Tales of Phantasia (Game Boy Advance, 2006)

I've never played the Original "Tales of Phantasia," so I can't compare the game to it. In fact, I've never played anything in the "Tales" series. Regardless, I enjoy this game. I'm yet to complete it, but so far it has been filled with exploring and fighting.

Unlike many new RPGs, "Phantasia" gives you a relatively high degree of freedom to roam the world early. Some places are off limits, but you can travel to towns and caves out of order if you wish. This is a plus for exploring and finding treasures sooner rather than later.

The battle environment is a 2D space where you control the main character. The others may be issued spell command and change formations, but generally you will just let them perform on their own with the strategy you lay out. This makes the battles relatively simple but with enough control to force commands you need. You can even put the main character on Auto if you want to take it easy.

This game seems to have decent difficulty and exploring. It can be a little tedious going through dungeons at times due to high encounter rates, but it is mostly balanced. The game isn't the best RPG around, but it's far from the worst. It's a worthwhile purchase for any old-school RPG gamer.