Tales of Symphonia Description:

Tales of Symphonia review:
5 stars (Oh my Gosh!) - This is an awesome game. I thought it looked quite stupid, but then I got hooked to the story line. I wanted to know what happened next in the story. I still haven't beaten the first disc and I have played for 22 hrs. Amazing game. I love it. It is a must have for GC owners because you can't beat it by renting it. You have to buy it.
5 stars (Tales of Symphonia) - This game has given me hours of fun and I am still working on it
4 stars (A gem.) - I picked this up for twenty dollars on my friend's reccomendations, and all I have to say is this: Oh my oh my oh my. <3

A lack of RPGs for the Gamecube? Namco saves the day! Tales of Symphonia is a game for the player who wants to get the most of of the experience. And believe me, when it ended (after eighty hours with the sidequests), I found myself craving more.

STORY: 8/10

You really want to find out what happens next in this game. It starts out generic enough: Blah blah angels, tree of mana, chosen, etc...but soon enough there are plot twists that leave you reeling, and you find yourself actually feeling sad when the characters are sad. It's also quite funny. Points off, however, for the voice acting, which can be terribly melodramatic at times. Also, the story is kind of...killed by sidequests at some points. But that's okay, as long as you like lots of questin'.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10

Yes, yes, YES. Finally, some great gameplay that isn't turn-based! Yep, it's live-action--really keeps you on your toes. You can play with three friends (which is much more fun then by yourself, although sometimes, you might be randomly placed offscreen while trying to fight). Once you master the sometimes complex battle system, you'll be linking attacks and pulling some of the coolest combos EVER. Fights are certainly hard enough-you NEED those Life Bottles. You must react quickly because you don't have too many opportunities to mull.

Navigating and walking around towns is just plain fun, although the world map can be hard to figure out at times. (Kratos: WTF LLOYD! WHY ARE U ALWAYZ GOING TEH RONG WAYZ??!!??1! Me: S...sorry...@_@) But that's okay, and eventually you get plane-type thingies you can fly around the world in, and they make navigation a LOT easier.

The puzzles are hard, but what would an RPG be without tough dungeons? They're not THAT bad, anyway. Some of them are quote fun to solve.

GRAPHICS: 10/10

The most lovely graphics I've seen in a long time. The characters are cute and cel-shaded, but the sense of anime in the actual gameplay is not incredibly over-powering, so it's okay if your don't dig it. There are a few anime cutscenes, which are the coolest thing ever, but there certainly could have been more of them. Battle effects are AWESOME, whether Genis's Indignation or Colette's Holy Judgement. Beautiful.

SOUND: 9/10

The music? Do you even have to ask? It's great. The tunes fit the settings perfectly. The battle music is great, it makes you excited, hyper even. And the fight However, like I said in the story section: VOICE-ACTING. "No-ooo-oo-o-OOO!" Seriously...but some of the voices are good, and it's cool to hear the characters talk in battle.

OVERALL: 10/10

Very few flaws, a solid experience, and a fair amount of replayability, with multiple endings and events and a hella lotta sidequests. Good luck!

-Soda, Age 13 (f)