Tales of Symphonia is a Japanese role-playing game (RPG). It was initially released in 2004 for the Nintendo Gamecube and has since been re-released for the PlayStation 3 and Steam platform.

The game follows Lloyd, a young man living in the world of Sylvarant. His friend Collette has been tasked with becoming the next Chosen. Lloyd and his friends accompany Collette on her pilgrimage as she is tested along the way, receiving new angelic powers while simultaneously losing part of what makes her human (such as her ability to speak). When it's revealed that the angel Remiel is not who he seems, Sylvarant and its parallel world Tethe'alla will be thrown into chaos unless Lloyd and the others can save both from destruction.

The gameplay takes place in a real-time battlefield. You can play as any of the protagonists, with either a computer AI controlling three other allies, or your friends controlling them. While it's easier to play with real people for certain, more difficult battles, there's no denying the fact that the AI is very reliable and consistent. You can set skills for each player, as well as customize the type of action they take (defending, healing, using their special skills). This makes everything run very smoothly.

The story itself is good, not great. Many of the Tales games rely on religious undertones to get their point across, but this is perhaps one of the most religiously-themed of all. There are angels, churches, "Chosen Ones", evil-doers, etc. to the point where it does kind of bang you over the head with it. It's definitely not subtle in any sense of the term.

I do really like the graphics, which still look nice by today's standards. I have played this on both the Gamecube and PS3 and have found no huge difference between the two, other than the fact that the re-release allows you to choose from English or Japanese audio. I much prefer the Japanese.

This is a fun game and one which I would recommend to fans of the genre.