Tales of Symphonia

[Leigh]

So, I was very kindly gifted Tales of Symphonia Chronicles for the PS3, for Christmas. Always lovely to recieve awesome gifts from an awesome family. =)

Proof of Christmas Day gaming!
10844179_1515490732062676_1691947859_n.jpg

So, I am approximately 10 hours in, alas there has been a bit of time spent fighting and trying to get my head around the combat schema. Still don't quite understand it. It's like a transitional system between traditional and action rpg. I must admit though, I am finding it a bit of a dirge to play through. The game seems really well made, for the genre, and from what I have read, the characters are really well developed. Why am I not seeing this? So far, and I haven't come across a plethora of different characters yet, but all I am seeing are cliches from anime and standard archetypes. It all seems very sacchrine, ganbatte!! and all that nonsense that tends to crop up even when someone is trying to kill you.

"She tried to kill you!"
"I know...but I bet she isn't a bad person. I hope we can be friends".

Where is the dissonance? Is the majority of the game like this? At the moment, it feels a little bit like Symphonia in C Major. A bit of a bland, passive experience with not much depth to it - with the exception of its apparent length.

[Vyk]

Yeah you kinda just described better than I could why I couldn't finish that game. And I've found most of the Tales games to have a similar problem. Xillia got dark and deep pretty fast and had better realized and developed characters but you still want to slap or strangle one or two of them from time to time. But I think what most fans want from Tater is that long light hearted journey with characters whose personalities people are already used to and like from similar media. Like maybe anime fans appreciate the series more because no that

[Fox]

I struggled with Symphonia because I came to it after Vesperia and Xillia, which both take the formula and improve upon it drastically.

Symphonia was great for it's time... but it has aged very poorly in my opinion. Some of the silly tropes in there weren't really tropes when Symphonia was released, as this was one of the games that originally wrote the formula that became somewhat tiring over the following decade.

It does get better in all areas the deeper you get into it. But... don't be ashamed to look at a guide when you get to the puzzle dungeons. Again, lengthy block pushing puzzles may have been all the rage back in the day, but I think humankind as a species has evolved beyond that in 2014!

[Pumpkin]

I love the game. The Tales games actually like to explore tropes and then kind of examine them in a different way. Like in Tales of the Abyss they take the trope of "Fate" in RPG's and turn it on its face, and in Symphonia, they take the trope of the "Chosen one" and examine it in a way a lot of games don't. I actually find it to be incredibly similar to Final Fantasy X, but told differently, and, in my opinion, better.

I like how bright and cheery it all seems with the themes themselves being darker. Mildly spoiler-yLike what happens to a certain main character, and when you think they're saved and its good to go, something else happens. I like the whole ExSphere storyline. I like finding out what's really going on with the chosen and the whole ritual.

I wasn't expecting to like the game as much as I did, but so far its my favourite Tales game. It's one of the few games I've played recently that makes me just want to keep going and seeing what happens next. I hated grinding in this game (mostly for money, not levels) not because the battle system was bad (although it wasn't as good as later games in the series) but because I just wanted to see what happens next darn it. Absolutely loved the game

[Leigh]

I love the game. The Tales games actually like to explore tropes and then kind of examine them in a different way. Like in Tales of the Abyss they take the trope of "Fate" in RPG's and turn it on its face, and in Symphonia, they take the trope of the "Chosen one" and examine it in a way a lot of games don't. I actually find it to be incredibly similar to Final Fantasy X, but told differently, and, in my opinion, better.

I like how bright and cheery it all seems with the themes themselves being darker. Mildly spoiler-yLike what happens to a certain main character, and when you think they're saved and its good to go, something else happens. I like the whole ExSphere storyline. I like finding out what's really going on with the chosen and the whole ritual.

I mean, I will definitely still try and get through it. It isn't like I have that much else to do over the Christmas period, as sad as that sounds. I am just a little aggrevated that every game I play recently, I have to force myself through. Every single game feels so derivative these days. It's just frustrating, as you get older, to find a game that is worth your time. Ha.

I am getting a distinct Final Fantast X vibe, albeit incredibly toned down and it seems at the moment to be the whole Summoner Trials lite. Right down to the whole 'do a puzzle dungeon to reach enlightenment' scenario.

