And the classic chibi-esque style feels at odds with some of the game's darker themes. The cutscenes are just as stiff and awkward as they were back in 2004, and the overworld is bland and lifeless. The user interface has received a few minor tweaks, but it looks nearly identical to the PS3 port released in 2013. The presentation doesn't do Tales of Symphonia many favors, either. Once again, there isn't a reliable way to track these quests, so it's very easy to miss out on some. Tales of Symphonia also has a handful of side quests, some of which are missable. The inelegant, but often necessary, solution is to pull up a walkthrough. The problem is that these "synopsis" entries are a pain to sift through and can be vague at times, meaning you could be aimlessly wandering around the map until you stumble on a point of interest that triggers a cutscene. Like in the original, there is a Synopsis menu that summarizes your adventure so far and occasionally tells you where to go next. The story and characters are occasionally held back by some awkward localization, but the lack of a proper quest-tracking system is what really halts the momentum. There's a great dynamic between all of the party members that lead to some funny, heartwarming, and devastating moments over the course of the journey. While Kratos, upon first glance, appears to be a cold and detached mercenary, he quickly becomes a stoic father figure to Lloyd. Genis is a clumsy spellcaster who serves as the perfect best friend and foil to Lloyd. Lloyd is a charismatic, hot-headed kid seeing the world for the first time. To this day, Symphonia still has the best cast of characters the series has ever seen. What makes the story truly memorable, though, is the excellent cast of characters. Conflicts are rarely resolved neatly, and the story is better for it. What makes the story so effective is how it rarely shies away from the consequences of our heroes' actions. Despite trying to do the right thing, Lloyd and his companions are confronted with moral quandaries that often leave a trail of destruction behind them. It seems like standard JRPG fare, but the story is darker and far more complex than it initially lets on. The Chosen One, Colette, instructed by divine prophecy, must "regenerate" the world in order to end war, famine, and hatred. Tales of Symphonia follows a kid named Lloyd Irving as he accompanies the Chosen One on a globetrotting adventure. However, with the release of Tales of Symphonia Remastered, I decided it was finally time to return to this world to see if it was as good as I remember. I bought it on PC a few years back, but it just felt wrong to play that game sitting at my desk one random evening after work-almost as if it would tarnish the magic of that experience and the memories tied to it. While I had played a few JRPGs before, none had hooked me the way Tales of Symphonia had.ĭespite my deep reverence for Tales of Symphonia, I haven't touched it since 2004. Weekend after weekend, a friend and I would explore the world of Sylvarant together, making incremental progress in each play session. The vibrant presentation, action-focused combat, and mature story took me by surprise. For my young 11-year-old brain, it redefined my understanding of the JRPG genre. Unfortunately, it never feels like this remaster really rises to the occasion.Tales of Symphonia was a formative experience for me. Tales of Symphonia Remasteredbrings a great JRPG to modern hardware, and that’s certainly a cause for celebration. To be fair, anyone who loved the original should love this one, too - but it may not win over any newcomers because of how outdated everything feels. Even changes like skippable cutscenes (which are severely limited) come across as half-baked. There’s nothing really new here there’s no sequel included like in Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, and no new extras to unlock. If a remaster can be accused of being too faithful to its original sources, then Tales of Symphonia Remastered is just that. As remasters have gotten more common, the expectations over quality-of-life improvements and updates have gone up. The real issue with Tales of Symphonia Remastered is that outside of bringing a classic Tales Of JRPG to modern consoles, it doesn’t really do much else.
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