All about the "Tales of..." series

[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?

Depends if you believe in mythology

Lol, but how could he (SFS) mark a place that shows up as Atlantis when you hover your mouse over his dot....?

[Cobra]

The truth is out there...

[totalgridlock]

I've only played one Tales game (Tales of Phantasia on GBA) but I do want to play more.  I'm eyeing up Tales of Symphonia on GameCube, hopefully I can find it a bit cheaper.  It sucks being on a tight budget.   I'm also looking forward to Tales of Vespiria.  I'm glad so many RPGs are coming out on 360, I don't really want to fork out twice as much for a PS3.

I'm quite annoyed about the Vespiria release date though.  I believe it comes out in a few weeks Stateside... it's Spring 2009 over here

[Sirgin]

The truth is out there...

I'm not going out there just to check if the island is named Atlantis

[Darth Sidious]

@totalgridlock
Well, there's a chance that the US version of Tales of Vesperia ends up being regionfree. If that's the case, then I am definitely going to import the US special edition - the cover looks awesome, it comes in a nifty steelbook box and there's a bonus soundtrack CD. Wow...normally, that's something you'd expect from Atlus or Nippon Ichi for US RPGs, so it's nice to see that Namco seems to be putting some effort into the US release of a Tales game at last. On top of that, the voice acting sounds rock solid so far, and the skits will finally be fully voiced...that's a big step into the right direction, now I can only hope that Tales of the World: RM 2, Tales of Hearts and MAYBE Tales of Innocence will make it stateside, if Vesperia and Symphonia 2 are doing well sales-wise.

As for Vesperia, it has finally been released in Japan today, and believe it or not: people were actually lining up before some shops in Akihabara and elsewhere...for an Xbox 360 game. I would have never even dreamed of seeing something like that happening, but it is. ^^ Who knows, maybe it will push the actual sales for the console somewhat, with other potential highlights such as Star Ocean 4 and Infinite Undiscovery being on the horizon.
By the way, Famitsu gave Tales of Vesperia a score of 35/40 (9/9/9/8), which is the second best score any Tales game ever received from Famitsu (no. 1 still is Tales of the Abyss with a score of 36/40, while Tales of Innocence scored 35/40 as well).

[Shimra]

@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.
anyway, since it was a respectable success in the US (it became a member of the "Greatest Hits" label, after all).

Tales of Symphonia somewhat has the same set up as FFX, but it bears an uncanny resemblance to Tales of Phantasia, it's almost the exact same concept (save time travel, Tethealla whatever). They are almost the same game.

And why does a game need a 3d battle arena? The battle system is in depth enough. Should the Guilty Gear, King of Fighters, and Street Fighter series use 3d arenas?

And no, I'm not a ToS fanboy. I just don't agree with that, and a few other things but that was all in one paragraph.

[Darth Sidious]

@Shimra
Don't get me wrong, a 2D battle system can work just fine in a Tales game, which is why Tales of Destiny Remake/Tales of Destiny Director's Cut, Tales of Rebirth (though it uses the 3-line battle system) or Tales of Phantasia (Super Famicom and PlayStation version) are among my favorite RPGs ever...heck, nearly every Tales with a 2D battle system is damn good...except for maybe Tales of the Tempest, which uses a 3-line system as well, and Tales of Legendia to some extent, for being utterly chaotic at times.

However, at least in Europe, Tales of Symphonia came out at the same time as Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and to me, the system in Star Ocean simply had more depth to it and was more fun to master...maybe that's why Symphonia's battle system is not perfect for me.
Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Innocence are proof that Tales can work within a 3D arena as well, but you are right: 2D is perfectly fine for Tales, too.

[Sirgin]

Should the Guilty Gear, King of Fighters, and Street Fighter series use 3d arenas?

Doesn't that have a 3D version on the PS2?

[Tondog]

I tried the Vesperia demo and it's one of the first JRPGs I ever liked. Can't wait for the PS3 version.

[Haoie]

I love the Tales games. Which is pretty weird, since I've only played 2.

Those being Phantasia [SFC translated and GBA] and Eternia.

I really want Destiny, but, it's pretty much impossible to find here.

[Cobra]

That's more than me, I only ever played Tales of Phantasia on SNES. The graphics, audio and battle system were really excellent, probably the best I had ever seen for the SNES.

