Tales of Symphonia

EDIT: I have now finished this game and the rating is more like 4.7 outta 5 stars but we'll get to that in this review. Anyways let's go. I have played Kingdom Hearts ever since I was 6-7 years old. I am now 15 and I'm still waiting for kh 2.8 and 3 to come out so I thought "hey why not get another jrpg to hold me over". Last year I was trying to remember a game I played for like 10 minutes with my older cousin when I was 8 and I knew it was called "Tales of" something and I couldn't remember what it was. I remembered now and I got it maybe 2 or 3 weekends ago, I have now finished it and I loved nearly every minute of it(I'll list the negatives I had at the end). Now there is a ps3 port but I got original for nostalgic purposes. Anyways let's talk about the game. Story: 5/5 Oh boy this story man this story. Without spoiling anything while the story can be a little confusing at times I'll just say this get ready for a bunch of plot twists to happen like I was saying "What?!" a bunch of times during my playthrough and the only other game series that has made me do that is Kingdom Hearts. Also even though the game doesn't tell you, your actions have an effect on the story whether it's taking a non-canon path or changing the dialogue the game is different every time. Seriously look up different playthroughs on youtube and they'll most likely be very different from yours. Characters:4.8/5 I love the characters in this game so much all except for one who I guess kind of redeems himself at the canon ending(as said before you can change the story to your liking but the game doesn't tell you that which again is exciting to me anyways) but god for the entire time he was in my party I was like "Omg shut up you pervert"(no literally he's a pervert) but I guess it really just comes down to personal preference. The characters get really really fleshed out and developed as the story goes on and you can activate little skits to see what they are feeling and how the situations surrounding these characters affects them and also how they feel about other characters. Gameplay: 4.3/ It really depends on what your doing at the time. This game has combat, exploring, and dungeons with puzzles. The combat is so satisfying(I especially love the tutorial one of the best ones in a jrpg like ever) and it is very very customizable with the growth of how your character plays. They'll unlock different special moves each time you perform one specific one X amounts of times and you can do many different comboes to mix it up a bunch. You can also play a total of (by the time your party's full) 8 different characters and they all have different play styles so you can find what suits you best but it'll definitely take some practice. The overworld is nice and spread out but there are 2 major problems with it. 1. The map sometimes feels like as means of just getting to the next area and letting the next cutscene play which isn't a good feeling especially in an rpg, and 2. much later in the story you get 2 vehicles a boat and a flying machine. You use the boat a total of about 2 times that are necessary to progress the game and once you get the flying machine, walking/running around the overworld and the boat becomes obselete so what's the point of the boat if you can just fly wherever you want (and I do mean wherever the game loops the map back around). I understand the walking but using the boat for a total of about 2 times is kind of pointless wouldn't you say? Lastly is the matter of the dungeons. It's like The Legend of Zelda except instead of smaller mini puzzles the dungeon is always one big puzzle or maze. The difficulty of the puzzles range from overly simplistic to "Wtf do I need to be doing right now?". Now puzzles in of themselves aren't bad at all hell I even love one dungeon where the entire thing is an escort mission but it is far far better then you would think at first, but man some of these puzzles/mazes can be very VERY obnoxious and I personally don't like most of them. Doesn't help that there's enemies everywhere in the dungeons. I wouldn't blame you if you used guides for some of the puzzles I did that to. Music: 4.6/5 They'll definitely fit the mood at the time and some I'll hum over and over but some just don't stick out to much especially some of the battle themes. Graphics: 5/5 For the time these are great graphics. Sure you get blurry close ups at times and the characters move awkwardly to at times but it's still great. Voice acting: 4/5 The voices fit the characters perfectly but sometimes when a character says something like "Dammit!" I feel the actors try to push to much and try to hard to emphasize the situation. Overall: 4.7/5 Yes I'm still giving it an about 4.7 rating why? Despite quite the few negatives I had, they hardly detract from the game at all (except for dungeon puzzles/mazes) and really it just comes down to personal preference. Also, and this is not the game's fault it is the seller's fault, the game would crash very frequently on specifically disk 2 and there was a point near the end of the game where I literally had to switch from my wii to gamecube and vice versa just to get past some crashing so that may have influenced my judgement on the game overall. Bug this is a definite must have for anyone who loves jrpgs or maybe even rpgs in general. Thank for taking the time to read this review :).

