I can't find a used copy of the original tales of Symphonia anywhere... I got Dawn of the New World, and I love it, but how much storyline am I missing? All I really know is that Lloyd was the main good guy, and there was Collette, the chosen of Regeneration... and Sheena's the girl with the bra always sticking out. But, somewhere down the line, will I not understand anything?
Personally, I think you're missing everything. The second game completely pales next to the first. Visually, they're almost identical, except that the character models are less chibi this time around. Story-wise, however, New World feels like a side story, which it kinda is. Yeah, if you enjoyed the second one, then you're definitely missing something having not played the first. Of course, you've already ruined everything for yourself in terms of the plot secrets.
The first symphonia is almost better than dawn of the new world in every aspect. I think you'd be a bit lost with the plot and allusions to the first game if you never actually played it. Dawn of the new world was made (in my opinion) to directly cater to fans of the first game.
As far as I can tell, what I'm really missing was the body of the first game- what the hell happened that made Lloyd / collette / other chibi people to go all the way around the world?
Well, they actually explain that to you in New World, but you probably just didn't understand the reference. They go all the way around the world(s) to... Warning: Spoilers inside! ...regenerate the world. Of course, they discover there's an entirely separate world -- Tethe`alla, which you don't learn about until about midway through the game. There are, however, other great story twists that aren't harked upon in New World, and I'd say it's definitely worth going back and playing the first game. I prefer the controls in New World, but the battle system -- with the S and T-type techs and ExSpheres -- is much better in the original. Story, combat (except for the absence of free roam), dialogue, gameplay -- everything in the original is so much better than New World.
You can still enjoy this game without playing the first, since the story in this one is pretty much a standalone. The only thing you miss out on without playing the first game are: - In depth details about the ToS 1 characters - More details on how the world came to be - References to ToS 1 There are probably more, but these are the key things that I can remember off the top of my head.
