I finally completed Tales of Symphonia :) It's an excellent game with solid 80+ hours of gameplay. There is a TV adaptation that provides extended character back stories, but clearly it isn't meant to be watched as standalone. I recommend both the game and TV adaptation - great story, likeable characters, good gameplay. The game was released on Game Cube and PS2, but it can be played on PC via
Dolphin emulator.
Now back to balance changes :)