JRPGs are excellent because they keep things in check with their endless amounts of content, but aren’t afraid to take risks with extravagant characters and story beats that might not go over well in other game genres. Tales of Symphonia Remastered is a great example of this, mixing silly fun moments of the party interacting with an all-too-serious narrative.
While there isn’t a right way to play the game, there are acts we might unexpectedly find ourselves sharing with one another. Nobody said Kratos is required to be in the party at all times of the day, but we still bring him along anyway.
8 Exploring Everything No Matter How Inconsequential It Seems
If there’s somewhere to explore, you have to take that chance. There’s a whole world of possibility out there that’s waiting for you and your party to rummage through everything it has. And who knows, you might loot the best items Tales of Symphonia has up for grabs.
Is it ethical? Most likely not, but neither are half the things video game villains do, and we still find a way to love them. You’ll never know what you can find unless you have a little peak inside.
7 Stick To Japanese Voice Acting
While there are certainly worse English video game dubs out there, and Tales of Symphonia is by no means bad. But we usually to stick to the original voice acting, as it best captures the feel of the story. Things also don’t get lost in translation as much this way, so you’re getting as close an experience to the original voice acting as possible through the subtitles.
For some players, the Japanese voice acting might not be suitable, and playing with the English dub is a more accessible option, which is fine. Whatever works best for you.
6 Miss A Lot Of Areas And Side Quests On The First Playthrough
RPGs never have a warning saying you’ll miss things on your first run-through, but somehow, it always happens. When have you ever seen everything on offer in your initial run? It can be something as small as an Easter egg referencing another game or an exclusive costume for the lead that only unlocks once you collect 500 of something. It can also be a slew of side missions you never experience because you missed the area entirely.
It’s never an intentional act, but it’s something that's happened to everyone before, and something very likely to have occurred during your Tales of Symphonia playthrough.
5 Having A Set Party You Gravitate Towards
Look, we’re all guilty of having a few select characters we want to take with us, no matter where it is or even if they’re the best option for the mission. On the other hand, you’ll get those you rarely take with you because they’re annoying or their moves generally suck, like Morgana in Persona 5.
Everyone’s main party will be different and for different reasonings; however, there’s no denying that certain members take priority. Maybe you like the general fan favorites, or perhaps you favor the underdog. As long as you’re happy with how it looks, you’re good.
4 Forming A Bond With Your Favorite Character
Your favorite character might not be someone else’s, but they’re still your favorite, so you shouldn’t feel guilty about preferring them to someone else. For some, they may prefer Kratos; for others, it could be Sheena they love.
Everyone has a favorite they’ll spend the most time with, upgrading their gear, bringing them along for combat outings, and spending free time chatting with the favored character. It’s nice to have someone you gravitate towards and know you can relate to or just someone you think is cool. Whatever works.
3 Panic Save Before Entering A New Area
Any current-gen games give an abundance of time to manually save where there’s really no time or place where you can’t save outside of cutscenes. Many also provide an autosave feature to remove any backtracking you would have to deal with otherwise. Tales of Symphonia fans aren’t quite as lucky in this regard, but that doesn’t stop anyone from consistently saving before entering a even a slightly dangerous-looking area.
If you’re about to enter a new town or dungeon and come across a memory circle, you’ll save your game in case things go awry.
2 Spend A Long Time Switching Titles
Titles aren’t exactly the simplest thing to unlock, making them nigh on impossible to earn without a guide, mainly due to the specific steps you must take to get them. When you get a nice comfortable collection of titles, who’s to say you can’t switch between them, so they best fit the fight ahead? If you wish to change from a title with increased damage to a title specializing in defense and evasion, then that’s what you’ll do.
Titles are there to not only make your characters sound cooler and professional but also to make combat easier and provide extra bonuses to their stats.
1 Focusing On Unlocking Everyone's Mystic Artes
Mystic Artes is Symphonia’s version of a super move only accessible by meeting specific requirements first to unlock a Mystic Arte and then hitting different needs during battle to unleash them. Furthermore, these take a while to unlock, so you’ll be waiting a long time before using them, regardless of how early you start working towards each Arte.
Even plainly hearing the name “Mystic Arte” sounds like something that’ll look cool, something you might need to rush to unlock sooner rather than later—a viewpoint many players share.