Tales of Eternia Remastered review: a real blast from the past

Back in 2000, Bandai Namco published the third game in the beloved Tales series, Tales of Eternia .

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>Back in 2000, Bandai Namco published the third game in the beloved Tales series, <em>Tales of Eternia</em>. It was received very well at launch, being praised for its high-octane action combat, charming cast, and humorous script — though the Western versions on the original PlayStation and PSP were held back by their omission of skits (character-driven dialogue scenes) and slightly subpar voice acting. But now, <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered </em>— developed by TOSE Co. — is here, aiming to remedy these issues and refine the game for a modern audience.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Review info</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><p class="fancy-box__body-text"><strong>Platform reviewed: </strong>Nintendo Switch 2<br /><strong>Available on: </strong>PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch<br /><strong>Release date: </strong>October 16, 2026</p></div></div><p>I’ve spent just north of 30 hours with <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em>, playing through the main story, completing side quests, and exploring the realms of Inferia and Celestia. </p><p>So, how effectively does this remaster bring a JRPG classic into the modern era? And is it truly worth playing? Here’s my verdict.</p><h2 id="gimme-a-boost">Gimme a Boost!</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="GS7vPxKt8f5iFCZ2PXDfHT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (12)" alt="Skit sequence in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GS7vPxKt8f5iFCZ2PXDfHT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p>I’ll speak about the core <em>Tales of Eternia </em>experience in good time, but it only seems right to discuss the new stuff that this remaster brings to the table first.</p><p>Arguably the main thing is the inclusion of Boost Function. This enables you to tailor your experience to your specific wants and needs, with highlights including a random encounter toggle, difficulty options, an increased item capacity setting, and an EXP gain adjuster. </p><p>My personal favorite feature was the option to restore TP (which you consume when using skills) when camping, which made grinding feel a lot more fluid and easier to manage. </p><p>The Boost Function suite is filled to the brim, and really helps to make the title more approachable for newcomers. My only real complaint here is that I would’ve loved the option to map a function — such as disabling enemy encounters — to one of the buttons on my <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-review">Nintendo Switch 2</a>. Having to open the main menu, go into the Customize Section, and then the Boost Function felt a touch clunky.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Best bit</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><figure class="van-image-figure " ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' ><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="WzMHhrAmDHrCgQUkStG3fT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (7)" caption="" alt="Characters and Greater Craymels talk in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WzMHhrAmDHrCgQUkStG3fT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" link="" align="" fullscreen="" width="" height="" attribution="" endorsement="" class="pinterest-pin-exclude" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=""><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p class="fancy-box__body-text"><strong>Defeating the Greater Craymel, Celsius, was by far one of the most rewarding moments for me. She was giving me a lot of trouble by evading my Artes and freezing my healers into submission, but after switching up my formation and strategy, I was able to best her in a true battle for the ages.</strong></p></div></div><p>There’s a lot more to uncover, though. For instance, you can switch between remastered and original graphics and sound effects, which is sure to satisfy newcomers and long-time fans.</p><p>The visual enhancements are relatively light overall. This isn’t a transformative overhaul, and some environments still look a little rough around the edges. But still, the remaster does illuminate some previously obscured details. As you can see in the images below, detailing on the statues is far more intricate, and foliage looks sharper in the remastered graphics mode. And while some may prefer the original pixel sprites, I think the remaster does a good job of cleaning them up a bit while keeping them faithful to the original artwork.</p><figure role="gallery"><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CgXKvMLHMAwXN3eg7MVrvS-1920-80.jpg" alt="Reid in Tales of Eternia Remastered (original graphics)" /><figcaption>Original graphics mode<small role="credit">Bandai Namco</small></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ti3KtYVV2aGSw3sSsdfp3T-1920-80.jpg" alt="Reid in Tales of Eternia Remastered (remastered graphics)" /><figcaption>Remastered graphics mode<small role="credit">Bandai Namco</small></figcaption></figure></figure><p>While we’re on the topic of visuals, I unfortunately have a complaint to make: the cutscenes look pretty poor. They’ve been placed into widescreen, and it looks as if a filter has been applied; the results are underwhelming — characters and backgrounds lack clarity and definition, laying bare the limitations of the original material.