Tales of Symphonia

You can only really play the game after you've beaten it a couple of times.

fun game with good story.

My absolute favorite game of all time. I played this back on its initial release on the Nintendo Gamecube when I was much younger, and its storyline was unbelievably formative for me. While I have heard of a number of bugs on the Steam version, I cannot recommend this game enough. If possible, I recommend playing it on another system but, since this goes on sale extremely regularly, I find owning it on Steam to be a very nice option if those consoles are not available to you. The game itself is a JRPG but, unlike many in the genre, features real time battles that aren't turned based. It's admittedly a bit dated compared to some more recent games in the series, even being outdone in gameplay by Tales of Vesperia, but I still find it far more engaging than a typical turn-based RPG. The main cast are incredibly well written, the dialogue is legitimately charming and funny, and while it contains a large number of clichés among the fantasy JRPG genre, the story has some great flow and genuine surprises to it.

Symphonia was really my first introduction to early-JRPGs. I had played Final Fantasy XV, various Pokemon games, and dabbled here and there, but this was truly my first long-form JRPG that could be considered a "classic" of the genre that I fully completed. And honestly, I really liked it. Symphonia seems at first to be really surface-level - It has a conventional "princess-chosen-one-save-the-world" story, but the more you play the more you realise that it actually deals with some pretty heavy themes. Such as paternal abuse, war, slavery, family bonds etc. And that was honestly a nice surprise. However, go in expecting a really campy but endearing band of people, who say cheesy JRPG anime-esque lines, and exaggerate almost everything. That's what's lovable about it. For a Gamecube game, it plays surprisingly well, looks pretty decent and isn't too buggy. The controls (especially in the Rheiards portions and on the main map) can be annoying, but you'll get passed it pretty quickly if you power through. My main issue with this game is quest markers - They just dont exist at all. You will be left guessing pretty much the entire game on what to do and where to go next and the synopsis is only accurate enough to be useful around 35% of the time. Luckily, in the modern day, we have guides. Just use those instead, when needed. The 30FPS is a disappointment for a 20-year-old game, but it didn't really detract too much from the experience for me. Symphonia is not perfect, and that's honestly what makes it great. It's campy and conventional, but altogether endearing and more nuanced than one might think. You can clearly see the Tales studio put a lot of love into it, and for that, I appreciate it a lot. As a first introduction to classic JRPGs, I'm honestly really happy it was Tales of Symphonia. Cheers.

Игра супер, только я так и не понял для чего тут нужна экспедиция кошек

My second Tales experience, after Berseria that is. Absolutely loved it, fun and challenging action combat, as well as a great cast of characters. That feeling of exploring the map and world is there with plenty of side quests and content. Just an enjoyable journey throughout. It does show its age with things such as being locked at 30 FPS and having to load a save if you lose a battle, but If you are a JRPG enjoyer that does not mind these things, then hop on this gem. Also Presea, my beloved.