Tales of Symphonia

[lisalover1]

Before I say anything, I just want to say that I think Tales of Symphonia is a great game. It's got a neat battle system, a good story/characters, and stunning graphics. I haven't played too far into it, but I genuinely like it.

Now, you're probably wondering what I meant in the first few words of this post, so let me explain. [Just a note, there will be many spoilers for people who haven't played the game let ahead, so just let me say this now. SPOILER ALERT!!!]

Okay, now I'll start. I haven't been able to play Tales of Symphonia lately. Not because I don't have access to the game; in fact, it's sitting about 5 ft. away from me right now. The reason is something in the main plot of the game. Those who have played it know you play as Lloyd, who is a childhood friend of Colette, the "Chosen". There, right there, that's what inexplicably pisses me off. Why does the main character, who you play as, and should focus you attention on while playing the game, have to go around being the bodyguard for some secondary character? Lloyd seems to actually be more like an attack dog that Colette lets off the leash every now and then to fight some enemies, then goes back to dragging him and Genis around again. I was always taught in RPGs that the main character, regardless of who they are, will always save the world. Not a secondary character. End of story, no exceptions.

Then along comes Tales of Symphonia, breaking the cliche. While I applaud it for that, something just doesn't sit right. It's like having a perfectly good steak in front of you for dinner, then having the waiter swap it out quickly for another steak that looks exactly the same. It's still a good steak, you just can't seem to trust the waiter for swapping it out, and eventually you get to suspicious to eat it at all. I wish I could play Tales of Symphonia. I really do. But there's just that one little thing I can't get over. I get actually somewhat sick when playing it. It's such a great game, but unless I'm really, really determined.

Does anyone else here have this problem with the whole "position of hero" topic, or am I just a obsessive-compulsive nerd who can't comprehend that Namco did something a bit differently? Also, if there's anything ahead in the game that changes this, please don't spoil it for me. I am going to finish this game, it will just take quite a while.

Paragraph'd ~ Moz

[Kevman]

Paragraphs?

[lisalover1]

Paragraphs?

What does that have to do with anything? Did you want me to split my writing into paragraphs? Did you want more paragraphs? Less paragraphs? Do you have an strong hate or love for paragraphs? Do you like to write paragraphs? Do you expect others to write paragraphs? What are you trying to say?

[Ack]

I think he just wants you to split it into paragraphs. It is a pretty daunting wall of text you've presented there.

[Kevman]

Paragraphs?

What does that have to do with anything? Did you want me to split my writing into paragraphs? Did you want more paragraphs? Less paragraphs? Do you have an strong hate or love for paragraphs? Do you like to write paragraphs? Do you expect others to write paragraphs? What are you trying to say?

Alright jeez! Ack pretty much summed it up, that is a huge wall of text. It's hard to read and easy to skip over a line.

EDIT: Thanks Moz.

[MrPopo]

So to add an actual response to this:

I actually didn't have any problems with taking the role of a "side character", as it were. From a gameplay perspective, you're still fully in control, so it's really only from a story perspective that you play second fiddle. But the way I look at it, you have this character who really cares about his friend. His friend is going on a very important journey, and thus he wants to help her any way he can. Sure, he's not actually DOING the important thing, but he is facilitating it in a very big way.

Final Fantasy X had a very similar role for the protagonist. Yuna was the one who's job it was to stop Sin, and Tidus decided he wanted to help her in that role. In a way, it's kind of refreshing, and games rarely go into the motivations of the party members of the main protagonist.

So at least from my opinion, the fact that you get a little physically ill from this change strikes me as a little obsessive. Honestly, I'd say you should continue with the game. The change in focus will grow on you, and to be fair, a lot of the side plots are driven by Lloyd, not Colette. On the Journey of Regeneration, about half of the major events are driven by Colette's actual journey, while the other half are driven by Lloyd. So in a sense, they share the spot of being the driving force.

Plus, Kratos is voiced by the guy who did Die Fledermaus in The Tick.

[Mozgus]

Plus, Kratos is voiced by the guy who did Die Fledermaus in The Tick.

Yeah Cam Clarke, but he's like everywhere anymore, and doesn't necessarily make a game good all by himself.

Yeah, no. I'm not a fan of Symphonia either. Was the lamest entry in the series at the time, but it got all this undeserved attention just for being a an exclusive on a JRPG starved machine.

[allyourbasearebelongtous]

So to add an actual response to this:

I actually didn't have any problems with taking the role of a "side character", as it were. From a gameplay perspective, you're still fully in control, so it's really only from a story perspective that you play second fiddle. But the way I look at it, you have this character who really cares about his friend. His friend is going on a very important journey, and thus he wants to help her any way he can. Sure, he's not actually DOING the important thing, but he is facilitating it in a very big way.

Im gonna have to agree, tales is one of my favorite rpgs of all time. I thought that offmain character style was cool, something a little different form the norm. But its respectable that that wouldn't work for you, some people like their games a very specific way only. I have a friend that wont even play rpgs with polygons, he only likes the old 2d classics. Personally i love every style of game and every style of rpg, so im always looking for something experimental. Like eternal sonata for instance.

[RackGaki]

I played Tales of Symphonia and I enjoyed the protagonist's position. As mentioned before, it wasn't far off from FFX. It's good to play the guy who helps save the world - there's 200 other jRPGs that got you covered if you want to play hero #1.

I am actually quite fond of jRPGs that break the mold. That's one of my issues with most them - they usually consist of cut and paste stories with linear progression, the highlight being the particular battle system the game uses. Once you've played a few jRPGs, you've probably run into most every archetype and stereotypical story there is to see.

Even though Tales of Symphonia doesn't break the mold, it tries to be a little different - plus Tales games have awesome visuals and battle sequences. Many newer games just don't get it - Infinite Undiscovery's idea of innovation is that you can be attacked while browsing your inventory. Cookie-cutter action RPG. Now with shiny graphics.

[MrPopo]

Yeah, no. I'm not a fan of Symphonia either. Was the lamest entry in the series at the time, but it got all this undeserved attention just for being a an exclusive on a JRPG starved machine.

I'd argue that something can be the worst entry in a series while still being a good game, but then again I've only played Phantasia and Symphonia, so I can't compare it to the Playstation entries.