Tales of Symphonia

Tales of Symphonia is the fifth main game in the Tales series and the eleventh game released in total. It is the third game released in North America. It follows the adventures of Lloyd Irving, as he and his friends work to help Colette Brunel regenerate the World.

Originally released as a GameCube exclusive, the game was later re-released in Japan for PlayStation 2. This version included a number of extras, including new titles and techniques among other minor differences (such as the GameCube in the Sylvarant base becoming a strange-looking machine).

This Tales brought to the Tales series a new battle system in 3D, where the player-controlled character moves on a 2D plane, except when physically attacking an enemy located off the plane. It is the best-selling Tales game so far, mostly due to the sales racked up in Europe and America.

Premise
For years, the world of Sylvarant has been slowly dying due to the depletion of a heavenly substance known as mana. In order to fix this problem, a young girl called Colette Brunel must take up the role of the legendary Chosen, and travel to the Tower of Salvation where the Goddess Martel awaits her request for world regenration...

As she travels, she is joined by a number of followers including her childhood friends Lloyd Irving and Genis Sage, her teacher Raine, a ninja named Sheena and the mercenary Kratos. Together, they make their way towards the Tower of Salvation, only to discover that there's something strange going on with the prophecy...

Characters

 * Lloyd Irving: Once but a simple country boy, Lloyd Irving is thrust out into a journey of epic proportions following a brutal attack on his village. The Chosen of Mana is in fact one of his dearest friends, and after an exile from his home, Lloyd Irving joins her on her Journey of Regeneration. Although the young warrior himself plays no part in the prophecy as such, he is still a strong optimist and a fair leader, traits that will become invaluable if ever the groups priorities are to shift...


 * Colette Brunel: The Chosen of Mana from the land of Sylvarant who's destiny it is to climb the Tower of Salvation and restore life to the planet. For the sake of this cause, she would willingly give up her own life... A quality that others may take advantage of...


 * Kratos Aurion: A sword-wielding mercenary whom the Church of Martel hire in order to protect the Chosen on her Journey of Regeneration. At the beginning of the game not much is known about this mysterious character, but as things progress, more and more of his history becomes clear. He's certainly not the man he led the Chosen to believe him to be be, but does he even know who he is himself?


 * Genis Sage: A childhood friend of Lloyd Irving who grew up studying magic in the small countryside village of Iselia. Being something of a protogé with his powers, this young boy becomes an invaluable member of the Chosen's group through their Journey of Regeneration and beyond...


 * Raine Sage: A skilled healer who once worked as a teacher in Iselia before leaving with Colette on the Journey of Regeneration. She claims to be an orphaned elf who carved out a life in the land of Sylvarant, but is this really the case?


 * Regal Bryant: A convict bound with shackles for the heinous crime he committed long ago. This man owes no real debt to society for what he did. The only problem is forgiving himself.


 * Sheena Fujibayashi: A female ninja from the Tethe'allan colony of Mizuho who was sent to Sylvarant to assassinate Colette. However, as she travels through that faraway land, she begins to get a feeling for its people and their plight... Could she ever live with herself if she killed the Chosen and doomed them all?


 * Presea Combatir: A young girl who had her life drained out of her by the special Exsphere attached to her chest. She's quite taciturn in demeanor, and only wants to go home to Ozette.


 * Zelos Wilder: The Chosen of Mana from the land of Tethe'alla. Raised as an aristocrat, his view of the world is clouded and he's blind to the discrimation that's going on all around him. An irrepressible flirt, he takes every chance he can get to hit on all female party members, much to the annoyance of the party. Still, he's a good person at heart, but is he trustworthy?


 * Mithos Yggdrasill: A 4000 year-old war hero, and also a young boy... A strong optimist with praised ideals, and a ruthless oppressor. A powerful angel who would save mankind, and a genocidal maniac. The leader of Cruxis. What is his goal?

Connection to Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Symphonia's storyline appears to take place in the same world as Tales of Phantasia, albeit thousands of years beforehand. This is backed up by the fact that there are a number of places that feature in both games and a few characters who bear odd resemblances to each other.

Content
Tales of Symphonia content:
 * Synopsis
 * Accesories
 * Customization
 * Skits
 * Grade Shop
 * Figurines
 * Monster Data
 * Coliseum

PS2 Remake
For the full article see Tales of Symphonia (PS2)

Japanese sales of Tales of Symphonia weren't as good as Namco had expected, so the company decided to re-release the game on the Playstation 2 with a few new extras including cutscenes and sidequests.

Related articles

 * Tales of Symphonia OVA
 * Tales of Symphonia manga