Tales Of Symphonia Review

By Rob Fahey Published 2 November, 2004

Rob's in Japanese RPG heaven - again!

Version tested: GameCube

Order yours now from Simply Games.

'Tales Of Symphonia' Screenshot 1

There's no doubt that this is going to be one of the best, and most expensive, winters ever for gamers. Of course, the first person shooter fans are more than amply catered for, with Half-Life 2, Halo 2 and Metroid Prime: Echoes all arriving within the space of a few weeks, and those seeking their fix of crime capers are already ensconced in GTA San Andreas, with The Getaway Black Monday to come. Football fans already have FIFA 2005 and Pro Evolution Soccer 4 to kick about, and Football Manager 2005 and the Xbox Live enabled version of PES4 make November into a month full of promise for fans of the beautiful game as well.

For fans of RPGs, the season is looking pretty festive as well. We've already had the superb Fable and the epic Star Ocean: Till the End of Time; and assuming you're in a position to do some judicious importing, you could also potentially have your hands on Shadow Hearts Covenant, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Baten Kaitos and a number of other less well-known games by the time Christmas Eve rolls around. You might want to drop the credit card and step away from the mod chip, though - because one of the best RPGs of the year won't require you to walk any further than your local high street. And it's on the GameCube, no less; will wonders never cease?

Tall Tales

'Tales Of Symphonia' Screenshot 2

Namco isn't necessarily a name you'd associate with high quality role-playing games if your gaming is confined to PAL releases, in which case you'll have missed out on the likes of Xenosaga, which is generally very highly regarded but not fit, apparently, for European consumption - thanks, guys! However, in Japan, the company's RPG franchises are a big deal, arguably second only to Square Enix' stable of blockbusters, and that's in no small part thanks to the Tales Of... series of games.

Tales of Symphonia is the latest incarnation of this popular series, and while it certainly shares some heritage with its predecessors in terms of graphical style and game mechanics, it's not necessary for you to have played any of the previous games, as it is set in a different world and features entirely new characters, in much the same way that Final Fantasy reinvents itself with (almost) every new game.

Illustrated with the kind of lavish cel-shaded cartoon graphics that the GameCube does so well, Symphonia follows the quest of a young band of heroes who set out to accompany the messianic "Chosen of Mana" on a journey to regenerate the world by reawakening the Goddess Martel. Although it initially seems relatively simple and cliché-ridden, the game actually does a surprisingly good job of dropping plot twists on you later on, and it presents a strong cast of characters whose individual storylines and character development is fun to watch.

Conservative?

'Tales Of Symphonia' Screenshot 3

As is almost obligatory in Japanese RPGs, you play as a teenage boy (with compulsory spiky hair, although not blond - oooh, controversial) who must protect his friends, learn from his mistakes, come to terms with the demons of his unknown past, and ultimately save the world. There's a refreshing lack of being washed up on a beach with no memory, though, and in fact Lloyd Irving is a character who is well developed throughout the story, with the writers thankfully of the persuasion which says that dark revelations of the past are not a substitute for creating a proper personality for your characters.

The remainder of the large cast of characters is equally well-developed throughout the course of the game, and a number of interesting ploys are used to allow the player to connect with the characters - most notable being the optional "skits", which can be triggered by pressing the Z button at certain points in the game. These are just snatches of dialogue between the characters, with facial animations in 2D windows on-screen, and while they're often intended to be humorous, they also perform an important role in giving an insight into the relationships between the characters.

Then again, you'd expect the game to develop its characters well (although the degree to which it does so is a pleasant surprise), since it has so much time to do it with. Tales of Symphonia is an epic beast of a game, spread across two discs and clocking in at a solid sixty to eighty hours completion time; its first story arc alone, which only really sets up the characters and prepares you for the first set of revelations about the nature of the world you're playing in, encompasses more gameplay time than we've had out of many RPGs in their entirety. Thankfully, though, the game doesn't drag on, and in fact it's a pleasure to play for long periods of time - rarely frustrating or badly balanced, and with a battle system that's both actively enjoyable to play, and largely optional.

