Tales of Symphonia/Baten Kaitos

[Gamer88]

I haven't heard much about Baten Kaitos but I know both Baten Kaitos and Tales of Symohonia got great reviews in Japan. I know Tales of Symphonia comes out later this year but what about Baten Kaitos?

[no.1gamer]

I haven't heard much about Baten Kaitos but I know both Baten Kaitos and Tales of Symohonia got great reviews in Japan. I know Tales of Symphonia comes out later this year but what about Baten Kaitos?

Being an RPG fan I'm really looking forward to Tales of Symphonia. I just hope it's a true RPG and not a multiplayer game or something. It's a cartoon (a.k.a. cell shaded) RPG, so it could be cool.

I don't know much about Baten Kaitos though.

[Gamer88]

http://www.nintendojo.com/infocus/view_item.php?1078417482 (Click) There is the box art that tales of symphonia will be in. I heard Baten Kaitos was a card game, I also heard that Tale of Symphonia got 9.5-10 ratings in japan while Baten Kaitos got 8.0-8.5. Can't confirm this though

[no.1gamer]

I don't really get into the card games at all. So Baten Kaitos will not interest me.

Tales of Symohonia has my interest though. The Gamecube needs another RPG. Hopefully this one gets a nicer welcome from Gamecube owners. I know that you're an RPG fan from your posts about Skies of Arcadia Legends, Gamer88. Is there any word of when this game will be released?

[Gamer88]

I think it comes out sometime in June. Im not really sure though. Im into all RPG's even if it does have cards involved, I like PSO3 even though it has cards. Im a huge RPG fan, I went to the gamecube because I did once have a ps2 and none of there new RPG's were good to me. I went from Snes then to Playstation now im going back to nintendo again.

[no.1gamer]

I think it comes out sometime in June. Im not really sure though. Im into all RPG's even if it does have cards involved, I like PSO3 even though it has cards. Im a huge RPG fan, I went to the gamecube because I did once have a ps2 and none of there new RPG's were good to me. I went from Snes then to Playstation now im going back to nintendo again.

I went from SNES to the N64 to the Gamecube. Yea, I'm pretty loyal to Nintendo. The big N hasn't let me down yet. Before the SNES I mostly did computer gaming (commodore).

Anyways though, back to the subject at hand. I think it's about time the Gamecube gets another quality RPG. RPGs are one of my favorite genres. Do you have any more info on Tales of Symphonia? At this point all I know is that it's a cell shaded RPG. The developer is Namco, which is good. Oh and the best part is that it's Gamecube exclusive. :)

[Gamer88]

A new role-playing game in Namco's Tales series is in development exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. Be still your thundering heart!

You will follow Lloyd as he sets out to restore prosperity to his planet. What Lloyd soon discovers is that his planet is mysteriously linked to another planet whose fortunes are the exact opposite of his own. So to restore his world, he must destroy another.

This moral dilemma will present some unique story and gameplay dynamics. Innovations include friendship status, a rating given to the relationship between Lloyd and the many other characters in the game. Your choices will affect their feelings for Lloyd and hence influence their actions.

Character designs are being created by famed anime artist Kosuke Fujishima (Oh! My Goddess, Sakura Taisen). The ultra-cool style mixes classic sword-and-spell gameplay with a hand-drawn anime appearance.

The battle system, arguably the most important factor in any role-playing opus, looks to be quite engaging, with quick button-presses and combos supplementing the turn-based battles.

If all goes well, Namco will incorporate traditional role-playing elements with an innovative appearance and friendship system.

Here is a little info about Giftpia, Nintendo's annouced first party RPG

Giftpia offers gamers a totally new RPG experience: no combat, no weapons, no armor—-and no clichés!

When Pockle oversleeps and misses his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he finds himself in deep trouble. According to the laws of his island, he has committed a terrible crime and the courts have chucked him into prison. But that's not all! Because he's a minor, they've even blurred out his face so no one can see him. Now, he's promised to pay an incredible sum of money to the island's mayor to hold another Coming-of-Age Ceremony. If he really wants to become a true adult, he'll have to learn some responsibility and help the many islanders.

Features include:

Experience an offbeat, colorful and stylish alternative to mainstream RPGs. Your island is filled with oddball citizens in need of your help to make enough money to pay for a new Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

Use your freedom to decide how you want to play and what you want to do. There are dozens of quests, odd jobs and mini-games. You can go fishing, listen to the local radio station, fix up the town or give the locals a hand.

