Let's Play Tales of Symphonia

Hi there. I'm nicoleb and a complete n00b to this site. XD I've been lurking here for a while and really like some of the Let's Plays I've seen (particularly Soren Highwind's LP of Legend of Legaia). I thought I'd submit an LP of my own, Tales of Symphonia, even though I'm new here. Really, I'm just worried someone else will get to it before I do if I don't start on it now. I do plan to post a lot more around this community pretty soon.

Tales of Symphonia is an Action J-RPG that was released by Namco for the Nintendo GameCube in August 2003 (Japan) and July 2004 (North America). It was the fifth Tales series game to be released in Japan, and the third in the US. The Tales series has a good deal of interesting history behind it, including its struggle to gain popularity in the US, and its comparatively small (but avid) fanbase. I won't go into that here, though. Symphonia is Namco's most successful Tales game, and the one many fans (including myself) played first. It was the game that made the Tales series finally become recognized and loved outside of Japan, after the pretty heavy flops of the two translated Tales games before it. Symphonia got a slightly enhanced port for the PS2 (which was never released outside of Japan D:<), and a sequel/spin-off for the Wii. Both the PS2 version of Symphonia and its sequel were also released in Japan in epic HD very recently, which many other countries will also be getting. :D

This LP will cover all of Symphonia's main quest, all the sidequests I can access, and (if I can get the cheat codes working right for Affection) hopefully the multiple character arcs you can explore in the game. I'll be trying to get all the items in dungeons, using a check-list so that I don't miss anything. At the end of the LP, I'll also include some fan-ranting and (I hope) a constructive analysis of the game's strengths and weaknesses. This isn't my favorite video game of all time, but it's way up there, and it's certainly my favorite Tales game (tied with Tales of Vesperia). I'm new at the whole Let's Playing thing, but I really hope I'll be able to do this game justice while I'm here. Thoughts and input, particularly on the (many) ways I could improve, are very welcome! I'd also like to make this LP slightly interactive, but I'm still trying to figure out how I'll go about that.

I'm not overly good at this game, despite how much I've played it, so I'll only be playing on Hard mode to begin with. This will likely change later in the game as I get more magic, though. I'll also be making use of New Game Plus and the Tech Glitch. Sorry if this gets to anyone, but it's the way I'll be doing things.

Tales of Symphonia has a great number of important (and not so important) characters. These are the most significant ones, along with some info. Keep in mind that I'm trying to avoid most major spoilers here, so anyone familiar with the game is going to notice some inaccuracies for the sake of staying spoiler-free.

Lloyd Irving

Name: Lloyd Irving
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Height & weight: 5'8" (173 cm), 128 lbs (58 kg)
Weapon: Twin Blades
Voice actor: Scott Menville (JP: Katsuyuki Konishi)
He's your typical J-RPG hero - pure-hearted, loyal, a lover of justice, and dumb (very, very dumb). He's also quite lazy and unmotivated, but he can be oddly perceptive when he tries, and he's portrayed as at least a decent fighter. Lloyd is an idealist and wants a world where everyone can live happily. He cares deeply for his friends and is quick to defend even strangers from harm.

Lloyd is an excellent melee fighter and by far the easiest character to get used to. His combos are also very fun to pull off.

Colette Brunel

Name: Colette Brunel (JP: Collet Brunel)
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Height & weight: 5'2" (158 cm), 97 lbs (44 kg)
Weapon: Chakrams
Voice actor: Heather Hogan (JP: Nana Mizuki)
The Chosen of Regeneration who's supposed to leave on a journey to regenerate the world. She's very kind and caring, and is quick to respond to her enemies with sadness and pity, rather than anger. She's also very clumsy and not overly bright. She has a pretty strong crush on Lloyd. To be frank, Colette comes off as a bit Mary Sue-ish; she's too perfect, and I've never really warmed to her, despite her kindness.

Colette is a decent melee fighter, but not as good at it as many others. After some events, she makes for a very good Light-based spell-caster, which is great because a lot of Symphonia's toughest enemies are weak to Light.

Genis Sage

Name: Genis Sage (JP: Genius Sage)
Gender: Male
Age: 12
Height & weight: 4'8" (141 cm), 64 lbs (29 kg)
Weapon: Kendama
Voice actor: Colleen O'Shaughnessey (JP: Ai Orikasa)
A young genius (his Japanese name is so subtle...) who's good friends with Lloyd and Colette. He's an elf and can come off as pretty racist and somewhat of a smart-ass at times, but he's very caring towards his friends and hates to see people suffer. I didn't really warm to him until near the end of the game, but a lot of people do find him likeable.

Genis is an amazing black mage, especially with the right EX Skills (see below) equipped. He can cast all elements of magic (except Dark) and should be in your active party as much as possible. The only time I'd advise against using him is when you're facing two or more difficult enemies that require being rushed. This is because it's hard to control combos with Genis due to his spell-casting time.