Tales of Symphonia is an exceptional RPG game. I've been a fan for this genre for as long as I can remember. Through college and now medical school, I've become quite selective about the games I play because of my limited amount of free time. In my opinion, Tales of Symphonia can easily rival any of the best hits in the Final Fantasy series. Behind the cartoon-like/anime styled graphics is 80 hours of pure fun and entertainment. Given the character designs and art works in general in the game, I really didn't expect much from Symphonia initially. But as the story unravels, I find the storyline enthralling and very well thought-out. The twists and turns are surprising most of the time yet very plausible. Character development is an area where I think Symphonia really outdoes the Final Fantasy (FF) series. Unlike the often simple-minded and happy-go-lucky paper-thin characters in FF, the full cast of symphonia shows great depth individually and growth over the course of the game. They acknowledge and deal with many themes, such as love and hatred, gain and loss, courage and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal, hope and regret, companionship and loneliness, selfishness and sacrifice in a very mature way. Each main character's personality stands out and leaves quite an impression. For instance, Kratos is rational, composed, willful and cold-blooded. Yet deep down he has a heroically conscientious side. Sheena is an honorable, strong-willed and independent ninja. But underneath it all, she is gentle and vulnerable and yearns for friendship. Regal lives in the sorrow and despair of his past. What happened? And who is he? The carefully crafted subtleties in each of character's personality and their motivations unveil gradually through the main storyline and the skits so well that all of them seem to come to life and become likable individuals. Character development in Symphonia definitely adds more layers to the game overall. Despite of the realness of its characters and the storyline's seriousness, the game handles itself very lightheartedly. There's rarely any dull moment during the gameplay. The dialogues are funny and interesting. Some witty lines really cracked me up. The background music very nicely enhances of the mood and ambience. 8 main characters all have their own thematic music that matches them very well. The quality of voice acting is quite good. I think Kratos' voiceover was especially fitting for a tired hero who has seen it all and done it all. The battle system is one of the most sophisticated I have seen. With 4 party members on the field, the player can control any one of them one at a time. The A.I. is more than satisfying. You can customize just about anything for a character, from targeting enemy, position on the battle field and attacking strategy to job titles, special moves, style of fighting (strong or technical), elemental attributes, the unique combo attack and unison attack systems and EX Gem boosts and EX skills. The battling system steers this game more towards an action RPG (think of Legend of Zelda). This makes levels less relevant and your ability to strategize and control your character effectively more important. When you become an expert in battle, you can defeat bosses at a much higher level than you are! The performance in battle is also graded! What?! Yes, you are graded based on how well you fight. Grades are EXTREMELY valuable. You'll need them big time when you start new game+ after you beat the game once. The game also features 8 variations on its ending depending on the choices you make in the game and a ton of side quests and mini games. Even if you are completely oblivious to everything that makes this game unique, it is still more fun and entertaining than you expect (it certainly took me by surprise!). I had a blast with this game. If you choose to play it, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. (And chances are, you will, trust me.)

CDs are perfect! The first one has a tiny scratch but other then that, they are nearly mint condition! I completely LOVE this game! If you can get your paws on this gem, GET IT! Its one of the few Gamecube game that has 2 CDs(besides Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins) so you have a loooooooooot to do in the game!

Es un clásico jrpg que realmente te mantiene entretenido. El juego llego antes de lo esperado! Y en muy buen estado.

Tales of Symphonic has got to be one of the best RPGs made. I don't care how old it is right now, its has a great story, fun battle mechanics and puzzles, 40+ playtime and is definitely worth playing more than once. Every decision counts after all! If you've never tried this yet your missing out! Would recommend for sure!

Well packed. Just about perfect condition. Great buy. Thank you.

This game is one of my favourite games of all time and its a guarantee 40=80 hour playthrough, depending on how many sidequest you decide to take on haha