Tales of Symphonia - Another Classic Tales GameTales of Symphonia is an RPG for the GameCube with real time 3D battles. You control a character with a few AI (or human controlled) allies in a large circle of a battlefield. You can predetermine which actions the AI will perform, and in what priority, giving you lots of control of your allies' actions. The world of the game is called Sylvarant and it has your typical fantasy RPG elements including magic, monsters, a dwarf and the like. It has your general overworld map, town and dungeons, and a battle screen separate from everything else. A unique trait of this title is through out the game there are optional skits of dialogue between characters that can be informational or are very humorous at times, and add an extra level of character interaction / development. Each character also has their own unique set of "Titles" that change how their stats develop depending which one is used. The game is one of my all-time favorite RPG's, and should be played by any fan of the genre.
Graphics - The graphics are extremely well done for it's time. We all know the GameCube wasn't top of the line for it's day, but it's hard to see in this game. The design is cel shaded, and looks gorgeous for the style. It's hard to believe everything would look this crisp with how much is packed into the game, but they pulled it off. The characters and enemies look fantastic, even down to the motion of a flowing cloak. Be it overworld, dungeon, or battle, no corners were cut in the rendering of details. Some of the rune artwork and animations for spell casting in battle look on par for the next console generation that followed. The game doesn't use FMV's for big events, but rather anime style cut-scenes, of which no expense was spared for making it look as beautiful as possible. The anime used in the game exceeds in detail even some of the actual TV programs coming out ten years later. The Graphics will not disappoint, getting a 9 / 10.
Sound - The sound for the game is also incredible. The amount of detail put into the sound effects is stunning. In battle alone, every physical and elemental attack has it's own sound effect when landing a hit. One of my favorites of these would be the "bubble" sounds made when striking an enemy with a water based weapon. Everything in the environment that can effect your character or be interacted with has a fitting sound effect, such as spikes emerging from a trap. The music in the game is beautiful. The composition style is similar to that of a Final Fantasy title, with calming overworld tracks and intense battle music. Each track suits it's purpose and is matched wonderfully with the scenario. My favorite part of the sound would be the voice acting. Every major character has a voice behind it for any significant event, and the cast is all professional voice actors. My favorite of the cast would be Scott Menville, who voices the main protagonist Lloyd and also does the voice of Robin for the Teen Titan TV series. Overall, the Sound gets a 9 / 10.
Addictiveness - This is a game this is extremely fun to play for an RPG fan. The combat is fast paced and the 3D environment gives you much more of an option to fight how you see fit. Another great option is the ability to control any character currently in your party, not being limited to simply the protagonist. If you play with friends (local only, no online play) you can each control one of the 4 characters that take place in battle which is one of the best ways to play. Depending how you do in battle, you are given a numerical "Grade" that adds or subtracts from your current total. These grade points can be used in a New Game Plus for buying perks, such as double EXP, to use in the next play through, adding a good deal of replayability. There are a ton of side quests and things to explore in the game, offering plenty to try and accomplish since it's nearly impossible to catch everything the first time through. Any RPG fan will find plenty to love about this game, giving the Addictiveness a 8 / 10.
Story - The story of this game is fantastic. The game follows Lloyd Irving and his close friends on their journey to try and save their world. Coincidentally, his childhood friend is the Chosen One, the key to keeping the world from perishing (this is not a spoiler, don't worry). Through his curiosity and mischief, Lloyd sets in motion a chain of events that will take him and his friends on a Journey bigger in scale than any legend they have ever known. The story will be full of twists and turns even the most foresighted will not see coming. It is also paced excellently, never allowing things to get dull. I love the way things behind the scenes play out, making you second guess everything you thought you knew about the story and people in it. The Story gets a 10 / 10.
Depth - There is more to offer in this game than I could list in a single review. I wasn't even trying to 100% the game and spent just over 225 hours on my first play through, loving every second of it. There are loads of side quests and other objectives to achieve not part of the main story. There are mini-games that range from being a waitress, to playing "Red Light Green Light" with in-game children. There are quite a few side-quests that involve donating money to restore a city, having a character perform a dance, or even helping cure an illness. Other than Titles, most of these quests have small rewards. I think they're more for character development than anything, but if you want to get the most you can out of the story like I do, you'll want to accomplish as many as possible. The main story alone provides a good 60+ hours of game play (if not more), so you'll get your money's worth regardless of how much you wish to explore. The Depth gets a 10 / 10.
Difficulty - Here is the one department the game is lacking. I found the game to be way too easy, offering little challenge outside of certain boss battles. It's also very easy to grind levels for anything you may have trouble dealing with, making the game even less difficult. Unless you have the AI set up horridly, and are really underleveled, the game shouldn't prove too difficult in any way, shape, or form. Even the puzzles that require solving to get through the dungeons were typically a cake walk to accomplish, simply consuming time over being a challenge to complete. All in all, the game could use quite the overhaul in terms of difficulty, but it doesn't take hardly anything away from the experience. Luckily there are different difficulty settings, so you can adjust it to suit your liking, also offering an extra level of difficulty upon completion. My score is for playing on the Normal setting. The Difficulty gets a 5 / 10.
This game can be considered a masterpiece and many RPG fans love it for good reason.
Hope you enjoyed the review :)
Graphics
9 Sound
9 Addictive
8 Depth
10 Story
10 Difficulty
5
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