Raine Sage

Name: Raine Sage (JP: Refill Sage)
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Height & weight: 5'5" (166 cm), 108 lbs (49 kg)
Weapon: Rod
Voice actor: Kari Wahlgren (JP: Yumi Tōma)
Genis's older sister who takes care of him (and smacks him around a lot, too...). She's Lloyd, Colette and Genis's teacher and, like her brother, is also very intelligent and knowledgeable. She's also assigned as one of Colette's guardians in the journey of world regeneration. Raine can appear a little strict, cynical and cold at times, often putting logic before morals, but deep down she really is a very kind person. Her role as the voice of reason is often quite fun to watch as the player.

Raine is the game's token healer/white mage. Like Genis, she's very powerful with the right EX Skills. She can cast a few Light-based spells, but her main role is healing you and boosting your stats. This is a very vital role, especially on higher difficulties. I honestly can't think of one time in the game when Raine shouldn't be in your active party.

Kratos Aurion

Name: Kratos Aurion
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Height & weight: 6'1" (186 cm), 172 lbs (78 kg)
Weapon: Dagger / Sword
Voice actor: Cam Clarke (JP: Fumihiko Tachiki)
A mysterious mercenary whom Colette's family hires to protect her, alongside Raine. He's very boring, business-like, calm and aloof, only talking when necessary. He mostly keeps to himself, though he takes somewhat of an interest in Lloyd and takes on a sort of mentor-role to him, teaching him how to become a better fighter.

Kratos is a bit of everything. He's a very good melee fighter (although I'd argue that he's not as good as Lloyd), a decent black mage (but Genis is better) and a decent healer (but Raine outclasses him). I suppose you could say he's an inferior version of the aforementioned three, but in reality, the fact that he's so versatile in battle makes him really good. There's not really any time when he's not useful in some way.

Sheena Fujibayashi

Name: Sheena Fujibayashi (JP: Shihna Fujibayashi)
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Height & weight: 5'5" (164 cm), 106 lbs (48 kg)
Weapon: Card
Voice actor: Jennifer Hale (JP: Akemi Okamura)
A ninja assassin who has a vendetta against the Chosen for some reason. She eventually joins forces with the party for mutual gain and other (spoiler-related) reasons. She develops a crush on Lloyd because he's a J-RPG hero so brave and kind. Sheena is embarrassed to admit it, but she does have some very good, unselfish qualities. Personality-wise, she's also my second-favorite character in the game.

Sheena is a good but hard-to-get-used-to melee fighter, and a sort-of black mage. I usually leave her to the AI. She fights with ninja-like techniques that make for great stun-locking and combo-building, and she also gains the ability to summon throughout the story. Notably, she's the only character who has an Arte in every single element. She can also change the elemental attacking attributes of herself and her allies at will, which can be incredibly useful. Still, I don't find myself using her that much, as I think Lloyd, Kratos, Zelos and Presea do a better job of melee fighting than she does (and you should always leave one spot open for Raine).

Zelos Wilder

Name: Zelos Wilder
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Height & weight: 5'10" (179 cm), 150 lbs (68 kg)
Weapon: Dagger / Sword
Voice actor: Shiloh Strong (JP: Masaya Onosaka)
An egotistical, spoiled, somewhat dickish noble who helps Lloyd and his party, basically because he's asked to and he's bored. His initial personality may put people off, but he's actually a lot less shallow and selfish than he seems on the surface. He's pretty perverted and is always flirting with girls, including Sheena, whom he knew prior to the main story. Zelos eventually grows to care for and trust his new allies. He's by far my favorite character in the game, as I think he's the most complex and sympathetic. And no, I'm not one of his (many) fangirls. To be honest, I don't think he's overly sexy. I prefer Kratos or Yuan.

Zelos pretty much fights exactly like Kratos. Actually, ditch the 'pretty much;' he fights exactly like Kratos, with the exception of his lacking a certain Light-based spell that Kratos has (though Zelos gets it as well in the PS2 and PS3 versions D:<). For everything else on Zelos's fighting style, just read Kratos's section.

Presea Combatir

Name: Presea Combatir
Gender: Female
Age: 12
Height & weight: 4'6" (138 cm), 53 lbs (24 kg)
Weapon: Axe
Voice actor: Tara Strong (JP: Houko Kuwashima)
A young girl who cloaks her emotions very thoroughly (for various reasons, some of which are beyond her control). She's very quiet and formal, as well as inhumanly strong because of her EX Sphere. She takes a while to warm to the party, but once she does, she becomes a valued friend to them. Genis has an obvious crush on her, but Presea seems mostly clueless about it.

