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Tales (role-playing game series)

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The series is a franchise of console role-playing games published by Namco. Several entries have been localized for North America and just three for Europe. Tales of Phantasia was developed by Wolfteam in 1994 and published in 1995. Most of the Wolfteam staff involved left Telenet Japan after the game was released and then formed tri-Ace, who now make the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile game series, published by Enix (now Square Enix).

The Tales of games continued to be developed by Telenet Japan and published by Namco until after Tales of Destiny 2, when both companies formed the dedicated joint venture Namco Tales Studio. The only remaining staff from Tales of Phantasia at that point were series director Eiji Kikuchi and music composers Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura. Namco Tales Studio has developed every subsequent Mothership Title in the series other than Tales of Legendia, and Tales of Innocence, which were developed by Team MelFes (a Namco in-house development team, with members who worked on the Tekken, and Soulcalibur series), and Alfa System respectively. Every Mothership Tales game has used character designs of either Kosuke Fujishima (Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss), Mutsumi Inomata (Destiny, Eternia, Destiny 2, Rebirth, Tempest, Innocence), or Kazuto Nakazawa (Legendia).

In 2007, series producer Makoto Yoshizumi announced two classes of Tales games, "Mothership Titles" and "Escort Titles". All of the main games up to Tales of the Abyss became "Mothership Titles", while Tales of the Tempest was classified as an "Escort Title", thus removing it from the main series, Tales of Innocence was classified a "Mothership Title", and became the first one on the Nintendo DS.

Battle System

Main article: Linear Motion Battle System
The series possesses an unusual battle system for a role-playing game. It has been likened to that of a 2D-fighting game (like Street Fighter) and is called the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS, for short). Usually, the player has direct control over one character (often the protagonist), and can move and direct this character in any way he or she chooses. By pressing the attack button along with a directional button in different directions, the character can perform various kinds of attacks, ranging from simple slashes and thrusts to ground-to-air or air-to-ground attacks. The character's weapons usually have different attack values for a slash or a thrust. There are three modes of control for each character: Auto, Semi-Auto and Manual, with the first being fully controlled by the computer, the second a classic hybrid mode and the third offering true manual control over the character, more comparable to a fighting game. At any time, the player can bring up a menu which pauses the action and allows him or her to select an item or an ability to use (and the target), to choose a spell to cast (and the target), to change a character's artificial intelligence tactics or to escape from battle, among other things.

The later games in the series allowed for up to four players to join in a battle (requiring the MultiTap for PlayStation consoles) instead of computer control (with the exception of Tales of Legendia, which was developed by a different team). The Linear Motion Battle system has been progressively enhanced as the series progressed. Tales of Phantasia started with the Semi-Auto mode, Tales of Destiny added a true Manual mode (with the exception of the Game Boy Advance remake of Tales of Phantasia, which Manual mode can be used if Technical Ring is equipped.) and the ability for multiple players to control one character each, Tales of Eternia sped up battles considerably and added the now very popular Hi-Ougis which were then exploited by Tales of Destiny 2. Additionally, a hit counter is displayed, leading to impressive combo feats which, once recorded, are popular in fan circles. Newer Tales games extend this battle system through different means: Tales of Symphonia added a 3D battlefield while retaining the linear connection between controlled character and targeted enemy; Tales of the Abyss builds upon this and offers the optional Free Run similar to Star Ocean 3. Tales of Rebirth, on the other hand, kept the 2D system while offering three lines of movements instead just one. And to further Rebirth's three-lined system, Tales of the Tempest combines it with a full 3D battle engine. The new battle system for Tales of Destiny (PS2) is the Aerial Linear Motion Battle system (or AR-LMBS), and it includes Chain Capacity. Using Chain Capacity, you can chain up to as many attacks as you want until you run out of CC. More information can be found on the Official Japanese Tales of Destiny (PS2) Site

Game List

The following is a list of the games in the Tales series, their original release dates, characteristic genre names, development teams, systems, and the regions they were released in.

Mothership Titles

The main games of the Tales series. Equivalent to the numbered titles from series such as Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy.

