Tales of Phantasia begins by showing a heroic battle between four unknown warriors against an evil sorcerer, Dhaos, the outcome of which changed the fate of the world. The warriors were victorious, but Dhaos escaped through time. However, four different heroes are awaiting him: they seal the weakened Dhaos away using the power of two pendants, thus returning peace to the world.
In the town of Toltus ten years after Dhaos had been sealed away, where a young swordsman named Cress Albane and his best friend Chester Barklight live. The town is destroyed by a dark knight named Mars and his soldiers, while Cress and Chester are out hunting in the forest. Every villager is killed in the attack, including Chester’s sister and both of Cress’s parents.
Soon after Cress is captured and meets Mint Adenade in jail, and she joins the party and helps him escape. Soon afterwards, the party meets Chester again at Trinicus D. Morrison's house, one of the four warriors. When the figure out what Mars, the warrior who destroyed Toltus, attempts to accomplish they go after him. Unfortunately, Mars manages to release Dhaos before Trinicus and the party can stop him. With no hope of dealing with the all-powerful Dhaos for now, Trinicus attempts to send Cress, Mint, and Chester back a century into the past, so that they will learn about Dhaos and procure a means to preemptively defeat him. After killing Mars, Dhaos attacks the party with a magic spell that Chester dives in front of. Cress and Mint are warped to the past while Chester and Trinicus are left behind to suffer Dhaos’s wrath. Now with little time on their hands, Cress and Mint go on a journey to go back to the future and save their friends from the ultimate evil.
Characters
Cress Albane
Cress is a seventeen year-old swordsman from the small village of Toltus. He is the son of Miguel Albane, a famous swordsman and master of the local sword fighting school. As such, he has practiced sword fighting since he was a young child.
Chester Barklight
Chester is 17 years old, an archer, and best friend to Cress Albane. When Toltus was attacked, Chester’s sister Ami was killed. Like Cress, he vowed to get revenge on the people responsible. Upon their confrontation with Dhaos, Chester attacked him, giving Trinicus more time to transport Cress and Mint back in time. Although he pretends to dislike her, Chester has romantic feelings for Arche.
Mint Adenade
Mint is 18 years old and like Arche, is a magic user. But her magic is healing magic. Mint was found by Cress locked in a cell by Mars. After the two of them escaped, they discover that their parents took part in sealing away Dhaos, an evil warlord. Upon his confrontation with Dhaos, Trinicus D. Morrison sent her and Cress one hundred years into the past, where they hoped to find the power to defeat Dhaos in the present.
Claus F. Lester
Claus is 29 years old and from the town of Euclid. He has spent his life studying the use of “contract rings” to be able to bind with elemental spirits and then Summon them. Claus joins Cress and Mint on their journey to defeat Dhaos. At first he was hesitant to join them, but after hearing their story and plea for help, he agrees, using it as an opportunity to harness the power of Summoning.
Arche Klein
Arche is a seventeen year-old half-elf magic-user. After meeting Cress and company, she decided to help fight alongside them to defeat Dhaos. She is cheerful and has a short temper, but her attitude puts everyone in a good mood. Because she is a half-elf, she was forbidden from ever entering the Elf Town hidden within the Ymir Forest. She also loves to mock Chester Barklight, who she has romantic feelings for.
Suzu Fujibayashi
Suzu is an 11 year old Ninja and is granddaughter of the chief of the Ninja Village, Japoni. Suzu seeks vengeance against Dhaos, who took control of her parents to further his ambitions. This eventually lead to their deaths. Because she is a Ninja, she was taught to never feel pity or mercy on an enemy, but she wonders if not feeling emotion is really the path of a Ninja. Because Phantasia is a prequel to Tales of Symphonia, it is believed that Suzu is a descendent of Sheena Fujibayashi.
