Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.''}}

 

 

The game's story takes place two years after the end of the first game, and things aren't quite as happy as our heroes had hoped. When the two worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant merged, all maps became useless and the climate of the new world was thrown into chaos. Furthermore, the people of Tethe'alla- having come from a more advanced civilization- look down on the people of Sylvarant, and relations are becoming strained, with a group of Sylvaranti calling themselves The Vanguard beginning a campaign of military opposition to the Tethe'allan Church of Martel.

The story focuses on Emil Castagnier, a timid boy whose parents were killed in the "Blood Purge" of Palmacosta, an attack apparently led by ''Symphonia'' protagonist [[Rogue Protagonist|Lloyd Irving]]. He meets and befriends two people: an enigmatic Vanguard warrior called Richter Abend, and a girl named Marta Lualdi, who is being hunted by the Vanguard due to the [[Plot Coupon]] embedded in her forehead which contains the dormant Summon Spirit Ratatosk. Determined to protect Marta, Emil makes a pact to become a Knight of Ratatosk, allowing him to use a fraction of the Summon Spirit's power in battle and awakening a [[Super-Powered Evil Side|much more ruthless side of himself]] in the process.

 

 

 

''Dawn of the New World'' plays a lot differently than its predecessor. The player only has Emil and Marta as permanent members of the party, and over the course of the game they meet and join up with the other heroes of the first game, who are in various stages of disbelief about the situation with Lloyd. To fill out the roster between them, Emil is able to defeat and [[Character-Magnetic Team|recruit any regular monster]] in the game. Cooking is used in the game to power up the monster beyond the usual leveling, and can also evolve them into their different variations. Gathering monsters also helps Emil become stronger as more of the Centurions' cores are awakened.

 

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* [[Accidental Pervert]]:

** Lloyd gets stuck with this role again, when Genis (jokingly) accuses Lloyd of wanting to have an affair with a married woman. All of the previous game's possible love interests scold him while Marta eggs him on.

** And when the party visit the hot springs, the ''same thing'' as last time happens when the girls bathe: Lloyd tries to stop Zelos from peeping, but Lloyd is the one who is caught and blamed.

** When it's the boys' turn to bathe, Marta puts Emil in a similar situation, causing him to bond with Lloyd over the sorrow of being members of the Accidental Peeping Toms club.

* [[All of the Other Reindeer]]:

* [[And I Must Scream]]:

** Everyone in the party that still has a Derris Emblem in the final dungeon experiences a temporary condition that they describe as this.

** [[Nonstandard Game Over|The bad ending]] of the game will result in this for {{spoiler|Emil/Ratatosk}} as he traps himself in his core form to seal the Ginugagap forever.

** Richter's plan to {{spoiler|use the Cruxis Crystal and the mana fragment to burn himself alive for all eternity using the mana generated from that to keep the demons from passing through the Ginugagap.}}

* [[Awesome but Impractical]]:

** Ars Nova is a [[Guide Dang It|secret]] unison attack that can be used when the Unison bar isn't full and two of the minor elements are Light and Dark. It's a long stream of attacks that do a small amount of damage. It's actually a lot more useful if one can use it at the END of their combo chain. If used before doing a combo, it is fairly useless.

* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: Which is normal for the series, but really noticeable in cutscenes where people take lethal hits {{spoiler|like Emil fatally slashing Decus' back and Marta doing the same to Alice}}; clothes are not even damaged.

* [[Book Ends]]: Assuming one gets the "good" ending, the story begins and ends with {{spoiler|Marta in Palmacosta near the same shop with Emil arriving and fulfilling her wish.}}

* [[Chaste Hero]]: Still somewhat played straight by Lloyd, but Emil subverts this, despite his naivete about the world.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]:

** Quite a lot of Emil's early [[Idiot Hero|idiocy]] (such as not knowing how to fish despite growing up on a coastal town, nor knowing anything about the Desians' Human Ranches despite there being one near his home town) comes across as [[As You Know|lame exposition]] on the ''Symphonia'' world for those who haven't played the original game. {{spoiler|It's actually foreshadowing the fact that this person has no memories and is filling in the blanks as he goes along}}.

** Everything about the awkward way Richter interacts with Emil, and especially the way he frequently refuses to look directly at him, makes much more sense by the end of the game.

** Also, Emil's {{spoiler|two personalities}} being able to imitate each other.

* [[Combination Attack]]: Emil and Marta's "Ars Nova" Unison Attack.