Presea is another melee fighter, and also a freaking tank. She has excellent defense and attack, enduring a lot and eating through enemies' HP in a heartbeat. However, like a real tank, she's also pretty slow, which can be hazardous sometimes. Also, a lot of her Artes are Earth-based, which means she's pretty useless against enemies who resist that element. I usually use Zelos or Kratos over her, but if I'm in a melee-wanting fight and not using Genis, I'm always happy to use Presea. In my experience, she makes for a better third melee fighter than Sheena, assuming the AI is controlling her.

Regal Bryant

Name: Regal Bryant (JP: Regal Bryan)
Gender: Male
Age: 33
Height & weight: 6'2" (189 cm), 187 lbs (85 kg)
Weapon: Greaves
Voice actor: Crispin Freeman (JP: Akio Ōtsuka)
Another assassin who originally has issue with the Chosen but eventually joins the party for plot-related reasons. He's also a fugitive who was originally locked up in prison. Despite what you may think, he's actually very nice and likeable, revealing himself as a good friend once you get to know him better. He also has some kind of interest in Presea, acting as if he knows her from somewhere. On the downside, Regal is pretty angsty and boring in this game. I feel like his role could've been better handled and that he didn't get the attention and character development he needed.

Regal is yet another melee fighter, but I hardly ever use him. He can do some (very) basic healing, which can help out in a pinch, and the AI seems to be quite good at building combos with him. He's also got very high attack. But the way the way his Artes work and his combos are built works differently for him than for any other melee fighter, and I've just never had the patience for it. He also has no Compound Attacks in the GameCube version. Really, Regal in general just feels like an afterthought, but that's a rant for another day.

Noishe

Lloyd's pet who has been with him for as long as he can remember. Utterly worthless to the plot, utterly worthless in battle. I have no idea why they bothered programming him into the game.

Corrine

Sheena's trusty artificial Summon Spirit. Slightly less useless than Noishe, since he can actually talk, serves some purpose to the plot and can be used in battle. Still, I don't think the game really needed him. He is cute, though.

The Desians

A group of asshole half-elves who oppress and enslave the people of Sylvarant, locking them up in their Human Ranches. Even half-elves who aren't with the Desians are often discriminated against. Desians also produce powerful tools known as EX Spheres, which enhance a fighter's ability several-fold. It is immensely satisfying to kill these douches in battle.

The Renegades

A group of half-elves who look like the Desians but aren't. The two groups don't seem to like each other at all, but the Renegades' exact purpose is unknown. They don't possess any Human Ranches, at least.

Yggdrasill

The big bad of the game. He's also an asshole.

Yuan Ka-Fai

A man whose real loyalties are unknown. At times, he seems to be with the Desians, at others the Renegades, and at others even the heroes. He also appears to have some history with Kratos.

Martel

The Goddess of the world who must be reawakened in order to regenerate the world. There are several churches dedicated to her throughout the land.

Mithos

A young half-elf who grows close to Lloyd and his party later into the game. He comes to learn that not all people discriminate against half-elves. He also has the same name as the legendary hero who saved the world thousands of years ago. Hmmm...

Remiel
An angel who helps Colette in her journey of world regeneration. He works for Cruxis, an organization dedicated to regenerating the world. Pretty mysterious guy.

Magnius
One of the Desian's Five Grand Cardinals (highest-ranking members). He controls the Palmacosta Human Ranch. Fierce, arrogant and sociopathic, he gets his jollies out of terrorizing and manipulating nearby towns.

Kvar
Another one of the Desian's Five Grand Cardinals, controlling the Asgard Human Ranch. He's smart, calm and sadistic. He puts his brains towards developing various EX Sphere-related projects for the Desians.

Rodyle
Another one of the Desian's Five Grand Cardinals. He controls the Remote Island Human Ranch. He's a devious, intelligent, evil man who seems to have his own agenda, separate from the rest of the Desians'.

Forcystus
Another one of the Desian's Five Grand Cardinals, controlling the Iselia Human Ranch. He's quite relaxed and tactical, and apparently has a soft spot for his own race. He's probably meant to be a sympathetic villain, but honestly, I find him about as detestable as the rest of the Desians.

Pronyma
The last of the Desian's Five Grand Cardinals, and the only female (OMG, sexist! Give me $250,000, and I'll make a cheap Youtube series about it!). She's the highest-ranking of the five, but she doesn't own her own Human Ranch. Instead, she's Yggdrasill's right-hand man woman.

Botta
The apparent leader of the Renegades, though he seems to take orders from Yuan. He's very dutiful and composed.

Dirk
Lloyd's adoptive father who took him and Noishe in when Lloyd was three. He's a dwarf and knows a lot about EX Spheres, although he doesn't participate in their creation directly. He crafts lots of other useful things, too. Though very gruff about it, he cares deeply for Lloyd and wants the best for him.

