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The 30th anniversary of the Tales series is just around the corner and Bandai Namco has already started preparations with the Remastered Project. For those who would like to take a walk down memory lane, or are curious about what other Tales games they can play while waiting for new (or remastered) releases, here is a full list of the mothership Tales titles.

Tales of Phantasia 2q1f5t

Release Date: December 15, 1995

Platforms: Super Famicom, PlayStation, GBA, PSP, iOS, mobile devices

The first Tales title takes place in Aselia and follows Cless Albane, who seeks revenge after his hometown is destroyed. He learns that the culprits behind the attack wish to revive a powerful sorcerer king, Dhaos. Using the power of time travel, Cless and his friends travel to the past and future in order to defeat Dhaos for good.

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Release Date: December 23, 1997

Platforms: PlayStation

The original Tales of Destiny came out on the PlayStation and the remake came out in 2006 for the PS2. It follows Stahn, who accidentally finds a sentient sword that calls itself Dymlos. He, along with other wielders of speaking swords, fight for the Eye of Atamoni, which is a powerful relic from an ancient war.

Tales of Destiny Remake is one of the best titles in the Tales series for its story—which expands on the original and includes a redemption arc for popular character Leon—and fighting style. Hopefully, Bandai Namco has plans for a remaster so that it can officially release the game to the west.

Tales of Eternia 2t543o

Release Date: November 30, 2000

Platforms: PlayStation, PSP

Tales of Eternia, released in the west as Tales of Destiny 2, has nothing to do with Tales of Destiny. Instead, it follows Reid Hershel and his friends, who live together in the world of Inferia. One day, they come across a mysterious foreign girl named Meredy and through their interactions with her, learn of a different world called Celestia. They journey together to stop an ages-old conflict between the two worlds.

Tales of Eternia feels like the turning point for the Tales series in that it propelled the series into its initial popularity. It was popular enough for an anime adaptation and a MMO, though the anime was pretty bad (in that it had little to do with the game) and the MMO didn’t last long. The battle system feels a lot more fluid compared to Phantasia and Destiny, and it holds up to newer 2D Tales games too. 

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Release Date: November 28, 2002

Platforms: PS2, PSP

The actual sequel to Tales of Destiny, Tales of Destiny 2 follows Kyle, who’s the son of Stahn and Rutee from the first game. Due to his parents’ heroic past, he’s also obsessed with becoming a hero. One day, he meets a mysterious girl named Reala and embarks on a journey to become a true hero.

Like the above Tales of Destiny Remake, Tales of Destiny 2 is a fantastic game. It’s got a great story, compelling characters, and a difficult battle system that’s rewarding to master. The meme himself, Barbatos, is also from this game. Considering how much trouble he can give you, it can be a little hard to laugh at the jokes Bandai Namco make at his expense.

Tales of Symphonia 5r3l5w

Release Date: August 29, 2003

Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, PS2, PS3, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Tales of Symphonia was popular in its native Japan, but it’s what really put the franchise on the map for the western audience. While the west had gotten Phantasia and Eternia, they weren’t exactly selling like hotcakes in the way that Symphonia did. The story follows Lloyd, who s his friend Colette’s pilgrimage to regenerate the world of Sylvarant.

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Release Date: December 16, 2004

Platforms: PS2, PSP

The story of Tales of Rebirth heavily focuses on racism. It takes place in a world where people wield a magical power called Force after King Ladras, in his final moments, uses his power to unleash the potential in people around his kingdom. Veigue lost power of his Force of Ice and froze his childhood friend Claire in a pillar. Even after he manages to free her with the help of new friends Eugene and Mao, soldiers acting on orders from Karegia Kingdom heiress Agarte take her away. His journey to rescue her from the palace morphs into a battle to end racism.

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Release Date: August 25, 2005

Platforms: PS2

Tales of Legendia follows the story of Senel and his surrogate little sister Shirley. Shirley is the Merines, a legendary figure among the Ferines, which is a race of people who can live underwater. Because Shirley is the Merines, many different factions want to capture her to use them for their own schemes.

Compared to previous titles (and its successor Abyss), Tales of Legendia looks and plays in a very weird way. This likely has to do with the fact that the developer, Project MelFes, consists of Tales Studio , along with developers from the Tekken and Soul Calibur series. It’s the first Tales game with Go Shiina as the composer and the soundtrack is objectively the game’s highest point.

