Tales (video game series)

Tales series
File:Tales Logos.png
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Developer(s)	Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai (formerly Namco)
Creator(s)	Wolf Team

The Tales (テイルズ, Teiruzu) series is a franchise of console role-playing games published by Namco Bandai Games (formerly Namco), and primarily developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio. Created in 1995, the series now spans over twelve flagship titles, over fifteen side games, and four animated productions, into several types of game genres. Similar to many Japanese role-playing games in a series, most games or media of the series are unrelated to each other beyond certain elements.

Widely known for its heavy influence by anime and Japanese culture, the series often makes use of popular manga artists or illustrators, and animated cutscenes produced by Production I.G. Popular music composer Motoi Sakuraba has composed for many titles of the series, with other well-known composers such as Go Shiina having composed for at least one title of the series. Several entries have been localized for North America and just four for Europe. As of December 2007, the series has sold over ten million copies.

Development

Origin

Tales of Phantasia was developed by Wolf Team in 1994 and published in 1995. Most of the Wolf Team 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). After Tales of Phantasia, the Tales games continued to be developed by Wolf Team and published by Namco until after Tales of Destiny 2, when both companies formed the dedicated joint venture Namco Tales Studio, and moved the Wolf Team staff to the new company. The only remaining staff from Tales of Phantasia at that point were series director Eiji Kikuchi and music composers Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura.

Design

The series has had several producers and directors for the series. Eiji Kukuchi often serves as a general director for most titles of the series. Yoshito Higuchi and Hideo Baba have recently also had prominent roles as directors and/or producers.

The series has also had numerous programmers for its battle system. Yoshiharu Gotanda was originally the battle (and total) programmer for Tales of Phantasia. After he left, Shinji Hirachi became the battle programmer for Tales of Destiny and Tales of Phantasia (PS), until Tatsurou Udo became the battle programmer for Tales of Eternia and, with the exception of Tales of Hearts, the battle programmer for all 2D titles of the series since. Osamu Hisano was the battle programmer for Tales of Symphonia, and had the same role for Tales of the Abyss. Usually serving as support for the battle system, Yoshimasa Tanaka was the planner for Tales of Heart's battle system.

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 Project MelFes (a Namco in-house development team, with members who worked on the Tekken and Soulcalibur series) and Alfa System respectively.

Another thing popular with fans is the use of naming each game as by a specific "team" each game was developed by. "Team Destiny", which has been with Tales studio since Tales of Destiny 2, are often cited as the development team of Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Rebirth, and Tales of Destiny (PS2). "Team Symphonia", named after the first game they developed, Tales of Symphonia, are often cited as the development team of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. However, since Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, the formerly distinct split between the two teams have begun to diminish, and all recent Tales Studio games since then (Vesperia, Dawn of the New World, and Hearts) haven't been created only by "Team Symphonia" or "Team Destiny" staff, using a mix of staff members of both games instead.

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.

Every Mothership Tales game has used character designs of either Kosuke Fujishima, Mutsumi Inomata, or Kazuto Nakazawa. Kosuke Fujishima was the character designer for Tales of Phantasia, but did not return as a character designer for the series until Tales of Symphonia, later returning for Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Vesperia. Mutsumi Inomata has designed for the greatest amount of titles within the series, beginning with Tales of Destiny, and returning for Tales of Eternia, Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Rebirth, Tales of the Tempest, Tales of Innocence, Tales of Hearts, and Tales of Graces. To date Kazuto Nakazawa has designed for only one game of the series: Tales of Legendia. Daigo Okumura is often the designer for many of the antagonists and major NPCs of the series, and was the character designer for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.

Music

With the exception of Tales of Legendia, which was composed by Go Shiina, Tales of Innocence, which had a score composed by Nakamura Kazuhiro, and other Escort Titles, Motoi Sakuraba has been the primary composer for the series, along with Shinji Tamura. The series has made use of a vocal opening song since Tales of Phantasia SFC, though it has used various singers. To date, only Tales of Vesperia has used a vocal song in the localized version of the game, while the localized versions of Tales of the Abyss and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology have at least used the instrumentals of their respective opening songs.

Common elements

Battle system

The series possesses a battle system reminiscent of fighting games, called the Linear Motion Battle System, in which the player moves on a horizontal plane while executing attacks in real time. In later 3D games, the player is also able to move freely, but can only attack while locked in to a horizontal axis. While the series used the LMBS for the original game, the battle system has now been expanded into over ten different versions based on the original LMBS system. Usually, the player has direct control over one character, 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. Some later games added the ability for another controller or handheld to be used so that multiple people could participate in a battle.

