Tales of Symphonia

 GameCube
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 289 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 256 out of 289
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 289
  3. Negative: 17 out of 289
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  1. VidyaBum
    May 3, 2015
    6
    It'd be great if it weren't for its target audience being young kids.

    Everyone can somewhat agree that JRPGs tend to be 99% teenager oriented with lots of cheesy drama, poorly made simple character relationships, and since the late 90s, silly emo villains who want to destroy the world because it's just such a bad world to live in. I've lost count of the JRPGs that did this, some of    It'd be great if it weren't for its target audience being young kids.

    Everyone can somewhat agree that JRPGs tend to be 99% teenager oriented with lots of cheesy drama, poorly made simple character relationships, and since the late 90s, silly emo villains who want to destroy the world because it's just such a bad world to live in.

    I've lost count of the JRPGs that did this, some of them with incredible talent and success(Persona 3 FES), some which end up as a giant pool of silliness(Final Fantasy X).

    ToS doesn't aim for the teenage crowd, for once. Or if it does, it's very slightly.

    It aims for a younger crowd. Little kids.

    Let me be blunt and say that this is a terrible design choice. First off, the entire game is exposing a story that is for all intents and purposes your typical JRPG story but with characters that are even more childish than usual. A simple example: like all JRPGs, you need your hero to have some sort of flirt or love interest in the party. Here, the closest thing we get to a romantic relationship is a shy talk about mundane things on a hotel's balcony.

    It's painfully childish at all times. It's a refreshing change to have something else than teenage, but this is even worse; Not in a sense of annoyance or stupidity, but in a sense of constant disinterest. I don't care for the childish relationships of the characters, I don't care for any of the plot devices or emotions expressed. The entirety of the story is fine but it can't pique my interest in any way. With JRPGs I tend to get interested, then get annoyed at the stupid(unless I never got interested in the first place). Here, I just let it roll without ever batting an eye. It's a constant smooth stream of cutesy childish talks, drama that is very lightly touched(whatever truly sad moments happen are grazed over and then ignored because it has to stay upbeat and kid-friendly), and humour that would probably make an 8 year old chuckle, but would make a teenager cringe, and just bore an adult like me.

    It's an interesting idea to have a JRPG just for kids. But the sad thing is, it simply doesn't work. I don't know of a single kid under 12 that would go through with the 50 to 70 hours of play time ToS offers. Kids I know just don't have that patience or commitment. And kids over 12 will probably find this cringeworthy or at the very least quite boring.

    The shame is that besides the story and characters and very childish tone, and despite a few minor issues with the visuals and plot, the entire game is a masterpiece. Its combat is brillant and extremely fun, it's one of the few RPGs where just grinding is a constant enjoyment, the music ranges from meh to very nice and never devolves into plain boring, the art style is great and cell shading technology makes this game absolutely booming for GameCube standards. It still looks great today, like the original Wind Waker.

    It's fun and memorable with lots of interesting elements in the gameplay, upgrade, weapon, healing, and every step opens a new little adventure or sidequest that you just can't say no to, and if the level design and music seldom soar near the heavens, they certainly do a decent job.

    It's just the story that is a drag and can't keep any sort of interest with me. Ironically, this might be an excellent game to speedrun, but as RPGs go, this is one of the most boring ones I can think of in terms of story. I played through it many times, and constantly stopped at yet another fortress/dungeon with their meh music, or just because I was so unequivocally disinterested with the story. A shame since it manages to do what almost no RPGs do, be fun to just play and yet have enough depth and complexity to keep you going for dozens of hours.    … Expand
  2. Mike
    Jan 6, 2008
    7
    This game starts with a generic story, and that was one of my main fears going into this game. But after playing half way through I found the story started to evolve into a vast epic tale, very book worthy. Now onto the technical game play parts; the battle system is fantastic, one of the best I have seen. Field encounter battles are not so much a drone and this battles are really in This game starts with a generic story, and that was one of my main fears going into this game. But after playing half way through I found the story started to evolve into a vast epic tale, very book worthy. Now onto the technical game play parts; the battle system is fantastic, one of the best I have seen. Field encounter battles are not so much a drone and this battles are really in close quarters with the enemy which makes it feel like you are actually in a tussle with the enemy, something turn based fighting cant seem to achieve. The praise I gave to the battle system unfortunately cannot be carried over to the game field. The game field is awful and cheesy, the enemies are represented as black blobs and it can really destroy the immersion that you are on an epic quest with friends when you stride around as a giant avoiding black blobs, the music in the field is also very cheesy and repeats itself over and over. Overall the game field breaks whatever emotional scene that came before it. The game can be difficult to navigate sometimes as it never really gives you any clues as to what random faceless NPC you are supposed to talk to next or what area of a town you are supposed to be in. Cut scenes are filled with emotion and great voice acting can be ruined with limited character movements and no physics. Its a good game and I recommend it, just don't expect to play it over and over, as its only the story that will keep you going. (and possibly fights)… Expand
  3. Agusto101
    Feb 28, 2023
    6
    No puedo creer que la gente de tan alta puntuación a este juego , haber la historia personajes y música son buenos pero el resto es absolutamente tedioso e insufrible , el combate esta decente supongo veo que la nostalgia deja ciegos a muchos.

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best GameCube Game of 2004
5
#5 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2004
5
#5 Most Shared GameCube Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 60
  3. Negative: 0 out of 60
  1. Eurogamer
    90
    Arguably the finest example ever made of the truly traditional Japanese RPG. It may be clichéd, and altogether a little too bright and happy for its own good, but Tales of Symphonia is nonetheless epic, enjoyable, and superbly constructed.
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  2. games(TM)
    90
    It's through the amount of details, distractions and other additions to the more obvious elements that Symphonia builds itself up from what starts as an above-average RPG into one that'll stand as a benchmark in future. [Oct 2004, p.102]
  3. AceGamez
    90
    It's another masterpiece by Namco and a more than welcome addition to Namco's ever growing 'Tales of' series.
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