[Darth Sidious]

@Haoie
Well, 6 months ago, I was able to purchase Tales of Destiny...in Europe, that is. It only cost me 45 Euro, which is more than acceptable for such a rare game (the game was complete with box and manual, of course). Just try your luck on ebay, and you might be able to get your hands at a copy of the game for a nice price.
It's easier to find than a copy of the US version Tales of Destiny 2 / Tales of Eternia on PSX, though...thankfully, I got the PSP version. ^^

[Sirgin]

Saw Star Ocean: Till the end of time at the flea market yesterday, but it was priced at €30 and the guy wouldn't budge his price at all So I passed (already bought some other games, otherwise I might've taken it)

[Antimind]

I'm probably the resident Tales expert. FYI ToV is NOT going to be region free. I've already pre-ordered the Special Edition though. More than likely ToS2 is also going to have an anniversary/special edition. Might want to hold off on pre-ordering it for now.

I've loved the Tales series for years. I've actually been selling off my general game collection to put more money into Tales stuff. I run a Tales merch site too. Here's a bit of what's in my Tales collection. Note that I do have dupe trading cards for sale:

GAMES:
Tales of Abyss PS2/US
Tales of Abyss PS2/JAP
Tales of Destiny PSX/US
Tales of Destiny II PSX/US
Tales of Destiny 2 PS2/JAP
Tales of Eternia EUR/PSP
Tales of Eternia Premium Box JAP
Tales of Fandom Vol 1
Tales of Fandom Vol 1
Tales of Fandom v2 Luke
Tales of Fandom v2 Tear
Tales of Innocence
Tales of Legendia PS2/US
Tales of Legendia PS2/JAP
Tales of Phantasia SFC/JAP
Tales of Phantasia GBA/US
Tales of Phantasia PSP/JAP
Tales of Rebirth PS2/JAP
Tales of Rebirth PSP/JAP
Tales of Symphonia GC/US
Tales of Symphonia PS2/JAP
Tales of Tempest DS

Narikiri Dungeon
Narikiri Dungeon 2
Narikiri Dungeon 3
TOTW: Radiant Mythology US


STRAT GUIDES:
Narikiri Dungeon
Tales of Abyss
Tales of Destiny II (US)
Tales of Legendia
Tales of Symphonia US/JAPAN

ART BOOKS:
Tales of Abyss JAP
Tales of Legendia
Tales of Symphonia US/JAPAN

PROMO DISC:
Tales of Abyss Anniversary JAPAN
Tales of Legendia DVD/JAPAN
Tales of Phantasia Demo PSX/JAPAN
Tales of Rebirth Peach Pie DVD
Tales of Symphonia Bonus GC/JAPAN
Tales of Symphonia KOR JAP
ToTW Lemon Gummi DVD/JAPAN


MISC PROMO:
Tales of Abyss Art Cel
Tales of Abyss Tokunaga + Presea Head
Tales of Legendia Lanyard
Tales of Symphonia Litho EB + Gamestop
Tales of Symphonia Art Cell

PINS: 
Tales of Abyss Kotobukiya - complete set
Tales of Phantasia OVA - set of 4
Tales of Phantasia Kotobukiya - complete set
Tales of Symphonia Kotobukiya (complete set)
Tales of Symphonia 1" - from Gamestop employee, 4 pin set?

FIGURES:
Tales of Abyss One Coin - complete set & specials
Tales of Phantasia One Coin - complete set & specials
Tales of Phantasia One Coin Stone - Suzu, Chester, Arche
Tales of Symphonia One Coin - complete set & specials

PENCIL BOARDS:
1 Tales mix
2 Tales of Abyss
1 Tales of Eternia
1 Tales of Legendia
1 Tales of Rebirth
3 Tales of Symphonia

SOUNDTRACK:
Tales of Symphonia (Miya Records bootleg)

