When at its best, it's a lot of fun, but it relies too much on the success of its prequel.
The good:
-Combat is fun
-Good plot
-Explores the characters from Tales of Symphonia a little more
The bad:
-Monsters make the combat frustrating at times
-Alice is one of the most annoying villains of all-time
-The game relies too much on the success of its prequel
I originally received this game for Christmas a few years back, but I hadn't played Tales of Symphonia beforehand, so I bought Tales of Symphonia a few months later. I'm really glad I did because this game wouldn't have been as enjoyable if I hadn't.
The game takes place two years after Tales of Symphonia, and it follows the troubled life of a young, whiny teen named Emil. His life was turned upside down when Lloyd, the hero from the original Tales of Symphonia, killed his parents. As a result, Emil refuses to accept Lloyd as a hero, which causes many people to exclude Emil and treat him poorly.
One day, Emil hears a mysterious noise that leads him away from his village, and he later ends up going on a crazy journey of sorts. What's up with Lloyd? What awaits Emil in his journey? And why does Emil wear a funky-looking tube top? If you want to know, then you'll have to play the game. Before you do, though, I would strongly suggest playing Tales of Symphonia. It's vastly superior, and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World will be more enjoyable if you play its prequel.
The story is definitely interesting, and you'll appreciate it more if you've played the game's prequel. It takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and it introduces some new characters who increase the depth of the story. The story does tend to drag at parts, but it's always intriguing.
The graphics actually aren't too bad for the Wii's standards. The quality of the visuals drops a couple times near the end of the game, but for the most part, the graphics are crisp and clean. Character models are superb and more fleshed out than the ones in the prequel, and the frame-rate is smooth.
The soundtrack recycles a lot of songs from the prequel, but there are some new songs here and there. It would've been nice if there were more original tracks, but it's still nice to hear some of the old tracks. Hearing old songs is nice, but it's also one of the many signs that this game relies far too much on the success of its prequel.
All the party members from the prequel come back to join Emil on his quest, but there is also another new party member who is introduced named Marta. Emil and Marta are the only new party members in the game, and I feel like there should've been more new party members. One of the biggest down-sides of the game is that the party members form the prequel can't be leveled up, and they can't have their equipment switched out. When there aren't any old party members in the game, Emil and Marta are accompanied by monsters that they capture after battles. The monsters aren't all that fun to work with, and that's a big reason why I would've preferred that the game had more new party members.
The gameplay is relatively the same as the other games of the Tales franchise. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Battles are still as fun as ever, but using monsters as party members really brings battles down. Luckily, party members from the prequel are in your party most of the time, but there are a few times where they leave and you're stick with monsters.
Also, there is no overworld; instead, there's a map that immediately takes you to whatever location you wish to go to. It would've been nice if there were an overworld. The fans of the original will understand why. Also, there are only a couple new towns and dungeons. If would've been nice if there were some new towns and dungeons because it would've helped this game to stand alone a little more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this game, but it truly did rely on the success of its prequel far too much. Also, it's about ten hours shorter than other Tales games. If you're considering getting into the Tales franchise, this is NOT a good place to start. Personally, I would recommend playing Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia, Tales of the Abyss, or Tales of Graces: f if you want to get into the Tales franchise. This is still a really good game, and if you want to squeeze a few last drops of enjoyment out of your Wii, this is a good option--but only if you've played the prequel.