Tales of the Abyss 5h3k3x

Release Date: December 15, 2005

Platforms: PS2, Nintendo 3DS

Tales of the Abyss is the eighth mothership title, but it’s the commemorative game for the series’s 10th anniversary. It follows Luke fon Fabre, a pampered noble and swordsman who ends up outside of his comfy mansion after heroine Tear appears to assassinate her brother, who’s also Luke’s teacher. The story heavily focuses on Luke’s personal development as he seeks the meaning of his birth. There is also an anime adaptation for Abyss, which you can watch on YouTube.

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Release Date: October 26, 2006

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Tales of the Tempest follows Caius Qualls, who is a Leymon (essentially a werewolf). After the church takes his guardian prisoner and kill the parents of his childhood friend Rubia, the two of them set out for the capital. The adventure then turns into one to overthrow the church.

Tales of the Tempest is the first Tales game for a handheld console. However, the reception to the game was very mixed, with some places giving it a very positive score and others giving it a very negative one. Points of criticism included the story’s short length, lack of content, unappealing relationship between Caius and Rubia, and more.

Tales of Innocence 14305s

Release Date: December 6, 2007

Platforms: Nintendo DS, PS Vita

The story of Tales of Innocence follows avatars, human reincarnations of the divine Devalokans who can still use supernatural powers from their past lives. Ruca, a timid boy, is an avatar of the powerful Asura and he awakens to his powers after rescuing fugitive Illia, a fellow avatar. They meet up with other avatars, who then travel to do something about the wars engulfing their world.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World 4t508

Release Date: June 26, 2008

Platforms: Wii, PS3

Though the sequel of Tales of Symphonia, Dawn of the New World introduces a lot of lore and elements that weren’t in the original game. It follows Emil, a timid boy who survived a massacre that Lloyd from the first game perpetrated. After meeting with Marta, a girl with Ratatosk’s Core on her forehead, the two of them set out on a journey to fix the meteorological problems occurring around the world and escape from Marta’s pursuers.

Tales of Vesperia 164y6m

Release Date: August 7, 2008

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Tales of Vesperia is a very popular and successful entry in the Tales franchise, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It also has a prequel film, though Flynn in particular is so out-of-character it might as well be fanfiction. The story follows Yuri Lowell, a former soldier who’s now doing odd jobs around his neighborhood. After meeting a noble named Estelle and fleeing from the capital with her, he forms a guild called Brave Vesperia.

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Release Date: December 18, 2008

Platforms: Nintendo DS, PS Vita, iOS

Tales of Hearts follows Kor Meteor (Shing Meteoryte) who meets siblings Kohaku and Hisui Hearts. A monster infects Kohaku and in an attempt to save her, Kor accidentally destroys her Spiria (her heart and emotions). The three of them set off on a journey to restore Kohaku’s Spiria.

People don’t talk about the CG Movie Edition, but I definitely that one. People were comparing the models to the Evil Goddess MOCCOS, an old 2ch meme about the ugly KOS-MOS figure that came with the Xenosaga Episode 2 Box Set.

Tales of Graces 5q5o6m

Release Date: December 10, 2009

Platforms: Wii, PS3, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Tales of Graces follows the story of Asbel Lhant, who is the future heir of the Lhant village. As a child, he befriends an amnesiac girl named Sophie and the prince of Windsor, Richard. Witnessing Sophie’s death traumatizes him and he runs away from home to become a knight. Seven years later, he reunites with Sophie, setting into motion an adventure that takes him all across the world of Ephinea.

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Release Date: September 8, 2011

Platforms: PS3

Tales of Xillia is the first Tales game that combines character designs from Kosuke Fujishima (Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss) and Mutsumi Inomata (Destiny, Eternia, Rebirth). Like Tales of the Abyss, it’s a celebratory mothership title. In Xillia's case, it was for the 15th anniversary. It follows Jude Mathis, a medical student who encounters Milla Maxwell after she breaks into a military research facility in an attempt to destroy a secret weapon. Now that they’re on the run from the military, Jude and Milla, along with their companions, journey to help Milla with her mission to save the world.

