Tales of Symphonia is the best rpg since FF7.

[DireStrike]

Yep, I said it. Now you can flame me, either for dissing ff7 or for putting it on a pedestal. But, on to TOS.

There's plenty to do, it's got a great storyline, and the characters are likeable (though maybe a little cliched.) The battle system is far more interesting than most RPGs I've played. Each character "handles" differently, and furthermore has plenty of skill choices. There are difficulty settings that actually make the game challenging. There are plenty of sidequests, as well as a running "affection" quest that changes the way game scenes play out.

The thing that surprised me most of all was that there was voiceover acting - AND IT WAS GOOD! I was disappointed that they didn't include voice for all of the "skits" - little optional conversations between characters that pop up - but, there ARE hundreds of them. It would have cost a pretty penny.

Oh, and there are no random battles. :D

[TroubleMan]

1. I loved Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicon

I played the translated ROM on my computer.

In fact most of my all-time favorite games are for the SNES/Super Famicon.

FF6
Chrono Trigger
Tales of Phantasia
SDIII

All of those rank right at the top for me.....I didn't like FF7, though.

[DireStrike]

2. Heh... I don't blame you - and those are noble games.

I loved Chrono Trigger. FF6 was one of the better FFs. To your list of 16-bit legends I would add Phantasy Star IV.

I just started playing the Tales of Phantasia rom. I really appreciate fan translation! Real words and curses. It seems a little repetitive though: too many random battles that are the same thing over and over. It's pretty good other than that. The TOS battle system is infinitely improved. The music is also better (IMO of course.)