Altessa
Another dwarf whom you don't meet until later in the game. He's also a crafter, but nowhere near as friendly as Dirk. He seems to have some history with Presea as well.

Tabatha
An artificial human who lives with Altessa. She's much friendlier than him and is always willing to help others out. She worries a lot for Altessa.

Kuchinawa
A childhood friend of Sheena's from the village of Mizuho. He helps the party out a bit in the second arc.

Orochi
Kuchinawa's brother and another resident of Mizuho. He's encountered around the same time as Kuchinawa and also helps the party out whenever he can.

Alicia Combatir
Presea's sister whom Presea lost contact with when she went to work in the city of Altamira. She and Regal appear to have some history.

Seles Wilder
Zelos's half-sister who shares a rather volatile relationship with him. She's a half-elf with a weak constitution. As such, she's confined to a remote abbey on an island. She clearly cares for her brother, but she's reluctant to admit it.

Marble
A kindly old woman whom Genis met and befriended at the Iselia Human Ranch. The two quickly bonded, and Genis began to smuggle her food because the Desian assholes don't feed their prisoners properly. She also befriends Lloyd.

Chocolat
Marble's headstrong daughter who lives in the city of Palmacosta with her mother, Cacao. She's lost faith in the Goddess Martel because her father was killed by Desians, and Marble was imprisoned in a Human Ranch. She befriends Lloyd's party early in the game.

The Pope
A complete douchebag in charge of the Church of Martel. He hates half-elves, regardless if they're Desians or not. He also doesn't like Zelos, as he's outranked by him. A complete power-hungry tyrant, he's always trying to write new laws that hurt half-elves.

Kate
A half-elf researcher who's confined to the basement of one of Sybak's facilities and forced to conduct research concerning EX Spheres. She has some kind of unknown relationship with the Pope.

Vharley
Another asshole who does various sketchy things and is in league with the Pope.
Tales of Symphonia is an Action RPG, meaning the battles take place in real time as opposed to being turn-based. Typical of most RPGs, Symphonia has you exploring its vast and populated overworld - interacting with NPCs in towns, exploring dungeons and solving puzzles, and fighting monsters. It has most of the things players of RPGs can expect, including items, leveling, stats, status ailments, parties, sidequests, equipment, accessories, items, magic (TP), summoning and battles. Lots and lots of battles... There are a lot of other mechanics in this game that I had listed here, but a lot of people have said (and I agree) that it's quite lengthy, so I've scrapped it. You should get the hang of most of the game's mechanics as you play it, but if there's anything specific you want to know, you can look it up on Wikipedia.
For this LP, I'll be using Dolphin for convenience (I do actually own a physical copy of Tales of Symphonia, as much of a bitch as it was to track down a reasonably priced, second-hand PAL version of the game...). Namely, the conveniences are easier recording, taking good-quality screenshots, and speeding up the game when I'm grinding. This will mostly be a text Let's Play (a Text Play? :O), but the boss fights will also be included in video-form. I was going to do this with the dungeons as well, but in order to get all the items, I'll be needing to look at a walkthrough, and that would make things incredibly tedious. Besides, this would mean recording just about everything except the cutscenes, which would be weird. This Text Play will also contain a lot of pictures, so please be prepared for a lot of loading.

Sources I'll be using are Kratos15354's 100% walkthrough to find all the treasure chests, MysticWeirdo's treasure hunting FAQ to double-check all the treasure chests, Oliver Kong's game script to transcribe most dialogue, and tamashii's Skit scripts to transcribe most skits. I'll be recording and editing with Camtasia Studio 8. All the pictures, except for this one, were ripped and edited by me. Feel free to use them for your own projects. All (or most of) the music links I'll be posting for this LP will be from Game music channel's Youtube channel. The opening vids linked above in the plot synopsis use footage recorded by omegaevolution, as this particular part always lags a bit for me on Dolphin, for some reason. I remixed all the music into the footage myself, though. It remains to be seen if I'll have to borrow clips for the few other anime scenes this game contains, depending on whether or not Dolphin will run them smoothly.

I was inspired by two other Text Plays. First, by Soren Highwind's Let's Play of Legend of Legaia here, and secondly, by wdarkk's Let's Play of Tales of Symphonia over at the LP Archive. I highly recommend both, as they are excellent. :)
The First Arc

Part 01: Introduction (A) (B)
Part 02: Martel Temple (A) (B) (C)
Part 03: Back to Iselia (A)

Wow, talk about flattering.

I played through this game with a good friend of mine several years ago; I remember having a blast fighting stuff and being amused at the utterly ridiculous amount of plot twists. I also remember this game being about sixty hours long even without doing any sidequests, so I wish you the best of luck in actually finishing this LP. Godspeed, nico!

I vote that you use FemShep and Liquid Snake in your party as often as you possibly can.

