Fifth opus of the legendary saga of J-RPG of Tales Of, Tales of Symphonia was in 2004 the very first opus to arrive on our premises. And if American players had already been able to taste the series via Tales of Destiny in 1997, for us young French people, the license remained unknown until then.
A true monument of the genre, it is regularly cited among fans as being the best of the entire saga. And if we would have many things to say about this assertion (Grace F and Xilia also deserving in our opinion to claim this title), it is clear that the game still has solid arguments today.
It’s high time to talk about a classic, a unique game that has forever changed the face of our consoles and the French market as a whole.
The Symphony of Worlds
Fifth installment of a saga counting eighteen to date, Tales of Symphonia is undoubtedly the episode to bring the most changes within the license.
We embody Lloyd, a young swordsman from Sylvarant. The world is in chaos, and if the Goddess Martel is not awakened, it will wither away. Colette Brunel, childhood friend of our hero, is the chosen one. In order to spare the lives of mortals, she will have to embark on a journey to rise to angel status in order to regenerate the world.
Because Sylvarant has long been sullied by the Desians, an armed faction responsible for abuses… which we cannot describe here.
As often in the great J-RPGs, it is difficult to find the border between scenario and spoiler, so many events and plot-twists are there. We will content ourselves with explaining the fact that two nations, Tesseha’lla and Sylvarant, are waging a war, that our heroes will travel around the world in order to save it and that the surprises and revelations are worthy of the best stories never written!
Doing and re-doing Tales of Symphonia is consistently endless fun. The narration is controlled, the reversals of constant situations.
If at first the title seems relatively banal, the genius of the developers was never to rest on their achievements. Until the very end (and even beyond), the revelations follow one another and it is only through the prism of a second (or, in our case, a fifth) part that all the keys to understanding are really unlocked.
Precision however: we are not saying that you have to play the game several times to understand it, no. One part is enough. But once the revelations given, we discover the entire scenario in a new light and, in fact, the plot changes completely. A passage seemed insignificant to us? It is actually crucial. A scene melted our little hearts in front of a sugary sentimentality? She is ultimately sinister and unhealthy. A protagonist appeared as hateful? His choices were ultimately totally logical and justified.
Let it be said: on a purely screenplay level, Tales of Symphonia is a masterpiece. Nor more. No less.
The keys to retrogaming
Now, what remains of the Tales of Symphonia experience twenty years later? Unfortunately not much. Because contrary to history, everything else has aged devilishly badly.
The saga has, since its first opus, never really sought to transcend itself, contenting itself with making improvements here and there without reinventing the wheel.
The regulars of Tales Of will be on conquered ground, the fans of the first hour to the angels to be able to find a legendary opus. Those who started with one of the thirteen most recent opuses and newcomers will certainly not find their account there.
Incredibly rigid, technically outdated, suffering from hazardous gameplay and mechanics from another age, Tales of Symphonia is a real retro game… in its most pejorative sense.
And if it has aged so badly, it is above all because it was the first to offer 3D combat arenas. It therefore suffers irremediably from a system that is still trying to find itself, without ever managing to find a working formula.
We can also attribute this pitfall to the very structure of the title. If in 2004 it was rich and innovative, in 2023 it is finally bland and consensual banality. Admittedly, we owe it everything and we must treat the game with all the respect it deserves… but despite everything, we cannot ignore all the problems inherent in this kind of production. Especially in our time. Especially in such a competitive market.
And especially because we haven’t really dealt with the heart of the problem yet…
Portage Portage Remastered Portage
Now that we’ve paid homage to the title as it should, it’s time to talk about what could easily pass at the very least for boundless heresy, at worst for an outright scam.
Indeed, Tales of Symphonia is a GameCube game originally released in Japan in 2003. In 2004, the title received an exclusive PlayStation 2 version in the land of the rising sun bringing its share of improvements and content. Then it returns in 2013 in a Chronicles version on PlayStation 3, in 2016 on PC… and finally in 2023 with the current version.
And this is where no more excuses or justifications are possible. There is deception on the merchandise. Tales of Symphonia Remastered version 2023… is none other than Tales of Symphonia Chronicles amputated by half of its content.
Because the 2013 version, not content to bring HD improvements, a more robust level of difficulty and some additional bonuses… was also filled with the second opus: Dawn of the New World, released in 2008 on Wii.
Certainly one of the most decried titles of the series perhaps, but which had the merit of also being present in a reworked HD version.
Worse still, in 2015 the publisher also released a compilation on PlayStation 3 of the two titles… as well as the remaster of Grace F… At the same price as the one that interests us today!
Namco Bandai has therefore chosen to split a ten-year-old compilation to resell it strictly in the same condition on modern consoles and at a high price.
And if only there had been even a little bit of work… Already at the time, the remaster of Tales of Symphonia had been criticized for its relatively questionable methods.
Indeed, the textures of the HD version have been reworked automatically via an artificial intelligence, removing many details in favor of a poor and soulless smoothing. The character outlines, giving the original title its cartoon charm, have also simply disappeared, with the only noticeable “improvement” being lipstick added to Colette’s character model… and worse is yet to come.
On GameCube, just twenty years ago, Tales of Symphonia was running at sixty frames per second. On his “modern” version, he struggled to reach thirty. And it’s still strictly the same in this 2023 remaster.
Yes. We are literally in the presence of a game scrupulously identical to a PlayStation 3 version and which runs less well than on GameCube.
It is unfortunate to see how Namco Bandai chooses to sacrifice one of the most popular games in the saga on the altar of quick and effortless profit, even if it means attracting the ire of players. The most elementary decency would have pushed them to offer us Dawn of the New World and Grace F in a new compilation, or a more attractive price. But as it stands, no one will find his account.
Tested on Xbox One X
