Since Let’s Plays (LP’s) are popular and something I enjoy watching, I thought I should write about gamers who have done playthroughs of Tales games and I give my insight on them. Hopefully, I’ll try to make these monthly or bi-monthly because Tales Let's Play’s are long and I need time to analyze and think about them.
WHY SHOULD YOU WATCH LET’S PLAYS?
Honestly, gamers are usually on Youtube for various reasons, but sometimes, people like to watch gamers play the games they’re familiar with (or unfamiliar with) or like to play alongside them. What I like about let’s plays are the interaction between the gamer and the viewers. Sometimes, the viewers know more than the gamer and often write down comments about the tiny aspects they missed or if they interpreted scenes differently than what it is intended; the reverse can also apply since I often learn new aspects of the game that I wasn't aware of previously. Also, there can be certain aspects of the game that you might have the same thoughts about long ago and find it relatable.
Overall, they’re also fun to watch if the gamer you’re subscribed to have a good sense of humor and is passionate about their content.
THIS MONTH’S FEATURED LET’S PLAY
The first one I’ll be talking about is the most recent one I’ve finished watching, which is MasaeAnela’s Let’s Play of Tales of Symphonia! It ran from December 12, 2016 to November 11, 2017 with 125 videos.
Click here for the full playlist
THE PROS
What I liked about her playthrough is her enthusiasm. Being excited to tackle a long game isn’t an easy feat, but she manages to keep her energetic spirit throughout all the challenges she faced in the game (Also, all screenshots are taken from MasaeAnela's channel--I got permission).
I also liked how she switched her party around constantly and show off what each character can do. Some gamers only use the main protagonist and change only the other three characters in the party, but I do like how MasaeAnela switches all of her characters around and experiments with the characters she had never played with before (though, she doesn’t play as Raine and Genis all that often).
She is also quite knowledgeable about sidequests and tries to actively pursue most of them. Though, the only ones she doesn’t really try to seek out are the tedious ones like Colette’s “Dog Lover” title and Zelos’s “Gigolo” title, but she explains about most of the ones she can’t obtain just to let her viewers know what sort of titles are there and how to obtain them (since some of them have to be obtained through multiple playthroughs).
She also does a good job showing the various mechanics of the game like the EX skills (which I honestly never used because I didn’t know it was a thing), unison attacks, the affinity system which she explains whenever it was necessary, and cooking.
She also showed off bonus features like PS2-exclusive features that got put into the re-release of the game like the casino and the bonus dungeon. She also handled additional boss fights very well like the Sword Dancer battles, Abyssion, and the bonus dungeon bosses.
One last aspect of this playthrough that I really enjoy is that Masae also learns new things when playing this game again. I think that learning new things is a joyous aspect of life, so her being quite surprised yet enthusiastic about new knowledge makes me like her as a gamer and this Let's Play as a whole.
THE CONS
If I had to point out her flaws, it would be her tendency to be forgetful. She forgets to open chests a lot and there are some instances where she forgets to change her equipment in important boss fights, so she has to do it during the middle of the fight—but that’s just minor nitpicking on my part.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Is this the best Tales of Symphonia Let’s Play? The answer is opinionated, but I think it’s quite informative and very entertaining. If someone wanted to watch an informative Tales of Symphonia Let's Play, I would recommend this one.