Tales of Symphonia

had the original on gamecube. its a great game with characters that are actually likeable. also you can play with friends in combat, they can control the other characters

it can be difficult to play if youre not familiar with Tales games

This game is way outdated by today's standards. It hasn’t been optimized at all for modern players’ expectations. The narrow corridors are constantly filled with unavoidable enemies. And the final stretch of the Temple of Darkness is just a long, tedious slog that feels like it exists purely to waste your time.

Literally one of my favorite games of all time. Story is great and deep with rich characters. MANY improvements from the OG Gamecube discs (except the 30fps lock smh).

My absolute favorite game of all time. I played this back on its initial release on the Nintendo Gamecube when I was much younger, and its storyline was unbelievably formative for me. While I have heard of a number of bugs on the Steam version, I cannot recommend this game enough. If possible, I recommend playing it on another system but, since this goes on sale extremely regularly, I find owning it on Steam to be a very nice option if those consoles are not available to you. The game itself is a JRPG but, unlike many in the genre, features real time battles that aren't turned based. It's admittedly a bit dated compared to some more recent games in the series, even being outdone in gameplay by Tales of Vesperia, but I still find it far more engaging than a typical turn-based RPG. The main cast are incredibly well written, the dialogue is legitimately charming and funny, and while it contains a large number of clichés among the fantasy JRPG genre, the story has some great flow and genuine surprises to it.

I had a lot of fun playing this game with my sister as a kid. This port, however, desperately needs some QOL updates. The story is only notable for the voice acting. I just want to play Tales of the Abyss when I play Symphonia now, which is the same complaint I have for Tales of Vesperia despite its improved combat. It's fine for what it was, but way more basic of a JRPG than I remember.