This is the only Tales game I've finished! I owe that mostly to there not being a ton of RPGs for the Gamecube.

I remember thinking this game was more dense than I wanted and that the Action-y battles got old to me after 20 hours, and that I played it for like 80.

I look forward to seeing you show me how to play this game the right way.

Man, I loved this game back when I played it. Looking forward to seeing it again, good luck with this.

I played the shit out of this game. I've played through it probably about a dozen times, with tons of different parties, and I've completed entire playthroughs as each individual character, just so I could learn to play each one, and boost their cursed weapons. Except for Genis, because he's a toolbag and he's the worst character and I don't want him around. And yes, this means I've played through the entire game as Raine, and Collette.

Super fun game. I used to know my way through it like the back of my hand, but it's been many years since I played. Good luck to you!

Personally, I've only been able to play Legendia myself. I've always wanted to try out Symphonia, but could never find a copy... Looking forward to this.

I was going to say the same, except I just realized that I did play and finish the sequel, too! It was much worse, though.

Looking forward to slightly shorter updates than the first one!

Dang, that's one hell of an opening post. I'm interested to see where this LP goes.

I've only ever played Symphonia once, back when I got my Wii in 2006 and thus got the ability to finally play Gamecube games since I skipped that system.

I don't really replay Tales games since once is more than enough for me, and I've only finished Phantasia, Symphonia, and Abyss all the way through. So I'm looking forward to reliving the game without actually having to replay a Tales game.

But... New Game+ !!

I'll never get past Lloyd wearing suspenders over his coat and not buttoning his pants.

It's like he sleeps in his clothes and barely pays attention when getting dressed for the day.

McDohl, that's absurd. No one would do that.

This dude/dude-ette/dude-gendernonspecific looks like Dazzler:



Dazzler is rad! I therefore judge that you are simply racist against white jumpsuits.

IIRC, he's voiced by a dude, but is probably gender non-specific.

Wow, thanks so much for the warm welcome, everyone! It really means a lot! :)
Aw! No problem! Your LP of Legaia was excellent. I was going to Text Play that game myself, but you did it so well, I don't see the point. ^_^

Yeah, ToS is a really long game, all right, and it does have tons of plot twists. They almost give you whiplash. :O And thanks! I hope I'll be able to finish it, even if it takes a long time. XD
OMG! Why didn't you make that an option, Namco?! >:(
True! At least the GameCube wasn't as RPG-lacking as the N64, though. :(
Thanks. :) I'm not very good at the game, but I'll try to at least do it some justice.
Thanks! Epic game, isn't it?
Wow! It sounds like you've played the game even more than me! I only discovered it about two years ago, though. LOL! Poor Genis. ;D And thanks!
Thanks. ^_^ I've yet to play Legendia myself, but it's on my list. If you still can't find a copy of Symphonia, I'd suggest waiting until the Chronicles western release in 2014 (if you have a PS3). It's got pretty graphics, PS2 content, and it comes with a free game!
Yeah, the sequel isn't nearly as good. :( And LOL, thanks! Yeah, my opening post was pretty damn long. Parts will be much shorter, so don't worry. :)
Heh. Yeah, I might've gone a bit overboard, huh? XD Thanks!
J-RPG Fashion! :P
Yeah, I took a while to figure out Yggdrasill's gender, too. XD

Thanks again, everyone! I'm posting part 1 right now! :)

I should probably be giving my parts more creative, witty names, but I kind of prefer my names to be simple and orderly. Sorry. :( Hopefully I'll make up for it with the content itself. The titles need not suffer through my terrible wit. :P



Don't mind if I do...



Yes, this ought to break the game nicely. Or, it would, if I wasn't so bad at it. Also, look at all that Grade I have. Holy hell, I've played this game way too much. >_< Grade is a kind of currency that you're awarded at the end of every battle, depending on how well you do. On your second playthrough and on, you can use it to unlock New Game Plus features, such as carrying over your skills or money. The text highlighted in yellow indicates the things I've bought, while the white text shows what I've left alone. Yes, I'm abusing it heavily. But trust me, unless you're very skilled or over-leveled, playing on Hard or Mania (very hard) is not very fun. :O That being said, I'm going to try to hold off on using over-powered Artes (attacks) until I really, really need to.

♪A Prologue♪



Narrator: “Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with this edict: “You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed.” The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world.”
Unknown Woman: “Lloyd Irving, wake up! Lloyd!”
[The woman lobs an eraser at Lloyd, which hits him square in the face]



Lloyd: “Gahh!”
Sure hope he's not asthmatic.

♪Old Familiar Scent of Iselia♪



Unknown Woman: “...How do you manage to sleep standing?”
Never mind that. I want to know how he sleeps gripping two heavy buckets. O_O
Lloyd: “...Oh. Professor Raine. Eh...is class over?”