Avoid the dreaded sleep ghosts! If Pockle stays up too late, sleep ghosts come and haunt him until he finally passes out. The more tasks you accomplish, the more mature Pockle becomes and the later he is allowed to stay out.

Keep Pockle well fed to stave off hunger, too--hunger reduces health, and if he starves, the game ends.

Heard any new abouts Future Tactics The Uprising?

[m2hound]

Giftpia sounds like Animal Crossing, seems to have a better storyline though. It could be very interesting, along with Tales of Symohonia. Sounds like the battling system will be fun and interesting. Do you know how the friendship systyem will work Gamer88? I hope it's not like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles family/friendship system. They need to incorpate a fun, interactive friendship system.

Baten Kaitos looks also promising, I like card games. I recently bought PSO III and I have been addicted for hours. Baten Kaitos has some pretty graphics from some movies and screenshots I have seen. I wish Nintendo would release the release dates for theses games.

[Gamer88]

I wish nintendo would announce a release date. Im pretty sure that Tales of Symponia comes out some time in July now. Im starting to doubt Baten Kaitos is even coming to the United States and as for Giftpia it does sound interesting and as it is a nintendo product I doubt it will be bad. I don't know when it comes out though. As for the friendship system I have no idea. Tales of Symphonia looks to have the best story so far, Baten Kaitos got good ratings for storyline but I heard the gameplay wasn't the best, Who knows about Giftpia.

[m2hound]

Ya, at this rate I don't think it will ever come out. So Giftpia is going to be made by Nintendo? If it is, it shouldn't be bad at all. I still think it is going to be basically Animal Crossing, but with a good storyline. Thanxs anyways. Japanese reviewers have always seem to be useful and informative.

[no.1gamer]

I wish nintendo would announce a release date. Im pretty sure that Tales of Symponia comes out some time in July now. Tales of Symphonia looks to have the best story so far...

Gamer88:

So do you think that Tales of Symphonia will top Skies of Arcadia Legends as the Gamecube's best RPG?

[Gamer88]

Im expecting it to top Skies of Arcadia but by a slim margin, Skies of arcadia was worthy of a 9.5 but from what I heard from reviewers in Japan, Tales of Symphonia is getting a perfect 10 so It will be close. Tales of Symphonia seems to have a more seroius storyline which I definatly like. Skies of Arcadia Legends should have been nominated for the best RPG of 2003. After all It did get even with FFX-2 in EGM and in other places.
EGM scores:
Skies of Arcadia Legends:: 9.0, 9.0, 9.5
Final Fantasy X-2:: 8.5, 9.5, 9.5

[PapaSmurf]

I've been thinking of buying Skies or Arcadia Legends for a while now, I just don't know if it'll float with my boat though. Also time restraints have toppled me from buying this. Is it really that good?

[Gamer88]

I can't really decide for you if its good or not, You may just want to rent it first. It gets better as you go along really and it is a excellent game. Make sure to get a guide at GameFAQS I recomenned the one with the spoilers because you can get everything easier that way.

[no.1gamer]

I've been thinking of buying Skies or Arcadia Legends for a while now, I just don't know if it'll float with my boat though. Also time restraints have toppled me from buying this. Is it really that good?

This game takes a LONG time to play through. So if you're pressed for time you may want to pass. I logged in just over 60 hours to play through it. This is a great length for an RPG of course. Skies of Arcadia Legends is undoubtedly the best RPG on the Gamecube (and the N64 for that matter). I didn't use any guide actually through the entire game. I'm not big on strategy guides though.

Basically after playing through Skies of Arcadia Legends and watching the ending you'll sit back and think to yourself, "Why can't other games be this good? Why are so many RPGs lacking the greatness of SOAL? I hope that my GCN RPG gaming preferences aren't totally ruined because I'll never have the chance to play another RPG on the Gamecube that is this good."

You know kind of like the way you feel about action/adventure games after playing through Metroid Prime.

Perhaps these feelings I have are partially because Nintendo has been so "anti-RPG" with the GCN though. Maybe I'm just going through RPG withdrawals?

[Gamer88]

I think nintendo is getting back into the RPG biz, That or the few 3rd party developers for Nintendo are pushing them into it. They have Skies of Arcadia, Baten Kaitos, FFCC,Tales of Symphonia, Future Tactics the Uprising )(Heard this was coming out )( Too Human )(Not sure on this one)( Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Lost Kingdoms 1 @ 2, and Summoner a Goddess Reborn. All of those either look good or are good, Sure some are average but none terrible.

