Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Okay, no-one on this flist is going to care, but this is the game I've waited to be released in Europe for a year and a half, and it's finally been released last week, and it is awesome.
Oh, spoilers for both Tales of Symphonia and the beginning of Dawn of the New World.
It's the sequel of Tales of Symphonia, which may be my favorite RPG, and maybe I'll make a presentation about ToS at some other time, because Dawn of the New World is full of ToS call-backs and not just call-backs, since the main characters in the last game are constantly featured and Very Important Characters here.
The main characters, however, are both new. Their names are Emil and Marta. Marta is a not-so-Mysterious Waif, who is energetic and spazzy and something like sixteen and who has a massive, clingy crush on Emil. Emil is a timid boy with amnesia who receives from Marta's familiar Tenebrae the powers of Ratatosk, Ratatosk being the McGuffiny Guardian they need to awaken to restore balance to the world's mana. Also, Tenebrae is a sort of magical spirit that is generally talking in a sort of stiff manner. He's kind of a stick in the mud, and frankly hilarious.
TOGETHER THEY TRACK THE CENTURIONS' CORES (the McGuffins needed to awaken Ratatosk).
In their way stand a number of factions, most importantly the last game's hero, Lloyd, who according to all appearances killed Emil's parents and has become a murdering tool in the hands of the Church of Martel. If you really believe that you are too dumb to live. Or just wrong genre-savvy. Whatever works. Lloyd is trying to find all the Centurions' cores as well.
I WANT TO MARATHON-COMMENT THE GAME.
Intro
Narrator voiced, they're explaining and summing up the events of the world and the last game to newcomers. Y'know what, I'll just copy-paste it, because it's shorter than what I could come up on my own. I'll try not to make a habit of it.
NARRATOR: Long ago, the Giant Kharlan Tree, the essence of balance and order in
the world, withered and died.
By the will of the heavens, the world was cleaved in two.
(An image of Martel meeting with Lloyd and Colette)
NARRATOR: Many years later, the Chosen of Regeneration planted a new World Tree
to take the place of the withered Giant Kharlan Tree.
(An image of a new map)
NARRATOR: The birth of the New World Tree also brought about the unification of
Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.
The two words were now reborn as one.
(No image)
NARRATOR: The world was at the dawn of a bright new era. Or so it seemed...
- HEY IT'S KRATOS' VOICE. Like in the last game, but here it's VERY VERY WEIRD, given that Kratos left at the end of ToS. HI KRATOS.
- I CAN'T BELIEVE THE VERSION THEY'RE GIVING. 'WILL OF THE HEAVENS'? REALLY? This is obviously the watered down, politically correct version that was fed to the world's population. Since we the party spent so much time and energy actively rebelling against the Church, the heavens, and their false gods.
Whatever, okay, the important thing is, IT'S CONSEQUENCES TIEM! :DDD And what gorgeous consequences they are. Sylvarant = backwards world, Tethe'alla = favoured by the Church of Martel, many Sylvaranti aren't happy and are rebelling against the Church of Martel and hate the Chosen (HOW DARE YOU HATE COLETTE). They form a group names the Vanguard.
Intro Cinematic:
Hey, Marta is a Pursued Protagonist!... In a Doomed Hometown!... Who then get rescued by-- uh. Probably not Emil, given that she fainted and when she comes back to she sees him. I'm not a huge fan of the Pursued Girl gets Saved, but Radiant Dawn taught me to give the protagonist and creators the benefits of the doubt. A girl can need help when she's fleeing the enemy and not fail as a character or as a person.
Also Emil's parents get killed before his eyes by Apparently!Lloyd, and he's in shock. I find it very cool that his parents' last dying words come from his mother and not his dad, that doesn't happen enough. The voice actress isn't all that great, though, she speaks too loud for a dying person.
"Help me Ratatosk"? Yeaaah, I see why they changed the game's title from "Knights of Ratatosk" to "Dawn of the New World". The new battle system already makes us rely on monsters that we catch.
And yeah, Emil's in shock.
And then we cut to the First Chapter.