First Release

Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name Developed By System Regions
December 15th, 1995 Tales of Phantasia align=center Wolf Team, Namco SFC JPN
December 23rd, 1997 Tales of Destiny align=center Telenet Japan, Namco
(Team Destiny) 		PS JPN, NA
November 30th, 2000 Tales of Eternia Telenet Japan, Namco
(Team Destiny) 		PS JPN, NA
November 28th, 2002 Tales of Destiny 2 Telenet Japan, Namco
(Team Destiny) 		PS2 JPN, ROC, HK
August 29th, 2003 Tales of Symphonia Namco Tales Studio
(Team Symphonia) 		GC JPN, NA, EUR
December 16th, 2004 Tales of Rebirth Namco Tales Studio
(Team Destiny) 		PS2 JPN
August 25th, 2005 Tales of Legendia Namco
(Team MelFes) 		PS2 JPN, NA
December 15th, 2005 Tales of the Abyss Namco Tales Studio
(Team Symphonia) 		PS2 JPN, NA
December 06th, 2007 Tales of Innocence Alfa System DS JPN
2008 Tales of Vesperia Namco Tales Studio
(Team Symphonia) 		Xbox 360 JPN, NA
Notes: The SFC version did not have a Characteristic Genre Name, the PS and GBA version's Characteristic Genre Name is , and the PSP version's is . The PS version is , the PS2 version is , and the Director's Cut is .

Remakes and Ports

Release Date Title System Developed By Notes Regions
December 23rd, 1998 Tales of Phantasia PS Telenet Japan, Namco Remake, given the Characteristic Genre Name "Legend's RPG". JPN
August 01st, 2003 Tales of Phantasia GBA Namco Tales Studio Port of the SFC version.
Some PS version elements were added.
New elements added. 		JPN, NA, UK
September 22nd, 2004 Tales of Symphonia PS2 Namco Tales Studio
(Team Symphonia) 		New elements added, bugs corrected. JPN
March 03rd, 2005 Tales of Eternia PSP Namco Tales Studio Battle effects corrected, bugs corrected.
Addition of videos. 		JPN, AU, EUR
September 07th, 2006 Tales of Phantasia ~ Full Voice Edition PSP Namco Tales Studio Port of the PS version.
New elements added, bugs corrected.
Battle sprites changed.
Addition of full voice acting for the main scenario. 		JPN
November 30th, 2006 Tales of Destiny PS2 Namco Tales Studio
(Team Destiny) 		Remake JPN
February 15th, 2007 Tales of Destiny 2 PSP Alfa System New elements added, bugs corrected. JPN
January 31st, 2008 Tales of Destiny Director's Cut PS2 Namco Tales Studio
(Team Destiny) 		New elements added to the PS2 version. JPN
March 19th, 2008 Tales of Rebirth PSP Namco Tales Studio New elements added. JPN

Escort Titles

A derivation from Mothership Titles, Escort Titles are considered side-stories (Gaiden) in the Tales series.

Original

Basically independent of other titles, titles with original worlds and characters are organized here.
Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name Developed By System Regions
October 26th, 2006 Tales of the Tempest Dimps DS JPN

Side-Story Sequels

Games that are sequels to Mothership Titles, but are not considered to be Mothership Titles themselves are organized here.
Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name Developed By System Regions
Spring 2008 Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World Namco Tales Studio Wii JPN, NA

Tales of the World

A series that plays a central role among the Escort Titles. It features appearances by many characters (primarily from Mothership Titles) in the Tales series.
Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name Developed By System Regions
November 10th, 2000 Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon Namco GBC JPN
October 25th, 2002 Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2 Alfa System GBA JPN
March 07th, 2003 Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage Namco GBA JPN
January 06th, 2005 Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 Alfa System GBA JPN
December 21st, 2006 Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology Alfa System PSP JPN, NA, EUR

Fan Disk

Release Date Title Developed By System Regions
January 31st, 2002 Tales of Fandom Vol.1 Namco PS JPN
June 28th, 2007 Tales of Fandom Vol.2 Namco Bandai Games PS2 JPN

Tales of Mobile

Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name System Regions
February 16th, 2004 Tales of Tactics DoCoMo FOMA
au WIN 		JPN
January 31st, 2005 Tales of Breaker DoCoMo FOMA
au WIN 		JPN
October 14th, 2005 Tales of Commons DoCoMo FOMA JPN
November 16th, 2005 Tales of Tactics Gaiden DoCoMo FOMA JPN
June 21st, 2006 Tales of Wahrheit DoCoMo FOMA JPN
January 31st, 2008 Tales of the World: Material Dungeon JPN

Online

Release Date Title Characteristic Genre Name System Regions
March 03rd, 2006 Tales of Eternia Online PC JPN
Notes: Service ended on March 31st, 2007.

