Despite being both long-running and well-reviewed, for the most part the Tales series has avoided leaving the land of the rising sun. Perhaps sensing the fact that there has been a serious RPG drought on this side of the ocean, Namco has seen fit to port the latest installment of this series to our shores. Featuring a unique action-RPG-styled battle system, a plot with enough unique twists to throw even veteran RPG-cliche masters for a loop, and the graphics, sound, and character development expected in a modern RPG, Tales of Symphonia presents a nice package of RPG goodness that's hard to pass up. By now, everyone has experienced the cel-shaded graphical style used in ToS. It provides a clean, crisp look to the character and world models, with enough style to make the anime-inspired character portaits fit right in. The art is polished enough that, at times, you may be fooled into thinking your exploring pre-rendered background, or that the characters are hand-drawn 2D sprites. While it doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before, you definitely won't be griping about it. The audio is similarly well done, with the expected melodic musical tracks of a modern RPG. Nobou Uematsu it is not, but it will be able to play int he background for hours without causing you pain. The voice acting is similarly well done, placing it well above par given the usual game quality in this department. The only downside to the audio is that the voiceovers are only applied to main plot progression, and not the 'skits' that flesh out the characters. It would have been nice to hear more of the characters, as the quality really brought them to life. The story begins as predictably as any RPG, with the traditional 'visit the dungeons and save the world' quest. Partway through the story it begins to deviate, and there are several twists to follow that up. And just when you think you've gotten the whole thing under control, it's time to put in disc 2. Do yourself a favor and avoid reading anything which reveals the story in advance - you'll enjoy yourself a lot more. For those of us that enjoy uncovering everything there is in a game, ToS simply cannot be fully uncovered in a single game. Once you finish the game once, you can jump back in with soe of your past progress to try to complete a bit more. There's also an optional set of bosses available near the end of the game for no reason than the pure challenge. Given the astonishing lack of traditional RPGs on the GameCube, there's absolutely no excuse to pass up a high-quality title like Tales of Symphonia.
The world of Sylvarant is dying. Its mana supply is running low, and the goddess Martel is in a deep slumber. The only one who can restore the land back to its splendor is the Chosen One, who must embark on The Journey o... Read Full Review
Tales of Symphonia, a game many consider to be the Gamecube's greatest RPG, if not the best game overall. From its epic, emotion driven story, to its amazing cel-shaded graphics this game will wow you from start to finis... Read Full Review