[no.1gamer]

I think nintendo is getting back into the RPG biz, That or the few 3rd party developers for Nintendo are pushing them into it. They have Skies of Arcadia, Baten Kaitos, FFCC,Tales of Symphonia, Future Tactics the Uprising )(Heard this was coming out )( Too Human )(Not sure on this one)( Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Lost Kingdoms 1 @ 2, and Summoner a Goddess Reborn. All of those either look good or are good, Sure some are average but none terrible.
Nintendo can develop some decent RPGs. But they never seem to be traditional RPGs. Like Animal Crossing or Paper Mario. Sure these are good games, but they aren't RPG "super games." When Square took the Final Fantasy series to the PSX it was a sad, sad day for me. As a matter of fact I haven't played any Final Fantasy since FF3 on the SNES.

I want to see another RPG "super game" on the Gamecube. The bad news is that Skies of Arcadia didn't sell very well, and was welcomed by less than deserving reviews. Reviews that seemed to rely very heavily on the graphics (like always). Sure the graphics on SOAL look like it's on the Sega Dreamcast, but that doesn't take away the fact that it's one of the best RPGs around.

Hopefully Tales of Symphonia fits into the "traditional" RPG category. And hopefully it will be a success for the Gamecube. I'll probably buy it.

[Gamer88]

no.1gamer
Nintendo can develop some decent RPGs. But they never seem to be traditional RPGs. Like Animal Crossing or Paper Mario. Sure these are good games, but they aren't RPG "super games." When Square took the Final Fantasy series to the PSX it was a sad, sad day for me. As a matter of fact I haven't played any Final Fantasy since FF3 on the SNES

I think a square nintendo combo is the best. I absolutly loved MarioRPG on the super nintendo. One of my favorite RPG's of all time. After square left nintendo went alone )(I think unless someone besides square helped)( in making Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. Both good games but lacking the good storyline that Super Mario RPG had.

no.1gamer
I want to see another RPG "super game" on the Gamecube. The bad news is that Skies of Arcadia didn't sell very well, and was welcomed by less than deserving reviews. Reviews that seemed to rely very heavily on the graphics (like always). Sure the graphics on SOAL look like it's on the Sega Dreamcast, but that doesn't take away the fact that it's one of the best RPGs around.

Thats why Overworks is launching Skies of Arcadia on PC )(The original, I don't think the legends content is included, At least thats the talk at [URL=Skies of Arcadia World] )(

no.1gamer
Hopefully Tales of Symphonia fits into the "traditional" RPG category. And hopefully it will be a success for the Gamecube. I'll probably buy it.

I hope also, It looks to have a good story, Story is what I really care about in a RPG. Who knows mebbe it will get RPG of the year..if it can beat out fable for the xbox. Wouldn't it be awesome if Square-Enix decided to work with nintendo and launch a new Super Mario RPG on the DS? I sure think it would.

[no.1gamer]

Hopefully Tales of Symphonia will be sweet. It better be a sweet game if it hopes to hold a candle to Skies of Arcadia Legends. Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast did actually manage to get a 90.3% at gamerankings.com. 2 years later a game which is all the Dreamcast game and then some, only gets a 87.5%.

I really don't get into the non-traditional RPGs though. Maybe I'll have to give one of the card games and/or Animal Crossings a try.

m2hound:

So how is PSO III? I've heard it's pretty bad @$$...

[m2hound]

It's really good, a good twist in the battling style. It takes awhile to get use too, but once you get use to it becomes interesting and good. You travel around the planet of Ragol taking quests from the government and people aboard Pioneer 2 like in PSO I & II. It is 21 years after the events on Ragol happened.You first start out by creating a person you will control. The person has only the influence of looks, creating decks, and editing decks, and trading cards between friends. You never get to see your character in battle though, premade character you use in battle. There are 3 different classes and tons of characters for both Hunters and Arkz with each of them having their own background, so it will keep you addicted for hours. You can creating significant combos that can alter a battle easily, but for every attack there is a counter attack or defense card if you have them in your deck.. The graphics are pretty much the same from PSO I & II and music has been update, some same songs and some new ones. The bases and the chat box have been noticeblely have been upgraded. The bases look better and the outside differs majorly. It is alot easier to get rares which is good, you also get to see a lot of weapons and items from the PSO universe and hopefully there are new ones out of 477 cards. The story is good so far and the hand drawn scenes are just beautiful. The shows the differing views of the Hunters and Arkz and which one is the true goodside. The saga concludeds on the GCN system exclusive.

