Tales Of Symphonia 2

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (hereby referred to as ToS2) is the new game set two years after the events in the original Tales of Symphonia. You play a boy named Emil and his Lady-friend Marta as they employ monsters and meet up with and recruit past ToS characters.

Story:
The story follows Emil and Marta on their journeys throughout the newly united world. The world was once in two parts, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. In the past ToS, however, the worlds were united. Conflict has torn through the land as completely different people are forced together, and the highly advanced Tethe'allan people view the Sylvaranti as barbarians. Naturally, some rebellious Sylvaranti take to arms and begin to fight against the Tethe'allan people under the name of The Sylvaranti Liberation Front, more colloquially called The Vanguard. The story takes it's rather predictable twists and turns to create an interesting tale that kept me invested, even though I typically knew what was going to happen before it actually did. The story does, however, tie together the loose ends of ToS and connect it to Tales of Phantasia, which takes place in the same universe.
However, the story actually opens during the Blood Purge, in Palmacosta as it burns. Emil witnesses something horrible, Lloyd Irving, the previous protagonist, murdering his parents in cold blood. The personal issues in this game easily beat the political ones as the lust for vengeance may cloud Emil's judgment.
8/10

Graphics:
The graphics aren't really anything to write home about. They're on par with Tales of the Abyss and also adopt a more realistic style, instead of the chibi type characters of the previous ToS. What can I say? They get the job done, but they don't really bring anything new to the table.
6/10

Sound:
This is one part I was delighted for. The music is great, it has fresh, new music. It has remixes and some that haven't changed at all. I love the remixes. I loved the new stuff. The old, untouched stuff needs revamped, though.
8/10

Gameplay:
My absolute favorite part of the Tales series, the gameplay. This game is basically a blend of ToA and ToS. It carries over a elemental stage system somewhat similar to ToA. It allows the free range of motion from ToA along with Mystic Artes and Skills. Many of the skills and the typical battle tactics carry over from ToS. They also added a monster system, much akin to Pokemon, where the monsters play as party members. The saddest thing is that the original ToS party can join, but they have a level cap of 50 and you can not change their equipment. Level 50 is as high as you need to finish the game on normal, but it's a pain for sidequest dungeons and higher difficulties.
9/10

Controls:
The controls are strictly WiiMote+Nunchuk. You can not use Gamecube or Classic controllers. Luckily, the system works very well. The only time you have to wave the WiiMote around is the occasional mini game or for in battle shortcuts. It all works fine and doesn't feel even remotely gimmicky. It still would've been nice to have a wider choice of controls, and using the - button to change targets is extremely awkward.
7/10

In conclusion, this game is a fantastic purchase. It's worth an add to any Tales fan's collection, especially those who enjoyed the original Tales of Symphonia. If you're an RPG fan go ahead and try a cheaper Tales title and see if you enjoy it. If you didn't play the original ToS I think this game would be enjoyable in it's own right, but you'll miss out on the nostalgia factor that really pushes this game to be something special.

Overall:8/10 (Not an average)