This was one of my first experiences with the RPG genre, and it has stuck with me ever since. Unlike some of the other games within the genre, the plot of this game leans heavily into the tropes and cliches that define many Japanese animated shonen series. Yet, its characters and world are so endearing that you can't help but get invested in them.

Not only is the story involved and intriguing, but the combat is incredibly unique. It plays a bit like a Smash Bros. game, where you have a basic attack and a set of skills that you can set to a button as well. It makes the combat feel more like a fighting game where you need to rack up combos rather than a traditional RPG. It's quite intuitive for the time it came out.

This is a landmark game for the Gamecube and for the genre. I would even consider this game to be as important as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy just for how it redefined what a Japanese RPG could be. I recommend you check this game out if you have the chance.

adore this game. one of my favorites along with tales of destiny. the characters and the story were really fucking good and gameplay was fun as usual.

the pacing kind of dragged at the end but that's honestly my only issue with this game.

the bonus scenes and different endings really make it feel like lloyd's actions amount to something as well. i loved seeing the different things you could learn about the characters. presea, colette, and sheena were my favorites, and the bonus scenes really made me like kratos and zelos as well.

for the love of god please do not play the pc ver.

My first Tales games, and easily the one that I've replayed the most. I've probably beaten this game 10+ times, more than half of which I did basically every sidequest, and single-handedly introduced me to the action RPG genre. Even though Abyss and Vesperia improve upon it in a lot of ways, it still aged like fine wine and is worth playing. The story is great, the characters are likeable, the gameplay is tight, and the world is extremely memorable. I just wish the Tales studio would stop remaking this game, since it already has so many remakes and ports and either make new games, or remake literally any other game in the series.

When I compare games to the nostalgic whimsy of an early 2000s JRPG, there's a good chance I'm probably comparing it to Tales of Symphonia. It certainly is one of the JRPGs of all time.

The original Gamecube version came out in checks notes Oh God 2003. This game is almost 20 years old in the States. I just aged everybody reading this review, you're welcome. But yeah, it was a big epic JRPG on a Nintendo platform at the turn of the century: the N64 and GCN days were not common grounds for JRPGs, so Tales of Symphonia for a lot of us was an oasis of a corny anime RPG in what was pretty close to a dead genre on Nintendo console platforms. And ToS is so anime it almost hurts. The art style on top of the cel-shaded graphics and anime opening made this feel like just an anime in video game form.

This also comes down to the writing, which feels like a stock-standard fantasy anime. You have the protagonist who is too stupid to die and his wife who's too selfless to live, the parental sibling and the shithead sibling, the eye candy, the stalwart child with an oversized weapon, and everyone's favorite wacky pervert who's actually immensely tortured on the inside. The story literally starts on the whole "The chosen one must revive a dying land" trope, and I'm not paraphrasing. The subtext is actually just text.

The combat is the skeletal beginnings of the ARPG sub-genre that earlier Tales games have established, and it ranges from good button-mashy fun to completely mindless and uninteresting. The exploration is open-ended as Hell but always has a primary destination the game is shuttling you to. The puzzles are simple enough and straightforward.

So why is this game so deeply beloved? Primarily it was the cultural zeitgeist it found itself in the middle of; the late 90s and early 2000s there were very little RPGs on the N64 and Gamecube, so getting one was kind of a mythical presence. This was the first JRPG for a lot of people who grew up with a Gamecube. It was in the right place at the right time.

And also because... Tales of Symphonia is just a pretty good game. It's definitely dated for sure, but barring how generic and trope-heavy the story is, the stakes are felt, the motivations of every character make sense, and with the abundance of writing the game has from a sheer size and scope, the characters have a lot of space to breathe and grow and be charming. Except Lloyd and Colette, horrendous main characters in a cast of infinitely more interesting ones. The fantasy setting is beautifully realized, it feels epic, and you just like seeing how all these characters interact with the worlds they're in.

I floated between 3.5 and 4 stars for this game because my feelings of Symphonia are complicated. I think older Tales games are more esoteric and interesting, and new Tales games have improved mechanically enough to render Symphonia feeling a bit dated. My feelings for the game at the time were warmer because I had less to compare it to, but as more JRPGs made it under my belt, the more that Symphonia lost some of that luster. But it's still a good game, a great game for some. It evokes some powerful nostalgia. But without nostalgia, the game feels more like an afterthought nowadays.

Fun combat but sometimes dungeoning back to fucking back can get very burnout inducing. I liked the story on paper and in certain aspects but there were some “let’s be stupid for the sake of creating stakes” moments. It can feel too much like Colette is a vehicle, and Lloyd might not jive with everyone as a protagonist. Still, while modern fans call this game dated, I think it was enjoyable for its fast paced combat and whimsical worldbuilding. I played the 60fps version and the fact combat on modern releases doesn’t play smooth like this might deter people playing on said versions.

This game is in my top 5 favorites of all time.

Incredible story, amazingly thoughtful character writing with depth, fascinating lore, and the stakes are as high as they get. "Tales of" games always lure you in with what seems like a simple story at first, but then eventually spirals into earth-shattering revelations that makes the cast re-evaluate their place in the world. Its honestly very gripping.

That being said, as much as I love this game it has its issues; namely the pacing. You'll have to be willing to stick with the story and see where it goes. It does take a hot minute for it to kick in. Though I think it's worth it, some people might be impatient with that and I understand that.

People have said the voice acting is cringe but I truly just don't get that at all (if anything its having such talented voice actors say their lines with barely emotive half-chibi avatars that's the REALLY jarring thing about it). Scott Menville as Lloyd Irving is his best role, in my opinion. I think the writing in general balances silly with serious pretty well, for the most part (you'll really want those little silly moments after some of the heavy things this game will throw at you... woof)

This game is not short; its one of the longest rpg's out there. But if you're looking to get immersed in a world and want something deeper in your rpg's, this is what you want to pick up!

Played this game in the early 2010's and had to force myself through the first few hours cause I didn't really vibe with how the game presented itself. Felt a bit too dated even for 2003. Then I persisted and almost everything feels like a blur now. Something clicked and played the entiery of it over the course of a week. By the end of it when the credits rolled, I was having an odd feeling of nostalgia for my first hour of the game. Reminiscing and reflecting on my journey, how far we've all come.... Incredible experience that still makes me want to come back for more from time to time. Sometimes the games calls out to me like the green goblin calls out to norman osborn.