For young swordsman Cress Albane, it wasn't a typical day out hunting in the nearby woods. He had no hint of the tragedy unfolding back home.

When Cress returns to find his village in ruins and his parents killed, he sets out on a quest through time and space to uncover the villains responsible for the horror.

If you've been lucky enough to experience the up-tempo battles in Namco's Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube, you already have a taste of the excitement waiting for you in Phantasia. Phantasia's innovative Linear Motion Battle System gives the game a much more energetic, up-tempo feel than traditional turn-based RPGs.

You and your two teammates stand in a line across the screen (hence "linear"), battling enemies coming at you from one or both sides. You control Cress and choose your band members' strategies (for example, you can set Chester to be more or less aggressive). You can pause at any time to access power-ups, issue new strategies and put your team in a new formation.

Phantasia is a deep and satisfying game with plenty of the spells, armor and weapons upgrades, colorful characters, leveling-up and of course the dungeon-crawling that epic fans know and love. The time-traveling may remind you of the light and dark worlds in A Link to the Past. As you trip through time in Phantasia, you'll re-explore many of the same areas, but encounter all-new characters, enemies and challenges.

Through the years, Tales of Phantasia has exerted a remarkable hold on fan's hearts. In fact, gamers polled by a Japanese magazine recently rated Tales of Phantasia as their favorite Namco game of all time!

* Battle in real time! The Linear Motion Battle System puts the emphasis on action as you attack your enemies without the use of menus.
* New game events, dialogue sequences, and other features enhance the adventure on this Game Boy Advance release!
* Crack open the Monster Dictionary to view the strengths and weaknesses of the enemies you've met in battle. Players will want to collect data on them all.
* Use the innovative Cooking System to collect ingredients and recipes to brew up meals that restore your health and magic!