I haven't yet gotten deep enough into the story yet so I can't really argue the point on whether it does things different in how it explores themes. Hopefully I will feel the same away about it that you do.

Perhaps I have just outgrown the formula now. Very little in gaming actually surprises me or gives me much satisfaction, and a lot of retro recommendations I can't help are fueled by nostalgia goggles.

[Vyk]

I pretty much know how you feel in that regard. It frequently takes me forever to find a game that I feel has that 'it' factor for me

Then I feel unsatisfied and put myself on a quest to find a fulfilling game to scratch that itch. If we had similar gaming tastes I'd suggest a few diamonds in the rough for you to try than managed to satisfy me

[Fox]

There is definitely a point where it picks up, plot wise, and will start to feel a bit more fresh. As long as you can keep track of who all the characters are and what their allegiances are. I don't think it's as interesting in terms of either the story or the characters as Vesperia or Xillia, but it definitely does get better as it goes along.

I had exactly the same experience of Symphonia a few months ago. I'm glad I played through it, but yeah it was quite an effort.

[Leigh]

I pretty much know how you feel in that regard. It frequently takes me forever to find a game that I feel has that 'it' factor for me

Then I feel unsatisfied and put myself on a quest to find a fulfilling game to scratch that itch. If we had similar gaming tastes I'd suggest a few diamonds in the rough for you to try than managed to satisfy me

What sort of things are you into, sir?

[Vyk]

If you enjoy what Tales has to offer, but it's just not pushing the envelope enough. I suggest Tales of Xillia. It's characters are written a bit more deeply, I feel there's more variety (like the most badass "old man" character ever in your party), it's fully voiced, so you can be lazy and just watch/listen during skits and cut scenes. The battle system is fast and insanely fun. Like a pretty good fighting game finally makes it into an RPG. And the story, while a little convoluted (typical of Tales games) tends to get a little darker and more intense in my opinion

It's not perfect, but it is one of the best experiences I've enjoyed in a Japanese style RPG in a long time

I'm currently digging back into Persona 4, which is a pretty amazing all-around game. If you still have a PS2 or a Vita, I'd highly suggest it. If not, then I believe they were saying its coming to PSN early next year for PS3 and 4

It has a lot of well developed characters that are really easy to like and invest in, there's a lot of world building and character development and plenty of interesting things to do between story events. I feel that it just has fantastic pacing, you never feel like you're just grinding for plot advancement. There's always something to see or do. Spending time with the characters is very endearing. And the music and visual style are fairly distinct from most other JRPGs. Persona 3 is probably most Megami Tensei fans favorite Persona game, but I think 4 is the best starting point

Also just recently enjoyed my first visual novel which I never thought possible. Its a DS game called 999 (9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors or something). Its very dark and gritty, people can or do actually die, the characters are all distinct, there's puzzle to solve to try to get out and save your own life, and the life of as many of the other members as you can. It never felt too hard or too easy, and the long areas of text and dialog were actually really interesting to read. So it too had pretty good pacing and balance

I also just recently super enjoyed Alien Isolation. I love survival horror games, but they tend to not really make me scared. Probably because most of them have went more towards action, or they tilt the bar too far in one direction or the other. Horrible item management, or cornering you with enemies you're not supposed to stand your ground against and stuff

I never felt that way with Alien. The Alien was invincible, and you had to find as many ways to avoid it as possible. It was so tense and nerve wracking. I was frequently legitimately scared, which is something I experience so rarely in games and movies, I loved it. And it's really well designed in my opinion. The ship is pretty, the tools you find and craft are interesting and useful, and the main character is really well done. One of my new top female video game protagonists now. It also helps that it reminded me a lot of Dead Space, and even though its probably a little old by now, I still really loved that game, and would highly suggest it if Alien interests you but is too pricey or something

Those are my most recent itch scratches. There were also Wasteland 2, Divinity: Original Sin, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Bravely Default, Fire Emblem: Awakening, and Xenoblade Chronicles I managed to super enjoy this past year. But it's been a little while since I picked those up so I can't gush about them with quite the same fervor, but they're definitely worth a look if you're into any of their styles of gameplay. Though for South Park you probably do have to be a fan of the show to enjoy the game