Real-Time Riot

'Tales Of Symphonia' Screenshot 4

Battles in Tales of Symphonia are - wait for it - real-time. That's right folks; you'll play mostly as Lloyd (you can choose which character to play as, but we stuck with Lloyd after experimenting with the others because he's simply the most fun) and get stuck into the action, swinging your sword around like crazy. Battles take place on a curiously implemented 2D plane; you view the world mostly side-on and can move back and forwards towards the enemy you're targeting, a bit like a beat 'em up. However, there are four characters in the battle, and your three allies may be targeting different enemies, so there's a fair bit of milling around and movement on screen, although rarely enough to get confusing thanks to the use of large, distinctive character designs.

Simple attacks and combos are carried out by tapping the A button and using the analogue stick, while special attacks are bound to combinations of B and a direction in the menu system. You can always pause a battle to issue commands to your teammates, change your equipment load-out or pick a different enemy to target, and the battles are generally fast, fun and well-balanced. The system compares very well to Star Ocean 3's real-time battle system; Symphonia's characters have significantly more intelligent AI and can be fine-tuned in their behaviour by the player if the default settings don't work for you (they're generally fine, though). Arguably more importantly, the battle system doesn't require Streetfighter levels of skill in terms of combat - tapping a button rhythmically to get a combo out isn't exactly taxing, and while you can do more complex things by combining special and normal attacks into longer combos, none of it is entirely necessary.

Battles can also be pretty impressive affairs - as you get further into the game and Genis, the young Elven magic user who is Lloyd's best friend (and regular kick-toy of the party for having a smart mouth) gets a handle on more and more powerful spells, you'll find yourself in the middle of a spectacular show as your combo attacks are joined by a bombardment of high-level magic from the sidelines. It's all great eye-candy, battles are usually brief and enjoyable, load delays going into them are minimal, and if you want to, you can skip most encounters - since monsters all appear on the world map or in dungeons, and if you're careful you can wander around them and avoid fighting.

Unfinished Symphonia

'Tales Of Symphonia' Screenshot 5

Although we're unquestionably sold on the game as a whole, there are certainly a few minor problems with Tales of Symphonia. For one, the music is fairly unremarkable - which is a shame, because the world itself is beautifully constructed, and deserves an impressive score to go along with it. On the topic of audio, though, it's worth noting that the voice acting is almost uniformly excellent (which is rare praise from us, as we're not great fans of dubbing), and in fact we were a little disappointed not to have voice acting in the skit scenes (which seem a bit silent and drawn-out as a result, because the characters' mouths flap but you only get subtitles on screen, no actual voices).

Another slightly disappointing aspect of the game is the fact that after a stunningly well-animated intro movie, it's almost entirely bereft of proper cutscenes - even in scenes which had clips in the intro! It's by no means a showstopper, but seeing a little more of that gorgeous AIC animation wouldn't have hurt. Finally, there are a few places where the graphics get a little ropey - most notably in scenes where the game gets a bit over-enthusiastic with its depth of field blurring effect, resulting in characters just looking badly smeared rather than out of focus.

The problem with Tales of Symphonia, in the final analysis, is the simple fact that from the outset, this feels like an incredibly traditional Japanese RPG, and that's going to dissuade a lot of people from trying it. Which is a shame, because this is arguably the finest example ever made of the truly traditional Japanese RPG. It may be clichéd, and altogether a little too bright and happy for its own good, but Tales of Symphonia is nonetheless epic, enjoyable, and superbly constructed, and deserves an audience far in excess of merely the hardcore JRPG fans who will undoubtedly snap it up with glee.

Order yours now from Simply Games.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (61) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 7 years ago

    Hurrah!

    Sounds fabulous. I will be buying!

