Tales of Symphonia Remastered (Switch) Review - The WORST Version Available 

Nah, your critiques aren't overbearing at all. There is no excuse for them to STILL be failing at remastering this game. It's one of, if not the, most beloved entries into the franchise. It's not a demanding game resource-wise. Give it the love it deserves. This should not still feel like a lazy product.

I don't think this was held back by the Switch hardware; this was held back by the developers not wanting to put in the effort to get the Switch version running well.

A game that didnt need another remastering especially without its sequel. I can play the PS3 version on the steamdeck along with the sequel. So i feel thats probably the best way to play Symphonia Chronicles now. I wish they would just remaster Abyss, Xillia Duology, Graces F, Hearts R etc

your criticism isnt overbearing at all! i appreciate your honesty, this is one of the reasons why i adore noisy pixel for keeping the reviews short & honest! ill be sure to get the ps4 version over the switch version especially after hearing about the white screen when entering battles, im photosensitive and that seems like itd be headache inducing. thank you for all the reviews you do!

Bamco, how could you do this to one of your babies? Especially for the 20th anniversary?!

I'd much rather have you be honest and open about these things. Not overbearing at all! This saves me from making the mistake of buying it (again!). I'd rather play the OG on the GC or boot my PS3 collection up. Thank you!

When you look at this compared to Metroid Prime Remastered... it's night and day. One was done from a place of passion and genuine desire to bring a fantastic game to new audiences and give existing fans something truly special to return to. The other was done for money.

I love this game, I instantly bought a physical copy. I was extremely upset when I got into a fight with 4 enemies and the FPS dropped to like 15. I was sad. The PC port of the game, which is just the Playstation updated version from long ago (the port this remaster is based off of) is much better. THOUGH I WILL SAY it will looks very pretty. If they would be able to fix some of the problems with an update. The switch can HANDLE this game.

The funny thing about the issues you have said is it's also happening to me in Tales of Innocence R on the Vita3k emulator.. When using OpenGL Renderer instead of Vulkan, the battle transitions are white instead of the glass breaking, and viewing skits makes the background all black too.. I mean WTF, how is this a coincidence, Lol So they just used an emulator to run it on the Switch maybe??..

It really sucks that all they had to do was upgrade it to 60 FPS and still have the sequel since it was on the PS3 as well. I don’t understand how these developers don’t see the problems

Thanks for the review but how does it compare to the PS4, Xbox versions?

I feel like the reason Bandai Namco did us dirty on this release was that compared to other titles from the GC era waiting in the wings, Symphonia already had its time in the sun w/ the Chronicles release and they felt it was relatively recent enough that they could give this one less work and put the lion's share of their efforts towards titles from the same time period that weren't as fortunate.

1:49 Yeah I remember that too. 3:11 Wow, I recall the glass shatter and it won’t be on this version. 😔 5:53 I don’t like that considering I played the GC version. 6:36 That is interesting. Why did they do that? Damn… They did switch dirty. I am disappointed.

Didn't realized how blinding the white light is. Wish they kept the cracked screen effect. Ill just fire up my GameCube and play it there.

How's the game after the patch released last May?

It's not fair saying this is "held back by the Switch hardware", because it isn't. It's a Gamecube game that the Switch is more than capable of running properly. It's more appropriate to say that BN had no interest in optimizing it for the hardware.

Apparently voice clips are missing too?

Question - I've never played a Tales game! Where do I start? I still own a PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch and Xbox One X. I'm a bit of a boon for playing things in release or chronological order depending on the series.

I still think the PC version that was released with Zest on steam is probably the worst version and needed the community to fix the problems since the company that did the porting never bothered to fix anything. Never letting go of my GC copy

Sticking with my PS3/Steam version.

How the hell can the switch possibly have technical issues with a game that ran at 60fps on the dag gum GameCube....just baffling...

Hello, I saw that you are already playing Tales of Symphonia Remastered, would you know if it has Brazilian Portuguese localization if you put the console language in Brazilian Portuguese as happened with Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition?

