Wexter

@RupeeClock One of the reasons Nintendo remasters tend to be of a higher quality than other publishers is for this very reason. We can complain about Nintendo (and there is a lot to complain about), but their meticulous practice of backing up everything is insane! Companies like Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, Namco and Konami never saw the benefit of archiving their work to that level and it is noticeable in their remasters. Nintendo remasters even the "lazy ones" are of just a different quality level than their competitors (Prime Remaster, Return to Dreamland, Skyward Sword, you name one and they are still very competently done if not exceptional).

The loss of the original assets, source code has made a lot of publishers reliant on work they did 10 years ago (in some case longer) to re-release games today. The Final Fantasy VII re-releases is a perfect example as it is based on the work done for the PC version in the 1990s by Eidos. Similar situation here where the Tales of Symphonia Remaster is based on the PS3 remaster for the PS2 version of the game.

That is also why we see so many re-releases running on a modified emulator rather than a true built from the ground-up remaster like the Kingdom Hearts 1 remaster. They're expensive to do a decompile and rebuilt port! As you have to now decompile the original game, figure out how the code worked and try to replicate that perfectly! It is very intensive work requiring teams that have knowledge in the subject. I think that is the better way of doing things, but, it is far cheaper to just plug the ROM/ISO into an emulator and just call it a day... Which while not lazy (making an emulator is not easy), it is for sure the cheap way out that puts the blame on the developers who are given close to no support by the publishers to do it properly the first time.

Because they're hard to do. In simple terms.

A) If it's a port they need to have the source code and original assets. If so it's easy to do and cost effective! If they don't (i.e. most publishers not named Nintendo) then they have to decompile the game or rip the assets off the retail disc. Then they have to upscale the textures or redraw them and that gets expensive quick.

B) The other way is through emulation. It's cheaper and does not require the source files. But, the emulator needs to be custom and then we're talking more dev time as you can't just shove every game into any kind of emulator. And now they need to decide if they're capping the frame rate. As some games brake if they're being played above the original fps so now it gets messy. So that requires more play testing to find the brakes then they probably are allotted by the publisher.

Overall it is just hard to do and no matter which route they choose most fans will be displeased.

@Purgatorium not sure about performance with an emulator (PSOne emulation is not one I do often), but the quantity of life improvements make this the way to play the game. You can fast forward gameplay on the overworld and combat. This mean you can get through backtracking and battles far quicker than the original. PSOne JRPGs are notorious for slow combat due to the desire to bombard the player with long magic/summoning cutscenes and just running poorly due to the PSOne just not being able to push those kinds of polys at above 10fps. This was a feature in the original too, but you only got it in NG+, so having access to it on a standard playthrough is a godsend during the game.

I'd say the Remaster stomps emulation for that feature alone!!! Makes playing through the game that much more enjoyable due to how backtrack heavy the game is.

@XandertheWise here is a How-To article by Google. If this does not work update your Chrome browser. Enjoy https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/173424?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop

@Serpenterror this is the kind of snark I approve of! Nice!

@XandertheWise Chrome is hard coded to translate a page if it is in Google Translates database.

@MarioLazor it's a bit harder than you think. Sometimes taking a game coded to be 30fps and forcing it to 60fps can cause oddities in the code. For example because FFIX is running over 20fps some of the timing in the mini games are way more difficult now because the timing is off. So they have to hard lock some of these games at 30fps even though they can run at 60 and even 120fps.

Still a masterpiece today! Played through the game last year when I went down with COVID and it was like reliving an old story that has never left me! Just a marvelous game! Glad they are releasing performance improvements as some of those frame stutters and dips are inexcusable for a PSOne game on Switch.

@Serialsid Ummm... but, what about the people working there? It seems by all accounts it will be better for the people working there under Microsoft than the constant harassment they got under former leadership. This is good for the little guys at the publishing house.

@Kilroy Star Fox Zero was some of the best multiplayer fun on the Wii U. The asymmetric multiplayer function of someone being the pilot while the other the gunner was a fantastic idea (and will probably never be possible again with the death of the gamepad). I never felt so much like I was reliving the escape from the Death Star from "A New Hope" more than playing that game! Even compared to other Star Wars games!

SUPER FUN MULTIPLAYER! Though for single player content... it was a bit hard to wrap my head around. I think the more simple flying and shooting of 64 is hard to top.

@GrailUK LOL! I almost guarantee we will get more! Goldeneye being a major tip of the cap! I expect at least Banjo Tooie and Perfect Dark; maybe Diddy Kong Racing too.