That would be awesome if a new Mario RPG on the DS, it would def. kick the DS out of the gate and more into the race.

[Gamer88]

m2hound
That would be awesome if a new Mario RPG on the DS, it would def. kick the DS out of the gate and more into the race.

Rumor at AllRPG.com is that they are making a sequal or something like Paper Mario. I do not know if its for gamecube or not but it would be awesome to have it for DS. I would rather have something along the lines of Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars. That was the best.

[m2hound]

m2hound


Rumor at AllRPG.com is that they are making a sequal or something like Paper Mario. I do not know if its for gamecube or not but it would be awesome to have it for DS. I would rather have something along the lines of Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars. That was the best.

Ya I heard about that, but I thought it was just a rumour. The character design was original and it was cool seeing Bowser helping out Mario. If on DS it would be quite interesting on two screens.

[Gamer88]

m2hound
Ya I heard about that, but I thought it was just a rumour. The character design was original and it was cool seeing Bowser helping out Mario. If on DS it would be quite interesting on two screens.

Yeah it was also cool to have the new characters, plus the story and battle system were good. I liked Geno personally and yes bowser on your side was awesome.

[Gamer88]

Here is the article from nintendojo.com

Namco Alerts Gamers To Tales of Symphonia
While the game has been confirmed for a U.S. release for some time now, Namco has sent out the updated statement re-alerting the online populous to the game's existence.


NAMCO TO BRING TALES OF SYMPHONIA, AN EPIC ROLE PLAYING ADVENTURE TO THE GAMECUBE
Brand New U.S. Screenshots Reveal The Game’s Stunning 3D Graphics and Beautiful Expansive Environments

San Jose, Ca., (March 9, 2004) – Leading video games developer and publisher Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that Tales of Symphonia, the latest installment in the enormously popular Tales franchise, will ship exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube entertainment system in Summer of 2004.

Using characters designed by renowned Japanese artist Kosuke Fujishima, Tales of Symphonia unfolds with beautiful anime-style cel-shaded graphics that make the expansive 3D worlds feel like a 2D comic book. The storyline is an emotionally charged, epic adventure that redefines the role-playing genre.

In Tales of Symphonia, players will command real-time battles in a unique 3D battle system that gives them full control over the characters. Execute and combine hundreds of special attacks and magic spells. With more than a dozen mini-games and side quests at the player’s disposal, Tales of Symphonia offers over 80 game play hours and brings an exciting new storyline to the Tales series. The Tales series dates back to 1995, when Tales of Destiny was first released on the SNES. Fans of the series consider Tales of Symphonia one of the most promising RPG’s on current generation consoles. While it follows a traditional RPG format, the series is set apart by its slick presentation and art, real time interactive battle system, and the clever level designs and puzzles.

Also for some screenshots click Here (http://www.nintendojo.com/infocus/view_item.php?1078881576)

[PapaSmurf]

Is PSO online only? I'm thinking its an MMORPG, but it doesn't seem like anyone heres been talking about the online stuff. Anyone wanna clarify this for me.

[no.1gamer]

Is PSO online only? I'm thinking its an MMORPG, but it doesn't seem like anyone heres been talking about the online stuff. Anyone wanna clarify this for me.

Yea PSO is online only. PSO 3 is an online card RPG.

[m2hound]

PSO I & 2 for Gamecube has an offline mode and you can level up offline then transfer to play online. For Xbox you only

[m2hound]

PSO I & II for Gamecube has an offline mode and you can level up offline then transfer to play online. For Xbox, you only

can play online only. PSO III is the same as the first two versions for Gamecube, you can play offline to build your card deck then use the deck to play in tournments or free battles. It costs 8.95 for a month and the first month is free. Also if you have a Hunter Liscene, what they call your subscription, from PSO I & II you only have to pay for one subscription instead for two and you can play all 3.
Sorry for double posting I think my edit time has been timed out so I couldn't edit the first post.

[no.1gamer]

Is PSO online only? I'm thinking its an MMORPG, but it doesn't seem like anyone heres been talking about the online stuff. Anyone wanna clarify this for me.


I'm surprised you've never heard of PSO. PSO1 and 2 are MMORPGs. And the new PSO3 is an online MMORPG card game. They're made by Sega.

[PapaSmurf]

I'm surprised you've never heard of PSO. PSO1 and 2 are MMORPGs. And the new PSO3 is an online MMORPG card game. They're made by Sega.
Well I have heard of it and remember it for dreamcast. I knew it was MMORPG, but I didn't know if that was it. I know all MMORPG's are online only, but the way you guys talk about the game it would seem as if there was a single player.

