History Sandbox / VideoGameTalesSeriesCleanup

* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' is known for having anime cutscenes, including an anime intro with an AnimeThemeSong, since the first UsefulNotes/PlayStation installment. However, the original UsefulNotes/NintendoDS release of ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' came in [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo two versions]], where one had the standard anime cutscenes, the other version had [[PreRenderedCutscene 3D pre-rendered CG cutscenes]]. Needless to say, the version with the 3D CG cutscenes wasn't a big seller, and thus it remains the only release in the franchise to feature that style.

A work-in-progress draft to reformat VideoGame.TalesSeries into actual trope entries. Please see [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16582418360A14358500&page=1#1 this thread]] for any issues.

'''Note:''' [[Tropers/{{lapistier}} I'm]] going to try my best to research the games I haven't played (basically all of them considering these are largely from 2012) but some are going to end up cut if I can't scrape together enough context/explicit examples to make them valid entries, so help is much appreciated.

[[folder:Cleaned Up Trope Entries]]

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the final fight with Dhaos, after he [[OneWingedAngel transforms into his true form]], takes place in outer space, apparently high above the protagonists' home world.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', when you've beaten the BigBad, [[spoiler:Tear will begin singing a lullaby, while [[TheHero Luke]] uses his powers to stop an uber attack from said BigBad, the battle background shifts into this blue [[InstantRunes thing with mysterious symbols every where]], and while this is going on, everyone has infinite HitPoints, and you can't pause, or open the menu, or see the status of your characters. You just fight until Luke wins.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', you fight the final final boss in the JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind of the BigBad, and the {{Superboss}} at the bottom of some sort of warped space.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has the final boss fight with a background of black kaleidoscopic swirling.

** The [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Score]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' prophesises the destruction of Akzeriuth that is supposed to kick off a series of events that results in TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The plot starts because Van decided to make the world end on ''his'' terms and thus created the replica of the original Luke fon Fabre to take the original's place. This instead ends up kicking off events that result in ''preventing'' the end of the world and the choice to ScrewDestiny by the main party.
** Estelle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. As a Child of the Full Moon she naturally disrupts the [[{{Mana}} Aer flow]] of the planet, making her very existence a huge contributor to the decay of both the world and the seal on an ancient EldritchAbomination.
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: The active party members are typically limited to four characters at once, with the actual party size ranging from five (the original version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'') to ten (the UpdatedReRelease of ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Destiny]]''). What, if anything, the extra members are doing while the others are fighting is sometimes but not always justified:
** Played straight and subverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' when after defeating the [[SummonMagic Summon Spirit]] [[DishingOutDirt Gnome]], he complains that the party took him "four against one", while his previous summoner [[spoiler:Mithos]] took him one-on-one. This when your party consists of eight people, half of which apparently stood aside and let your main group fight him alone. Nearly every other plot fight acts like everyone jumped into the melee.
** Justified in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', the only thing preventing your allies' [[FunctionalMagic fonic artes]] from doing just as much damage to you as to the monsters are marks laid on the team by your spellcasters, and they can't mark too many people at once. Essentially, up to two of your party members are getting left out because they can't be made FriendlyFireProof.
** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheTempest Tempest]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Innocence]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Hearts]]'', as well as ''Keroro RPG'', made by the same people, have a limit of three. ''Narikiri Dungeon 3'' for GBA also had four parties of three each, but since the actual party size was [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover every character in the first five games]]…
** Averted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' by introducing the "Link Attack" system, by which characters in the back party can be summoned in to use attacks or spells. Since characters Linked in can't be damaged or interrupted, it's useful for calling out a Raise Dead or LastDiscMagic with a charge time of "eternity".
** Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. If you go a long time without switching party members in, you may get a skit where the inactive members complain about being left out of the action. Yes, the others really are just sitting on the sidelines.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', you can only have four party members onscreen during a battle... but you can swap an inactive party member with an active one mid-battle.
** Justified most of the time in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2''. There are nine party members, but the plot usually forces the team to split up in a way that only leaves Ludger and three other party members present for the battle. However, there are times when the other characters are visibly present with the party, yet aren't playable because ''Xillia 2'' only allows for changing your party when you're inside a city.
** Justified in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' due to the unique nature of your party. Most of the characters are spirits (known as seraphim) who reside [[PartyInMyPocket inside Sorey's body]], and unless they're linked to Sorey or one of his Squires, they won't be able to fight the monsters in the game without risking harm to themselves from the [[TheCorruption malevolence]] generated by those monsters. Since there are only two playable humans max at any time, this means only two seraphim can be present in battle, adding up to a party of four, though the two remaining seraphim can be swapped in at any time. So technically, everyone ''is'' in battle at the same time, just not always actively participating.
** Justified in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': While only four of six party members appear in battle at once, the other two can be hot-swapped in mid fight (or even mid-''combo''), making it clear everyone is participating. Backup will even jump in to replace critical or KO'ed part members automatically, averting LazyBackup. The only reason you're limited to four at all is the characters [[LampshadedTrope acknowledging]] that six at once would result in getting in each other's way, and having a back line allows injured members to recover, which is [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration reflected in the gameplay]], where characters will regenerate HP while benched.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' allows only four people on the battlefield, but the other two can use their special attacks, participate in {{Combination Attack}}s, and can be manually tagged in. No mid-combo switches this time, though.
** Three [[MissingEpisode now-inaccessible]] ''Tales of Mobile'' games (''Breaker'', ''Commons'' and ''Wahreit'') actually had limit of two party members per battle, despite actual parties being four to six people. This time, all the blame goes to hardware limitations.
* ArchnemesisDad: Occasionally, an major antagonist will have a direct familial connection to one of the protagonists, [[LukeIAmYourFather whether they know it or not]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': [[spoiler:Bisley Bakur is hinted to be Ludger and Julius' father, though it's never explicitly revealed to Ludger himself and has no direct impact on the story. It doesn't stop him from raising Julius to be a ChildSoldier, nor blackmailing Ludger into working for Spirius, nor trying to kill him once Ludger starts interfering with his plans.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': It's very slightly implied in the game and confirmed in the supplementary material that [[spoiler:Sorey, the game's hero, is the illegitimate son of the game's main villain, Georg Heldalf. Since neither of them are aware of the fact, it doesn't affect the story, and is only made explicit in the manga adaptation where just before Heldalf dies, he recognises Sorey's face as being similar to his mother's]].
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', the FinalBoss is ranting about how [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans are evil]], and how he's going to kill them all. Asbel promptly turns this into an Armor-Piercing Question by asking "[[AndThenWhat Okay, then what? If you kill everybody, you'll be totally alone, and you and everything in the entire world will die. You really want that?]]" The BigBad is silent for a moment, then basically throws a tantrum and begins the final boss battle proper. [[spoiler:After defeating him, Asbel shows Lambda that there's another way by proving that HumansAreSpecial.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Lloyd and the party confront Remiel on what it ''really'' means for Colette to become an angel, Lloyd protests about the angel transformation, Remiel has this to say (to which Lloyd [[VisibleSilence doesn't have an answer]]):
--->'''Remiel''': The sacrifice of one single person, the Chosen, will bring salvation to world. Are you saying you would [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl choose one soul]] [[TheNeedsOfTheMany over the entire world?]]
*** [[spoiler: Mithos]] also drops one on the party after TheReveal of who he really is, Lloyd gives a speech about how everyone who has been born should be allowed to live and nobody should be made into a sacrifice. [[spoiler: Mithos]] responds:
--->'''[[spoiler: Mithos]]''': No life should be born for the sole purpose of dying? [[PoweredByAForsakenChild What do you think those exspheres are that you're using?]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': During a MotiveRant, [[BigBad King Gaius]] reveals that his plan is to gather all the world's superweapons to protect the weak and to keep the weapons out of the hands of those who would abuse them. Milla's response can be summed up as "one day, you're going to die. How are you so sure the next guy who takes the throne will have the same ideals that you do?"
