Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

[Tales]

Starting from Chapter 5 you could accept a treasure quest from a Katz through the Katz guild(read the description of the quests to find them), one in each chapter, and if you completed all of them in one playthrough you would open a secret dungeon in Chapter 8. I did the first three but gave up on the last as it was an 80+ and my characters were barely above 60 I think with the originals stuck at 50.

 

There's one at the end you should really try even if it means loading a old file. Go to Iselia after you had a story event there in Chapter 8 to see a scene with Lloyd. You will then get to guess which character Lloyd traveled with in the end of the original(you will always guess the "correct" one). Then go to Flanoir to see a scene between the two of them. The Sheena scene is adorable.

If I couldn't pick a character and it would always Sheena who appeared, I would think they were lovers for sure.

 

 

I don't remember this myself, but according to someone at Gamefaqs, in Phantasia we were told that all mana was depleted from the world and all living things no lenger depended on it or something like that.

 

Edited February 1, 2010 by Tales

[darksnowman]

Starting from Chapter 5 you could accept a treasure quest from a Katz through the Katz guild(read the description of the quests to find them), one in each chapter, and if you completed all of them in one playthrough you would open a secret dungeon in Chapter 8. I did the first three but gave up on the last as it was an 80+ and my characters were barely above 60 I think with the originals stuck at 50.

 

I didn't notice any quests that were out of the ordinary. Do you know if there's a lot I would have missed by not getting the secret dungeon?

 

There's one at the end you should really try even if it means loading a old file. Go to Iselia after you had a story event there in Chapter 8 to see a scene with Lloyd. You will then get to guess which character Lloyd traveled with in the end of the original(you will always guess the "correct" one). Then go to Flanoir to see a scene between the two of them. The Sheena scene is adorable.

If I couldn't pick a character and it would always Sheena who appeared, I would think they were lovers for sure.

 

I don't have any older saves. Well I do, but its at the end of the game as I was worried about passing a point of no return and not being able to come back if I needed to, lol.

 

 

That actually fits in perfectly with what transpired at the end of DotNW. Nice!

I don't remember this myself, but according to someone at Gamefaqs, in Phantasia we were told that all mana was depleted from the world and all living things no lenger depended on it or something like that.

[daftada]

Final update then we can let this thread die if thats what you all want.

 

Chapter 9: Symphony of the Heart

Gald: 294, 305

Encounters: 719

Hits: 53

 

Emil Lvl 59

Marta Lvl 57

 

Time: 37:24

 

All in all, I enjoyed Dawn of the New World a great deal. The returning characters were great to see and were only let down by their voice actors changing (Lloyd the most!). I'm not sure if Zelos has a different voice actor but I thought he sounded somewhat like Christian Slater throughout DotNW. Like I said before, the mo-cap breathed an unexpected amount of expressive life into the characters. In addition to the motion capture, I thought that the cutscenes were directed really well (the ones where the characters weren't idly standing round talking, obviously ) which in my book, added a certain level of cinematic polish to everything. That isn't to say it was all hunky-dory because the cutscenes in the Ginnungagap were of such horrendous blurry quality that even I can't over look it. What happened?

 

Story wise I thought it was great. It doesn't really pick up til your about 2/3's through but by the end I found it difficult to hate anyone because the game made you understand everyones motivations behind their actions. The Vanguard, Richter, Aster, Lloyd, the monsters... it wasn't black and white in the end. Speaking of which, the ending I got was really lovey-dovey which was fine by me.

 

Gameplay was grand. The lack of an overworld never once was a negative aspect for me- the only thing I wish is that locations would have stayed constantly available. I was leafing through the instruction book and only came across the move where you hold B after an arcane arc yesterday so things might have been alot easier had I known about that earlier. I found it a wee bit difficult to know what Artes were best to equip. In ToS I thought it showed you what ones were progressions of earlier ones... or something. I can't really remember but I think it was more straightforward for my mind to understand. :P

 

Sidequests... I did none that I know of. Nothing became available through the Katz Quests and by the end I only had level 80+ ones to accept. I dunno. Did I miss out on anything that great?

 

Something I was trying to second guess when they were describing the worlds history and then, by trying to think how the outcome of the game would effect things was if it lends itself to a threequel. Was ToS 1+2 prequels to Phantasia? I'm not sure if DotNW ties in well with everything but I'd probably be willing to overlook any further retconning if it means more time with the Sylvaranti and Tetha'ellans.