[MyDogTheProphet]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit odd Sega putting their flagship 'Online' title on a notoriously online-UNfriendlly console like the gamecube??
I say this as a bitter Dreamcast PSO ( and card battle ) fan who is unfortunate not to live in the USA & Japan and can't play ANY GC game online - typical Nintendo contempt for PAL system users.
Nintendo even had the audacity to release PSO I & II here in Australia with no online play whatsoever. What's the point? 4-player split screen is ok, but the game should be online.
That's why I'd much rather PSO III was on the Xbox. At least I could play it as intended with Xbox Live !!!

[no.1gamer]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit odd Sega putting their flagship 'Online' title on a notoriously online-UNfriendlly console like the gamecube??
I say this as a bitter Dreamcast PSO ( and card battle ) fan who is unfortunate not to live in the USA & Japan and can't play ANY GC game online - typical Nintendo contempt for PAL system users.
Nintendo even had the audacity to release PSO I & II here in Australia with no online play whatsoever. What's the point? 4-player split screen is ok, but the game should be online.
That's why I'd much rather PSO III was on the Xbox. At least I could play it as intended with Xbox Live !!!

Do you not have broadband connection down there in the outback? I've never put a Gamecube online (or any gaming console for that matter). I don't understand what the problem is, mate?

[MyDogTheProphet]

Do you not have broadband connection down there in the outback? I've never put a Gamecube online (or any gaming console for that matter). I don't understand what the problem is, mate?

The problem I have is that Nintendo have been very warm/cold regarding the online features of their console, and I just think it's unusual that Sega would entrust such a much-loved franchise like PSO to the Gamecube. And no, you can't go online with a Gamecube here in the, ahem, 'outback' . Nintendo couldn't be bothered, but more likely just don't give a s***.

[no.1gamer]

The problem I have is that Nintendo have been very warm/cold regarding the online features of their console, and I just think it's unusual that Sega would entrust such a much-loved franchise like PSO to the Gamecube. And no, you can't go online with a Gamecube here in the, ahem, 'outback' . Nintendo couldn't be bothered, but more likely just don't give a s***.

Well, Nintendo has been very "warm/cold" here in the states about its online features. PSO is the ONLY series that is online here. So you're not missing out on that much...

[m2hound]

Nintendo just doesn't think Online is the way of the future, but connectivity is what they say makes up for not being Online. True your not missing much, but I do like playing it because you meet all sorts of people online. If people on forums, Admins and Mods or whatever, wanna play a game and discuss matters at hand you could do it on there. The only thing you are missing are special quests and items you only can get online.

[no.1gamer]

Nintendo just doesn't think Online is the way of the future, but connectivity is what they say makes up for not being Online. True your not missing much, but I do like playing it because you meet all sorts of people online. If people on forums, Admins and Mods or whatever, wanna play a game and discuss matters at hand you could do it on there. The only thing you are missing are special quests and items you only can get online.

I play PC games online all the time. I would really like to see Nintendo bring some of its franchises online. PSO3 sounds like a great game. At least Sega is taking the initiative in place of Nintendo.

[Gamer88]

no.1gamer
I play PC games online all the time. I would really like to see Nintendo bring some of its franchises online. PSO3 sounds like a great game. At least Sega is taking the initiative in place of Nintendo.

If Nintendo doesn't go online with there next console then im abandoning ship. Online play has a huge role in the future of gaming and I want to be a part of it. There is so much nintendo could have done to the gamecube to make it a success, It;s as if nintendo is just handing sony and xbox the lead. I don't see nintendo going online next generation so Im debating on whether to go with xbox2 or playstation3.

[no.1gamer]

no.1gamer


If Nintendo doesn't go online with there next console then im abandoning ship. Online play has a huge role in the future of gaming and I want to be a part of it. There is so much nintendo could have done to the gamecube to make it a success, It;s as if nintendo is just handing sony and xbox the lead. I don't see nintendo going online next generation so Im debating on whether to go with xbox2 or playstation3.

I think it's still too early to decide what next generation console we should be buying. From what I hear Nintendo will be a year late to the show, which also means the N5 will be the most powerful console of the 3.

[m2hound]

I think it's still too early to decide what next generation console we should be buying. From what I hear Nintendo will be a year late to the show, which also means the N5 will be the most powerful console of the 3.

