Ah, Tales of Phantasia—the one that started it all for the Tales series. You jump in as this kid, Cless, whose village gets wrecked by some shady sorcerers, and suddenly you're tangled up in a time-hopping mess to stop an ancient evil, Dhaos. The combat’s this weird hybrid of turn-based and real-time where you’re mashing buttons to chain attacks, which felt janky at first but kinda grows on you.

What’s cool is how the story doesn’t just dump lore on you—you actually live the past and future stuff, watching the world crumble or thrive based on what you do. The GBA port’s got some rough edges (that soundtrack compression hurts), but it’s still a solid way to play if you’re into old-school JRPGs with a little extra action spice. Just don’t expect flashy cutscenes—this one’s all about the grind and the vibes.