We Play Tales of Symphonia

[aerosol_grey]

It doesn't harm your grade, it simply doesn't help it either. You don't get penalized for not having max HP and TP at the end of the fight, but you certainly get a boost if you do so. I am not fully certain about how the boost works, but I'd say you get bonus grade per unharmed character in your party, instead of one bonus for a whole unharmed party. For obvious reasons, going for these bonuses while playing through the game is not practical at all. These become useful when you are levelled and decide to farm grade at a place where enemies are weak, you can win fights in less than 5 seconds without having to suffer damage or use techs. While playing the game, just try to do as well as you can during fights, but don't stress over it. 

 

 

Thanks for the info, I've never played a tales game before and it seems more complex than I expected.  I'm sure by the end it will all seem simple though.

[Omar]

Thanks for the info, I've never played a tales game before and it seems more complex than I expected.  I'm sure by the end it will all seem simple though.

No problem, feel free to ask anything about the game, I'll gladly help

Reached Checkpoint #1 ^^

[Superbuu3]

Sorry about the delay guys site wasn't working for me and I was busy yesterday, so didnt have time to set a checkpoint.

 

Checkpoint 2 - Reach the Palmacosta Ranch

Important: Make sure you goto Izoold after the Ossa Trail (do not go to Hima in the North) otherwise you will be stuck on a much harder route through the game.

Note you can save the missable sword dancers for a second playthrough, as they might be too hard on a first playthrough.

Missable: Sword Dancer

There is a Sword Dancer on the Ossa Trail in a cave (from ExHaseo's guide):

Sword Dancer #1 

• Location: Ossa Trail Cave(Where Sheena pops out)
• Time Frame: From after your first fight with Sheena until you go to the Tower of Salvation.
• Recommended Level: 20+

Edited November 4, 2015 by Superbuu3

[Dav9834]

I wouldn't take on the sword dancers until another playthrough when you have exp bonuses. No point in adding more time to your first playthrough grinding lvls to kill them, you'll have plenty of hours on this game anyway

[NullRay85]

I wouldn't take on the sword dancers until another playthrough when you have exp bonuses. No point in adding more time to your first playthrough grinding lvls to kill them, you'll have plenty of hours on this game anyway

Just a quick question. Are "Sword Dancers" an optional boss or a character titles?

 

Sorry if it sounds stupid. 

[Dav9834]

Just a quick question. Are "Sword Dancers" an optional boss or a character titles?

Sorry if it sounds stupid.

Both I guess lol

It's needed for titles because

They drop unique items, and are unique monsters

, but you should be carrying titles and encyclopedias over to the next playthrough in new game+, unless you want to do 5

No idea why I put that in a spoiler, really not a spoiler... I just woke up, on my phone, groggy lol

Edited November 4, 2015 by Dav9834

[Superbuu3]

NullRay85 will be doing the first set of discussion points.

[Omar]

I have to point something out here, for those going for the plat, there might be a missable key item in the way to this checkpoint that is worth noting besides the Sword Dancer one. Story spoilers below, so BEWARE:

 

When you indeed reach the Palmacosta ranch, you are given a choice to infiltrate right up or go somewhere else (trying to keep spoilers to a minimum here). IF you choose to infiltrate right away, you MISS one key item. In order to get it, choose to go to that other place, where you'll have to face a boss (this will help you get a Lloyd title faster too) and upon beating it, you get the key item you may have missed otherwise.

It is highly likely that this becomes relevant right after this checkpoint, but I wanted to point it out, to have everyone alert (it can be obtained through any of the 4 compulsory runs anyway)

 

There is also something I'd like to point out regarding something relevant:

 

Upon reaching Izoold, the town where you get the boat to Palmacosta, the player may choose to skip the voyage entirely and go north on foot for quite a while to reach the Luin region, altering the order the dungeons play out and pretty much reaching the Palmacosta ranch much later than taking the boat. Should we make a consensus to take the boat, all of us, to ensure checkpoints include the same content for everybody?

 

Sorry if this has been taken care of, but I wanted to mention it just in case

[NullRay85]

Both I guess lol

It's needed for titles because

They drop unique items, and are unique monsters

, but you should be carrying titles and encyclopedias over to the next playthrough in new game+, unless you want to do 5

No idea why I put that in a spoiler, really not a spoiler... I just woke up, on my phone, groggy lol

I see, thanks for the clarification. Good morning/afternoon/evening, Dav!

[Superbuu3]

There is also something I'd like to point out regarding something relevant:

 

Upon reaching Izoold, the town where you get the boat to Palmacosta, the player may choose to skip the voyage entirely and go north on foot for quite a while to reach the Luin region, altering the order the dungeons play out and pretty much reaching the Palmacosta ranch much later than taking the boat. Should we make a consensus to take the boat, all of us, to ensure checkpoints include the same content for everybody?

