User Reviews (1 - 11 of 189)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

The Gamer that LOVES Tales of Series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have some words to say...first off I am thirteen, my friends older some younger some the same age, and we all ABSOLUTELY LOVE TALES OF SYMPHONIA (ToS for short). It's a great rpg, with lots of magic, sword fighting, shielding, elemental defense, healing spells, elemental offense, many items, a great money system (this game uses gald, not gold, gald), hundreds of unique awesome weapons some elemental some magic some regularly killer lethal and some just fun (like a broom!!), and lots and lots of different armor and clothing (not to mention amulets and jewels etc.). The battle system is really interactive, and it's NOT TURN BASED, up to four players can play, so you can have a great time battle by yourself with computers helping you, or with friends pwning the monsters that get in your way. For a Gamecube game, the graphics are pretty good, the fighting absolutely fun and suspenseful, the storyline quite unique and different while still being superior, and then the characters mostly all awesome, while some can get on your nerves in a funny way. So I would rate this game a 10/10, as well as Tales of the Abyss and all the other Tales of games out there (except for Radiant Mythology, that was a pure disappointment), did I mention there are 3 ways of transportation to get around these 2 HUGE maps? Yeah, the story is long, fun, and there are many small optional mini games and side quests (some side quests long and fun), and then there's the main storyline you follow once you get bored wandering around the two worlds meeting people etc.
Overall Review:
Graphics: 9/10 (really good for an old GC game, actually not that old)
Music: 8/10
Battle system: 10/10
Story Line: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Side Quests: 9/10
Armor and Weaponry: 10/10
Magic/special attacks/unison attacks/ basic hits: 10/10
single player: 10/10
multi player: 8/10

It's a good game, if you like or want a game with fighting, sword banging, magic, technique, non turn based battles, realistic fighting, enjoyable music and graphics, elemental spells, wandering ability (you don't have to go to the next spot in the story line immediately, you go when you feel like it), and amazing characters etc., THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GET THIS GAME!!

P.S. I also forgot to mention you can get TITLES which switch around your stats a bit without leveling up, and some titles change your costume so you can look different when you walking and in battles, and in cutscenes (swimsuits, disco/fun outfits etc.), yup, pretty awesome.

Good Combat, Blah Everything Else

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Tales of Symphonia nails the combat system. It's addictive, original and well-animated. Unfortunately, the puzzles, characters and plot are cliched and unmemorable. Pity because it's such a beautifully animated game.

Characters talk too much (every thirty seconds you'll be dragged into a conversation, even in the overworld). I don't need to hear about every character's favorite color while I'm trying to save the world?

Save the world? These characters are too busy finding dragons for a little boy, cooking for restaurants and just generally mucking about to make you think that they're really focused on their goal. The battle system is nice, but only fans of vapid Japanese anime need apply.

beyond awesome game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have the gamecube in the household. and my brother wanted tales of symphonia for christmas and told me i would like it. i got my mom to get at target for $20 for christmas. i wasn't too interested but decided to play since it is partly mine. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES YOU WILL EVER PLAY!!!!!!!!! i recently replayed for the 4th time and ended up staying up to 3:30 am, which i don't do. i love the battle system, and the story line is amazing. and i love the music. one of the best rpgs i have ever played

One of the Best RPG Games Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game twists and turns you through an adventure that will sometimes shock you. You start off as a reckless young boy with his friends sets off on a journey to save all mana and when you think you know whats right then it takes a couple of turns and completly changes your mind. I played this game for a while but turned it down when I couldn't get past a part because there was a lot of talking and just got bored. Then I picked it up again and adored it! This game is worth the money! It took me forever to beat it and was sad when I did. If you don't like hard battles, great adventures, and a quest greater than to save your world than I suggest you don't buy this. Long live Tales of Symphonia!

Epic game with a marvelous story!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When I saw this game at blockbuster, it looked fun so I tried it...OH MY GODDNESS! Though the game is long, you really get into it and like all the characters you meet and fight with. The animated graphics are fun, but I wish there more real anime like scenes, since there's only a few. Each character doesn't act like another, so that's a plus. But oh yeah, this game is LONG and can be difficult. If you're impatient, buy the guide also, even if you want to get extra stuff.

Also, the story is as epic as the Zelda games! You play as Lloyd, a somewhat dim-witted but emotional and brave character; you help protect the next Chosen, Collette. Other awesome characters come along, and you can learn awesome magic attacks and do group attacks that really help. It does take a little while to develop strategies when fighting, but it really grows on ya once you get more attacks and weapons. Now I found out they're making another for the Wii, so that'll be sweet! Its not too late; grab a gamecube and buy this game (and guide) and get lost in Symphonia, you won't regret it!

It Will Appeal to Some (namely huge Tales fans), but Definitely Not Everyone

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Some of the Tales of...titles seem to generate comparisons to the Star Ocean series. While the two are completely different games, I, too, began to see similarities...and then the similarities grew as I progressed through this title.

Graphics

Cell shaded. The locales are quite nice, but some of them do appear rather flat and stale at times. The graphics during battle run very smoothly and are quite nice. The detail of the characters and monsters are quite nice.

Gameplay

You will love the combat engine. There are a few mini games scattered throughout the game that are quite easy to pick up and play. Also, navigation isn't too difficult; though, being on foot for almost the entire game on the world map can become quite tedious. The game has a short learning curve. You can easily compare it to Star Ocean.

Story

When is picks up, it gets good; however, when it slows down, its really slow. Even some of the main missions seem out of place as at times they do very little as regards to progression in the story. At times, the story does drag...The story, for the most part is solid, but not all that original. The story itself is somewhat predictable.

