On twenty ninth August 2003, the Journey of Regeneration started…
Tales of Symphonia is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in Japan at the moment. The motion RPG made an actual splash when it launched on the GameCube — its worldwide launch adopted a yr later in 2004, and it has seen quite a few ports to the PlayStation 2 (Japan solely), PlayStation 3, Steam, and now fashionable consoles.
We’ve talked in regards to the GameCube being a bit starved when it comes to JRPGs, which is why Tales of Symphonia felt like such a major second for followers of the style. Its use of cel-shaded visuals, anime cutscenes, and full English voice performing (which, regardless of being slightly tacky, many are fairly keen on) mixed with the motion fight made this an RPG fan favorite again within the mid-2000s.
For many, it was additionally their first style of the Tales sequence, Bandai Namco’s flagship RPG sequence. In North America, the franchise could have made its debut on the PlayStation with Tales of Destiny, however Symphonia was the primary sport within the sequence to succeed in Europe.
Acting as a distant prequel to the primary sport within the sequence — the Super Famicom’s Tales of Phantasia — Symphonia follows Lloyd Irving, whose greatest good friend is the Chosen, an individual who’s picked to go on a journey to revive mana to the world. Lloyd accompanies Colette alongside his greatest good friend Genis with a view to shield her, however the group uncover secrets and techniques in regards to the world order as they go.
The story is not fully unique, however what makes Symphonia (and different video games within the sequence) resonate with so many is the forged of characters. Lloyd is a extremely relatable protagonist — easy, acts with out pondering, however enthusiastic about what he believes in. Other highlights embody Zelos, a flirtatious Chosen who sasses mainly everybody, and Kratos, a mercenary with a robust sense of honour.
There’s additionally the sport’s fight, known as Linear Motion Battle System (Tales is a sequence that loves lengthy names). In Symphonia, it is dubbed the Multi-Line Linear Motion Battle System as marked the primary time the sequence had jumped into 3D battles. While you could not but “free-run” (that got here in Tales of the Abyss), you can direct your character to run in the direction of enemies in a number of strains in a 3D surroundings.
Put merely, Tales of Symphonia’s recognition cannot be understated — the sport has lengthy been reported because the best-selling entry within the sequence, shifting 2.4 million copies as of 2021. The latest mainline entry, Tales of Arise, has reportedly offered round 2 million copies (as of 2022), so it is in all probability overtaken it or is shut. Symphonia additionally has an OVA sequence — which you’ll be able to watch on Bandai Namco’s YouTube.
However, earlier this yr noticed the discharge of Tales of Symphonia Remastered, a rerelease that was meant to function a celebration. Instead, it was seen as a disappointment and launched with numerous bugs and points. Bandai Namco has launched just a few patches because it launched. You can relive your nostalgia by listening to the official soundtrack on streaming providers these days, not less than!
Symphonia did get a direct sequel on the Wii in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn Of The New World, which was excluded from the Switch remaster for some motive. If you need extra Tales motion although, the Switch can be dwelling to Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, however in any other case, the sequence has seen restricted publicity on Nintendo’s hybrid console. Hopefully, we’ll see extra entries from this franchise on the console sooner or later, however for now, we’ll be re-embarking on that Journey of Regeneration another time…
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