Tales of Xillia 2 3nb3v

Release Date: November 1, 2012

Platforms: PS3

Tales of Xillia 2, like Dawn of the New World, is a sequel of its predecessor while introducing elements and lore that the original game never really mentioned. It takes place a year after Xillia and follows Ludger Will Kresnik, a guy who just wants to cook. It turns out he’s not just a good cook, as he possesses the Chromatus. He and the cast from the first Xillia need to go into parallel worlds—essentially what-if scenarios from the first game—and destroy them to prevent their own world’s destruction. He also has to pay off a huge medical debt. Ah, adult life.

Tales of Zestiria 3cr5c

Release Date: January 22, 2015

Platforms: PS3, PS4, Windows PC

Tales of Zestiria was, like Abyss and Xillia, an anniversary title and this time, it was for the 20th anniversary. It draws inspiration from Arthurian legends and it follows the story of Sorey, a young human who can see the mystical spirits Seraphim. He leaves the village of Elysia with his best friend Mikleo and, after forming a pact with the Seraph Lailah, he becomes the Shepherd whose job is to purify the Hellion rampaging throughout Glenwood.

For an anniversary title, Zestiria had its fair share of controversies. Before the game came out, Japanese fans were ticked off about how prominent advertising for Alisha was, yet she was a mere guest party member in the actual game. After it came out, fans seemed split on the story, battle system, and tutorials.

Tales of Berseria k586k

Release Date: August 18, 2016

Platforms: PS3, PS4, Windows PC

Tales of Berseria technically serves as the prequel to Tales of Zestiria. However, you don’t have to play Zestiria to understand Berseria. It follows Velvet Crowe, a normal village girl who lost her pregnant sister after a daemon attack. One day, tragedy strikes the village and Velvet comes across her brother-in-law Artorius killing her younger brother Laphicet in a ritual. She transforms into a daemon and Artorius tosses her into jail. Once she wakes, she swears vengeance on the man who used to be her family.

Tales of Arise 37x2o

Release Date: September 10, 2021

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Tales of Arise follows the story of Dahnan slave Alphen, or “Iron Mask,” and a Renan girl named Shionne. A curse on Shionne hurts anyone who touches her but since Alphen can’t feel pain, he’s the only person who can pull a sword from the Master Core she has. Like Rebirth and Eternia, it deals with themes of racism and oppression.

The post All Mothership Titles in the Tales Series in Release Order appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco added four new Tales of soundtracks to various streaming sites. You’ll be able to listen to the OSTs for Tales of Rebirth, Tales of the Tempest, Tales of Legendia, and Tales of Innocence. Streaming services where you can listen to the tracks, along with the ones of other Tales games, include Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Motoi Sakuraba was the composer for the Tales of Rebirth and Tales of the Tempest soundtracks. Shinji Tamura helped him with Tales of Rebirth. Sakuraba has had a long history of working on the Tales series, composing for the majority of the mainline titles. He worked on the very first entry, Tales of Phantasia, and was also the composer for the 2021 release Tales of Arise. Outside of Tales, you can hear Sakuraba’s music in Golden Sun, One Piece Odyssey, and Valkyrie Elysium.

As for the other two games, Kazuhiro Nakamura was the composer for Tales of Innocence and Go Shiina composed for Tales of Legendia. Nakamura also worked on Tekken 6, as well as played instruments for various The Idolm@ster CDs. As for Go Shiina, he collaborated with Yuki Kajiura on Demon Slayer, as well as worked with Sakuraba on Tales of Zestiria.

The four new Tales of soundtracks are available from Bandai Namco’s official s on music streaming sites.

The post Bandai Namco Officially Streams 4 More Tales of Soundtracks appeared first on Siliconera.

Given the whole point of Siliconera is to talk about games coming out of Japan, we have thoughts on both new and old titles! Especially since, in the past, we weren't "eating" as well as we are in recent years. It used to be a special occasion if something niche was localized. A lot ended up left trapped in the country. So today, we're thinking back to some of the best PS2 games in Japan that remain exclusive and elusive imports

Fire Emblem isn’t on the PS2, but TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga is as close as you can possibly get. Former Intelligent Systems member Shouzou Kaga formed Tirnanog and set up his own studio making strikingly similar strategy games. There are similar classes, there are s, and humanoid dragons show up. However, you also need to take care, as people can become injured in battles, and there’s a different kind of grid for more tactical approaches. It’s good, and absolutely one of the best PS2 games that is a Japan-exclusive title. — Jenni

For the longest time, I weighed the pros and cons of both Tales of Destiny 2 and Tales of Rebirth to decide which of the two is the superior Japan-exclusive Tales. However, Rebirth managed to eke past Destiny 2 simply because I personally was less frustrated playing Rebirth.