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''.
*** Early on, Flynn asks Yuri if him quitting the knights changed anything. Yuri can't respond, simply leaving and admitting when he's alone that Flynn knows how to get to him, and that he's exactly right.
*** After witnessing Yuri kill Cumore, Flynn and him get into an argument over whether or not Yuri was justified in killing him. Near the end of the argument, Flynn tries asking him a question, but Yuri quickly defies this by giving him an [[ArmorPiercingResponse answer that momentarily leaves him speechless]].
---->'''Flynn:''' So I’m supposed to sit by while you intend to dirty your hands?\\
'''Yuri:''' Intend to? ''[[TheseHandsHaveKilled I already have!]]''
*** Later on, at Nordipolica, as Yuri and Brave Vesperia flee the city after accidentally killing Belius, they get cornered by Flynn, who demands that they hand over Estelle, and Belius’ Cyano Ceil Crystal. Yuri [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out on it]], pointing out how he’s doing exactly what he was trying to prevent, by taking what they wanted by force, and asks him a question that Flynn is unable to answer.
---->'''Yuri:''' How is this ''any different'' from what I’ve come to expect from the Empire?!
* BettingMiniGame: Some games feature a poker casino, where the suits feature the respective game's party members.
* {{BFS}}:
** All of Karol's swords are longer than he is tall. That's not saying much(he's 12 years old) but his first sword is so big that after Yuri cuts it in half he can use the base as a hammer. (Karol is the tank in the game and all his weapons are way too big for him)
** In Symphonia, there are a couple of bosses that wield these, either in or out of battle. The Eternal Sword is used only in cutscenes [[spoiler:until Lloyd gets it, anyway]], but when you fight Yuan, he has a [[DoubleWeapon swallow blade]] that's about as long as he is tall.
** Gaius from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' wields a nodachi that about equals his height in length, making it in the range of six feet or so.
** Veigue Lungberg from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' wields a great sword that makes him [[MightyGlacier attack at a slower speed than most ''Tales'' swordfighters but deals more damage per strike]].
* BigBadWannabe:
** Saleh from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' is at first [[InformedAbility shown and described]] as a powerful enemy general, with [[ForTheEvulz a reasonless penchant for destruction and disgust on anything that is 'good']]. Every time Veigue tried to approach him during the first half of the game, he spends his time outwitting and overwhelming Veigue... [[CutscenePowerToTheMax in cutscenes]]. However, he is never seen in battle on solo compared to his partner Tohma, he's usually fighting with a friend. Veigue defeats him rather easily, and following Tytree's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, he spends most of his time afterwards annoying Veigue with words on how he's going to crush their 'power of hearts', without actually kicking ass, and when he's actually fought the second time (with all his allies, nonetheless!), he's beaten just as easily. In other words, Saleh barks as if the power of evil will triumph all the time, but he couldn't back up with actual prowess.
** Grand Maestro Mohs from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' thinks that he has the God Generals of the Oracle Knights wrapped around his finger, under the belief that he can bring about salvation through Yulia’s Score. In reality, the God Generals were only using him for their own ends, mostly to keep the party at bay while they carried out their plan to destroy the world, and [[OutGambittedthey leave him to die when they no longer need him]].
** Barbos, the leader of the Blood Alliance, is the main antagonist in Act 1, of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. Act 2, reveals that Commandant Alexei had been using him to set up a node for his [[{{Magitek}} blastia]] network to resurrect Zaude, which he sought to use to recreate the world in his own image. [[spoiler: However, Zaude turned out to be a seal to keep the [[EldritchAbomination Adephagos]] at bay, and Alexei dies admitting that he was a fool.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': Cedric, Richard’s uncle, is the main antagonist of the first act of the game. He tries to have Richard assassinated to prevent him from reclaiming the throne of Windor, but due to Richard [[spoiler:serving as the host body for the real BigBad, Lambda]], he fails, and is killed at the hands of his nephew.
* BribingYourWayToVictory: As of ''Vesperia'', there are [=DLCs=] that will give you extra consumable healing items, automatically raise your levels, or skip the grind needed to unlock new artes.
* TheCameo: Almost every mainline game except the original ''Phantasia'', ''Rebirth'', ''Abyss'', ''Symphonia: Dawn of the New World'', and ''Xillia'' features a previous ''Tales'' series character as an OptionalBoss. More often than not, he gives you his weapon as a reward, which proceeds to be one of the {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s or close to it. '''[[green:Should I make a list of Cameos?]]'''
* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Equipment can be generally changed on the fly in the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, even in the middle of battles. This is especially useful during the [[MonsterArena arena gauntlets]], where your constantly changing opponents may warrant the use of equipment that's effective against certain enemies or provides resistance to certain elements and/or status ailments.
* CombatMedic:
** Pure [[TheMedic medic]] characters are rare; characters that are proficient in healing will always have some degree of combat training to go with their spellcasting and healing abilities. Games from ''Abyss'' onwards typically have ''two'' healers in the main party instead. One focuses on single target healing, and the other focuses on healing multiple targets at the same time. The single target healer is usually a combat-oriented character by default, with healing a secondary but still prominent skill in their moveset.
** [[FragileSpeedster Rutee]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' can slash enemies with her sword repeatedly in the air, perform damaging attacks that produce money from nowhere, use water spells, and heal, cure status ailments, and raise the dead.
** Reala gets the most healing spells in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', and since her TP regeneration is by far the best, she is suited to keep the party alive. However, she also possesses incredibly destructive spells based on the four elements, so you will be seeing her nuking half the screen during the second half of the game. Magic is very effective.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Raine's spell selection consists primarily of healing and buff spells, but eventually she can learn [[LightEmUp Photon and either Ray or Holy Lance]] to give her some offensive abilities as well. She also has access to Prism Stars and Gospel, two of the most powerful Unison Attacks in the game.
** In [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld the sequel]], Marta even has a Mystic Arte that both whacks the enemies for heavy damage and heals everyone in the party!
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'':
*** Tear has very potent healing spells that cover a wide area and can use Resurrection. However, her offensive spell pool is extremely powerful and she gains a unique accessory that easily makes her the best offensive spellcaster. Her melee artes are limited but have their uses, so she can easily go out on the offence.
*** Natalia lacks offensive spells, but her healing and buffing is on point. She's limited to single-target healing outside of FOF changes, but in exchange her spells are usually faster than Tear's and restore the same amount of HP. FOF changes like Angel's Breath only make her better since she can even resurrect multiple characters at once. However, she is also a very quick and potent archer, so she has no problem sniping at people from afar while healing her own party.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'':
*** Ange may look and act like your typical WhiteMagicianGirl, but note that she prefers knives. And she is not shy about performing some awesome melee combos with them, either.
*** Iria also gets several healing artes, but is perfectly fine [[GunsAkimbo duking it out with her pistols]]. Innocence R buffed her healing by giving her Cure, while in the original game she never went above Heal.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Estelle is a healer who sports the highest defense scores in the game and a fast track to the protective skills. You could viably play her as the party tank and leave spot heals to your less proficient members, as she has an array of melee attacks to take advantage of. She's also no sap at supporting from the sidelines with her light based attack magic.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has two of them as the brother and sister duo of Hisui and Kohaku Hearts:
*** In the DS version, Hisui will be your only healer for quite a long time, so he gets First Aid, Cure (single-target) and Nurse (multi-target). He needs his sister in combat to access the more powerful area of effect healing in Fairy Circle, but is the only one who can use Resurrection.
*** Kohaku gets the more powerful Heal (single target), Healing Circle and Revitalize (multi target) but tends to be slower than her brother. Her Raise Will has a chance of failure and may not actually resurrect a fallen party member. Things went a bit differently in R, so both siblings got to have area of effect spells and Resurrection.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'':
*** Sophie's healing spells focus on single targets for more power and speed. She's also a martial artist who hits like a truck and has the most speed out of all the characters.