@Serialsid That is fear mongering. And Microsoft is already struggling buying Activision Blizzard, do you honestly think they can buy Ubisoft and EA? Okay bro. And Gamepass is good for a lot of budget gamers in an era where game prices have gone up. You can save money by getting Gamepass Ultimate and enjoy Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbone and XSX/S games on your single console and if you end-up liking the game you can buy it at a discount through Gamepass of up to 20%. And it is nice for PC gamers as well as we can try a game on Gamepass before buying it on Steam. Sony is even doing a Gamepass model. How is that a bad thing? I've been pro Nintendo doing a Gamepass as well as I like Expansion Pass, but having new Nintendo games on the service as well would be great for me personally.

And based on all reports of what happened in Activision Blizzard under Bobby Kotick, Microsoft owning the company will be great for the employees there who will have collective bargaining rights and the ability to unionize. That and a Sony dominated dedicated home console space is not healthy for the industry either. The best competitive era for both was with the 360 and PS3 where the consumers were generally the winner.

@Serialsid Yeah I remember the stunts Sony pulled with the PS3. It was the same nonsense they did with the PS2. Make a console so hard to develop for that it restricts developers being able to make games on other platforms. That and this whole recent stunt of paying off devs from releasing games on Xbox or PC is a rather antiquated and anti-consumer practice... cough Final Fantasy XVI cough.

I'm all for funding development of games that would had never happened otherwise. Bayonetta 2&3 as examples, Nintendo saved that franchise and so gets to have them as exclusives. Or even buying developers like Nintendo did with Monolith Soft, Next Level Games, or even Sony did with Naughty Dog and ironically Bungie. Paying off a dev to just withhold games... I'm less inclined to support that. Microsoft has actually negotiated with unions to develop a path for unionization at Activision Blizzard... that is an overall good for the industry and good for the employees at Activision Blizzard compared to if they don't buy them.

SOURCE: https://gamerant.com/microsoft-acquisition-cwa-union-support-letter/

@Selim Except like Minecraft, Microsoft has no incentive to do it. They want to push Gamepass not Xbox consoles as the former is more profitable. Keeping CoD off PS5s is a short term gain as it will push Xbox Series sales, but they will be losing about a 2/3rds of the potential market. I love the Switch, but I doubt Switch/Switch 2 will replace that massive PlayStation market for CoD. Why do you think Microsoft wants to sign a 10-year agreement with Sony like they did Nintendo? It has nothing to do with the PS5 or XSX/S sales, it has everything to do with what comes next. That I think is what Sony is worried about...

CoD on Gamepass is what Microsoft wants as that will push Gamepass subscriptions on Xbox and PC. That is where the real future money is made.

@Judal27 Microsoft has been pretty good at giving their audience a lot to look forward to. Redfall is just a week away, Starfield is not that far away either same with Hellblade 2, and they have a Fable and Perfect Dark reboots on the horizon to hype-up hardcore fans. Microsoft's biggest issue has been:

A) a lack of quality 3rd party support. Either by design by Sony or just not being top dog a lot of great 3rd party games have come to Xbox after the hype has dried up or just not at all (Final Fantasy VII Remake being the most famous).
B) A lot of their quality 1st party titles are day and date with PC. This does mean that people are less likely to double-dip on a PC port later like Playstation games so less incentive to own a Xbox Series console.
C) A real lack of customer goodwill. The launch of the Xbone killed a lot of their core fanbase goodwill and basically handed the crown to PlayStation (we like to look at total sales and say the Xbox 360 was 3rd play that gen, but the Xbox 360 was hardcore gaming for most of that generation. That reveal event just ripped apart 7-years of hard work). Despite Gamepass, despite Rareware IPs being treated with respect, despite them keeping Minecraft multiplat, despite their cooperation with Nintendo they are still seen as the big bad of the industry. That is a hard image to fix.

I think Microsoft's cooperation with Nintendo is good for the industry. It gives their small IPs like Ori visibility, they share Banjo, they're bringing COD to the Switch (more likely Switch 2) something Activision has not done. But, Microsoft has been very good at rewarding Xbox owners and PC players which is their core fanbase. And if they keep Bethesda titles flowing on Switch (no reason they won't) and start pushing Activision titles on it like CoD? Even Nintendo players will become Xbox fans. It is the long game Microsoft is playing as the end of the console era is coming.

EDIT: And I'm not saying there won't be a PlayStation 6 or a new Xbox in 3-5 years. But, the generation after that I can see "high-end consoles" start to become not the main way to play. It is already happening where PC gaming is starting to become the main way younger teens are playing games like Minecraft, Fortnite and other popular titles. It is starting to already happen.

