Post by Mikoto Misaka on May 27, 2012 21:15:42 GMT -8
Recently I have become a fan of the Tales series after playing through Tales of Vesperia and getting Tales of the Abyss (I haven't played much of Abyss though). So while I was playing Vesperia I decided to get Symphonia seeing as how I wanted to explore some more games in the franchise especially the one that people seem to regard as "the best". Now that I have beaten Vesperia I have started Symphonia. This thread will act as a blog of my impressions of the game so far. Not sure if this is a review but I do remember there was a thread like this on the original site. So here we go....
General: So far I have played about 1 hour of the game (I know I'm pathetic). From what I've seen the game looks pretty solid and already it's shaping up to have one heck of a story, and unlike other JRPGs doesn't take an hour to develop the story. However the big thing for me with this game is that it plays a lot differently from Vesperia and several times I found myself dying just because I got the controls mixed up or thought I could use battle tactics from Vesperia such as free run. My main goal in the first few hours of gameplay is to get myself used to the mechanics of the game.
Gameplay: Again the game looks to play really solid. So far it's pretty much similar to Vesperia but the only difference is the mechanics of the battlefield. While it is 3D you can't make any 3D movements and your character is limited to 2D motions. However the fights can move along the battlefield depending on how you plan your attacks. As far as dungeons go I've only played through one but in comparison to Vesperia the one dungeon I played through seemed more creative than most of Vesperia's dungeons with some neat puzzles.
Story & Characters: As far as story goes the game is shaping up to have one heck of a story. For me the main problem with most JPRGs is that the prologue takes about 1-2 hours to develop the story (looking at you Persona 3 & 4). This game on the other hand gets pretty right from the beginning and cuts to the chase. Only 20 minutes in you are introduced to a plot twist, a major plot point, and "the mysterious character". As far as characters go seeing as how I'm only an hour in I haven't got to see much of the characters. So far I've been introduced to Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine, and Kratos in terms of major characters. Lloyd seems to be quite the opposite of Vesperia's Yuri due to his naive and more optimistic personality, and I can already feel that Colette and Kratos will be the more plot important characters. As far as Raine and Genis go I haven't seen much of their character's but who knows what future hours will have in store.
Other:
-The graphics look very nice and perhaps some of the best on the Gamecube. The cartoonish looking character models also seem to fit how cheery the game is.
-The game is quite a contrast to Vesperia. This game appears to be cheery while Vesperia was darker and more mature.
-Honestly the lack of voice acting in the Skits makes them less interesting. Then again I can't argue here really.
-I'm starting to see where some of the Vesperia characters may have taken inspiration from. Lloyd's personality is similar to Karol, Colette is very similar to Estelle, and Genis has the same sarcastic attitude as Rita though it's toned down.
So yeah my first impressions based on my first hour of Tales of Symphonia. I will update each time I play the game. Sorry if it looked like I compared this to Vesperia a lot. I am fully aware the games are four years apart thank you and Symphonia is pretty much what laid the ground for Vesperia.
General: So far I have played about 1 hour of the game (I know I'm pathetic). From what I've seen the game looks pretty solid and already it's shaping up to have one heck of a story, and unlike other JRPGs doesn't take an hour to develop the story. However the big thing for me with this game is that it plays a lot differently from Vesperia and several times I found myself dying just because I got the controls mixed up or thought I could use battle tactics from Vesperia such as free run. My main goal in the first few hours of gameplay is to get myself used to the mechanics of the game.
Gameplay: Again the game looks to play really solid. So far it's pretty much similar to Vesperia but the only difference is the mechanics of the battlefield. While it is 3D you can't make any 3D movements and your character is limited to 2D motions. However the fights can move along the battlefield depending on how you plan your attacks. As far as dungeons go I've only played through one but in comparison to Vesperia the one dungeon I played through seemed more creative than most of Vesperia's dungeons with some neat puzzles.
Story & Characters: As far as story goes the game is shaping up to have one heck of a story. For me the main problem with most JPRGs is that the prologue takes about 1-2 hours to develop the story (looking at you Persona 3 & 4). This game on the other hand gets pretty right from the beginning and cuts to the chase. Only 20 minutes in you are introduced to a plot twist, a major plot point, and "the mysterious character". As far as characters go seeing as how I'm only an hour in I haven't got to see much of the characters. So far I've been introduced to Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine, and Kratos in terms of major characters. Lloyd seems to be quite the opposite of Vesperia's Yuri due to his naive and more optimistic personality, and I can already feel that Colette and Kratos will be the more plot important characters. As far as Raine and Genis go I haven't seen much of their character's but who knows what future hours will have in store.
Other:
-The graphics look very nice and perhaps some of the best on the Gamecube. The cartoonish looking character models also seem to fit how cheery the game is.
-The game is quite a contrast to Vesperia. This game appears to be cheery while Vesperia was darker and more mature.
-Honestly the lack of voice acting in the Skits makes them less interesting. Then again I can't argue here really.
-I'm starting to see where some of the Vesperia characters may have taken inspiration from. Lloyd's personality is similar to Karol, Colette is very similar to Estelle, and Genis has the same sarcastic attitude as Rita though it's toned down.
So yeah my first impressions based on my first hour of Tales of Symphonia. I will update each time I play the game. Sorry if it looked like I compared this to Vesperia a lot. I am fully aware the games are four years apart thank you and Symphonia is pretty much what laid the ground for Vesperia.