As some people here have already said, this is probably my favorite game of all time. I get some of the criticism this game gets in terms of the graphics looking somewhat aged by today's standards, but in terms of writing, gameplay, characters, plot, dungeon-design and soundtrack I think this game is pretty much perfect. To this day I've only played a handful of games I'd say even come close to matching it.
@@ElementShoota I'm still at the beginning. Always wanted to play it and finally got it on Steam in January. I don't know how to powerlevel my characters without dying. But my personal favorite is still Abyss, even though Lloyd is my personal Husbando. And I love Kratos. Best character in the entire game in my opinion.
The GameCube version had a dragon in the temple of earth that dropped 10,000 Gald regularly and 20,000 gald with a blue sephira. In the ps2 and 3 version, it was gone. It was nice to grind.
Nope it didn't gone it just became little deeper ,behind that Gnoome who was blocking the path to the cursed weapon chest but the dragon gives 1000 gold not 10,000
Tales of Symphonia is my favorite game of all time. For me it just hits all the right beats. A great story, amazing and developed characters, fun gameplay, I personally like the art style of the game. I'll admit too it holds nostalgic and sentimental reasons as well, but it just has everything I feel a great game should! :)
I've been waiting for you to tackle Symphonia, and I've gotta say you did not disappoint. Symphonia was my very first Tales of game and it's still my favorite to this day simply because it just came to me at the right time in my life. Symphonia really was my first introduction to the jrpg world and just how immersive and complex and overall enjoyable a video game could be. It's because of it that Tales has become my all time favorite franchise. Yes, nostalgia plays a major part in my love for this game. I won't deny that, but I still find myself loving it for all the little things you mentioned and more. The cast of characters, the rich story, the retro feel of the combat, the phenomenal soundtrack (just hearing the opening music made me squeal), everything just makes me love this game despite its flaws. The game is dated in terms of combat and visuals. There's no denying that and while the voice acting is amazing, I do wish more scenes had been voiced as well. The memories I got playing through this game the very first time, meeting Lloyd and seeing his naive yet idealistic view of the world and how those views ultimately shape his character and growth is what really resonated with me. This can be said for all the cast members for me really. The themes, the shocking reveals, just the premise of the entire story still sticks with me to do this. Symphonia is a game I've played a million times and still find myself wanting to go back and play. It has been a good while since I've lasted played it. I should probably dig out my GameCube and fall right back down that rabbit hole xD You gave a very good and overall objective review of my favorite Tales game. I'm glad you take into consideration all the things people may like or dislike about the game and voiced them accordingly. Symphonia isn't perfect and has aged since its time, but it'll always be perfect and retro-y lovable to me. Thanks for the amazing review Zaffre! Can't wait for the next one!
Ahh, Symphonia. My first Tales game and first JRPG. And still my favorite Tales game and probably favorite game overall. I love the characters, story, world, music and gameplay. Especially the dungeons stand out compared to the most recent titles. I'm currently replaying Berseria and its "dungeons" are just boring to play through. Thanks for the review Revo and looking forward to the DotNW video. To me DotNW is a mediocre game but at least it gave us awesome skits and Tenebrae.
I read your comment and its like i wrote it, god i love that most people have the same things to say about Symphonia as me and also for the other entries , yes Berseria dungeons are very blunt and linear and look almost the same, same goes for some previous entries.
My first Tales game. One of the stories that molded me when growing as a young pre-teen. That’s why I got an emblem of this tattooed on me. I just recently played through this again with my partner for his first Tales game. Now we are both on to Vesperia.
My absolute favorite game of all time! This is the game that started me on the long road to tales Fandom and while I get your fair criticisms, nothing will be able to tarnish its legacy for me and it will always remain perfect for me. The only thing I gotta say is..... Ready.....SPREAD!
Haha I can see why you'd like this game so much. I thought it was really good, and one of my favorites to be honest! Might have to go back and do some of its post game content. I did a little bit of it, but some of the later ex battles are hard as heck! I remember getting to the first triple battle in the ex dungeon and getting my butt handed to me, so that'll be fun...
@@ZaffreRevolution oh yeah, but that's what makes them fun to go back to! It's a challenge for even the most hard-core tales fans! I remember beating it with my brother at 2am because you can't exit the dungeon to save, but it was so worth it! Great job giving it an honest and fair review. My nostalgia glasses blind me too hard! Lol
This is my favorite game ever and is very close to my heart, I played it on GameCube when I was a wee fella and it got me into JRPGs and japanese culture in general. It is true that the graphics are a sin but I do believe that if this game got a proper FFVII-like remake it would BOOM. The story is unparalleled and the characters a ridiculously great. Loved your review, keep up the great work!!!
I really miss that original opening music. I grew up with the GameCube version, and was sad to find out that the PS3 version used the PS2 J-Pop intro instead. And that the PS3 version also kept the lower 30 FPS and all of the different PS2-only graphical bugs.
I just realized, Berseria was kind of an exception to that rule, since it has character themes for all the party members too. Good review all together, and good save to have the best song in the credit section. That was always one of my favorite thing about the game: the soundtrack. City themes in particular were to my liking, like the one small city on top of that mountain. I remember visiting that city when I was playing it as a kid on Gamecube, just buying items from there because how much I loved the music in it (venturer's colony I think the track is called?).
I recently played this game for the first time and I loved it. I did think it was a little bit dated but still worth while, although I did grow up on 5th and 6th gen games so it wasn't hard for me personally to look past.
This is my favorite rpg of all time. Everytime I hear fighting of the spirit im ready to clap cheeks and everytime I hear the theme for Heimdall and Exire I cry of nostalgia.
Y-yeah sure. Me who "kills" Zelos every playthrough because my main is Kratos: *nervous sweating* (Symphonia iceberg moment: Zelos is still alive in the Kratos path)
Played this game for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. The only part that annoyed me was not knowing where to go sometimes. Everything else was super enjoyable
I've been thrilled to hear your opinion about this game since you first started this retrospective (like many others, apparently) and you - as always - delivered yet again. You often have wildly different opinions and experiences than I do, but I've come to trust your skill in games, your passion for the series, and your willingness to view something with as little bias as possible. In that light, I think you made some extremely valid critiques and commendations for Symphonia! You even made me realize how dirty they did my girl Raine in the main story. Considering that I made her my soulmate on my first post-childhood playthrough, I never realized how little they allow her to develop in the central plot. Sure, she's got plenty of moments to shine with her intellect, but her deepest developments only come through side-quests - which is a shame, because her quest on Exile was one of the most heart-breaking scenes imo. Thank you for continuing to deliver such unbiased, thought-provoking, and encouraging content for us all to appreciate - and for letting us discuss it with you on here, Discord and Twitter, too! I wish you all the luck in the world with the sequel. I...don't have fond memories of it either. But hey, maybe times have changed for the better! I've actually been wanting to revisit it myself, so we'll see if it's worth a shot.
So fun fact: I learned of Lloyd from Smash flash 2. Then the mii costume And then I played tales of the Abyss. ...that being said Symphonia and Phantasia is one of several tales of games that need a remake because of the models. Lloyd is Robin and Presea is Raven -Zelos is one of the best tales characters alongside Alvin and Luke fite me- -But every tales of Symphonia girl is Best-
@@openinginawe5518 you too oh shit I've discovered Lloyd since Smash flash 1 and I've always find him appealing for his two cool swords and the fact he was using them both making him a cool character just like Roxas (guess the dual weilding thing was very appealing to some lol)
To be honest I think phantasia is great, even the graphics, they don't bug me that much, of course I say this because I played the translated psx version Plus the PSP version already has scaled up sprite based graphics, problem, it's japan exclusive and doesn't have a translation, though if you already know the story or look at a script it isn't as big of a problem
It really is a great game you will get sucked into the story! I did however could not used to the character models and the interesting voice acting its not bad just it could definitely be better! Vesperia is the where they did almost everything right! I highly recommend that after Symphonia!