There are several different versions of the Tales battle system, all based on the original LMBS system created in Tales of Phantasia. Since Tales of Eternia, new twists to the original LMBS system have been added to various games, from multiple lines in Tales of Rebirth, to full 3D movement in Tales of the Abyss, aerial combat in Tales of Destiny (PS2), and the ability to call in inactive party members in Tales of Hearts.

At any time, the player can view a menu which pauses the action and allows them to select an item or an ability to use, choose a spell to cast, change a character's AI tactics, pick an attack target, or escape from battle. Some later games included added shortcut options to items and/or skills, or allowed the computer controlled characters to use items.

GRADE, first introduced in Tales of Eternia, was not commonly used until Tales of Destiny 2. Upon completing certain requirements or performing well in battle, the player earns GRADE points. After completing the game, this accumulated GRADE can be used in the "GRADE Shop" to buy certain bonuses for the next playthrough.

Abilities

Unlike other role-playing games where the player often may have free control over the party members' abilities and growth, Tales gives each character mostly unique skills or magic that no one else in their respective game is able to acquire. For example, in Tales of Phantasia, only Cress can use sword skills, while only Mint is capable of learning healing magic. In most games of the series, when a skill or spell is used it consumes TP (Technical Points).

In later games of the series, after the basic attacks are used, a skill can be linked into that attack to do a larger amount of hits and damage, which has been expanded on in differing ways by each game. Magic is usually divided into only two categories: attack magic and healing/support magic. Attack magic is used for dealing damage to the enemy, while healing magic is used to heal the party or to provide support.In particular titles of the series, some characters are able to use Summon Spirits, powerful forms of magic that usually are one of or the strongest attack or healing spells.

Another attack that is common in the series are "Hi Ougi" (秘奥義), most commonly known as "Mystic Artes" in the English versions. Usually they are secret special attacks that have one or more requirements and are often the most powerful attack in a character's arsenal, capable of large amounts of damage or healing power. With the exception of Tales of Legendia, they have been in every Mothership Title since Tales of Eternia, and recently now make appearances in the Escort Titles, ports, and remakes as well.

Cooking

Cooking is a gameplay element used in many Mothership Titles. Usually, a player must first find a recipe, or receive it from the mysterious "Wonder Chef", and can then cook it to recover hit points, technical points, or gain temporary stat boosts. In some games, however, HP is recovered either through each step taken or based on certain recipe set ups. Tales of Hearts is the only Mothership Title to not include food in the recovery system, using the similar "Recovery Stones" instead.

Items and equipment

The series usually has a large number of items that can be used to affect both you and/or your enemy during battle. In every Tales game the HP restorative items are called "gels" or "gummies", medicinal snacks that are often given the flavor of various fruits. Instead of recovering a set amount, they often restore a certain percentage of HP (or TP), or sometimes have other effects. There are also many status-curing items in the games, usually labeled as various types of "Bottles".

There are many other types of common items in the series, including the "Sorcerer's Ring", which makes an appearance in almost all Mothership Titles of the series, and usually plays a primary role in solving most puzzles of the games. In many titles of the series there are various "recording" items to acquire, such the Collector's Book, which records the various items the player collects.

In every Mothership Title and several Escort Titles, there are several pieces of equipment to buy, sell, find, and equip to your party. Many pieces of equipment, from weapons, to armor, to accessories appear in several titles of the series. Swords are the most common weapon of the series, and to date at least one character in every Mothership Title uses a sword, though several characters of the series have also used weapons such as staffs, axes, bows, gloves, guns, and spears. A common part of equipment in the series is the "oddball" or unorthodox weapon that a member of the party is able to equip, such as straws or paintbrushes. Sometimes in the series there may be a powerful weapon (usually a sword) gained through the plot, such as the Eternal Sword. Many weapons of the series make numerous appearances, like the "Last Fencer". Defensive equipment in the series often includes things like armor and robes. Though the number or types of equipment that can be used usually changes from game to game; for example, instead of equipping armor in Tales of Hearts, the player must increase a character's defense.

Sidequests

A popular concept in the series is to have various sidequests and minigames throughout the game's world. Often, completing sidequests or minigames gives characters a "title". Sometimes titles serve no gameplay purpose, though other times titles may give a character certain stat increases when leveling up or even change the outfit of a character.

Storyline

Though most games of the series are unrelated, many games of the Tales series have plots that revolve around real-life themes or topics of philosophy, such as racism, loss or the meaning of life. The villains or antagonists are often those who are trying to change or "improve" the world through methods that are often considered "evil" even if the villains' intentions are good, usually as a result of the specific themes of the game. It often is a group of fairly young heroes that start out in with a simple task or a simple life that eventually are taken into a struggle that determines the fate of the entire world that serve as the protagonists of the story.

