My reasons for wanting to adopt this site are much the same as Emma's for originally creating a Zelos shrine. Although I do believe my original opinion of Zelos Wilder couldn't be more different!
After figuring out Kratos's true relationship to Lloyd fairly early on in the game, I fully expected him to "redeem" himself after his betrayal at the Tower of Salvation. I've learned, through much reading and gaming, that this would typically be balanced by the loss of another character. Considering how the other Tethe'alla characters were fairly obviously untrustworthy (if not outright enemies) when they arrived on the scene, the finger of suspicion fell instantly on Zelos. Poor guy.
Most players tend to either love or hate Zelos on first encountering him.
He's considered to be either an obnoxious, chauvanistic, womanising creep, or a funny, loveable,
womanising creep babe magnet!
Kratos being my favourite character by far, at this point, I was fairly ambivalent towards Zelos.
I guess I leaned more towards incredulity at the inclusion of such a non-PC character!
His main selling points were that he was as powerful as Kratos had been, and that he had an incredibly sexy voice!
His past story does tug on the heart strings, though. If, by the time you learn it, you aren't fed up with his random outbursts and general dislike of Kratos then you should begin to understand the difficult life he's had. It's difficult in a completely different way to some of the other characters' problems, which actually makes him quite a unique character, despite the gaming similarities between him and Kratos.
When I started reading ToS fanfiction, I came across many different interpretations of his character, and began to appreciate just how complex he really is. Stories which purported to be Zelos-centric but only featured his flirtatious, arrogant demeanour, with no real depth to his thoughts, made me growl in irritation. My opinion of Zelos had evolved from "mildly amusing Kratos replacement" to "one of the most interesting and engaging characters"! I suddenly felt rather ashamed that I'd never really considered him to be a character in his own right, and since that day I've spent a lot of time considering the possibilities of his backstory. It's certainly one of the most interesting, and open, making him good fodder for fanfiction writers. His strained relationship with his sister, and his whole attitude to life (particularly his own) are incredibly bittersweet. The concept of the trade-off between him and Kratos is also interesting (although a little unfair), since many players seem to favour one greatly over the other.
In short, I find Zelos to be one of those rare characters, the ones that make you truly wonder about them and question their true purpose, even when you think you already had it sussed. Anyone who has played Tales of Symphonia knows what an amazingly intricate and well thought out game it is. Such games truly deserve the speculation, discussion and sheer volume of fanworks that they inspire! Having said that, there is a distinct lack of English sites devoted to the game, which I find surprising. I would like to use this site to continue to spread the word (and the word is "love") about this fantastic game.
Emma's motivation:
Zelos made me laugh so hard the first time I played the game. He was such a lovable pimp. For a while he and Kratos were on par as my favourite character, but I do believe Zelos glomping Lloyd in Altessa's house sealed the deal. It was just too cute.
Zelos has had a pretty crappy life, despite the fame and opulance. Even his hunnies, who are around him all the time, are only with him becasue he is the Chosen. And as the Chosen, he is destined to die regenerating the world, whether he succeeds or not. His lacksadasical attitude when you first meet him to this is deceptive. And he still puts on this show of bravado, oosing self-confidence from every pore when the reality is quite different. I just find this very endearing. Especially because he doesn't constantly complain and can look after himself (unlike another Chosen who gets kidnapped at every oppertunity). Alright, so he rants a lot at the Tower of Salvation but I think he's allowed. After being the comic relief for so long I'm sure he needs to get some stuff of his chest. Lets just hope he doesn't show his wings though.
He is the resident good looking chap, he's funny and he has an interesting story. He winds up Sheena and he's good in battle. Even him betraying the team just endear me to him more. He's a survivor. *insert dramatic music* He brightens up the game and makes it so much more interesting.
There is also a lack of Tales of Symphonia websites on the internet, so I wanted a little something to commemorate my favourite character with, and spread the ToS love.
©KOSUKE FUJISHIMA. TALES OF SYMPHONIA™ & ©2003 NAMCO LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ™, ® and Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Layout ©2005-2008 Emma. Content ©2005-2008 Emma & FairyV.
