Tales of Symphonia

 PC
Metascore
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User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 42
  3. Negative: 5 out of 42
  1. GAGMR
    Feb 2, 2016
    5
    Tales of Symphona was one of the best JRPG's of the 4th generation of game consoles but is this port as good as it's Gamecube counterpart?Tales of Symphona was one of the best JRPG's of the 4th generation of game consoles but is this port as good as it's Gamecube counterpart?

    As of right now no it isn't, but it may still be worth your time.

    PROS
    -Active Combat Battle System
    -Fun & Unique Characters
    -Vast open world to explore
    -Very good story & dialog
    -Multiple Endings
    -80+ hours of content

    CONS
    -30FPS Lock
    -Delay in menus for Win7 Machines
    -Intro Song is baaaad (mod available)
    -Poor Texture Quality
    -DRM is hidden in the game (WHY!?)

    STORY

    I'll keep it brief & spoiler free. You play as Lloyd, a young warrior who's bad at school. One day, you & your friends are in school as usual when a bright flash of light happens outside! It's the signal that the chosen one, Collette, is ready to partake in her trials. And then you set out on your adventure to bring Collette to the seals around the globe & awaken her as the Chosen One! Eventually you learn being the chosen isn't what it seems & has a dark twist of fate.

    GAMEPLAY

    The gameplay is simple but also involves some strategy. You move around the overworld as you would in any other JRPG while random encounters spawn in the world around you. You can try to avoid them or run into one to start a battle. Battles are fought on 2.5D plains where you control the main character (or later on the character of your choosing) & combine joystick movements with button combinations to do combos as well as blocking attacks. You can also press the menu button & cast specific spells or use items. Combining certain techniques & spells will unleash a super move that deals extra damage & usually has some sort of short cutscene attatched. The real strategy comes from figuring out all the comboes & super techs & using them accordingly. There are also block puzzles scattered throughout the dungeons that are usually required to progress. Of course, there are also recovery items that restore health & magic points as well as equipment upgrades & all the stuff you would normally find in any RPG.

    GRAPHICS

    The graphics are pretty poor, but still look relatively nice considering the games age. Obviously, due to the cell shaded art style. Still, the textures are pretty poor all things considered. This isn't an HD port, it's just a port. Even so, you'd think they could have made it look a little nicer. Everything is really pixelated.

    The game is also locked to 720p resolution. You can change the settings to go higher but it just upscales 720p to whatever you put it at. The game honestly looks better at the default resolution because of this. There's also a lack of graphics customization outside of the resolution which isn't very good either.

    TECHNICAL ISSUES

    The game runs at a locked 30FPS which is also a pretty big deal if you've played it running at 60 on the gamecube or other versions. The active combat system feels like it was designed specifically for 60fps so you may have problems playing the game on higher difficulties.

    If you're running on a Win7 machine you will probably experience some menu lag when trying to save or change the config settings. A good 20-30 seconds of delay. The devs have stated they are working on a fix for this issue. Hopefully it will be settled soon.

    AUDIO

    The audio is actually one of the things that have been improved. All the soundtracks & dialog are not compressed like the gamecube counterpart. I haven't played the game on PS2/PS3 so I can't really compare that one. It all sounds pretty good overall. Excluding the J-Pop intro song, which just ruined the overall experience for me in the beginning. Luckily someone released a mod that fixes it & replaces the music with the one from the gamecube.

    The dialog is still as good as I remember it. Being slightly cheesy & heartwarming while at times having that serious undertone for the moments that require it. Voice acting in general is done very well. I recommend playing this game with English voice overs just because the protagonist's voice actor is the same person who voices Robin from Teen Titans which was one of my favorite cartoons at the time this game came out. All of the western voice actors sound great, imo.

    After looking into the game more & trying to use game capture software to record some play sessions I was having some issues & I went to find out why on the good old interwebs. This game has some heavy DRM hidden inside of it. UNACCEPTABLE! This game is over a decade old & does not need any DRM hidden in it!