    /dances

  • malloc #2 7 years ago

    "GameCube (exclusive)"

    Dont' see those words in conjenction very much. In fact isn't this game, aswell as the future Tales games coming out exclusively for the PS2?

    Nevertheless nice review. PM2, MP2 pre-ordered, and Kuru about to be imported, this looks to be another one. Why do we live in a world that only has 24 hour days and involves exchanging money for games, argh.

  • bionutz #3 7 years ago

    Hurrah!

    Sounds fabulous. I will be buying! First a gamecube and second this game.

    /dances with Blerk.

    P.S. Shop for games now at Simply Games. not available in Europe yet, eh?

  • krudster #4 7 years ago

    Tales of Symphonia is out on the 19th Nov over here...

  • Freylis #5 7 years ago

    Nice review, though I'm worried about my Xenosaga save game at the moment, and how long I can wait before I grab this, Nocturne, Avatar Tuner, Baten Kaitos, et al.

    Damn you RPG's for taking so long to play! :)

  • Day #6 7 years ago

    Got this on import and have been enjoying it loads, a must have for any cube owner who likes JRPG's with the added plus of having no random battles!! :)

    Don't read the IGN review as it gives away a major spolier...

  • #7 7 years ago

    time to figure out how to get a copy of action replay in Thailand so I can play US games on my uk gc.

    anyone any ideas?

  • Day #8 7 years ago

    Playing my US import version on my UK cube by using Freeloader, no problems with it so far...
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/04 @ 16:26

  • Dizzy #9 7 years ago

    I am sorry. In 2004 you cannot seriously give this game an 9/10. RPGs have moved beyond this designed-by-the-numbers stuff.

  • Sid-Nice #10 7 years ago

    My daughter is called Colette, shes going to love this game. Great review Rob.

  • Daryoon #11 7 years ago

    GBA Zelda, this and Kingdom Hearts GBA...all in the space 3 weeks...damn good job shadow Hearts II got delayed!

    I am sorry. In 2004 you cannot seriously give this game an 9/10. RPGs have moved beyond this designed-by-the-numbers stuff.

    I reserve this quote for when HL2 scores 9/10 out of 10.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/04 @ 16:28

  • Blerk #12 7 years ago

    Don't forget Paper Mario 2, Daryoon. :-)

    In 2004 you cannot seriously give this game an 9/10. RPGs have moved beyond this designed-by-the-numbers stuff.

    Er... explain? It looks great, it plays great, why should it get a bad score? What are these mythical 'moved on' RPGs of which you speak?

  • DB2k #13 7 years ago

    i thought this was hard :( Had it ages ago but I totally sucked at it so I had to sell it. shame as I wanted to like it and enjoy it.

  • Shinji #14 7 years ago

    I am sorry. In 2004 you cannot seriously give this game an 9/10. RPGs have moved beyond this designed-by-the-numbers stuff.

    I just did. It's a stellar example of the genre, with an incredibly well designed battle system and great production values. Even the storyline, which I worried would be very weak to begin with, picks up remarkably well as it goes along. It's easily worthy of a nine.

  • Daryoon #15 7 years ago

    Er... explain? It looks great, it plays great, why should it get a bad score? What are these mythical 'moved on' RPGs of which you speak?

    Ones that make use of a brand new d20-based statistic system, of course! With extra never-before-seen orc breeds!

    Is the opening animation similar to the one from Wild ARMs 3, which played each time you loaded the game, and changed as you progressed? That was pretty neat.

  • Hicksy #16 7 years ago

    Fantastic to see this get a well deserved 9!

    This is one of my favourite games of the year and brimming with charm it is too

    One of those rare games that you truly fall in love with!

    :)

  • Domstercool #17 7 years ago

    Tales of Symphonia is exclusive for Cube in English language, you can only get it on the PS2 in Japan.

    I finished the USA release of this game with my freeloader disc. Top quality game and hopefully it will do quite well over here for cube and rpg fans alike.

  • tengu #18 7 years ago

    Sweeet!

