Tales of Symphonia

[Adam Stone]

I'm about 13 or so hours in and still on that 2nd boss

I went back and completely owned the Skeleton and Chest mini-bosses... and found out you can manually command the other characters. heh. Been trying to level up and experiment with the attacks etc. On level 20 now and about 260 encounters.

Really enjoying this and finding the simple task of leveling up, rather then progressing in the story, a thrilling and enjoyable thing. Haven?t seen many sub-quests or mini games tho. Have I been over looking them? Also, those rather cute cat explorers said there were a few treasure chests I missed. Do I find these by chance or is there a way they show up on the map?

[PeteJ]

I'd say that in about 50 hours you could do everything. If you want to do silly things like naming every dog in the world (select Collette and talk to a dog) then it'll probably be about 80 hours I actually did most of the sub-quests, but there was one in particular I was waiting to complete because I foolishly assumed it'd be part of the main plot. Baah.

It's strange, as there are two villages were absolutely nothing happens, and there are no references to them throughout the entire plot. One I can understand as being for comic effect, but the other is really quite beautiful and it seems like a shame to 'waste' it.

Also, those rather cute cat explorers said there were a few treasure chests I missed. Do I find these by chance or is there a way they show up on the map?

You find them by chance, but can only see them when walking.

[a_c_saunders]

Well I just finished the game. I'm surprised it ended to be honest, and a little disappointed as there was loads of other stuff I still wanted to do. I got swepped along in the story and it just...finished. Fantastic ending though, don't get me wrong

Just sad it is over

Took me 46 hours, 235 saves and 726 encounters. Somewhat less than a_c_saunders! Just wish I could go back and tie up a few sub-quests...

Well my time was stretched out by about 4 hours when I left it on while i was out (oops). Yeah I agree about the two villages, I was waiting and waiting for them to come into it...maybe with different choices on this playthrough they might be part of a sub plot?

Oh and one more thing has anyone worked out what to do with those random chests that are seald by some wierd power? I could never seem to open them...

[scarredbyvideogames]

^^

*semi-spoiler*

*****

The dark coloured chests?they contain the 'Dark Weapons' the most powerful (potentially...) in the game - one for each character I believe.There's someone in Flanoir who would like them.....Its one of the larger optional quests.

*****

I can't beleive how quickly everyone seems to be finishing this game.
My time is over a hundred hours - nearly 3,000 encounters - and Im just 2/3 of the way through disc one.Countless hours spent searching for those randomly encountered rare monsters to fill up my monster list and trying to earn the best stat-boosting nicknames etc.

Im wondering if the game really IS that addictive or do I have obsessive-compulsive dis-order...

[JamesS]

One I can understand as being for comic effect, but the other is really quite beautiful and it seems like a shame to 'waste' it.

Which village is that? I think I know where the first place you're talking about is, but I don't think I've found anywhere else that wasn't part of the plot in some way. I really should explore a bit more.

[PeteJ]

The other village:
moves about every time you visit it. If you look on the map it's a tiny dot, can't remember which area it is though. Oh, it's up veery high

Dark coloured chests - damn, forgot about them too >_<

What levels are your characters at scarredbyvideogames? You are completely insane!

Edit - yay, I have a save at the final possible place on the world map, means I can do all the side quests too!

[Adam Stone]

Countless hours spent searching for those randomly encountered rare monsters to fill up my monster list and trying to earn the best stat-boosting nicknames etc.

I've been doing this too Also using the special lens item to record the monster's stats. There are quite a few near the beginning i need to go back to which i missed. I've earned a few of the stat-boosting nicknames too, however keep trying different tactics and forms to achieve more.

Pete, thanks for the tips buddy. I mostly travel on Lloyd's pet, so that would probably explain why i keep missing the treasure. I shall re-trek and see what happens

Oh, and i've been doing the dog thing. heh. Does anything actually happen with this? Doesn?t matter if it doesn?t really...

I've been exploring using different groups of characters and their moves recently. Am spending time just boosting my level and doing the monster thing mentioned above. At the moment, i use Lloyd semi-manually while the three magic focused characters (Genis, Raine and Colette) stay behind and provide backup. It?s pretty cool. Also exploring the different U.Attacks...

Righty, time to level up some more and do some treasure hunting

[JamesS]

The other village:
moves about every time you visit it. If you look on the map it's a tiny dot, can't remember which area it is though. Oh, it's up veery high

Ah, right. Yes, I'd forgotten about that place. There is apparently something you can do there, though.

Edit - yay, I have a save at the final possible place on the world map, means I can do all the side quests too!

You can actually get back out from the last area anyway. In fact...

There are a couple of side quests that open up only once you've got the Derris Emblem, so you have to back out in order to get them.

I've just finished the game too. 60 hours for me.

[scarredbyvideogames]

PeteJ - well as of now my chars. are all between 88>90.I heard that the level cap is 250 so I have a way to go.......of course it removes all the challenge - even bosses are dead in 1/2 a minute but in the future Ill probably do the opposite and complete the game at the lowest lv possible or something.

Adam - the dog thing - I think it just gives Colette a new nickname - hopefully with some high stat boosts.

I'm feeling rather proud right now - I just got to the bit where you go back to Sylvarant on disc 1 and

*sort of a little spoiler-ish*

after having fought that dragon in Tethe'alla what felt like - and ,actually,probably was - hundreds of times,I was able to rebuild Luin.....to see the smiles on the faces of the children was it's own reward......

[Mayhem]

Now I've played an hour or two, I think I grasp the significance of the combat system. Normally I go for systems such as Zelda (full arcade) or Skies of Arcadia (full turn based), but this is actually a hybrid of the two. Lots of scope for tactics, and making certain characters do certain moves when needed. Any hints early on for good strategies for the opening characters?

[martTM]

The other village:
moves about every time you visit it. If you look on the map it's a tiny dot, can't remember which area it is though. Oh, it's up veery high

Isn't that the village where you have to go to get the summon spirit with the musical nuts? I don't know for sure, of course, but I'm basing this on information I've gleaned from some people sitting around a caravan near the peaks by Palmacosta.

Oh, and did anyone find the lake with the unicorn at the bottom of it, hidden in the range of hills between Luin and the peaks who's name I keep forgetting (but begins with an H)? I found it, but can't save the poor thing because it's trapped in a prison of water... but I know it's got something to do with a pure maiden (so I guess Colette's got to do something)...

Edit: Just reread that first bit about a summon spirit with musical nuts . God, that sounds rude.

[PeteJ]

Mart, no. And stop reading spoilers, you spoilee!

Right, I need to review this game today, never reviewed an RPG before so it should be fun. Or, as I know what will happen, I'll just spend the whole day sitting in front of my laptop trying to think up an opening line...

[scarredbyvideogames]

sorry for the spoilers.

[pace]

Mart, no. And stop reading spoilers, you spoilee!

Right, I need to review this game today, never reviewed an RPG before so it should be fun. Or, as I know what will happen, I'll just spend the whole day sitting in front of my laptop trying to think up an opening line...

I look to forward to the review, when are you planning on getting it done by?

[darkangel]

Hang on a minute, I thought Camps was supposed to be doing the review?