GAMEPLAY: SUPERB
This game is absurdly fun to play. Control in both the overworld, dungeons, and battle is effortless, with the controller utilized to good effect in almost every instance. Item use and character development are easy to control. However, if you want, you can get very particular about your character's growth thanks to the 'title' system. The Strike/Technical divide, which is poorly explained by the manual and the game, also allows for a more general way of controlling your character's growth. The application of EX gems and their associated skills allows still finer control of your character's abilities. But again, you can play the game very well and have a lot of fun without getting too deeply into any of this.
The real-time battle system will be a bit confusing to those used to the more standard turn-based gameplay of other console RPGs. The learning curve is pretty shallow, however, and the inability to directly control the other members of your party is not as much a handicap as you might think. The AI is reasonably intelligent (though the characters sometimes position themselves oddly or run around for no apparent reason), and if necessary the player can command them to use particular skills using either controller shortcuts or the battle menu.
The learning curve for controlling a given character, as I said, is very shallow... you can learn to control Lloyd, Kratos, Zelos, and Sheena in only one or two battles. Regal, Presea, and Collette require a bit more work (or at least they did for me), and Genis and Raine will be hardest (mainly because they're useless as melee fighters, and everyone else is either primarily melee or at least useful for it). Carefully assigning your battle skills to your controller and preparing unison attacks will allow you to create combos and special attacks that look awesome, but it's just as fun to assign a few stock skills and wail away on your opponents.
Again, battle strategy is as deep as you want it to be. The game sets defaults which are reasonably useful, but if you desire it, you can adjust strategies to fit your own approach to battle. Also, you have the ability to adjust individual strategies in battle through the menu, or switch the whole group to an alternate strategy through D-pad shortcuts. As with other aspects of the game, battle strategy is scalable to your level of interest and expertise.
I have not tried multiplayer, but I have seen complaints that the tendency of the camera to zoom in on Player 1 in battle detracts from the experience. Multiplayer for this sort of game is an iffy prospect anyway, and the AI is sufficiently competent that you don't NEED your pals to pick up controllers, so I don't view this as a weakness.
The gameplay unites RPG strategy with good old-fashioned button-mashing fun, and that makes for a great experience, IMHO.
STORY: SUPERB
With the caveat 'for a game', as always. Despite some cheesy lines (and I mean REALLY cheesy), the story of the game is nicely plotted, and most of the characters behave believably. The twists in the story are both interesting and plausible, and the game makes effective use of foreshadowing without being ridiculously heavy-handed about it. The only problem is that you have to devote some time to the game before the plot picks up; the first part of the game makes it seem like it's going to be the standard 'beat the dungeons and save the world' story that's been standard on consoles since the first Legend of Zelda game.
GRAPHICS: EXCELLENT
Cel-shading. Some love it on general principle, some hate it on general principle. If you belong to either category, I can't help you. However, if you like a game that just looks good, then you won't go wrong with this one. The overworld graphics are rather bland (and the black-blob monsters in the overworld are atrocious), but everything else is very nice. The choice to use blurring as a method of introducing perspective was a mistake, but this is the only complaint I can level against the cutscenes and town areas. The character designs are pretty standard (slender build + narrow chin + absurd hair) for anime, except for Regal. Monster designs, however, are generally good, and the appearance of the special moves in battle is good overall and fantastic in a few cases. As long as you're not a cel-hater, this game will be lots of fun to look at.
AUDIO: EXCELLENT
Most of the voice acting is good (the post-battle exclamations particularly so). However, the guy playing Kratos sounds like he has a head cold, which makes his delivery fairly weak. The music is passable; not really inspiring (until the end credits, which inexplicably have much better music than most of the game), but not distracting. A few places have really catchy tunes associated with them, however (Katz Village), and generally the music is at least nice to listen to. The main weakness, however, is the z-skits, which should have had voiceover (and apparently did in the Japanese version). A few lines here and there are over-emoted, but generally voiceover quality is high.
