So it’s been a long time since I’ve played Tales of Symphonia, like it must be at least five years or so.  It’s been even longer since I played the game casually and didn’t skip all the dialogue.

Playing a casual run for the first time in what must be close to a decade has given me a chance to view the story with a new perspective and it’s pretty silly to see just how bananas the narrative gets.  Within the first twenty minutes you go from super peaceful town to “oh by the way there’s a forced labor camp where folks are worked to death and we’re all just going to be okay about this and pretend that we’re good people.”

Like… wat?

Also, I went with Victoria to volunteer at a parks thing and the event was sponsored by a… I dunno… portable applesauce company or something.  I’m super not a fan of applesauce, it was a hot day, and this lady comes up to me with a beaming smile and is all like, “would you like some applesauce?”

It took every ounce of my self control to not say, “I can not imagine something I’d want to have less than applesauce right now.”  Fortunately, because I’m a well adjusted adult, I managed a simple “no, thank you.”