Finally Symphonia huh? For me, it was the first Tales I ever saw, with me and two friends playing it for a bit starting partway through the game... that part being the lead-up to the first visit to the Tower of Salvation. XD Hell of a time to jump into the story, but that's probably why it made an impression on me, as that part felt like a very iconic moment in the series. Based on your comments early on, I'm guessing you're in the camp that really wants a remake and not just a remaster someday huh? :D This is honestly still one of my personal favorites, but I've definitely noticed a dropoff in terms of the positive attention it gets lately. While I get the criticisms for how the game was done and how it's more or less a not-as-good rework of the idea behind Eternia, not to mention how it really doesn't mesh well with the lore behind Phantasia, which it's meant to be a prequel to, I still feel like the sheer joy it's brought people over the years matters. Lately it seems like I never hear anything about this game from anyone except the game’s most severe critics. It’s also a pretty popular ‘target’ for fans of other RPGs that are more plot-focused than Tales. I actually started rewatching an LP the other day just to hear someone talk about it normally again, and it’s great to see a video from you here today. :) I miss getting to discuss the more positive traits of this game. I think a reason you liked the soundtrack in this game and Berseria especially when it comes to story scene tracks is because this is one of the few games in the series to have 100% dedicated character themes for every member of the cast, a trait that Berseria shares (Zestiria had a couple of them too, but not for every party member.) Sadly, I feel like this is another case where some of Sakuraba’s really good work gets ignored because some of the popular battle themes were remixes of Phantasia songs from the previous composer, so people just attribute ‘everything good’ to them and overlook some of the really gorgeous stuff Sakuraba wrote into the game. I ALSO love that about Symphonia’s story. It’s often hard to judge whether people have actually played enough of the game or not because the game actually starts off being pretty cheesy and typical for an RPG adventure ON PURPOSE, and I think that’s fun to watch. It takes something that’s very solid gameplay-wise (run around clearing elemental temples preparing for the final area) and pokes fun at it a lot, being kind of obvious about some things that are going on, but then pulls away the curtain later on to reveal that while a lot of your predictions are true, there’s a lot more going on than you thought. (Also, haha, Masaeanela went nuts over the “It’s nothing” parts too. XD I think it’s partly also due to issues with translations because in Japanese there are apparently a lot more repeated phrases like that. Another example you might see is characters constantly voicing little acknowledgements while someone else is talking like “I see” or “What do you mean?”) That phrase is definitely silly although at times when the game is kind of poking fun at the tropes it’s using, it can be kind of funny too. The biggest criticism I’ve heard in regard to Lloyd isn’t so much in regard to his own role in the story, but how he affects the characters around him. The game tends to fall into the trap of “There’s a problem, have the main character fix it by kicking some ass or cheering someone up.” This tends to shorten and simplify the other character’s growth moments quite a bit and not let them learn to solve their own problems, meaning the interesting cast of party members doesn’t get much development that isn’t revolving around Lloyd. I can definitely agree with this issue, though I obviously see it in a lot of other games too. It’s an easy trap to fall into when making a game because you’re trying to give the player involvement in the story and while you can play as anyone you want, the main character is still the most likely conduit they’ll be using. I have to say, I’m really glad you actually loved the cast MORE when replaying the game instead of finding more things to dislike. :) Being a modern action gamer, you might think I’d have a lot of issues with this game’s combat, but I felt like this game held up a lot better than I’d expect given its age. The thing is, it keeps things relatively simple in terms of how actually hitting your opponent works. Newer games suffer from a lot of weird complications with how combos chain together, how to keep opponents locked down, and demanding much higher amounts of hits in a combo for even casual players, whereas this game is much more down to Earth about all that. It’s a bit clunky and the overlimit mechanics are tough to work with, but the basic method of fighting is easy to understand and get better at, compared to newer titles which often leave me going ????. By the way, one other thing that affects tension/overlimit is party members being KO’d. You can enter overlimit from someone going down. The skill system is another case of a system that I think was really cool and had a lot of depth, but just had some usability issues. I can’t blame people for disliking it, but only because some of the restrictions, like not being able to keep EX gems once used on a character and having to worry about wasting them, makes it hard to experiment and learn how it all works, but once you do know a bit, there’s a lot to have fun with. I also hadn’t considered it but what you said about the skill system not making you dependent on skills is actually very true. I miss that now that you mention it. The one difference I did notice in combat on higher difficulties was that mechanically I was more comfortable on Hard+ than on Normal sometimes. I’m not sure what it was, but it seemed like on Normal, I often reacted to things faster than the game expected me to and it would count against me, like when I’d dodge an attack and then run back in to hit the enemy while their attack animation was still going. The game seemed to count that as a mistake and made them auto-guard. But when I turned up the difficulty, I got a lot more attacks to land cleanly. That said, for this game I recommend generally just leaving it on Normal and turning up the difficulty for boss fights. “These little Shadow punks need to never show their face in a Tales game again.” Xillia 2: “Oops.” XD I miss the dungeons with actual effort too. “More enjoyable than it gets credit for” sounds like how I’d sum up this game, personally. I greatly enjoyed watching this video and finally hearing from someone who really enjoyed it again warms my heart. I can definitely understand it being too old for people to get into because I feel the same way about some older games myself, but I’ve heard from SO many people over the years how much joy it brought to their lives and even if it’s someone’s least favorite entry in this series, I think it’s still good that it got so many people into Tales. That should always be a positive thing for fans. I also think the great experiences people have had with the game matter too and are a sign that in spite of its issues, it also did a lot of good. Will be fun to see DonW/Kor next, though the one I’m most eager to see is honestly Zestiria, for similar reasons to Symphonia. I find it hard to have a normal conversation about Zestiria and I like how balanced and down to Earth you are in your opinions on things.
I feel like one of the few people who love Dawn of the New World. Probably have my nostalgia glasses on though. Fav part was controlling the monsters and "evolving" them. So damn fun.
While you can't control them, it was really fun to evolve them, though my favorite part is that, because there was only 2 new characters, they could focus all the development on them, since the older characters already received their development in the last game Plus Emile's development is a thing to behold
Dawn of the New World is honestly an awesome game. People shit on Emil for being weak, but I loved how he found himself and challenged his own identity and Ratatosk, and became strong towards the end where he served justice and fought for the world. DOTNW may not be legendary and near perfect like Symphonia, but I thought it was a great game; deep, emotional, speaks to human nature and corruption, and fun gameplay.
Tales of Symphonia is my favorite game of all time and will most likely stay so. What this game did for me is incredible. Yes, the characters may sound cheesy and naive (they change over time but anyway) but it didn't keep me from getting the message and the emotion Tales of Symphonia tries to convey. This game changed my life, it had an impact on how I view the world, it motivated me to become the best version of myself and to fight for the rights of everyone. The emotions and feelings this game gave to me can not be described with words. This is what art does. If fighting for others became my ultimate moral value, if I found in myself enough strength to keep following my dream, if I am still here today, this is all thanks to this game. Sorry for my english and thank you for this video.
This is definitely my favorite game of all time, mostly for the plot and the voice acting. I have so many fond memories of this game, and I replay it on the GameCube regularly. Though, to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference between the battles in the GameCube at 60 fps versus the others at 30 fps Still, I will always love this game. You do make a good point about the graphics, but I suppose that was the limitations of the console itself as well as probably financial reasons as well. The whole plotline definitely holds up as one of the best I've ever seen
I'm just discovering your channel. I am really enjoying all of your videos, yo are very talented and know how to keep the audience engaged. Congratulations and keep up the amazing videos!!!!
Oh, speaking of computer-generated cutscenes, you should watch Wolfwalkers and study the development/production of the film. One scene in particular, Robyn's transformation (first-person perspective), was originally animated in 3D, and then every frame was completely drawn over by hand. It looks freaking sick.
I have a complete opposite viewpoint on how to judge older games. I strongly feel they should be judged based on the time of their release and not today's standards. Older games being dated does have it's place in criticism, but it's a minor thing. A game really shouldn't be critiqued on techniques or technology that didn't exist at the time. Also a side note, the PS1 remake of Phantasia was the first game to introduce the concept of Mystic Artes. It was later expanded on the remake for Destiny. Over Limit was actually conceptualized in Tales of Destiny 2; the sequel of Destiny that is JP exclusive and not Eternia.
I was halfway through the game on the different world and give up and deleted my save and game. Now I will have to get back to that game and go mental with the scenes again.
ToS holds a special place in my heart. It was my first and only Tales game. Ive always been interested in other Tales games but other games always took my interest and time. This was a fun review to watch.
I honestly think this is the perfect Tales game to start with, so I’m surprised to hear you disagree. I wouldn’t be as in love with the series had another game been my first. To this day, Symphonia is still my favorite and my hope when I start a new Tales is always that it’ll live up to Symphonia’s greatness. Which is something Vesperia (while still good) unfortunately didn’t do for me.
I started with it and didn't finish it. Not just that, but I didn't want to touch another tales games for years. For me it probably was the worst way to start with the series.
