THE Tales series is a long-established classic, and to celebrate the 20th anniversary, Tales of Symphonia Remastered will launch.
If you ask fans of the series, Tales of Symphonia is often compared to Final Fantasy 7, it’s the best the series has to offer.
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The impact the game has had is hard to understate. It was one of the best RPGs on the GameCube, and stood up there alongside the greats.
However, we have to consider that Symphonia is now two decades old, and it looks it.
Even Tales games released not long afterwards on the GameCube fare better.
It has a cute chibi style, and brightly saturated colours that clash with the emotional story it has to tell.
The problem with Tales of Symphonia Remastered is there in the title. It’s a remaster when it should be a remake.
It’s another port to add to the pile, when it deserves the full treatment.
There’s also some glaring omissions. While the GameCube version ran at 60fps, the remaster will only pull half this.
The remaster has tried to improve the visual quality with sharper textures, but it just doesn’t hold up in the modern era of 60” TVs where these issues are amplified.
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Overall the remastering is okay, but not great. If you want to experience Tales of Symphonia on a modern console, you won’t really have other options.
You will get a similar experience to the one you would have playing one of the old ports, such as the PS2 version.
But the story stands up, and revisiting Symphonia will feel like coming home for fans.
Each character’s story is the reason why it has been held in such high regard for all these years.
Then there’s the overarching story that brings them all together, filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing to the end.
It’s divided us down the middle. While we adored revisiting the world of Symphonia, it’s the kind of retro game people might not ‘get’ today.
If you don’t have the stomach for the retro visual and gameplay style, then it’s not something you are likely to enjoy.
In the twenty years since its release, there have been better looking Tales games, and ones with improved battle systems.
The story is the one part of Tales of Symphonia that has yet to be surpassed, and whether or not you will enjoy playing the remaster will entirely depend on this.
Tales of Symphonia Remastered is still Tales of Symphonia. A game that JRPG fans will want to experience.
Despite the imperfections of the remaster, any game based on the series is bound to be a good one.
Written by Dave Aubrey and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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