Supposedly Nintendo is looking into Online. They are looking into something like Xbox Live. I saw this all in a French magazine images someone posted on the Nintendo Forums. Here's the link Nintendo Online (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=np_gw&message.id=126966&highlight=nintendo+live#M126966)

[no.1gamer]

Supposedly Nintendo is looking into Online. They are looking into something like Xbox Live. I saw this all in a French magazine images someone posted on the Nintendo Forums. Here's the link Nintendo Online (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=np_gw&message.id=126966&highlight=nintendo+live#M126966)

It would seem to me like a Nintendo Online service would be a win-win situation. Simply because Nintendo sells more software than any other developer (except Electronic Arts). So an all Nintendo online server makes sense to me. For one reason or another it doesn't make sense to the guys calling the shots over at Nintendo headquarters though, so maybe I'm missing a detail or 2.

Then 3rd parties can either provide their own server for the Gamecube or pay Nintendo to use some of their space. From what I hear every single online Xbox game goes through Microsoft's Xbox Live server. But I don't think developers should be restricted to using the Nintendo server if they don't want to.

I just hope access to the Nintendo online server is free, unlike Xbox Live. And again going back the shear volume of Nintendo games that get sold this shouldn't be a problem. Where as Microsoft relies heavily on 3rd party online games on the Xbox Live server and the Xbox in general.

And when a big company like EA wants to make their Xbox games online they must fully cooperate with Microsoft to do so. The reason that EA's Xbox games aren't online is because Xbox Live wont allow them to use their own server. Not only is EA a large company but when they already have the servers for the exact same game but on different platforms (the PS2 and PC) going through Microsoft is just a pain in their @$$@$.

However on the other hand some of the smaller less known companies can save money by going through the Xbox Live server.

If I've got something wrong about the way Xbox Live works please correct me. This is just what I've been led to believe.

All in all I think that a service like the Sony PS2 has is the best way to go. While Sony can put their own games online using their own server, other companies can pretty much do whatever they want with their own games.

[Gadfly2317]

Anyways though, back to the subject at hand. I think it's about time the Gamecube gets another quality RPG. RPGs are one of my favorite genres. Do you have any more info on Tales of Symphonia? At this point all I know is that it's a cell shaded RPG. The developer is Namco, which is good. Oh and the best part is that it's Gamecube exclusive. :)

Nintendo Power convers Tales of Symphonia extensively this month, and its set for a July release in the US. This game was extremely well reviewed in Japan when it was released, so I don't feel like the praise heaped on this game in NP is an example of the usual biased NP hype. This is actually a praise-worthy game.

Here's a couple tidbits from the game that I thought you'd like to know. The character Sheena, who is an assassin is voice acted by Jennifer Hale, who did the voices for Eternal Darkness' Alexandria Roivas and Twin Snakes' Dr Naomi Hunter. Another character in the game. . .a young girl named Presia is voiced by Tara Strong who has done Rikku in Final Fantasy X, and also Bubbles on the Powerpuff girls. Point is, they've brought in good voice talent for the English version.

The game appears to have more character development than just levelling up, with compelling characters with good voice acting that actually draw you into the story and care about what's going on.

I'm feeling lazy this morning. I'm just going to copy a few random interesting lines from the article. If you're interested at all, you'll probably find the article and read ityourself anyway.

--"The Environments boast impressive detail. . . . there are some neat special effects (wait until you see the way a building catches on fire.) . . . . .the cutscenes by Kosuke Fjushima are just gorgeous."

"The game. . . opens with a sweeping orchestral piece created specifically for the US version of the game, and features a soundtrack that elevates the play experience."--(this makes me totally want to here the original Japanese musical opening. . .I'd like to compare the two, so if anyone finds a place to download both pieces, let us know.)

"The battle system in Tales of Symphonia is far more exciting and action packed than your standard RPG fare. Encounters take place in real time and you have direct control over the lead character. . . . . .rather than standing across from your enemies and issuing commands via a series of menus, you'll actually move around the battlefield using the control stick, and attack with a button combination as you would in a fighting game. . . . .You can also unleash a variety of special techniques by holding the cotrol stick in a certain direction and pressing the B Button (different techniques may be assigned to each direction.) R button lets you cycle through enemies on the battlefield. . . . . This hands on approach prevents battles from becoming dull or repetitive."

Game also features a cooking system. I'm not going into detail here, but it sounds like a much cooler way to gain hit points than just eating crap you find laying around on the ground.

Screenshots looked gorgeous, especially if you like anime. The NP article also features an interview with the developers. Interesting tidbit: Over a 100 people worked on this game at one time, and it took 2.5 years to develop. Sounds expensive. Nintendo RPG fans better show their appreciation and buy this thing.