Genis: “Yes, Raine. Mithos, the hero, brought about the end of the Ancient War in the Holy Ground of Kharlan.”
Raine: “Correct. Afterwards, Mithos, the hero, formed a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal away the Desians whom caused the war.”
Uh... I hate to be that guy, but that should really be 'who caused the war.' Nominative case, and all...
Lloyd: “But the Desians came back and are now causing everyone to suffer!”
Raine: “We covered that in class last time, remember? When the Seal weakens the Desians reappear. Just like they have now.”
Lloyd: “I...I knew that. I...I just forgot...”
You're a bad liar, Lloyd.
Raine: “Today is the Day of Prophecy. It is a very important day, which the Chosen of Mana will receive an oracle from the Goddess Martel.”
Raine, that sentence makes no sense.
Raine: “Now, Chosen One...Colette.”



Raine: “Tell us about the journey of world regeneration.”
Colette: “It is a journey to seal the Desians. Upon passing the trials of the Goddess Martel, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and mana is restored.”
Raine: “Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen herself to know the answer to that one.”
Yeah, I imagine it'd be a problem if the Chosen of Regeneration didn't know how the journey of world regeneration works.
Raine: “Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts. It is said that this occurs because the Desians consume vast amounts of mana in their human ranches. The Chosen's journey has two purposes—to revive mana as well as defeat the Desians. Now, for the next question—”
[Suddenly, there's a bright, brief flash of light]
Lloyd: “Wh...what was that?!”
Colette: “That's...”

♪Shining Dew♪



Raine: “I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?”
Telling an unattended class to study on its own is like telling an unattended cat not to eat the cream.
Colette: “Professor! I'll go with you!”
Raine: “No, Colette. If it is the oracle, the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else.”
[Raine leaves]
Colette: “Yes, ma'am.”

♪Old Familiar Scent of Iselia♪



Cool, we have control now! And it looks like no one is actually studying like they were told. How shocking.



Colette made this hole, in case you're wondering. Colette, the Chosen. ...Somehow, I'm not overly confident about leaving the fate of the world to her.

Try to leave, and...
[Genis runs up to Lloyd]
Genis: “Lloyd! Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out! Raine will get mad!”
Lloyd: “I'm really curious to find out what really happens to Colette when she receives the oracle. They always talk about the Chosen of Regeneration and the Day of Prophecy, but no one tells us what really happens.”
Genis: “But my sister said to stay and study by ourselves.”



This is one of many choices you'll get throughout the game. How you choose to answer will control Affection, which determines how much the characters like Lloyd, which in turn affects your game's ending somewhat. There are various guides online telling you which answers will make what characters like you. In this case, “It's research” will make Genis happy, probably because it gives him the opportunity to be an argumentative smart-ass.
Lloyd: “It's research.”
Genis: “That's just an excuse!”
Lloyd: “So? An excuse is an excuse, right? Don't be so stuffy. You're coming too, right? We're best friends, after all! Colette, want to come along, too?”
Colette: “...Huh? Um, okay. So where to?”



My thoughts exactly, Lloyd.
Lloyd: “Where else?! That light! You're directly involved in all of this. Aren't you curious?”
Colette: “Hmm...Are you curious about it?”
Lloyd: “Of course!”
Colette: “Okay, then I'll be curious about it, too.”
Lloyd: “See? Dwarven Vow #4: Don't depend on others. Walk on your own two legs.”
I love how Lloyd says that right after Colette displays absolutely no independence whatsoever.
Lloyd: “Okay then! Let's go to the temple!”
Genis: “Not the Dwarven Vows again. You always use those when you need an excuse...”
How far would he go with that, I wonder?
Genis: “Lloyd! You really shouldn't be picking up that used needle. It could be dangerous...”
Lloyd: “Dwarven Vow #72: Never pass on free stuff!”



Awesome.

If you're interested in some of the effects of all that New Game Plus-abuse, you can check this out (look at all those hours, holy crap). This probably won't be of any interest to you if you don't know much about this game, though, so feel free to skip this part if it doesn't interest you. It's not vital to the game if you're only playing it casually. Also (again, not vital): Lloyd's Artes, Ex-Skills and status; Colette's Artes, Ex-Skills and status; Genis's Artes, Ex-Skills and status.



Also, let's change that battle rank to Hard (insert penis joke here). As I said, I do plan to crank things up to Mania once I get more TP and get back into the groove of this game.

Now let's watch a Skit. That'll be fun. A Skit is a core staple in most Tales games. It's basically an optional cutscene that uses character portraits and (in the Japanese version) voice acting. They usually give you some nice insight on the characters and their relationships with each other.

Skit #158: “It'll Be Fine”





This is going to end in tears, isn't it? :/

Anyway, go outside, and...