 

So, will I replay it? Difficult to say. The fact that its so short means its always gonna be an option but I can't see it happening any time soon. I didn't jump straight back into ToS after completing it either. Screw the haters, unless you are expecting Dawn of the New World to be the greatest game ever (which it was never gonna be!) then you can't go wrong with it in the slightest.

 

No, don't let the thread die!!

 

That's a really good time - I've just completed the Temple of Lightning with just over 30 hours on the clock! Granted I have been dawdling quite a bit, distracting myself with the Katz's sidequests (each 'dungeon' is worth playing through a couple of times, at least for levelling up or collecting rare synthesis items/monsters) and levelling up my monster team.

 

I will probably playthrough this again, but may leave it a year before doing so like I did with the original ToS. I'd like to use some different monsters next time (been content to concentrate on my original wolf, a bear and a griffin this time round). I have really enjoyed the story, which is another big reason for me to return one day. My only real concerns so far have been with the lack of locations available through the game, I don't understand why you can't return to the town's you visited when you want to. Also, the graphics early on seemed really terrible compared to some of the later towns/dungeons. It nearly put me off playing it!

[darksnowman]

No, don't let the thread die!!

 

That's a really good time - I've just completed the Temple of Lightning with just over 30 hours on the clock! Granted I have been dawdling quite a bit, distracting myself with the Katz's sidequests (each 'dungeon' is worth playing through a couple of times, at least for levelling up or collecting rare synthesis items/monsters) and levelling up my monster team.

 

I thought it was gonna take me longer, gauging my pace against Paj's. I didn't rush it either, I did find Katz Quests a grind but it was a nice way to give us stuff to do in the game. In my New Game+ I'll definitely have to pluck up the courage to tinker about with the synthesis system. I'm the type who's concerned about wasting items on the wrong stuff and ended up pretty much just hoarding everything, haha.

[Tales]

I didn't notice any quests that were out of the ordinary. Do you know if there's a lot I would have missed by not getting the secret dungeon?

Well, I didn't know so I checked and now I'm a bit more interested to play it again if that tells you something^^ (the biggest reason I don't is because I can't buy the 10exp right away)

According to a FAQ you get:

Emil's best weapon, a unique monster and one title each for Emil and Marta

 

 

I don't have any older saves. Well I do, but its at the end of the game as I was worried about passing a point of no return and not being able to come back if I needed to, lol.

It probably doesn't have cut off point if you want to go all the way back. And I had like 20 back up files when I completed the game :P

 

 

I don't remember how much I played, but it was definitively more than 40 hours. Did every Katz quest that didn't have 80+ except for duels.

[daftada]

I thought it was gonna take me longer, gauging my pace against Paj's. I didn't rush it either, I did find Katz Quests a grind but it was a nice way to give us stuff to do in the game. In my New Game+ I'll definitely have to pluck up the courage to tinker about with the synthesis system. I'm the type who's concerned about wasting items on the wrong stuff and ended up pretty much just hoarding everything, haha.

 

I'm exactly the same when it comes to synthesisng items in games. Been the same in Dragon Quest 8, Star Ocean Till the end of time and this game. I glanced at faqs early on to see if there were any rare/one time items I should leave till the end. Philosopher's stone in DotNW seems to be one of the rarer items i've come across, and that's used for loads of good items. Still haven't decided how to use it.

 

Did you see all the different locations available through katz quests? I was quite surprised how big some of them were.

[Dyson]

Right, I just started playing this today but I'm just not feeling the same vibe I got from originally playing Tales of Symphonia which saddens me as it's one of my favourite games of all time. Does it pick up at any point or is it really quite a mediocre sequel?

[Guest Captain Falcon]

It does pick up but I didn't feel it was in full swing until the second half of the game myself.

 

The start is by far the worst part though thanks to Emil being a total wuss, the frequent talking and borderline nonsensical plot that is slowly drip fed to you.

 

Luckily, the battle system, once you become a knight, puts up a more than worthy fight against the game's other attempts to put you off it before it has had chance to reveal itself to you - that it is a good game in it's own right but as a sequel to a much loved favourite, it feels a little lacking.

[Jonnas]

"Bring back this thread from purgatory! Ressurrection!"

 

Ok, I finally started playing this. Nice game, certainly quite different from the original, but I'm enjoying the gameplay thus far (well, except free-run in battles. I rarely feel I should use it.)

 

I have a couple of questions though, as the completionist in me is growing restless: are there any monsters that become unobtainable later on? At this point, it's hard to recruit new monsters, and I want to make sure I can catch'em all at some point in the future.

