The Classics #5: Tales of Symphonia Was A Tale to Remember
It’s #5 of The Classics this weekend and we’re looking back at probably one of the rarest titles on the Gamecube – Tales of Symphonia. Back in late 2004, nearly 8 years from now. Many look back at the Gamecube and will know this was a JRPG to get. The free-flowing combat system that was very interactive in chaining combos, unison attacks and compound special attacks. The combat was so deep yet so enjoyable that this was a game that stuck out, even till this day.
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Namco Bandai sure did a great job of this – it was like no other with a great visual art style on character details and an open world to go around and explore. It’s what makes an RPG great and the fact that modern JPRG’s limit the level of openness is surely missed. Characters such as Lloyd and Kratos were all different and likeable whereas this was one of few which had voices cover dialogue in-game.
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Many look at the Tales series – which has been on Nintendo’s Gamecube and Wii consoles but also for the PSP – and remember Tales of Symphonia as the game to define it (though others may speak otherwise, the game received critical reception with an average Metacritic score of 86%). Many will be glad to know Tales of Graces F is arriving on the PS3 outside of Japan for the first time. If you haven’t tried a JRPG title in the Tales collection, I suggest you do so, which is why Tales of Symphonia is our Classics #5.
