Dawn of the new world may not be as well delivered as the original but it still manages to be solid RPG for Tales Fans.
Platform: Wii
Developer: Namco Tales Studio
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genre: Fantasy Role-Playing Game
Age Rating: 12 PEGI
Release Date: 13th November 2009
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Game Score: 7.0 /10
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Summery:
Dawn of the new world may not be as well delivered as the original but it still manages to be solid RPG for Tales Fans.
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Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World is a follow-up to the original Symphonia on the Gamecube. It has remained popular among fellow RPG fans for it was well praised for its high sales, great characters, impressive battle system and great fan services for it's time and beyond. Dawn of the New World is looking to aim for same praises just like the original once but Dawn of the new world may not be as well delivered as the original but it still manages to be solid RPG for Tales Fans.
The story follows 2 years after the events that accrued in the original where the 2 worlds become one, now the world faces vast weather changes such as deserts being blanked with snow, watery areas drying up and earthquakes accruing rapidly. In the middle of the chaos 2 opposing forces called the Church of Martel and the Vanguard are escalating havoc around the people of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Emil the main protagonist of this game meets a girl named Marta and she's trying to save the world by collecting 8 centurion cores that would help restore Lord Ratatosk to full power, Emil becomes a Knight of Ratoask and agrees to accompany her on her quest. Lloyd Irving is also searching for the cores fighting anybody who dares to stand in his way. Emil's constant wining, moaning and indecisiveness heard through the game makes him an irritating character to put up with. The story and script is well written during many of the cut-scenes and skit sequences and sometimes the dialogue can also be quite hilarious from time to time. While the plot on the other hand simply takes far too long to develop much like the original and when it finally gets to the point, the pacing simply boggles up a little to much. At least you have great writing and some hilarious moments to compensate for it.
Much like other games in the Tales Series you wonder around town interacting with NPC'S in routes to your next objective. Instead of having to cross over the world map with many other RPG's you simply have a static map with point and click navigation or select the area you wish to go to. Although this eliminates the amount of random backtracking that you'd need to do but also eliminates random encounters so if you're hoping to level up on the field you can't do that o this game. Also you have to play certain sections of the areas before new areas become unlocked which makes the game quite limited compared with other games. Most Tales games has the formula as with other games you'll go through dungeons to fight monsters, find treasures, and also fight bosses at the end. Like other games players can choose their battles allowing them to decide each confrontation but boss battles are really frequent so you might want to grind in you'd hope to stay on your toes. The difficulty delivers even on the easiest setting and friends can also drop in anytime by turning on an additional Wii remotes. Like other games in the series it will take several hours before the game is complete but you also side-quests and mini guild missions to keep you adventuring. Also a note for fans is that if you plug in an old Gamecube Memory card with a completed Tales of Symphonia save data. The main story will take about 50 or so hours to complete but if you're going for side quests and missions the game will take even longer.
Dawn of the New World's battle system plays much more similar to Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Vesperia than the original. You take a total of 4 different party members to take into battle with each character using their abilities known as Artes. These magical attacks can be used into combos to do much more damage than any standard attacks. In addition to free movement mechanic you can also preform and attack with Artes in the air which the combat fast paced and swifty and like Vesperia there also a skill system which skills can be acquired through leveling. Making a return from the original Symphonia is the Unison Attack where your allies attacks join together to unleash deadly combo attacks. Special moves can be maped into buttons or use them with motion control. A new feature added to this game is the ability to capture and use over 200 monsters, these creatures can level up and they can learn new skills and eqiup accessories but not equipment. Capturing monsters can take a bit of time to get used to, to simply explain it you have to get the elemental icons on the bottom left of the screen to match the enemies target elemental type in order to successfully capture one otherwise you'll fail to catch it. You can also store captured monsters into guilds but if you need to change monsters you will need to back track into town. The original heroes from Tales of Symphonia will also join you and go through the game, fans will be pleased but however their levels are locked, you can't change their equipment or their attributes you only allowed to edit their skills or Artes they can use in battle. Overall the combat is about deep as the original and almost as rewarding as Tales of Vesperia.
Dawn of the new world looks at a different stand point as the original. The cel-shaded and chi-bi character models are replaced with CGI rendering details but they're decent looking on the Wii otherwise. Some cut-scenes use more realistic acting giving the cut-scenes a more animated feel unlike the original. There's also an animated sequence that starts the game off and also closes with one but if only there were more. Most of the games soundtrack is is simply remixes of the original with some instrument changes and the voice-work is solid for the most part but the voice acting most for the original cast has changed but it's alright for the most part but there's no option for the original Japanese dub.
Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World makes several improvements on the battle system and also delivers some impressive cut-scenes but with the poorly paced plot and some issues with the original cast it makes Dawn of the New World and passable sequel to the original game.
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The Pros:
1. Fast paced combat system with 4-player support
2. Original cast returning
3. Cut-scenes look quite nice
The Bads:
1. Poorly paced plot
2. Emil's constant wining, moaning and indecisiveness makes him annoying.
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Reviewed by Anthony Hayball (BlaZer91)
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