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Tales of Symphonia. I bought it. But I haven't played it. Was it worth my money?
- Thread starter Willco
- Start date
BobbyRobby
Member
I'd say it was worth your money if you like RPGs.
i don't think it's really been worth your money yet. unless you really, really enjoyed the boxart. i'm looking at it right now, and i guess you can sort of see sheena's tits. if that's your thing.
it may or may not be worth your money once you've played it. i liked it alright. great battle system, shame about everything else. but then i effectively got it for $18, thanks to microsoft's retail site and gamerush's generous trade-in policies. is it worth $50? probably not.
it may or may not be worth your money once you've played it. i liked it alright. great battle system, shame about everything else. but then i effectively got it for $18, thanks to microsoft's retail site and gamerush's generous trade-in policies. is it worth $50? probably not.
robot
Member
I havent played an RPG since god knows when, and pretty much swore off them forever. But for some reason last week I saw ToS and decided to buy it.
The game is quickly becoming one of my favorite RPG's ever. I already managed to log in over 19 hours since I bought it last Friday. The battles remind me of Guardian Heroes (combo mania, crazy ass spells, etc.), with a huge level of stratedgy thrown in. Boss battles are just insane, feels like every boss battle is the last boss (in terms of difficulty). The story is meh, but the characters more than make up for it. I love occasionaly switching my main character in battle, and sometimes they even have certain effects in towns which I thought was really cool. The music is great too imo.
I'd say it's defintely worth it. Long game, but it's flying by pretty quick.
The game is quickly becoming one of my favorite RPG's ever. I already managed to log in over 19 hours since I bought it last Friday. The battles remind me of Guardian Heroes (combo mania, crazy ass spells, etc.), with a huge level of stratedgy thrown in. Boss battles are just insane, feels like every boss battle is the last boss (in terms of difficulty). The story is meh, but the characters more than make up for it. I love occasionaly switching my main character in battle, and sometimes they even have certain effects in towns which I thought was really cool. The music is great too imo.
I'd say it's defintely worth it. Long game, but it's flying by pretty quick.
Alex
Member
Rock much. Best tales game.
I have a few complaints, like Namco STILL needs to adjust the mash frenzy/chaotic tones of the battles nor should 12184121 hit combos be such a focus, it creates a sense of character bias that does not need to be there, there's still no real strategy to the game, but it can be challenging in it's own right.
Second, the AI is really spazzy, I love the settings, but they don't act accordingly enough in the least. Mages running out of TP on the harder setting and rushing into melee = suicide. ANGER. Also, it's annoying to see so called "brilliant" AI getting the crap kicked out of them while I'm evading and blocking every attack. Needed D-Pad shortcuts as well...
Lastly, game took a dive in the second half, espically the pacing and really poor example of non-linearity which (the former) took a damn near Wild Arms 3 leap to death. The story went from cutsey/likeably dumb to really fucking dumb pretty fast in the latter half also.
Random comments:
Strike/Tech is really, really stupid, IMO
EX traits/skills are really, really cool, IMO
Taking characters out of my party/control to compensate a really shitty plot is LAME.
Not giving me all the characters until 2/3rds of the way through the game is LAME.
The puzzley dungeons are a great addition, I don't mind mazey dungeons, but Tales always handeled them like crap. Only complaint being they are really too tiny in the first half the the game.
The VA rocks.
Skits rock, but are too slow, and I also wish they were VA'd.
Raine is the best character by far, for the violence and smarty pantsness. Most useful also, IMO.
I have a few complaints, like Namco STILL needs to adjust the mash frenzy/chaotic tones of the battles nor should 12184121 hit combos be such a focus, it creates a sense of character bias that does not need to be there, there's still no real strategy to the game, but it can be challenging in it's own right.
Second, the AI is really spazzy, I love the settings, but they don't act accordingly enough in the least. Mages running out of TP on the harder setting and rushing into melee = suicide. ANGER. Also, it's annoying to see so called "brilliant" AI getting the crap kicked out of them while I'm evading and blocking every attack. Needed D-Pad shortcuts as well...