I'll find pretty pictures to post to give you ideas about what the characters look like later.
Oh, spoilers for both Tales of Symphonia and the beginning of Dawn of the New World.
It's the sequel of Tales of Symphonia, which may be my favorite RPG, and maybe I'll make a presentation about ToS at some other time, because Dawn of the New World is full of ToS call-backs and not just call-backs, since the main characters in the last game are constantly featured and Very Important Characters here.
The main characters, however, are both new. Their names are Emil and Marta. Marta is a not-so-Mysterious Waif, who is energetic and spazzy and something like sixteen and who has a massive, clingy crush on Emil. Emil is a timid boy with amnesia who receives from Marta's familiar Tenebrae the powers of Ratatosk, Ratatosk being the McGuffiny Guardian they need to awaken to restore balance to the world's mana. Also, Tenebrae is a sort of magical spirit that is generally talking in a sort of stiff manner. He's kind of a stick in the mud, and frankly hilarious.
TOGETHER THEY TRACK THE CENTURIONS' CORES (the McGuffins needed to awaken Ratatosk).
In their way stand a number of factions, most importantly the last game's hero, Lloyd, who according to all appearances killed Emil's parents and has become a murdering tool in the hands of the Church of Martel. If you really believe that you are too dumb to live. Or just wrong genre-savvy. Whatever works. Lloyd is trying to find all the Centurions' cores as well.
I WANT TO MARATHON-COMMENT THE GAME.
Intro
Narrator voiced, they're explaining and summing up the events of the world and the last game to newcomers. Y'know what, I'll just copy-paste it, because it's shorter than what I could come up on my own. I'll try not to make a habit of it.
NARRATOR: Long ago, the Giant Kharlan Tree, the essence of balance and order in
the world, withered and died.
By the will of the heavens, the world was cleaved in two.
(An image of Martel meeting with Lloyd and Colette)
NARRATOR: Many years later, the Chosen of Regeneration planted a new World Tree
to take the place of the withered Giant Kharlan Tree.
(An image of a new map)
NARRATOR: The birth of the New World Tree also brought about the unification of
Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.
The two words were now reborn as one.
(No image)
NARRATOR: The world was at the dawn of a bright new era. Or so it seemed...
- HEY IT'S KRATOS' VOICE. Like in the last game, but here it's VERY VERY WEIRD, given that Kratos left at the end of ToS. HI KRATOS.
- I CAN'T BELIEVE THE VERSION THEY'RE GIVING. 'WILL OF THE HEAVENS'? REALLY? This is obviously the watered down, politically correct version that was fed to the world's population. Since we the party spent so much time and energy actively rebelling against the Church, the heavens, and their false gods.
Whatever, okay, the important thing is, IT'S CONSEQUENCES TIEM! :DDD And what gorgeous consequences they are. Sylvarant = backwards world, Tethe'alla = favoured by the Church of Martel, many Sylvaranti aren't happy and are rebelling against the Church of Martel and hate the Chosen (HOW DARE YOU HATE COLETTE). They form a group names the Vanguard.
Intro Cinematic:
Hey, Marta is a Pursued Protagonist!... In a Doomed Hometown!... Who then get rescued by-- uh. Probably not Emil, given that she fainted and when she comes back to she sees him. I'm not a huge fan of the Pursued Girl gets Saved, but Radiant Dawn taught me to give the protagonist and creators the benefits of the doubt. A girl can need help when she's fleeing the enemy and not fail as a character or as a person.
Also Emil's parents get killed before his eyes by Apparently!Lloyd, and he's in shock. I find it very cool that his parents' last dying words come from his mother and not his dad, that doesn't happen enough. The voice actress isn't all that great, though, she speaks too loud for a dying person.
"Help me Ratatosk"? Yeaaah, I see why they changed the game's title from "Knights of Ratatosk" to "Dawn of the New World". The new battle system already makes us rely on monsters that we catch.
And yeah, Emil's in shock.
And then we cut to the First Chapter.
I'll find pretty pictures to post to give you ideas about what the characters look like later.