REPLAYABILITY: EXCELLENT
An abundance of side-quests and mini-games (although these tend to be of little interest to me), the Grade system, and the ability to reshape the story in several places makes this game a lot of fun to play multiple times. Winning it once might take 60-80 hours, but in all likelihood you'll want to win it at least twice, and maybe more times than that.
OVERALL: SUPERB (92%)
Hours of excellent gameplay and an engaging story are paired with eye-pleasing graphics and surprisingly good voice acting. If you have a Gamecube, this is an excellent choice. Hopefully Namco will be releasing future 'Tales' series games over here as well.
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I have edited this review after finishing the game. (...)A long time ago, the tree of mana whithered away because of a ferocious war that raged across the lands. A hero gave his life to save the tree. This so grieved the goddess of mana that she left for the heavens asking her angels to awaken her for if she slept the world would whither away like the tree. Thus the angels job became to guide the "chosen one" to the heavens so that she/he may awaken the goddess and regenerate the world. Now A young girl named Colette the Chosen One, has recieved her calling and she must journey to regenerate the world. Her Best friends Lloyd (the main Character of the game), and Genis decided to go with her to protect her.
The plot starts off feeling eerily similar to Secret of Mana. Not only that it seems like a cheesier version of that to begin with. But as you delve deeper into Lloyd & Colette's journey it starts to come into its own. This game has depth. It deals with issues of politics, religion, discrimination, & friendship. There are many twists and turns all supported by a brilliant & complex cast of characters. Further every so often you have the option of following conversations between your characters as they journey which help add more depth to their characters.
Now on to the graphics & sound. The visuals are gorgeous. The Colors are bright, and the locations are lush. The animation is smooth, and after some major events you are treated to a hand drawn anime cut scene. The sound is pretty good too. Characters taunt and chatter as they battle. You can also hear them recite incantations as they cast spells. The music is nice but I felt the game lacked that one memorable piece that every single final fantasy (FF) game seems to have. My major complaint with the sound is the voice acting is pretty cheesy. It has its strong moments but for most parts I think it could have been done a lot better.
The Battle System is awsome. You can see enemies on the overworld map, or in dungeons. They will chase after you but you can avoid them 85% of the time. Once you do fight, it's a lot of fun. You can move around the field, choose a target and execute attacks. Its almost like SOM except cooler. You can jump to avoid attacks, or block if you wish. Further you have techs (magic attacks & skills) that you can execute, and you can unleash combined attacks on enemies using your party for super damage. And lets not forget combos! You can string together techs to hit the enemies a huge number of times. My highest is 72 hit combo but if you link your party's attacks properly you could go higher. Your party members do a pretty good job of fighting along with you, and even using techs (spells) to heal you etc. You can customize their behaviour using a myriad of options to set AI priorities for each of your team members.
Ok some negative things now. I think one thing that this game really lacks is that its missing that one great event, like the opera house in ff6, or the ballroom dance in ff8 that really made those game memorable (atleast for me). I wish there was that one great scene that I could go back to my GC, reload the game and watch over and over again. Regardless the game is still amazing and memorable as a whole if not for one event. I would highly recommend this game. It is a lot of fun. (...) Stop reading and start buying!
Best Deals for Tales of Symphonia - Gamecube
A salesman recommended this game to me. I've been waiting forever for a good RPG for the Cube, he said it was a great game. Boy was he right.Storyline:
5/5
OK, so at first the storyline seems really clichéd and predictable. Just wait. The plot has so many twists and turns; I found myself shocked more than once, jeez, you sure don't expect half of the things that happen.
Graphics:
4.5/5
Everything is so smooth. So, the characters aren't breathtaking during the cutscenes (their movements seem strange sometimes), but the landscapes are nice and so are the battle scenes. The few anime cutscenes during the game are simply BEAUTIFUL.
