Tales of Symphonia is about a girl who is born to be the chosen. As the chosen, her job is to sacrifice her life for the good of all the land (I’m curious where you can apply for a job like that). The reason for her sacrifice is to regenerate the supply of mana to the world; as mana is the component that brings all life together. Without it, every being on the planet would soon wither away and die. Although this seems like your basic plot/storyline for an RPG, ToS has tons of twists and turns that’ll tickle you pink (or whatever your favorite color is). I mean come on, with over 80 hours of gameplay; you know the story can’t be that one-dimensional.

First things first, ToS might not be 80 hours long, but it does give you a huge quest with enough side-plots to make anyone happy. Every step forward seems to take you into a different direction and the adventure takes you elsewhere. This not only makes the game fresh at any point in time, but also makes it somewhat unpredictable. The adventure breeds off a lot of anime influence so expect some cute, yet at times, corny comedy relief, tons of foreshadowing, plenty of dialog, and one confusing story. Thankfully there’s a synopsis feature that keeps you current on what exactly is going on. At times there are quite a number of names being thrown out that might be forgotten or plot schemes that just seem totally bizarre. If you’re like me and feel a little confused and lost, don’t worry, the synopsis is a life-savior keeping you up to date. With all of the different events going on throughout the story you start to sense a pattern of predictable unpredictability. The one fault I do see in ToS’s story is how dreadfully slow it starts out. I really wasn’t feeling engulfed until about the seventh or eighth hour. That’s when your plot twists begin to develop and all sorts of things come out into the open. ToS does this numerous times, and as I said before, manages to keep the entire adventure fun and original.

We all know that a good RPG needs to have a good story as its backbone, but it also needs a sense of style when it comes to character development. This is where ToS becomes even more confusing, even to a veteran RPG player. Let me say first that if there was ever a game to buy a strategy guide, this would be that game. It took almost a week to figure out what EX Skills were, how skills were learned, and what the difference between a technical technique and a strike technique is. While this isn’t a strategy guide I’ll try to explain these features as easily and painlessly as possible. First off, every character you play as in ToS has a pre-set number of skills they learn. As you level up, just as in any RPG, you learn skills normally. With ToS however, the skills you learn depend on what type gauge they lean toward. If they lean toward the technical type they’ll learn one list of skills and if they lean toward the strike type they’ll learn another. Since moves in ToS are built on a hierarchical structure you need to have used the lesser skill before you can begin with your new skill. For example, you might have a 2nd level fire spell but are unable to use it because you haven’t used the 1st level fire spell enough yet. Personally, I like this idea as it is a more realistic approach to skill learning. There are also EX gems in ToS that enable you to acquire special traits such as added damage, more combos, extra tech points (to use your tech skills) etc... Combining EX Gems can sometimes produce even more special traits so there are quite a lot of options to toy with. Again, a strategy guide would be lovely for those who don’t enjoy this type of thing. But really though, how could you not enjoy a good number of options when it comes to your character, isn’t that the whole joy of an RPG game?

Finally the combat is another portion of the game that stands out among the crowd. Combining part action with part strategy, ToS’s real time battle system is one in which I hope many other RPG developers take notice. I for one am a bit tired of the same old dreary point and click method. With this combat system, you not only can plan out your strategy for each individual such as heal only, use magic, attack airborne enemies, stay in the backline etc… you can order them to use specific skills just like any other RPG game. The one drawback is that if an AI controller player is already casting a spell, they won’t automatically cancel what they’re doing and you’ll have to reissue the command. It tends to be a small issue that can be a little irritating if your timing is a little off. Other than that the AI works beautifully together and follows orders generally the right way. This saves from a lot of headaches 99% of the time when getting into battles. Just let the AI do its thing and if you feel the need to change something (that 1% of the time), you can.

With the strategy portion out of the way I can start to commend the “real time” battle system. After setting your skills to the c-stick, B and directional buttons you’ll have a total of six different skills you can use on the fly. These skills can be changed quickly in or out of battle so don’t worry about getting stuck with the wrong spells during a crucial battle. With your skills in place you can begin to hack and slash your way to victory. Jump, block, combo, and thrash your way through the enemy like slicing a hot knife through butter. Though it might take a little getting used to (as is the theme with everything in ToS), it’s definitely some of the best combat in an RPG game I’ve experienced in awhile. Spells are big, but not huge, sword techniques are quick, and I never thought that I would be trying to get a 50-hit combo in an RPG game. This innovative battle system never seems to get tiring with the large number of skills you have at your disposal and the different number of characters you’ll be playing as. Add to that the ultra suave unison attacks and it gets even better. It’s one of the pinnacle moments in ToS that will shock and amaze.

The one thing I disliked about the combat screen was the way the camera sometimes didn’t pan out far enough or at times zoomed in too close. Even though the battles are real time, you aren’t running around free as a bird. Instead you have a direct left-right link to the enemy that you’re targeting. So it might not be perfect, but it’s always something to look forward to in a sequel?