This game looks to be THE rpg to own on GC.

[no.1gamer]

Nintendo Power convers Tales of Symphonia extensively this month, and its set for a July release in the US. This game was extremely well reviewed in Japan when it was released, so I don't feel like the praise heaped on this game in NP is an example of the usual biased NP hype. This is actually a praise-worthy game.

Here's a couple tidbits from the game that I thought you'd like to know. The character Sheena, who is an assassin is voice acted by Jennifer Hale, who did the voices for Eternal Darkness' Alexandria Roivas and Twin Snakes' Dr Naomi Hunter. Another character in the game. . .a young girl named Presia is voiced by Tara Strong who has done Rikku in Final Fantasy X, and also Bubbles on the Powerpuff girls. Point is, they've brought in good voice talent for the English version.

The game appears to have more character development than just levelling up, with compelling characters with good voice acting that actually draw you into the story and care about what's going on.

I'm feeling lazy this morning. I'm just going to copy a few random interesting lines from the article. If you're interested at all, you'll probably find the article and read ityourself anyway.

--"The Environments boast impressive detail. . . . there are some neat special effects (wait until you see the way a building catches on fire.) . . . . .the cutscenes by Kosuke Fjushima are just gorgeous."

"The game. . . opens with a sweeping orchestral piece created specifically for the US version of the game, and features a soundtrack that elevates the play experience."--(this makes me totally want to here the original Japanese musical opening. . .I'd like to compare the two, so if anyone finds a place to download both pieces, let us know.)

"The battle system in Tales of Symphonia is far more exciting and action packed than your standard RPG fare. Encounters take place in real time and you have direct control over the lead character. . . . . .rather than standing across from your enemies and issuing commands via a series of menus, you'll actually move around the battlefield using the control stick, and attack with a button combination as you would in a fighting game. . . . .You can also unleash a variety of special techniques by holding the cotrol stick in a certain direction and pressing the B Button (different techniques may be assigned to each direction.) R button lets you cycle through enemies on the battlefield. . . . . This hands on approach prevents battles from becoming dull or repetitive."

Game also features a cooking system. I'm not going into detail here, but it sounds like a much cooler way to gain hit points than just eating crap you find laying around on the ground.

Screenshots looked gorgeous, especially if you like anime. The NP article also features an interview with the developers. Interesting tidbit: Over a 100 people worked on this game at one time, and it took 2.5 years to develop. Sounds expensive. Nintendo RPG fans better show their appreciation and buy this thing.

This game looks to be THE rpg to own on GC.

About a year ago I would be waiting with money in hand to preorder this game. But after Nitendo completely ruined my beloved Final Fantasy series with FF:CC I'm still a little hesitant. I'll defintaely be watching this game with high hopes, but I'm not sold yet. I really want another RPG to play on my GCN. Is there any solid release date for this game?

[Gadfly2317]

About a year ago I would be waiting with money in hand to preorder this game. But after Nitendo completely ruined my beloved Final Fantasy series with FF:CC I'm still a little hesitant. I'll defintaely be watching this game with high hopes, but I'm not sold yet. I really want another RPG to play on my GCN. Is there any solid release date for this game?

You are an RPG fan, so I'm sure you will love this one. Read the whole article in Nintendo Power. The issue isn't worth buying, but you can always just read it at the stands and put it back.

Symphonia got excellent reviews in Japan, much better than Crystal Chronicles. I don't think you need to mix up your dismay with Crystal Chronicles with Symphonia. They are not alike. CC had the 4 GBA thing for multi-player, no levelling up, etc. It was essentially an action game. This one is an honest to god RPG, and the first great one built ground-up exclusive to the GC (I know Skies of Arcadia has been the best so far, but it was beefed up from its Dreamcast version.)

I'm betting after the E3 coverage, seeing more screenshots, and reading about this RPG, your doubts will be gone. It comes out in July.

[no.1gamer]

You are an RPG fan, so I'm sure you will love this one. Read the whole article in Nintendo Power. The issue isn't worth buying, but you can always just read it at the stands and put it back.

Symphonia got excellent reviews in Japan, much better than Crystal Chronicles. I don't think you need to mix up your dismay with Crystal Chronicles with Symphonia. They are not alike. CC had the 4 GBA thing for multi-player, no levelling up, etc. It was essentially an action game. This one is an honest to god RPG, and the first great one built ground-up exclusive to the GC (I know Skies of Arcadia has been the best so far, but it was beefed up from its Dreamcast version.)

