Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, known in Japan as Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk (テイルズ オブ シンフォニア -ラタトスクの騎士-, Teiruzu obu Shinfonia-Ratatosuku no Kishi-?), is a console role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Bandai for the Wii as a cross of spin-off and sequel of Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2.[3][4] Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World's characteristic genre name is RPG to Believe in Resonating Hearts (響き合う心を信じるRPG, Hibiki au kokoro o shinjiru RPG?). The game was released in Japan on June 26, 2008, in North America on November 11, 2008 and in Europe on November 13, 2009.
Gameplay
Battle system
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World uses the "Flex Range Element Enhanced Linear Motion Battle System" (FR:EE-LMBS), combining aspects of Tales of the Abyss' and Tales of Destiny's battle systems, to create a battle experience comparable to Tales of Innocence's Dimension Stride Linear Motion Battle System. A key feature of this enhanced system is the Elemental Grid.[5] Each battle location, skill, and monster has an elemental attribute.[6] The battlefield's element can be altered by using three skills with the same elemental attribute in a row.[6] Changing the element of the field determines both the effectiveness of an attack, as well as the characters that can participate in Unison Attacks, which return from the original Symphonia. A meter on the lower part of the screen indicates when the attack can be unleashed.[6] Another returning element of the series are Mystic Artes.[7]
A fight between Emil and Decus.
Another new feature is the ability to capture, evolve, and level up over 200 monsters to fight alongside Emil. Monsters can be recruited once they have been defeated in battle. In order to increase the odds of a successful recruitment, the element of the field should align with the element of the monster, and an altered version of the classic Tales affection system helps to persuade them to join the party.[6] The monsters are controlled in battle by artificial intelligence.[6] The party can only hold four monsters at a time; as such, those not in use can be stored in a pen at the Katz Guild.[5] There are also several sidequests available at the Katz Guild.[5]
The party obtains both experience points and GRADE after each battle. Experience points are divided equally amongst all members of the party. Once a certain amount has been accumulated, each character or monster will level up, thereby improving their stats and possibly gaining new skills.[3] Another way to increase a monster's status parameters is by cooking them special recipes, some of which can even cause them to evolve into new forms, allowing for "monster customization."[3] The original Symphonia cast, however, do not gain levels through experience points; instead, they gain levels during plot events. The amount of GRADE received depends on how each battle is fought. From the second playthrough on, collected GRADE can be used to purchase game options, or transfer items or skills to carry to the next file.[6]
Presentation
The only animated segment in the game is its opening sequence. Most of the story is told through real-time cut scenes that were filmed using a motion capture system.[3] Skits, which are short, optional conversations between the characters, make a return; unlike in previous North American releases, these skits are fully voiced.[8] There is more voice acting in towns and dungeons than in the previous game.[9] Much of the music in Dawn of the New World is remixed from the soundtrack of the original Tales of Symphonia.[3] The game also has widescreen support.[6] Furthermore, many of the assets and locations in the game have been taken directly from the original Tales of Symphonia, but the textures have been updated.[3]
Dawn of the New World makes limited use of the Wii Remote's features. Rather than the fully explorable Field Map traditionally used in Tales games, a point-and-click system using the Wii Remote is used to navigate the world. The development team left the Field Map out due to production schedule deadlines.[5] The pointer is also used for minigames and as a cursor for the Sorcerer's Ring.[6]
North American additions
The North American version of Dawn of the New World has additional features that were not present in the Japanese release. New features include the ability to load cleared Tales of Symphonia game data to receive extra items or Gald at the beginning of the game. In addition to this, while not a new feature, the number of motion control shortcuts in battle has been increased from four in the Japanese version to eight for the North American version.[10]
PAL additions
The PAL version of "Dawn of the New World" includes a Gallery Mode and head accessories for Emil and Marta. Gallery Mode contains a Skits Library containing viewable skits of the game, and an Image Library to view design sketches, illustrations, pack art and more. Head accessories include masks and head accessories which will be able to give new special effects during battles.[11]
Plot
During the events of the first game, Lloyd Irving and his companions embarked to a journey that led to the merging of the twin worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. After the lands became one, however, maps were rendered useless and the climate went through many vast changes: desert towns became frozen wastelands and lakes dried up into valleys. All of this stems from an overlooked factor in the unification of the worlds: the spirit of the old Kharlan Tree, Ratatosk, still exists somewhere, and its slumber has sent the world into chaos.[2] To complicate matters, tensions have quickly escalated between the people of the two worlds. The Tethe'allans look down upon the Sylvaranti due to their inferior technology, and the Sylvaranti fear the Tethe'allans for their power. Two years have passed since the worlds were first merged, and the Sylvaranti have created an army, known as the Vanguard, with which to rise against the Church of Martel and the Tethe'allans.