@@TheMissileHappy What made you turn it off? For the first hour or so I wasn't sure about the game either, but I quickly fell in love with the gameplay, story, and characters
@@Flareboxx pretty much all the reasons he lists as bad. I didn't like world map and how monsters were portrayed on it, I hated how the character models looked and also I just couldn't get into the combat system, after only playing turn based jrpgs. I have since started playing Vesperia and Berseria and I love them both, but it took me about 5 years to try a tales game again. I still plan on going back to Symphonia eventually.
@@TheMissileHappy I'm very surprised you liked Vesperia better. It's one of my least favorites in the series personally. Berseria is great though. Arise has the most fun gameplay, but the story isn't as good or interesting as Berseria or Symphonia.
I liked the graphics of tales of symphonia a lot, honestly. I played the gamecube version, but it was the character models and lighting and detail in the backgrounds that really captured me. I loved the cartoony character models, even if it does require you to kind of use your imagination sometimes XD It's all preference, but blurry lines or sometimes literally having to use your imagination to imagine the characters doing the things they're supposed to be doing doesn't bother me. And I agree with you on the ost being absolutely awesome, except that I don't remember much of the ost in any of the other tales games I've played- in vesperia at least it was super drawn back so I couldn't even hear it, and graces' ost was just... I mean the cave theme I've never thought deeply about battle systems beyond finding a strategy to win, so I can't say much about that. It was fun, and more fun with friends. The thing I loved so much about these games is the co-op. There are a lot of other great jrpgs but it's harder to find ones that are co-op. Yeah... symphonia is overall my favorite tales of game from the ones I've played, most because it has an art style and ost that I really love, and the world feels so big and well realized.
This was my second ever tales game, and while it took a LOT of getting used to compared to Xillia which I clicked with basically right away, once I got used to the combat system I fell in love. It’s far from my favourite in the series but I still love it
I would love a remake *if* they did it like the last of us. Keep all the audio and scenes the same in essence, but completely update the visual/ graphical experience. If they change the voice actors and retake the dialogue, I'm simply out.
I did a 100% run, or at least the most I could do with no exp multiplier, but thanks to that I really enjoyed the game, reading deeper on how the monster evolution trees worked, making them as strong as I could and completing the bestiary in the process, also seeing all the skits thanks to a guide also helped liking the characters more due to the extra interactions
ahhh symphonia. playing this game was a dream cone true for me. i got introduced to it through the ova and got symphonia 2 by chance. but this one, i had to hunt down for like 2 years until ive found a copy. i was the happiest kid ever that day and i still smile when i look at my gamecube copy
@ 27:20 Enemies cannot run in any direction they wish, they are actually limited in the exact same way as the player. They target a member of your party, can switch who they target but can only move directly towards or away from whoever they're targeting
i'm very sorry for this longass comment. A lot of this I agreed with, and some of it I really really didn't! Graphics just Do. Not. Matter. to me. Not a whit. I was born at the start of the 90's so I've been a fan of video games since "bad graphics" were all we had and /because/ that's all we had, no one cared. Our interests had to be story driven because that was all games were about back then and that's still what drives my interest in games today. I can appreciate a game that has great gameplay and graphics (I played Devil May Cry 5 twice, back to back and loved it for those reasons and the story that for some reason got heat, which was dumb because a) basing it off poems by William Blake was damned clever and b) the series has always been more about gameplay than story anyway.) But I digress. Against your recommendations (nine years too late) I did start with Symphonia and I played it almost non-stop for those nine years. As soon as I finished it, I'd restart it and I fell in love every single time. I traded flanoir scenes between Colette (because she is best girl) because she and Lloyd are just...the best, and Kratos because their relationship is my favorite thing. Delightful. The only pause in my spree was six years ago when I settled down for grade-farming for the sake of my next New Game Plus and that is just a very...very tedious activity. I got distracted and I think it was in that time that I purchased a fun little movie called "Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike" from Funimation because it had Tales in the title. That lead to me getting the 360 version of Vesperia because the original was then still Japanese exclusive and then Vesperia became my 2nd favorite Tales and it's retained that position even though I have more of them. I got Abyss in that time frame too and I've still not completed it, namely because the PS2 died and so did the memory card and I got the 3DS port for a birthday gift to myself...maybe last year. Abyss is hard for me to play, the color scheme is just...bland, and I was spoiled by the bright worlds of Symphonia and Vesperia. I like the story though and it does have a wonderful cast. (The victory quotes SUCK though, uuuugh) Back on topic, although by now you've probably quit reading, I can't agree that Symphonia didn't hold up well. I think it's incredible that despite the cutesy character models (how often do you crap on an intentional decision, Wind Waker got the same heat and fools like me let it get in the way of enjoying the game properly) the mature themes of the game still came across well. They don't get in the way of what is a very real and relatable story with a bittersweet ending and that's...fantastic. I think it's a point to a game that it can do that, rather than relying on more realistic models. It was a bright and playful looking game and it managed to slap you in the face with very contradictory aspects. I think that takes skill. Tales of Symphonia edged out Ocarina of Time as my favorite game ever back in 2011 when I brought it with the money Grandpa left me as a way to both heal from his death and adjust to being in my 20's, and even after I stopped needing it as a source of support, it remains just that. My favorite game. There is so much to love about it and I couldn't tell you a single thing wrong. Not even that rough start. I like that I had to work hard for my gald and items, because so did Lloyd. His illusions of strength cost him his home and he had to work, really work, from the bottom up to be truly strong enough that that sort of thing would never happen again. I appreciate that we experience that, on our own, even. It taught me early on to take the game seriously (which is a a lesson I really wish I'd remembered when I finished my last game and almost got killed by the final boss who I thought would be way easier than he was.)
PC Version is lock to 30 too. No mods can unlock the framerate. While you can unlock it the game speed takes over with no way of fixing it. The way the port was done made it pretty much impossible. You can only really get HD textures and proper frame pacing out of it.
I finishes this game like 8 or 10 times. My brother would play Lloyd and I would play as Kratos or Zelos I still like Kratos more, I think he is the coolest character in all of gaming just behind Link. I like vesperias combat better but this games story tops almost every story there is. What an amazing masterpiece of a game. 9.8/10 for me almost perfect if you ask me
Oh cool you cover Tales of? I love Tales of, so I'll sub! Hope to see more Tales of content. I picked up this game on PS3 when it launched but didn't play it. Now after watching this, I started it. Thanks
I love this series! Been a fan since I played Tales of Eternia! My favorite to this day is still Vesperia. It did everything right, characters, graphics, story, battle system, and I loved the dungeon designs unlike later titles were it was lacking in that department! If you haven't tried it, I suggest playing the legend of heroes trails of cold steel series. Imagine persona and tales game aspects with a military theme! I am loving your videos and your voice. If you have a game cube I highly recommend Skies of Arcadia! My all time favorite game right next to Vesperia! Nothing quite like it! Looking forward to future videos awesome work!
I’m really glad to see someone else who thinks the limitations in Symphonia’s battle system work to its favor rather than its detriment! While I do think that the game letting AI characters but not you use the full 3D movement is pretty gross and unfair, I nonetheless feel like movement and jumping are more important in Symphonia than in any 3D tales game since; it’s super fun having to pay attention to where I am and maneuver around the limited lines, rather than just being able to pop into free run at any time.
Symphonia was my first tales of game. I only played it once, a few yearsago but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Looking at footage now, yeah I see how the models and all that looks outdated but I still really enjoy how the areas look, some dungeons look really good. Some of them felt pretty unique, probably the tree dungeon is what I am thinking about and a few others. World map though ya it was big ouch in terms of movement and even just the camera angle. Combat was pretty fun, I don't think I ever got stuck. Al tough I don't remember the story as well as some of my favorites (Xenoblade Chronicles), it was very good. Overall it was a pretty good game.
I've been playing Symphonia alongside Eternia lately, it's interesting how much of an in-between of the PSX 2d titles and later 3d titles Symphonia is while also adding things that make it unique without getting a mess. It's a pretty cool package I'd say, though a lot of the general story so far basically just being Eternia fusion dancing with Phantasia is pretty fun to rib at, it's got enough unique original stuff for it not to be just a retelling of those stories so I def won't be calling it bad, especially since I'm not done yet
I pretty much agree with most of your points of criticism and praise for the game. I adore the soundtrack of Symphonia so much I use it to lull me to sleep. And the story and characters are my favorite out of the handful of other Tales games I played (Abyss, Graces f, Vesperia, Arise). I too wish there was more voice acting and that the skits got dubbed in English to at least make it fair to each language user. And I would love if this game got a remake treatment, though I think the best way to do it is in the form of a remake similar to the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot games, where the graphics are the biggest overhaul but the gameplay was mostly kept intact following the original style. If they did that type of Remake, Symphonia would shine even brighter than Brave Vesperia ;)
You are so right about the "No... It's nothing" line. The first act of Abyss has that soooo many times too. It's fine on the first playthrough when you don't know what's going to happen but it's just irritating on subsequent playthroughs. The characters may as well look at the camera and say "I know something plot relevant but I'm not going to tell you yet."
