Tales of Symphonia- long but good (Tales of Symphonia (GC))

Member Name: scmk55

Product:	Tales of Symphonia (GC)
Date:	19/08/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fighting, plot

Disadvantages: Length, complexity of story line, character names

Tales of Symphonia was an average RPG for the Gamecube. Nintendo is not known for putting out great RPGs, so by Nintendo's standards, this is an amazing RPG. You can tell from the beginning that the game is going to be samewhat long, due to the fact that is has two discs. However in this instance, long is good :).

The graphics are anime style, a little different than most RPGs. There are a few in-game movies with the typical anime movie graphics, and they look fantastic!

There are a lot of good parts to this game. My favorite part is the amount of sidequests this game has. Most sidequests in other games are pointless, but this game has sidequests that focuses on one of the sub-characters and really gives you insight in who they are. When you play a game this long (I beat it in 60 hours), you really get involved with the characters and want to complete their stories.

The fighting system is very unique. It was hard at first, and I wish there was a tutorial (I don't rembmer one.) It is a real-time system and you have free movement of your character. 99% of the time, you fight in a party with 3 other members that are controlled by the computer unless you have another controller and want another human to control them. You can give them different orders to help you in battle. Experience is awarded after each fight, as well as something called grade. Grade is based on how well you fight during the battle.

The item and weapons system is also pretty interesting. You can purchase weapons, are you can customize them. Most towns have customization shops that allow you to take your old weapons and combine them with certain materials to make them better. Some weapons you can get through customization only.

The plot in this game is pretty creative, but it does get rather complicated if you don 't pay attention. This is not a game that you can play occasionally. There are a lot of weird names between worlds and characters, so writing down who is who might be helpful. While the plot is long, it has a very nice wrap-up and a few emotional scenes.

I would suggest this game to a semi-serious RPG player. It takes a lot of time and dedication to play, and you will be rewarded for your time.

Summary: Gamecube's best RPG