I don’t know what it is about cell-shading but I can’t help but adore it. Even before ToS was released this picture grabbed my attention and it’s what attracted me to the game. The picturesque snowy scenario is beautiful as well as the countless other places you visit. No matter if it’s on a beach, in a kingdom, or a small sanctuary, each environment has its own style, look, and feel. Though the textures may look a bit plain, which can be expected from cell-shading, the colors all have a vibrant feel. Now no matter what I say, you’re either a fan of cell-shading or not; you’ll consider it child-like or you’ll consider it stunning in its own way. Regardless, I have to applaud the artistic style given throughout the game as there’s always something new to see and objects aren’t just placed down to give the cities, towns, etc… a quick repetitious look.

As I said before, ToS really takes quite a bit from the anime scene and that becomes ever so noticeable after looking at the characters. Sharp, shiny, colorful hair, big blue eyes, cute girls, you know the routine. The only change this time around is that they’re cell-shaded. Again a different approach to the RPG genre and it seems there are just a few problems plaguing the character design. It’s not that they don’t look good, in fact the animations are wonderfully done and there is plenty of diversity between characters and monsters alike. The only problem is that facial expressions tend to look a bit odd and the in-game cut scenes don’t visualize the action well. Combine the both of those and you have a few weird experiences throughout the game that’ll have you scratching your head instead of witnessing an emotional part of the game. For example, without spoiling anything, there’s a few parts during the game where there is a small fight between one or two characters that could have been done in that slick, anime style. Instead it looks as if we’re back in the 16-bit era. Characters also don’t always display a lot of anger or sadness on their faces during certain scenes. This again, takes away from those crucial RPG unforgettable moments. More movie-like cut scenes would have been perfect in these instances, but for whatever reason, ToS produces only a few small animated cut-scenes.

Special effects have been synonymous with RPGs ever since Final Fantasy VII came out for the PS1. These effects reward gamers for leveling up their characters and not only do a devastating amount of power, but look extremely dazzling. With ToS it’s no different as the magical effects look awesome. Though they might not be as captivating as some other RPG titles, they certainty fit in perfectly. You won’t see 30 second spells with a huge amount of effects being plastered onto your enemies but instead something similar to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Not too plain but not too extravagant. At times the spells/skills are quick and almost unnoticeable after awhile. While other moments there are a few that catch your eye. Since the focus is to have fast paced battles you can’t expect the spells to be that long or that excessive.

Tales of Symphonia shows what a good, polished, RPG should look like without going over the top and focusing on one category. By no means are that fabulous, but should be well respected.

Violins, flutes, grand musical scores, techno, rock, this game not only has a good number of themes, but they also give off that special RPG feeling. You know the kind that a Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger produced. I was very happy to hear that there were plenty of songs distributed throughout the entire game. If that wasn’t enough, midway through your journey, you get an entirely different version of some songs that kick the music into another gear.

The combat sounds are also top-notch and I particularly like all of the voice-overs throughout the battle. The small comments and chit chat add to the already intense battle scenes. Unfortunetely not all of the voice-overs are as well received. It seems at times the voice-overs are a bit over the top, other times a bit too bubbly and happy-go-lucky, and yet other times just down right unrealistic. When someone is talking to an enemy you don’t do it with a calm voice, you go crazy, screaming, and all sorts of psychopathic stuff. Someone dies and it’s like no one is sad, no one sheds a tear, it’s just too farfetched for my taste. I should say however, there is a good number of voice dialog in the game and not all of it as bad as described above. At times, ToS produces a few chuckles (anime style), and the mainstream dialogue moves along well enough. It’s during those pivotal times that I’m confused, dumbfounded, or simply not captured.

Regardless of those quirky moments, the soundtrack really steals the show. As good as any RPG out there, and possibly good enough to go out and buy.

As with all RPG games the interface of ToS is no different. The character equipment screen, status screen, world map…their all pretty similar to other games out there. What is different, and rightly so, is the battle screen. Since combat is done in a different way, you can expect a few changes here and there. For example, your party members status is on the bottom of the screen and is tightly knitted together to maximize screen space. At times it can be a little tough to tell if your partners low on health, especially if you’re not paying close attention. Also there isn’t any of that, [Fight, Magic, Item,] screen like in Final Fantasy games. Anytime you want to use an item or carry out a direct command to the AI you need to press the Y button to bring up the battle menu. Again, different than what you or I are used to, but rightly so.

There are few games that require as much time as ToS does and I applaud Namco for giving us a game that spans over 2 discs and which has taken me over 2 weeks to beat. Sure it might be confusing from time to time but innovative games tend to be confusing. With the addictive, fast-paced battle scenes, plot twists, and a story about sacrifice, love, friendship, and trust, ToS can give GameCube RPG fans a great experience on a console that doesn’t have too much RPG love.