Skip to content

Tales of the Abyss

Bandai Namco Studios · Feb 14, 2012

3DS

Teen

About

Tales of the Abyss follows the story of the young aristocrat, Luke fon Fabre. Kidnapped seven years ago, Luke returns to his family with no memories of his life before. Suddenly, Luke is thrust into the outside world and caught in the workings of the Order of Lorelei and the Oracle Knights who serve as keepers of the prophecy known as the Score. He must learn of the power of friendship and feel the pain of sacrifice. Luke's actions could save the world or destroy it.

Trailers & screenshots

Scores by platform

Nintendo 3DS

Critic 7.3 (16 critics) · Gamer 8.8

7.8

Critic reviews

  • Game Informer

    Kyle Hilliard · Mar 08, 2012

    6.8
    It feels sluggish and slow compared to more recent entries in the Tales series, which makes sense considering the original version released five years ago. Improvement and innovations found in subsequent Tales entries weren’t integrated into this port. The system still functions, but it feels dated and lacks excitement.
  • Inside Gaming

    Jason Jasicki · Mar 05, 2012

    7.0
    The Tales series has a great following among RPG fans, and it is well deserved. Tales of the Abyss for the 3DS is a faithful port of the PS2 version. A broad comprehensive battle system makes each fight worthwhile, if a bit repetitive. The story is told at the right pace and will keep you interested throughout the entirety of the game. But the experience isn’t entirely perfect, with some odd sound issues, a knack for getting you lost, and 3D visuals that should never be used.
  • Cheatcc

    Amanda L. Kondolojy · Feb 21, 2012

    7.2
    The game feels like a shrunken down PS2 game, and if you are expecting any cool 3DS features, you'll be sadly disappointed. It still holds up surprisingly well after six years, but in this age of remakes, re-releases, and re-imaginings, Tales of the Abyss needs something to set it apart on the 3DS from its PS2 predecessor. Unfortunately, it didn't quite get the treatment it deserved before getting shuffled off to release.
    Read review
  • IGN

    Keza Macdonald · Feb 14, 2012

    7.0
    It’s impressive that Namco-Bandai has managed to port a full-sized, voice-acted Japanese RPG to the 3DS without sacrificing any of the content from the PlayStation 2 version. But it’s also a six-year-old game that hasn’t aged well in all respects, and if you’re a North American Tales fan, it’s likely to be one you’ve played before. Like all the Tales games, this is a charmer, but it probably won’t be long before it’s outdone by a game that’s actually been made for the platform.
    Read review
  • RPG Site

    Alex Donaldson · Jan 18, 2012

    7.0
    Tales of the Abyss marks the first truly major 'proper' RPG release for the Nintendo 3DS, and whilst this is a very basic and bare-bones port of a PS2 title this sets the system's RPG library off on a good footing. Tales of the Abyss wasn't perfect back in 2005 and it's even less so now when compared to some modern gameplay titles, but it's still a fine game with charm, wit and unique ideas that make it stand out aesthetically - even if in other areas it's aged less gracefully.
    Read review
  • NintendoLife

    Mark Reece · Dec 11, 2011

    8.0
    The 3DS doesn’t yet offer much choice for those who favour lengthy adventures over quick-fix pick-up-and-play games. However, if you are such a person, Tales of the Abyss should quench your thirst. It might not make the best use of the 3DS’ unique visual capabilities and certain omissions might be cause for minor grumbling, but this is still a shining example of a great JRPG and one that any fans of the genre would be foolish to pass up on.
    Read review

See all critic reviews

Rate this game

Contains spoiler

to rate this game.