♪Deep Fear♪



Too quiet... [Smacked] OW!
Genis: “Where did everybody go?”
Unknown Man: “Colette!”



Genis: “Frank!”
Frank: “Thank goodness you're safe.”
Genis: “Frank, what happened to everyone in the village?”
Frank: “They're all hiding. The Desians invaded the village just a short while ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt. They passed through the village and headed for the temple.”
Genis: “Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Desians!”
Lloyd: “You mean that agreement where they don't attack the village as long as we leave the human ranch alone?”
Colette: “Yes...Grandmother said it's to protect me...”
Everything's about you, isn't it, Colette?
Colette: “Oh! Where's Grandmother?”
Frank: “Phaidra is in the temple preparing for the ritual.”
Lloyd: “Phaidra's in the temple? But that's where the Desians...”
Frank: “The priests are there with her. There's no need to worry.”
Yes, priests are very good at fighting.
Frank: “Now, Colette...”
Colette: “I know. I promise to fulfill my duty as the Chosen.”
Frank: “Good luck, Colette. Lloyd, Genis. You two should go on home.”
Lloyd: “I'm worried about letting Colette go by herself. I'll go with her to the temple.”
Genis: “Me, too.”
Frank: “But...all right. Thank you.”
What kind of responsible adult are you?!
Frank: “I'll wait at the house. Come back immediately if anything happens.”
That doesn't make it right!

♪Old Familiar Scent of Iselia♪



This is a nice, peaceful place—

♪On the Very Edge!♪



FUUUUUUUUUU...
Genis: “I though the northern region where the temple is located was a sanctuary! Why are there...”
Colette: “It must be part of the trial. Martel's trial involves battling monsters.”
Plus, this is a J-RPG.
Lloyd: “We don't have time to talk! Let's get this thing!”
Genis: “Roger!”

Battle! Zombie

♪Full Force!♪

First battle! An easy one, of course, but I'm still trying to get back into the groove of this game.



I block more than I should, considering how easy the enemy is, but I'm trying to play it cautious here.



Demon Fang!



Victory! Wasn't that exciting?

♪*Silence*♪



Colette: “Lloyd, you're amazing!”
It was three-on-one!
Lloyd: “Ah, well...I owe it to this thing, though.”
Genis: “Ah, that's right, the Exsphere.”
Lloyd: “Yeah. It's designed for combat and brings out my maximum strength. Without this thing, I'd be nothing...”
Colette: “But you're still strong, Lloyd!”
IT WAS THREE-ON-ONE!
Genis: “Yeah, at least his sword skills are good.”
You're a jerk, Genis. :'(
Lloyd: “...What do you mean, “at least”?!”

♪On the Very Edge!♪



Colette: “Wait, Lloyd! The Professor said magic is more effective than physical attacks against non-physical and spiritual monsters.”
Lloyd: “Really?”
Genis: “Yes!”
Did you fall asleep while somehow holding heavy buckets during that class too, Lloyd?
Lloyd: “Okay, then, I'll leave the Ghost to Genis. I'll go for the Zombie! Okay! Here we go!”
Genis: “Yeah!”
Colette: “Okay!”

Battle! Zombie & Ghost

♪Full Force!♪

Time for another battle! This time, it's three-on-two, which is slightly less unfair, but still appropriately easy.



I set Colette and Genis with their default Artes (Ray Thrust and Fire Ball) on the Zombie while I take care of the Ghost with more Demon Fang.



Jump!



I love it when the back of my sword thrust hits the other monster. You'd think they'd have the sense not to stay so close together, but then again, this is basically just a tutorial fight. I dodge around a lot more than I should in this battle as well, considering how easy it is.



But that doesn't stop me from being hit and losing almost 80 HP. I'll just use the excuse that I'm out of practice. You guys believe me, right? ;)



Another flawless victory and some more Grade I don't need!

♪Old Familiar Scent of Iselia♪

Lloyd: “It's important to choose the target wisely when there's a lot of monsters, or if we're up against a dangerous one.”
Colette: “It's especially important when saving an ally that's in trouble.”
Who the hell are you guys talking to?
Genis: “We have to be careful.”
Lloyd: “Let's go to the temple!”
Genis: “Okay!”
Colette: “Yeah.”
No, let's go to Colette's house so Frank can heal that stupid damage I took.



Damn, Colette, your house is actually pretty nice as far as J-RPGs go.



This is your fault for leaving three kids unattended, Frank.

Now, let's go save and call it a part.



Whew. I hope this part wasn't too long. Story can take a while, and I wanted to show off at least a couple of battles before moving on. I'm still getting the hang of this style, so I'm hoping future parts will be a lot smoother. Thanks for the advice on cutting back on game mechanic explanations, since they do just get in the way of the enjoyment of the game. I hope these edits made it a bit better, and again, any advice and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! :)

Right now, I'm thinking updates will average to about one a week, but I might submit more or fewer depending on my schedule. Thanks again for reading/watching!

