Fast forward five years later and Namco issues another Tales of Fandom which features core casts of characters from Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Abyss. Unlike the first Fandom which allowed the different games to be chosen from a menu, Fandom 2 takes an interactive approach where the games and interaction sequences are selectable from a world map. At the outset of the game, the parties from all three Tales games have been transported to a central location where they're holed up in their respective bastions. Players move a cursor around the world map to select the different adventures as well as a casino located to the north which features Black Jack, Poker, Baccarat, and Slots. A purse of 1000 credits starts the player off but note that playing Baccarat requires an ante of 1000 credits. Lose once and you're wiped out. To bolster the fan service, copious amounts of voice acting are featured in the game.
Bonus Schwag
Every copy of Tales of Fandom 2 is packaged with a set of 10 Tales of My Shuffle cards which are packaged in their own cardboard slipcase. NCS also received an allocation of bonus Tales of Fandom DVDs and we'll include them with all preorders shipping today. While supplies last, we will also include the bonus DVD with new orders.
Jan Code: 4582224496457
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
Region Lock-out
Please note Japanese Playstation 2 games will not boot on USA or European PS2 consoles due to the inherent region-lockout on Playstation 2 game discs.
NCS Game Notes
»» Intro: Clouds part and the world is seen below from a bird's eye view which is all greenery and buildings. Five characters appear followed by eight more characters and finally six characters shoot upwards in segmented shafts. The camera switches to a side view of the world as clouds slowly moves from right to left on the bottom of the screen. The title screen pops into view afterwards.
»» The three selections on the title screen are as follows:
NEW GAME......... Start a new adventure
LOAD GAME........ Resume an adventure from memory card save data
OPTION.............. Adjust BGM, SE, and VOICE volumes, set message speed, etc
»» Start a NEW GAME and dialogue accompanied by pictures appear which sets up the background story. An image of icy crags are in the background when the camera swivels to the right and focuses on the pink-haired Arche Klaine from Tales of Phantasia who holds her hands together in despair. Chester Barklight appears followed by Cless Alvein and Mint Adnade. Finally, Suzu Fujibayashi and Klarth F. Lester put in their two cents. Afterwards, Cless draws his sword and the world goes white.
»» In the next scene, the camera rests in front of a tombstone when Lloyd Irving of Tales of Symphonia fame appears. He's quickly shadowed by the appearance of Presea Combatir with her pink hair flowing, Raine Sage and her little brother Genius Sage, Shihna Fujibayashi, Colette Brunel, Regal Bryant, Zelos Wilder, and Kratos Aurion. In other words, the entire core cast of the various Tales games appear in quick succession right at the outset of the game to draw ardent fans in.
»» In the next scene, the music turns somber and we're at the gates of a mighty edifice. It's apparently dusk and Tear Grants enters the scene dressed in her regulation-issue duds. Guy Cecil, Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear, Anise Tatlin, Jade Curtiss, and Luke fon Fabre with a new haircut make their respective appearances in quick succession. Fade out.
»» The scene changes and a bright light appears on screen. There's screeching and yelling from select members of the aforementioned cast and strange things are afoot. A bell rings in the distance followed by strong rumbling on the Dual Shock 2 followed by a scream. There's more DS2 rumbling, screaming, and the clouds part from above. Four locations on the world map blink and the characters from all three Tales games have been brought to the world.
»» The next scene opens with a confused Cless Alvein who's joined by Chester Barklight and the rest of the gang who all have a say in their predicament. After their session from the cast of Tales of Phantasia, it's Lloyd Irving and friends from Tales of Symphonia who wonder where they've been transported to. Next up is Luke fone Fabre from Tales of the Abyss and his crew of adventurers. Although Mieu didn't appear in the earlier sequence, the Cheagle also made the trip with the rest of the gang. Asch the Bloody also made the trip and the party is surprised to see him.
»» The game starts with a cursor upon which a red-hatted moppet is walking in place. Use the d-pad or L-analog to move around the world and highlight buildings and areas where the parties of "Tales" characters are residing. Each location for a specific Tales game opens up into a dedicated adventure that you play through to the end. Some areas such as the mountain at the north of the map opens up a little interactive session. The green domed building to the left of the mountain contains a casino where four different games may be enjoyed as follows:
1) Slots - Hosted by Luke fone Fabre. Start with 1000 credits and bet up to three credits at once. Line up the spinners horizontally or diagonally for cash prizes. To insert a total of three coins with a single button press, hit the TRIANGLE button. When the spinners are rolling, hit the "O" button three times to stop each spinner in sequence and attempt to garner rewards. If you get a line-up horizontally of the three red-hatted moppet faces, you'll get a 100:1 payout. For example, bet 3 credits and earn 300 in return with a hit. Getting three Mieu faces across will earn a 50:1 payout.
2) Baccarrat - Chester and Arche host this particular game of skill. Note that 1000 credits are required per hand to play.
3) Poker - Regal Bryant's still in handcuffs as he plays poker in the capacity of dealer. The price of entry is 10 credits to ante up. Pick the cards you want to throw out by hitting the CIRCLE button and swish them all away by pressing the SQUARE button. If you have a strong hand, you can elect to raise the pot but if you have a weak hand, you can try bluffing your way to a winning hand.
4) Black Jack - Jade Curtiss is the dealer and the game is standard Black Jack like we have in Vegas.
»» Battles are fought by way a Timing Gauge System which is a rhythmic exercise where a triangle outline within a circle appears on screen. A triangular pattern then throbs within the circle. When the pattern touches all of the outer designated points (skill, heart, body) of the circle, press the "O" button for a hit. If the points don't all touch the outer circle area, and you press the "O" button anyway, you'll miss and take a hit from the enemy. Miss more than once and you're beaten.
»» All of the dialogue in the game is accompanied by emotive voice acting.
»» To remove the dialogue box from the screen so that the full onscreen image may be viewed, press the "X" button. This is useful if you're in need of capturing screenshots or obtaining new wallpaper.
»» To view game options, press the "TRIANGLE" button at any time during the game and five selections will pop up as follows:
1) Gallery........ View images of the characters in the game - most are locked at the outset
2) Items........... View objects in the game - all are locked at the outset
3) Save............ Store your session to memory card [Not available at all times]
4) Load............ Restore your session from memory card [Not available at all times]
5) Options....... Adjust BGM, SE, and VOICE volumes, set message speed, etc
»» To paginate through the previous dialogue entries in the game script, press the L1-TRIGGER and flip through all of the conversations that have occurred earlier.
»» The cast roster is as follows:
Tales of Phantasia Characters
Cless Alvein
Mint Adnade
Arche Klaine
Chester Barklight
Klarth F Lester
Suzu Fujibayashi
Tales of Symphonia Characters
Lloyd Irving
Colette Brunel
Genius Sage
Refill Sage
Kratos Aurion
Zelos Wilder
Shihna Fujibayashi
Presea Combatir
Regal Bryan
Mitos Yggdrasill
The "Goddess" Martel
Yuan
Tales of the Abyss Characters
Luke fone Fabre
Tear Grants
Guy Cecil
Jade Curtiss
Anise Tatlin
Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear
Fon Master Ion
Tear Grants (Younger)
Van Grants
Dist the Death God
Emperor Pione
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