One day, the Church of Martel goes to war with the Vanguard, and Sylvarant's city of Palmacosta is caught in the crossfire. Countless innocent lives are lost and the city is consumed in flames. This event comes to be known as the "Blood Purge," a massacre allegedly led by the same Lloyd Irving who helped unite the worlds two years before. Emil Castagnier, a Palmacostan boy, is forced to watch as his parents are killed by Lloyd; after this traumatic incident, he is sent to Luin to live with his aunt and uncle. He suffers continual mistreatment from them, however, and he is further ostracized by the people of the city, who view Lloyd as a hero.
Emil's life takes a dramatic turn when he befriends Marta Lualdi, a girl who is being hunted by the Vanguard and the enigmatic Richter Abend alike. Determined to protect her, Emil confronts Richter and helps Marta escape with the aid of Tenebrae, a centurion spirit who serves Ratatosk. Tenebrae states that there are other centurions who lie in a dormant state: to restore balance to the world's environment, all of them should be awoken in order to revive Ratatosk. Emil forms a pact with Tenebrae, and in so doing becomes the Knight of Ratatosk. So it is that Emil and Marta embark on their journey of revenge and restoration.
Development
The opening music has been reworked into an orchestral theme for the English version of the game, similar to what was done to Tales of Symphonia.[12] The Japanese version's theme song is "Nininsankyaku" (二人三脚, "Three-Legged Race" or lit. "Two People, Three Legs"?) by misono.[13]
The original soundtrack for Dawn of the New World spanning four CDs was released on July 9 2008.
Reception
Dawn of the New World sold 120,000 copies in Japan on its first day of release[24] and concluded the week of June 23 to June 29 (with Dawn of the New World being released on the 26th) with over 151,000 copies sold. This made it the bestselling game of that week.[25] In a report detailing Namco Bandai's results for the first fiscal quarter 2009, the company revealed that as of 6 August 2008, Dawn of the New World has sold over 215,000 copies in Japan.[26]
Since its release, Dawn of the New World has received mixed reviews. There are conflicting opinions about the game's voice acting on IGN: Mark Bozon stated that the voice acting was stronger than the previous game, whereas Matt Casamassina said that "the voice acting is...simply atrocious".[27] Nintendojo expressed their disappointment when it was learned that Scott Menville did not return as the voice of Lloyd Irving.[28] Reviewers of Famitsu magazine gave the game a score of 31/40[29] whereas Famitsu Wii+DS's reviewers gave the game a 35/40.[30] IGN rated Dawn of the New World 6.7/10, praising the presentation, real-time battles, and length of the game, while criticizing the music, voice acting, graphics and linearity.[31] Gametrailers gave it an overall rating of 7.9/10, stating that in some ways the game was a worthy successor to Tales of Symphonia, but that the "erratic difficulty, budget production values, and a poorly paced story" make Dawn of the New World "ultimately just another passable action RPG".[32] Nintendo Power gave the game a score of an 8.0/10, praising the battle system and nostalgic aspects of the title, though criticizing the limits on the old casts' levels and equipment, the removal of a traditional field map, and the voice actor changes. GameSpot gave the game a 6.5/10, hailing its familiar battle system, characters, and "fun" four-person multiplayer support; however, the abundance of cut scenes, the poor plot, deficiencies in the AI, and the monster system received harsh criticism.[33] Other reviews were far more harsh, X-Play gave it a 2 out of 5 almost criticizing every aspect of the game, claiming that the graphics and writing are horrible, also saying that character animation were made hyper realistically, thus calling it a "bland and flawed RPG" [34]
Fan reaction to the title is mixed: some praise the game as being a worthy and enjoyable spin-off to the original, while other players regard the game as a misstep, criticizing the game's recycled elements, budget production values, and the English voice cast changes. Emil has often garnered much criticism, and is even listed as the fourth most irritating RPG protagonist of all time.[35]
References
External links