My personal wish list: Scarlet and Violet DLC announcement (please return to Kalos DLC), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Gen 1-3 come to Switch Online with Home support. After that I will just think it is gravy.

Honestly based on how evil Activision Blizzard has been I have zero issues with Microsoft cleaning house. As far as long term competition of the industry... Sony has been the king of anti-consumer and anti-competition practices since the beginning. If you don't believe me look it up. They have done a ton of questionable things since getting into gaming in the mid-90s.

Controversial opinion... They all kind of were the best. NES started most of Nintendo's top IPs, the SNES refined and delivered the best 2D iterations of those games, N64 was revolutionary and well gave us Smash, Wave Race and 1080 and the "Citizen Kane of gaming" with Ocarina of Time, GameCube was Nintendo willing to get weird, the Wii is unrecognized for the pure bangers it released, the Wii U was almost pure Nintendo first party (there is a reason most of them are on Switch) and the Switch is chef's kiss!

They all rock for their own reasons and I'd have a hard time saying one is definitively the best.

@Banjo- it would be the same issue with Series X. They're all based on the PS2 version which was hard locked at 30fps. So the only way to get a comparable experience with all the modern improvements you need to go PC with the FPS mod.

As someone who has already linked my Nintendo ID with my Nintendo Online account this is a non issue. But, for those who haven't... Get on that.

@Banjo- very impressed friend! And I did the same. But we're unfortunately my friend in the minority on that one. I'm all for legal emulation, but snarky comments on articles most the time aren't talking about that.

I am pro emulation... Just not pro piracy. And with Tales of Symphonia on GCN currently being $25-$60 if someone wants to legally emulate the game it won't brake the bank compared to Xenosaga. So if someone wants to do that, am all for it.

@123akis true! But, that still is not same as being the government actively doing those things. I'd say some is geopolitical as we need them, but we can also and should adjust on our policies to have a harder stance.

As far as the Saud government is concerned they are one of the few counters NATO nations have to Iran (they historically do not get along). So, yeah it's one of those enemy of my enemy is my friend relationships.

@Faruko the joys of not having a Twitter And while I want a Tesla... I'm not supporting Elon. Facebook I hardly give any information for and more use it to stay in contact with extended family I'm not perfect, but I try to be better where I can!

If the Saud government does get a high enough stake in Nintendo... I'm going to consider not buying their products.

@Clyde_Radcliffe yeah this isn't comparable. One, The Saud government has very low stake in Nintendo atm compared to JK who owns the Harry Potter brand and that very brand gives her a platform to not just rake in millions, but to also give her that very platform. It's similar to Orsan Scott Card where his brand is Ender's Game and those are far easier to compare and buying products of Ender's Game actively supports Card and his platform.. This while similar is not quite comparable.

@victordamazio I'm not buying Activision games till they're fully acquired by Microsoft. Similar to Hogwarts Legacy till it's on a deep discount or used. While I'd hate to do similar with Nintendo I have boycotted games in the pass. I can live without AAA video games.

@123akis hmmmm... When was the last time there was a state execution that used beheading by sword in the UK? I get the US and the UK have done terrible things (especially the UK), but when a lot of that human rights abuses is over a century ago while the other is a current practitioner... That's apples and oranges.

@Dimjimmer maybe I've touched a nerve. But, I will ask a question. When someone says "play on Dolphin" do they tend to mean A) buy a legal copy of the game, rip it and enjoy it on Dolphin. Or B) pirate the game and play it on Dolphin. In my experience it has not been the former. And even then I'm not saying people can't or shouldn't play the game on GCN if they want the 60 fps. That's fine and I honestly don't care. But, the trade off is the loss of the extra content and the amount of extra goodies the PC port does give.

I get if someone wants to play the game in 60 fps, but if there is a legal port of the game on PC I will direct people there instead of piracy and the headaches of emulation. Even if this is one of my personal favorite JRPGs and I'm not buying this port at $40.

Edit: ps I'm not arguing if someone wants to go the legal route with Dolphin. If they want to I say go for it!!! Playing games legally on an emulator can be an amazing experience!!! It was the way I played Prime till the remaster was through a rip of my Wii copy and in Dolphin. For most people it's not worth the hassle and for that I would say the FPS fix on PC is worth it for 4K Ai upscaled texture, anti aliasing, true widescreen support, the usage of any controller they want to with Steam, and the extra content added through the PS2 port. So, it is a trade off.