 

Second, my wolf can now evolve, but should I do it as soon as possible (like in Pokémon) or should I wait for him to gain a few more levels (like in Fire Emblem)?

[Emasher]

The monster system isn't that rewarding in the game. You're better off just going through the game at a natural pace. You're most likely not even going to use the monsters once you get a few more human characters.

 

Also, the evolution in the game is a cycle. If you get it to its most evolved form, and its ready for evolution, you can evolve it back into its original form.

[Jonnas]

The monster system isn't that rewarding in the game. You're better off just going through the game at a natural pace. You're most likely not even going to use the monsters once you get a few more human characters.

 

Also, the evolution in the game is a cycle. If you get it to its most evolved form, and its ready for evolution, you can evolve it back into its original form.

 

...Yeah, but can I catch'em all near the end? Because I only plan to use 1 or 2 monsters at a time, but I'm also a completionist. I only want to know if there's any I should catch before "disappearing".

Also, I thought Marta and Emil would be the only human characters able to level up, but apparently I was wrong.

 

As for evolution...you didn't really answer my question

[daftada]

I think most mosters evolve into different things at different levels. If I remember rightly the wolf can branch off into two different elemental forms. I evolved mine as soon as I could and he eventually became an ice-type beastie, but I think if you hold back the evolution for another 10 levels or so it can become a fire type.

 

There's lots of great FAQs on Gamefaqs that I used on my second playthrough - they explain how to get every monster! I don't think you can get all evolutions on one playthrough as you have to synthesise some items to make monsters evolve into certain forms (a bit like pokemon), and they usually require rare or uncommon materials to make the right item. I could be completely wrong though!!!

 

Thanks for resurrecting this thread bu the way, hope you have fun playing through it - I certainly enjoyed it, especially by the end!

[darksnowman]

I'm sure there are missable monsters as there are certain places you can't return to later in the game. I can't remember specifically what and where because I didn't try to catch 'em all.

[Jonnas]

I'm sure there are missable monsters as there are certain places you can't return to later in the game. I can't remember specifically what and where because I didn't try to catch 'em all.

 

That's too bad, then. Maybe on a second playthrough, I'll try to get all of the basic ones, at least (when I have more experience in recruiting)

 

I think most mosters evolve into different things at different levels. If I remember rightly the wolf can branch off into two different elemental forms. I evolved mine as soon as I could and he eventually became an ice-type beastie, but I think if you hold back the evolution for another 10 levels or so it can become a fire type.

 

There's lots of great FAQs on Gamefaqs that I used on my second playthrough - they explain how to get every monster! I don't think you can get all evolutions on one playthrough as you have to synthesise some items to make monsters evolve into certain forms (a bit like pokemon), and they usually require rare or uncommon materials to make the right item. I could be completely wrong though!!!

 

Thanks for resurrecting this thread bu the way, hope you have fun playing through it - I certainly enjoyed it, especially by the end!

 

Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know

Checking the FAQ, evolving him at level 10 eventually turns him into a Fenrir (Ice-related alright), but I can wait, and turn him into a Hellhound (22) or a Padfoot (25). I want a fire-breathing wolf, so I know what I must do.

[Patch]

Life Bottle *USE*!

 

I've had this game on the shelf for ages, but I've only just started playing it.

 

So judging from the last few posts, the people who have most recently played it are:

 

-UPDATED!-

darksnowman -COMPLETED-

Tales -COMPLETED-

daftada -COMPLETED-

Captain Falcon -COMPLETED-

Emasher -PROBABLY COMPLETED-

Dyson -STARTED-

Jonnas -COMPLETED-

-UPDATED!-

 

Anyone I missed who wants a mention? ;-)

 

Dyson, Jonnas, did you get round to finishing the game? If not, why not?

 

Thanks for the summary, darksnowman. After the marathon RPG known as Xenoblade Chronicles, I'm actually looking forward to playing a standard ~40 hour RPG game.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Patch

[Jonnas]

Yeah, completed it, except for a few optional scenes and a missable quest I plan to see on a second playthrough.

 

The completionist in me was not satisfied by the monsters, though. The game doesn't keep track of those you owned, so it's merely a gameplay mechanic, no sidequest involved.

 

The game itself does feel sloppily done. The monster mechanic isn't the focus of the plot OR of the gameplay (so I'm wondering why it's even there), the battle system isn't as tight as in the original Symphonia and it does seem like they went for the sheer barebones in terms of sidequests. Even the Katz Quests seem to be there to fill the game, content-wise ("filling chouri?os", as we say around here).

