Tales of Symphonia

This game is insanely good! Amazing characters, amazing story, good side quests and world, that all especially considering it is such an old game. If you love old rpgs AND/OR the Tales series, PLAY THIS GAME!!!

JUST MAKE SURE YOU USE LOSSLESS SCALING TOO TO BE ABLE TO PLAY IT AT 60 FPS OTHERWISE THE GAME IS CAPPED AT 30 FPS.

I remembered really liking this game on the Gamecube. I still do though not as much. It has all the distinctive charm you'd expect from a good JRPG including a grandiose story, endearing characters, nice soundtrack etc. I particularly like the cel-shaded art style. However, I wasn't expecting to get stuck on a boss fight this early. I temporarily put the game down once I saw I wasn't making any headway. Also, there's A LOT of dialogue in this, which can get a little redundant at times. I'll give the game a thumbs up for nostalgia's sake, but I do think the difficulty curve is too high in the early game.

I was asked by a friend to play this game, and thinking nothing of it I did. 3 Years later I picked it back up and made good on my promise to give it more than just a couple hours.

What Resulted was some of the best twists, and character writing I've ever seen in a game. Every character has wants and desires and opinions and they don't always align with their fellow adventurers. That along with secrets all throughout the game and loads of dialogue, and replay ability features make this a must play.

Pick it up for yourself, you might just have a whole new series to try out.

I thought I'd enjoy it more.

The 30fps cap and N64 textures on terrain looks really bad and I wonder how in any way it can gobble up 3.2Gb of VRAM with 140p-720p textures. the 30% cpu usage makes sense since back in the day cpu's were much stronger than gpu's and games relied more on cpu performance, but even then, a i3-12100f being used at 30% on such game at only 30fps is a bit much for a 25 year old game (I expected bellow 5%), I play some games that are less than 10 year old at 1440p with 120-270fps and often sit at 10-45% cpu usage... I know it's been ported on ps3, then ported to pc from the ps3 port but... The graphics barely look like gamecube graphics, and that's with anisotropic filtering at x16 and MSAA x8.

A strong con outside the vaseline visuals is the gameplay for me. I know what i was getting myself into from the trailer/video showing some gameplay and hoped to be less repetitive, but sadly it's just spam after spam with minimal changes.

I know it's kinda rough to treat the game like this but I can't overlook these things once I'm too aware of it. I'm sure many people found great joy and it probably made their childhood better but it absolutely need a minor remaster to at least x4 the resolution of textures and unlock the 30fps to 60fps. A few months ago I played Persona 4 Golden, which is a PS2 game who got a minor remaster with qol upgrades and although it still looks like PS2 graphics, it's on a whole upper level than this

Best "Tales of" game ever made. Period.

im sorry

tALES

A TIMELESS JRPG Classic!

Released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, Tales of Symphonia remains one of the most beloved JRPGs of its era. As part of Bandai Namco’s long-running Tales series, this entry struck a perfect balance between storytelling, combat, and character development, making it a standout title for fans of the genre.

Story & Characters

The game follows Lloyd Irving and his companions as they embark on a journey to regenerate the world of Sylvarant, a land struggling with dwindling mana and oppression from the mysterious Desians. However, the story takes unexpected turns, introducing complex moral dilemmas, and deeper themes of discrimination, sacrifice, and identity.

What sets Tales of Symphonia apart from is its cast of well-developed characters. Lloyd grows from a brash young fighter into a true hero, while his childhood friend, Colette, grapples with the burden of being the "Chosen". Other characters, like the intelligent and reserved Kratos, the fiery Sheena, and the playful-yet-tragic Zelos, each add depth to the story. The game's extensive optional skits and side conversations flesh out their personalities incredibly well, making them feel very relatable to the average player.

Gameplay & Combat

Unlike traditional turn-based JRPGs, Tales of Symphonia features an action-packed battle system. Players control one character in real-time while issuing commands to AI-controlled allies. The Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS) allows for free movement and combos, making fights feel fluid and engaging. Mastering special attacks, chaining combos, and using Unison Attacks adds layers of strategy. In my opinion, this is quite an enjoyable divergence from the monotony of turn-based battle systems that many other JRPG games have.