Wouldn't prefered a port of ToG F or ToD DC/2, still getting this on PS4 when i can

I hope they'll patch this. This is inexcusable

If I’ve never played the game at all and don’t own a GameCube or a PS3, is this version worth getting? I loved Vesperia but the technical issues of this game make me reconsider if I should buy it.

I have Trouble with the enemies in tales of symphonia in the first area two of my characters already fainted I don’t know it was just my bad skills or the enemies where unfair I played tales of berseria tales of vesperia and tales of arise but I had little trouble in those games

Hopefully we will at least get some much needed stability updates. I love symphonia, but I would've prefered getting a berseria port for switch >

Yeah, I can't deal with that blinding white light. That is unacceptable

I'll suggest you wait for the sale if you still want it on your switch. Tales of Vesperia usually drops around 6$ :p

But it isn’t held back by switch hardware wtf, switch runs nier automata, persona 5, dq 11, monster hunter rise, botw and a giant amount of other games that manage to look gorgeous and still run decently. What remasters like that are held back by is the lack of optimization and laziness. I’ve literally seen even vns work really slowly on switch. Just some artwork and spites with scrolling text. It’s not hardware, it’s optimization. Of course I agree with the issue that switch hardware is so weak nowadays that it’s hard to optimize stuff for it but it’s still entirely possible, just as some later titles show.

How did they botch this game so badly on the Switch but ported Vesperia to it with minimum issues is beyond me.

Thank you for the clear and honest review. Will stick to my ps3 version.

I remember beating the game not sure I'll go back to it. I usually just play a game once. Except Grandia 2 I will Play that game alot. Played it on pc than found it on ps2 now I have the collection which funny they skipped 3 lol

Thanks for the review. I’ll pick it up on ps4 when there’s a sale.

Great review and shame on Bandai-Namco for releasing this mess of a "remaster". It's inexcusable that Metroid Prime released the same time as this and, by all accounts, looks and runs great while Symphonia couldn't even do battle transitions right. It's unfortunate that every re-release this game's had has technical issues that simply make it inferior to the original GameCube version. I was genuinely hoping they'd get their act together for this one, but sadly I gotta pass. I simply can't reward such mediocrity and utter lack of even the most basic quality checks for a game that released over two decades ago. I could even stomach the 30 FPS if at least the rest of the game was up to par with past versions but they just botched every aspect of this one.

Even on the switch when I played tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition That had a lot of crashes in it too on the switch even the skits would crash Even battles would freeze up or crash several times over but now they've patched it so many times now the game works perfectly fine like the switch version never had issues in the 1st place so they probably do the same thing to Tales of symphonia Remastered We'll probably also get patch updates in fixes Dissolve these problems you're talking about just like On the switch When they fixed similar problems on tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition

man you really said it all. thanks for the review. tells potential buyers all they need to know

I miss the glass shattering effect. It was very charming.

it's really cheap during sales on steam, bought it during winter sales for my Steam Deck

A game labeled REMASTER should never have less content, features, or optimizations than the original. 6 is pretty generous for a game that fails to deliver what's advertised right in the title.

i've been playing this game since it came out and i love it. I do have some issues with the game though. Its an great game. I enjoy it a lot. Its my first tales game and its a great game, but not being able to skip the dialogue with a skip option is annoying especially if you didnt save then the game crashed. I had two crashed but one crashed set me back a battle and i just wish we could skip the dialogue. But teh game is really enjoyable. I love the fighting. Didnt think i would but its amazing. I really love the fighting. I think its so much better than turn based combat, but dont want this combat style to take over turn based combat bc i love ir. I do wish the world map had beacons or little icons telling you where to go bc i did get lost a few times. And i really dont how uou cant zooom in on the world yo find out which area is where. Basically just wanted it to be a bit more modern. But overall i love the game. Its amazing and i thonk a 6 is too long i say 7.5 would be better

maybe the switch version needs some patches for some of these issues. either way, it shouldn't be having these issues. it hurts my heart that my favorite rpg is having all of these problems on the switch, when we know it could run the game decently well.

Thank you so much for this review! I'm not picking up the Switch version, then.

Let's hope all these negatives can be patched. I have yet to be play this tales, and ive heard it is one of the best of the tales series. Ill probs get it when it goes on sale. The glass breaking transition is actually much prefered over that white screen considering I usually always play my switch in portable mode in bed at night so...