    OVERALL

    I was really disappointed at first with the intro song debacle & the fact that I run a Win7 machine & the game will constantly have delays on Win7 while loading certain menu screens. The devs have stated they are working to fix this issue, though. The game itself remains intact, albeit at 30fps which is another large issue. The gamecube version ran at a smooth 60fps so this feels like a downgrade & you can really feel the difference during combat & cutscenes. I can only recommend the game to people who have yet to actually play Tales of Symphona & who want to try it or for those who really just want to own the game again on PC. As of right now, you should just wait for a patch & hope some of the issues are fixed especially if you're running on Win7.    … Full Review »
  2. Luigichief
    Jul 4, 2020
    8
    The first 3D Tales, which helped define what we know today as a great JRPG. This game for its time is a masterpiece (even though it has itsThe first 3D Tales, which helped define what we know today as a great JRPG. This game for its time is a masterpiece (even though it has its defects) but currently (2020), unfortunately it fell sharply.
    His script is one of the best ever written in the industry and his story starts with a decent size but expands on a huge scale and most importantly, this expansion is very credible and only adds to the story. This script is the personification of a great fantasy journey that has many twists (many), unexpected events and good dramas, but there was a lack of epic moments (one reason was the lack of hardware and the other was budget / good use of it) . The story for example is quite dark at times but thanks to the graphics, models of the characters and artstyle these moments lose much of their weight. Excessive medical relief also impairs these heavy moments. The interactions between the characters (called "Skits") are mostly comedy, if it were 50% comedy and 50% character development it would be much better or just make more casual conversations, without comic relief (there are very few like that). Those that are not comedy are usually very interesting and add to the story and / or perspectives. The animations are poorly made (even for the time) outside the battles (in the cutscenes and in the overworld), which doesn't make any sense because inside them, everything is very smooth and well done. They could have spent more time making the cutscene animations better, more impactful and the characters should be more expressive. The CGs and animated parts, however, are well done. The story gets it right at a point (even if not totally) that is usually wrong and enriches it a lot, the story of the characters is connected with the 'main' story and their relationships affect it deeply. There are some characters who have relatively large bows focused on overcoming something in their past. The only flaw is that the past is not shown or shown very briefly, focusing more on overcoming and on your current drama. The biggest flaw in this story / script was some totally futile parts that only served to generate more gamrpelay and hours of gameplay, without adding the narrative only to distance events in vain.

    The characters are a highlight of this game (as it should be in everyone). Each has its motivations, its defects, a well-explored background, development (most are not forced by the way), involvement and importance in the story. The best / most developed / best stories for me were: Lloyd, Collete and Regal. But all are good and have their focus, but I thought that Zelos had little focus on the story unfortunately.

    The gameplay. It is unfortunately also dated, even though it is not as remarkable as the rest of things. It has an interesting depth, you have many characters in your party and you are forced to exchange them a lot, and as they are all well balanced as long as you have a healer the sky is the limit. The IA makes mistakes, but the way you can 'program' it is very complex and complete. It's fun and I didn't get sick but multiple mobs can get boring and avoidance is very difficult (especially in the overworld). Another thing that bothered me a lot was the excess of puzzles and how they were made, the puzzles in this game are too long and even when you understand them you take too long to complete them. It may have been intentional, but it leaves the game too long and hurts the pace of the story.

    The game has a relationship system, one of the few in 2003. But it is quite flawed as you are not sure how your relationship was affected with each decision made and it is not possible to check your exact relationship with a character. You also make choices, they impact history only indirectly, because they change your relationship with your companions and that changes the story.

    The soundtrack is descending with an above average OST. The opening song is great. The dubbing is very good.

    The game is open world and you can advance the story in different ways, something really cool especially considering your time. After pondering I say that this game is unfortunately a "dated masterpiece". And I would love a partial or complete remake of it    … Full Review »
  3. loquesea57
    Jun 18, 2020
    8
    The port is hot garbage compared to the gamecube version but this was my first time playing this game so I can't not recommend it. It was veryThe port is hot garbage compared to the gamecube version but this was my first time playing this game so I can't not recommend it. It was very fun to play and the story was enjoyable despite it not being anything special. Also I loved Colette. COLLETTEEEEE.… Full Review »
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