Exploration is equally rewarding, with dungeons featuring puzzles that require thoughtful interaction rather than simple enemy encounters. Though some puzzles can be tedious, they add variety and a sense of accomplishment.

Visuals & Sound

For its time, Tales of Symphonia boasted a charming cel-shaded art style that helped it age gracefully. The anime-style character designs and vibrant environments bring the world to life, though the overworld map feels a bit dated by today’s standards.

The soundtrack, composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura, complements the game beautifully. Tracks like "Venturers' colony" and "Forest of the Treant" stand out, while the emotional themes such as "And thus, I can do it (Heroic)" enhance key story moments. The English voice acting is mostly hit-or-miss, but nevertheless successfully adds charm and personality to the cast.

Final Verdict

This was my first Tales game, and by no means last. Despite some minor flaws, Tales of Symphonia remains a must-play for any fan of the JRPG genre. Its engaging combat, cathartic story, and memorable characters make it a classic that still holds up very well today. Whether you're playing it for nostalgia or experiencing it for the first time, it’s an unforgettable journey well worth taking.

Score: 9/10

It's better on Gamecube

One of my top favorite games of all time.

I played this game on the Gamecube and I played this game on the PS3.

I bought this version and the next thing I knew, I put 60 hours into it.

This game is amazing and it's highly recommended for anyone who likes JRPGs or anybody looking into the Tales series.

YEAH ANGELS ARE BAD

nice game

I first played this back in 2006 and fell in love with it. The story is incredible, the characters are amazing, the soundtrack gets stuck in my head all the time. I just wish we could've gotten a remake where the characters and everything aren't chibi, but honestly...that's part of the charm.

Game play slighty outdated and slowish, Movement is a little clunky but the same as the classics all from that era.

the story is fantastic. many plot twists and oh Snap moments, def worth a play through.

being a FF fan for many years i cant help but think the story telling was done much better in this game there the FF scene if thats something to put into perpective.

GOAT game

I just can't get into it and don't really get why it has such raving reviews.
The battles feel awful. you can hit like 2 times and a special and then you just stand there for a second. Apparently you get higher tiered specials that can be chained on later on, but I dunno when that will be. Blocking is not parying and basically useless.
Personally I have a dislike for turn based battles, but honestly, I would have preferred if it was turn based here.

World map traversal has enemies that just spawn out of nowhere, and sometimes right in front of you.
World map traversal is a pain. Sometimes it's actually pretty good like here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3427981969
But very often the game just zooms way into your character, directly from the top, and you can't change the camera angle at all and can't see further than 2-3 steps.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3427982675

Also, it's an awful port. You can technically play it with keybard (no mouse tho) but it's so bad it basically requires a controller, which is always a sign of a bad port. It only runs at 30 FPS and even needs a mod so it doesn't stutter.

How this thing is regarded as he best tales game with those crappy mechanics, I have no idea. Sure, I didn't play too many of them, just Arise and Berseria, but both were leagues better.
Maybe the story makes up for it, I'm just 4 hours in, but I'm already pondering if I should just uninstall it, I have no fun playing.
Perhaps I'll just set battles on auto, slap on a trainer and just sit there waiting them out so I can see where the story goes..

Like other Tales game, we'll never know the meaning of everything after the "Tales of"

Does 30 fps suck?
Yes, of course it does.

Does this game suck?
No, of course it doesn't.

Edit: it runs at 60 using Lossless Scaling. It's glorious.

One of the Best!!

After playing this game slowly over the course of 3 months I can say it is a good time. While nothing was outstanding or really blew me away it definitely was something I was looking forward to after getting home from work some nights and for that its an easy recommend for any fans of 6th gen JRPGs.