*** Cheria's healing focuses on multiple targets for less power and less speed. Offensively she throws away the staff to focus entirely on throwing knives and uses powerful offensive magic including ''[[BoltOfDivineRetribution Indignation]]''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has three:
*** Jude can heal HP and status ailments in his close vicinity, and can revive the person he is linked with automatically as part of his Link Skill. He's also an exceptionally powerful martial artist.
*** Leia heals single targets for greater power and can [[StatusBuff raise the party's stats]]. Her traditional healer's staff is actually a quarterstaff which she uses to charge into the frontlines alongside [[BareFistedMonk Jude]], [[ActionGirl Milla]], and Alvin.
*** Elize heals multiple targets for slightly less power and can AntiDebuff. When she's not healing she serves as the party's primary [[CastingAShadow dark-elemental]] nuker. Both girls can revive KO'd party members, and through the link-system can combine both their healing spells and offensive skills for far greater power than either is capable of alone.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': All of seraphim are effective at fighting and have access to some manner of healing, though Mikleo and Edna are the better of the four, due to having a strong single target and area heal respectively. They also grant a powerful heal to Sorey and Rose while they're being used for Armatization.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has all of the characters that can cast magic fit this role.
*** Eleanor and Eizen are the more physically oriented of the magic users while also being the ones who have access to the revival spells Life and Resurrection respectively.
*** Magilou and Laphicet are more likely to be dedicated mages to fight but their physical attacks are nothing to disregard either. Magilou is the one who gets the area healing spells Healing Circle and Fairy Circle which is also capable of damaging enemies caught in the spell. Laphicet gets the single target healing spells First Aid and Elixir Vitae which also cures all status ailments.
* CoolShip:
** The Van Eltia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' is a massive boat with customizable rooms and looks to be made out of stained glass. It starts off as a simple boat, but later gets upgraded into a CoolAirship, and then a cool starship with mini-submarine pods.
** The Van Eltia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' is the ship sailed by Aifread's pirate crew. It's said to be the fastest ship in the world.
* CoOpMultiplayer: Most games also allow you to have your friends control any of the other characters instead of the AI. Co-op play wasn't introduced to the series until ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'''s [[UpdatedRerelease PlayStation 1 remake]], which was released after the original Tales of Phantasia and ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'',[[note]] There was a roundabout way to play multiplayer in ''Tales of Destiny'', but which characters could be used was limited and before ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''[[/note]], but ever since then, almost every game has allowed your friends to join in except the portable titles, ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'', and ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise''.
* CrateExpectations: Crates are used to make paths, [[BlockPuzzle press buttons]], destroy obstacles, etc. Typical video game stuff. There are also mini-game warehouses that have you re-arrange crates.
* CrystalDragonJesus:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has the ubiquitous Church of Martel, though it's really more background fluff than anything (though you do meet Martel herself a couple of times). However, the civilization of Fenrir built a huge cathedral to worship... well, Fenrir, complete with stained glass, a giant organ, and a heavy organ BGM called "Perverse Religion". By the time the game actually rolls around, the entire Fenrir civilization has risen and fallen and the cathedral's been abandoned for years, to the point where the door is heavily iced shut. This is given a ShoutOut in the prequel, ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', with an offhand reference to a legend about Fenrir in the icy regions. Presumably, this later sprouted into a full-fledged religion.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has the Church of Seyfert, with churches dotting the countryside (and willing to let you rest for free) and a massive cathedral, stained glass and all, atop Mt. Farlos. When you get to Celestia, you find out that Seyfert (and [[{{Satan}} Nereid]]) are real, and that there's more to the story than a simple creation myth.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', set four millennia before ''Phantasia'', depicted a very different [[PathOfInspiration Church of Martel]], based almost directly on Roman Catholicism, Pope and all.
*** One of Colette's hand gestures when casting spells looks exactly like the sign-of-the-cross. But then, so does Keele's in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', and he's as close to atheist as you can get when your world is bursting at the seams with nature spirits and you base your entire career on asking them to do things for you.
*** Colette has, in the [=PS2=] version, an ability called "Grand Cross" which would cause a large cross to descend upon the enemy. It is included in the sequel.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' (which takes place 2 years after ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''), the Church of Martel still exists, but to a lesser extent since the whole Chosen of Regeneration thing doesn't exist anymore (most people went to church to pray for their world to be regenerated). Several scenes have the characters saying that they doubt that the church of Martel would last for much longer, though it remains 4000 years later in ''Phantasia''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has the Order of Lorelei. Although it doesn't follow a god, it has a prophecy known as the Score, and the robes the Order members have highly resemble those of Catholic priests. The one from Mohs would be the biggest offender. It gets better- the official ordination of a Catholic priest is "presbyter," meaning "elder." Also, interestingly enough there is an actual Jesus {{Expy}} according to the [[MagicAIsMagicA physics]] and a (literal) word of god via Lorelei [[spoiler: in the form of TheHero Luke; as a replica, with Lorelei's fonic signature, he's pure seventh fonons...just like Lorelei making him the [[GodInHumanForm Other Lorelei]]. He also does a HeroicSacrifice to save the world and ([[GainaxEnding maybe]]) even comes back to life some time after.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has the Church of Velleia, which worships the "Great Winged Whale", and yes, has a holy city and a cathedral. There's a church in each city and the main character can go into it and confess. It's really not a PathOfInspiration, though. They just have a near-monopoly on the magical weaponry, Soma, and on the curing of TheHeartless-induced Despir Sickness. Also, AllMythsAreTrue, and [[spoiler:the bishop]] is the only one who knew what was really going on the entire time and just had some [[KnightTemplar bad ideas]] on how to go about dealing with it. [[spoiler:The Winged Whale in question, however, turns out to be the villains' base.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Subverted. The church was a benign religion that existed before Artorius and the Abbey placed their deity Empyrean Innominat as the new being of worship at its center. Plus, most people in the Abbey aren't all that bad; some are actively shown trying to help the citizens of the world.
* CulturalCrossReference:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': In the beach sidequest of the first game, the names of the four girls you're supposed to find easily remind you of a certain book series that is [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff beloved by the Japanese]]. [[Literature/LittleWomen Amy, Jo, Beth, and Meg]] make cameo appearances. Seriously. Bonus points to Jo apparently being a {{Bokukko}} here, and having Amy be blonde.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', Iria's father comments that her siblings are called Monica, Ross and Gunther -- characters from ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Some actually believed this to be an attempt at {{Woolseyism}} by the game's {{fan translat|ion}}or, but when questioned about it, he confirmed that yes, that's in the Japanese script too. He was as surprised as anyone else.
* DialogDuringGameplay: Frequently, the beginning of a BossBattle will have dialogue between the participants during the fight itself, especially when you eccounter an enemy for the first time or fight a boss. Party members may comment on the player's tactics, such as using the same technique repeatedly or running around the enemies and not attacking.
--> '''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld Marta]]:''' You're using too many Artes!
--> '''Emil:''' It's to win!
* DoomedHometown:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'':
*** Cless' and Chester's initial motivations are revenge for the evil knight Mars burning down their hometown and killing their families, beginning the plot.
*** Dhaos orders to the destruction of the village of Hamel, due to the Scarlet family's {{Magitek}} research. Rhea Scarlet, Arche's friend, is killed, but asks to possess her friend Arche's body in order to seek vengeance, which Arche agrees to. It is specifically because Rhea's story mirrors Cress' own in losing his family and hometown that Cress is unable to turn her away.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the hometown of Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Raine is partially burned down by Desians. Lloyd and Genis are banished for being partially to blame and forbidden from returning [[spoiler:until Disc 2. But even after they're allowed to return, Genis decides to travel the world with Raine to help half-elves fit in, and Lloyd decides to set out with a companion of his choosing to destroy the Exspheres]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': Emil's hometown, Palmacosta, is reportedly destroyed by [[RogueProtagonist Lloyd]] from the first game in an event known as the Blood Purge, [[spoiler:though it's eventually revealed to have been an imposter seeking to tarnish Lloyd's reputation and undermine the Church of Martel]]. Emil flees to his aunt and uncle in Luin on his dying parents' orders and cements his desire for revenge against Lloyd.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Velvet's hometown, Aball, suffers from an outbreak of daemonblight, a sickness that turns humans into monsters. Velvet turns into a daemon herself and ends up killing her friend, Niko, and her neighbours in a rage over the death of her brother, leaving no survivors. DoubleSubverted later in the story, where three years later, the party visits the village and it appears as though the town has rebuilt and everyone has survived, including Velvet's brother, now comatose, [[spoiler:but this turns out to all be an illusion. In reality, Aball is now a ghost town and remained uninhabited.]]
* EasyModeMockery:
** Barbatos, the {{Superboss}} of the [=PS2=] version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', if fought on the Simple difficulty, will immediately start the fight off with an upgraded version of his [[SwordBeam Genocide Braver]] called Cheap Eliminate, his quote for the attack being something that roughly translates to "You aren't qualified to fight me!". It covers the entire length of the screen in front of him, and is instant death for anyone who gets hit by it, save for those using certain invulnerability granting moves. He'll then use it immediately after ''every single attack'' he performs, but can be defeated if one can get close to him, where dodging it becomes a simple matter of dashing past him when he starts firing it and countering accordingly. The battle generally ends up becoming a solo job due to the AI being incapable of dodging the move consistently, however.
*** In the UpdatedRerelease, he gains a new attack called Hell Heat that fires dozens of similarly powerful homing beams that he'll use in between every few Cheap Eliminates (And almost constantly at low HP). This will wipe out those who opted to dodge the former attack by simply jumping over it, but can still be negated by other means. His stats also got buffed so he doesn't go down nearly as quickly as in the original version.
** Fighting on Easy in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' will get you zero GRADE, meaning no treats for NewGamePlus.
* ElementalPowers: Frequent use of the four classic elements: [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[MakingASplash Water]], [[BlowYouAway Wind]], and [[DishingOutDirt Earth]]. The story will often center around these elements in some way, and each of the elements forms the bulk of magic Artes used by a lot of mage-type characters in the games. Sometimes, the elements will be represented by and/or controlled by powerful beings or deities, like Summon Spirits, Aggregate Sentiences, and Seraphim/Malakhim. Additionally, other elements are used to expand on the elemental system. These elements frequently include [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]], [[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[LightEmUp Light]], and [[CastingAShadow Darkness]]. Sometimes, they're considered as separate elements of their own, while at other times, they're just extensions of the classic four.
* ExactWords:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', the Score states that "The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city." It said [[spoiler:miner's city]], not [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]]. That part is actually subverted. [[spoiler: Akzeriuth just wasn't possessed of a name two thousand years ago.]] The more accurate bit of ExactWords is the next part that says "There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city." [[spoiler: It just says "destroys" and that is exactly what not only [[HeroicBSOD happens]] [[TomatoInTheMirror to Luke]], but would have happened to the original Luke since the "Light of the Sacred Flame" aka the "young scion of Lorelei's power" is mentioned on the Seventh Fonstone long after Akzeriuth's destruction.]] In all, the Score actually is ''very'' literal about everything it predicts, as Lorelei was attempting to be as precise as possible so humans wouldn't get confused. Unfortunately, the Score is taken as a mystical thing instead of just a long list of events in chronological order that has some LostInTranslation problems mixed in.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': [[spoiler: Hugo]] never said he'd let [[spoiler: Marian]] go, [[spoiler: and he doesn't, even after Leon steals a dragon and the Eye of Atamoni, betrays his friends, and dies to buy him time.]]
* FantasticRacism:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Much of the game involves racism against half-elves on the part of humans and elves. The majority of the half-elves in the game belong to the Desians, a faction representing TheDevil in the BigBad's [[PathOfInspiration made-up religion]] that subjugates each world in turn to encourage them to do the whole "world regeneration" thing, but it is eventually revealed that half-elves were already hated before the BigBad set all this up.
*** There seems to be a level of distrust of people from [[{{Wutai}} Mizuho]]. Ozette too, because they oppose the Church of Martel. (Which is ironic, as that's the place that acts most racist towards half-elves. Pretty much anyone you talk to in Ozette makes a remark about how much they hate half-elves, ''even the children.'')
** Half-elf racism seems to be slowly fading away ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', but in it's place is Tethe'alla and the Church of Martel oppressing Sylvarant, which is seen as a nation of technologically deficient barbarians.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this with the Replicas. They're considered freaks by most of the townspeople due to being clones ([[spoiler:and many of the people they are clones of didn't survive the cloning process or were already dead to begin with, resulting in the replicas getting the blame for the deaths]]), and they generally feel like they have nowhere to live where they can be accepted. In the end, [[spoiler:10,000 replicas willingly sacrifice their lives in the hope that their sacrifice will mean replicas in the future will have a place in the world to live in without being condemned for simply being born.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the Inferian perception of Celestians is of warmongering, bloodthirsty monsters. A library book in Imen reveals that Celestians have only a slightly better view of the Inferians; it was the racist feelings of the Celestians that triggered most of the games events.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''. A good slice of humanity is gaining powers from their status as reincarnations, and the government is kidnapping them for research purposes. Bonus points: the reincarnatees were having a race war with ''each other'', which is bleeding into the awakened reincarnated humans. A real world war is being thrown into chaos because some of the soldiers have decided to fight the heaven war instead of the Earth war, and the divisions don't always match up.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has the Orerines (land dwellers) and the Ferines (sea dwellers).
** This trope comes front and center in ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' with the humans versus the Gajumas (beast people). As always, they share a mutual hatred for the halves: [[HalfHumanHybrids hybrids between the two]].
** There's a degree of this in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', although it's less central to the plot. It's not surprising, because [[spoiler:''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is implied to be set in the distant past of the same world as ''Phantasia''.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' has a little of this. Some citizens of Elympios are shown to be rather prejudiced towards foreigners from Rieze Maxia due to their ability to use spirit artes, calling them monsters or even attacking them. [[spoiler:Gaius']] character episodes revolve around trying to resolve this issue.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'', the magic using Renans invaded the planet Dahna in order to rule over the [[{{Muggle}} Dahnans]] with an iron fist. So naturally within the protagonist group, the Dahnan Rinwell has issues with the two Renans within the party, which she later overcomes. [[spoiler:Then it turns out the Renans weren't the original natives of Rena. They are descandents of rare magic-using Dahnans that were abducted by the true natives of Rena and then experimented on to create pawns for their plans.]]
* FightingYourFriend:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' pits you up against [[spoiler: [[GuestStarPartyMember Leon]] in two occasions, when you first meet him and when he gets brainwashed]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', you fight [[spoiler:every single party member, including the hero at some point, including a fistfight between Veigue and Tytree as the result of an argument about Veigue not being open with his feelings. Pretty much the only character that is never fought is [[{{Keet}} Mao]]]], who is still fought in the training battle.
** Done pretty well in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': [[spoiler:After the latest argument between Flynn and Yuri about what Yuri's doing, Flynn seems to finally give up,]] until Yuri offers him a way to make his point: a swordfight.
--->'''Yuri''': You're not going to beat me in an argument. But you know what you ''can'' beat me in... (holding up his sword) This.
*** The two then proceed to trash-talk each other while beating each other up. They feel better afterwards, but [[spoiler:Flynn still loses the argument.]]
---->'''[[spoiler:Flynn]]''': I can't even win with a sword anymore.\\
'''Yuri''': (teasingly) Hahaha... Loser.
*** Yuri also fights [[spoiler:a BrainwashedAndCrazy Estelle]] in an IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight.
*** The [=PS3=] version adds several more opportunities to fight your friends, most notably [[spoiler:in the team battle mode in the coliseum, the final battle of which will pit all the party members you're not using against the party members you ''are'' using.]]
*** Also in the arena, Karol (in a poor disguise and loudly claiming not to be Karol) will fight alongside his Hunting Blades guildmates if he's not in your current party. In addition [[spoiler: if Raven isn't with you he'll appear as Captain Schwann alongside the Schwann Brigade also claiming not be Raven, although he's aware he's fooling no one]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'':
*** On Jude's side, he fights [[spoiler:Alvin]] after the latter goes too far in trying to snap Jude out of a HeroicBSOD.
*** The EX arena will have either Jude or Milla face off against every other member of party in three pairs, then go one on one with the character you didn't pick.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
*** Near the end of the game, either [[spoiler:Jude]] or [[spoiler:Milla]] will fight Ludger to snap him out of a HeroicBSOD.
*** The EX Tag Arena also pits you against one of your party members teamed with any of a number of different bosses for its last opponents.
*** PlayedForDrama in the game's Bad Ending, [[spoiler:Ludger turns against his friends to prevent them from sacrificing his brother to save the world. This results in a boss battle where he fights solo against the other eight party members, four at a time, and his victory results in their deaths]].

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': [[spoiler:Yggdrassil.]] You get into ''two'' {{Hopeless Boss Fight}}s with before you finally get a chance to fight him legitimately.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' does this in a strange way. The Final Boss turns out to be Richter Abend, a [[GuestStarPartyMember temporary party member]] from the beginning of the game. However, when the party learns that he's not actually on their side, there is a HopelessBossFight against him, where he uses his own [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] to destroy the party in one fell swoop, and proves his having the annoying ability to ''counter'' Emil's Mystic Arte any time he uses it. And when the party finally ''does'' battle Richter in a proper battle, it turns out that [[spoiler:the ''real'' Final Boss is Emil's SuperpoweredEvilSide 'Ratatosk']].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' does this with [[spoiler:Gaius]] and [[spoiler:Muzet]]. Both of them are fought multiple times, but the final boss fight pits you against both of them simultaneously.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has the party's ill-fated first battle with Shepherd Artorius Collbrande, in which all your attacks (with the exception of Mystic Artes) will do zero points of damage and you're automatically KO'd when Artorius uses his own Mystic Arte.
* FissionMailed:
** '' VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': The game, at least in the PS version, has a puzzle in Moria Mine where using the Sorcerer's Ring on a certain candle will cause an arrow to fire from a wall and seemingly kill you, as the "Game Over" music starts playing. Cless, however, gets back up and mentions that (dying from an arrow) would never happen. In the SFC version, you just lost hitpoints.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', there are two Fission Mailed battles [[spoiler:at the Tower of Salvation against Kratos and Yggdrasill]]. Both battles allow you to lose and still continue the game. The first battle can be beat with a bit of grinding; the second the most you get for your trouble is just staying alive a little longer (probably wasting a lot of healing items), as the battle ends automatically after a certain amount of time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld,'' the sequel, features a few of these as well. [[spoiler:Under the Tower of Mana against Lloyd, who you can defeat, but the game will continue as if you lost anyway, Richter toward the end of Chapter 7 can be beaten, but losing to him changes nothing about the plot, and against Lloyd and Marta at the end of the game, only this time winning gets you the Bad Ending and losing will get you the true/normal ending]].
* FortuneTeller:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' there is a fortune teller in Triet. The first time you visit her, she gives directions that help advance the plot. Subsequent visits are an optional thing to check on the game's RelationshipValues.
** Lailah in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' will occasionally tell fortunes to the rest of the party using her origami paper, though it's ambiguous if she really can predict anything using them or if she's simply teasing everyone. When [[SixthRanger Zaveid]] is wondering if the rest of the party hates him for his prior antagonism, Lailah tells Zaveid's fortune in a skit and predicts that the party do consider Zaveid a friend.
* FullBoarAction: Boars' signature move is to lift you up with their tusks like a forklift and then throw you over their backs. (A real-world boar would run between your legs, slashing them with his tusks as he went.) A large boar was also featured in the beginning of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', where hunting one caused the heroes not to be in town when it was [[DoomedHometown burned down]]. When you return to the future, you can hunt them freely, and they usually come with several children that, if you can catch them before they flee, drop large amounts of Pork.
* GameWithinAGame:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had the classic first generation side-scroller ''Dragon Buster'' as an unlockable bonus.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the player can engage in an arcade game on Nam Cobanda Isle called "Tales of Draspi."
* GenderEqualEnsemble:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has Cress, Chester, and Claus on the male side of the team while Mint, Arche, and Suzu are on the female side, with Suzu being only recruitable in the remakes (and even then, she's {{optional|PartyMember}}). Narikiri Dungeon X tipped the balance onto the female side with the inclusion of Rondoline.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': Stahn/Leon/Woodrow/Johnny/Kongman and Rutee/Mary/Philia/Chelsea/Lilith. (Though Lilith was removed in the North American version)
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'': Reid/Keele/Max and Farah/Meredy/Chat. Oh, and [[TeamPet Quickie]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'': Kyle/Loni/Judas and Reala/Nanaly/Harold.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Lloyd/Genis/Zelos [[OptionalPartyMember (or Kratos if you prefer)]]/Regal and Colette/Presea/Sheena/Raine
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' with Veigue/Eugene/Mao/Tytree for males and Annie/Hilda/Claire/Agarte for females, although Claire and Agarte are occasionally absent from the party.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'': Senel/Moses/Jay/Will and Shirley/Norma/Chloe/Grune.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Luke/Guy/Jade and Tear/Natalia/Anise.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' has Ruca/Spada/Ricardo for males and Illia/Ange/Hermana for females. UpdatedRerelease adds Kongwai and QQ, but maintains the balance.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
*** In the original game, Yuri/Raven/Karol as the males and Estelle/Judith/Rita as the females. And a [[TeamPet male dog, Repede]].
*** As of the UpdatedRerelease, it's Yuri/Raven/Karol/Flynn for the guys and Estelle/Judith/Rita/Patty for the ladies. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Repede]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'':
*** The original game has Shing/Hisui/Kunzite (male) and Kohaku/Innes/Beryl (female).
*** Averted in the UpdatedRerelease, however, by adding Chalcedony and Gall, who are both males.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'':
*** The original game gives us Asbel/Hubert/Malik on the male side and Sophie/Cheria/Pascal on the female side.
*** Averted in ''Graces f'', tipping the balance by adding Richard, a man.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has Jude/Alvin/Rowen and Milla/Elize/Leia.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': Ludger/Jude/Alvin/Rowen/Gaius (male) and Elle/Leia/Elize/Milla (female).
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has Sorey/Mikleo/Zaveid for males and Rose/Lailah/Edna for females. There is also GuestStarPartyMember Alisha (female) and Dezel (male), who are temporary but are mutually exclusive with Rose and Zaveid respectively. In Alisha's DLC episode, however [[spoiler:Alisha joins the party after Sorey has left, shifting the balance to two guys and four girls]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has Velvet/Magilou/Eleanor for females and Laphicet/Rokurou/Eizen for males.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' stars Alphen, Law and Dohalim, as well as Shionne, Rinwell and Kisara.
** Each game from the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld Radiant Mythology]]'' subseries has ActionGirl named Kanonno and a (canonically) male protagonist.
** Each ''Narikiri Dungeon'' game has two OriginalGeneration characters - boy and girl.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'' has Ix and Mileena.
** Tales of Breaker has Mika/Evelyn/Ruru and Yuteki/Saiber/Berger.
** Tales of Commons has Alvin/Seiun and Sefina/You.
** Tales of Wahrheit has Seltz/Blitz and Vila/Ray. It also has sort-of TeamPet Kalulu and RobotBuddy Gamut.
* GenreShift:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' is yet another JRPG to switch genre to [[spoiler:Sci-Fi]], though in this case it happens halfway through the plot.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' starts as a lighthearted journey story before it takes a ''very'' dark shift as [[spoiler:the protagonist becomes a VigilanteMan and [[PayEvilUntoEvil murders several villains who were "above the law"]], with his increasingly extreme methods [[OrderVsChaos bringing him into conflict with his friend]] who intends to go the InternalReformist route]]. Then it becomes a slightly lighter, but still dark, take on a [[spoiler:typical rescue-the-princess story]], and then the mood becomes much lighter and the plot turns into [[spoiler:an elaborate analogy for global warming]].
* GiantEnemyCrab: A common enemy type in the 3D games. They're usually about the size of a small car.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', where you can fight an ordinary sized crab. The fact that the ''boss theme'' plays while you do so might give one the impression that [[KillerRabbit it's actually dangerous]], but it doesn't do anything other then run around at an absurd speed, which coupled with its sky high defense stat and tiny size, just makes it annoying for a lower leveled party to kill.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Narikiri Dungeon X'', Mel and Dio can be giant ''ally'' crabs with a certain costume, that while lacking in attacks, possess the same ridiculous speed and defense as the aforementioned crab.
* GladiatorSubquest: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series has this as a typical sidequest in most of its games. The earlier games only let you use the main character in the arena, but later games let you use every party member, or even an entire party. This is where cameo characters often like to hang out.
* GoodShepherd:
** Ion from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is the figurehead of a rather CorruptChurch, so his power is limited. He is, however, very kind, willing to help the heroes at every turn, does not hold grudges, and believes that adhering to the Score religiously is not the only course of action.
** Ange from ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' has a reputation as a holy woman who will cure any malady or disability. She is able to make cripples walk, restore people's eyesight, and rescue people at the brink of death. She is also self-sacrificing, kind to children, and offers assistance to anyone in need. At the end of the game, she is seen taking care of orphans.
* GreaterScopeVillain:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'': [[spoiler:Fortuna may be the ultimate superior of [[BigBad Barbatos Goetia]], and is providing her [[SinisterMinister priestess]] [[ManBehindTheMan Elraine]] with her existence and power, but she herself spends most of the game sealed and completely indifferent to the actions of the heroes and only fights you at the very end. And before that, Fortuna actually serves as the BigGood, occasionally helping you on your journey, and only [[FaceHeelTurn becomes]] a case of GodIsEvil after Elraine is defeated.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': [[spoiler:Michael, the Shepherd prior to Sorey, long dead by the events of the game, was the one who brought Maotelus to Camlann and bound him to [[BigBad Heldalf]] after the great seraph fell to malevolence during the Hyland army's massacre of the village, which [[FaceMonsterTurn turned Heldalf into]] the Lord of Calamity and started the Age of Chaos.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': [[spoiler:A subgroup of the seraphim themselves are revealed to have cursed their brethren to turn into dragons if they were touched by too much malevolence, which humans produce naturally. This caused the two races to drift apart in the first place. They have also made a promise that if the world descends into calamity, they will destroy it, necessitating Innominat's (or later Maotelus's) presence in the world.]]
* GrowlingGut:
** In one of ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'''s many comedic skits, a hungry Magilou tries to avoid having to admit to wanting something to eat by asking Velvet about her own hunger in an insensitive, roundabout way. When the party admits to wanting to stop for food, she denies her hunger and smugly tries to make fun of them for getting fired up about food... only for her roaring stomach to give her away.
** If you don't allow the party to eat anything for a while in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', several cutscenes will play hinting that it's a conscious choice on behalf of the party. The first indicates that it's due to dieting for Judith, Rita, and Estelle, whose growling stomachs startle the boys due to thinking they were taking their hunger in stride. It also happens to Karol in the second skit, who is ''furious'' about the party being forced to fast.
** Milla's stomach rumbles twice in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', but instead of it being a source of embarrassment it merely amuses her. Since she's a newly depowered spirit, she's never had to deal with hunger until now and views it as a fascinating aspect of the human condition.
** This happens to Elle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', whose growling belly defuses the tension while the party is discussing threats they've encountered in the parallel worlds with Bisley Bakur at the end of Chapter 7. [[AlternateSelf Fractured Milla]] and Bakur are amused, while the poor girl's just embarrassed.

** Chester in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''. He rejoins much later in the game, but at the same level he was at when he left (which makes sense, because most of the game actually takes place [[TimeTravel in the past]], so what was weeks and weeks of adventuring for the rest of the party was just a few minutes to him). With some training it is possible to make him useful in that he becomes a long-ranged equivalent to Cless in terms of damage. The Playstation, Game Boy Advance and Playstation Portable [[VideoGameRemake remakes]] expanded his arsenal (as in not only more weapons but giving him artes) and contained added scenes which allowed Chester to get his levels back up to snuff relatively rapidly when the party slept at inns, making him even ''more'' BadassNormal.
** Although she certainly isn't this in ''Tales of Phantasia: [[VideoGameRemake Narikiri Dungeon X]]'', Rondoline E. Effenberg is this in the [[EmbeddedPrecursor X update]] of the original game, joining the heroes at sporadic points in the story and providing her own rather useful set of artes and spells (including a [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]]) before finally being permanently transported away through time just before the final battle.
** Kratos in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. ''Twice''. [[spoiler:And then optionally again near the ending -- in which case Zelos leaves the party. Which means that Zelos can become one as well, albeit a more long-lasting one.]]
** In the sequel, ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld Dawn of the New World]]'', most of the party are partial examples in that they will leave and enter your party frequently (having up to four of them in your party at once until the later parts of the game; you '''finally''' get them all at once in the final chapter), albeit with limited abilities. Richter is a straight example.
** [[spoiler:Flynn]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', who joins for a grand total of one battle. In the UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} version, as well as the UsefulNotes/{{PS4}} Definitive Edition, however, he joins at four points throughout the story (the fourth being the aforementioned one battle). Shortly afterwards, right before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, he joins the party permanently.
** Richard in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. In the remake, he becomes a proper party member for the ''f'' arc with a greatly expanded moveset, and can be utilized in battle in the main story with a narikiri doll (Which transforms the user into him).
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'':
*** Alisha is introduced and joins the party early in the game, but eventually leaves and only returns once. She becomes fully playable in her DLC Episode.
*** Dezel joins at the same as Rose does, but [[spoiler:dies and is replaced by [[MovesetClone Zaveid]]]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', Seres accompanies Velvet during the escape from Titania, but is not directly controlled by the player and [[spoiler:dies just before the end of the level]].
* GuideDangIt: Has its own page [[GuideDangIt/TalesSeries here]].
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' the hero's martial arts teacher, who has been teaching him for years, goes over how to use the controller and attack. The concept of teaching him the very basics after years of training and practice is strange enough, but him naming the controller buttons to push sounds even sillier than you might think.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Genis fulfilling that role towards Lloyd when a wild monster wanders into the village. Even sillier because Lloyd is a self-learned swordsman and should probably know these things already, whereas Genis is a wizard who's had no part whatsoever in Lloyd's training.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has several [=NPCs=] who keep mentioning D-Pad combinations to use when a certain item has been found and much more general instructions on how use [[GlobalAirship Rheiards]].
* HeroicMime:
** The Descender in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' Radiant Mythology Series does not speak but nevertheless interacts with the other cast, and is the first example of such a protagonist in the ''Tales'' series. They do occasionally speak when [[CallingYourAttacks calling their attacks and Mystic Artes]] in battle. The Descender also has various dialogue choices to choose during story dialogue and skits.
** Ludger, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' is completely silent, save for some grunts, [[{{Kiai}} yells]], and the usual [[CallingYourAttacks calling of attacks]] in battle (though even in that case, he only ever says the attack's name, leaving out the usual BadassCreed from his solo [[LimitBreak Mystic Artes]], and letting his partner say it for the dual Mystic Artes). The only actual lines you can hear from him are for the dialogue choices you pick in skits and cutscenes, and only in NewGamePlus. On the few instances where Ludger runs into an AlternateSelf, however, his counterparts ''do'' talk. No other mothership title uses this trope.
** The Savior [[spoiler: Allen]] from VideoGame/TalesOfLink doesn't speak [[spoiler: until Chapter 5]].
* HiddenElfVillage:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Heimdall, where many of the main characters (including the BigBad) come from. Entering this village requires a writ of passage from the King of Tethe'alla, and even with it in hand, guards at the front of the village ban the half-elf members of your party from entering the village.
*** Exire, the hidden ''half''-elf village. It is kept floating in the sky by the power of Maxwell, Summon Spirit of Matter. It is so well hidden that it is unaffected by the turmoil on the ground and some of its residents never saw a human before the player's party visits. Talking to the [=NPCs=] also answers the question of how there can be so many half-elves when Heimdall is so isolated: a child with two half-elf parents is essentially the same as a child with one human parent and one elf parent. The half-elf population is [[TrueBreedingHybrid self-sustaining]]. Somehow, four thousand years after ''Symphonia'', in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', it's even ''better'' hidden, and now has ''another'' hidden village (specifically, a Ninja village) inside of it.
*** Mizuho, a Hidden Ninja Village. It is known for taking an interest in the outside world thanks to its intelligence network, those the village itself is still highly isolationist. [[spoiler:At least until the hero's party arrives and makes an alliance with them, thanks to party member and Mizuho citizen Sheena and ReasonableAuthorityFigure Tiga.]]
** Myorzo, home of Krityans, from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', which "hides" inside a floating jellyfish.
** There's also Elysia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', a mountain village of seraphim where two of the main characters grew up.
* HopelessBossFight:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Leon is nearly impossible to beat the first time you face him, which is quite early in the game. If you do manage to win, you get a [[NonstandardGameOver special ending]] right then without playing through the rest of the game. In the [=PS2=] remake, however, your efforts are rewarded by him suddenly unleashing his LimitBreak and ending the battle regardless of whether everyone actually got KO'd or not.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'': The first fight against Shizel. She'll give you the illusion that you're actually fighting her, and after a little while, she opens up a can of god-power that knocks everyone down to 1 HP before effectively flicking everyone to death. (Bonus points if, instead, the AIRoulette decides to finish you off with something powerful like Prism Flasher.) If you manage to pull yourself back from the brink of defeat, the game cuts away from the battle abruptly and pretends you lost anyway when she's reduced to half HP.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** You have a normal boss fight against [[spoiler:Remiel]] that you must win, immediately followed by a (very difficult) fight against [[spoiler:Kratos]] which you may win or lose ([[ButThouMust story-wise it makes no difference which one]], though you do get a different cutscene after the fight based on what happened) and an unwinnable fight against Yggdrasill that you lose. The second encounter with Yggdrasil (a standalone one in this case) is also unwinnable, [[TheBattleDidntCount although this time you are required to survive the battle until a cutscene is triggered.]] Defeat will result in a standard game over.
*** You can actually avoid losing the first fight against Yggdrasil (though that isn't likely because if you lose the scripted fight prior to that you will start the fight off with 1 HP), but it is virtually impossible to beat him because the fight will automatically end after a certain amount of time. However, using certain NewGamePlus upgrades, you can win the fight and force him to flee. He then pulls out CutscenePowerToTheMax, giving you a glimpse of his nifty SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the process, which justifies both the trope and the rescue cutscene immediately afterward.
*** The first battle with Vidarr has a feeling of this trope included as well. Although you still have to win, no matter how well you do, your team will get a cutscene with them about to be killed, only to be saved by Kratos.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has so many of these, that the player may have trouble discerning whether a given boss battle is winnable or not.
*** The game also has two types of these: Fights that are just ''really, really'' hard to win, and fights that you can't win at all (because the boss' HP won't go down). This can become downright ridiculous, like the first fight against [[spoiler:Commander Brute]]. Cue a long string of "Impressive !" as he flinches constantly under your attacks... without losing any HP. During the second encounter, he doesn't get any stat buff but loses that plot invincibility. CurbStompBattle [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome ensues]].
*** Lloyd, the first boss of the game is normally unbeatable, but if you can carry your strongest monsters over to your [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] or know how to trap him in an infinite combo, he's beatable, thus netting you several levels of experience. But the story advances as if you lost.
*** Similarly, the post-final boss fight with [[spoiler:Lloyd and Marta]] normally just outright deletes you to advance the plot, but NG+ makes this entirely beatable.... but [[EarnYourBadEnding do you really want to?]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'':
*** The first battle against Walter is interrupted by Moses kidnapping Shirley.
*** The DuelBoss between Senel and Melanie ends after a few minutes. The following cut-scene has Senel defeated.
*** The party's first battle against Vaclav. He only has about 8000 HP, but once you've worked him down to about 4000 he unleashes a massive spell that knocks your entire party unconscious.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' features two boss fights you're "supposed" to lose, the one against Chalcedny early on for Kohak's Shy Spirune and the one against Sorceress Incarose about halfway into the game. Both of them are technically winnable, and in a subversion, if you beat Chalcedny, he actually does hand over the Spirune immediately (though the party finds another excuse to go through the area where you'd normally actually get it back).
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Subverted with the first Luke vs. Asch fight, where you're expected to lose. You can win, but it requires you to be either very skillful with the battle system, level grind, be in NewGamePlus, or have a lot of healing items. There is a slight variation in the cutscene after if you do manage to win, and you do get experience, so it's not all for nothing at least.
** The original version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' didn't have one of these, but the [=PS3=] version adds a [[DuelBoss one-on-one]] fight between Yuri and [[spoiler:Don Whitehorse at the end of Keiv Moc]]. It is possible to defeat him, even on the first playthrough...but only if you've undergone some serious LevelGrinding, set the difficulty to Easy, and are very, very dedicated - otherwise, you'd be best advised to try again [[NewGamePlus the second time around]]. Nothing changes much if you do win except for acquiring an okay-but-not-great accessory (a Diamond).
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', the first fight against [[spoiler:Hubert]] in the adult arc is this. Even if you're either leveled enough to deal decent damage against him, or skilled enough with the game's combat system to dodge his very wide close-range attacks, he'll build up his [[LimitBreak eleth gauge]] incredibly quickly and then use his [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] to end the battle. Even if you get strong enough to deplete all of his HP, it'll simply display as ???? and he'll keep on fighting.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': When the party fight [[spoiler: the real Maxwell]] it consists of 4 rounds with cutscenes in between, the first three you can't beat [[spoiler:Maxwell]] no matter how hard you try, as he'll eventually fire off a party wiping attack each round (which ironically if the party is equipped well hardly does any damage) which leads to the next cutscene which they regain their feet and charge again. It isn't until [[spoiler:Jude showcases his determination and punches Maxwell, triggering Milla's re-awakening and return from the spirit realm, bringing her back into the party]] that it becomes possible to defeat him.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': The game opens with the protagonist Ludger fighting against a nightmare version of his older brother Julius. It's impossible to defeat Julius, and if Ludger gets knocked down, Julius will unleash his Mystic Arte and end the fight. Due to an oversight, the fight can potentially never end in a NewGamePlus, as if you have the Glory skill equipped, you'll never get knocked down.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'':
*** Near the start you fight a giant dragon, Eizen. His level depends on the difficulty but he will always dwarf yours and can kill you instantly if you try anything against it. You're supposed to run away and come back later to kill him.
