Tales of Symphonia was a beautiful game back when it was released on Gamecube and PlayStation 2 in 2004, and it still remains one, showcasing the unusual longevity of its gorgeous art style. The HD update is accordingly pretty minimal, with everything having been touched up just a little bit so it looks up to modern standards, and what we get as a result is a very beautiful game. Dawn of the New World has received similar treatment, and visually, both games are eye catching (although there are some areas where they look anachronistically bad on your TV, thanks to a graphics design mentality that made sense in 2004, but no longer does in 2014).

"The real time battle system that was introduced in Tales of Symphonia remains a joy with this release too, although the lack of camera control in Symphonia's battles stands out"

As well as the Symphonia games’ graphics have aged, their gameplay has stood up better. The real time battle system that was introduced in Tales of Symphonia remains a joy with this release too, although the lack of camera control in Symphonia’s battles stands out- Dawn of a New World introduced full camera control that made battles flow that much better, and this update was an excellent chance to bring in one of the few improvements that the sequel brought with it into the original game, but bafflingly, Namco seem to have decided to forego that option. As a result, Symphonia’s battles can feel a little restrictive and unnecessarily antiquated, especially with Dawn of a New World and its more modern take right there in the same package.

Nonetheless, Tales of Symphonia featured an unusually progressive take on battles for a JRPG, and it actually managed to pull it off well, unlike some other big name RPG franchises, that tried and failed- multiple times (looking at you here, Final Fantasy XIII), and on the whole, the strategic depth and dynamism of the battle system translates fairly well even today.

The one unusual and unexpected outcome of this decision to keep Symphonia so faithful is that its sequel actually becomes a better game now than it was at its release. It’s easier to appreciate Dawn of a New World now and all that it brought to the table, and its quality of life gameplay improvements make it a fun game to play, even if its absolutely unsympathetic protagonist and a drag of a story that is told via poorly paced cutscene dumps drag that title down.

Indeed, this re-release does highlight how great Symphonia’s story and characters were, and why its sequel was far less well received- the group of heroes in Dawn of a New World is borderline intolerable, being as overwrought with cliche and over the top emotion as the worst stereotype of a JRPG would have you believe, and its story itself is unremarkable, and poorly paced, meaning you as a player have really no interest in seeing where it goes; Dawn of a New World’s gameplay improvements can only take it so far.

"The story experience can be further enhanced thanks to Namco's great decision of including both the English and Japanese dubs in the package. Whereas the English dub for Symphonia and its sequel was actually really good, playing a JRPG in Japanese can breathe new life into it, and the original voices are so emotive, that the story itself gets a second wind."

Symphonia on the other hand is a joy to play, and its story is still as sweet as ever (although in a more westernized gaming culture today, some things will induce far more cringes than they would have back when this game was originally released), but its story is sweet, its characters generally down to earth, and you will want to see their own arcs through to the end, every single one of them.

The story experience can be further enhanced thanks to Namco’s great decision of including both the English and Japanese dubs in the package. Whereas the English dub for Symphonia and its sequel was actually really good, playing a JRPG in Japanese can breathe new life into it, and the original voices are so emotive, that the story itself gets a second wind.

On the whole, this is a package that is wholly recommended- Symphonia is a great game, one of the classics of the JRPG genre, and it aged very well. Dawn of a New World actually got better with time, as its gameplay improvements make it a much better game than your memory would suggest (although its story is as awful now as it was then). The touched up graphics and inclusion of dual dubs only serves to reinforce this as the ultimate package for Symphonia fans. If you want some good, surprisingly progressive JRPG questing, get Tales of Symphonia Chronicles.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 3.

Speaking to Gaming Angels at the New York Comic Con, Baba stated that, “We are currently in the very early phases of work for next generation PlayStation titles.

“But we still have no plans to bring the series back to the Xbox, or Xbox One. We feel that our core fanbase leans toward the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, so we are focusing our efforts on bringing the best possible Tales experience there.”

Most Tales games haven’t been released for Xbox 360, with only Tales of Vesperia having released in the past (and that eventually arrived for PS3). Tales of Xillia 2 and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will be heading to PlayStation 3 next year. Stay tuned for more details.

Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, the PlayStation 3 exclusive re-release of Namco Bandai’s most beloved Tales of game, as well as its much less lauded sequel, is getting a Collector’s Edition in Europe, that releases February 28 (which is also when the game releases there, incidentally).

The Tales of Symphonia Chronicles collection celebrates the 10th anniversary of the critically acclaimed classic, Tales of Symphonia by offering it and its follow-up story, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, on a single disc containing the entire Tales of Symphonia storyline with updated HD graphics and new content.

The Collector’s Edition comes packed with the following:

• A set of five Chibi Kyun Chara mini figures from Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World,
• A paperback novel detailing the story,
• A multi-disc soundtrack,
• Special collector’s packaging with artwork from Japanese animation studio, ufotable.

“In celebration of the Tales of Symphonia 10th Anniversary, we wanted to mark the occasion! Bringing back this epic and oneiric adventure was the first step to please fans and newcomers alike” said Mathieu Piau, EMEA Marketing Director for Namco Bandai Games Europe. “The second step was to offer to all our beloved Tales Of fans the Collector’s Edition they deserve, with some fantastic collectible content to dive further into the Tales of universe!”

Tales of Symphonia Chronicles releases next year. Next year also sees the western release of another major Tales of game, Tales of Xillia 2, the sequel to this year’s Tales of Xillia. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage on the titles.

Update: Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will be released on February 25th, 2013 in North America.

Chris Gilbert, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Namco Bandai Games America stated that, “We are happy to be bringing Tales of Symphonia Chronicles to North American fans in 2014 with a feature-packed Collector’s Edition. The Tales of Symphonia Chronicles Collector’s Edition is a fantastic offer for TALES OF fans looking for something extra special to add to their gaming room.”

Packaged with the Collector’s Edition is an exclusive set of five Chibi Kyun Chara from both games, a paperback novel talking about events between the games, the official soundtrack, and a special packaging with artwork from Japanese animation studio ufotable. The Collector’s Edition will retail for $99.95 and be limited to 15,000 copies.

“The Tales of series, which is already very successful in Japan, has been expanding greatly in the Western market, and we believe J-RPG fans will continue being pleased with this updated HD edition of two of the most classic Tales of games.”

The game collects Tales of Symphonia, which released in 2004 for the Nintendo Gamecube and PS2, and its sequel Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, released for the Wii in 2008, into one package, with additional content also planned.