 

Sorry if this has been taken care of, but I wanted to mention it just in case

Whats the name of the other dungeon you can goto? Is it Thoda Geyser?

[Omar]

Whats the name of the other dungeon you can goto? Is it Thoda Geyser?

 

It's not only that, as names go by, you can do the following: 

If you happen to enter Hima before taking the boat to Palmacosta, you get locked on a totally different path for the game (the trigger to reach Palmacosta disappears for a while) and you are forced to head to Asgard and do story progression there, enter the Balacruf Mausoleum and beat it, then get to the Tower of Mana, beat it and go to the Asgard Human Ranch twice to beat it. After that, you can do the Palmacosta segment, which includes the dungeon you mentioned, Thoda Geiser, so I really think everyone should make sure they jump on the boat to Palmacosta lol

 

Sorry if I was too spoilery when it came to the names of places

[Dav9834]

It's not only that, as names go by, you can do the following: 

If you happen to enter Hima before taking the boat to Palmacosta, you get locked on a totally different path for the game (the trigger to reach Palmacosta disappears for a while) and you are forced to head to Asgard and do story progression there, enter the Balacruf Mausoleum and beat it, then get to the Tower of Mana, beat it and go to the Asgard Human Ranch twice to beat it. After that, you can do the Palmacosta segment, which includes the dungeon you mentioned, Thoda Geiser, so I really think everyone should make sure they jump on the boat to Palmacosta lol

 

Sorry if I was too spoilery when it came to the names of places

Ya this is good advice, I never took the hard path myself in any of my playthroughs, it can help/hurt affinity levels with your charecters(which I hope you guys are keeping track of as it's imo the hardest part of the game), plus it's just plain more difficult to go this way because of monster lvls.

[Ric]

Skipping Izoold by moving all the way around the continent past Luin is also known as the "hard path".

 

Instead of going to Palmacosta, you start the hard path by going to Asgard. (moving past Izoold, Hima and Luin).

 

Besides an event in Asgard, the next dungeon should be Balacruf Mausoleum. This skips 2 dungeons for later (Palmacosta Human Ranch and Thoda Geyser). This also changes some of the events (like getting a party member a lot earlier, which also changes some of the scripts in the skipped zones, but nothing major). There aren't any missables that require you to do the hard path, so unless you want the challenge I'd just go with Palmacosta first.

 

The enemies on this path are a bit harder (as you're skipping a little bit. I think about 10+ levels) but the dungeons you skipped will be easier later on.

[Superbuu3]

After some discussion about the branching path, it seems the best route for the group is to go directly to the ranch.

 

Important: Make sure you goto Izoold after the Ossa Trail (do not go to Hima in the North) otherwise you will be stuck on a much harder route through the game.

 

Thank you for everyone who contributed to bring this too my attention. Its also best to stick to this route as this is the route the group is taking I won't force anyone to do something though.

[kittyxiii]

Okay, I passed through Izoold and made it to Palmacosta Ranch. I ended up having a vendetta against an enemy at one point so it took me a bit longer than I had hoped to reach the checkpoint, but I'm finally here. I'm really enjoying the game so far - I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Edited November 5, 2015 by kittyxiii

[WidthOfACircle]

Any recommended level for the Triet Ruins boss?  I might just be terrible, so just checking if I skipped too many encounters.

[kittyxiii]

Any recommended level for the Triet Ruins boss?  I might just be terrible, so just checking if I skipped too many encounters.

 

Personally I had a little trouble during my first encounter with it, but that may be because I kept on forgetting to dodge and block I levelled up to about 12/13 though for my second attempt and beat it!

Edited November 5, 2015 by kittyxiii

[WidthOfACircle]

Personally I had a little trouble during my first encounter with it, but that may be because I kept on forgetting to dodge and block I levelled up to about 12/13 though for my second attempt and beat it!

Thanks.  I was around 8/9 and got destroyed but was ok at 11.

Edited November 5, 2015 by WidthOfACircle

[NullRay85]

Tales of Symphonia Discussion #1

Hey everyone! This is pretty exciting for since it's my first time doing discussions in a We Play.

Since this is our first discussion point, we'll start with a few basic questions about the game. I came up with 11 questions, so answer away!


1- First impressions of the game? Have you played these type of games before?

2- Thoughts on the story so far? Does it engage you?

3- Thoughts on Lloyd? Is he a relate-able protagonist?

4- Favorite character so far? Why?

5- How are you finding the gameplay? If you played previous Tales games, how does gameplay compare to other entries in the series?

6- Favorite party? Do you take an offensive or technical approach in battles?

7- Symphonia has been out for a while now-- over 12 years. How are you finding the presentation (music, voice acting, visuals)? Does the HD version do a good of polishing things up?

8- Did you like the anime intro at the beginning?

