All about the "Tales of..." series

[Darth Sidious]

Well, when it comes to Japanese RPGs, most people think of Final Fantasy, naturally, followed by Dragon Quest perhaps. After all, these are the oldest and most successful RPG franchises, both worldwide and in Japan.
However, ever since Dragon Quest established RPGs as a profitable genre in Japan, there have been countless additions to this particular kind of game, some of which have gained a cult following and critical acclaim (and rightly so), including the Star Ocean, Grandia, Lunar, Chrono or Xenogears/Xenosaga franchises.

However, as of 2008, the current no. 3 franchise is Namco's Tales series, which started with Tales of Phantasia on the SNES in 1995. By now, it's easy to lose count of all the games coming out and being in development, and it has also become difficult to determine what console is going to be the main platform for Tales (last year, Namco said it would be the DS, now it's gonna be the Wii...).

Unfortunately, though, Namco has developed a completely senseless strategy when it comes to releasing their Tales games in the US...or rather what games they release here. Ever since Tales of Eternia on the PSX, none of the 2D Tales games have seen a release outside Japan, probably because Namco thinks that us stupid western gamers don't dig 2D anymore. So after ToE, only the 3D Tales games made it outside Japan, but fortunately, we got some real gems that way, mainly Tales of the Abyss (perhaps my favorite PS2 RPG) and Tales of Symphonia (even though the PS2 port remained Japan exclusive). But even the "3D Tales = US release confirmed" formula doesn't seem to work anymore. Tales of the Tempest on the DS, for that matter, didn't see a release outisde Japan, but that might because of the problematic development of the game (and the rush job DIMPS did with finishing the game) and the negative reception (even the developers reduced its status from a main title to an escort title in the series...kinda like admitting that the game didn't meet fan expectations) it received even in Japan (Famitsu gave it merely a score of 28/40...pretty poor for a Tales game).
However, I don't get why they won't be releasing Tales of Innocence in the US - it's got some awesome 3D graphics for the system, a great battle system and thus a chance to do well in the US market. It's still a mystery to me, since on the other hand, they released Tales of the World: RM in the US, which is merely a fan-service spin-off featuring characters most Americans don't even know because the respective games haven't been released outside Japan (i.e. Veigue Lungberg and Eugene Gallardo from Tales of Rebirth or Harold from Tales of Destiny 2). It's nice we got the game, but the strategy behind their release policies doesn't appear to be rational.

As for the new ones: Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World have been confirmed for a release in the US this year, but then there are Tales of Hearts on the DS and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 on the PSP. What about them? Maybe we'll get Tales of Hearts, since the game seems to be using CG-cutscenes - in order to appeal to a western audience (even though anime cutscenes wouldn't really hurt, either...western people have grown used and even attached to anime over the last 2 decades, I think).

Anyway, enough of the weird decisions by Namco - now it's up to you. What do you think of the series? What are your favourites? What do you think of each game in particular? What Tales games do you have?
I'll start with my Tales collection:
Tales of Phantasia (Game Boy Advance)
Tales of Phantasia (PlayStation)
Tales of Destiny (PlayStation)
Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (PlayStation 2)
Tales of Eternia (PSP)
Tales of Destiny 2 (PlayStation 2)
Tales of Symphonia (GameCube)
Tales of Rebirth (PlayStation 2)
Tales of Legendia (PlayStation 2)
Tales of the Abyss (PlayStation 2)
Tales of the Tempest (Nintendo DS)
Tales of Innocence (Nintendo DS)

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2 (GBA)
Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 (GBA)
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (PSP)

[logical123]

I'm gonna sound like an uber noob, but I have never played a 'Tales' game.

Are they worth the money? 

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

I remember one of them having cool box art, and I picked it up, but I didn't buy it.

[Sirgin]

I don't have any Tales of game, but from the looks of it, I should.
Some time ago I was about to buy Star Ocean (The end of time???) for the PS2, but somehow, didn't. Now I never see it in stores anymore Maybe I'll pick it up on eBay someday.