Despite its age, this game remains a delightful experience. While I'm limited to 30 FPS, it doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. Puzzle-filled games like this can either sharpen your mind or leave you scratching your head in perplexity. To achieve a 100% completion rate, multiple playthroughs are essential—unless, of course, you're savvy with the 'save and load' technique. Overall, it's a solid game that stands the test of time.

6.5/10

Back when I was what you might call a Nintendo simp, I was one of those people starving for any kind of JRPG on the GameCube. Thankfully, Tales of Symphonia not only fulfilled that itch but also raised my standards for JRPGs moving forward.

It was my first Tales game, and I’d still say it’s one of the better ones to recommend to a first-timer.

The action-heavy battle system, while technically in full 3D, limits you to 2D planes, which makes it feel like a mix of old-school Tales games and their transition to 3D. Sure, the lack of free-run can feel restrictive if you’ve played newer entries, but the fast-paced combat, dynamic targeting, and memorable moves make up for it.

As for the story and cast, I’ve seen complaints that it’s a bit simple, and while I get where that’s coming from, I think Symphonia strikes a nice balance. It has enough plot twists, character development, and backstory to elevate what might seem like a generic fantasy story.

The characters are a bit hit or miss for some, but I like most of them. Lloyd, while seemingly a typical dumb shonen protagonist, has his own cheesy, unique humor that sets him apart from the usual food-obsessed or pervy archetypes. Similarly, while Colette’s clumsiness irritates some people, I think her self-sacrificial nature gives her surprising depth. The only character I didn’t care for much was Genis, but even he has his moments. Everyone else is at least decently likable.

The one thing I genuinely dislike about this game is some of the dungeons. They can be way too complicated, with overly specific puzzles that require backtracking and tedious resource management. I’m glad later Tales games dialed back on puzzle-heavy dungeons or removed them entirely.

Overall, despite the lack of free movement in battle, Tales of Symphonia is still one of my favorite Tales games to play. For me, it’s probably the best entry point to recommend to most people getting into the series.

I played Tales of Symphonia on the Game Cube back in 2004 or whatever - and have very fond memories of it. Would even say it was one of my childhood favourites.
This port seems to have some problems and i did not try it out myself, but if you like cheesy jRPGs it is still good. Combat is fun, many sidequests and collectibles are there.

Solid port of a childhood classic. I had no bugs or glitches to speak of during my entire playthrough.

classic rpg game i played as a kid. great story line and creative fantasy.

Tales of Symphonia on the game cube, is a wonderful game, it was fantastic and still holds up to this day, however this version is just a lazy port of the ps2 version. It runs at 30 fps instead of 60 fps. It has spelling errors, voice mix ups between characters and the HD character models is poorly done. There is a mod tho fix the HD models however you should't have to buy a game just to mod it. So it's not worth getting. If you own a game cube buy the cd copy of it. otherwise your better off using an emulator and playing the game cube version that way. The only time you should consider getting this game is if u never played the original or you find it on sale for extreme cheap. that way you match it's quality. Id say around 5$ or less. Which is a tragic in itself.

Great Game

ToS is a typical JRPG and for it's time, it was probably considered good. However for modern audiences, the quests can be quite a slog. Especially when you're trying to solve the mind numbing puzzles, as well as trying to unlock the title achievements. I do recommend using a guide rather than going in blind, but if you don't care about achievements then it's fine. The story is serviceable (albeit predictable) but the combat is engaging and fast paced, which I did enjoy.
All in all, I feel ToS is the weaker of the Tales series re-released to PC but I did appreciate the game for what it is. For old school players or new gamers who want to complete the Tales series, I recommend giving it a try.

A wonderful game but be ready for a slow start and a slow burn.
Beloved by many for a reason.

goat

great game

great

So I will recommend this game...barely. It's definitely not a game for those who don't like JRPGs and their unique atmosphere and tone. But even if you do, this is one of the worst of the Tales games, a series I love. Combat is a bit iffy; as the first game in the series to allow movement in 3 dimensions, it's rough, understandably, although it does get better after the first like 35 hours. The equipment and leveling systems range from standard to a bit annoying, with alot of elements just feeling like busy work for the sake of having mechanics. The extra content and side-quests are the worst kind of "Talk to everyone, everywhere, every time a story beat happens, if you want to see them." The world building is poor.