    Come to papa Symphonia!

  • Scientist #19 7 years ago

    The intro and cut scenes were created by Production I.G, the studio which did the animated scenes in Kill Bill.

  • jellyhead #20 7 years ago

    what to choose? what to choose?
    This or a DS? This or a DS?

    / feels like a child who has to choose between choccy sauce or a flake on his ice-cream

  • Decoded #21 7 years ago

    The plot may be a little "by the numbers" but it's executed with such flair and charm you can overlook this. Dungeon design is fantastic and the battle system is so wonderful that I never once dreaded entering a fight. Glad I'm not the only one who thought the voice acting was excellent.

  • Blerk #22 7 years ago

    Dilemma:
    This, Paper Mario 2 and Metroid Prime 2 are all out this month. I am only going to buy one, the others will be going on the Christmas list.

    Which should I get?

  • Decoded #23 7 years ago

    I reckon it'll make a really nice Christmas game, something you can get lost in for days while family eat away at your sanity ;-)

    Depends on how desperate you are to play it, I guess.

  • Singularity #24 7 years ago

    Blerk wrote:
    Dilemma:
    This, Paper Mario 2 and Metroid Prime 2 are all out this month. I am only going to buy one, the others will be going on the Christmas list.

    Which should I get?

    I'm in the same boat. I think the RPGs'll have to wait, no matter how tempting Rob has just made this sound...

  • Daryoon #25 7 years ago

    I'm leaving Paper Mario and MP2 for later, myself. For a start I know I'll be able to get them in a few months time - I learned my lesson when I failed to get the Suikoden games!
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/04 @ 17:07

  • steven #26 7 years ago

    Got to get it! Got to get it!

    After completing Fable (a bit dissapointing) in less than 3 days, I am more than happy to get something more meaty..... Nov 19th here i come.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/04 @ 17:10

  • malloc #27 7 years ago

    To hell with xmas, just buy 'em all. You know you want to, and eventually will anyway. Maybe could leave Echoes till then as it's got some mp in it, but then can you wait for an extra month before oyu play Samus eh?

    Not a problem for me fortunately. :)

  • Shivoa #28 7 years ago

    >Battles in Tales of Symphonia are - wait for it - real-time.

    /cries

    /adds to long lost of RPGs to play anyway.

  • Macross #29 7 years ago

    damn my wallet just exploded

    you had to give it a good score didnt you, im going to buy it now and its all your fault i wont be able to eat or buy anyone christmas presents!!

    *runs off and cries*

  • Scimarad #30 7 years ago

    Wow! The gamecube will get some use again :-)

  • ghearoid #31 7 years ago

    bloody 'ell, really wanna get this but i'm still getting through "evolution worlds" then gonna have to start "paper mario 2" before i have a hope of playing this one

    and i'm gagging for "star ocean" too, just about holding that one off...

  • bungalooBunny #32 7 years ago

    Disgaea, Xenosaga, Star Ocean, Tales of Symphonia... LOL, who comes up with these names anyway?

  • mal #33 7 years ago

    what to choose? what to choose?
    This or a DS? This or a DS?

    / feels like a child who has to choose between choccy sauce or a flake on his ice-cream

    I vote flake.

    In other news, I'll be buying both this and the DS.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/04 @ 19:22

  • tengu #34 7 years ago

    I can't wait, but isn't this out the same week as .hack part 4?

    BASTARDS!

  • Decoded #35 7 years ago

    Compare this to .hack and incur my wrath O' foolish one!

  • tengu #36 7 years ago

    Hey, I like .hack!

  • Dizzy #37 7 years ago

    >Er... explain? It looks great, it plays great, why should it get a bad score? What are these mythical 'moved on' RPGs of which you speak?

    I didn't say it should get a bad score... but a 9? Come on... Grandia on DC did all this. I expect more from 9 and 10 games. This is just standard RPG fare that doesn't even have a distinct style (Disgaea), humor (errr... Disgaea) or a really cool battle system. Tsss tsss... I normally think EG reviews are spot on but 9?