Lastly, game took a dive in the second half, espically the pacing and really poor example of non-linearity which (the former) took a damn near Wild Arms 3 leap to death. The story went from cutsey/likeably dumb to really fucking dumb pretty fast in the latter half also.
Random comments:
Strike/Tech is really, really stupid, IMO
EX traits/skills are really, really cool, IMO
Taking characters out of my party/control to compensate a really shitty plot is LAME.
Not giving me all the characters until 2/3rds of the way through the game is LAME.
The puzzley dungeons are a great addition, I don't mind mazey dungeons, but Tales always handeled them like crap. Only complaint being they are really too tiny in the first half the the game.
The VA rocks.
Skits rock, but are too slow, and I also wish they were VA'd.
Raine is the best character by far, for the violence and smarty pantsness. Most useful also, IMO.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Replaying Eternia, I think I like it better than Symphonia, but barely. Eternia just seems to have more GAME: more techs/magic, more dungeons, more ridiculously tough boss fights, more gear. Plus, Farah > Raine, if that's your thang.
Drinky Crow said:
The chicks in Destiny smoke Farah in turn, but I agree about the game. The biggest and most effectively fleshed-out of the PlayStation games.
I remember seeing Destiny 2 at the Tokyo Game Show when it first showed in playable form. There was a huge goddamn crowd around the booth where Namco had locked it up and made you wait in line for it, and I looked up at the screens showing the trailers and thought "The fuck are these people standing in line for?" It looked like hell. And that goddamned Key To My Heart song played over and fucking over at that booth for the whole bloody weekend. Good God did it suck.
I asked one of the localization people at Namco about the pacing aspect of it, cuz I figured they could just let you click through the text relatively quickly, but evidently some programming beef got in the way.
DFS.
Alex
Member
Rutee is still the best, I agree with you guys on that, but I'm all about Raine slugging people in the side of the head. She's also aided by the fact that I wouldn't have any big issues swapping any characters out except for her. Raine's by far the most useful character in the game. Best healing, awesome support, and Photon Unison's well with most things.
Haha, I wanna go back and replay Eternia after Symphonia. I can't even remember most of it, so it's harder for me to compare, just easier to shout out "Symphonia > Tales". =/ I do love some of the additions in Symphonia though.
Farah is good stuff, but going back to Eternia means Meredy, argh... Although it also means more halter top boy jokes, woot. I didn't like Cramel Cage either, but it's better than T<>S, that's for sure.
Haha, I wanna go back and replay Eternia after Symphonia. I can't even remember most of it, so it's harder for me to compare, just easier to shout out "Symphonia > Tales". =/ I do love some of the additions in Symphonia though.
Farah is good stuff, but going back to Eternia means Meredy, argh... Although it also means more halter top boy jokes, woot. I didn't like Cramel Cage either, but it's better than T<>S, that's for sure.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Raine was a little too typical of a cold fish anime dominatrix teacher type to be compelling, although props to whoever did her smackdown animation: you can really feel the cuffs connecting with Genis' monster noggin.
Farah, on the other hand, was a kung-fu farmgirl hippie chick strangled by her own idealism, which trumps any anime cliche no matter how well done. Best of all, she was a strong female lead that didn't turn into an angel. But yeah, between Meredi and Reid's halter top, Eternia isn't exactly top-of-the-line in the character department.
Farah, on the other hand, was a kung-fu farmgirl hippie chick strangled by her own idealism, which trumps any anime cliche no matter how well done. Best of all, she was a strong female lead that didn't turn into an angel. But yeah, between Meredi and Reid's halter top, Eternia isn't exactly top-of-the-line in the character department.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Destiny's endgame is truly miserable, agreed, although the Rutee-Stahn dynamic is pretty charming for some bizarre reason. Eternia isn't as bad, although I hope Symphonia heralded the end of random battles in the Tales series.
And what the fuck was up with having the mandatory Aura skill executions to beat Eternia's end boss? LAME.