Characters

Entertaining, but not a bunch I would opt to travel around the world with. Some character's personalities are a little dry while some of the others are just plain annoying. Some of the characters are almost one-dimensional as there isn't much to their personality--story wise, there really is only one character who goes through a massive change.

Overall

There are some sidequests...and they take you way out of your way to complete them. It would have been one thing if your character had a faster means of transportation across the world map. With the amount of random encounters, its bound to annoy anyone who just wants to get the mission done. The story has a very light-hearted sort of feel; while not necessarily geared towards kids, the plot and progress may turn some players off as they may see it as somewhat immature. The game is good, but similar to Star Ocean in many aspects.

The Good:
-Short Learning Curve
-Enjoyable Cast of Characters (some)
-Nice Graphics
-Fun Combat Engine

The Bad:
-Considered an "inferior" Star Ocean
-Some parts of the game drag
-Appears to be geared towards kids
-Music is repetitive and forgettable

The Ugly:
-The character portraits during dialogue

---------------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------

The game is good in its own merits; however, if you're anything like me, you still won't find this game as appealing as other role-playing games out there. Being one of the few GOOD Gamecube role-playing games out there, I see it not ranking as high among others.

My BIGGEST personal issue (which may apply to some others and may have to do with your style of RPGs) was its poor pacing. The game fleshes out a story I have come to like; however, there are breaks in the game where the story doesn't pick up for hours. I've logged a good 20 hours into the game and have just come across a shocking turn of events in the game; unfortunately, I'm back to running from town to town running through a series of events that are detracting from the MAIN and FAR MORE INTERESTING story.

I could get past running through the same labyrinths/dungeons/Ranches twice--once to progress the story, the second time to obtain a summon (pertaining to the dungeons/labyrinths), but the world map isn't the most pleasant to stroll through as random encounters are far too often (the onscreen enemies often come out of nowhere and attack you slowing down the progress). The worst part of exploring the labyrinths and dungeons would be the respawning enemies patrolling its floor.

Some of the dungeon's puzzles the game could have done without...it's as if they threw them in last minute. The overall objective of some of treks through these locations could have done away with some of the redundant puzzles (since there are so many enemy encounters) and the ring used to solve puzzles was more of a nuisance.

It's a tough call with this game as I introduced myself to this series when I purchased my gamecube a little while back. It starts off good, it progresses well for a little while, it gets better, then it begins to drag. It picks up the pace very well with a very, very interesting plot twist or turn of events, then it drags again. You solve some puzzles--some pointless and some clever, you go through a series of events that are seemingly out of place, and so forth. The most disheartening part of the game (to me) was trekking the world map as I wanted to immediately jump back into the story. Newcomers MAY or MAY NOT enjoy this game, long time fans; however, will love this game.

+Pros:
+The story is GREAT
+Engaging and Fun Battle system
+

-Cons:
-Pacing is very poor and the progression of story is spaced out because of side-events, obtaining summons, and random characters
-There is probably one or two characters whos personalities may wear thin with players
-Revisiting the same areas twice can be a drag
-No vehicle...scaling the world map can be a pain for the first...15 hours

??:
-Graphic style may or may not appeal to everybody
-Some may or may not be turned off by the character interactions

Best Gamecube RPG!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is probably your best option for RPGs on the Gamecube. Fire Emblem doesn't count as it is more turn based strategy game and not a real RPG game like Tales (you don't travel in Fire Emblem, since it is Chapter based). The Tales series are known for the "real time" battle system, where you get to control the battle hands on instead of choosing what you want your character to do (though you will most of your characters to manage on their own). The game is huge and will take a while for any seasoned RPG gamer or first time RPG player to finish. The main draw for the game is obviously for the great story. Any game that tells a good story is usually a very good RPG, of course that's just part of it. The battle system is another key factor in any RPG and Tales doesn't disappoint as it is easy to execute but at the same time there are interesting perks such as the combo system. One main draw to the series is how there is no random battles. You get to see the enemy on the screen and you get to choose if you want to engage in battle or avoid it (though the enemies will tend to pursue you to engage in battle you can normally avoid a lot of battles if you don't wish to fight). I can go on longer about this game but I will end by saying that this game definitely deserves a purchase seeing how it is budget priced and if you own a GC or a Wii you will be owning one of the best RPGs for both systems (at least for now).

A trully unforgetable, fun RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Tales of Symphonia is truly the best RPG I have ever played. It's not a short game either. It advertises 80 hours of game play, and unless you are absolutely a pro at it, it will take you at least 90-94. It has a pretty decent story line too. I 100% think that if you haven't played it before, to buy it and play it. Don't waste money renting it, just buy it.

This is a great game if you like to build up characters!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It is one of a kind as it is a real time battle rpg rather than a timebased one like in the Final Fantasy games. Has an interesting story and can be played with a friend or even 3. I recommend this to any and all gamecube owners. Lots of good gameplay and very enjyable. Have fun once you get it!

Tales of Symphonia Reveiw

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"The angels bore the Chosen One, who would travel to the Tower of Salvation, and save the world!" This edict is the basis for the game and is known as the Legend of Mithos. Tales of Symphonia (T.o.S.) is an enormous story full of adventure, misfortune, tragedy, and even betrayal!T.o.S. can have up to four players,and T.o.S. also promises over thirty hours of game play. Since it's for Gamecube and Ps2 only, this game has to be the best massive multiplayer role playing game(m.m.r.p.g.), and is definitely worth the money.
Bryce C. :)

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions