Tales of Symphonia (2014) review

Exceptional

by Azriel Dan

I'm updating to remind everyone that this review is just my opinion. There is no need to defend yourself against me. If you have a differing opinion on the game, I encourage you to write a review of your own. I do NOT encourage you to leave nasty comments and/or personal attacks on this review (nor does the Steam SA). You're welcome to disagree with my opinion, but please be civil and decent. Tales of Symphonia is a Japanese role-playing game released for the Nintendo GameCube on August 29, 2003 in Japan. It is published by Namco and is the fifth core product of the Tales series. The game is set in the world of Sylvarant, a land that is on the wane due to a steady loss of mana, the energy source that is needed both for magic and to support life itself. As the villagers loose their faith, the people turn their hopes to the Chosen One, a servant of the Goddess Martel, who can reverse the ills of the world by completing a journey of world regeneration. You play as Lloyd Irving, a teenage boy, who sets out with Colette Brunel (the young girl who happens to be the Chosen) and a group of compatriots to restore the world's mana and to set things right. The story is standard fare and has a few obvious twists, though it's shored up a good deal by the wide range of characters you come in contact with. The journey may be long, but it's well-populated with characters and a few subplots. Your journey through Sylvarant is also made lighter by the fact that you're generally not subjected to random enemy encounters. Both in dungeons and on the world map, you'll see representations of monsters hanging about. In dungeons, there'll be various types of creatures roaming specific areas, and it's almost always possible for you to navigate right around them, even in close quarters. The world map handles things a bit differently; monsters show up as either blobs or wacky critters, and you'll be able to see them when you get close enough. Some of them sit still, some of them wander randomly, and often you come across one that hops excitedly and dashes straight at you. They can start dashing when you're still not in range to see them, so you can still get caught unawares every so often, particularly on long paths. you're MAYBE, (Should not be necessary) going to have to spend some time leveling. Only Cons: - 30 FPS lock is totally fine for me. - Internal resolution locked to 720p regardless of resolution. Might not be an issue but it affects visual quality. - No Graphical Options etc. Is it Worth it? Looking back to a not-too-distant good old times and bringing us back one of the best Tales ever made. Add to the mix a reasonable price, the newest Tales of Game (Zestiria), and min +70, max +150 hours of quests, Overworld Maps, Cities, Dungeons and some HD anime cutscenes, and you have a good offering if you like the genre or just the Tales series. I got it for free because I pre-ordered Tales of Zestiria and the 19,99€ price is worth it for that amount of input you get here. I'd DEFINITELY recommend it if you are an Tales of fan or newcomer!, unless you find yourself allergic to the typical trappings of such games (you can see the typical zomg 30 fps outrage on the forums already).