[Tan]

I had Symphonia for the cube. It was "meh", I didn't finish it or keep it. Since these games seem to have no real consistency, it would be hard to like all of them, and unless your hardcore about the series you'd need net research like a crutch to sort out the "good" from the "meh".

[Darth Sidious]

@Tan
Well, Symphonia isn't my favorite Tales game for that matter, even though it certainly is a good game, no doubts there. It has, however, its fair share of problems, mainly in the story department - it's nothing that hasn't been done before, and it bears a creepy ressemblance to the rough story of Final Fantasy X (the journey of a good hearted, female chosen to save her world from peril at the expense of her own life). And the cast of characters isn't consistent, either...especially Collette was getting on my nerves at times, though she is not as obnoxious as, say, Shirley from Tales of Legendia.
Even the battle system isn't perfect: compared to Star Ocean 3 and Tales of the Abyss, it's disappointing that you don't have a real 3D arena and may only change the 2D plane your character is moving on.

You certainly are right about the quality of the series not being that consistent. Surely, there is no bad Tales game I have played so far (even Tales of the Tempest is still okay at least), but some are lacking the certain something that would lift them into the RPG heaven.

But I think that you should keep an eye on Tales of Vesperia, coming to Xbox 360 in the US later this month. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous and even surpass Eternal Sonata - it comes very close to a playable anime, thanks to the best cel shading I have seen so far. The designs of the characters, towns, dungeons and the world itself look extremely promising as well, and the battle system appears to be a continuation of the brilliant Tales of the Abyss battle system. After all, the game is being developed by the Abyss team, so I have extremely high hopes for this title.

If you want to, I can comment on the individual Tales games I have played so far, so maybe I can help some of you with their decision on getting a Tales title at last. I can already say, though, that Tales of the Abyss is by far the best of the series.

@Sirgin
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time has a couple of similarities to the Tales series, perhaps because members of Wolf Team (developer of Tales of Phantasia) left the studio and formed tri-ace (when you compare Star Ocean to Tales of Phantasia on the Super Famicom, there are some striking similarities).
I think you can still get the game on videogamesplus.ca, and it's not even that expensive there. The game shouldn't be that hard to find, anyway, since it was a respectable success in the US (it became a member of the "Greatest Hits" label, after all).

[Sirgin]

@Sirgin
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time has a couple of similarities to the Tales series, perhaps because members of Wolf Team (developer of Tales of Phantasia) left the studio and formed tri-ace (when you compare Star Ocean to Tales of Phantasia on the Super Famicom, there are some striking similarities).
I think you can still get the game on videogamesplus.ca, and it's not even that expensive there. The game shouldn't be that hard to find, anyway, since it was a respectable success in the US (it became a member of the "Greatest Hits" label, after all).

Thanks for the info! I'll look into the game one of these days But I live in Europe though, so I need the PAL version.

[Darth Sidious]

@Sirgin
Oh, sorry, I didn't notice that you're from Europe, too. But even the European version of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time shouldn't be expensive. In our local stores, for example, you can get the game new for less than 20€. And in case of need, you can buy the game from any European ebay store - normally, you'll find plenty of new copies for less than 20 € there as well.
However, if I were you, I'd use paypal in order to pay for the games. It's faster and more secure than a mere bank transfer: once you make the payment online, payment is complete and the store/seller can send the item asap. It also comes in handy when you're trying to buy a game from Great Britain or any other country that doesn't use Euro as an official currency.