</p><p>That’s a nitpick, of course, and most elements of this remaster still hit the spot. For example, the newly recorded English voice acting is great, and each character’s personality shines through perfectly. Skits are finally here in the West, too, providing plenty of humorous and emotional moments when camping or resting.</p><p>Objective icons are also introduced, which point you in the direction of the main story objective or side quests. I really appreciated this, especially as I didn’t want to miss out on side content, but if you want to figure everything out for yourself, you can swiftly switch it off in the Customize menu.</p><h2 id="an-underrated-classic-reborn">An underrated classic, reborn</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="Qfm4V9JpoTGAs5yUZNGjzT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (9)" alt="Efreet unleashes an attack in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qfm4V9JpoTGAs5yUZNGjzT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p>So, while it’s not flawless, the remaster of this title is solid overall and successfully makes this classic more palatable for modern audiences. But just how fun is the core game in the big 2026?</p><p>I’ll lay my cards on the table: I had a spectacular time with <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em>. This was actually my first time playing the game — after all, I wasn’t even born when it was initially released. In spite of that, there was something so nostalgic about it, the warm, charming world and excellent cast totally captured my attention, and I found myself pouring countless hours into the game every single day.</p><p>Something that stood out for me was the writing. Yes, the main narrative is nothing special — the world is in danger, and a group of young heroes needs to defy the odds to save everybody. But it’s the characters that make this experience so special. </p><p>For the most part, you'll spend your time with four key heroes. Reid is a reluctant protagonist who seems to be dragged into the chaos at every turn, Farah is a contemplative, complex young woman learning herself as the story unfolds, Keele is a stuck-up academic type who delivers some hilarious moments, and Meredy is a caring and curious foreign stranger who the crew slowly begins to understand in their quest to prevent disaster. </p><p>The cast isn’t weighed down by the tired tropes and lazy writing that a lot of JRPGs faced at the time, and each party member is highly memorable.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="aanC8JWpfwHqfupLhPk8CT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (1)" alt="Characters meet strange creatures in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aanC8JWpfwHqfupLhPk8CT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p>But how about the actual gameplay? Well, the combat is pretty unique. It manifests in the form of a fighter-RPG hybrid, with a large focus on reactive action-based commands. While the combat certainly takes some getting used to and the movement can feel a little janky at times, battling your foes feels incredibly addictive. Chaining Artes together to deliver devastating combos and tinkering with formations or skills to get past tough boss battles is highly rewarding, and even random encounters gave me huge satisfaction. </p><p>The game is undoubtedly challenging, but delivering a finishing blow makes your struggle feel worth it. And if you do fall to your foes, a retry battle option is at hand to dive right back into the action.</p><p>There’s not too much grinding required, either. I kept random encounters on for the vast majority of my playthrough, and that gave me plenty of experience for big boss fights. If you do want to grab some extra experience, though, you can switch Auto mode on and have your team fight for you, helping you avoid same-y skirmishes.</p><p>Outside of battle, things are decent too. You can explore the world for items and treasure to bolster your stats, venture into shops to grab stronger gear, and even take on a few minigames. Exploration is highly gratifying as well, and you’ll often find weapons that come in handy for specific areas or recipes that restore your HP or TP when you’re running low. </p><p>A small complaint I have, though, is that movement feels clunky in the overworld. You need to be very precise if you want to move diagonally, and dragging items like statues could feel a bit awkward at times. This is still a relatively minor issue overall, but in tighter areas, the old-school movement did cause me some minor frustration. </p><p>I also have to say that the minigames, in general, are pretty bad. They typically control fine, but don’t feel very fun to play at all. Luckily, you can skip these if you’d prefer, which I often did. It was cool to see mouse mode integration for minigames on Nintendo Switch 2, though, which worked a treat in my experience. </p><p>Speaking of my experience on Switch 2, let’s take a moment to talk about performance. <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em> runs in 4K when playing docked and 1080p in handheld, with smooth 60fps across both modes — perhaps to be expected for a less demanding title like this. I didn’t notice any technical hiccups or frame drops during my whole playthrough, so Switch 2 is certainly a top-tier destination for this remaster. </p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="MQZyn5ZpgREE5zUtVtXhnT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (2)" alt="Reid and Farah battle some foes in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MQZyn5ZpgREE5zUtVtXhnT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p>So let’s address those questions I posed in the intro. Is <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered </em>a worthy modern take on this classic entry? For me, the answer is yes. </p><p>Some things could’ve been better: the visual enhancements are relatively light, cutscenes look a bit underwhelming, and I would’ve liked a shortcut button for disabling enemy encounters. But the Boost Function provides so much flexibility, the new English dub is great, and the ability to retry battles in an instant keeps the game's pace feeling fast and fluid.