15 replies to this topic

[Dawnlight]

Alright, I just finished probably the last 2 games I'll ever play for the GameCube. Those two games are Tales of Symphonia and Baten Kaitos. These 2 games are probably the best RPGs I've ever played. (I don't own a PS2). Each game took 40+ hours to beat. Tales of Symphonia took 58 hours and Baten Kaitos took 63 hours. So, overall which of these Namco RPGs is the best of all and deserves a sequel? And, should I get Baten Kaitos Origins now, wait for the price to drop, or not get it at all?

[Comix]

I absolutly hated Baten Kaitos. I actually tried to play far through it and gave up because I was so bored. I don't think either of them should get sequels (Even though Baten Kaitos did) because BK sucked IMO and ToS was too perfect and should just be left as that.

[DarkFlameWolf]

Baten Kaitos is interesting, but Tales held my interest longer. I've beaten ToS over 10 times now, I've yet to beat Baten Kaitos once. I'm still working through it, slowly but surely though. But my vote goes to Tales.

[LinktheMaster]

I don't think either of them should get sequels (Even though Baten Kaitos did) because BK sucked IMO and ToS was too perfect and should just be left as that.

Oops, too late. Tales of Symphonia already has a sequel, Tales of Phantasia.

Anyway, I didn't think Baten Kaitos was nearly as interesting as Tales of Symphonia when I played it, though do note I didn't play it for very long. Tales of Symphonia just seemed to draw me in better. I think I would like Baten Kaitos a lot if/when I buy it, but it would definitely be hard to beat Tales of Symphonia.

Also, I really hope Namco makes a Tales game for the Wii. One's already being made for the DS, but unfortunately it gets away from the original setup a bit. It looks decent, but I'll have to wait for more information about it. (It's not even released in Japan yet, so places like IGN won't get information for a while. Also, I can't read Japanese so the Japanese site isn't too helpful other than for pictures.) Anyway, the Tales series is fantastic, and while I wouldn't necessarily want a sequel (or prequel) in terms of story (though I really wouldn't mind it), I think a totally new story might be better. If Tales goes all out, then they might just make something even better than Tales of Symphonia.

[Dawnlight]

You gotta admit BK's ending is a lot more sorrowful than Symphonia's ending. Even thought it's about 45-60 minutes long as Symphonia's ending is about 15-20 minutes long.

[DarkFlameWolf]

40-50 minutes long? Well at least I have something to look forward to when I finally do beat Baten Kaitos 2 years from now! XD

[Linkus]

Oops, too late. Tales of Symphonia already has a sequel, Tales of Phantasia.

Tales of Phantasia is actually a prequel, but Tales of Legendia is the sequel(from release dates). These things usually get screwed up anyways

But still, you're too late; both already have a sequel. However, there are some decent-to-excellent RPGs that doesn't have a sequel, or really need a sequel or prequel to complete the whole story. Golden Sun, for example, needs both a sequel and prequel(Yes. This is possible; check GS2's intro) to tie up both ends of the story.

[MarioBrosCom]

Tales of Symphonia by a long shot. It's like comparing the best game I've ever played to the worst RPG I've played all generation... which it is. Maybe it's not really as bad as you'd expect the worst game I've played on the GameCube to be-on the contrary, I think it excelled at some things and only failed miserably at others-but, still, the two games aren't even in the same league, IMO.

[link3505]

Tales, most definitly. I never got very far in Baten. It's fun, but the battle system sucks SO much, it's hard to play for any length of time

[Dawnlight]

So would it be different if it was Tales of Symphonia vs Star Ocean: Till the End of Time?

[link3505]

That would be a much harder choice. ToS is awesome, but Star Ocean... Man. That requires some thought

[Deathbringer]

Tales of Phantasia is actually a prequel, but Tales of Legendia is the sequel(from release dates). These things usually get screwed up anyways

Huh? Legendia was a spinoff and has nothing to do with any of the Tales games. Release dates don't mean anything. Phantasia was made before Symphonia but takes place several thousand years later after Symphonia. Such as Arche being the distant descendant of Presea and Genis. (Has half blood while having Presea's pink hair.) Suzu looks like a combination of Lloyd and Sheena. When Lloyd asks Yggdrasil on why he doesn't make the Great Seed Germinate, Yggdrasil responds back saying "It would lead to the development of Magi technology which would cause meaningless war. That would make the tree wither and die." That actually happened with the Mana Cannon in Midgard. It was rebuilt in Phantasia and looks the same as in Symphonia.

I prefer Symphonia obviously.

[ShadowTiger]

Huh? Legendia was a spinoff and has nothing to do with any of the Tales games. Release dates don't mean anything. Phantasia was made before Symphonia but takes place several thousand years later after Symphonia. Such as Arche being the distant descendant of Presea and Genis. (Has half blood while having Presea's pink hair.) Suzu looks like a combination of Lloyd and Sheena. When Lloyd asks Yggdrasil on why he doesn't make the Great Seed Germinate, Yggdrasil responds back saying "It would lead to the development of Magi technology which would cause meaningless war. That would make the tree wither and die." That actually happened with the Mana Cannon in Midgard. It was rebuilt in Phantasia and looks the same as in Symphonia.

I prefer Symphonia obviously.

Wow, where are you getting your facts from? I hadn't even noticed those things. I was just under the impression that all Tales games were naturally similar to each other. Of course, having only played two of them, (Phantasia, which I haven't finished yet.) and Symphonia, (Four times.) I would be naturally inclined to think that.


I haven't played Baten Kaitos yet, but its combat system has been deemed "Very slow," which is something I cannot stand when gaming, so I think I'll pass. I know I'm passing up a great story, but it's basically similar to God making you wait several seconds before you can move your arms. It's just that frustrating to me.

[LinktheMaster]

Such as Arche being the distant descendant of Presea and Genis. (Has half blood while having Presea's pink hair.) Suzu looks like a combination of Lloyd and Sheena.

Eh, those are fan made connections. I don't think either of those are supported by Namco. They don't want to force a relationship like that. Tales of Symphonia made a point in having the affection system so that the user could decide who ended up with Lloyd, and even then they didn't go anywhere. As far as Presea and Genis go, their relationship was never shown any further than Genis having a crush on her.

Besides that, there's some more notable similarities. It's hinted that Cress is a distant relative of Lloyd. In Japanese, Alvein and Irving (their last names) sound remarkably similar (in Japan, r and l sound the same.) There's also the fact that in Tales of Phantasia, the tree of mana is named Yggdrasil. Hmm... does that name sound familiar in Symphonia? There's also a few events in Symphonia that are referenced to in Phantasia, though I can't think of any examples at the moment. Sorry.

[ShadowTiger]

in Tales of Phantasia, the tree of mana is named Yggdrasil. Hmm... does that name sound familiar in Symphonia?

lol, sure, but would Lloyd really want to name the Tree Of Mana Yggdrasil? Why not Martel instead? Or Colette? And another thing, "Yggdrasil" itself generally means the tree of life. Two conflicting perspectives.

There's also a few events in Symphonia that are referenced to in Phantasia, though I can't think of any examples at the moment. Sorry.

Not so much "Events," but certainly places. Hima forest has the same music as the forest north of Midgard in Phantasia, I think. It's more or less the same "Battle of the Spirits" music as well, although virtually none of the spirits themselves actually look the same. (Gnome, the spirit of Earth, looks like a Dugtrio Pokemon, except there are four of them instead of three, and they line up in a straight line of four equally tall missiles.) (Yes, missiles.)

The world itself is certainly nothing similar though. At the rate of an inch a year, two thousand years isn't really enough to move around an entire world.