Post by The Silent Orator on Oct 27, 2009 5:22:22 GMT -5
Storyline: 6/10
The storyline, to be honest, was lacking in some places. Granted, it had its moments, but there was a lot of predictability, repetition, and general annoyances... and none of those in the good way. Stand-alone, it is a workable storyline, but when compared to the original game, it pales in comparison.
It is also sad that the original cast has been downplayed to the point that they are nothing but minor secondary characters. In fact, Kratos Aurion himself only makes one appearance and that is just a voice. I personally also cannot stand the two new "main" characters all that well, but that is more of a personal gripe.
Graphics: 8/10
Slight improvement to the graphics from the original. I personally am a bit of the fan of the graphics but I try not to be too biased toward it. Personally, the graphics style are appropriate for the type of game it is, but I felt myself just wanting more.
Sound: 10/10
Honestly, this is probably the game's redeeming feature... if anything, for the re-made versions of the original game's music having nostalgia kick in. The new songs are pretty good, too.
Control & Interface: 4/10
No. Just no. I admit I will be a little biased since I have played the original Tales of Symphonia, so take this with a grain of salt. No world map takes the fun away from exploration. Not being able to use anyone but Emil and Marta throughout most of the game is also annoying (I wanted to play as Sheena but you cannot start with her default in battle).
In fact, even in battle, the original cast is downplayed. Also, they do not gain experience. They stay at a set level that they come with. At the end of the game, no matter how much you battle, gain experience, and level up, the original cast seemed to gain no levels at all.
In fact, you cannot even play with the monsters you work so hard to raise.
And while I'm at this, I'll get to the topic of the monsters. The monster quest is okay. Kinda fun. But all-in-all, it feels as if it had so much potential but they dropped the ball on it.
Not to mention some battles are ridiculously hard. You'll have easier boss battles like Alice and some creature bosses, but then you have an INSANELY HARD boss fight in Decus and Hawk and the duo near the end (will not spoil).
You know it's pretty bad when a boss fight near the end (the duo) is harder than the final boss fight (which I shall not spoil). Also, what the hell is up with the final sequence and how to get the good endings? I think that was one of the worst ideas that Namco could have come up with.
Replay: 3/10
As a stand-alone game, it is okay. One may want to replay it again. To those who have played the original, we just want to put this travesty down and play the original. After all, the Wii does play GameCube games.
Overall: 5/10
Sorry, Namco, you made an epic first game but the sequel is so horrible. Mediocre storyline, bad characterization, downplaying the original cast, no replay value, unbalanced boss battles, a monster system that had so much potential, the original cast coming in and going out of your party more than a wannabe frat boy... it all cumulates to a very disappointing game.
I will admit that the soundtrack is pretty neat, though. However, any sequel that I have to force myself to the end just to see it to the end as a tribute of respect to the original does not deserve a good rating.
This is The Silent Orator's review. Over and Out.
The storyline, to be honest, was lacking in some places. Granted, it had its moments, but there was a lot of predictability, repetition, and general annoyances... and none of those in the good way. Stand-alone, it is a workable storyline, but when compared to the original game, it pales in comparison.
It is also sad that the original cast has been downplayed to the point that they are nothing but minor secondary characters. In fact, Kratos Aurion himself only makes one appearance and that is just a voice. I personally also cannot stand the two new "main" characters all that well, but that is more of a personal gripe.
Graphics: 8/10
Slight improvement to the graphics from the original. I personally am a bit of the fan of the graphics but I try not to be too biased toward it. Personally, the graphics style are appropriate for the type of game it is, but I felt myself just wanting more.
Sound: 10/10
Honestly, this is probably the game's redeeming feature... if anything, for the re-made versions of the original game's music having nostalgia kick in. The new songs are pretty good, too.
Control & Interface: 4/10
No. Just no. I admit I will be a little biased since I have played the original Tales of Symphonia, so take this with a grain of salt. No world map takes the fun away from exploration. Not being able to use anyone but Emil and Marta throughout most of the game is also annoying (I wanted to play as Sheena but you cannot start with her default in battle).
In fact, even in battle, the original cast is downplayed. Also, they do not gain experience. They stay at a set level that they come with. At the end of the game, no matter how much you battle, gain experience, and level up, the original cast seemed to gain no levels at all.
In fact, you cannot even play with the monsters you work so hard to raise.
And while I'm at this, I'll get to the topic of the monsters. The monster quest is okay. Kinda fun. But all-in-all, it feels as if it had so much potential but they dropped the ball on it.
Not to mention some battles are ridiculously hard. You'll have easier boss battles like Alice and some creature bosses, but then you have an INSANELY HARD boss fight in Decus and Hawk and the duo near the end (will not spoil).
You know it's pretty bad when a boss fight near the end (the duo) is harder than the final boss fight (which I shall not spoil). Also, what the hell is up with the final sequence and how to get the good endings? I think that was one of the worst ideas that Namco could have come up with.
Replay: 3/10
As a stand-alone game, it is okay. One may want to replay it again. To those who have played the original, we just want to put this travesty down and play the original. After all, the Wii does play GameCube games.
Overall: 5/10
Sorry, Namco, you made an epic first game but the sequel is so horrible. Mediocre storyline, bad characterization, downplaying the original cast, no replay value, unbalanced boss battles, a monster system that had so much potential, the original cast coming in and going out of your party more than a wannabe frat boy... it all cumulates to a very disappointing game.
I will admit that the soundtrack is pretty neat, though. However, any sequel that I have to force myself to the end just to see it to the end as a tribute of respect to the original does not deserve a good rating.
This is The Silent Orator's review. Over and Out.