 

I am not really a fan of what they did with [spoiler!]Lloyd[/]'s character, as the personality is bland and the motivations are an asspull (though the other characters, both newcomers and returnees, are still good).

The writing in general is good, but the humour tends to devolve into shallow self-parody, to nonsensical levels (Regal&Presea being obsessed with paw pads? Sheena "falls into holes all the time"? Even Marta being in love with Emil kept being referenced in quests and the like, when their relationship quickly evolves beyond this)

 

I'm also not a fan of the intricate character design, most noticeable in their clothes. You can tell the new characters clash with the old, simpler, designs, which is somewhat off-putting, but this is a pet peeve of mine, as it assails Japanese products in general.

 

In the end, it does feel like a hastily done cash-in, but it does have its qualities, like the good plot and writing (there are clever moments of humour, too, and I like the new characters), the new voice actors are good, actually (though I miss the old Regal and Genis), the music is good, the battle system is not bad per se and it is enjoyable while it lasts.

 

It just falls short of the masterpiece that the predecessor was.

[Patch]

Thanks for the summary Jonnas! I have no expectations of the game being better than the original, but I am hoping that my love of the first game will see me through the negative parts.

 

It's been interesting to read about the monster mechanic though. It does sound like something I could get obsessed about completing 100%, but from the sound of it, there is little or no reason to do so, so I may very well leave that alone. Glad I set that straight before playing it.

 

I liked getting a bonus for using an old Gamecube save slot containing completed ToS data. I got the Jewel set for doing so:

 

JEWEL SET: mana mark (recover 3%TP on enemy defeat); spirit mark (restore 1%TP); mystic mark (reduce casting time); holy mark (recover 3% HP on enemy defeat); sapphire (ice element, resist wind 1); aquamarine (water element; resist fire 1); orange gel (15); apple gel (15); life bottle (13); 200 gald

 

List of bonuses on GameFAQs

[Captain Falcon]

I completed it. In fact, I started a second playthough before Christmas but it's been put on hold whilst I played Zelda, Sonic, Deus Ex, Tales of the Abyss, Batman: AA, Deus EX DLC, Batman: AC, Super Mario 3D Land and now Skyrim... So much for me not buying as many games...

 

Anyway, I'm either on Chapter 4 or 5. As well as granting access to the grade shop, New Game + also has some new side quests that aren't available on the first run such as Gladsheim and the Twilight Palace. But they don't become properly active until the Chapter 8 so I've a little while before I come across them.

 

Some, most, of the side quests are a bit grindy and cheap in nature given you just go through the same environments over and over again. Once you know the way around, you can do some of them fighting realtively few monsters but it doesn't allieviate the repetition.

 

It's holding up better than I thought it would though. All the problems from before are still there but I'm finding myself not caring as much.

 

Plus, the music is still great - both the remixes and original stuff.

 

	Audio

 

Absolutely beautiful.

[Ike]

Tales of Abyss reminded me I still need to play this. Might wait a little while before playing it, but I should probably before Tales of Graces f gets released.

[Jonnas]

I finally realized that song is actually from Tales of Phantasia! Whenever I heard it, I kept trying to place it on ToS, when it was the wrong game after all :p

 

Speaking of the game's music, I'm fond of the boss theme reserved for members of the Vanguard.

 

	Audio

[Captain Falcon]

Aye, its from Tales of Phantasia and if that's the trade off for the absence of an overworld then its a sacrifice I'm happy to make. Narikiri Dungeon X uses an almost identical version of that song so I guess even Namco must have been proud of it.

 

I wasn't overly sold on that battle theme - I'm guessing you're also a fan of Power Hungry Fool from FE9?

[yesteryeargames]

Anywhere selling this still please?

[Sméagol]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Symphonia-Dawn-New-World/dp/B002FL4R60/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329486780&sr=8-2

[Jonnas]

I wasn't overly sold on that battle theme - I'm guessing you're also a fan of Power Hungry Fool from FE9?

 

You guess correctly The Radiant Dawn version, mostly.

[darksnowman]

Wow, this threads a blast from the past, isn't it! Nice to see you playing DotNW, Patch, hope you get some enjoyment from it. How greats that motion capture compared to the stiff animation of ToS, eh!

 

Anyone played Phantasia on the GBA? I've never got that far into it but its meant to be buggy.