Tales of Symphonia

The Good
This was the first Tales of... game , so I didn't have any idea what to expect. First of all, I was very pleased with the overall feeling of this game as the graphics, sounds and characters all scream "High Fantasy" so loud that Persona burst into tears and left the room. I have been always a big fan of traditional RPGs and this one with all the usual plot "twists" and characters fit right into that category. The locales in the game are well designed, especially the dungeons which I liked a lot because of their compact size and interesting puzzles. The plot is also quite interesting if not very surprising or different from other similar games. Almost everything in this game is done very well, except for the few things which I mention below.

The Bad
Well, like I said, everything in this game has been seen before. The group starts it's journey to save the world but at some point, something happens that changes everything and everyone realises that the whole journey just was a prelude to something bigger. The main protagonist is an angsty teenager, and his female counterpart is a delicate flower. Then there's the usual irritating sidekick, a silent but strong male, the converted enemy and so on. Also, with few of the characters the sound acting isn't just right and sounds false.

The game also throws the player around even more than these things usually do:
"Oh no, that person is ill"
"Okay then, let's just get some medicine"
"But the pharmacist isn't at his shop, he's been kidnapped by bandits"
"Let's go rescue him from the bandits"
"But no one knows where their camp is"
"We must ask the bandit king!"
"The Bandit king has been kidnapped by the pirates!"
"Let's go rescue him from the pirates"
"But we need a boat to get to their island"
"Oh no, the boatmaker has been kidnapped by yetis!"
And so on...

The Bottom Line
A very well made, but for some maybe too traditional RPG. Nice visuals and very much to do in this world of ToS.

The Good
The battle system is action based and very well suited to this R.P.G. style game. The battles are avoidable within and without of dungeons for those less feisty or simply in a hurry. After each battle you have a choice of cooking such items as sandwiches and miso soup which restore a amount of health depending on the item. After every few minutes a conversation based on the current development in the plot will spring up which gives the characters good personality. The game ending is different based on what you do throughout the game in such conversations.

The Bad
Some of the voice acting can get on your nerves after a while. The multiplayer option only lets you battle co-op.

The Bottom Line
A good choice for the plot-hungry gamer, Tales of Symphonia is a great title pretty much all-around.