Tales of Symphonia, was a much a needed gift from the RPG gods on Nintendo’s Gamecube back in 2003. Nintendo’s console was somewhat devoid of traditional Japanese RPGs, as Sony’s PlayStation 2 had inherited the genre’s top titles from its forbearer. Namco’s fantastic fifth entry in the series would quench the JRPG thirst for Gamecube owners.
The Tales series has been know for its quirky humor, cookie cutter anime character designs, and great character development. It is also known for clichéd main stories that are saved from mediocrity by said character development. Tales of Symphonia did not deviate itself from this winning formula. It has one of the better plots in the series (though I prefer Vesperia, and Legendia), but it borrowed heavily from Final Fantasy X in that regard.
I had a great time with the game, though as I said, I couldn’t help but smile at times, at how much the plot borrowed from Final Fantasy X’s own storyline. Tales of Symphonia does allow you to do some specific things in its plot that Square’s more linear adventures did not. For example, the affection system, which is a grade based system in which the game ranks which party members you had more affection with (by choosing different dialog choices and scenes), can change some scenes in minor, but meaningful ways. The “minor, but meaningful” changes include the possibility of saving a certain party character from death.
So yes, Tales of Symphonia does offer a large degree (by JRPG standards) of control over its linear, but somewhat customizable story. That said, I enjoyed the game for what it was, a funny, light hearted romp, that at times took itself too seriously.
While Tales of Symphonia has been ported over to different platforms, the main GC release remains important. It was a really good looking RPG at the time. Tales of Symphonia might be the best that a Tales game has looked at the time of its release. While the visuals were a tier below the GC’s Zelda efforts, the game certainly looked fantastic. This is a stark contrast from recent Tales games which usually look a generation behind its AAA competitors.
The soundtrack as always was handled by Motoi Sakuraba of Star Ocean fame, and thus, the game sounds eerily similar to Square/Enix’s beloved series.
What really made Tales of Symphonia a special game for me was its quick paced, action based battle system. I hadn’t played a Tales game before Symphonia, thus I was surprised by the how awesome the combat was. Turn based combat has its charms, but I have always preferred the ability to strike at will on my own volition and Tales of Symphonia provided that. Tales of Symphonia followed the same story, and over world structure of a traditional J-RPG like Final Fantasy, but when it came to its combat it was action based, and I loved the game for it.
There are many different ways to enjoy the game today. There is a PlayStation 2, and 3 version. The GameCube version is a pricey proposition, but the PlayStation 3 copy can still be found at Amazon for a low enough price (if you are into collecting old JRPG gems).
While some of the later entries in the series have been a bit pedestrian, Tales of Symphonia is one of the stronger titles in the franchise, and it is certainly a great purchase for JRPG fans looking for a fun adventure.
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