Namco Divulges Tales of Symphonia Details

Two games, one new GameCube color, and more in the future.

At a press conference held in Tokyo today, Namco officially announced the Japanese release dates for GameCube RPG Tales of Symphonia and their Game Boy Advance port of the original Tales of Phantasia, releasing new information and screens to go with them both. TOS, which will take up two GameCube discs, will go on sale August 29 for 6800 yen, while TOP will hit stores on August 1 for 4800 yen.

The Tales saga, which began with Tales of Phantasia on Nintendo's Super Famicom system in Japan, has built itself up on the PlayStation and PS2 to become one of Japan's most popular RPG series. These two games mark Tales' return to Nintendo systems, and Namco director Yoichi Haraguchi was quick to point out the symbolism involved: "Even as production of the Famicom and Super Famicom has stopped, the newest game in a series that started on the SFC has returned to the GameCube. One feels a strange sense of connection over the years... As the end of the year approaches, Namco will be considering two or three new ideas for the GameCube platform."

While the GBA Tales of Phantasia will be an improved port of the SFC original, Tales of Symphonia will be a wholly new step for producer Akira Yoshizumi and his team. The game is the first one in the Tales saga to feature full 3D graphics, and the running video Yoshizumi displayed at the conference?complete with map exploration, battle scenes, and a mixture of CGI-based and character model-based story cutscenes?displayed a level of quality hard to find among other GameCube RPGs. (Not that there are many, but...)

A fair bit's been done to Tales' famous battle system, too: Unison Attacks allow multiple characters too attack a single remaining enemy at once, and a new skill system lets you assign offensive types to party members, which affects the skills they learn over time. The game also has a "recap" function that gives you a quick story synopsis after loading a save file, not unlike what's used in the Metal Gear Solid series. "With the August release date in place, the staff is giving their all to production right now," Yoshizumi commented. "I doubt they're sleeping much right now. They're right in the middle of the final touch-up work."

While he was up on stage, Yoshizumi also debuted a new limited-edition GameCube released to commemorate the launch of Symphonia this August. The system, colored a lovely spring-grass green and featuring Lloyd, the hero, on the disc cover, will be released around the game's release, although Namco didn't announce a date or any distribution info. "The game's content is completely new, so I wanted to do something new with this, too," the producer said. "When I proposed it to Nintendo, they were more than willing to consent. It's technically a mint-green color, but I've already named it 'Symphonic Green' within my mind."

Namco Hometek has already announced a U.S. release for Tales of Symphonia, with a 2004 launch a fair likelihood. No word on an American release for the GBA Tales of Phantasia, however.

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