We’re all for new ideas and this Poke-esque gameplay appeals to the Wii crowd; but the real draw for RPG and Tales fans alike is going to be the connection between Symphonia and Dawn of the New World. Most of the cast of Symphonia returns either as non-playable characters, bad guys, or party members, but unlike other Tales games, this cast is focused on only two characters. This makes it easy to get into the monster-collecting habit as you can fill up another 8 spaces of your party with monsters (and spares can be deposited in a town and brought out again when you need them). Having monsters tailored to specific environments looks to be a major part of gameplay, although our demo lady was quick to stress that they’re only second-tier characters and the real bulk of the story will be told through the humans.
Dawn of the New World takes place in the same universe as Tales of Symphonia, two years after the game’s conclusion. The heroes of Symphonia are respected and revered by everyone - except a white-haired kid named Emil who saw Lloyd off his family during something called the “blood purging of Palmacosta.” The two worlds Sylvarant and Tethe'alla aren’t getting along after being reunited at the end of Symphonia. The climate change has left many locations frozen over and lakes and rivers are drying up.This is caused by the sleeping spirit of the old mana tree that used to unite Sylvarant and Tethe'alla - the cute squirrel-like creature named Ratatosk. Enter Marta, a plucky girl who so happens to have the dormant Ratatosk spirit embedded in her forehead. Marta chooses the animal-loving Emil as her guardian and sets out to keep the old tree spirit safe from harm… which means Lloyd, we think (he looks awfully menacing in the trailer we saw... and wtf, killing some kids' parents?).
It’s early days for Dawn of the New World, so keep checking back for more info as it comes our way. In the meantime, feed your face withthese screenshotsand consider replaying Tales of Symphonia so you’re boned up on your Symphonia lore.
Apr 16, 2008
