STORY: The story in DotNW doesn't stray far from your generic "save the world" thing. I don't really fault it for that, because it's everything's been tried before. It spins a beleiveable yarn about the climate, monsters, and over status of the world being in complete disarray. This is due to the uniting of the two worlds, and the actions of two characters I won't mention. But Ratatosk and 6 of his 8 Centurions are asleep, and their powers aren't being held in check. This creates the erratic climate and the aggressive monsters. The bigotry of the Tethe'allans doesn't help much, either. This is a world in despiration, and people are taking drastic action. This allows for the beleiveable motives of the Blood Purge of Palmacosta, and other genocidal attacks during the story. It's all very bloody, and overall pretty good. The story does get fairly convoluted in some areas, and it will take you some time to figure out what's going on. But, these moments are few and far between. But, overall, the story stands on it's own legs, but Symphonia's was better. (8/10)
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COMBAT: The combat in DotNW is incredibly good. It flows together nicely, and there is a fairly strong array of artes to choose from. The Unison attacks weren't as good as in Symphonia, but still serve a strategic purpose. When you initiate the Unison attack, all casting in process is nullified. So, if you can't reach a boss about to pull off a devastating spell, a Unison attack will be incredibly helpful. But let's be honest, there wasn't much broken in Symphonia for DotNW to fix. There are minor improvements everywhere, and only one or two minor drawbacks. Truly the defining aspect of this game, all things considered. (9.5/10)
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VOICE ACTING: It's nice to have a Wii game almost fully voice acted. It really is. But, there are a few annoyances with the performances. First off, a good chunk of original voice actors don't return, and vets, it will take a while to get used to. And there are pronunciation issues with some words (Palmacosta and Rheiard, for example), but overall, it was a decent job. The words didn't flow right at some times, and that did make a minor difference. And something must be said for Ratatosk. He is incredibly well voice acted in this game, and any scene he is in is only made better by hearing his feirce tone. But, everything else is decent. (7/10)
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SKITS: I absolutely loved the skits in this game. Fully voice acted, and all the greater for it. These skits exude personality, and there are a few incredibly funny ones. Others serve no purpose whatsoever, but there are far more gems than duds. And a lot of them add to the story, amplifying a certain aspect of them. Wonderfully done, and it would be a shame to skip them. (9/10)
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MONSTER CAPTURE: This system is intruiging. It is a godsend when your party only consists of Marta and Emil, or just Emil. Monsters are incredibly helpful in combat, and can learn valuable healing spells. But, the process of capturing monsters is a bit of an ordeal. You have to get a certain amount of one type of element in the Elemental Grid, and that can be hard. If you're looking to capture a certain monster, you'll have to work pretty hard to get the elements to line up. I actually ignored it after the first few hours of the game. Glad it's there, but when you get to using it is where you can run into problems. (6/10)
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CHARACTER MODELS: They look better this time around, that's for sure. They don't look that great compared to other games, but what it is is an art form. They're not supposed to look hyper-realistic, they are supposed to look like anime characters. It's an art style I support, and it works for this game. (8/10)
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ENVIRONMENTS: They look decent. The majority of dungeons look exactly the same as in Symphonia, just with a few minor touch-ups. It's a shame too, because they could have made the dungeons look fantastic. But, the towns look much better, with a lot more detail. But, since you'll be spending more in dungeons... (6/10)
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CHARACTERS: There are really 5 new characters that are worth mentioning. Emil, Marta, Richter, Alice, and Decus. These people have beleivable personalities, for what little backstory is provided. Emil is primarily the focus of any backstories, and they help you get why he's such a wimp. When you see what he has to deal with on a daily basis, his personality is much more beleiveable and acceptable. Marta is given some backstory, but it and her are pretty flat (innuendo not intended) all things considered. She's head over heels in love with Emil, and that's alright. It does set up some great endings, I'll tell you what. Richter is a character you'll have to play the entire game to understand, and you won't get any of his motives until you get to the end. Decus and Alice are both big villians. One's a sadist, and the other is completely devoted to Alice. That's all the motivation they have really. Plus another one that comes up late in the game, but I'll stay hush-hush.
(7/10)
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OVERALL: I'm probably missing something somewhere, but whatever. This game is great, and the best RPG on the Wii, in my opinion. It's story serves it's purpose, has many of the winning elements of Symphonia, and so forth. The voice acting is nice but executed a little underwhelmingly, the characters look good for their art form, and the environments could have used a little work. But, it has fantastic cutscenes, and a small, simple cast of new characters. The small amount of new characters allows for a greater understanding of each one in the end. The greates fault in the entire game, to me, is its lentgh. I completed the entire game in under 26 hours, and it left me wanting more. However, the endings to the game were fantastic. Sad, emotional, and they clear up a lot of questions and tell you what is going to happen to the world in the future. Everything you really want in an ending. Oh yeah, I remember what I forgot. The bosses. The bosses in this game, for the first 20 hours, are pretty easy. There are a few that will challenge you, until the game taunts you with a crazy stream of hard boss fights. It sets an uneven pace, but not so much that it isn't enjoyable. On the contrary, it actually gives you a greater sense of enjoyment, that you are finally being challenged. That and they look impressive too. So, for the bosses, DotNW gets a (8/10).
And that brings me to my overall score. It was a very enjoyable game, almost as much as the first one. If only it was a little longer. But, here it is:
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (8.9/10)
Oh so very close to being absolutely fantastic. A few nibbling annoyances kept it just incredibly great. So, Should YOU buy it? Yes, absolutely. For $40 only, it is an absolute bargain. IT will kepp you entertained, and you will love almost every moment you spend with it.