Everything a great RPG should have is right here in this gamecube adventure.
A great RPG should have several things, first and foremost a great story, along with that would be good characters, then a good battle system, a fun world to explore, leveling up benefits and lastly a bunch of good side quests and I can definitely say that Tales of Symphonia delivers on all fronts, now, before I just ramble on praises for the game, lets talk a bit more about the more specific aspects of the game.
The story is definitely top quality, although it can be fairly predictable at times and is at the "end" for a few hours to long (one of the games only flaws) it still really catches you. I definitely think the characters have to do with this, if you didn't like the chosen then you wouldn't care what was going to happen to her (which you can probably guess right now), but because you get emotionally attached her future starts to matter to you and then you are drawn to help out all you can. It's really quite amazing how you get drawn in.
Throughout the course of the game you'll get to explore a ton of dungeons and push a ton of blocks. That's right, block puzzles swamp this games dungeons. If you aren't into them, I'm sorry, but to those of us who are into block puzzles you'll find some great ones here (and some that may get on your nerves, but not so many of these). I like seeing puzzles in RPG's because it means they thought about their dungeons a little more than a hidden treasure chest here and a bunch of random battles.
Speaking of which, no random battles! All battles are initiated by running into an enemy that is visible on screen while in dungeons or on the world map. Which brings me to my next point, real time battles! That's right, not only do you not have to worry about random battles while exploring around, but you don't have to take turns either.
The battle system in this game is really outstanding, it deserves a fighting game of it's own. I can't even begin to explain it because it would take way to much space and time, but here's the low down. Battles take place on a seperate battle screen and you have full control of your character and your party members control themselves (unless you choose to control them), and you'll be in a 3D area, but you'll navigate on a 2D plane between you and your enemy which shifts when you switch enemies.
You will gain all kinds of different special attacks to perform to do extra damage on the enemies, rack up huge combo's, knock the enemies down or just look awesome doing. You can also do attacks that your entire party does together for major damage and effects and then you can also block! Which is great, because with real time battles blocking can play a key roll in turning the tables against a major foe.
Graphically I liked this game a lot, but I'm into cel-shaded art styles a lot. If you aren't then you may not find it quite appealing, yet I still say give it a shot because the rest of the game should be enough to hook you. As far as sound goes this game is top-notch as well, the voice acting is done great and background music to sound effects all fit very well.
I think you get the point that I think this is an excellent game and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone, especially RPG enthusiasts. It's got a ton of stuff to do, it'll occupy a ton of time and even has some new game plus modes to get you to go through again. Do not miss out on your chance to play this game for any reason!