Tales of Symphonia Review
At the end of last summer I posted a review of Tales of the Abyss. Playing ToA caused me to become extremely interested in the Tales Series. The Anime FMV, the character development via skits, and the fun battle system all combine to make a unique RPG experience. Tales of the Abyss is easily in the top 5 RPGs I’ve ever played. I was listening to the soundtrack just today and was reminded about how incredible it was.
Tales of Symphonia doesn’t beat Tales of the Abyss in my book, but its still an excellent game. It was originally released on the Gamecube, and I picked up a used copy to play on my Wii. I’m extremely glad I did. Having never owned a Gamecube I could have easily missed out on this little gem. In many ways I feel like Tales of the Abyss was the natural evolution from this game. Everything was just a little better: the story, the character development, the battle system, etc. But Tales of Symphonia still comes out as a great game, even when compared to Abyss.
I spent around 40 hours playing through the game. There was a plot twist I didn’t see coming, which is always nice. The main problem with doing a review of Symphonia, after I’ve played Abyss, is that I feel like I’m just going around saying, “It was good…but Abyss was better.” If you’re a fan of the Tales series you’ve probably already played this game. If you’re fan of JRPGs I highly recommend Tales of Symphonia. If you’re a one of those new gamers the Wii is bringing in, why not try a “hardcore” game like Tales of Symphonia. It’s certainly fun, and worth the $20 to pick up a used copy. Besides, it’ll prepare you for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, the direct sequel that is releasing exclusively for the Wii this November.
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