I was debating between this and Kirby, but planned on getting Tales first. This settled that doe me sadly

You had ONE JOB Bandai Namco, Make it better than the original. What a shame. Maybe if Fans make enough noise they can patch out these issues

It is time for an up to date console

Its sad to see no love at all put into my favourite Tales of game, all they did was make it worse.. How?!

Damn i remember my first Tales of game was Symphonia 1 on the gamecube almost 15years ago and it one of my most beloved entry in the series. Later i got it on the ps3 remaster? ToS Chronicle i think was it together with ToS 2 which is also a fan favorite of mine even though many dont like the title for some reason D: sad to hear the switch port is bad but personally i hope we got more older gamer (especially Tales of Graces) to newer platforms or PC

oh man I love the one on psp, can't remember the name but I played the heck out of it. good times

By selecting two T exSkills and two S exSkills, the Parameter always Turns to Tech Type. Really annoying

Buy it on Steam which is based on the PS3 port and play it on a Steam Deck or on any of the recent handheld Windows devices. It plays much better and is cheaper too.

For whatever odd reason, I decided to cancel the pre-order, for my Switch, and just buy it when it goes on sale. After watching this review, I'm so glad I did and unless they fix it the issues, this might be a game I skip completely as I already have it and just wanted an upgraded copy, which is more of a downgrade at this point. If I do get it, it'll now be for the PS4.

That's unfortunate. I guess when I finally get around to this game it will be on Steam.

Might get this some day on sale. Played this back in the day but I don't think I got past the first dungeon.

they just polished it up and add it to the next gen system it was worth getting

Guess I'll stick to the ps3 version, I replayed it a couple of years ago and it does choke up a bit but not to an annoying degree. It's not worth giving bamco the money when they seem to be doing worse each year.

I have a really hate/love relationship with this series. Seems like every other Tales game I play is bad. Symphonia, one of the best games I've ever played. Symphonia 2, Kill me. Zestiria, honestly gameplay was the best part. Vesperia, bored me to death ngl. Berseria, right up there with Symphonia. Now starting Arise. But I'm afraid this pattern will repeat.

Thank you for saving my money. Going to skip this lazy remaster.

This is super dissapointing! Ofc I'm still picking up the physical copy for the Switch for my collection. And I do own the PS3 collection as well. But I was expecting so much more from this release.....

Damnit. This is a game I'd probably only truly play through on switch.

It's not limited by Switch hardware. This is the PS3 version of the game which was based on the PS2 version. The devs outright refused to update the game properly with 60 FPS and whatnot. This is nothing more than a port of that version.

Sorry to hear the remaster on switch was a dud. Was looking forward to it.

They ported the ps2 japonese version for the base of this remaster, a shame! The gamecube version is way more fast and runs at 60fps, the ps2 has long loads and runs at 30fps.

I went to bat for this port specifically because of cutscene skip being added, so it not being there is really crappy. Bamco having respect for this franchise any% (impossible)

A shame but the Switch physical had to be secured.

So sad that this version is so bad, this game needs a Tales of Arise - like remake. To this day I only played the GC version and I will assume no other version exists.

Being that I've never played the original I have No high Expectations I just like the tales of series

I definitely don't do auto battle mode the entire game in all my tales games

I just want my graces f remaster

Im so glad I didn't preorder the steelbook $60 edition. I also read that the steam version is better and its been around forever.

It's really unacceptable to sell a game at full price when it's not only a port, but the worst version of it to ever come out! I played the PAL CGN version which only ran at 50FPS (Technically 25, but that's due to interlacing) but it runs SO MUCH SMOOTHER than this. Have a look at the 2004 PAL version here after watching a fight on this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-duo0LySgzuA.html

Wow is this because of the limitations of the switch. I was seeing 4k 60fps reviews on ps5 and series x and it's looks splendid.

Whew, was hearing poor things prior to this but hearing it confirmed? Definitely a bummer.

£10.97 at GAME (UK) chosen edition brought me here.