Idol Cards:
Tales of Phantasia - full set

TRADING CARDS:
Narikiri Dungeon - Complete Collection, Star & Rainbow Chapter
Tales of Abyss card binder - Frontier Works
Tales of Abyss - all 63 regular cards - Frontier Works
Tales of Abyss LE - all 72 regular cards - Frontier Works
Tales of Destiny - Epoch - full set
Tales of Destiny - Movic 2007 - all 72 regular cards
Tales of Destiny/Destiny 2 - FW - All regs
Tales of Eternia - Media Factory - full set
Tales of Eternia - Movic - full set
Tales of Eternia/Eternia Online - full set
Tales of Fandom Vol 1 - all 45 regular cards
Tales of Legendia - full set
Tales of My Shuffle - all "regular" series 1 cards
Tales of My Shuffle - starter set series 1
Tales of Phantasia - Epoch - full set
Tales of Phantasia - Movic - full set
Tales of Rebirth - Frontier Works - full set
Tales of Rebirth LE - full set
Tales of Symphonia LE full set & Yggdrasil promo - Frontier Works
Tales of Symphonia - Frontier Works - full set + all box cards
Tales of Symphonia Namco Contest - 2 full sets: 1 opened, 1 sealed

HORI MEMORY CARDS:
Tales of Abyss PS2
Tales of Destiny 2 PS2
Tales of Destiny 2 PS2
Tales of Legendia PS2
Tales of Symphonia PS2
Tales of Symphonia GC
Tales of Rebirth PS2

MANGA & NOVELIZATION:
All Tales of Symphonia on the market ie: 4 Koma, Anthologies, etc

POSTER:
Tales of Abyss Trading Clip Poster - full set of 22
Tales of Phantasia Mini-Poster Set
Tales of Symphonia US Promo

OVA:
Tales of Phantasia US -  Asian bootleg
Tales of Symphonia US -  Asian bootleg

STATIONARY:
1 Tales mix binsen
3 Tales of Abyss binsen
1 Tales of Destiny binsen
3 Tales of Destiny 2 binsen
1 Tales of Eternia mini notepad - Reid
1 Tales of Phantasia binsen
2 Tales of Rebirth binsen

UNIQUE:
Tales of Abyss Stickers
Tales of Destiny Cell Strap/Cleaner
Tales of Destiny Stamp Collection
Tales of Phantasia Pencil Case
Tales of Symphonia Phone Strap

PLUSHIES:
Yuan/ToS
Frings/ToA



If you're interested in translations, I have a few friends that are working on translating the Japanese releases to English. Throughhim actually makes patches while Eclisis does the YouTube thing:

Eclisis ToR Translation:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lanyn
-she also does some of the Peach Pie DVD stuff. She'll be getting to other things once she's done with what she's doing

Throughim's Patches:
http://zettaizero.wordpress.com/
- he's got plans for future releases. I can't say what they are as it isn't public knowledge. Just know that he's excellent at what he does.


If you want a good RPG to check out, pick up Soma Bringer for Nintendo DS. There's an open translation project going on. It's damn near complete and a pretty good game. http://somatrans.scribblewiki.com/Main_Page

[Darth Sidious]

@Antimind
Yeah, Soma Bringer does look promising - it's by Monolith, after all, and their story-telling abilities alone make me want to play this game (if I am not mistaken, Tetsuya Takahashi, the mind behind the Xenogears/Xenosaga universe, has been involved in the making of Soma Bringer as well). I just hope Nintendo will release the title at least stateside instead of simply churning out their own Wii-casual nonsense...perhaps it would have been better for us if Monolith had stayed with Namco or returned to Square...

Anyway, I have to admit that your Tales collection is plain AWESOME! ^^ I mean, you even got both Tales of Fandom games, both of which are nearly unplayable for non-Japanese speaking gamers such as myself...I think that's saying a lot. ^^ I noticed, however, that Tales of Destiny for PS2 or Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut are still missing from your collection, so I can only advise you to buy either of the 2 versions...if you liked the original Destiny, then you're gonna love this remake: it really is a remake that improves upon the original in every way imaginable, especially the battle system has gone from slow to the fastest paced Tales system ever.
It's also interesting to see that you almost have the complete Tales of the World series, except for Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage, which I am going to pick up sooner or later, seeing as how there is a translation guide on gamefaqs, and the game itself is pretty cheap by now, too.

By the way, are you gonna pick up Tales of Hearts for the DS when it comes out in Japan later this year? Or are you gonna wait and see whether Namco is going to release at least this one in the US (after all, the CG artwork MIGHT suggest that Namco wants to appeal to a western audience, too...and if Vesperia and Symphonia 2 are doing well sales-wise, who knows...)? It's difficult to have hopes for this one after they surprisingly denied Innocence a US release...