a trial where they must seek out and test themselves against the twelve Summon Spirits of Aselia. While doing so, the twins explore the aftermath of ''Tales of Phantasia'', travelling through time and space to speak with the alumni of ''Phantasia'' and uncovering deeper insight into their thoughts and motives. The UpdatedRerelease would add another character to their party: Rondoline E. Effenberg, a mysterious [[TimeTravel time traveller]] looking for Dhaos, the BigBad of ''Phantasia''.

* MeatShield: For quite a large number of boss fights (Past Dhaos and Fen Wolf, I'm looking at you), Arche and Claus deal most of the damage while Cress is just a glorified MeatShield for the rest of the party, as Mint faithfully spams her strongest heals on Cress. Granted that for an overwhelming portion of the game that your party will be the StaffChick, the CuteWitch, the {{Summoner}}, and Cress the MeatShield, Cress dying in a battle pretty much means that shit will hit the fan.

It turns out that the culprit needed [[MacGuffin Cress' heirloom pendant]] to unlock the seal on [[SealedEvilInACan Dhaos, the legendary Demon King]]. Picking up a StaffChick (Mint Adnade) and a guide (Trinicus D. Morrison) along the way, Cress and company arrive [[YouAreTooLate just in time to see the seal broken]] and Dhaos freed. Unfortunately, Dhaos is only vulnerable to magic, and the WorldTree that powers magic has been dead for a century.

* StaffChick: Really notable beyond just the character page. There may have been examples before her, but Mint is unquestionably a TropeCodifier.

The key feature of the game was the ability of Dio and Mell to "[[{{Cosplay}} dress up]]" as various character classes (Fighter, Thief, Mage, etc.), gaining new powers depending on which role they were portraying. Their wardrobe included the outfits of various Tales Series heroes and villains, and even [[LawyerFriendlyCameo cameos from various NamcoBandai games]]. The concept proved so popular that it formed the basis for two more ''Narikiri Dungeon'' games, though under the ''TalesOfTheWorld'' banner.

A psuedo-sequel called ''Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon'' was released for the GameBoyAdvance in 2000. It would later get an UpdatedRerelease on the PlaystationPortable (along with the original ''TalesofPhantasia'' game) as part of the ''Tales of Phantasia X'' project celebrating the 15th anniversary of the game's release.

The key feature of the game was the ability of Dio and Mell to "[[{{Cosplay}} dress up]]" as various character classes (Fighter, Thief, Mage, etc.), gaining new powers depending on which role they were portraying. Their wardrobe included the outfits of various Tales Series heroes and villains, and even [[LawyerFriendlyCameo cameos from various Namco Bandai games]]. The concept proved so popular that it formed the basis for two more ''Narikiri Dungeon'' games, though under the ''TalesOfTheWorld'' banner.

* AfterTheEnd: A meteor impact thrust society back into the dark ages, from which it is only just emerging

** TakeshiKusao - Cress (also Chester in the SNES version)

* HumansAreBastards: In the game, the blame for the whole shitstorm is distributed among several parties (Though Dhaos [[PoorCommunicationKills hiring a PR department]] [[WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis could have prevented a lot of it]]), making Dhaos well-intentioned but decidedly threatening and genocidal, while humans are understandably defensive, though arrogant and foolish. The [[CompressedAdaptation anime]] however, goes to great lengths to shift Dhaos actions so that he tried his best to warn humans of the consequences of their actions, while the latter [[TooDumbToLive ignored absolutely everything he said for no particular reason]].

** Also see WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis, although nobody says such outright. They ''could'' have avoided all that, if only Dhaos had ''opened his damn mouth''.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: Would it have killed you to at least ''try'' to explain your motives when ''not'' on your deathbed, Dhaos?

*** It's actually kind of nice to have a protagonist who isn't [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger tank, healer, and caster]] [[VideoGame/EarthboundZero all]] [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} by]] [[VideoGame/{{Mother 3}} himself]].

*** It's actually kind of nice to have a protagonist who isn't [[CVideoGame/hronoTrigger tank, healer, and caster]] [[VideoGame/EarthboundZero all]] [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} by]] [[VideoGame/{{Mother 3}} himself]].

*** It's actually kind of nice to have a protagonist who isn't [[ChronoTrigger tank, healer, and caster]] [[EarthboundZero all]] [[{{Earthbound}} by]] [[{{Mother 3}} himself]].

* MarthDebutedInSmashBros: Cress and Arche made their Western debuts in 1998 - in a cameo in ''TalesOfDestiny'', eight years before the GBA port finally got translated outside of Japan.

* [[SwordAndSorcerer Sword And Three Sorcerers]]: It's not until you've gotten through half the game that you're allowed any party combination but this. You start off with Fighter And Healer, after which the GlassCannons show up.

* MakeABetterWorld

* BadassNormal: Chester; Cless has the legendary Eternal Sword, Arche can cast devastating spells, Klarth can summon elemental spirits to fight, and Suzu is the next successor to the Fujibayashi ninja clan. Chester is just a guy who learned to use a bow to hunt. Even more obvious in the SNES game, where he doesn't learn any skills, and yet has the second highest damage output of the party, just behind Cless.