Monday, October 14, 2013

Tales of Symphonia Unisonant Pack

Ten years ago, it's the year 2003. Let's see...what things does the year brought us out? In the year 2003, we got...Yumeria? Okay...What about Braniac? The one with Richard Hammond on it before? All right...What else? What else does the year 2003 brought us? Yes, the war on Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein. We all remember that. Anyway, there's this game we all remember in the year 2003 and that's Tales of Symphonia, one of the most memorable Namco Tales games ever made and it's definitely one of the Tales games we got hooked on.

Before explaining what it's about, let's look back at last year's Tales of Xillia 2. For starters, it maybe somewhat more of a sequel to the Xillia game that most Tales fans got talked about. Sometimes, even though it's the latest chapter, fans sometimes kinda let themselves down to the storyline that leaves everyone puzzling with questions left to be answered but that's the whole point of the Tales stories, you'll expect more twists and turns as the player made crucial choices.

What fans want for the Tales of game is a Tales of game that is new but it's not new. What they actually want is this...

Tales of Symphonia Unisonant Pack

Refreshed from the archives of the history of NAMCO, this is Tales of Symphonia Unisonant Pack. At first glance, it looks like the old 2003 video game as well as its 2008 follow-up; Ratatosk no Kishi (Dawn of the New World) but it's been peppered with modern touches.

It's a classic Tales of game but since it's made to celebrate Symphonia's 10th anniversary, you can now play both Symphonia and Dawn of the New World into one in your PS3 console! Although it maybe an old game redefined but when you played both of these two in a new packaging and the same mechanics, it gets you in there, relieving every moments you have encountered throughout the Symphonia storyline. This is like a tribute band which rocks like the original! No, wait! Even better!

Featuring an innovative battle system with numerous special attacks, spells, and combos, it also comes with a customizable growth system which allows you to change your fighting style and alter the storyline according to the character's relationships. In Tales of Symphonia, aside from the battles, there's also a wide variety of minigames and side quests for added gameplay value.

Meanwhile in the 2008 followup: Ratatosk no Kishi (Dawn of the New World), as Emil, a young man who posses the power of Ratatosk, you can acquire different kinds of monsters which you can raise to their full potential after battles. It also features an enhanced free-run battle system complete with unison attacks and a strategic elemental system.

However, those mechanics doesn't matter to us because celebrating Symphonia's 10th anniversary since its 2003 debut on the Gamecube is more than enough to celebrate one of the most adorned Namco Tales ever assembled. Despite being made as a tribute to the game's 10th year, I had a confession to make. As a matter of fact, they could have overdone this. Since Tales of Symphonia was launched in 2003 on the Gamecube and its Dawn of the New World followup launched on the Wii in 2008, why would they have to put these two chapters into one and plug it on the PS3 console instead of the newer Wii U console? Perhaps the reason why they put it on the PS3 is because they are concentrating on the looks, the feels, the sounds, and everything to make it even better for the masses. That's how that really mattered.

Thing is though, this is like more of a worship. It's like the monks paying respect to their idol and they are blessing it with exquisite gifts. If by gifts, there are surprises because here in Symphonia, you can expect unlocking costumes from various Tales of games.For Lloyd and Genus, you can unlock their costumes derived from Tales of the Abyss. For Collete and Sheena, costumes from Tales of Vesperia.  For Kratos, Presea, and Zelos, good luck finding the costumes from the Tales of Xillia chapters. Lastly, for Regal and Raine, find outfits derived from Malik and Pascal from Tales of Graces F. As for the 2008 followup, hats! Good luck unlocking some hats for Emil, Marta, and some of the returning cast! Also, when you finished Dawn of the New World, you'll get the Gallery Mode featuring character concept artworks as well as the skits from the game itself.

What this is, in truth, is more than just a gala for the devoted Tales fan. It's like a love letter to a game.

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