Why was this even release again?... this was like ported 3 times?... I know its the most popular but its literally playable if you have an emulator and a good PC...

So the original ran at 60 fps on Gamecube, but this “remaster” somehow can’t even hold a locked 30 fps on Switch? The mind boggles.

The $40 price tag hurts this. Bandai Namco do better.

I think this game has the Sonic Adventure curse. Every port just just chips more and more away.

As someone that loves Symphonia, this is a lazy cashgrab, even on the PS3 version it was half the price and it wasn't full of bugs or weird things. Reminds me how the PC port was really bad at launch too.

THE GAME IS NOT PLAYABLE. Paid for the Steam Version, can't apply the mods, and 4k texture pack. Now I'm curious if I have to buy it a third time for XBOX. I feel scammed but I want to play, I got the game in 2003 and I want to play it as an adult and understand it better.

Yeah well also an nintendo is having trouble with it's remastered version Metro prime Yes and I found out that Namco bandai The company stated they're well aware of the problems you're experiencing and they are working on fixing patches for the switch version of the game bring the stain glass break when you go into a battle cutting down time andloading and fixing the fact that are skitz Have a black void they're working on restoring that so the skitz have the same background like they did on game cube That's another reason why the skits have no voice acting in this version they want switch owners to experience the original 2004 Game Cube version You gotta admit as long as the company fixes the problems we're having on the switch version it's worth owning the switch version as long as they make most of the problems go away like one restoring the stained glass break when you go into battle and getting rid of that black void behind the skits And also restoring the game's processing ability so it doesn't do those crashes you run into which is probably due to the fact that you probably have to 2017 nintendo switch When I have 2020 switch version 2 Switch Because my 2017 version broke It started to quit on me when I started to play dragon ball fighter Z It worked for a long time but all the sudden nintendo after I sent it into them nintendo my broken switch they said it's because the chipboard had a crack in it that caused the connection between the switch and the battery was broken Causing my switch not to hold power anymore so anintendo gave me the nintendo switch version 2 As an apology for what happened to me which also has a better battery life the switch I have no flip nintendo gave me You're probably experiencing those crashes because you're probably on the same switch that was releaseduring the year breath of the wild That's why you're tales of symphonia remastered Is crashing Cause I experienced the same part you did and minded Didn't crash and I experienced the same parts as a game you did all the diddles take a lot longer to load the areas but it didn't crash Yes a lot of people complained about fans complained about switch version one 2017 model People complain the battery died too fast or some people would complain the games crash too much And they also complained that games would crash a lot using the resume function when technically you're supposed to use the resume function in the same way you would if you were using resume on your phone games That's how stable resume function should be that's why nintendo and steam should team up so nintendo can have a resume function on their next switch that works perfectly like the cellphone version of resume when it comes to a game And if nintendo and Steam Team up because of steam technology inside the new switch system they cannot call it a Switch pro Or switch 2 The new switch with nintendo technology and Steam technology the new switch should be called the super switch Which would be cool think about it would make perfect sense I mean look at how well the original NES worked and then when we got the super nintendo That was leaps and bounds and technology In the 2D world that was a major upgrade From an 8 bit system NES 2A 32 bit system Super nintendo See why I say nintendo's next system should be called the super switch you gotta admit it has a nicer ring than any other idea fans have come up with This way with the super Switch It would have an easier time competing with Xbox Series X And PS5 Because nintendo and steam teamed up creating the super switch Which would feel like a real next Gen. Switch Because of the super switch it might even be possible for nintendo to go 4K And ultra 4K And a 120 frames per 2nd That's the reason why tales of symphonia remastered on our switch is 30 frames Because the company is treating 30 frames the same way more powerful games treat a 120 frames creating a softer To make the game look smoother and nicer Aside from its setbacks tales of symphonia Remastered On the switch does create a softer image Like a 120 frames would do But the company that made the game uses 30 frames to create the same effect For a weaker game that's not a next Gen. Game classic games 30 frames is used for creating a softer picture like a 120 is used to create a software picture for a modern day game Cause when you look at it that way by looking at symphonia remastered on the switch Namco Bandai Made a smart move when they made the pitcher softer like as if you were playing it in a 120 frames was kind of a smart move Helping the game look better on a LED screen and N LCD screen O LED screen By making symphonia remastered Softer image In 30 frames per 2nd like you would get out of a 120 frames per 2nd of a softer picture you gotta meet for the switch version that's a kind of a smart thing for the company to do given us a nice soft pitcher like a next Gen. Game would get out of a 120

Wow they messed up the remaster port again

So i should get the ps4 version?