I'm betting after the E3 coverage, seeing more screenshots, and reading about this RPG, your doubts will be gone. It comes out in July.

Yes, I'm hoping that Tales of Symphonia is an all out RPG super game. I know that most RPGs are usually in development for a few years. But a team of 100 people for 2 and a 1/2 years should indeed make it a high budget super game. This game is definately on the top of my anticipation list with Pikmin 2 and RE4.

[Gadfly2317]

Yes, I'm hoping that Tales of Symphonia is an all out RPG super game. I know that most RPGs are usually in development for a few years. But a team of 100 people for 2 and a 1/2 years should indeed make it a high budget super game. This game is definately on the top of my anticipation list with Pikmin 2 and RE4.

There's a videoclip over at planetgamecube if you're interested in seeing it.

[no.1gamer]

There's a videoclip over at planetgamecube if you're interested in seeing it.

I just checked it out and it looks sweet. The gameplay looks fun, and the cartoon world looks cool.

But what really stood out was the cartoon cut-scenes. They look movie theater quality, not Saturday morning quality like every other cell shaded game we've seen so far.

:)

[Deathstroke]

Probably because the cut scenes are actual anime independent of the game engine.

[no.1gamer]

Probably because the cut scenes are actual anime independent of the game engine.

Is that like how the Resident Evil cutscenes are "independent" of the in-game graphics? So far all the cartoon Gamecube games I can think of use the in-game graphic engine for the cut scenes.

[Deathstroke]

Yeah, RE mostly uses CGI movies for its cutscenes but that will change with RE4. Tales of Symphonia uses actual anime fmv for its cutscenes. You can see that if you download the first trailer of the game that hit the web last year.

As for the RPG itself, I think I'll give it a try. It sounds a little unique with its own real time combat system and all. Plus, apparently, other players can join in and control other members of your party at any time. Sounds very interesting and Famitsu gave it high scores so I'm sold.

[no.1gamer]

Yeah, RE mostly uses CGI movies for its cutscenes but that will change with RE4. Tales of Symphonia uses actual anime fmv for its cutscenes. You can see that if you download the first trailer of the game that hit the web last year.

As for the RPG itself, I think I'll give it a try. It sounds a little unique with its own real time combat system and all. Plus, apparently, other players can join in and control other members of your party at any time. Sounds very interesting and Famitsu gave it high scores so I'm sold.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you weren't a big fan of RPGs slade...

[Deathstroke]

Nah, I'm not that big a fan of RPG's. The turnbased combat always put me off that particular genre. The current batch of RPG's, especially on X-box, looks to change that a little and so I'm becoming somewhat interested.

[no.1gamer]

Nah, I'm not that big a fan of RPG's. The turnbased combat always put me off that particular genre. The current batch of RPG's, especially on X-box, looks to change that a little and so I'm becoming somewhat interested.

I really like turn based combat games because I can do other stuff while I'm playing the game. Like eat pizza, visit VGR, smoke a cigar, talk on the phone, check out the game's website, etc.

:p

[TOPmusicman8]

yea i heard TOS is susposed 2 b a great game...ive played the games before it (Tales of Phantasia, and Tales of Destiny 1 and 2 ) there all gr8 games! i have gamecube and i think that they dont have a lotta good rpgs so hopfully itll come out!

[no.1gamer]

yea i heard TOS is susposed 2 b a great game...ive played the games before it (Tales of Phantasia, and Tales of Destiny 1 and 2 ) there all gr8 games! i have gamecube and i think that they dont have a lotta good rpgs so hopfully itll come out!

True that! Outside of Skies of Arcadia, there isn't any good traditional RPGs.

Tales of Symphonia will kick @$$!

[mawky]

Ok i AM ON YEAR 19 AND NOTHING IS HAPPENING I NEED HELP!! WHAT SHOULD I DO???!! :confused:
-MARKIS-

[mawky]

Help!! I Am Stuck On Final Fantasy Cc!! Im On Year 19 And Nothing Is Happening!! What Should I Do??

[mawky]

Im Still Stuck!!

[Windwaker90]

Ok everyone, i guess i'm the only one that knows that Tales of Symphonia came out two days ago!!!

[no.1gamer]

Ok everyone, i guess i'm the only one that knows that Tales of Symphonia came out two days ago!!!

I know that too my man!!! I'll be getting it soon, I hope!!! I'll start a first impressions thread when I get it...

:D