What do i have to look forward to? I'm going to take this weekend to get a good start on it before Spirit Tracks, but what exactly am i getting myself into?

(it's the original game, for GameCube, btw)

Look forward to Spirit Tracks.

Don't look foward to this.

Wow, that post was made before the website changed color schemes.  I've editted it to remove spoilers.

While it's true the game has some flaws (and yes, WoW is right), that does not stop it to be one of the best games of the Gamecube and a must play.

Tales of Symphonia is my second favourite JRPG after Secret of Mana.

Expect awesomeness and what every decent JRPG should have: Multiplayer fun!

phew. At first I thought you were going to say it was Dawn of the New World, which would mean the worst lead character in the history of video games.

I second that, ignore WoW. Tales of Symphonia is really good and has some of the best gameplay you can find in JRPG's, unless you're a fan of turn-based battle. It also has amazing character design (as usual when Fujishima is involved) and a great story. It's a bit comparable to the story of FFX but less "whiny" :P

What previous experience do you have from JRPG's?

Hmmm... for a game like Tales of Symphonia... it's a good game... I think your roommate is expecting at least a BJ.. maybe dinner.. from you..

Secret of Mana had great multiplayer.

Tales of Symphonia has a crippled multiplayer by virtue of the fact that the battle camera doesn't care about anyone but 1st player which leads to a lot of situations where other players can't see themselves on screen or react to enemy attacks or run around with any clue where they're going.

look forward to game that is not as awesome as the people here say, but doesn't really suck too.

so you like whiney cry babies who have annoying voices and don't have a spine in their back? Just the voice alone grates on your ears. Emil killed Dawn of The New World.