And what the fuck was up with having the mandatory Aura skill executions to beat Eternia's end boss? LAME.
Eternia is definately still my fav in the series. Replayed it late last year again, and despite the unbelievably stupid tactic you are forced to use to kill the endboss(Mash 3 face buttons with precise timing or face a reload), the game was pretty phenomenal. Some awesome optional encounters and dungeons burried deep in the lategame as well.
As far as Symphonia, I'm still around the sub 20-hour mark but it hasn't exactly given me a 'hook' yet. I really don't care much for any of the characters, and the scenario design isn't nearly as cohesive as the PSX games. It's not that I don't enjoy playing it, but I'm amazed at how much I have to motivate myself to keep pushing further on compared to the older titles.
As far as Symphonia, I'm still around the sub 20-hour mark but it hasn't exactly given me a 'hook' yet. I really don't care much for any of the characters, and the scenario design isn't nearly as cohesive as the PSX games. It's not that I don't enjoy playing it, but I'm amazed at how much I have to motivate myself to keep pushing further on compared to the older titles.
Out of curiosity, I dug out the old top-20 Tales characters popularity poll they had in Japan. It's heavily skewed by the influence of the yaoi doujinshi set, but it's still interesting:
1. Leon Magnus (Tales of Destiny)
2. Judas (Tales of Destiny 2)
3. Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia)
4. Celsius (Tales of Symphonia)
5. Rid Hershel (Tales of Eternia)
6. Arche Klein (Tales of Phantasia)
7. Presea Combatir (Tales of Symphonia)
8. Cless Alvein (Tales of Phantasia)
9. Collet Brunel (Tales of Symphonia)
10. Zelos Wilder (Tales of Symphonia)
11. Farah Oersted (Tales of Eternia)
12. Dhaos (Tales of Phantasia)
13. Stahn Aileron (Tales of Destiny)
14. Klarth F. Lester (Tales of Phantasia)
15. Suzu Fujibayashi (Tales of Phantasia PSX)
16. Genius Sage (Tales of Symphonia)
17. Chester Barklight (Tales of Phantasia)
18. Mint Adnade (Tales of Phantasia)
19. Keel Zeibel (Tales of Eternia)
20. Lilith Aileron (Tales of Destiny 2)
So basically, the guys like the Natsumi analog in Phantasia the best, then the Symphonia chicks, then Farah, and the field trailing well behind. I'm surprised Mint didn't score higher, she's the direct Belldandy analog. Presumably Japanese fanboys find Rutee too threatening.
DFS.
1. Leon Magnus (Tales of Destiny)
2. Judas (Tales of Destiny 2)
3. Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia)
4. Celsius (Tales of Symphonia)
5. Rid Hershel (Tales of Eternia)
6. Arche Klein (Tales of Phantasia)
7. Presea Combatir (Tales of Symphonia)
8. Cless Alvein (Tales of Phantasia)
9. Collet Brunel (Tales of Symphonia)
10. Zelos Wilder (Tales of Symphonia)
11. Farah Oersted (Tales of Eternia)
12. Dhaos (Tales of Phantasia)
13. Stahn Aileron (Tales of Destiny)
14. Klarth F. Lester (Tales of Phantasia)
15. Suzu Fujibayashi (Tales of Phantasia PSX)
16. Genius Sage (Tales of Symphonia)
17. Chester Barklight (Tales of Phantasia)
18. Mint Adnade (Tales of Phantasia)
19. Keel Zeibel (Tales of Eternia)
20. Lilith Aileron (Tales of Destiny 2)
So basically, the guys like the Natsumi analog in Phantasia the best, then the Symphonia chicks, then Farah, and the field trailing well behind. I'm surprised Mint didn't score higher, she's the direct Belldandy analog. Presumably Japanese fanboys find Rutee too threatening.
DFS.
Alex said:
Presea was probably my least favorite playable-character in the game (and I really liked the majority of them). I didn't really MIND her much, but she just didn't interest me at all. I liked her tie-in to Regal's story, though.
But really, the strangest thing about that list is Celsius at number 4...
