LB's Tales of Symphonia Review
An anime based RPG? That sounds like our nightmare. It's amazing we gave it a 9.2
For two people who claim not to like RPGs, Allison and I truly
enjoyed, "Tales of Symphonia." And, because we don't often delve into
the RPG realm, I am at a loss to explain any deeper meaning of and/or
history behind the Anime and style of the game and it's significance,
if there even is one. I'm sure
Lizking
or
Dane,
among others, on the
lunaboards could explain the
nuances if you so desire.
What I come away with is the feeling that it is a great video game.
We play so few great games anymore. You know, games that just feel
right, that take you away to another land and place you directly into
an epic circumstances. That make you care about the story. Zelda
games are able to do that. This game is in the same ballpark, gives
you the same feeling.
The game itself is a gigantic, vibrant, well-woven, real-time RPG with
about 80 hours of gameplay. You do a lot of exploring and puzzle
solving as you make your way around this seemingly breathing world.
There are scores of cities and towns, many a mountain path, a floating
city, a few scary forests and many dungeons. Unlike turn based RPGs,
you fight in real time. That doesn't mean, though, that you don't
have control over what the other members of your party can and can't
do. You can customize your party's attacks, battle plan, spells, etc.
and set them on a sort of autopilot (they have pretty good AI) and
then play as Lloyd, the hero, slashing away the whole time.
The characters are wonderful, the environments are sometimes
whimsicle, sometimes frightening. If you have the time and energy to
get into a good game, this is a good choice. Do give it some time,
especially if you are a beginner. It'll take a while to get hooked.
Speaking of beginners, this is a good RPG to get into if you don't
have much experience in the genre. There is a wealth of in-game
information including a comprehensive tutorials section. Of course,
you're going to need help along the way so why not check out our
Tales
of Symphonia Walkthrough and Strategy Guide.
-Jeremy
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