Link has 52 chronicles

1. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World REVIEW (long -- bring popcorn!!!)
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Nov 25 2008

   I have a theory: The longer the title of a game is- the better it aught to be. This being said; My first impressions of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World were amazing (without even playing it, i might elaborate.)
   
   I put in the disc, and after roughly 30 minutes of an extended opening cut scene (which I will detail in a bit) I began playing the around with actual combat. If you have played any of the "Tales" games before - You can sympathize. I will add that even for a wii title - the graphics are actually good - no - stunning! I was impressed at how they somhow wrapped you into the story so fast - you barely even noticed the tiny inconsistencies (Like one of the opening characters only having 4 fingers... ) Anyways....
   
   WARNING: BELOW IS THE PLOT. NOTHING WILL SPOIL ANYTHING, BUT IT CAN BECOME CONFUSING AND FRANKLY, BORING AT TIMES. SKIP TO THE NEXT BOLD RED LINES IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING COOL
   
   During the events of the first game, Lloyd Irving and his companions embarked to a journey that led to the merging of the twin worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. After the lands became one, however, maps were rendered useless and the climate went through many vast changes: desert towns became frozen wastelands and lakes dried up into valleys. All of this stems from an overlooked factor in the unification of the worlds: the spirit of the old Kharlan Tree, Ratatosk, still exists somewhere, and its slumber has sent the world into chaos. To complicate matters, tensions have quickly escalated between the people of the two worlds. The Tethe'allans look down upon the Sylvaranti due to their inferior technology, and the Sylvaranti fear the Tethe'allans for their power. Two years have passed since the worlds were first merged, and the Sylvaranti have created an army, known as the Vanguard, with which to rise against the Church of Martel and the Tethe'allans.
   
   One day, the Church of Martel goes to war with the Vanguard, and Sylvarant's city of Palmacosta is caught in the crossfire. Countless innocent lives are lost and the city is consumed in flames. This event comes to be known as the "Blood Purge," a massacre allegedly led by the same Lloyd Irving who helped unite the worlds two years before. Emil Castagnier, a Palmacostan boy, is forced to watch as his parents are killed by Lloyd; after this traumatic incident, he is sent to Luin to live with his aunt and uncle. He suffers continual mistreatment from them, however, and he is further ostracized by the people of the city, who view Lloyd as a hero.
   
   Emil's life takes a dramatic turn when he befriends Marta Lualdi, a girl who is being hunted by the Vangaurd and the enigmatic Richter Abend alike. Determined to protect her, Emil confronts Richter and helps Marta escape with the aid of Tenebrae, a centurion spirit who serves Ratatosk. Tenebrae states that there are other centurions who lie in a dormant state: to restore balance to the world's environment, all of them should be awoken in order to revive Ratatosk. Emil forms a pact with Tenebrae, and in so doing becomes the Knight of Ratatosk. So it is that Emil and Marta embark on their journey of revenge and restoration.
   
   
   OK. IT IS SAFE TO WAKE UP NOW
   
   Battle system
   
   Dawn of the New World uses the "Flex Range Element Enhanced Linear Motion Battle System", combining aspects of Tales of the Abyss' and Tales of Destiny's battle systems, to create a battle experience comparable to Tales of Innocence's Battle System. A key feature of this enhanced system is the Elemental Grid. Each battle location, skill, and monster has an elemental attribute. The battlefield's element can be altered by using three skills with the same elemental attribute in a row. Changing the element of the field determines both the effectiveness of an attack, as well as the characters that can participate in Unison Attacks, which return from the original Symphonia. A meter on the lower part of the screen indicates when the attack can be unleashed. Another returning element of the series are Mystic Artes.
   A fight between Emil and Decus.
   
   Another new feature is the ability to capture, breed, and level up over 200 monsters to fight alongside Emil. Monsters can be recruited once they have been defeated in battle. In order to increase the odds of a successful recruitment, the element of the field should align with the element of the monster, and an altered version of the classic Tales affection system helps to persuade them to join the party. Although there is room in the party for ten members, only four of them can take part in any given battle, and Emil or Marta must be the first character in the party. The monsters are controlled in battle by artificial intelligence. Monsters can be stored in a pen at the Katz Guild if they are not needed in the party. There are also several sidequests available at the Katz Guild.
   
   The party obtains both experience points and GRADE after each battle. Experience points are divided equally amongst all members of the party. Once a certain amount has been accumulated, each character or monster will level up, thereby improving their stats and possibly gaining new skills. Another way to increase a monster's status parameters is by cooking them special recipes, some of which can even cause them to evolve into new forms, allowing for "monster customization." The original Symphonia cast, however, do not gain levels through experience points; instead, they gain levels during plot events. The amount of GRADE received depends on how each battle is fought. From the second play through on, collected GRADE can be used to purchase game bonuses such as powerful items or skills to carry to the next file (Also Extra weapons availible with old save files from Tales of Symphonia (GC))
   
   The only animated segment in the game is its opening sequence. Most of the story is told through real-time cut scenes that were filmed using a motion capture system. Skits, which are short, optional conversations between the characters, make a return; unlike in previous North American releases, these skits are fully voiced. There is more voice acting in towns and dungeons than in the previous game. Much of the music in Dawn of the New World is remixed from the soundtrack of the original Tales of Symphonia. The game also has widescreen support. Furthermore, many of the assets and locations in the game have been taken directly from the original Tales of Symphonia, but the textures have been updated.
   
   Dawn of the New World makes limited use of the Wii Remote's features. Rather than the fully explorable Field Map traditionally used in Tales games, a point-and-click system using the Wii Remote is used to navigate the world. The layout of the map is similar to that of Tales of Phantasia. The development team left the Field Map out due to production schedule deadlines. The pointer is also used for mini games and as a cursor for the Sorcerer's Ring.
   
   All in all, This game is a VERY great game, and most definitely worth at least a play through at the least. Also great for quick play "bursts" - excluding the aforementioned 30-some minute opening cut scene.
   
   Rating 9.1
   
   While this game is very unique in the way it presents its RPG effect - similar to the likes of Blue Dragon, Apparently, the developers have never heard of something called "auto save". After playing through about an hour of thinking it auto saved all my work- I died in combat - and lost all of my progress This angered me to docking it a few points, but otherwise - this game is Brilliant.

   
   

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Link has 2 comment s on this chronicle.

1. Gvirus05
   Posted On Nov 26 2008

   Do you have a xbox360? If so you need to check out Tales of Vesperia. I reviewed it awhile ago. Check it out! I have yet to try ToS2, but I played the original Symphonia and absolutely loved it!

2. BEN
   Posted On Nov 26 2008

   What a novel here, haha, but seriously, GREAT game review Link! I enjoyed the notes to notify the reader of plot, even though I read through it all anyways
   
   Personally, long game titles usually means I won't be playing them, but I think you're right about how a games title length should reflect the quality of the game. The other side to that though, is that short titles can be even better!? haha