* [[Continuity Nod]]:

** Alice has one too when she's in [[Slasher Smile|sadist mode]].

* [[Cutscene Incompetence]]: When you use the Ain Soph Aur Mystic Arte in an actual fight, then as long as it's not against {{spoiler|Richter}}, then it will operate perfectly fine, flying across the field almost before you can blink. When Emil uses it in a cutscene....

* [[Damsel in Distress]]:

** Seles and Marta. Alice insults Marta for that tendency in her speech in the final dungeon.

** Also Regal as [[James Bondage]]. This is even [[Lampshaded]] as the other characters get worried about how he seems to be used to getting imprisoned and being in handcuffs.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]:

** Indeed, the more we learn about Richter's backstory, the more it seems like {{spoiler|a [[Ho Yay]] repeat of Kratos', or even Regal's}}. ''But''... {{spoiler|surprise! It isn't. All the people saying he killed his best friend are only making assumptions.}}

* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: An out-of-the-ordinary-example; if you play the [[New Game+|EXP X10 or Combo EXP games]], chances are that Emil will be around level 150 or so by game's end. Seeing as the Good or Normal endings require you to {{spoiler|let a computer controlled Lloyd and Marta defeat Emil}}, be prepared to sit and wait for an hour or more as they whittle away at him ''one point of damage at a time'' One of the few times that it would be nice if \[[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|the computer WAS a cheating bastard!]] The best way to deal with this is to either change your equipment to the worst possible or (if you have it) equip the Pain Killer. After that, just hold the free run button and run in front of Lloyd.

* [[Evil All Along]] / [[Good All Along]]: Surprisingly enough, {{spoiler|[[Evil All Along|Emil]] and [[Good All Along|Richter]]}}.

* [[False-Flag Operation]]: {{spoiler|It was the Vanguard led by Decus}} who destroyed Palmacosta in order to eliminate any dissent in the Vanguard and have Lloyd and the Church of Martel take the blame. In the game itself, Magnar tries to do the same thing to Luin, with the same motive.

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: In addition to the return of the half-elf bias from the last game, there is now a class war waging between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

* [[Flashback to Catchphrase]]: For the first couple of chapters, it is almost guaranteed that when someone speaks the words "courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality", the scene will cutaway to Richter's initial utterance of the phrase.

* [[Fun with Acronyms]]: "Flex Range Element Enhanced Linear Motion Battle System" (FREE-LiMBS).

* [[The Glasses Come Off]]: Richter, in his final boss form and cut-in. Apparently, pacts with demons can also correct your eyesight. Who knew?

* [[Good Is Impotent]]: Emil is a complete and utter wuss when he's not channeling his [[Blood Knight]] persona. {{spoiler|But subverted in the end when Emil seals away his Ratatosk personality and turns out to be just as powerful and courageous as his evil side}}.

* [[Gratuitous German]]: Decus' [[Calling Your Attacks|artes.]] The word "Zauberbindung" appearing to signify possibility of forming a pact. "Richter Abend".

* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]]: Emil tries to convince ''himself'' of this in a short skit after he finds out Regal was forced to kill his lover, spurring Emil to wonder if [[Ho Yay|he could do the same thing with Richter...]] Seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKthQfOPxss here] at about 0:35.

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Decus' cologne {{spoiler|manages to identify him as Lloyd's impersonator.}}

* [[Hot for Teacher]]: You can make Lloyd and Raine an item in one small optional scene near the end of the game.

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]:

** As well as Genis, who fights with a Kendama.

** Alice's weapon is a riding crop styled to look like a toy rapier.

* [[La Résistance]]: Subverted with The Vanguard, who are downright villainous.

* [[Large Ham]]: Emil in Ratatosk mode. The hamminess is taken to an extreme with his Mystic Arte.

* [[Limit Break]]: Mystic Artes

* [[Load-Bearing Hero]]: Junko

* [[Minion Maracas]]: Richter does this to Emil at the beginning of the game.

* [[Mons]]: A major gameplay system and plot point and the source of all non-Emil, Marta, or ''[[TOS 1]]'' party members. Fortunately, it's not the ''entire'' point of the story.

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: This happens to doggie...er... Tenebie...er... Tenebrae. He eventually accepts being called Tenebie.

* [[Names to Know in Anime]]:

* [[Official Couple]]: Emil x Marta.