@Dimjimmer that's negligible for me for the most part. Tales of Symphonia's combat is not as intensive that you need 60 fps compared to the sluggish exploration and dungeon crawling which in my opinion is the bigger component of the game. But, to each their own.

PS not saying you should not buy the GCN version or even this mediocre port at $40. I'm just not pro piracy and the PC port with mods is way more substantial then the GCN version in Dolphin... And well legal.

@Telin when did I say that? I've been rather disappointed with the port myself... But you have to admit if someone is going to say "just play it on Dolphin" they don't tend to mean buy the GameCube game, rip the iso to your PC then play in Dolphin. They tend to mean pirate it. And even if I don't care if someone wants to play their games on emulators, if there is a PC port then I'm going to direct them there.

@bonjong23 or buy the game legally on Steam and apply the 60fps mod... You don't have to use Dolphin to get a better experience and not promote piracy (which is implied when people say just play it on Dolphin)

@Nanami_Ataraxi the progression mechanics it's talking about are more for advanced players. For everyone else you can just level up and upgrade your equipment like every other JRPG and get through the game on Hard without much issues.

I love Tales of Symphonia, I think even at $40 you'll have an amazing experience. But, I'd recommend for this release wait till it's $25 as it does not add that much new and that's the general going rate for the Cube version. Also, get Phantom Brave if you want a nice deep cut RPG on the cheap on Switch.

@Anti-Matter Not everyone still has their PS3 and it lacks the portability of Switch. I get the sentiment, but I know I'd rather not lug out that old beast just to play Tales of Symphonia again.

What exactly is Wave 1? Is it just a new hub world? Does it have new maps and weapons? Does it have throwback levels to Splatoon 1? I'm really confused on what this is and why I want to spend $20 on it or just wait to see if it gets added to Expansion Pass.

Give me Pokemon RBY and GSC with Pokemon Home compatibility or give me DEATH!!! All kidding aside those are on my wish list along with the ones already mentioned in the article.

@Sinton isn't that one already on the eShop? Not sure if Wayforward would want to give it away for free on the basic Switch Online plan.

@ArcticEcho Tales of Symphonia has an amazing story and really speaks on some taboo subjects that most stray away from. It really is a fantastic story with characters that feel real!!! Sure it has some clunky dialogue (this is a game that was translated in the early-00s), but it is marvelous! I look sideways at people who say the story is bad and ask how far they actually got in the game? The generic save the world plot is not what the game is actually about and even then it has shades of grey hinted throughout the first 10 hours to give you a peak behind the curtains.

I personally feel 6/10 is a little rough score on what is one of the best JRPGs ever made (the story, characters, gameplay and replay-ability should at least lift it up to a 7/10). But, I do understand the score as despite the extra content the FPS is bellow the GCN version and the visuals have been hardly touched up since the PS3 port around a decade ago.

This game (along with Phantom Brave... buy it you cowards!) was a very important step for me to branch out to other JRPG franchises that were not Final Fantasy. Shame that Bandai Namco did not give it the care and attention it deserves.

@Tober this is probably one of the first times I've been genuinely wow'ed by a comment!! A lot of this is very fair and actually made me re-examine my stance! Bravo!!! Very Bravo!!!

@WatsonWatson is it a remaster though? a remaster is something like Skyward Sword HD, a touch up and "remastering" of the original game. This has entire assets, code, particle effects completely made from scratch to recreate the original game updated for a modern era. And before someone says no a remake is like FFVII Remake or Resident Evil 2 (2019)... That's more a reimagining marketed as a remake. This is closer to Bluepoint"s Demon Souls or Shadow of the Colossus and no one calls those remasters despite being the same game.

I think my biggest Bugaboo is people have no idea the differences between the terms remaster, remake and reimagining and that's almost by design in this industry as they use all three interchangeably...

@-wc- I agree! Despite the credit that is there is perfectly okay (this is not your average remaster, and is closer to a remake similar to Bluepoint's Daemon Souls remake... who I don't think ever credited Fromsoft or Hidetaka Miyazaki in its credits... from what I can find) I don't see the issue with just having a Special Thanks at the end and listing the names of the original team. Sure the credits would be longer, but I think that is only fair.

@johnvboy No issues friend! Always a pleasant interaction even if we don't agree.

