Initially named "Rebus" in Japan, then "Kartia" in the US, and finally "Legend of Kartia" in Europe.
This Strategy RPG is divided into two volumes. The first follows Toxa Classico and the second follows Lacryma Christi. Each volume is a separate story, although the plots will intertwine at points.
The battle system revolved around human combatants summing phantoms, using magic and so forth all using Kartia. (which are card-like materials collected through battle and throughout the game) Each phantom has specific strengths and weaknesses compared to the others and eventually a rock/paper/scissors type scenario is created in most battles. The human characters can fight as well, but the death of one means failure in the battle and the player must restart the chapter over again. The death of summoned phantoms in battle loses only the Kartia used to summon them.
The battles are conducted in a 2.5D isometric battlefield which can be rotatedthrough 360 degrees at 90 degrees intervals. The backgrounds are 3D with the characters and phantoms on top.
Kartia can be combined to create more powerful phantoms whose statistics are based on the type of Kartia used. Phantoms primarily become more powerful through combination rather than leveling. Weapons can be crafted from Kartia combinations too, although they can be bought at various points if needed.
Kartia's character designs were done by Yoshitaka Amano, of Final Fantasy fame.
For better or worse the game is often compared to Final Fantasy Tactics which came out around the same time. This game is generally simpler than that one, with the phantoms not possessing entire trees of skills to unlock.
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