You buy the Gamecube and quickly realize you’ve made a terrible mistake…there’s not a

lot of rpgs on trusty old cube! I was in this boat myself back then, but relief came for

our old square friend when this game finally came out: It’s Tales of Symphonia for the

Nintendo GameCube. Tales of Symphonia opens by spinning the tale

of the Chosen One, a person who must unlock seals around the world to become an angel

and save the world from the oppressive Desian half-elves. Our hero, Lloyd’s, best friend

Collette just so happens to be the new Chosen One, who is soon leaving on the Journey of

Regeneration which will replenish the world of Sylverant’s low mana supply and eliminate

the Desians who operate vile ranches that turn humans into powerful crystals and monsters.

After Lloyd causes the Desians to attack his town, he joins Collette on her journey to

regenerate the world. Eventually, we learn that there are two worlds vying for the same

mana supply through their respective journeys of regeneration, an organization is behind

each of the world’s problems, and only our band of heroes can save both worlds from evil,

as well as each other. What sets this story apart, in my mind, are

some very memorable characters. I don’t think the plot is as unique as I thought it

back when I was 15, and some may not be engaged with the story, but the lighthearted charm

with the overall easy-to-follow nature of the plot works pretty well. And while some

scenes are kinda goofy, the overall presentation of the game, from the graphics to the voice

acting deliver a very memorable experience, despite some cliché shortcomings. That being

said, the growth of the characters and the overall lore of this, and well, every Tales

game, is really interesting. It wouldn’t be a great Tales game without

a fun and engaging battle system, and Symphonia doesn’t disappoint. This was the first in

the series to adapt a multi-line battle plane; meaning each character is on a line to their

targeted enemy, and by changing your target, you can move across a different line, opening

up the battle field significantly from the previous entries in the series. This 3D plane

means the real time battles feel intense, and allows for more strategy to go into issuing

commands to the AI-controlled party members. You can also customize some aspects of stat

growth and skill development by equipping special ExGems and using certain skills multiple

times. Each new addition to the Tales games offer

something different in battles, and Symphonia laid the groundwork really nicely for the

modern tales releases. Honestly, I could talk about this game all

day. Tales of Symphonia is presented really well with little details in towns and dungeons,

good voice acting, and a snappy, exciting battle system. The plot’s not bad, either,

even though it can get a little awkward at times. So if you are looking to upgrade the

rather small RPG library of the Nintendo GameCube, I think you’ll be more than satisfied with

the addition of Tales of Symphonia.