* [[One True Sequence]]: Considering the antagonists have Rheiards on their side, you'd think Emil and co. wouldn't be able to get to all the dungeons exactly when they do every time, especially with all the sidetracking they do.

* [[Painfully-Slow Projectile]]: Emil's Ain Soph Aur attack in a few cutscenes. In one, it takes several seconds to cross a small room. Which is odd, considering the fact that in battle, it sweeps across the battlefield in about second. Not to mention a certain flashback, where the projectile was as fast as lightning.

* [[Pair the Smart Ones]]: Likely subverted with Raine/Regal, specifically with Raine's love letter, {{spoiler|which was actually a letter with her suspicions about Emil}}.

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: When Emil's eyes turn from green to red, it's an indication that he's tapped into his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]. As no one else seems to notice this, it's more a wink to the audience than anything.

* [[Regional Bonus]]: The PAL release of Dawn Of The New World has an exclusive Gallery option, allowing players to view the artwork and all of the skits.

* [[Rescue Romance]]:

** Decus became enamored with Alice after she killed his harassers at the orphanage they grew up at.

** ''Alice''!

** Marta does it as well, though less often. She even writes them in the diary.

* [[Ship Tease]]: The "Love Letter", which is [[Ship Sinking|sunk]] once you find out the contents of the letter.

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Given that Regal is voiced by [[Akio Ohtsuka]] in the Japanese version, it's not ''that'' [[Actor Allusion|surprising]].

** One skit also makes references to ''[[Phantom of the Opera]]'' and ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', of all things.

** Raine also quotes Sun Tzu in a victory skit: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."

** After her iron maiden scene, Presea admits in a skit that she ''was'' scared at the time. Her heart was going [[Pac-Man|waka waka waka]]. [[Overly Long Gag|Waka waka waka.]]

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: In a rare villainous example, ''{{spoiler|Richter}}'' does this to ''the party'' when they try to talk him out of his plan.

{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Richter}}''': What do you know?! My methods are my business! I don't need ''you'' telling ''me'' what to do!}}

* [[Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome]]: Lloyd Irving, sort of. {{spoiler|It was an impostor and the real Lloyd was only hindering your goals because he was trying to set things right as well.}}

* [[Super-Powered Alter Ego]]: Emil.

* [[Talking Is a Free Action]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Tenebrae during a chase scene.

{{quote|'''Tenebrae''': ''Why'' do humans have a tendency to stop and talk? Need I remind you that we are currently being pursued?}}

* [[Theme Naming]]: All of the Centurions' names are simply the Latin word for their respective elements. Alice's [[Mons]] are called Athos, Porthos and Aramis, referencing the Three Musketeers. As shown in the pictures gallery unlocked after beating the game once, Emil and Marta's early designs were initially called 'Soleil' (French for "sun") and 'Selene' (Greek goddess of the Moon).

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Alice and Decus

* [[Tomato in the Mirror]]: Emil is {{spoiler|Ratatosk, in a dead kid's body, with another dead kid's identity!}}

* [[Tsundere]]:

** Richter towards Emil, to some [[Ho Yay|serious]] [[Foe Yay|lengths]]. Also parodied with Marta in skits.

* [[Two-Person Pool Party]]: Marta tries to have one with Emil, or at least some variant of it. [[Subverted Trope|It]] [[Not What It Looks Like|doesn't]] [[Accidental Pervert|work]].

* [[The Un-Reveal]]: Remember how the original game teased us with "This tree's name is-"? Well now we've got this game, and we think that we'll learn what he named it, but it turns out that it's a ''plot point'' that Emil can never learn the Tree's name, for its own protection. And it turns out that everyone from the previous game knows it already. Presumably they all learned its name during the credits of the first game.

* [[Weakness Turns Her On]]: While Marta is [[Loving a Shadow|infatuated with Emil's "heroics"]] early on, she eventually comes to terms with Emil's true personality, and ends up loving his "wimpy", pacifist self all the same.

* [[We Cannot Go on Without You]]: If all of the players human characters are defeated in battle, they get [[Game Over]], even if any of their [[Monster Allies]] are still capable of fighting.

* [[Xanatos Planned This Index]]: Lots of people with differing plans

** {{spoiler|Richter}}'s plan for instance was {{spoiler|intended to be}} a [[Thanatos Gambit]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Eastern RPG]]

[[Category:Mons Series]]

[[Category:Video Game]]

[[Category:Tales (series)]]