Besides Pokemon this was my gateway to RPGs. I pretty much like this game but I do agree that the movement speed on the world map is very slow and the enemies that just dash straight into you can be irritating no not as bad as Earthbound. Looking forward to yours and Sol's review on Dawn of the New World.
Awesome review as others have said Tales of Symphonia was my first entry into this amazing series my little cousin rented this game and me and his stepbrother all played it to beat it!! But one game I would like to see you do is what everyone considers the black sheep of Tales and it's not Zestiria..... Tales of Legendia!! P.S hopefully you do Abyss as well that Symphonia and Vesperia are in my top 5
While I’m not far in any version of Symphonia... the PC version doesn’t actually have 60 fps mods. 60 fps is exclusive to the gamecube version apparently.
I liked the video before I even watched. To be honest I agree with most of your criticisms and this game certainly did not age well. But what it still means to me and what it did for me when I was only 12 years old will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was my first tales game. And I still consider it the best tales game. I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind lol.
Did somebody already mentioned this? Skits are voiced on Japanese PS2 version. It also might be present on Japanese gamecube version I don't know that one but anyway it's localisation issue.
I'm looking forward to it to hopefully finally understand why people like the gameplay, to me it's just building a combo with a button, adapt it to the type of enemy you're fighting and then just mash to win, mix a therion ability here and there plus a mystic arte and you have the base of the gameplay experience for me, I'm pretty sure I'm aying the game the "wrong way" but I don't know what's the "right way" That's why I'm waiting for the review, hopefully this question finally gets answered there
@@pralenkaman8105 : I mean, I think Berseria has it down on some of the basic things like quick, responsive movement and satisfying attacks and whatnot, and for a lot of players that can be more than enough, but I think it's also a good example of Tales becoming overly-heavy on combos and mechanics that get in the way of the basic combat in an attempt to make it more deep.
Always felt this game was fucking solid and this was my first tales game. Berseria is now my favorite Tales game but that’s mainly because of the super dark story and it’s just super fucking good.
Can somebody tell me what part of mithos' castle 34:30 is from and how to get there? I have been playing this game for the better part of a decade and finished it at least 5 times and I don't think I've ever seen that area lol
I don't get where the recent trend to hate on Symphonia's visuals came from. I love the toy like aesthetic, I feel like it's far more timeless than the more realistic approach Abyss took, which basically looks like mud to me now. I think the contrast between the toy-like style and the dark tone is very intentional, almost in the same context as the Lego movie. Symphonia looks like a toy box, and that really matches the themes of the game. Lloyd is filled with child-like idealism. Collette has a child like sense of hope and innocence. Meanwhile, the main villain of the story is essentially a massive puppet master fulfilling a damaged child's fantasy. The art style also benefits in the same way Vesperia does with very exaggerated character features, which really help convey their major traits. Also I'm very surprised you didn't like the world map, because I'd argue that's one of Symphonia's most unique aspects, despite some technical and presentation issues. The world is chock full of things to find, so you are always encouraged to explore. Sometimes you will stumble upon mandatory story locations for later in the game, so when you get to that point later, you feel awesome because you've already gone and gotten it. I was so frustrated that later games in the series scrapped the overworld chests, because there were so many neat things you could find in them. I feel like both Abyss and Vesperia heavily de-emphasized the value of exploring the overworld
Excellent review my dude. Thanks for capturing the magic of my favorite game quite well. And your qualms were very fair imo. What's your favorite song from the ost if you don't mind me asking? (and why is it Fatalize 🎺🎸💥👌? Lol, jk)
I have never actually played this game, though I own both ps3 and steam versions, and it is on my list. That being said, I just wanted to add that I love this game’s graphics and it’s actually the graphics that keep bringing me back to it. It’s so charming and vibrant, it looks inviting. Given that this game came out close to the release of wind Waker I was already used to stylized graphics, so that might have something to do with it.
On my new game plus on steam rn. Still love that game so much since I played it on the GameCube and I sucked back then. Now I'm doing all the bonus content.
I can't agree with Symphonia's graphics. I like the art style. Yes, it's old, so the lack of animations and expressions is a pity and something that's done better later, but I think it does a good enough job and I like the more cartoony look of everything. It's been a few years since I've played it but it's still one of my favorite stories, for Tales and video games in general. And Lloyd and Colette are some of my favorite characters. The gameplay is dated, but still works ok. The voices are great and I do wish there were more of them. I'm so glad the newer games do a lot more voice acting. But I get that Tales doesn't have the highest budget and isn't the most popular in the west. At least they didn't cut the skits like they did in Eternia. I'll read em if I have to.
Super super late comment, but since I didn't see anyone else mentioning this anywhere The PC version is also locked at 30 frames. You can mod to make it higher, but I believe it speeds up the entire game as a whole and anything higher than 40 makes the game almost unplayable. At least that's what I understood when I was looking up which version to (re-)play I still think the steam version is probably the best content wise though but just something to keep in mind if framerate is a real deal breaker (game is still super solid on steam though and even without mods is probably the best looking version tbh plus it's just a great game in general)
5:22 Zaffre: Seriously, Take A Shot Everytime U See That Animation In A Cutscene, Oh Boy... U DO Realise We Will Die In Ten Shots In, Ri- Zaffre: A Shot Of *WATER* Of Course Oh... Well, I Only Drink Water Anyways, So To Me It's Not A Challenge Zaffre: Don't Give Me That Look, I'm A Gud Boi U Sure R
As some people here have already said, this is probably my favorite game of all time. I get some of the criticism this game gets in terms of the graphics looking somewhat aged by today's standards, but in terms of writing, gameplay, characters, plot, dungeon-design and soundtrack I think this game is pretty much perfect. To this day I've only played a handful of games I'd say even come close to matching it.
Dobadobadooo Real talk dude its godlike
The game came out in 2003. I don't see the point in critisizing graphics of a game that's near 2 decades old
@@ElementShoota I'm still at the beginning. Always wanted to play it and finally got it on Steam in January. I don't know how to powerlevel my characters without dying. But my personal favorite is still Abyss, even though Lloyd is my personal Husbando. And I love Kratos. Best character in the entire game in my opinion.
My favorite game...until persona 5 royal and now it's so hard to chose.
I love both. I enjoyed tos so much
How does it compare to baten kaitos? Nice wiseman prof pic
The GameCube version had a dragon in the temple of earth that dropped 10,000 Gald regularly and 20,000 gald with a blue sephira. In the ps2 and 3 version, it was gone. It was nice to grind.
Oh I remember grinding it for hours so I could see the new weapons
Apparently the devs saw that as a bug, not a feature.
@@AmaroqStarwind oh dang
Nope it didn't gone it just became little deeper ,behind that Gnoome who was blocking the path to the cursed weapon chest but the dragon gives 1000 gold not 10,000
@@magdysalah7986 yeah it was more balanced out and not as cheap to abuse like it ultimately became.
Tales of Symphonia is my favorite game of all time. For me it just hits all the right beats. A great story, amazing and developed characters, fun gameplay, I personally like the art style of the game. I'll admit too it holds nostalgic and sentimental reasons as well, but it just has everything I feel a great game should! :)
Playing Symphonia right now. I actually really liked the beginning.
"Shouldn't we return the ring?" - With no possible way to return it. It was still nice to see a game think about that for once.
I've been waiting for you to tackle Symphonia, and I've gotta say you did not disappoint. Symphonia was my very first Tales of game and it's still my favorite to this day simply because it just came to me at the right time in my life. Symphonia really was my first introduction to the jrpg world and just how immersive and complex and overall enjoyable a video game could be. It's because of it that Tales has become my all time favorite franchise. Yes, nostalgia plays a major part in my love for this game. I won't deny that, but I still find myself loving it for all the little things you mentioned and more. The cast of characters, the rich story, the retro feel of the combat, the phenomenal soundtrack (just hearing the opening music made me squeal), everything just makes me love this game despite its flaws. The game is dated in terms of combat and visuals. There's no denying that and while the voice acting is amazing, I do wish more scenes had been voiced as well.
The memories I got playing through this game the very first time, meeting Lloyd and seeing his naive yet idealistic view of the world and how those views ultimately shape his character and growth is what really resonated with me. This can be said for all the cast members for me really. The themes, the shocking reveals, just the premise of the entire story still sticks with me to do this.