    But no problemo.. a lot of people seem to like it so I guess people wants these recycled RPG template games. And yes the production values are high, so it is a fun romp. Just not a 9.. a standard "great" EG 8 would have been more expected. Maybe EG has run out of 8s?

  • lordofdeadside #38 7 years ago

    "I guess people wants these recycled RPG template games"

    yeah, all the people who don't own a ps2. rpg's are a little thin on the ground, so a good 'recycled' rpg is most welcome.

  • pjmaybe #39 7 years ago

    Looks Beaut!

    Peej

  • Killerbee #40 7 years ago

    Looks fantastic - this has just jumped ahead of Star Ocean 3 in the list of RPGs I must buy next.

    The real time battles put me off ever so slightly, but it still looks an essential purchase.

    60-80 hours though...

    /says goodbye to social life

  • Thamuhacha #41 7 years ago

    I can't do this. I have unfinished games of Star Ocean 3, Dark Chronicle, Fable, KOTOR and who knows how many non-RPG games.

    There isn't enough time.

  • kingmob #42 7 years ago

    Reckon I need to re-buy a cube. Sold the last one after finishing Metroid and Zelda.

  • Azu87 #43 7 years ago

    Damn it!! Like I didn't have to buy other games as well (PM2, MP2, R&C3:UYA, Jak3, Shadow Hearts Covenant, PoP2, Baten Kaitos, Getaway Black Monday if it gets good reviews)

    /looks at empty wallet and remembers that there is no money in the bank either
    /starts to cry

  • kururin #44 7 years ago

    Like malloc mentioned, this game isn't exclusive to the gamecube. It's coming out for the PS2 aswell .. with 'added content'. Actually the PS2 version is said to look a bit worse and don't play as nicely .. but like I said, it's got 'added content'. :)

  • otto #45 7 years ago

    Dizzy
    02-Nov-04 20:46:32

    >Er... explain? It looks great, it plays great, why should it get a bad score? What are these mythical 'moved on' RPGs of which you speak?

    I didn't say it should get a bad score... but a 9? Come on... Grandia on DC did all this. I expect more from 9 and 10 games. This is just standard RPG fare that doesn't even have a distinct style (Disgaea), humor (errr... Disgaea) or a really cool battle system. Tsss tsss... I normally think EG reviews are spot on but 9?

    But no problemo.. a lot of people seem to like it so I guess people wants these recycled RPG template games. And yes the production values are high, so it is a fun romp. Just not a 9.. a standard "great" EG 8 would have been more expected. Maybe EG has run out of 8s?

    Unless you're saying exactly the same thing about every FPS, 3rd person action adventure, driving game, beat 'em up, sports game, management sim, etc etc etc out there on the market, then kindly refrain from your negative vibes.

    If you ask me, a game like this is far more deserving of high praise than games in those other genres, because games like this are sadly very few and far between - especially on the Cube. This is basically only the second such title on the Cube, and the first original RPG for the platform. And even if it had 'borrowed' every last detail of gameplay from other games in the genre (which it hasn't) there is still the matter of a totally new story, which is the main reason most people will play the game. That in itself delivers far more in the way of a new experience than Halo2/GTA3/HalfLife2/Doom3 combined, if you ask me.

    So yes, I think you can argue that it deserves a decent score. :p

  • Azu87 #46 7 years ago

    "Like malloc mentioned, this game isn't exclusive to the gamecube. It's coming out for the PS2 aswell .. with 'added content'. Actually the PS2 version is said to look a bit worse and don't play as nicely .. but like I said, it's got 'added content'. :)"

    Isn't the PS2-version coming out only in Japan? It will never be brought to Europe or the States

  • Hicksy #47 7 years ago

    I really hope the games playing Cube public don't overlook this absolute gem of a game

    This is right up there with the very best RPGS - buy buy buy it!

