Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Dawn of the New World doesn't have the epic feel of the original--the fact that it's easily beaten (not accounting for side quests) in under 30 hours doesn't help--but it's great to revisit this world that I enjoyed exploring when the first Tales of Symphonia was released four years ago. [Holiday 2008, p.78]

It’s a love letter to those who found magic in the first game. And for those folks still smitten, New World is sure to touch your heart.

Whatever its shortcomings, though, Dawn of the New World is clearly Wii’s best RPG to date.

It is definitely one game that most gamers will not regret spending $49.99 on. If you own a Wii and use it for more than just Wii Sports, you owe it to yourself to pick this highly entertaining game up as soon as you can.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is a great follow-up to the GameCube classic and is possibly the best RPG for the Wii.

If a player can look past the occasionally spotty visuals, the unusually long load times, and a complicated narrative, they can find an excellent RPG experience for the Wii.

Too shallow and formulaic to be anything other than an RPG footnote, but this is still a robust, accessible and enjoyable game. [Winter 2009, p.59]

A decent Wii-friendly RPG, let down by too many concessions to casual gamers. [Feb 2009, p.80]

The fact is that Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World evolves in some aspects, while stops or even goes back in others. Even so, it doesn't mean it isn't a good game, although it's not as "epic" as the first one. The ones who played the original Tales of Symphonia will see that Dawn of the New World is a new and beautiful adventure, but not as good as the other. And the ones who didn't play it will enjoy the charming characters and the excellent battle system.

Though it does have something to add to the RPG genre, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World does not deliver enough to be considered one of the great.

Maybe it is not as good as the first one, specially by some unpolished aspects, but it's also true that has improved a lot in certain areas.

Dawn of the New World is a worthy sequel that reflects the good state of the franchise. A deep story, charismatic characters, an impressive soundtrack... This new iteration can be considered as one of the biggest RPG for Wii.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World has finally walked its way to Europe. Fans of the original will have to get used to some changes, but all in all it’s a worthy sequel with a well-written – albeit slow – story. The fighting system is decent, although the option to tame beasts feels a bit superfluous, despite their use in battle. Visually, it’s full of atmosphere, where it gets the aid of the music and the voice acting. If you’re looking for an RPG and you haven’t imported the American version, then this game isn’t a bad choice. Do know that it ’s not perfect.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is a worthy conclusion to the story which begun on Nintendo GameCube but it is not easy to overcome the boring beginning of the game, which is recommended especially to fans of the prequel since anybody not familiar to old characters and places will not be equally impressed by the fairly short plot.