Symphonia is a game I've played a million times and still find myself wanting to go back and play. It has been a good while since I've lasted played it. I should probably dig out my GameCube and fall right back down that rabbit hole xD
You gave a very good and overall objective review of my favorite Tales game. I'm glad you take into consideration all the things people may like or dislike about the game and voiced them accordingly. Symphonia isn't perfect and has aged since its time, but it'll always be perfect and retro-y lovable to me. Thanks for the amazing review Zaffre! Can't wait for the next one!
First game I ever broke triple digit hours in, I feel ya man
@@jimbo6934 Same here! It's just too good of a game!
Trickster made me recently go back and play games I’ve missed, I really enjoyed berseria!!
@@jimbo6934 Berseria is one of the best Tales games! Definitely in my Top 5
@Trickster I’m a huge fan now lol
Ahh, Symphonia. My first Tales game and first JRPG. And still my favorite Tales game and probably favorite game overall. I love the characters, story, world, music and gameplay. Especially the dungeons stand out compared to the most recent titles. I'm currently replaying Berseria and its "dungeons" are just boring to play through. Thanks for the review Revo and looking forward to the DotNW video. To me DotNW is a mediocre game but at least it gave us awesome skits and Tenebrae.
I read your comment and its like i wrote it, god i love that most people have the same things to say about Symphonia as me and also for the other entries , yes Berseria dungeons are very blunt and linear and look almost the same, same goes for some previous entries.
Lloyd's naive "Dumbness" helps make him a great character, and I agree he is a great protagonist.
My first Tales game. One of the stories that molded me when growing as a young pre-teen. That’s why I got an emblem of this tattooed on me. I just recently played through this again with my partner for his first Tales game. Now we are both on to Vesperia.
My absolute favorite game of all time! This is the game that started me on the long road to tales Fandom and while I get your fair criticisms, nothing will be able to tarnish its legacy for me and it will always remain perfect for me. The only thing I gotta say is..... Ready.....SPREAD!
Haha I can see why you'd like this game so much. I thought it was really good, and one of my favorites to be honest! Might have to go back and do some of its post game content. I did a little bit of it, but some of the later ex battles are hard as heck! I remember getting to the first triple battle in the ex dungeon and getting my butt handed to me, so that'll be fun...
@@ZaffreRevolution oh yeah, but that's what makes them fun to go back to! It's a challenge for even the most hard-core tales fans! I remember beating it with my brother at 2am because you can't exit the dungeon to save, but it was so worth it! Great job giving it an honest and fair review. My nostalgia glasses blind me too hard! Lol
Same!
@Steven Appleman
I couldn't agree with you more. It's the best game ever. Period.
Pancake Time! STALAGMITE!!
Also I haven't played Symphonia but I kind of like how it looks. Maybe I'm just sympathetic to RPG's of the time.
This is my favorite game ever and is very close to my heart, I played it on GameCube when I was a wee fella and it got me into JRPGs and japanese culture in general. It is true that the graphics are a sin but I do believe that if this game got a proper FFVII-like remake it would BOOM. The story is unparalleled and the characters a ridiculously great. Loved your review, keep up the great work!!!
Symphonia is INCREDIBLE!
I would really love just a graphic overhaul.
Just for current generation levels.
Yeah man. That first big story twist was awesome. I see how the story could seem slower to some but the characters made it worth it.
"Party member's fates" SHOWS ZELOS
darn right it is
I really miss that original opening music. I grew up with the GameCube version, and was sad to find out that the PS3 version used the PS2 J-Pop intro instead.
And that the PS3 version also kept the lower 30 FPS and all of the different PS2-only graphical bugs.
I just realized, Berseria was kind of an exception to that rule, since it has character themes for all the party members too.
Good review all together, and good save to have the best song in the credit section. That was always one of my favorite thing about the game: the soundtrack. City themes in particular were to my liking, like the one small city on top of that mountain. I remember visiting that city when I was playing it as a kid on Gamecube, just buying items from there because how much I loved the music in it (venturer's colony I think the track is called?).
Oh sweet two of my fav tales tubers in one vid next time.
I recently played this game for the first time and I loved it. I did think it was a little bit dated but still worth while, although I did grow up on 5th and 6th gen games so it wasn't hard for me personally to look past.
This is my favorite rpg of all time. Everytime I hear fighting of the spirit im ready to clap cheeks and everytime I hear the theme for Heimdall and Exire I cry of nostalgia.
Same with Fatalize, The Battle themes are awesome!!!!
Coming back to add another comment to just say: Stan Zelos or we aren't friends anymore
tsorin amen to that
Amen.
Zelos is best boy.
Y-yeah sure.
Me who "kills" Zelos every playthrough because my main is Kratos: *nervous sweating*
(Symphonia iceberg moment: Zelos is still alive in the Kratos path)
I share a birth year with the game YAYYYY!!!
Played this game for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. The only part that annoyed me was not knowing where to go sometimes. Everything else was super enjoyable
It will always be my favorite
I've been thrilled to hear your opinion about this game since you first started this retrospective (like many others, apparently) and you - as always - delivered yet again. You often have wildly different opinions and experiences than I do, but I've come to trust your skill in games, your passion for the series, and your willingness to view something with as little bias as possible. In that light, I think you made some extremely valid critiques and commendations for Symphonia! You even made me realize how dirty they did my girl Raine in the main story. Considering that I made her my soulmate on my first post-childhood playthrough, I never realized how little they allow her to develop in the central plot. Sure, she's got plenty of moments to shine with her intellect, but her deepest developments only come through side-quests - which is a shame, because her quest on Exile was one of the most heart-breaking scenes imo.
Thank you for continuing to deliver such unbiased, thought-provoking, and encouraging content for us all to appreciate - and for letting us discuss it with you on here, Discord and Twitter, too! I wish you all the luck in the world with the sequel. I...don't have fond memories of it either. But hey, maybe times have changed for the better! I've actually been wanting to revisit it myself, so we'll see if it's worth a shot.
the temple of darkness sent me spiraling into so many meltdowns
I actually liked the wind temple the most and hated the Ymir forest for being super slow but that’s the power of preference
Ymir forest is one of my least fav parts of the game other than the space prison gravity area
Quality review. It takes skill to review a game for 40 mins without spoiling the story
So fun fact:
I learned of Lloyd from Smash flash 2.
Then the mii costume
And then I played tales of the Abyss.
...that being said Symphonia and Phantasia is one of several tales of games that need a remake because of the models.
Lloyd is Robin and Presea is Raven
-Zelos is one of the best tales characters alongside Alvin and Luke fite me-
-But every tales of Symphonia girl is Best-
Also remake Phantasia Namco and make less Japan exclusives.
Start with Destiny DC.
Does Namco care about Tales?
@@openinginawe5518 you too oh shit I've discovered Lloyd since Smash flash 1 and I've always find him appealing for his two cool swords and the fact he was using them both making him a cool character just like Roxas (guess the dual weilding thing was very appealing to some lol)
To be honest I think phantasia is great, even the graphics, they don't bug me that much, of course I say this because I played the translated psx version
Plus the PSP version already has scaled up sprite based graphics, problem, it's japan exclusive and doesn't have a translation, though if you already know the story or look at a script it isn't as big of a problem
Great video man! Proud of you!
Cool video man.
Really looking forward to playing Symphonia for the first time.
I swear it's gonna be this year
It really is a great game you will get sucked into the story! I did however could not used to the character models and the interesting voice acting its not bad just it could definitely be better! Vesperia is the where they did almost everything right! I highly recommend that after Symphonia!
And then I kid you not Loyd, he turned himself into a pickle, funniest shid I've ever seen
i read this in genis' voice
I read it in Zelos' I feel like Genis wouldn't curse
@@Dondre__ He calls Zelos an Ass, and it was and it was voiced too, one of the funniest scenes in the game imo.
Boo
We need a symphonia remake.
Finally Symphonia huh? For me, it was the first Tales I ever saw, with me and two friends playing it for a bit starting partway through the game... that part being the lead-up to the first visit to the Tower of Salvation. XD Hell of a time to jump into the story, but that's probably why it made an impression on me, as that part felt like a very iconic moment in the series.