@Tober LiamR has rubbed me the wrong way too... but I don't think this response is very fair either. In the creative industry it was very common for companies to ignore and even disregard the talent that made the game. Castlevania and Contra being two very notable examples where we have no idea who most of the dev teams were. Then there are examples like Yoko Shimomura who is best known for her work on Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV. For the longest time we had no idea she worked on Street Fighter 2 and other Capcom arcade classics because they made all developers go under pseudonyms... which you can imagine an industry which is seen as male dominated how the early female contributors have been largely ignored for those contributions because of those practices. I almost guarantee if we did not have Shimomura's later work with Squaresoft/Enix she'd have been a forgotten contributor and don't get me started on people like Tommy Tallarico. Just YouTube his name, he has become legendary for his lack of giving credit to other people... I'm sure his mother is very proud.

But, I also think other people deserve more credit then they get. Think for example the people at Microsoft who developed Windows 10 and 11... you have to dig through pages and pages of Linkedin pages to get a complete list of who made two of the most important operating systems currently in circulation.

I think there are two very strong extremes we need to be aware of and not fall for the bait and get emotionally attached to a topic and miss the forest for the trees in these kinds of situations.

@Martijn87 I really want to see your designs! I love that kind of thing as I have tons of artbooks from small name artists to large published works by Dark Horse. Shame you're not getting proper credit if the work is still being used... then again if this is like the automotive industry those sketch artists are the unsung heroes.

@Serpenterror I concur. Playing any game in stretch really screws up the game and makes it look ugly in a lot of cases.

@LiamR Am I saying that I have no empathy for them? If you've read my comments you'd know this is not my preferred way for them to be credited either. But, this idea that their careers may hang on a remaster they had no involvement in does make me wonder what projects they have worked on between Prime 1 and now. Can you link me to said interviews? Please enlighten me. I want to be corrected because I like being intellectually honest on these topics and while I feel for them, but calling me a chump when I'm just giving my opinion does not speak highly of your professionalism.

EDIT: And I have also had issues with the genius game dev label as well. The idea that the monolithic guy in the chair deserves soul credit for a work. It is one of the reasons I have major problems with Hideo Kojima and the "A Hideo Kojima Games" label. I'm all for making sure the little guy gets their credit. But, you'd rather call me an unempathetic chump eh instead of actually asking me that question.

@larryisaman here's the rub... They kinda did. They got thanked as part of the "based on the work by the Metroid Prime development staff" message in the credits. They did not get credit by name, but the crediting was there. Let's not pretend that message was not there at all! If they received no thanks or recognition I'm with you that's not okay, but that's not what we're discussing. What is being discussed is if that message was enough. And the original Prime credits is very, and I mean very accessible. You can find out who worked on what in 60 seconds.

I personally think a special thanks with a list of names would had been more appropriate. But, then we would then be discussing if that is enough. But, this remaster is more a remake and then were caught in a ship of Theseus paradox. How, much of the original work is still there and does the original person deserve the same recognition if their original work is no longer present (like the infamous doors). That's the discussion we should be having not this mythical idea that the original team did not credit at all... Which is not true as the article has the very credit in it.

@LiamR I don't think it's ignorance as I think a lot of people recognize that. I think people are more wanting the people who worked on the remaster to be properly recognized for their work compared to the group who have already received fountains of praise the past 20 years due to their credits on Prime on the GCN and Wii (who still got credit for their work. Not by name, but as a thank you to the original dev team message). I also highly doubt someone who worked on the original Prime's next job will hinge on getting a credit on a remaster of their 20 year old work... If it does I'm really concerned about their choice of projects the past 20 years 🤔

Glad the Japanese Police are taking things like this seriously now. After the tragedy at Kyoto Ani (look it up, it was terrible) people like this should be arrested on the spot for even threatening such a thing.

@larryisaman I think that is a little bit of a disingenuous argument. Credit was given in the form of a based off the work of the original dev team credit. It's not like that credit list is not available as it's listed on the Wiki, Mobygames and other sources. If someone was curious who those were they can find the information within 60 seconds. It's not like they weren't credited at all.

On a personal level I think the work done on this "remaster" is substantial enough that the new team deserves top billing. But, I personally think the original team should get an extra credit at the end. But, I think the way they were credited here was very respectful.

@johnvboy my friend, I don't think the discussion of whether someone is a troll or not is worth it with some people. You can be perfectly reasonable, but if you don't share some users opinion or even argue as the devil's advocate you are a troll in their eyes. Even if you're just doing so to stay intellectually honest. I just don't think it's worth it to have the discussion as they probably already think you're a troll yourself so what you're saying is just going in one ear and out the other.

As for my personal opinion... This project is on the level of a remake rather than remaster. I think the team that worked on it deserve top billing. But, I can see how the original devs could feel they still deserve to be credited.

@Kirbysonic I know Shulk gets a lot of love, but I connected a lot with Rex!!! Cannot wait to see Chad King Rex!