Is it wrong to admit that Harold was likely my favorite character in Destiny 2? (Not overall)
Yes he/she/it looks like strawberry shortcake turned streetwhore, and could make the eyesore Yugioh crowd look delicious, but in combat what a set of awesome skills/spells! Plus with such a vanilla lineup Destiny 2 gave us, the wacky antics of Harold actually gave the trite sequel semblance of personality in the lategame.
Yes he/she/it looks like strawberry shortcake turned streetwhore, and could make the eyesore Yugioh crowd look delicious, but in combat what a set of awesome skills/spells! Plus with such a vanilla lineup Destiny 2 gave us, the wacky antics of Harold actually gave the trite sequel semblance of personality in the lategame.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Oh Jesus, what a terrible list. How could you not like Rutee? Like you said, she was a total gangsta in a tube top and hot pants, she respected the bling, and she managed to beat out that Fuu-wannabe Phyllia for the affections of the second dumbest male lead in an RPG, ever. (Lufia: TLR's male lead takes the grand no-prize.) Her interactions with the party MADE Destiny, which is one of the weaker Tales titles mechanically (it's a toss-up between it and Phantasia) -- she was the Chris Tucker to Mary's Ice Cube, and if she hadn't pissed off Leon every five seconds there wouldn't even have been a PLOT.
Presea had good skills, but she was just Rei Ayanami Lolitafied and handed an axe.
Out of Symphonia's utterly forgettable cast, I -only- preferred Colette not because of her character but because she was deliberately designed to win character polls: she was brainless, cutesy, and turned into a magical angel. It's the most cynical design in an RPG ever. Kratos mighta had a chance, but his BIG PLOT TWIST was so painfully telegraphed (and I'm not talking about his "betrayal" twist) and his character never went anywhere.
Presea had good skills, but she was just Rei Ayanami Lolitafied and handed an axe.
Out of Symphonia's utterly forgettable cast, I -only- preferred Colette not because of her character but because she was deliberately designed to win character polls: she was brainless, cutesy, and turned into a magical angel. It's the most cynical design in an RPG ever. Kratos mighta had a chance, but his BIG PLOT TWIST was so painfully telegraphed (and I'm not talking about his "betrayal" twist) and his character never went anywhere.
Alex
Member
CC rocks, If you can meet the lame, and mostly bullshit requirements. Good dungeons and combat/ team up stuff, dig the year to year progressions the game focuses on.
My friends are too damn nice, so the bucket wasn't as fun as it should've been. Dissapoints my future train of thought concerning the Wands in Zelda: FSA if I ever pick that up.
Game needed a job system badly though, and although it became passably challenging if you progressed enough years, a difficulty slider would've been apprecaited.
Gorgeous as sin though, and barring the grating intro song with terrible vocals and great BGM, the music is a step above anything else on the 'Cube, IMO.
Different beast from ToS though. ToS multiplayer = CC single player, and vice versa, cheap toss ins neither game was developed around.
My friends are too damn nice, so the bucket wasn't as fun as it should've been. Dissapoints my future train of thought concerning the Wands in Zelda: FSA if I ever pick that up.
Game needed a job system badly though, and although it became passably challenging if you progressed enough years, a difficulty slider would've been apprecaited.
Gorgeous as sin though, and barring the grating intro song with terrible vocals and great BGM, the music is a step above anything else on the 'Cube, IMO.
Different beast from ToS though. ToS multiplayer = CC single player, and vice versa, cheap toss ins neither game was developed around.
Drinky Crow said:
Japanese fans have fuck-awful taste. This has been amply proven. I mean, shit, look at all the Sister Princess those dumb motherfuckers buy.
And I think you nailed the motivation behind Colette's design. "LOOKY ME! I HAVE WINGS! LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME!" Fucking wings.
DFS.
Hey Alex, when playing ToS multiplayer, how do you get healers to actually target other characters when playing AS them? Everytime it was selected it would ONLY target themselves. We had to resort to playing as other characters that don't heal(Genis) in order to keep people like Kratos and Raine doing their jobs.