Based on your comments early on, I'm guessing you're in the camp that really wants a remake and not just a remaster someday huh? :D This is honestly still one of my personal favorites, but I've definitely noticed a dropoff in terms of the positive attention it gets lately. While I get the criticisms for how the game was done and how it's more or less a not-as-good rework of the idea behind Eternia, not to mention how it really doesn't mesh well with the lore behind Phantasia, which it's meant to be a prequel to, I still feel like the sheer joy it's brought people over the years matters. Lately it seems like I never hear anything about this game from anyone except the game’s most severe critics. It’s also a pretty popular ‘target’ for fans of other RPGs that are more plot-focused than Tales. I actually started rewatching an LP the other day just to hear someone talk about it normally again, and it’s great to see a video from you here today. :) I miss getting to discuss the more positive traits of this game.
I think a reason you liked the soundtrack in this game and Berseria especially when it comes to story scene tracks is because this is one of the few games in the series to have 100% dedicated character themes for every member of the cast, a trait that Berseria shares (Zestiria had a couple of them too, but not for every party member.) Sadly, I feel like this is another case where some of Sakuraba’s really good work gets ignored because some of the popular battle themes were remixes of Phantasia songs from the previous composer, so people just attribute ‘everything good’ to them and overlook some of the really gorgeous stuff Sakuraba wrote into the game.
I ALSO love that about Symphonia’s story. It’s often hard to judge whether people have actually played enough of the game or not because the game actually starts off being pretty cheesy and typical for an RPG adventure ON PURPOSE, and I think that’s fun to watch. It takes something that’s very solid gameplay-wise (run around clearing elemental temples preparing for the final area) and pokes fun at it a lot, being kind of obvious about some things that are going on, but then pulls away the curtain later on to reveal that while a lot of your predictions are true, there’s a lot more going on than you thought. (Also, haha, Masaeanela went nuts over the “It’s nothing” parts too. XD I think it’s partly also due to issues with translations because in Japanese there are apparently a lot more repeated phrases like that. Another example you might see is characters constantly voicing little acknowledgements while someone else is talking like “I see” or “What do you mean?”) That phrase is definitely silly although at times when the game is kind of poking fun at the tropes it’s using, it can be kind of funny too.
The biggest criticism I’ve heard in regard to Lloyd isn’t so much in regard to his own role in the story, but how he affects the characters around him. The game tends to fall into the trap of “There’s a problem, have the main character fix it by kicking some ass or cheering someone up.” This tends to shorten and simplify the other character’s growth moments quite a bit and not let them learn to solve their own problems, meaning the interesting cast of party members doesn’t get much development that isn’t revolving around Lloyd. I can definitely agree with this issue, though I obviously see it in a lot of other games too. It’s an easy trap to fall into when making a game because you’re trying to give the player involvement in the story and while you can play as anyone you want, the main character is still the most likely conduit they’ll be using. I have to say, I’m really glad you actually loved the cast MORE when replaying the game instead of finding more things to dislike. :)
Being a modern action gamer, you might think I’d have a lot of issues with this game’s combat, but I felt like this game held up a lot better than I’d expect given its age. The thing is, it keeps things relatively simple in terms of how actually hitting your opponent works. Newer games suffer from a lot of weird complications with how combos chain together, how to keep opponents locked down, and demanding much higher amounts of hits in a combo for even casual players, whereas this game is much more down to Earth about all that. It’s a bit clunky and the overlimit mechanics are tough to work with, but the basic method of fighting is easy to understand and get better at, compared to newer titles which often leave me going ????. By the way, one other thing that affects tension/overlimit is party members being KO’d. You can enter overlimit from someone going down.
The skill system is another case of a system that I think was really cool and had a lot of depth, but just had some usability issues. I can’t blame people for disliking it, but only because some of the restrictions, like not being able to keep EX gems once used on a character and having to worry about wasting them, makes it hard to experiment and learn how it all works, but once you do know a bit, there’s a lot to have fun with. I also hadn’t considered it but what you said about the skill system not making you dependent on skills is actually very true. I miss that now that you mention it. The one difference I did notice in combat on higher difficulties was that mechanically I was more comfortable on Hard+ than on Normal sometimes. I’m not sure what it was, but it seemed like on Normal, I often reacted to things faster than the game expected me to and it would count against me, like when I’d dodge an attack and then run back in to hit the enemy while their attack animation was still going. The game seemed to count that as a mistake and made them auto-guard. But when I turned up the difficulty, I got a lot more attacks to land cleanly. That said, for this game I recommend generally just leaving it on Normal and turning up the difficulty for boss fights.
“These little Shadow punks need to never show their face in a Tales game again.” Xillia 2: “Oops.” XD I miss the dungeons with actual effort too.
“More enjoyable than it gets credit for” sounds like how I’d sum up this game, personally. I greatly enjoyed watching this video and finally hearing from someone who really enjoyed it again warms my heart. I can definitely understand it being too old for people to get into because I feel the same way about some older games myself, but I’ve heard from SO many people over the years how much joy it brought to their lives and even if it’s someone’s least favorite entry in this series, I think it’s still good that it got so many people into Tales. That should always be a positive thing for fans. I also think the great experiences people have had with the game matter too and are a sign that in spite of its issues, it also did a lot of good.
Will be fun to see DonW/Kor next, though the one I’m most eager to see is honestly Zestiria, for similar reasons to Symphonia. I find it hard to have a normal conversation about Zestiria and I like how balanced and down to Earth you are in your opinions on things.
I feel like one of the few people who love Dawn of the New World. Probably have my nostalgia glasses on though. Fav part was controlling the monsters and "evolving" them. So damn fun.
While you can't control them, it was really fun to evolve them, though my favorite part is that, because there was only 2 new characters, they could focus all the development on them, since the older characters already received their development in the last game
Plus Emile's development is a thing to behold
Dawn of the New World is honestly an awesome game. People shit on Emil for being weak, but I loved how he found himself and challenged his own identity and Ratatosk, and became strong towards the end where he served justice and fought for the world. DOTNW may not be legendary and near perfect like Symphonia, but I thought it was a great game; deep, emotional, speaks to human nature and corruption, and fun gameplay.
Tales of Symphonia is my favorite game of all time and will most likely stay so. What this game did for me is incredible. Yes, the characters may sound cheesy and naive (they change over time but anyway) but it didn't keep me from getting the message and the emotion Tales of Symphonia tries to convey.
This game changed my life, it had an impact on how I view the world, it motivated me to become the best version of myself and to fight for the rights of everyone. The emotions and feelings this game gave to me can not be described with words. This is what art does. If fighting for others became my ultimate moral value, if I found in myself enough strength to keep following my dream, if I am still here today, this is all thanks to this game.
Sorry for my english and thank you for this video.
This is definitely my favorite game of all time, mostly for the plot and the voice acting. I have so many fond memories of this game, and I replay it on the GameCube regularly.
Though, to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference between the battles in the GameCube at 60 fps versus the others at 30 fps
Still, I will always love this game. You do make a good point about the graphics, but I suppose that was the limitations of the console itself as well as probably financial reasons as well. The whole plotline definitely holds up as one of the best I've ever seen
I was literally born a day before the European release of Tales of Symphonia for the gamecube.
I’m literally as old as this game.
Symphonia is not my favorite tales of, but it was great!
I'm just discovering your channel. I am really enjoying all of your videos, yo are very talented and know how to keep the audience engaged. Congratulations and keep up the amazing videos!!!!
Oh, speaking of computer-generated cutscenes, you should watch Wolfwalkers and study the development/production of the film.
One scene in particular, Robyn's transformation (first-person perspective), was originally animated in 3D, and then every frame was completely drawn over by hand. It looks freaking sick.
I have a complete opposite viewpoint on how to judge older games. I strongly feel they should be judged based on the time of their release and not today's standards. Older games being dated does have it's place in criticism, but it's a minor thing. A game really shouldn't be critiqued on techniques or technology that didn't exist at the time.
Also a side note, the PS1 remake of Phantasia was the first game to introduce the concept of Mystic Artes. It was later expanded on the remake for Destiny. Over Limit was actually conceptualized in Tales of Destiny 2; the sequel of Destiny that is JP exclusive and not Eternia.
I was halfway through the game on the different world and give up and deleted my save and game. Now I will have to get back to that game and go mental with the scenes again.
I have the Vesperia on Steam, I'm considering to buy this one as well
ToS holds a special place in my heart. It was my first and only Tales game. Ive always been interested in other Tales games but other games always took my interest and time. This was a fun review to watch.
I honestly think this is the perfect Tales game to start with, so I’m surprised to hear you disagree. I wouldn’t be as in love with the series had another game been my first. To this day, Symphonia is still my favorite and my hope when I start a new Tales is always that it’ll live up to Symphonia’s greatness. Which is something Vesperia (while still good) unfortunately didn’t do for me.
100% agree, especially because of the absence of free run which help you to dig further into the game's mechanics.