But the major thing that will likely turn people off is the story. It's not that it's a bad story, but it is, along with Zesteria, one of the most in-your-face, My Little Pony-esque stories about love and friendship saving the world you've ever seen. I like the characters, they are the only thing making the game palatable enough, but it's just so safe. Even when bad things happen, it's over and done with in minutes. Earlier games simply had less story to them, keeping it moving along at a brisk pace, while most of the later games, while still presented in a fairly light-hearted tone most of the time, had more dark moments and really let them have an impact. There were difficult decisions to be made, sacrifices, struggles, but one of the themes of THIS game is literally NOT to have sacrifices, that everything should work out a-ok and eveyone should be saved and so on. It's just the same freaking beat, over and over again, for dozens of hours. I'm not saying it's a bad beat, I'm not an edgelord who dislikes the concepts involved, but it feels so shallow when your protagonist's infinite goodness just makes everything turn out peachy in nearly every situation--even one of the bad experiences he has, early on, is recontextualized as ultimately a good thing and it was everyone else who was wrong later in the game.

Short review, but that really is the game's summary; pretty typical Tales game but with a story so sweet it can cause diabetes. Considering how long it is and how much dialogue there is, the lack of competing views or thought-provoking situations just ultimately makes it mind-numbing to get through. If you've never played a Tales game, Vesperia, Berseria, and Arise, are all on Steam, and are all much better entry-games to the series.

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played this as a kid multiple times enjoyed this played this again still love this lmao

loved this game back in the GameCube days, I absolutely love cheesy anime tropes and story excuses to grind for hours and a story I want to play all the way through

honestly, it's just simply a bad game. I'm sure it's enjoyable if you're willing to dedicate an ungodly amount of time to grinding the same enemies for hours after hours for minuscule experience, but if you don't have any kind of life outside of wasting it on a video game, this game isn't for you

A fun nostalgic game for me

classic

won't launch at any res

can't used skills with xbox joy

There's boats!!!

Nais

Masterpiece of a game. I loved the story and characters as much as I disliked gameplay and general mechanics. I'm sure if I played it many years ago I wouldn't have any complains, but many puzzles were not intuitive and combat was not engaging for me. Overall I had an awesome experience and Symphonia is now my favourite title from Tales series.

Played this game as a child and enjoyed it. Played this game with a buddy recently and hated the combat

This is absolutely one of the best games I've played in my entire life.

One of the best stories and cast of characters I've ever seen. How the characters bond, argue, interact with eachother and grow. The depth of the story. Even the NPCs matter. The world feels immersive and real. The soundtrack is beautiful and incredible.

It was one of my first RPGS ever on the gamecube when I was younger! I love the art style and character models and art still and I think it holds up. The battle system is fun and a lot more exciting to me than a turn based rpg is. The voice acting is so insanely good, their is so much emotion and thought put into every part of this game. I don't think there is a single part of this game I don't like.

The twists and turns of the stories are ones I would have never expected. Something where the story and characters did not feel predictable. It felt unique, especially for it's time.

Now, I try to play JRPGS and RPGS looking for this. I liked Tales of the Abyss and Phantasia as well but this one is definitely my favorite. I loved playing this game next to my sister as the co op allows other people to help you as another party member in battle! We'd switch off playing 1st player and take turns, and beat it more than once together. I'd love to share that experience with someone again one day, bc it's some of the best memories of my life.

This game always made me want to make a video game one day tbh, idk if I will ever learn game dev, but I am beginning to learn code at least. Anyways, if your debating, pick it up. I'm hoping it's not to outdated for some folks, but I don't think this game is a 'it's just nostalgia' what I feel for a lot of other games I like. I hope everyone gets to experience this game!

Still one of the best JRPG of all times. Deep story and characters, nice gameplay and challenge combat. Great introduction into Tales of series...

The game wont launch now.