Radio

Tales Ring
Tales of the Radio

Anime

Tales of Eternia: The Animation (Original run: January 08th, 2001 – March 26th, 2001)
Tales of Phantasia: The Animation (Original run: November 25th, 2004 - February 24th, 2006)
Tales of Symphonia: The Animation (Original run: June 08th, 2007 - December 21st, 2007)

Reoccurrence

The series has some recurring features. These are not found in every game and may function slightly differently in the games they do appear in.

  • Staple spells, techniques, and incantations, such as , the Indignation spell and its incantation, etc.
  • Themes of discrimination/racism, loss, or antagonists trying to "save" or "improve" the world in a way that involves doing something bad to its inhabitants. Villains' means for carrying out these plans, though can indeed be considered evil, are perfectly understandable upon learning more about the antagonist. It is this challenging of beliefs that many fans find appealing.
  • Equipment, e.g. Gilgamesh collection, Derris Emblem, powerful swords such as Excalibur or Last Fencer, etc.
  • Staple items, e.g. fruit-themed gels, Rune Bottles, stat-boosting herbs like Sage and Lavender, etc.
  • Sorcerer's Ring (or equivalent), an item that shoots a small beam of energy. Used for dungeon puzzles.
  • Elemental Spirits, such as Gnome, Undine and Efreet. Also known as Greater Craymels, they can often be summoned in battle.
  • Cooking system; recipes are usually learned from non-playable characters, such as the Wonder Chef. The first recipe is commonly a sandwich.
  • Titles system. In some games, a title may bestow a stat-boost or a costume change.
  • A Collector's Book, to keep track of all the items the player has held.
  • A Monster Album, to keep track of all the enemies the player has fought.
  • A Coliseum, where the player can fight increasingly difficult battles over many rounds. There is usually a cameo battle, either against a special NPC from the current game or characters from previous Tales games.
  • A bathing scene in a spa or hot springs.
  • An old man in a room with many cats.
  • Aifread, a legendary pirate.
  • A reference to Pac-man, Namco's mascot. He has appeared as a statue, a belt buckle, in a quiz, and more.
  • A group of 'Three Stooges' NPCs, usually called 'The Black Wings', 'Dark Wings', or similar.
  • A high-level monster named the "Sword Dancer".
  • The GRADE system, which allows players to purchase abilities to enhance the player's party or carry over certain stats to a new game, thus allowing the player to start with certain advantages.
  • Seiyuus that are popular or well known, such as Takehito Koyasu (Jade Curtiss in Tales of the Abyss), Mizuki Nana (Colette Brunel in Tales of Symphonia), Hikaru Midorikawa (Leon Magnus in Tales of Destiny, and Judas in Tales of Destiny 2), Nobuyuki Hiyama (Veigue Lungberg in Tales of Rebirth), etc. The English versions have also had popular or well known voice actors, such as Tara Strong (Presea Combatir in Tales of Symphonia), Cam Clarke (Kratos Aurion in Tales of Symphonia, and Will Raynard in Tales of Legendia), Heather Halley (Chloe Valens in Tales of Legendia, and Tear Grants in Tales of the Abyss), Johnny Yong Bosch (Guy Cecil in Tales of the Abyss), etc.

Summon Spirits

Several Tales games feature Summon Spirits, which represent the world's elemental magic, taking a physical form.

Storyline

The storylines of most games in the Tales series are not connected to one another. There are a few games with minor connections, but each game can be appreciated by itself without knowledge of the events of other games in the series, with the possible exceptions of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World and Tales of Destiny 2.

Aselian timeline

The games in this timeline take place in the same world but many years apart from each other, with the exception of Tales of Symphonia and its direct sequel.

Destiny timeline

Tales of Destiny 2 is a direct sequel to Tales of Destiny.

  • Tales of Destiny

    • Tells the story of Stan Aileron, and the other Swordian Masters.
  • Tales of Destiny 2

    • Tells the story of Stan Aileron and Rutee Kartret's son, Kyle Dunamis. Starts 18 years after its predecessor, and takes place in several different time periods, including an altered timeline.

References

External links



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