Tales Of Symphonia Chronicles, the HD re-release of the classic Tales games from back in 2004 and 2008 respectively, was developed and published by Namco Bandai who are famous for their Tales series, .Hack series and their Naruto fighting games. Bringing back these great games, remastering their graphics for HD wide screen and porting them to the PS3, is this bundle worth your buck?
This is the Second half of the review for – Tales Of Symphonia Chronicles: Dawn Of The New World – for the first half click here.
Story – Dawn Of The New World
Following on from the prequel, Dawn Of The New World starts after Lloyd and his team merged the twin worlds, Sylvarant and Tethe’alla, together into one to solve the mana issue. However, the merging of the two worlds caused the new world to be created in an inverse image, with deserts turning to frozen tundra’s and lakes becoming barren of water. The merging of the world sent the old Kharlan Tree Ratatosk to sleep which is causing the chaos in the land. Besides the earthly problems the people face the two races also have warring feelings to one another, causing skirmishes and armies to form.
Set 2 years after the end of Symphonia, DOTNW (Dawn Of The New World) puts you in the shoes of Emil, a weak willed and rather pathetic feeling character, who lost his parents to the now villainous Lloyd. Living in a village that hates and abuses him, Emil soon meets up with a girl named Marta, a girl from the same hometown as him, who possesses the core of Ratatosk which is bonded to her forehead. He agrees to follow her and they both escape from the village and the approaching Vanguard who wish to take the Core from Marta.
In their travels Emil slowly loses control to his Ratatosk form, which he gained when pledging himself to Marta, a form that gives him the strength and ability to face off against strong foes at the risk of his own personality.
DOTNW lasts around half the time of Symphonia, being around 30 hours in length, though it used to being a Wii game isn’t too surprising.
Gameplay
Similar to Symphonia, DOTNW uses a free form real-time battle system, but with the ability to move out of the one track path which is a great change from the movement found in Symphonia. You move the character with the left analogue stick and the X button to attack with O being used for Artes.
DOTNW also includes a new elemental system that adds in new weaknesses and strengths to enemies and you’re elemental Artes, changing the battleground to improve your attacks or weaken your enemies. Along with elements you can also capture and use monsters in battle, adding up to 4 more characters in your team per battle, giving the game a feel similar to that of Jade Cocoon.
After each battle you gain EXP and Grade, exp being used to level up your characters and monsters and Grade being used to unlock game options or for New Game+ features.
Skits return in this release but are one of the first to be fully voiced for each and every one, making the skits an iconic and one of the most enjoyable parts of the game and the series. Skits are when the characters talk to one another about the situation, the area or for idle chit chat, allowing for more titles, backstory or even more character development. Skits are one of my favourite features in the tales series and I am glad this one is voice acted as Symphonia lacked that quality.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
Being the sequel to Symphonia there has been many improvements made, to the menus, the fighting system, the graphics and the skits themselves which make this game better and brighter, but the limitations of the Wii restrict the game from being bigger. I feel as if the game was first released on Xbox or PlayStation it would have turned out to be an even greater game then it is, even though it is still a great purchase already in this HD re-release.
The music and art style is again another perfect display of the Tales theme, from the bright coloured characters and areas to the music that is found within them, they just fit together so well. While the music during exploration can be a bit repetitive along with the battle music, it’s the boss music and new areas that drive you to move onwards.
DOTNW is more of a port to the PS3 than a HD update as the only notable change is that the graphics are a bit sharper and brighter, being only 5 years old having been released in 2008/09. This game is also considered horrible in comparison to Symphonia due to its story and main character, but if you’re used to Anime characters you will be fine with Emil, though the story does feel a bit rushed and doesn’t hit the quality of other games in the series.
Overall I would give Tales Of Symphonia Chronicles: Dawn Of The New World a 4/5, while being a great improvement on Symphonia it lacks the feel and length of its prequel and feels slightly lacking in its story and writing departments. The new additions and updated systems work in its favour however as the game feels easier and more accessible. The combination of these two games and even more can be felt in Tales Of Vesperia, but within these two releases they still did well for their time and even age well with today’s standards. Now its time for me to lose more hours into another Tales Game, don’t mind me.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