Oh and you guys certainly aren't painting a good picture for what I can expect when I finally get expand my party beyond the initial 5 in the game...(which I am already lukewarm towards)
Oh and you guys certainly aren't painting a good picture for what I can expect when I finally get expand my party beyond the initial 5 in the game...(which I am already lukewarm towards)
Alex
Member
Dunno. I played ToD and ToE on two-player only, and we always made the AI our heal bitches. I can't remember right, but I think Eternia we kept puting shorcuts on heal, and spamming the button during boss battles after getting cleaved, turning it into a endurance match of "who can survive the longest with no heals, you chump". We did that on something at least.
Anyway, if you play as the AI and try to heal, you'll probably have to menu select it still. =/ Shortcutting would probably only work with AoE or full screen heals/support magic.
The multiplayer is pretty thin, but hey, it's better than Legend of Mana's, jesus christ that was bad. Not Dud Bear bad, but pretty bad
Anyway, if you play as the AI and try to heal, you'll probably have to menu select it still. =/ Shortcutting would probably only work with AoE or full screen heals/support magic.
The multiplayer is pretty thin, but hey, it's better than Legend of Mana's, jesus christ that was bad. Not Dud Bear bad, but pretty bad
No big deal, I'm mostly playing ToS solo anyway, but a friend did stop in and help me bitchslap Sword Dancer 1 several hours back, but the healing complication forced us to re-adjust our tactics and player selection so as to keep that manual character heal selection through the menu alive and kicking.
Even if you did it manually through the menu while controlling that character, it still only registers as a heal purely on yourself; either a major oversight, or a veritable lack of proper instruction on Namco's part. The manual says nothing on the subject.
Legend of Mana was pretty garbage all around really(music was pleasant though). But not so bad as Sword of Mana...egads what a disaster.
Even if you did it manually through the menu while controlling that character, it still only registers as a heal purely on yourself; either a major oversight, or a veritable lack of proper instruction on Namco's part. The manual says nothing on the subject.
Legend of Mana was pretty garbage all around really(music was pleasant though). But not so bad as Sword of Mana...egads what a disaster.
Alex
Member
I wish I could do it in Symphonia though, multi that is. I've been too busy to do much gaming lately, let alone multi junk. Maybe this fall. It'd be nice to have a friend playing the frontlines with me, I just remember early game.
Hammering X, X+Back, etc, dodging and blocking, I call up Colette to raise the combo bar for a new title, Genis hits his spell, I hit Sword Rain or whatever....then.... *WHAM* Collette gets knocked hard on her ass "I'm dizzy!". That's putting it lightly, you douche.
Hammering X, X+Back, etc, dodging and blocking, I call up Colette to raise the combo bar for a new title, Genis hits his spell, I hit Sword Rain or whatever....then.... *WHAM* Collette gets knocked hard on her ass "I'm dizzy!". That's putting it lightly, you douche.
Alex
Member
That sounds cool. I'm a little pissed about the release date, but no biggie. I'm just not sure if Capcom is going to pull a Sonic Team on that one, and let people hack it to the stone-age, but no one could be as useless as an online dev as Sonic Team.
I just remember cracking up, when I heard their server-side, subscription based PSO was getting hacked up too. Sega is such a pack of useless goons these days.
I just remember cracking up, when I heard their server-side, subscription based PSO was getting hacked up too. Sega is such a pack of useless goons these days.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Phantom Brave >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ToS + SO3
Alex
Member
Eh, I tried everything to get into Disgaea. I'm sure Folken remembers the bitching I did about it via Xbox live of all things, haha. I don't think it's a bad game, I just think it's obscenely poorly setup for my tastes. Job system, item world, ugh. Dig the supers and the geopanels were ok though. The little government bit they had was rock though. Too bad they beat my head in when I challenged my first time.
Well, I do think Laharl is overpowered as hell, but I only played like 10 hours or so. I'll give it another shot some time.
Well, I do think Laharl is overpowered as hell, but I only played like 10 hours or so. I'll give it another shot some time.