Characters

Spirits are often a common recurring element of the plot and/or gameplay of several games, and many of them have made reappearances in games of the series. Besides the Summon Spirits, characters that have appeared in more than one game of the series include: Pac-Man, Namco's mascot; Aifreed, a pirate, or pirate king; a man with an uncanny love for cats; and the Sword Dancer, a powerful hidden boss that usually fights with the party more than one time within the game. Cheegles, a creature that first appeared in Tales of the Abyss, also makes appearances outside of its original game. Namco characters such as the Valkyrie have made appearances as enemies in Tales games. The series often features extra costumes party members can wear, that sometimes references other Namco characters and/or games, such as Gilgamesh. Often, characters from other Tales games will make cameo appearances, or be referenced, both inside and outside of battle.

Skits

Since Tales of Destiny, almost every Tales game has used skits, a system in which the player is able to hear conversations between the cast, and sometimes any NPCs that happen to be along with the party. Though they are often presented in various ways throughout the series, they usually use animated character artwork. The Japanese version of almost every Tales game has had at least most skits in the game voiced, while in the localized versions, only Tales of Legendia, Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World have had all of the skits voiced.

Timelines

Aserian 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 sequel.

Tales of Symphonia takes place at least four thousand years prior to Tales of Phantasia, with its sequel Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World starting 2 years after the events of Tales of Symphonia. Tales of Phantasia takes place in three different time periods, with the "present" time being the year 4304 of the Aserian Calendar. Its sequel, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, focuses on Mel and Dio and takes place 104 years after Tales of Phantasia's "present" time. Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage takes place 411 years after Phantasia's future in the year 4765, with Claus's descendant Fulein K. Lester as the protagonist.

Destiny timeline

Tales of Destiny tells the story of Stahn Aileron, and the other Swordian Masters. Tales of Destiny 2 tells the story of Stahn Aileron and Rutee Kartret's son, Kyle Dunamis, taking place 18 years after its predecessor, and several other different time periods, including an altered timeline.

Media

Main article: List of Tales media

Video games

Eleven Mothership Titles, the flagship games of the series, have currently been released within the Tales series. The first game, Tales of Phantasia, was originally released in 1995 in Japan for the Super Famicom. Later it was ported to the PlayStation, Gameboy Advance, and Playstation Portable systems. Tales of Destiny 2, the fourth entry in the series, became the first to be released on the PlayStation 2 when it was released in 2002. The fifth entry, Tales of Symphonia was released in 2003 and is the only game in the series to be released on the Nintendo Gamecube.

Celebrating the series tenth anniversary, the eighth entry in the series, Tales of the Abyss, was released in 2005. This was followed by the series' first Mothership Title made for a handheld, Tales of Innocence, in 2007. The tenth Mothership Title in the Series Tales of Vesperia was released on the Xbox 360 in 2008, with an enhanced PlayStation 3 port containing new content due to be released in 2009. The eleventh Mothership Title in the series and the second Mothership Title on a handheld, Tales of Hearts, released in 2008. The twelfth game of the series, Tales of Graces, is slated for release on the Wii in 2009.

In addition to the main games of the series, there are several "Escort Titles" which are side-stories and of games from the series. The first of these titles, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2000 as a sequel to Tales of Phantasia. Five games in the "Tales of the World" subseries have been released for hand-held systems.

A Fan Disk for the series, Tales of Fandom Vol.1 was released for the Playstation in 2002. The second volume, Tales of Fandom Vol.2 was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2007. Currently the fan disks are only released as the last Tales game for that current (console) generation. Tales of the Tempest, released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, is currently the only Escort Title with an original plot and cast.

Six games have also been released under the "Tales of Mobile" sub-series, for playing on cell phone systems. The first, Tales of Tactics, was released for the DoCoMo, FOMA, au, and WIN services in 2004. None of these titles are available outside of Japan.

The latest Escort Title in the series is called Tales of VS. for the Playstation Portable it features a different gameplay from other titles in the series with gameplay resembling Dissidia: Final Fantasy. It will be the first of the Tales games of 2009 to be released, it will be released in Summer, 2009. The game will feature a total of 35 characters from 13 past Tales Games.

Anime adaptations

Four anime series have been produced and released in Japan based on games in the series. The first, Tales of Eternia: The Animation, is loosely based on Tales of Eternia and was released in 2001. The next two anime series were released as original video animations, Tales of Phantasia: The Animation being released from 2004-2006, and Tales of Symphonia: The Animation being released in 2008, with the second half currently in production. Tales of the Abyss was adapted into a full 26-episode television anime series that was originally broadcasted from October 3, 2008 through March 20, 2009.

The first theatrical anime film of the series is in production, based on Tales of Vesperia. It is slated to be released in Japan in 2009. It is called Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike and will be a prequel to the game.

External links

• Official Namco Tales website Template:Ja icon
• Official Namco Tales English website
• Official Namco Tales Tenth Anniversary website