In the world of RPGs, the Tales Of series maintains a niche status with a fervent fanbase. A remake of Tales of Symphonia launching alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 would be the perfect way to propel the series to newfound popularity.
For many years and amid the wave of remakes and remasters, Tales fans have waited patiently for Symphonia to get a fresh coat of paint. Bandai Namco would deliver a disastrous remastered version in 2023 for the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. That only amplified the desire for a proper return to form.
Symphonia holds a special place in the hearts of RPG fans. In many ways, it's the game that helped position the franchise in the West, becoming the most popular title in the series when it released in 2004. While the game is now widely available across multiple platforms, the rooted nostalgia it has due to being a Nintendo GameCube exclusive outside Japan at first would make a hypothetical Symphonia Remake launching alongside the Switch 2 special.
Suppose you're not familiar with the series, Tales Of started as a Super Famicom franchise, with the release of Tales of Phantasia in 1995. The game separated itself from the likes of Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy due to its unique combat, which was focused on real-time battles in a 2D environment.
That formula became a staple of the franchise with fans being absolutely enthralled when Symphonia dropped and boasted an action-packed battle system in 3D environments. Much like newer RPGs that have embraced more action-oriented battle systems, you can chain basic attacks into powerful special moves, called Artes, to create high-damaging combos.
Pair the innovative gameplay with a charming cast of characters that come with a varied set of skills, a poignant story that touches surprisingly mature themes that you wouldn't expect from a game that looks so colorful and you have a timeless classic... err, sort of.
I recently went back to Tales of Symphonia and while the passage of time has done very little to harm the appeal of the game's art style, the comical and beautifully drawn 2D skits, and a story that remains an interesting ride from beginning to end, the gameplay is surprisingly stale.
Dungeons are incredibly basic and exploration feels so clunky and uninteresting. Combat, sadly, suffers from being a mixed bag. Sure, you can diligently control what each party member does in battle, but it doesn't feel particularly intuitive or fun. Setting the AI to help you just ensures you get frustrated at how badly it functions. So you're stuck between an overtly complicated battle system where you micromanage your units or a linear button mashy Lloyd show.
The gameplay does show its age, making a remake that much more enticing. Tales of Arise, the most recent entry in the series, is a perfectly solid evolution of the franchise's staple combat system. But I say let's take it one step further.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake games showcased the perfect blueprint for how action RPGs should approach combat with various controllable characters, and dozens of skill combinations to mix and match. It's both fast-paced and flashy, as well as challenging at times. Envisioning Lloyd and the gang set loose in such a system while tweaking it to maintain some of the Tales Of combat preconceptions sounds like a dream come true.
If there was ever a time to bring back a beloved character and game is now. At one point, Lloyd Irving ranked first in a poll that asked fans which characters they'd like to see join the Super Smash Bros. series. So Nintendo fans haven't forgotten the dual-sword-wielding protagonist, and neither should you. One can only dream.