I started with it and didn't finish it. Not just that, but I didn't want to touch another tales games for years.
For me it probably was the worst way to start with the series.
@@TheMissileHappy What made you turn it off? For the first hour or so I wasn't sure about the game either, but I quickly fell in love with the gameplay, story, and characters
@@Flareboxx pretty much all the reasons he lists as bad. I didn't like world map and how monsters were portrayed on it, I hated how the character models looked and also I just couldn't get into the combat system, after only playing turn based jrpgs.
I have since started playing Vesperia and Berseria and I love them both, but it took me about 5 years to try a tales game again. I still plan on going back to Symphonia eventually.
@@TheMissileHappy I'm very surprised you liked Vesperia better. It's one of my least favorites in the series personally. Berseria is great though. Arise has the most fun gameplay, but the story isn't as good or interesting as Berseria or Symphonia.
I liked the graphics of tales of symphonia a lot, honestly. I played the gamecube version, but it was the character models and lighting and detail in the backgrounds that really captured me. I loved the cartoony character models, even if it does require you to kind of use your imagination sometimes XD
It's all preference, but blurry lines or sometimes literally having to use your imagination to imagine the characters doing the things they're supposed to be doing doesn't bother me.
And I agree with you on the ost being absolutely awesome, except that I don't remember much of the ost in any of the other tales games I've played- in vesperia at least it was super drawn back so I couldn't even hear it, and graces' ost was just... I mean the cave theme
I've never thought deeply about battle systems beyond finding a strategy to win, so I can't say much about that. It was fun, and more fun with friends. The thing I loved so much about these games is the co-op. There are a lot of other great jrpgs but it's harder to find ones that are co-op.
Yeah... symphonia is overall my favorite tales of game from the ones I've played, most because it has an art style and ost that I really love, and the world feels so big and well realized.
This was my second ever tales game, and while it took a LOT of getting used to compared to Xillia which I clicked with basically right away, once I got used to the combat system I fell in love. It’s far from my favourite in the series but I still love it
Remasters aren't remakes. A *remake* would be more updated.
I would love a remake *if* they did it like the last of us. Keep all the audio and scenes the same in essence, but completely update the visual/ graphical experience.
If they change the voice actors and retake the dialogue, I'm simply out.
Personally, I enjoyed the ps3 version of tales of Pokémon a lot (maybe I’m not the only one who calls it that)! Excited for the review!
I did a 100% run, or at least the most I could do with no exp multiplier, but thanks to that I really enjoyed the game, reading deeper on how the monster evolution trees worked, making them as strong as I could and completing the bestiary in the process, also seeing all the skits thanks to a guide also helped liking the characters more due to the extra interactions
ahhh symphonia.
playing this game was a dream cone true for me.
i got introduced to it through the ova and got symphonia 2 by chance. but this one, i had to hunt down for like 2 years until ive found a copy. i was the happiest kid ever that day and i still smile when i look at my gamecube copy
The first Tales of game I ever play
@ 27:20 Enemies cannot run in any direction they wish, they are actually limited in the exact same way as the player. They target a member of your party, can switch who they target but can only move directly towards or away from whoever they're targeting
i'm very sorry for this longass comment.
A lot of this I agreed with, and some of it I really really didn't! Graphics just Do. Not. Matter. to me. Not a whit. I was born at the start of the 90's so I've been a fan of video games since "bad graphics" were all we had and /because/ that's all we had, no one cared. Our interests had to be story driven because that was all games were about back then and that's still what drives my interest in games today. I can appreciate a game that has great gameplay and graphics (I played Devil May Cry 5 twice, back to back and loved it for those reasons and the story that for some reason got heat, which was dumb because a) basing it off poems by William Blake was damned clever and b) the series has always been more about gameplay than story anyway.) But I digress. Against your recommendations (nine years too late) I did start with Symphonia and I played it almost non-stop for those nine years. As soon as I finished it, I'd restart it and I fell in love every single time. I traded flanoir scenes between Colette (because she is best girl) because she and Lloyd are just...the best, and Kratos because their relationship is my favorite thing. Delightful. The only pause in my spree was six years ago when I settled down for grade-farming for the sake of my next New Game Plus and that is just a very...very tedious activity. I got distracted and I think it was in that time that I purchased a fun little movie called "Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike" from Funimation because it had Tales in the title. That lead to me getting the 360 version of Vesperia because the original was then still Japanese exclusive and then Vesperia became my 2nd favorite Tales and it's retained that position even though I have more of them. I got Abyss in that time frame too and I've still not completed it, namely because the PS2 died and so did the memory card and I got the 3DS port for a birthday gift to myself...maybe last year. Abyss is hard for me to play, the color scheme is just...bland, and I was spoiled by the bright worlds of Symphonia and Vesperia. I like the story though and it does have a wonderful cast. (The victory quotes SUCK though, uuuugh)
Back on topic, although by now you've probably quit reading, I can't agree that Symphonia didn't hold up well. I think it's incredible that despite the cutesy character models (how often do you crap on an intentional decision, Wind Waker got the same heat and fools like me let it get in the way of enjoying the game properly) the mature themes of the game still came across well. They don't get in the way of what is a very real and relatable story with a bittersweet ending and that's...fantastic. I think it's a point to a game that it can do that, rather than relying on more realistic models. It was a bright and playful looking game and it managed to slap you in the face with very contradictory aspects. I think that takes skill. Tales of Symphonia edged out Ocarina of Time as my favorite game ever back in 2011 when I brought it with the money Grandpa left me as a way to both heal from his death and adjust to being in my 20's, and even after I stopped needing it as a source of support, it remains just that. My favorite game. There is so much to love about it and I couldn't tell you a single thing wrong. Not even that rough start. I like that I had to work hard for my gald and items, because so did Lloyd. His illusions of strength cost him his home and he had to work, really work, from the bottom up to be truly strong enough that that sort of thing would never happen again. I appreciate that we experience that, on our own, even. It taught me early on to take the game seriously (which is a a lesson I really wish I'd remembered when I finished my last game and almost got killed by the final boss who I thought would be way easier than he was.)
PC Version is lock to 30 too. No mods can unlock the framerate. While you can unlock it the game speed takes over with no way of fixing it. The way the port was done made it pretty much impossible. You can only really get HD textures and proper frame pacing out of it.
This is the very first Tales of game I ever played. I loved it it was a great game.
I finishes this game like 8 or 10 times. My brother would play Lloyd and I would play as Kratos or Zelos I still like Kratos more, I think he is the coolest character in all of gaming just behind Link. I like vesperias combat better but this games story tops almost every story there is. What an amazing masterpiece of a game. 9.8/10 for me almost perfect if you ask me
Oh cool you cover Tales of? I love Tales of, so I'll sub! Hope to see more Tales of content.
I picked up this game on PS3 when it launched but didn't play it. Now after watching this, I started it.
Thanks
I love this series! Been a fan since I played Tales of Eternia! My favorite to this day is still Vesperia. It did everything right, characters, graphics, story, battle system, and I loved the dungeon designs unlike later titles were it was lacking in that department! If you haven't tried it, I suggest playing the legend of heroes trails of cold steel series. Imagine persona and tales game aspects with a military theme! I am loving your videos and your voice. If you have a game cube I highly recommend Skies of Arcadia! My all time favorite game right next to Vesperia! Nothing quite like it! Looking forward to future videos awesome work!
I’m really glad to see someone else who thinks the limitations in Symphonia’s battle system work to its favor rather than its detriment! While I do think that the game letting AI characters but not you use the full 3D movement is pretty gross and unfair, I nonetheless feel like movement and jumping are more important in Symphonia than in any 3D tales game since; it’s super fun having to pay attention to where I am and maneuver around the limited lines, rather than just being able to pop into free run at any time.
Symphonia was my first tales of game. I only played it once, a few yearsago but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Looking at footage now, yeah I see how the models and all that looks outdated but I still really enjoy how the areas look, some dungeons look really good. Some of them felt pretty unique, probably the tree dungeon is what I am thinking about and a few others.
World map though ya it was big ouch in terms of movement and even just the camera angle. Combat was pretty fun, I don't think I ever got stuck. Al tough I don't remember the story as well as some of my favorites (Xenoblade Chronicles), it was very good.
Overall it was a pretty good game.
Loving these Revo Reviews :) Which one do you plan on tackling next? Abyss? Legendia?
