| ZenfoldorVGI said:
Tales of Symphonia actually performs averagely or poorly in most areas of gaming, but in those three, I feel it excells. The sense of improvement is good, above average even, and perfectly paced. Not only do you improve by doing more damage, but there is a complex co-op system in place that enble super combos, and special moves, that are only possible once you learn the moves that allow them to be performed. In other words, even if you weren't going to use Super Sonic Thrust, you need to learn it so you can string together a group attack, or learn the next ultra powerful technique. These special moves are done with actual action on the controller. The game was based on the idea of "JRPG with fighting game engine" which gave up some very fun gameplay elements, all of which were deep, mix that in with competant level design, modern jRPG improvements, and a long playing time with plenty of hardcore appeal for replay, and you've definitely got a gameplay experience that is addicting to entheusiastic fans, and rewarding for time spent. Again, when FF copies(even if inadvertantly) your AI system, you've hit on something. There is a lot to talk about as far as enjoyment of the battle system, and it's certainly the hook of the game. Even just the basic A,A,A attack sequence with Lloyd is fun, if a bit repetitive, and seems to be ripped directly from Cervantes in Soulcalibur. The game is fun to play once you get into it. That's just how it was designed. However, derived enjoyment in gaming, like in anything that requires practice, knowledge, and skill , is never readily apparent. As for character development, Tales of Symphonia is rarely matched. Sheer volume of text and spoken word with all of your lovable anime characters will have you sick of knowing how they feel. The OVA of the series actually much was less detailed than the game. The catch is it only explains the first couple of hours of the 60 hour(not a guestimate, you'll be lucky to be done in 60 hours) game. The game matches that pace the whole way through. You would actually have less character development if you watched a 30 hour movie about the game, than if you played it. Even more excellent is the fact that much of the character development is optional in the form of "skits." The charactes interact, and often have fights, which always play out in comedic or serious fashion, and there is literally so much character development you'll want to skip some. The characters are also very interesting and opinionated. This is the main reason that people love these games. The character devlopment passes that of most good animes.
So yeah, if you dissect Tales of Symphonia without giving yourself over to the experience, you might feel like the game doesn't live up to the hype, however, for JRPG fans like myself who are looking for a game with the specific qualities that made me love games like FFVII and VIII, Tales of Symphonia is the holy grail. It excells in the areas it needs to excell in for the genre, and it never leaves a bad taste in my mouth after playing. I care about the characters and enjoy helping and seeing them get stronger, as they interact with the plot twists and each other. If you're a fighting or jrpg game fan who loves anime and final fantasy, then I really don't see how Tales of Symphonia doesn't appeal to you. The game, imo, is made for you, and hits the nail on the head for my demographic. It is what I wish every JRPG I played could live up to. I gave it a 9/10 after my first playthrough, and I feel like sticking with that number. If nothing else, the game was very long and lovingly crafted, even if it didn't appeal to a few people, but of those who completed it generally liked it a lot. It's known as a cult classic for a reason, and besides RE4 and TP, is tied for my favorite game availabe on gamecube with Thousand Year Door, Wind Waker, and Path of Radiance. |
Tales of Symphonia is pretty awful in all three of those things.
Improvement in the game is a joke. Once you have Raine's Nurse and one of Lloyd's Leaping Tiger moves, you pretty much have your strategy for the rest of the entire game ready to go. Genis may trade up a few spells later and you'll likely begin abusing Prism Stars once you get it but that's about it really. It also doesn't help that Lloyd can nearly solo the game by himself.
Character development would be better if some of the characters were interesting to begin with. Of course, the bits of interest are handled extremely poorly. The history between Regal and Presea could have been a very powerful source of conflict and an interesting sidestory, but it amounted to nothing more than a speed bump in the story.
As far as gameplay getting old... that's my biggest problem with Tales Of. The gameplay is always the same. Nothing new, nothing interesting, just same old same old.