Music:
5/5
I personally adore the music in this game. I found myself pausing the game just to listen to it many times, and saving as many of the midis for the game as possible. ^__^
Sound Effects:
4.5/5
The sound effects are usually just as amazing as everything else. I just sometimes found the voice acting strange (but VERY rarely)
Characters:
5/5
O__O I LOVED the characters (especially Kratos, so what if he's a bit clichéd). Such variety, such cool costumes ^__^
Replay Value:
5/5
Once you've finished the game, a harder mode becomes unlocked and you can use your GRADE (sort of like experience points, but not) to start a new game with certain extras.
Overall (not average)
5/5
This is a definite must buy for the Cube. The game had me completely enravelled, it was definetly one of the best games I have ever played (and I've played a lot). I almost garantee that you'll like it ^__^
Honest reviews on Tales of Symphonia - Gamecube
Tales of Symphonia, a game like no other for the Nintendo Gamecube. Seriously, there are so many unique features in this game that it should have it's own genre! Okay, but this reveiw isn't to butter you into buying this game, it's to inform you about it, so lets get crackin'!STORY: The plot of Tales of Symphonia starts out like most other RPGs Enter Lloyd Irving, a teenage swordsman. Along with his friend Genis, he must accompany The Chosen, an angelic girl named Colette, on her pilgrimage to save the world. Along the way, many characters will join and leave them as they help Colette save humanity.
CHARACTERS: The characters play a major role in Tales of Symphonia. Each is fully customizable, although they each have certain skills that imply which job they'd be best suited for. Although Lloyd is the default character, you can choose to control another if you so desire. I particularly like this, because the player can form their own customized battle style and character, whether it be strong Kratos, versitile Colette, or healer Genis. The characters also affect the plot as well. Depending on your realationships you forge with your fellow party members the plot and course of the game will change accordingly.
MULTIPLAYER CAPABILITIES: Another thing that seperates Tales of Symphonia from the rest of the RPG pack is the multiplayer capabilities. Unlike most other RPG games, you are able to battle on a team with three other friends who are each controlling a different character in your party, via the Nintendo GameCube controllers. So, instead of watching you play with a dull expression in their eyes, your buddies can get in on the action too.
GRAPHICS: Lovely cel-shaded graphics decorate the world of Tales of Symphonia. Characters are painted with vibrant colors and scenery is characterized with amazing detail. Cutscenes, however, make the game even more special when cel-shaded graphics become anime masterpieces. Yes, that's right, cutscenes are in anime, and characters are blessed with the voices of skilled actors (such as Tara Strong, Bubbles in Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls, and Jennifer Hale, Prier in Mastiff's La Pucelle: Tactics.)
EXTRAS: Tales of Symphonia is lavished with goodies that only add to it's uniqueness. Characters are able to learn special recipes and cook meals for their friends. When a meal is cooked, you can see an anime cutscene of the rag-tag group devouring it hungrily. Also, a special Titles system is introduced with the creation of Tales of Symphonia. Players can earn special titles that enhance one aspect of their fighting style. Like, "Turbo Waitress" might increase Colette's speed, and "Defender" might increase Genis's defence.
All together, I think Tales of Symphonia will be a GREAT game. Take pride in adding it to you GameCube collection, because it surely will be what gamers will be talking about over the water heater.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tales of Symphonia - Gamecube
Until I read reviews, and decided to buy itPros:
Nice graphics
good voice acting
nice music
crazy battle action(And it's multiplayer, all right!)
A great story with tons of twists and turns
Some characters have diffrent costumes(But don't really get to use them till the end)
Side quests are pretty fun
The game has a bit of humur(Which I like)
So far the best RPG on the gamecube
Cons:
While it may be long 52 hours for me, the game promised 80 hours
Not many animated or FMV sequences, which is rare in RPGs
diolauge can run a bit long(But thank God not as long as Xenosaga)
Nutral:
Replay value is all on you
This game has alot to do, and man the story is just gold. This game really suprized me like Dark Cloud 2 did, and those who have a gamecube or love RPGs gotta get this. This is one of those rare gems that come by every once in a while\
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