Tales of Symphonia

For the Nintendo GameCube

Rated T for Teen
1-4 players

What? Some goddess is sleeping? And angels are going to save the world?

They just need the “chosen” to make her world regeneration tour, and all will be well.

But don’t count out the main character. He’s got an ex-sphere. “What’s that?” you ask. Never mind for now. You only need to know that it enhances the wearer’s abilities. And make no mistake; those abilities will need plenty of enhancing before this journey is through. In a world filled with monsters and half-elves, you’ll need every advantage you can get.

Tales of Symphonia comes from a long line of role playing games that started with Tales of Phantasia for the Super Nintendo. Most recently, there were Tales of Destiny One and Two for the Sony Playstation. This adventure spans two Gamecube discs, plays for dozens of hours, and has more plot twists than you can count on your fingers. I found myself drawn in by the end, and immediately re-played it to develop different story lines.

The battle system takes a pass on the standard turn-based system in favor of a real-time control scheme. It is effective and easy to use, as many special skills and spells can be mapped to the c-stick for easy access. There is also an available multi-player mode where the four active characters can all be controlled separately from different Gamecube controllers.

With it’s in-depth story line, and traditional RPG feel; I would recommend this game to any Role-Playing Fan.

Rating: 8 out of a possible 10