:subscribed:

This has been an interesting (if long) read. It seems good so far.

One thought I had after reading the first entry - have you considered using the youtube tag to embed your videos instead of linking them?

C&C: Your LP assumes a lot of foreknowledge on the reader's part. I'm not sure why you're running a NG+, and your nearly-full list of techs (plus references to ones you don't have) is confusing. As someone who's never played this game (and very little of the Tales series in general), I'm not sure how much I'm going to get out of this LP.

That's my $0.02. Other people seem to be liking it.

I played this game back when it was new, and even I don't remember (or more likely, never understood) how some of these mechanics work. Maybe a mini-update to explain the bits you get to mostly skip by doing NG+ (like earning techs) would be helpful.

This game was so confusing when I first played it. I understand it all now, but I'm not sure anyone who hasn't played the game will have a clear idea what's going on with battles no matter how many detailed explanations there are. It's hard to get invested in minutiae when you're not the one playing the game, you know? In-depth mechanics kind of take a back seat to the basics of comboing monsters and dodging attacks anyway, except for some big deal skills like Concentrate. Maybe you could add annotations in the Youtube videos for when big deal shit like Indignation Judgement is going down. I've always loved the game for how absurdly big it is.

Requesting in advance you fight that guy on Mania. You know the one.

Yea, this is kind of inaccessible to somebody who hasn't played it before. All those techs you have, how do you learn 'em? What are the T and S trees? How does that work? Grade, what's that? What are EX Skills? How'd you get those? What do the ones you have do? What are Titles? What do they do? How'd you get 'em?

I mean, I like this game a lot, and I already know pretty much everything, so this LP will likely be enjoyable to me regardless. Other people like learning about the game, and it's mechanics, however. Hell, I like learning that stuff too, and there just might be a thing or two you could teach me!

I beat this game and I'm pretty sure I did that without understanding what the hell most of those mechanics mean. Just pick some skillz and mash buttons until you win. If you're not winning, change skills and try again or maybe grind some more.

This is basically what I did. All the extra stuff that's being mentioned in the LP? That's the equivalent of Pokemon EV training. That is, pointless in-game.

Thank you! ^_^

Thank you! I'll try to scale down the length in subsequent parts. I did actually consider tagging my Youtube videos, but I'm a bit sketchy about Youtube copyright issues. I've had tagged stuff removed before, so I decided to play it safe and not tag or name my videos obviously.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I can get rid of the list of Techs and just mention them, if it's confusing. I'm trying to cut back on using them until I REALLY need them anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again!

I might just do that! I'd have to do it a bit later on, when I have more Techs available. What I think I'll do is bundle it with the Tech Glitch explanation that I plan to do (again, much later). Thanks for the advice!

You're absolutely right. I got way carried away with all that, so I've removed it. XD Annotations might be a good idea for later vids when something show-don't-tell-like happens. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks! And don't worry; once I get more TP and better party members, I'll most likely be switching to Mania (and failing at it). ;)

Yeah, I went way over the top on explanations. They're gone now, and I'm going to try to be a lot more brief with mechanics and the like to make things less long-winded and more accessible to people, both newcomers and veterns. Thanks for the C&C. :)

LOL! Yeah, point taken. I sucked pretty hard at the game on my first playthrough, mostly because I didn't understand how Ex Skills and combos worked. But I don't need to bore everyone with that. As I said before, people can just look up stuff they're curious about, so I won't go into long-winded details about things that aren't relevant. I'll still mention a gameplay mechanic here or there when needed, but for the most part, I'll just be focusing on the story and battles.

I won't agree that it's pointless to know in-game if you're doing a Hard or Mania run, but I'll definitely agree that it's pointless to know in a Let's Play. I got way carried away with that. >_<

Thanks for all the C&C, everyone. I really shouldn't have made all those explanations. This is a Let's Play, after all, not a textplanation of anything and everything about the game. I'm really sorry that it (rightfully) bored so many people. Looking back, I have no idea what I was thinking. But thank you for letting me know so I could wake up to it, and hopefully make future parts less long-winded. I'm working on improving part 1 now, and I'll be posting part 2 within the next day or so, probably. (The release of Pokémon X and Y kept me busy for a few days. XD)

I'd just try to ease the player into those mechanics at the same pace the game does. It's pretty kind about throwing that information at you in a nice, spaced out manner.

You could also just have updates that are the game's story, and then have hardcore mechanics talk in a seperate post that people can choose to skip, or read and learn.

Yeah, this.

Thanks, PrivateJoker. That's a really good idea. I tried to do this a bit for part 2, so hopefully it will be an easier read. :)