At the outset of the game, players create a male or female character who look strangely alike. They're both androgynous and wear the same burgundy-colored outfit. Once the sex is determined, the new hero may be outfitted with a new hair style, hair color, skin color, and choice of weapon from four possible selections. Players then choose the occupation of the hero from Fighter or Magic User and the story begins.

Spoiler Alert
In the first scene of the game, the camera rests on the hero lying prone on the forest floor. A squeaky voice hails him and he slowly gets up to greet a flying feline that's fluttering immediately above him. The cat with wings is named "Morumo" who does all of the talking for the hero who never speaks during the game. The hero does occasionally yell after a successful battle but dialogue isn't his thing. Soon after the introductions, the two encounter a pink-haired girl named Kanosono who is being accosted by a soldier. Kill him in a newtype 3D battle scenario and meet Chester Burklight who hails from the Tales of Phantasia game. After introductions, head on over to a town where many more familiar characters from the Tales games are met and interacted with.

NCS Region Test
The Japanese version of Tales of The World Radiant Mythology boots fine on USA and European Playstation Portable handhelds. The menus are only in Japanese and the in-game text is also Japanese only.

Jan Code: 4582224496273

View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.

» Press START on the title screen and the following selections pop up

NEW GAME....... Begin a new adventure
CONTINUE....... Resume a game from memory stick save data
OPTION........... Set assorted game modifiers
NETWORK........ Connect to a LAN and go online

» START a new game and players may select a male or female character, both of whom look fairly androgynous. Both wear the same burdgundy outfit and boots with flare-top. Once the sex is selected, the hair style may be selected from six possible cuts including spiky, relaxed-bowl, hanging over the right eye, and one style that looks leonine. After that, the color of the locks may be chosen from silver-maned, blonde, black, brown, and crimson. Skin color is then selected from pinkish, tanned, and off-white. Choose a profession from Fighter or Magic User and a weapon may then be selected from four possible choices such as an axe, sword, staff, and wand. Finally, players may enter their names or keep the default name. Once all that is done, the character rotates slowly on the PSP screen so players can view their handiwork.

» The camera pans in on the character lying prone on the forest floor... or a green floor of some sort. A voice-over relays the introductory dialogue to set up the story and situation. The character wakes up and a flying feline of some sort is in front of him. The animal has been doing the talking
but its name is ??? at first and later revealed to be Morumo. It talks a bit before a scream in the distance interrupts their meeting. Morumo raises its paws up in fear and flits to join the hero who's default name is Furiya.

» After that, control is handed over to the player:

CONTROLS
D-pad.........Movement
Analog........Movement
Triangle......Summon menu

» Continue running north and you'll eventually see a pink-haired girl in a white dress with a brown-armored soldier in front of some flora and two distinct waterfalls. Morumo comments on the situation and the soldier walks up to them and a battle starts. Attack with the "O-button" and guard with the "Square" button. The soldier will block if you attack like a madman but you can perform a "Guard Break" to pierce its defenses and smite him dead. The game ranks your fighting performance and lists the time of the battle. After the encounter, Morumo speaks to the pink haired girl who's name is ??? at first. They're joined by a silver-blue haired warrior also named ??? who runs up. His name is Chester Burklight and her name is Kanosono. After the conversation, the two walk away and Morumo and Furiya are left to their own devices again. An image of a city built on the side of a mountain is shown with waterfalls flowing and quaint houses and structures cropped close together amidst trees.

» Next, the two encounter a guy in a jester hat of sorts and goggles (Kanseru) and a man with brown hair who is kneeling. After their banter, control is handed over to the player again and you may roam around an attractive area with a central circular partition which features four gardens that are shaped like quadrants of a pie and separated from each other. Water flows from an artificial waterfall to the side which lazily drifts downwards. Three citizens may be spoken to for short snippets of text. Different areas of the city may be visited by exiting to the left portion of the screen and then selecting the seven major areas from a listing. As each selection is highlighted, the building on the town map will blink to indicate that's where you'll be going.

» The first listing allows you to visit with a silver haired gal named Rifuiru. They joined by a red haired guy named Waratosu. He summons the pink haired girl from earlier named Kanosono and she enters the room. Morumo holds a conversation with her. In the next scene, a very loud Luke Fone Fabre and a sedate Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss interact with each other and then with Morumo.

» The second selection in town is the local tavern where Rid Hershel is hanging out. Other areas to visit include an items shop, an armoury and weapons shop which share the same counter but is divided by a little archway. The humble abodes of two citizens who live in the town may also be checked out. After visiting everywhere, head back to the first town selection and Morumo will talk to Waratosu. Next, head back to the town square (center) and Kanosono and Arche Klein will be waiting. Morumo holds a conversation with each girl and afterwards, go back to the 1st selection area again to talk to Rifuiru. Afterwards, you'll be allowed to leave the town and explore elsewhere.

» On the world map, two locations are available - to the left is a dungeon which is inhabited by soldiers and blue dingoes of some sort. To the south, is a forest area that is populated by big boar-like creatures and onion-like plants that walk around. If you run to the end of the forest area, you can play the same area all over again but at Level 2 with monsters that are more formidable.

» Game progress can be saved at any time by going into the save submenu.

» The battle system is now 3D instead of 2D and the hero can run around in all directions and hack slash. If he's killed, he gets ported back to the town and he can start anew. The battle system is dubbed the Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System where hero can move around in 3D to avoid enemy attacks from different vectors. However, the system seems to get a little confused from time to time. For example, if you're attacking an enemy head-on and want to do a reverse d-pad attack, pushing back on the d-pad will make hero run away instead of executing the attack. A solution that could have been implemented would be one where the L or R trigger is held during battle to keep the hero from moving while attacking.

» Monsters regenerate out of thin air so you can hang around and wait for them to manifest if you need to churn some experience points.

» The hero never says anything but he does scream out occasionally before and after a battle.

» The camera in the game world is fixed-position and there is no rotation or panning.

» To perform a triple strike, push up on the D-pad and press the "O-button". The first blow will send the enemy upwards into the air and as it descends, hero strikes two more times on the way down. To perform a attack sequence which ends with a backflip sword attack, push back on the d-pad and press the "O-button" thrice.

This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.