I've been playing Symphonia alongside Eternia lately, it's interesting how much of an in-between of the PSX 2d titles and later 3d titles Symphonia is while also adding things that make it unique without getting a mess. It's a pretty cool package I'd say, though a lot of the general story so far basically just being Eternia fusion dancing with Phantasia is pretty fun to rib at, it's got enough unique original stuff for it not to be just a retelling of those stories so I def won't be calling it bad, especially since I'm not done yet
I pretty much agree with most of your points of criticism and praise for the game. I adore the soundtrack of Symphonia so much I use it to lull me to sleep. And the story and characters are my favorite out of the handful of other Tales games I played (Abyss, Graces f, Vesperia, Arise). I too wish there was more voice acting and that the skits got dubbed in English to at least make it fair to each language user.
And I would love if this game got a remake treatment, though I think the best way to do it is in the form of a remake similar to the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot games, where the graphics are the biggest overhaul but the gameplay was mostly kept intact following the original style. If they did that type of Remake, Symphonia would shine even brighter than Brave Vesperia ;)
Ooof. I started with this game. I like it but I don't know which games to go to from Symphonia.
Honestly I first got too finish this game only in recent years it was great loved it my second favorite tales game honestly
I love this game!
Arise will still be my favorite one tho
12:56- The Tales of Symphonia OVA called, and it left this message: “Hold my beer.”
You are so right about the "No... It's nothing" line. The first act of Abyss has that soooo many times too. It's fine on the first playthrough when you don't know what's going to happen but it's just irritating on subsequent playthroughs. The characters may as well look at the camera and say "I know something plot relevant but I'm not going to tell you yet."
I love this game was my entry into the series and iv played every title in the franchise since. SYMPHONIA is a masterpiece !!
the one that launched my gaming love affair
Besides Pokemon this was my gateway to RPGs. I pretty much like this game but I do agree that the movement speed on the world map is very slow and the enemies that just dash straight into you can be irritating no not as bad as Earthbound. Looking forward to yours and Sol's review on Dawn of the New World.
God now I want to play Symphonia again. Maybe even dig out my Wii to play the Gamecube version.
yo, do it!
Download dolphin if you have the disc version, it is what i did
Awesome review as others have said Tales of Symphonia was my first entry into this amazing series my little cousin rented this game and me and his stepbrother all played it to beat it!! But one game I would like to see you do is what everyone considers the black sheep of Tales and it's not Zestiria.....
Tales of Legendia!!
P.S hopefully you do Abyss as well that Symphonia and Vesperia are in my top 5
PC version does not support 60fps. You can mod framerates higher than 30, but it multiplies the game speed (essentially fast forwarding).
This was my first tales game and I loved it
While I’m not far in any version of Symphonia... the PC version doesn’t actually have 60 fps mods. 60 fps is exclusive to the gamecube version apparently.
I literally had to stop the video at 3:15 and go look thinking "Wait, someone made my steam port of ToS run at 60fps?!" You got my hopes up.
I liked the video before I even watched. To be honest I agree with most of your criticisms and this game certainly did not age well. But what it still means to me and what it did for me when I was only 12 years old will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was my first tales game. And I still consider it the best tales game. I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind lol.
Did somebody already mentioned this? Skits are voiced on Japanese PS2 version. It also might be present on Japanese gamecube version I don't know that one but anyway it's localisation issue.
I look forward to the Berseria one as it was my first Tales game. Excellent review here. hopefully this will help me play this game now.
I'm looking forward to it to hopefully finally understand why people like the gameplay, to me it's just building a combo with a button, adapt it to the type of enemy you're fighting and then just mash to win, mix a therion ability here and there plus a mystic arte and you have the base of the gameplay experience for me, I'm pretty sure I'm aying the game the "wrong way" but I don't know what's the "right way"
That's why I'm waiting for the review, hopefully this question finally gets answered there
@@pralenkaman8105 : I mean, I think Berseria has it down on some of the basic things like quick, responsive movement and satisfying attacks and whatnot, and for a lot of players that can be more than enough, but I think it's also a good example of Tales becoming overly-heavy on combos and mechanics that get in the way of the basic combat in an attempt to make it more deep.
Always felt this game was fucking solid and this was my first tales game. Berseria is now my favorite Tales game but that’s mainly because of the super dark story and it’s just super fucking good.
I miss this game. Played this and Lost Kingdoms back to back
Every review I look at from you I notice that all things that are a cons for you are pros for me.
ToS was my first jrpg on gamecube after that ff's on gameboy ds
thank you
Can somebody tell me what part of mithos' castle 34:30 is from and how to get there? I have been playing this game for the better part of a decade and finished it at least 5 times and I don't think I've ever seen that area lol
I think Eternia was actually the first entry in the series to introduce mystic artes?
Yay. It's the only one I've played.
Thanks for another great vid Zaffre p.s. My first tales game was Symphonia on the ps3
I'd love for this game to be remade like FF7 did
I still have this game for gamecube but haven't had a gamecube in forever
I don't get where the recent trend to hate on Symphonia's visuals came from. I love the toy like aesthetic, I feel like it's far more timeless than the more realistic approach Abyss took, which basically looks like mud to me now. I think the contrast between the toy-like style and the dark tone is very intentional, almost in the same context as the Lego movie. Symphonia looks like a toy box, and that really matches the themes of the game. Lloyd is filled with child-like idealism. Collette has a child like sense of hope and innocence. Meanwhile, the main villain of the story is essentially a massive puppet master fulfilling a damaged child's fantasy.
The art style also benefits in the same way Vesperia does with very exaggerated character features, which really help convey their major traits.
Also I'm very surprised you didn't like the world map, because I'd argue that's one of Symphonia's most unique aspects, despite some technical and presentation issues. The world is chock full of things to find, so you are always encouraged to explore. Sometimes you will stumble upon mandatory story locations for later in the game, so when you get to that point later, you feel awesome because you've already gone and gotten it. I was so frustrated that later games in the series scrapped the overworld chests, because there were so many neat things you could find in them. I feel like both Abyss and Vesperia heavily de-emphasized the value of exploring the overworld
Excellent review my dude. Thanks for capturing the magic of my favorite game quite well. And your qualms were very fair imo.
What's your favorite song from the ost if you don't mind me asking? (and why is it Fatalize 🎺🎸💥👌? Lol, jk)
I have never actually played this game, though I own both ps3 and steam versions, and it is on my list. That being said, I just wanted to add that I love this game’s graphics and it’s actually the graphics that keep bringing me back to it. It’s so charming and vibrant, it looks inviting. Given that this game came out close to the release of wind Waker I was already used to stylized graphics, so that might have something to do with it.
On my new game plus on steam rn.
Still love that game so much since I played it on the GameCube and I sucked back then.
Now I'm doing all the bonus content.
I have all three versions. Yes, I am that crazy.
I have japanese and europe disc gamecube and ps3 europe disc 😂
And maybe I will get the steam version today because it’s at 5€ on steam but the 30’fps though.... i don’t know
I can't agree with Symphonia's graphics. I like the art style. Yes, it's old, so the lack of animations and expressions is a pity and something that's done better later, but I think it does a good enough job and I like the more cartoony look of everything. It's been a few years since I've played it but it's still one of my favorite stories, for Tales and video games in general. And Lloyd and Colette are some of my favorite characters. The gameplay is dated, but still works ok. The voices are great and I do wish there were more of them. I'm so glad the newer games do a lot more voice acting. But I get that Tales doesn't have the highest budget and isn't the most popular in the west. At least they didn't cut the skits like they did in Eternia. I'll read em if I have to.
Super super late comment, but since I didn't see anyone else mentioning this anywhere
The PC version is also locked at 30 frames. You can mod to make it higher, but I believe it speeds up the entire game as a whole and anything higher than 40 makes the game almost unplayable. At least that's what I understood when I was looking up which version to (re-)play
I still think the steam version is probably the best content wise though but just something to keep in mind if framerate is a real deal breaker (game is still super solid on steam though and even without mods is probably the best looking version tbh plus it's just a great game in general)
$4.99 on steam
Thank you for this nice review im getting it and will play it with my Bestfriend
5:22
Zaffre: Seriously, Take A Shot Everytime U See That Animation In A Cutscene, Oh Boy...
U DO Realise We Will Die In Ten Shots In, Ri-
Zaffre: A Shot Of *WATER* Of Course
Oh... Well, I Only Drink Water Anyways, So To Me It's Not A Challenge
Zaffre: Don't Give Me That Look, I'm A Gud Boi
U Sure R
What we didn’t get to discuss in this retrospect...is if the coffee is actually hot or not 🤔
i swear on my life this is the best game ever made
They finally made mithos playable in other tales game. more npc Symphonia being playable on tales of the rays.
Tales of rays made it possible.