I'm a huge Tales fan and despite the discouraging review, I decided to pick this one up too. Tales of Symphonia was and still is my favorite in the series. I will explore the game and relay my opinions and finally my review of the game in this post. All spoilers will be in white font. I've recently reached the 15 hour mark. My estimate on the total time to complete this game is about 40 hours, which means everyone is in for a long adventure. Let's see how it stacks up to the other games in the series.
The game begins with a long animated sequence of a vague attack on Palmacosta lead by the original's hero, Lloyd Irving. The two main characters are in the city when it is attacked. Emil witnesses his parents death at the hand of Lloyd and Marta is being searched for by troops. She is saved by the power of a jewel, Ratatosk's Core, which ends up being lodged to her forehead. She then see's Emil, who she assumes is the one who saved her. Everything relating to the storyline will be in white font after this since this is easily obtained knowledge.
The graphics in the game are nice and a step up from the original, though the Wii is capable of better. The characters and cities are nicely made, but some of the dungeons show little detail. They are supposed to be dark and sometimes it is too dark to show any nice detail. Aside from the opening anime skit, the entire game is done in the same graphic style.
The music is another decent part of the game. A lot of the music from the original makes a comeback with some nice remixes. In addition to that, there are some new tracks. Some of the new tracks have a 90s techno sound to them, which may seem strange. The music is usually catchy, though it can get monotonous during certain scenerios.
The gameplay is the same as any other Tales game. Tales of the Abyss' battle system returns where you can move freely across the entire battleground. The unison attack also makes a return, which I find very useful in many of the difficult boss battles. The game feels more difficult than the original at times, which is a welcomed addition. The original felt too easy at times.
Another new feature is the touch and point map to go to each location. This is great if you weren't a fan of traveling long distances just to get to the next location. However, I find that this makes the game feel smaller in scale. Places that are far away seem so close and it doesn't match with the grand scale that the story in on.
The story may leave you wanted answers to many questions. For starters, why is Lloyd killing all of these innocent people and destroying all of these cities? At first, I found myself turning my head at the idea, but as the story progressed, it became more realistic and understandable.
Emil is a total wimp. He is constantly apologizing for everything. Marta believes him to be her prince who saves her whenever she needs saving. When the going gets too tough to continue protecting her, he makes a pact with a Centurion, Tenebrae. Centurions are similar to summon spirits, but not the same. They are responsible for overseeing the distribution of mana in the world.
Emil gains power from this and a multiple personality, which is later called, "Ratatosk Mode." He is a complete 180 from the regular Emil. He is ruthless and blunt. As the story progresses, Ratatosk gains more control over Emil. This means he gains power, but also threatens members of his own party at times.
Love is a much bigger theme in this game. There was some flirting in the original, but they always pulled back on the idea. Sexual themes are appear many times, but I won't explain them in detail. Otherwise, I would have to delete my own thread. What I will say is that if you were missing some flirting and foreplay, you'll get some in this game.
Members from the original world regeneration journey join your party from time to time. Usually one leaves and then another one joins. However, as the story progresses, you'll have a nice group of former characters. The only problem with them is that their levels and eqipment are set. So the only customization you'll get is with Emil and Marta.
I'll end the spoilers for now and continue more about some of the aspects of the game tomorrow.
The game begins with a long animated sequence of a vague attack on Palmacosta lead by the original's hero, Lloyd Irving. The two main characters are in the city when it is attacked. Emil witnesses his parents death at the hand of Lloyd and Marta is being searched for by troops. She is saved by the power of a jewel, Ratatosk's Core, which ends up being lodged to her forehead. She then see's Emil, who she assumes is the one who saved her. Everything relating to the storyline will be in white font after this since this is easily obtained knowledge.
The graphics in the game are nice and a step up from the original, though the Wii is capable of better. The characters and cities are nicely made, but some of the dungeons show little detail. They are supposed to be dark and sometimes it is too dark to show any nice detail. Aside from the opening anime skit, the entire game is done in the same graphic style.
The music is another decent part of the game. A lot of the music from the original makes a comeback with some nice remixes. In addition to that, there are some new tracks. Some of the new tracks have a 90s techno sound to them, which may seem strange. The music is usually catchy, though it can get monotonous during certain scenerios.
The gameplay is the same as any other Tales game. Tales of the Abyss' battle system returns where you can move freely across the entire battleground. The unison attack also makes a return, which I find very useful in many of the difficult boss battles. The game feels more difficult than the original at times, which is a welcomed addition. The original felt too easy at times.
Another new feature is the touch and point map to go to each location. This is great if you weren't a fan of traveling long distances just to get to the next location. However, I find that this makes the game feel smaller in scale. Places that are far away seem so close and it doesn't match with the grand scale that the story in on.
The story may leave you wanted answers to many questions. For starters, why is Lloyd killing all of these innocent people and destroying all of these cities? At first, I found myself turning my head at the idea, but as the story progressed, it became more realistic and understandable.
Emil is a total wimp. He is constantly apologizing for everything. Marta believes him to be her prince who saves her whenever she needs saving. When the going gets too tough to continue protecting her, he makes a pact with a Centurion, Tenebrae. Centurions are similar to summon spirits, but not the same. They are responsible for overseeing the distribution of mana in the world.
Emil gains power from this and a multiple personality, which is later called, "Ratatosk Mode." He is a complete 180 from the regular Emil. He is ruthless and blunt. As the story progresses, Ratatosk gains more control over Emil. This means he gains power, but also threatens members of his own party at times.
Love is a much bigger theme in this game. There was some flirting in the original, but they always pulled back on the idea. Sexual themes are appear many times, but I won't explain them in detail. Otherwise, I would have to delete my own thread. What I will say is that if you were missing some flirting and foreplay, you'll get some in this game.
Members from the original world regeneration journey join your party from time to time. Usually one leaves and then another one joins. However, as the story progresses, you'll have a nice group of former characters. The only problem with them is that their levels and eqipment are set. So the only customization you'll get is with Emil and Marta.
I'll end the spoilers for now and continue more about some of the aspects of the game tomorrow.