Also I'm not sure what systems you have available, so some of my suggestions may not be very helpful in that regard. But there's a few starting points for you. If you have similar tastes to me anyway

[Wolf Kanno]

So, I was very kindly gifted Tales of Symphonia Chronicles for the PS3, for Christmas. Always lovely to recieve awesome gifts from an awesome family. =)

Proof of Christmas Day gaming!
10844179_1515490732062676_1691947859_n.jpg

So, I am approximately 10 hours in, alas there has been a bit of time spent fighting and trying to get my head around the combat schema. Still don't quite understand it. It's like a transitional system between traditional and action rpg. I must admit though, I am finding it a bit of a dirge to play through. The game seems really well made, for the genre, and from what I have read, the characters are really well developed. Why am I not seeing this? So far, and I haven't come across a plethora of different characters yet, but all I am seeing are cliches from anime and standard archetypes. It all seems very sacchrine, ganbatte!! and all that nonsense that tends to crop up even when someone is trying to kill you.

"She tried to kill you!"
"I know...but I bet she isn't a bad person. I hope we can be friends".

Where is the dissonance? Is the majority of the game like this? At the moment, it feels a little bit like Symphonia in C Major. A bit of a bland, passive experience with not much depth to it - with the exception of its apparent length.

Yeah... I started Symphonia a few months back and got a little ways into it before I moved onto something else because I wasn't really digging it. Then again I've never been a fan of Star Ocean/ Tales of... style Action-RPGs so there is very little the game could offer me. I plan on finishing it eventually and hope something will happen to get me reinvested but yeah the saccharine characters and tropey plot have never endeared me to the franchise. It's sad too because one of my gamer friends I talk to adores the franchise and we can never really have a discussion about it because I just can't get into it.

[Dat Matt]

I played through Symphonia with Shauna Recently, and remember everything I loved about the game.

I also remembered everything I disliked about the game, such as Colette being kidnapped 8 times, Genius and Lloyd being generally insufferable long puzzly dungeons with lots of room for error etc. It's still a great game, I just recall several things about it that I was not a fan of in the several playthroughs it got during my teenage years.

It may also be because I played Vesperia shortly afterwards and I loved that game.

[Carl the Llama]

I played Symphonia about 10ish years ago for the first time, it has long been one of my all time favourite games, I love the action style battle system, and the skits were great fun.

I played it again about 3 months ago and still feel it was a great game worthy of my original appraisal. As for my favourite tales game? The went to Tales of Graces F, I played through that game (Hard, Evil then Chaos) 3 times in a row just on the basis of the combat system was tremendously addictive.

[Dat Matt]

Pascal was my main in Graces. Bonkers combat.

[Leigh]

I think this is where I fall down, in that a lot of people enjoy the battles and such. I'm simply looking for a relatively engaging story and set of characters. Probably why I feel that the last good game I truly played was Shenmue II. Most games kinda bore me, due to their repetitive nature, in isolation.

I can't help but feel that once I have played one jRPG, I have played them all.

[Pumpkin]

Well you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, Even though it's wrong

No, I'm just kidding. I am sorry you feel that way. For me, when it comes to RPG's, characters are most important, followed by story, followed by gameplay. When I played Tales of Symphonia, for me personally, it was like a breath of fresh air. While I love RPG's, and I enjoy playing them, it had been a while since a game grabbed me as much as this one did. Whereas most games I'd been playing lately (a lot of them) had me interested enough to enjoy the story and like playing it, this one went beyong "yeah it's a good story" to "I can't wait to see what happens next!"

I did find the characters overall on the weaker side (I still liked most of the cast except Raine, but none of them except Colette really grabbed me) but I liked them enough to care about them and care about the story.

Of course that's just personal opinion, but I could definitely see why its one of the most popular Tales games. But if you didn't like that one, the series is pretty strong and they have enough differences that you might enjoy another one in the series. I'm actually about to start up Vesperia here today or tomorrow, which I'm excited about and is another one of the more popular ones in the series

THERE'S LIKE A WOLF SMOKING A PIPE OR SOMETHING?!