If you really are into RPGs, you should also buy a mod chip for your PlayStation 2. There are tons of US and Japan only games that never made it to Europe, such as Tales of the Abyss, Xenosaga Episode I & III and many more. It really pays off if you ask me, especially since there are literally hundreds of Japanese games you could play as well - and I mean interesting ones, such as arcade-perfect ports of several SNK beat'em ups (i.e. Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the King of Fighters series, Samurai Spirits, The Last Blade and so forth) and Capcom beat'em ups (Street Fighter III)...in other words: overall, there are hundreds of interesting PS2 games, and a lot of them are exclusive to the Japanese and American market, so a mod chip (there are a couple of reliable ones) does pay off...or maybe an American or Japanese PS2; they shouldn't be too expensive anymore (and right now, buying American games is a treat for European gamers due to the current exchange rate that makes several US PS2 games pretty cheap).

[Cobra]

Tales of Phantasia was really good, I much rather play that than any FF game prior to VII.

[VACRMH]

Let's see, I have.

Tales of Phantasia (GBA)
Tales of Phantasia (Playstation)
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Destiny 2
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Legendia
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology

So yeah, every US release and 1 import (Which I patched with the english patch )

I've been a fan for long time, starting with Destiny but not really getting hardcore about them until starting Symphonia and loving the hell out of it. One thing that I always liked about Tales was that the series always had memorable characters, I can remember minor details and attitudes about most of the characters. Plus, I thought the voice acting has always been very good.

Can't wait for Vesperia and the Symphonia sequel. Plus someone is translating the real TOD2 for the PS2 and Innocence for the DS

[Sirgin]

@Sirgin
Oh, sorry, I didn't notice that you're from Europe, too. But even the European version of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time shouldn't be expensive. In our local stores, for example, you can get the game new for less than 20€. And in case of need, you can buy the game from any European ebay store - normally, you'll find plenty of new copies for less than 20 € there as well.
However, if I were you, I'd use paypal in order to pay for the games. It's faster and more secure than a mere bank transfer: once you make the payment online, payment is complete and the store/seller can send the item asap. It also comes in handy when you're trying to buy a game from Great Britain or any other country that doesn't use Euro as an official currency.

If you really are into RPGs, you should also buy a mod chip for your PlayStation 2. There are tons of US and Japan only games that never made it to Europe, such as Tales of the Abyss, Xenosaga Episode I & III and many more. It really pays off if you ask me, especially since there are literally hundreds of Japanese games you could play as well - and I mean interesting ones, such as arcade-perfect ports of several SNK beat'em ups (i.e. Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the King of Fighters series, Samurai Spirits, The Last Blade and so forth) and Capcom beat'em ups (Street Fighter III)...in other words: overall, there are hundreds of interesting PS2 games, and a lot of them are exclusive to the Japanese and American market, so a mod chip (there are a couple of reliable ones) does pay off...or maybe an American or Japanese PS2; they shouldn't be too expensive anymore (and right now, buying American games is a treat for European gamers due to the current exchange rate that makes several US PS2 games pretty cheap).

Thanks again! Just in case you didn't know how: If you want your country's flag appear below your name when you make a post, click on the "member map" button right above the forum and place a dot where you live

About modding my PS2, I don't want to do that, I think. Seems pretty iffy to mess around with the actual hardware.

[Cobra]

Speaking of the map, I may go visit SFS at the bottom of Atlantis at some point, heard the weather is nice down there

[Sirgin]

Speaking of the map, I may go visit SFS at the bottom of Atlantis at some point, heard the weather is nice down there

That place is actually called Atlantis???

EDIT: I mean...is there an actual place called Atlantis?

[Silent Scythe]

I own:
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Destiny 2
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Legendia

So all except for the PSP one. I enjoy the Series a lot. Enough to buy one of the Tales of Destiny mangas and an art/guide book that I can't read. I'm looking forward to the next Tales of Symphonia game but as for Vesperia, I don't really do 360 games. I also own the Phantasia and Symphonia anime episodes. I've already watched Phantasia but am waiting for me and my GF to finish Symphonia before we start that one.

[Cobra]

Speaking of the map, I may go visit SFS at the bottom of Atlantis at some point, heard the weather is nice down there

That place is actually called Atlantis???

EDIT: I mean...is there an actual place called Atlantis?

Depends if you believe in mythology