A massive disservice to one of my favourite GameCube games and most hyped release of '04.

That probably happens with those crashes because you're probably on a 2017 switch Mine is the newer version Impress that black void you're talking about during skitz I looked at videos and it's not just the switch version it's the Japanese councils in general that have it that way playstation and nintendo switch Versions of how they act and how they play are basically identical the xbox Version Does not have a black void it actually has the background only on the xbox version So most likely most stuff that people wanted to see on playstation and nintendo switch what Tales of symphonia remastered On switch end playstation The things going on with the games are identical You know that black void during skitz on the switch is also present on the playstation version is The background's being available during skit's only available on game Cube version End xbox version Tales of symphonia remastered I'm xbox will probably be the only version you'll ever play that will actually give you a true remastered experience especially considering and does not do that stupid thing with the skitz with a black background on xbox only xbox actually has the background like a new original game cube Version But it's a possibility all these things you're talking about will probably get fixed An update some patches cause do you have any idea of how many problems I had the switch version of tales of Vesperia Vesperia Definitive guide

This game deserved the love and attention they gave to Vesperia. Should've overhauled the look of the game to look and play better than Vesperia.

I almost bought this version for collecting purpose. I am currently playing the PC version on steam, which isn't great, locked at 30FPS and with no real graphics options but it works and is better than playing the game on Gamecube. Still a great RPG but thanks for this review, you saved me some money.

I'm upset I was stoked for this.

Just like on switch how they fixed Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition Bugs End crashes Even some of the skits would crash one time out of all the skitz raven skid was the only 1 that crashed when I played it in English Even sometimes the battles would crash But look at now they fixed it and patched it and updated it so many times now look at how nice it works now on the switch So tales of symphonia remastered We'll probably get the same treatment and fixes in the future of fixing the bugs in the crashes and making the game play better they might even get rid of that black void during skets Restoring the original environment to the background when you see a skip will probably be restored We do live in an age where games can be patched updated and fixed So you really shouldn't be complaining Namco Bandai We'll probably fix symphonia Remastered Bugs and glitches On the switch Just like how they fixed the bugs and glitches that were in Vesperia On the switch that also had similar problems and look at how nicely that run runs on the switch nowadays it runs much better The game just came out Symphonia remastered The company is probably aware of the problems and they're probably working on making patches and updates to fix the problems on any platform that's having problem for the game So you shouldn't give up hope yet

Great review for a poor remaster.

I think Dawn of the New World just sucks as it feels like middling fanfiction of two brats playing Pokemon while the original ToS cast act like caricatures of their former selves (like Sheena being subject to falling down holes when it only happened one time). I played it once on Wii where the characters had bad magic targeting AI and repeatable quests that were mostly there to just get more money, loot, and exp for your monsters. Frankly I already have this game on steam which I feel is a good remaster alternative (don't see much problem about 30 fps myself) and probably cheaper too at $20 or so.

Symphonia fans are never getting a good remaster or rerelease that is on par with the GCN Symphonia.

6/10 was a kind score considering what a mess this remaster (port) truly is.

Wow! This remake looks really bad. Thank you for your honest review. I rather play on ps3!

They should've been remastering hearts graces xilia Abyss basically anything else But this Slapdash Cash Grab

CANT WAIT TO PLAY MMMMMMMMMMMM

False statement saying it's being held back due to Switch hardware. This is a PS2/GC era game, so stop with that nonsense as it's just an awful lazy cash grab port based on worst version of the game. Look at a real remaster of GC classic Metroid Prime on Switch :-)

I will say it's not the switch's hardware that's holding this game back, that feels misleading, this is just a crappy port job.

wow so you can't skip cutscenes then, gonna play symphonia again anyways, but that really sucks