If Japanese RPGs are your thing, and just plain old screenshots of Namco Bandai's Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition isn't enough for you, then maybe this short video of the official Japanese trailer will satisfy part of your urges.

If you want a little background on Tales of Phantasia, give me a few seconds. Okay. There. As the title suggests this is a PSP version of the much loved 1995 Super Famicom (different name of SNES there in the east) RPG. It has full voice for its dialog, and includes all the bonus elements that Namco Bandai added for the PS and GBA versions of the game.

The game has it's own version of what J-RPG fans affectionately call the "new game +". It's called the "Grade Shop System" - a feature which was prominent in the more recent titles for the series, but still a first for this version. Once you get to clear the game, you get to start a new game using your clear save data, and then you're given a "grade". You can avail of various bonuses using this "grade". You can check the "replay value" check-box now if in case you're wondering how many hours you're going to be spending on this game... if you get to play it at all that is. The US release date is still to be announced, but it's been out in Japan since early this month.

Download the video below and see crisp anime cutscenes, cute little sprites, long elf ears, hordes of dragons dying to energy blasts, and knights valiantly beating the bejesus out of animated sentient vegetables. What were they taking back in 1995 anyway?

Download:[Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition Japanese Trailer]

It seems like Bandai Namco is trying their best to make their most popular series more appealing. Avid players of the the Tales series might recall familiar faces from Tales of Phantasia and Symphonia when they get to play Tales of the World. And for fans of the game, it's like going on a trip down memory lane.

From Tales of Phantasia, Chester Barklight will reappear to help you in battles. For those who are not in the know, Chester Barklight is an archer who provides great support from a distance. Lloyd Irving and Raine Saige from Tales of Symphonia are also expected to make an appearance in the said game.  For Tales of Symphonia fans, Lloyd Irving is known as a great tanker who provides great attacks. Of course a team is not complete if it doesn't have a healer, thus you can expect Raine Sage to come to your rescue whenever you need healing during battle.

Of course, these are just the announced characters from the game. It is possible that you will also encounter other characters during your gameplay, so you might want to stay on a lookout for those. 

The Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition is a remake of the old Tales of Phantasia game wherein you will control characters such as Chester Barklight, Mint Andnade, Arche Klaine, Klarth F. Lester, and Suzu Fujibayashi. This popular Famicom game is restored once more on the PSP, with features much more dynamic than the last.

There is one thing that the fans would enjoy in the PSP version of the game: the game is now fully voiced; hence you will hear your favorite characters talk things out during the game. More so, you may now load the game at any place that you desire. There is also a grade shop which is only available in the PSP version of the game. Famous seiyuus/voice actors such as Inoue Kazuhiko and Itoh Kentarou will be bringing your favorite Tales of Phantasia characters to life.

From the looks of the screencaps, the gameplay is still no different compared to the other versions of the Tales of Phantasia series. I guess we just have to keep watch on what other things they will change with regards to the new version of Tales of Phantasia.

  

Weekly Jump revealed a few new games in the Tales series. Tales is the third most popular RPG franchise in Japan behind Dragon Quest (1st) and Final Fantasy (2nd). However, don't get your hopes up because none of the announced titles are new additions to the main series. Like Square-Enix and Final Fantasy VII, Namco seems bent on creating quick cash-ins. They announced a remake for the PS2, port for the PSP, and a spin-off for the PSP. What are they?

Tales of Destiny (PS2)
Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition (PSP)
Tales of the World (PSP)

The remake of Tales of Destiny will still be in 2D. Tales of Phantasia, which is being ported for the fourth time, will feature some extra. The most significant addition will be voice-overs. This will likely only apply for cutscenes. Tales of the World brings many different Tales characters from different games together in a dungeon-crawler.

Don't expect to see these titles in English unless we get really lucky. If Tales of the Abyss (PS2) doesn't sell very well on PS2 this fall, Namco likely won't take a risk with the others. Seeing as the fall will see the release of the PS3 and Wii alongside the megahits of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN) and Final Fantasy XII (PS2), Abyss doesn't stand much of a chance. Tales of Symphonia (GCN) has been the best selling Tales game worldwide but was localized by Nintendo. Tales of Phantasia for GBA was also brought outside Japan by Nintendo. This would cause complications with the PSP port because I don't think Nintendo would be willing to let Namco use the translation for a PSP game...