Tails of Symphonia

 

It's about time I did a game review. Now if any of you still have a Gamecube (you can get them for 20$ now) or own a wii, I suggest you pick up and play Tails of Symphonia.

Why?

OH MY FLUFFY MONKEYS THIS GAME!!!

*ahem*

What I meen to say is, this game is just absolutely fantastic. The graphics are bright and the music is cheery but this game's backstory get's so dark and twisted. In a everything you know is a lie, the people you thought were good are evil, the evil ones are working for the good ones, the good ones are working for the evil ones, and you are a lamb for the slaughter. 

It's so amazing. The plot twists are unexpected but when you look back they make perfect sense. And as much shit hits that fan, the shit has not hit the fan till the end of disk one.

Here's your team:

Now Lloyd, the one with brown hair and in red, is your main point of view person. He's an orphan raised by a dwarf named Dirk on the outskirts of town. His best friends are Genis, the white haired, in blue kid and Colette, the blond girl dancing on the side there. 

You start out with these three in a school room learning about the Wold Regeneration Process. This is where the Chosen, Colette, must take a journey to the Tower of Salvation and Regenerate the world so that the worlds Mana (source of all life) will start coming back. 

You set off, well more like chase after Colette when she leaves with her two guards, your professor Rain and Kratos a mercenary. She'd left early with out telling you so that you would stay behind and stay safe. To heck with that! Off you go! Never mind that evil half elves are after their lives and a Chosen has never made it through the journey alive before. 

Along the way you pick up Sheena, the Assassin, who fights with cards. She's the black haired one. 

I don't want to spoil to much because so much happens! Shit is constantly hitting your fan and the graphics only seem to get cheerier the darker the plot becomes. Everyone but Lloyd has hidden motives and dark secrets. But Lloyd has sad family past so it makes up for it. 

My personal favorit is Kratos, both in ability and story. 

From what you know at the start Kratos is a wandering sell sword. He's an incredibly skilled swordsman and spell caster, as well as healer. Thou you have to work awhile to get his real badass spells. He is hired to protect the Chosen and aid in the world regeneration process, however he also takes an interest in Lloyd and trains him to be a better swordsman.

MILD-NOT SO MILD SPOILERS

Kratos also, unlike the church, the villains, many of your team, and random civilians, changes sides many times. Or so it seems. His first unveiling of a secret comes at the Tower of Salvation. You think he's set you up. (I advise you, level him up like crazy anyway. You don't fight him, and you really need him before he wanders off for a bit.) If you want to try and figure out Krato's secret as you play pay very close attention to him. How he acts around cretin players. The dialogue right before he kills someone yelling "Feel the pain of those inferior beings as you burn in Hell!"is also a big tip. 

SPOILERS DONE

This game also comes complete with an anime and a manga that can be found online. Read and watch at your own spoiler risk. There is an english fandub of the anime but I prefer the fansub. Both gloss over points in the game, but also give you backstory that you hear but don't get to see in the game.