  • Macross #48 7 years ago

    ok, ok, im buying it already!

  • HermitArcader #49 7 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Hicksy #50 7 years ago

    as a purely personal basis, everyone here, that is in thsi froum, should buy this game :)

  • tengu #51 7 years ago

    ...

    What?

  • binky #52 7 years ago

    guys i was looking at the back of the box in GAME today and it says this is multiplayer? is this true? if so whats the multiplayer like, can u play the whole quest through with a buddy ?

  • Decoded #53 7 years ago

    The multiplayer is only for the battles. They're in real-time and all four characters that participate can be controlled by either AI or other players. Not sure how well it works, though.

  • tengu #54 7 years ago

    Well, couldn't be any worse than the battles in one-player, could it?

    Just joshing, they're okay. Not sure if I like the battle system more than Star Ocean 3's yet, though.

    Great game all the same.

  • Decoded #55 7 years ago

    Burn, heretic!

    I find Symphonia's battle system far more managable than the frantic mess that is Star Ocean's. You will see the light, lost lamb.

  • tengu #56 7 years ago

    I hope you're right there.

    I'm just at the bit where you cross the mountain over into the Asgard area. Do things pick up any from here? It's been a bit slow going the past while...

  • binky #57 7 years ago

    hhhmm I'm not sure now. I'm not normally a big RPG fan at the best of times, but love the likes of Zelda. The multiplayer bit interested me but doesnt sound all that now.

    Fable, of ToS for a rpg noob ??

  • tengu #58 7 years ago

    Well, I've been playing this and Fable recently, and honestly... I prefer Tales.

    Fable isn't really all that great in my opinion, something about it just hasn't clicked with me.

  • Roamer #59 7 years ago

    Think of the battle system as a simplified version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, and you'll get the picture. You jump, you block and you deliver various attacks/techs to the your chosen nemesis. It's really easy to manage and instantly accessible. It might sound like it would be crowded with 8-9 characters on screen at once, but you never really lose track of what you're doing.

    Haven't played it through yet, but the story does the trick. However, be prepared to let the battle system entertain for the first few hours since the story seems to have been written by someone while they were growing up...

  • ProfessorLesser #60 7 years ago

    Just finished this little beauty. Love it to pieces, probably more than Skies of Arcadia, but then, I am more a JRPG nut. Western, bah. (Some fool will tell me SoA is JRPG now...).

    I have no gripes with the characters or the story at all. Except it can get DAMN hard to follow in the middle 50% of the game. As for the characters, well... they may be fairly archetypal but I think those who count that against the game are losing their faith and sense of romance. Possibly with good reason, but hey. It's a JRPG, it's what I expect, so it doesn't bother me.

    Brilliant ending. However, I want to continue my savegame, not start again with minor bonuses!

    As for the combat, once you're good at it (don't expect to be before a lot of practise), and you begin to rack up those combos, it really is like poetry in motion. Some of the battles stand out as favourites, but of course, I will not spoil.

    To those who have not played: meh.

  • Adam64 #61 5 years ago

    I would call myself an RPG fan. I've always been a far greater fan of 2D gaming, and particularly, 2D RPG's. But I managed to pick up this game, and I'm trying so hard to keep level headed about it all!

    It is amazing. Extremely rarely is there such a brilliantly constructed game. I could talk all about it here but I think writing a review would be a better idea.

    The multiplayer is a good concept, but it doesn't work out that well - mainly because you have people sitting next to you, waiting for the next battle - it can become quite tedious.

    If people said to me that this was the greatest game without question, I wouldn't disagree with them. Easy to pick up, great character development (in terms of the storyline I'm referring to, but the other kind is great as well).

    If you don't have it...

    Buy it for the GameCube
    Buy a Gamecube for the game
    Buy a TV for your GameCube
    Buy a house with electricity for your TV

    This for me is probably the best game made in the last 13-15 years. Got to be one of the best on GameCube.