9- How are the boss fights so far? Did the fight against the Ktugach in Triet Ruins give you any trouble?

10- Are you having any trouble with the game? Difficulty leveling up, dealing with enemies, earning money, etc. ? Dav is lending us a hand, so don't hesitate to ask him for help.

11- Any thoughts other thoughts regarding the game?


That's that for now. I think these are some good question to get everyone talking and discussing about the game. Additionally, I'm slowly catching up to the second checkpoint and I'll post the second part when we move up a bit in the story, or when everyone says it's time. 

Edited November 5, 2015 by NullRay85

[Dav9834]

Tales of Symphonia Discussion #1 

 

Hey everyone! This is pretty exciting for since it's my first time doing discussions in a We Play.

 

Since this is our first discussion point, we'll start with a few basic questions about the game. I came up with 11 questions, so answer away!

 

 

1- First impressions of the game? Have you played these type of games before?

 

2- Thoughts on the story so far? Does it engage you?

 

3- Thoughts on Lloyd? Is he a relate-able protagonist?

 

4- Favorite character so far? Why?

 

5- How are you finding the gameplay? If you played previous Tales games, how does gameplay compare to other entries in the series?

 

6- Favorite party? Do you take an offensive or technical approach in battles?

 

7- Symphonia has been out for a while now-- over 12 years. How are you finding the presentation (music, voice acting, visuals)? Does the HD version do a good of polishing things up?

 

8- Did you like the anime intro at the beginning?

 

9- How are the boss fights so far? Did the fight against the Ktugach in Triet Ruins give you any trouble?

 

10- Are you having any trouble with the game? Difficulty leveling up, dealing with enemies, earning money, etc. ? Dav is lending us a hand, so don't hesitate to ask him for help.

 

11- Any thoughts other thoughts regarding the game?

 

 

 That's that for now. I think these are some good question to get everyone talking and discussing about the game. Additionally, I'm slowly catching up to the second checkpoint and I'll post the second part when we move up a bit in the story, or when everyone says it's time. 

Tales of Symphonia Discussion #1 

 

Hey everyone! This is pretty exciting for since it's my first time doing discussions in a We Play.

 

Since this is our first discussion point, we'll start with a few basic questions about the game. I came up with 11 questions, so answer away!

 

 

1- First impressions of the game? Have you played these type of games before?

 

2- Thoughts on the story so far? Does it engage you?

 

3- Thoughts on Lloyd? Is he a relate-able protagonist?

 

4- Favorite character so far? Why?

 

5- How are you finding the gameplay? If you played previous Tales games, how does gameplay compare to other entries in the series?

 

6- Favorite party? Do you take an offensive or technical approach in battles?

 

7- Symphonia has been out for a while now-- over 12 years. How are you finding the presentation (music, voice acting, visuals)? Does the HD version do a good of polishing things up?

 

8- Did you like the anime intro at the beginning?

 

9- How are the boss fights so far? Did the fight against Ktugach in Triet Ruins give you any trouble?

 

10- Are you having any trouble with the game? Difficulty leveling up, dealing with enemies, earning money, etc. ? Dav is lending us a hand, so don't hesitate to ask him for help.

 

11- Any other thoughts regarding the game?

 

 

 That's that for now. I think these are some good question to get everyone talking and discussing about the game. Additionally, I'm slowly catching up to the second checkpoint and I'll post the second part when we move up a bit in the story, or when everyone says it's time. 

I was mentioned! My heart feels warm

Yup always available for questions!

[Omar]

I was mentioned! My heart feels warm

Yup always available for questions!

 

Hahahaha I will also try and help out as much as I can, there is some stuff that is worth pointing out for those going in blind. To add up, making the grind for EXP, Gald or other stuff more bearable is always a plus

 

I really like this discussion idea! I will try an answer most questions, but I'll do it when I have more time than I have now

[NullRay85]

Hahahaha I will also try and help out as much as I can, there is some stuff that is worth pointing out for those going in blind. To add up, making the grind for EXP, Gald or other stuff more bearable is always a plus

 

I really like this discussion idea! I will try an answer most questions, but I'll do it when I have more time than I have now

Thanks for also lending all of us a hand, Omar

That advice regarding which path we should take was helpful

[Xillia]

I might as well mention for those of you who don't intend to play on higher difficulties. Depending on how bored you are, you can go grind out 256 battles on hard to get Lloyd's Berserker title. It gives Lloyd a huge attack boost per level which makes him super OP.

[kittyxiii]

 

*snip*

 

Some good discussion points here! I'll put my answers under a spoiler. Also, if you haven't played through the second checkpoint I mentioned some things that happened during that time so be aware of spoilers haha:

 

Tales of Symphonia Discussion #1

1- First impressions of the game? Have you played these type of games before?
This is my 4th Tales of game, I'm really enjoying it! It's taking me some time to get used to the story but I'm getting into it. I'm not a fan of the open-world type thing you travel in between towns and such though, but I finally found a cornerstone so I can use Noishe in the Triet Desert area which was really cool.

