Let me start this review by saying I was wearing rose colored glasses coming into this game. The first Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube was so spectacular that it currently resides at number two in my all time favorites. But enough of my verbal jacking off of Namco and on to the review.
First of all is the gameplay which is as good if not better than the first. While it is an RPG it certainly does not have that feel. TOS2 has a free range battle system that lets you run around the battlefield slashing at your enemies with various skills that become gradually more powerful as you grow in level. Leveling up seems rewarding because you gain some great abilities (some are more hidden than others) and you can just hump enemies into submission who you once barely lived through. Of course there are different playable characters in battles with their own unique abilities. One drawback is that you aren't really doing too much when you aren't battling, sure there are a few puzzles, but they are more like the ages 5-10 that take 1 minute to complete....and have 3 pieces to them. The monster element was an interesting gimmick, that quite frankly they could have done better, but at least there is reason to level them up as they can get a whole lot stronger than any of the minor characters in the story who are stupidly capped at level 50 so by the second play through they are useless. The Wii controls aren't utilized at all, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, too much of that would have made the combat suck. Despite these setbacks the gameplay is so immersive you will be bumping into enemies all the time to get into the battles.
Next of course will be the story. While others may criticize it, it was really easy for me to get into. I think it was mostly because I had played and loved the first one. Despite the translation problems the characters are really endearing, though they are a bit frustrating because they are flat at times. But most of the time you are so into the story that you will want to keep going through the game to see what happens next. The story is basically a nostalgic trip through the TOS world so as such you eventually meet up with the old characters who help your characters Emil and Marta try to save the world, There are some very good twists that you won't see coming and sure some painfully crappy moments, but overall I think the story is strong.
The graphics....well they look like GameCube graphics. They may be a little tweaked, but they don't really add anything or take anything away from the game. I like to think the graphics fit the game, but I would also like to see SOME sort of improvement. The levels also aren't that masterful, sure but they are fun and add an element of exploration to your quest. That’s about all I’m going to say on that topic
As far as re-playability, there is plenty of it here. I'm sure there are plenty of events and secrets you won't find on the first play through. This game contains a good number of side quests, and even a dungeon that does not appear on the first play through. That’s probably the first time I've seen something like that and it does keep the game from getting stale and smelling like rotting fish. There is also a shop at the end of the game that lets you transfer your data over to a new game to make things easier for all of you pack rats. And then of course there are multiple difficulties for you to test your level of nerdom.
That’s about it for the review, overall it is a good game, and sure it has its flaws but what game now doesn't?
Now excuse me I'm taking a 168 hour break
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