</p><p>And at a core level, this is a great game with a lot to offer, in spite of a few dated elements. The combat, while very much of its time, remains fun and surprisingly strategic; the cast is highly memorable, with skits adding some welcome depth, and exploration is rewarding too. </p><p>All in all, I had a blast with <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em>, and JRPG fanatics are sure to find a lot to love here.</p><h2 id="should-you-play-tales-of-eternia-remastered">Should you play Tales of Eternia Remastered?</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="yTo5qXjH63iwk9zUYraKUT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (3)" alt="Two characters sit on top of a roof in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yTo5qXjH63iwk9zUYraKUT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><h2 id="play-it-if">Play it if...</h2><div class="product"><p><strong>You appreciate a challenge</strong><br /><em>Tales of Eternia</em> is a fairly challenging game, with some daunting boss fights scattered throughout the experience. I had to retry a fair few times when battling against the mightiest foes, but there’s even a hard and extreme mode if you truly want to test yourself.</p></div><div class="product"><p><strong>You want to play a JRPG that doesn’t overstay its welcome</strong><br />As a huge JRPG fan, I know that this genre has a tendency to demand an awful lot of your time. But <em>Tales of Eternia </em>hits a real sweet spot. It takes around 25-30 hours to finish (unless you’re a true completionist), and is well-paced throughout, making it a far more approachable title than a lot of other games in this space.</p></div><h2 id="don-39-t-play-it-if">Don't play it if...</h2><div class="product"><p><strong>You’re expecting a modern Tales experience</strong><br /><em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em> remains very faithful to the original, and you’re still getting that 2D action-based combat of yesteryear. It’s not as fluid and free-flowing as modern Tales combat systems, so if that’s what you’re after, it may be worth looking elsewhere.</p></div><div class="product"><p><strong>You want top-tier visuals</strong><br />Of course, this is a remaster rather than a remake, so this entry isn't aiming to supply a striking visual overhaul. Even still, the visuals are a bit of a mixed bag; the cutscenes aren’t handled very well, and the in-game graphical enhancements, while decent, aren’t exactly transformative.</p></div><h2 id="accessibility-features">Accessibility features</h2><p>There are a number of ways to customize your experience in <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em>. You can turn subtitles on or off, choose to auto-advance text, remap buttons to suit your preferences, and alter difficulty. While there’s no colorblind mode, in-game elements that previously required color-based identification have been redesigned around visual elements unrelated to color.</p><h2 id="how-i-reviewed-tales-of-eternia-remastered">How I reviewed Tales of Eternia Remastered</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="29JTQiZWPMUxUciCM7h2MT" name="tales-of-eternia-remastered (10)" alt="Characters play a card game in Tales of Eternia Remastered" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/29JTQiZWPMUxUciCM7h2MT-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Bandai Namco)</span></figcaption></figure><p>I spent just over 30 hours with <em>Tales of Eternia Remastered</em>, during which time I played through the main story, completed a handful of side quests, and tried out all of the various Boost Function features.</p><p>For the most part, I played the game in docked mode, with my Nintendo Switch 2 hooked up to the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/televisions/sky-glass-gen-2-review">Sky Glass Gen 2</a> TV and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/televisions/soundbars/marshall-heston-120-review">Marshall Heston 120</a> soundbar. However, I did dip into handheld mode from time to time, and used the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/sennheiser-cx-80u-review">Sennheiser CX 80U</a> wired earbuds to enjoy in-game audio.</p><p>More generally, I’ve covered a huge array of games here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve reviewed a number of JRPGs, including <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/trails-in-the-sky-2nd-chapter-review"><em>Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter</em></a><em> </em>and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/dragon-quest-i-ii-hd-2d-remake-review"><em>Dragon Quest I &amp; II HD-2D Remake</em></a>, as well as Switch 2 exclusives such as <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/fire-emblem-fortunes-weave-review"><em>Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave</em></a><em> </em>and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-sports-resort-review"><em>Nintendo Switch Sports Resort</em></a>.</p><p><em>First reviewed October 2026</em></p> </article> ]]>