Jae Lee writes: I remember picking up my Gamecube thanks wholly to the release of Resident Evil 4 and once I had one of my own, I began to track down other notable titles that were released for it.
Right at the top of that list was “Tales of Symphonia” a multi-disc epic RPG from Namco, and when I finally got my hands on it, I wasn’t disappointed.
The story, characters, combat engine and even the graphics were excellent for its time, and I had a blast seeing the adventures of Lloyd and company to its conclusion.
Over ten years later, the title and its lesser known sequel make their debut in HD, and while some aspects of the experience haven’t aged too well, it proves once more that a good story and a likable cast of characters is timeless.
If you're looking to round out your collection of Tales series games, this weekend might be the perfect opportunity, as several of them are going on sale.
From a focus on story to an online component, here are 11 ways Bandai Namco can get the Tales series back on the right track.
Trying to make JP games like western games has been the slow death of JP games in the west. Games like Ace Combat AH, RE4-6, SH:Homecoming, Castlevania LoS 1&2,FF13 series are mostly pure mockeries of the franchises they came from (even the games that were technically good for their own reasons like RE4&5 and LoS). If they just stopped trying to make games that they think everyone would like and make games that the people who actually buy their games would like they would be in a much better place. As someone who liked mostly JP games Ive seen just about all my favorite franchises bite the dust, and that f***ing sucks a**, BRO!
What I would like to see is
- Seamless instant transition from exploring to combat when you run into an enemy
- NO battle summary screen after each battle is won (They should adopt a similiar system like in Star Ocean V there is a battle summary but it is displayed in the background while you continue exploring and playing)
- All dialogue has audio in it
- I largely disagree with most of the things in the article like the battle systems and including multiplayer with the game (one of the reasons I like JRPG is because there is no multiplayer) but I do agree that they should improve the camera
They don't need to get the series back on track. It's been consistently brilliant for the last 20 odd years.
My biggest gripe with Tales series are the protagonists. Every time i pick up of these games half my time i spend thinking about how stupid the guy im playing is.
But i guess thats the thing about JRPGs in general. In most western games YOU get to be the hero, the guy with the big sword and awesome abilities, the guy who everybody looks up to etc. Unlike in most JRPGs where everybody else has all the cool things and as the player you are just some silly child, the odd one out who is kinda just there for "reasons".
Several entries of the Tales Of series are now available for a reduced price on the Bandai Namco Store, including Tales of Hearts R and more