Almost 16 years after its original release in Japan, Tales of Phantasia X has finally received an English patch, courtesy of fans.
Originally released in 2010 alongside Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X, Tales of Phantasia X is an improved version of Tales of Phantasia: Full Voice Edition, a PSP remake of the 1995 Super Famicom title that initially kick-started the Tales series.
As the name suggests, the Full Voice Edition added voice acting, a feature previously missing from the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation versions of the title.
X, meanwhile, took things a step further, refining the battle system so that multiple characters can use magical attacks at the same time.
Tales of Phantasia, in case you've never played it, focuses on the story of a swordsman named Cress Albane, who goes hunting one day only to return to find his village in ruins and the inhabitants slain. Searching for answers, he embarks on an epic quest, hoping to discover the identity of those responsible and learn the secrets of a strange pendant, which his parents gifted to him.
The new translation was brought to our attention by Life Bottle Productions on Twitter/X and is the work of mziab and the people at Phantasian Productions. It comes in two flavours: a "vanilla" version based on the original experience and a slightly tweaked version that features some additional quality-of-life improvements, which you can find below:
- Added a skit prompt on the world map
- Added a new Red Lantern location in the Aifread quest
- Restored Suzu's controls to what they were in ToP PSX
- Restored the original ending credits song
- Removed the Dark element from Suzu's Chizakura weapon
- Made the stealth section of Alvanista Castle less jank
- Added a toggle for turning Battle Subs on/off
- Added a toggle for turning enhanced Holy Bottles on/off (enhanced bottles stop encounters fully for their duration, as in modern games)
- Monster Book is now alphabetically sorted and starts at the first entry
- The Sorcerer's Ring doesn't need to be equipped to be able to shoot fire
- Curio's Mirror and Scout Orb now carry over in New Game+ if you select the option to carry over items
- Restored Rhea Super Deformed sprite from ToP GBA
You can grab the patch now from the project's GitHub repo. There you will also find links on how to get the patch up and running, and an optional guide on the game's "missables".