2- Thoughts on the story so far? Does it engage you?
It's interesting, for sure. I haven't gotten around to play Zesteria yet but I watched the Anime special when it first aired and it reminds of the Shepard (someone is born every few centuries to save the world type thing). I'm curious to see what happens to Colette with every trial we complete, Kratos is slowly growing on me, I'm waiting to see how old Genis and Raine really are and if they were around for the previous chosen ones. Also, I do not trust Colette's '''''father''''' (Riemiel, is it? It's something like that anyway) like at all. I'm not as engaged as I was with say Graces F, but that may be because we haven't hit the full story yet. I'm hoping we learn more about the human ranches (yuck) and the Desains as a whole, especially mysterious blue haired man in the base/dungeon and the assassin in the Ossa trail - why do you want to kill me!? I haven't done anything!... I hope.

3- Thoughts on Lloyd? Is he a relate-able protagonist?
I think he's relatable in the way that he has strong morals and isn't afraid to stick up for what's right. He's a cool guy though, I just really hope he doesn't develop some sort of White Knight Syndrome the further we get into the game haha

4- Favorite character so far? Why?
Ohhhhh. Does Noishe count? I love me some animal protagonists. If I had to pick a human though, I don't think I have a favourite quite yet. Give me a few more checkpoints for someone to grow on me further

5- How are you finding the gameplay? If you played previous Tales games, how does gameplay compare to other entries in the series?
The gameplay is relatively the same to the other Tales of games I've played, I really like being able to regain hp/tp by cooking meals after a battle is complete, and unlocking different attacks mid-battle is a really nice touch. Although am I right in assuming that there's no free running available in the fights? That's a bit annoying, although I haven't tried it yet so it could appear in the future. Also, like I mentioned earlier, I really don't like the open world part mostly due to the camera and the randomly appearing enemies, I'm sure it'll grow on me soon enough though.

6- Favorite party? Do you take an offensive or technical approach in battles?
As of now I'm controlling Lloyd, Kratos helps heal the party and since Colette gained her wings Angel Feathers has made her super OP so I keep her around for magic. I switch out Raine and Genis in the battles depending what I need to prioritise in the battle (Raine for healing and Genis for magic). I try to have a mix between offense, defense and healing, but I leave the offensive fighting to myself and have the others focus on more of the technical/magic attacks.

7- Symphonia has been out for a while now-- over 12 years. How are you finding the presentation (music, voice acting, visuals)? Does the HD version do a good of polishing things up?
Well, the voice acting is... something. There have been moments where I'm not sure how I feel about it haha. Visually speaking it's aesthetically pleasing but the textures and faces are occasionally pixilated but it's not game breaking or distracting. The music, though - one of the good things I heard about the Symphonia chronicles was the music and I wholeheartedly agree, it's beautiful - I keep finding myself staying in the same place like Triet just to listen to it. I can't compare it to the original since this is the first time I've played it but it sounds like it's held up.

8- Did you like the anime intro at the beginning?
I thought it was really cool! The song is catchy and it looks good. I wouldn't say it's my favourite Tales of intro but I liked it.

9- How are the boss fights so far? Did the fight against the Ktugach in Triet Ruins give you any trouble?
They've been alright, it took me two goes to defeat the Ktugac because I was a bit underlevelled and wasn't fighting well at all but it was easier the second time around. I actually found the fake chest in the opening hall of the ruins more difficult, I had to level up a bit further to actually defeat it, but it may be more difficult for reasons I've yet to discover haha

10- Are you having any trouble with the game? Difficulty leveling up, dealing with enemies, earning money, etc. ? Dav is lending us a hand, so don't hesitate to ask him for help.
Other than the fake chest, not being the right level when facing some of the bosses and running out of gold quite quickly I'm good haha. I can just spend some time grinding and running into every battle I can before moving onto the next area so I'm okay... for now. I'll be sure to request assistance if I need it Also, a question for anyone who's already played the game in case you're reading this - is it worth spending any grade you've earned on EX gems or should I leave it to another playthrough? I've already accidentally bought one though so I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing haha

11- Any thoughts other thoughts regarding the game?
I really like how at certain points you can reply to a conversation or decide where to go with two different options. That may become a pain later on, but it's something I'm enjoying now. I can already tell trying to get all of the titles and chests will be annoying >< I'm looking forward to seeing how everything pans out though!

 

[Xillia]

 

Also, a question for anyone who's already played the game in case you're reading this - is it worth spending any grade you've earned on EX gems or should I leave it to another playthrough?!

 

Don't, save your grade for NG+. You'll find plenty of EX gems by just playing normally.

 

I'll answer the questions after I reach the checkpoint.