First part of this great Action-RPG series to set foot on European soil, Tales of Symphonia knew how to unleash passions. And this despite its exclusive release on the small Gamecube, a console that sold relatively poorly, while Japanese players tasted a PS2 port that included even more substantial content. The title of Bandai Namco returns this month, via a rather expected remastered version, precisely based on this Sony version.
A version that will certainly make coffee, it’s hard to imagine how it could go wrong, but that fans of the license would probably have liked more ambitious. Because for such a mythical title, it was perhaps more appropriate to make a real remake. Whether he’s the kind of The Last of Us Part Iimproving only the graphic part so that it is at the level of what is done today, or Final Fantasy VII Remakerethinking the whole experience.
But it is to forget very quickly that Tales of Symphonia also offered a sequel, subtitled Dawn of the New World, suffering from a much less radiant aura. A different experience, with its own ambitions in terms of gameplay, but also of scenario, imagining from scratch a new adventure in the new world, as the player leaves it at the end of the wanderings of Lloyd and his comrades. Let me explain to you why we would like a return of this sequel.
Note: Not having the necessary equipment to capture screenshots on PS3 or Wii, the images you will find in this article do not come from us. Warning, this article will spoiler, especially the end of Tales of Symphonia. You have been warned.
illustrious model
We won’t talk about development here, for once. Not only the story of the beginnings of Tales of Symphonia And Dawn of the New World is not interesting, far from it, but I preferred to focus this article on another angle of attack. That of disappointment, as the remaster approaches, to begin with. But also, and above all, a certain indignation at the critical feedback received by the second part, and by extension its presumed commercial failure.
I know that many people are simply very happy as we approach Tales of Symphonia Remastered, which arrives on February 17 with us. But I can’t help but sincerely believe that it’s just a lazy product, immensely lacking too much ambition for the legendary title in question. I deeply love this Action-RPG from Bandai Namco, but I also know how old it has been. We must remain lucid.
Like many other Gamecube RPGs, Baten Kaitos on your mind. Skies of Arcadia being the worst example at this level, which it surely owes to its initial release on Dreamcast. Does that make them bad games? Far from it, of course. The problem is that they become, each year, a little less accessible because of their aging appearance. And if these titles are to come back from the dead, chances are they’ll follow the same pattern as Baten Kaitos I & II Remasternewly announced.
As for Tales of Symphonia, which enjoys the same cult status, it will only return as a basic remaster, too. And it’s not his first time, moreover, the title having already had a second release on PlayStation 3… in the company of Dawn of the New Worldin a compilation subtitled Chronicles. And we come to a conclusion that indignant me to the highest degree: rather than adapting Tales of Symphonia Chroniclesand keep all fans happy, Bandai Namco has chosen to remaster only the first game.
A choice that is understandable, in a way, when we see the difference in level between the ratings of one and the other. And the difference in quality, by extension. Because it’s true that Dawn of the New World is worse than its predecessor. Despite everything, it is a very honest sequel, which brings its share of changes, and offers an interesting scenario, intended for fans of the first hour, with the bonus of new rather nice protagonists.
At the dawn of a new world
To tell you about Dawn of the New WorldI am obligated to disclose to you, at least in part, the end of Tales of Symphonia. Because the sequel takes place… after the first, logically, but the events depicted in this one have led to a radical change in the world. Indeed, in the 2004 game it was about traveling in two separate dimensions, Sylvarant and Thethe’alla, which were tearing each other apart without knowing it. At the end of the adventure, the two came together to form a single planet.
which in Dawn of the New World, poses many problems. The inhabitants of Sylvarant cannot get used to the technologies of those of Thethe’alla, and the latter have all the difficulty in the world to accept the obscurantism which affects their new neighbors. From simple differences, we quickly pass to a visceral hatred, to ways of life reciprocally considered heretical. Thus, while the player believed to have reunited the two worlds at the end of Tales of Symphoniait was really only to lead to new wars.
In this context, we embody Emil, a revoltingly shy young man, whose parents are killed by Lloyd himself, hero of the first game, during an inquisitive raid on his hometown. He is quickly joined by Marta, a teenager who has made a pact with a strange entity, Ratatosk, claiming to be the lord of the monsters, and wishing, at first sight, to save the world from further destruction to come. New protagonists, but similar issues.
Whether Dawn of the New World retains the same cutesy, sometimes irritating tone of Tales of Symphonia, it is only to better bring back the heroes well known to the fans. But also to highlight the very ambiguous relationship between Marta and Emil, reminiscent in a way of the one Lloyd and Colette lived in the first game… while proving to be more unbearable, it must be recognized. That being the case, it contributes greatly to the general appreciation of the characters.
The great novelty of this episode, besides the fact that it confronts us with the heroes of the first game, which leads to several script twists that are sometimes well felt, is the possibility of recruiting different creatures. Emil and Marta can potentially make a deal with all the monsters that populate the world. These will be your only allies in combat, except for a few rare passages, and the composition of your team directly influences your chances of recruiting new members.
More dynamic, the fights also allow you to move freely in the arenas, like a Tales of Vesperia, and are perhaps a bit more demanding than in the past. But make no mistake, this recipe still lacks a bit of depth, the whole thing being, on the whole, modeled on what Tales of Symphonia. Finally, lovers of the first will only be disoriented by the disappearance of the world map on which one could, in the past, move freely.
A return, but in what form?
In all transparency, if his remaster was not on the way for our consoles, Tales of Symphonia would have ended up being entitled to its own column. What can still happen to him, let’s be clear, because personally I’m very disappointed that he’s coming back in this form. It would have deserved a remake! On the one hand because his narration has taken a big hit of old, on the other because it is very difficult to edit it after having gotten your hands on the very good Tales of Arise, which improves the recipe for the series point by point, especially in terms of gameplay. See you in a few days for the remaster test, of course.
As for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, in my opinion, it deserves just as much to come back to the fore. Provided Bandai Namco does it smartly, of course. A simple remaster would not be enough for this sequel, suffering from several problems that would go much less well today. In particular the relationships between the characters, often irritating, and in general its narration, very far from current standards.
Thus, we would finally like it to come back in the form of a remake, which would review its copy in terms of screenplay, and would make the character of the different protagonists more digestible. Who would be less talkative, too, because the first hours of Dawn of the New World take us far too much by the hand, which is particularly annoying. Also, if the relationship between Emil and Marta were to remain ambiguous, then it would be good if it was done in a more…subtle way, shall we say.
And of course, we would have to review all the gameplay, which has taken quite a bit of time. That the fights take place in arenas does not pose any problem. But getting closer to what offers Tales of Arise would not be refused. In other words, more combos, for a less palpable repetitiveness, all with a spectacular aspect that would allow everything to gain in dynamism and fluidity. Placing the camera behind our protagonist’s back, during the exploration phases, wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Because the camera Dawn of the New World is hard to digest in 2023.
Finally, it would be imperative to keep the system of pacts with monsters, perhaps by making it a bit more complex, since it is a good part of the salt of the original opus. Hide more easter eggs too, so that the fans feel privileged, or add scripted side quests, because in the state the content of this sequel is a bit sparse. Finally, no need to bring back the world map of Tales of Symphoniathe listing proposed in Dawn of the New World works great like this.