Tales of Rebirth has a fantastic story with lots of fun and well-developed characters. Yeah, its racism theme was kind of on-the-nose but it told its story and got its message across in a very effective way. The 3-line battle system was really fun until you get boxed in by those annoying emu things in the desert. I'd much prefer that over dealing with Destiny 2's battle system, though.

It feels like Rebirth had way more skits than other Tales games, which could be annoying for people who just want to get a move-on with the story. But when I played it, I really enjoyed the party dynamic and their interactions, and it certainly helped to remind me of what I needed to do if I took a break in between play sessions. Tales of Rebirth was actually the very first Tales game I properly played and beat, so there's a tinge of nostalgia there too. Hopefully, Bandai Namco decides to remaster this one and bring it to the west so that others can enjoy it as well.

: Mao is the best boy. — Stephanie

Yippie yo! You can't touch this!
(Check the above link for my first encounter with Poinie's Poin, a game I did indeed immediately go find on eBay and play through. It's incredibly charming. It's bad. But it's great.) — Graham

I have a couple of import-only gems in mind when I think of what PS2 games I'd love to see make the jump, but What are the Best PS2 Games Only Released in Japan? appeared first on Siliconera.

With Mass Effect’s Mako getting a new lease on life today, we’ve been thinking: what are the best vehicles in RPGs? The coolest? The most endearing? Here are our picks. Weigh in with your own, too!

Final Fantasy IV's Lunar Whale stands out as one of the strangest, neatest vehicles I've come across in an RPG. There was just something so bizarre about flying to the moon on a whale that I've never forgotten the thing. Plus, the music while you fly? It infuses the game with so much excitement in a moment that's a bit nerve-wracking. You're about to go to the moon and face your most dangerous foes ever! But this music is there to fill you with energy before you dive into danger.

Plus, it has a Fat Chocobo on-deck, which is always a plus for space travel. Except then the whole ship smells like chocobo. — Joel

There are lots of cool vehicles in RPGs, but most of them are more conceptually interesting than fun to ride. There's one, though, that opens up the world in such a profound way that it's a real game-changer: Dragon Quest Builders 2's Buggy Buggy! It's an endgame acquisition, sure. But zipping through the air gives you easier access to heights, as well as a fun way to view all you've designed and built along your adventure. (And hey: that name is a lot of fun to say. Seriously, try it. "Buggy Buggy.") — Graham

The Yggdrasil from Xenogears left the biggest impression on me. I fondly how the ship would upgrade gradually as I progressed further in the story. At first it was only confined to traversing sands. Eventually it gained access to the seas and even skies. The ship has one more big upgrade that satiated the mecha fanboy inside me. That made me wonder: could it have even gone to space? — Kite

The vast majority of role-playing games don't have room for complex driving or piloting mechanics. Thus, they tend to boil down vehicles to their most utilitarian conceptual basis: A way to get from point A to point B faster. In fact, with few exceptions, vehicles usually play such a small role in RPG mechanics that even beloved vehicles like Mass Effect's Normandy or Final Fantasy VII's Highwind are really more like locations that just happen to move.

That in mind, my favorite RPG vehicle is my personal starship from Star Trek Online. In STO, your vehicle is as much an extension of you as anything else. It bears as much or more investment in of time spent on getting and improving equipment and learning skills as any other. That means the U.S.S. Bellator, my custom-outfitted Arbiter-class Starfleet Battle Cruiser. I outfitted her, customized her appearance, and blew up thousands of alien aggressors with her phaser banks. She feels as uniquely my possession as the Highwind was for Cid, I'd imagine. — Josh

It may be the inner horse girl in me, but I've always loved animal "vehicles" a lot in RPGs. Because of that, I really enjoyed flying around as some of the Tales animals. Like Ba'ul in Tales of Vesperia! And Shaorune in Tales of Rebirth! Shaorune is especially fun, since the party are inside of the gem he holds in his hand when he flies around. With the addition of quick travel in newer Tales games, we haven't gotten any flying animals in a while now. And that's a shame. I hope Tales of Arise will give us another winged whale or similar creature. — Stephanie

What do you think are the best RPG vehicles? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for more thoughts from the Siliconera team.

The post What are the Best RPG Vehicles? appeared first on Siliconera.