I must confess that I have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out for anyone who's missing out on what that means) in the worst way -- even if something is rated poorly, I'll keep giving it more chances with whatever justifications I can because I want to experience any potential good aspects of said game.
My first time playing this was on the Wii, and I got to the point where I met Tenebrae and just noped out because Emil's voice acting was so terrible that I just couldn't deal with Shinji 2.0. Tried it again on an emulator years later and dropped at roughly the same spot. Got it in the Tales of Symphonia Collection on the PS3 and gave it yet another go, only to drop AGAIN at the same spot.
Undeterred by my own warnings to myself, I set off a fourth time these last few days, determined to just play it in short bursts -- the idea was that if I don't spend more than a few minutes listening to Emil, I can't get frustrated enough to quit and maybe after a time, he becomes an enjoyable character and I find I really dig the game! People like games that I don't, so it's entirely possible that I can like a game that people don't if I persist (spoiler: although this can happen, this isn't one of those)!
Quick note: I know I could change the audio to Japanese on Chronicles, but I like playing games in English audio if the option is available. Sue me.
I will say that I'm fine with the voice acting from everyone else in the game and actively enjoy the voice acting from Tenebrae.
The decision to make the overworld map into just a list of points instead of a place to explore is a mixed bag for me -- I don't have to worry about any camera issues that are a product of their time like in the case of the first Symphonia game, but I do miss the option to wander a world and see the world design unfold before me.
The beginning of the game really is atrocious -- in the first hour, you're treated to about eight flashbacks that are from literally the scene before in most cases, some of the most cringeworthy voice acting ever from Emil, and the powerhouse statement of "Marta has left the party." more times than you could ever ask for.
With the limited knowledge I have of the game thus far (about three hours), I can say that Emil probably would have been more enjoyable to me as an annoying party member you gain later that eventually blossoms into a likable character. Having him as the protagonist just puts me off.
I like the idea of monster acquisition and leveling them up as party members, but the limited time I spent with them was just underwhelming as a whole.
One of the worst culprits (and this may just be exclusive to the PS3 Chronicles version) is that entering battles takes about six seconds from the point where you contact an enemy. That's just enough time for you to wonder if your PS3 froze, and that's also a minute of staring blankly at a screen every ten encounters. I've had multiple minutes of staring at a screen blankly and wondering if the PS3 froze, so that's more than a bit of an annoyance and I have no intention of finding out if it becomes HOURS of staring.
The best thing I can say about this is that the skits were a lot of fun. I'm determined to not go back to this game again because I don't think I can cultivate enough fun from it to justify the things that bother me, but I will say that it's not the worst thing in the world.
My first time playing this was on the Wii, and I got to the point where I met Tenebrae and just noped out because Emil's voice acting was so terrible that I just couldn't deal with Shinji 2.0. Tried it again on an emulator years later and dropped at roughly the same spot. Got it in the Tales of Symphonia Collection on the PS3 and gave it yet another go, only to drop AGAIN at the same spot.
Undeterred by my own warnings to myself, I set off a fourth time these last few days, determined to just play it in short bursts -- the idea was that if I don't spend more than a few minutes listening to Emil, I can't get frustrated enough to quit and maybe after a time, he becomes an enjoyable character and I find I really dig the game! People like games that I don't, so it's entirely possible that I can like a game that people don't if I persist (spoiler: although this can happen, this isn't one of those)!
Quick note: I know I could change the audio to Japanese on Chronicles, but I like playing games in English audio if the option is available. Sue me.
I will say that I'm fine with the voice acting from everyone else in the game and actively enjoy the voice acting from Tenebrae.
The decision to make the overworld map into just a list of points instead of a place to explore is a mixed bag for me -- I don't have to worry about any camera issues that are a product of their time like in the case of the first Symphonia game, but I do miss the option to wander a world and see the world design unfold before me.
The beginning of the game really is atrocious -- in the first hour, you're treated to about eight flashbacks that are from literally the scene before in most cases, some of the most cringeworthy voice acting ever from Emil, and the powerhouse statement of "Marta has left the party." more times than you could ever ask for.
With the limited knowledge I have of the game thus far (about three hours), I can say that Emil probably would have been more enjoyable to me as an annoying party member you gain later that eventually blossoms into a likable character. Having him as the protagonist just puts me off.
I like the idea of monster acquisition and leveling them up as party members, but the limited time I spent with them was just underwhelming as a whole.
One of the worst culprits (and this may just be exclusive to the PS3 Chronicles version) is that entering battles takes about six seconds from the point where you contact an enemy. That's just enough time for you to wonder if your PS3 froze, and that's also a minute of staring blankly at a screen every ten encounters. I've had multiple minutes of staring at a screen blankly and wondering if the PS3 froze, so that's more than a bit of an annoyance and I have no intention of finding out if it becomes HOURS of staring.
The best thing I can say about this is that the skits were a lot of fun. I'm determined to not go back to this game again because I don't think I can cultivate enough fun from it to justify the things that bother me, but I will say that it's not the worst thing in the world.
2 Comments
But only if you flashback to realize it at least three times a day.
Killbutt
2 years ago