*** A little later in the game, after his introduction, the BigBad will occasionally block off routes [[BeefGate specifically to prompt the player to continue the story elsewhere]]. You can fight him but you are ''heavily'' weakened and his attacks are all end game level so its nigh impossible to do so. If you somehow manage to beat him through NewGamePlus or a lot of grinding, [[spoiler:it actually unlocks the BadEnding]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': The first fight against [[spoiler:Artorius]] is one of these, both gameplay-wise and storywise. At a time when your party members might be around level 20, he's level 60, and your attacks only do ScratchDamage, if that. Eventually, [[spoiler:Artorius]] unleashes his Mystic Arte on Velvet, causing a long cutscene to trigger where [[CurbStompBattle Velvet can't even hit him]].
* HotSpringsEpisode:
** The original bathing scenes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' had peeping on ''both'' sides: Chester on the male side, and Arche on the female. Chester also gained the title of Muscleman, [[WhiteMagicianGirl Mint]] the title "[[BoobBasedGag Boin~chan]]".
** One of the inns in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is also a hot spring, and going there with Zelos in the party results in a cutscene where Zelos tries to spy on the female party members while they're bathing. Lloyd shows up and chastises him, but the ladies hear him and Zelos runs off, leaving Lloyd to take the blame. The game even gives Lloyd the title of "Peeping Tom".
** The same kind of situation happens in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. If the party goes to the hot spring at one point and have the ladies go in, Zelos tries to spy on the females (while Emil and Lloyd give him crap for it), and Lloyd gets blamed again as he's the only one who didn't run. When the males take their turn, ''Marta'' tricked everyone but Emil into not coming in so she could spend time with him. When Emil finds out he ends up calling everyone else attention. Naturally, everyone but Lloyd decides that Emil must have planned this even though both claim otherwise (and them all knowing how openly affectionate Marta is towards Emil), and Emil also gets the title "Peeping Tom".
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had two scenes: one gives you new outfits and another gives Guy the title [[AccidentalPervert Naughty Devil]] due to him [[ThanksForTheMammary groping]] both Tear and Natalia after being shoved by Luke and Jade for [[ForTheLulz an experiment]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' had no wall-watching, although Reid did have to smuggle Chat into the men's dressing room to get one of her skills, which leads to a rather unfortunate scene between her and Keele. Also on a separate occasion, Meredy decided to bath near the man's side instead, and HilarityEnsues.
** They're at it again in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. There are three different scenes. The first scene costs 300,000 gald, the second 600,000, and the third is free. The first time, Raven keeps trying to peek at the woman's side of the spring, with little success. The second time, Raven manages to see Judith completely nude, and coerces Karol into being his accomplice. Judith appears to be aware of this, but [[MsFanservice utterly nonchalant]]. In the third scene, the party winds up working there and at the end, they all get [[AndYourRewardIsClothes costume titles]]. The [=PS3=] version adds a few scenes to accommodate Flynn and Patty being in the party.
** After the series' staple scene was cut from the first game for time constraints, ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' made up for it by making the hot springs event an animated cutscene. The party gets treated to it as a reward for paying off Ludger's 20 million gald debt. However, the hot spring they go to ends up lacking a partition, forcing them to improvise by having the guys cram themselves into a water-filled, super-sized Tipo while the girls get to bathe comfortably. Hilarity and fanservice ensue.
** Present in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', with the added effect of a FreakyFridayFlip.
* HyperactiveMetabolism: Cooking food heals a portion of HP and TP depending on the dish and the skill of the cook, but this can only be done outside of battle, and once you've cooked, you can't do it again until you've been through a fight or slept ("Come on, we just ate!").
* ImpliedLoveInterest:
** Harold and Judas in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2''. While the other party members are paired up in quite obvious fashions, these two get ShipTease moments (including a scene where Judas is specifically called out on only insulting [[MadScientist Harold]] [[{{Tsundere}} because he misses her]]) but no romantic resolution either way... Not helped by [[spoiler:Harold getting sent back to the past with no memory of their journey and Judas possibly getting ''erased from time''.]]
** Jude and Milla from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and its sequel. Jude's stubborn kindness despite the risks inspires Milla to care more about the people around her than simply her mission, and Jude is inspired by Milla's bravery and perseverance to do what's right. Both of them end up being key to each other's character development through the game and they're closer to each other than anyone else in the party, but [[spoiler:part ways amicably in order to pursue their respective paths in the human and spirit worlds respectively. Although they reunite briefly in the sequel and have a lot more traditional ShipTease moments, like falling over each other and blushing a lot, they're still forced to separate again at the end of the game for the sake of their worlds]]. While it's apparent their feelings are mutual, they're never explicitly seen confessing to each other or referring to each other as a romantic partner.
* ImprobableWeaponUser:
** A running gag in the VideoGame/TalesSeries is for the player to find extremely powerful but unlikely weapons for the characters late in the game. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', for example, Lloyd can buy a pair of giant paper fans and Presea (who usually uses an axe) can buy a giant toy hammer.
** The best one, though, would probably be Sheena, from ''Symphonia''; she uses cards with shinto wards inscribed on them. Her gag weapon is even more ridiculous; she beats enemies up with ''an envelope of coins''.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' also has [[ChildMage Genis]], who uses a kendama, a child's toy. Presumably, he plays with it to help improve his focus and rhythm while he has free time. He also claims to have knocked Lloyd out with it accidentally the first time he used it, and Lloyd knocks himself out with it when he plays with it in a skit. Presea and Zelos can randomly start a fight wielding a giant plush bunny or a bouquet of flowers, respectively, if they have their formal outfits on.
** Anise in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' quite sensibly uses maces and magic scepters as weaponry... But she never actually attacks with them. Instead, she attacks by ''animating her stuffed bear with magic and turning it into a seven foot tall engine of destruction''. She's the game's CuteBruiser, incidentally.
** Most of the weapons used by the heroes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' tend to sit within the realm of probability--swords, maces, hammers, knives, polearms, bows, etc. That is, except for Rita, who uses sashes (Long pieces of cloth), along with the aforementioned kendama. She also gets some more practical chains and whips, though.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'''s Meredy uses a whistle to command her actual attacking weapon, her TeamPet Quickie. Chat uses handbags full of infinite cannonballs, which she throws.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' carries on the tradition. Kohak's Soma Elrond's weapon half takes the form of a baton, and Beryl's Thiers produces a paintbrush as tall as she is. The baton can be used as a blunt object, like a pipe or something though. The Elrond seems to be useful as a weapon with the balls at each end, and she sometimes uses magic to reinforce them in her melee moves
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has more then its fair share of improbable weapon users, as well. Shirley summons her [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Teriques]] through a pen and uses it to attack, Grune uses urns, and Norma uses straws to ''blow bubbles'' at enemies. Granted, none of the spellcasters can learn any physical attacks, besides Shirley, but they're still odd weapon choices.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has a unique twist on it; while Lailah uses paper (that she [[PlayingWithFire sets on fire]]), [[DishingOutDirt Edna]] uses a parasol, and [[BlowYouAway Dezel and Zaveid]] use pendulums, this is actually ''normal'' for seraphim. Their weapons represent the element they are strong over (wind, water, and earth respectively), which means [[MakingASplash Mikleo]] is unusual for using a MagicStaff instead of something representing fire. He's doing it the '''hard''' way compared to the rest... and it's apparently because he's [[HeightAngst short]] compared to his ChildhoodFriend Sorey.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has Magilou with her shikigami, which are essentially pieces of paper, typically inscribed with some manner of facial design. Rather then enchant them with elemental magic, she alters their size, shape, and density to make them suitable for use as blunt weapons. There's also Laphicet, who wields paper tags in a manner similar to Lailah, but doesn't favor any particular element when it comes to enchanting them.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'' has Mileena, who uses mirrrors.
* InfinityPlusOneSword:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has three brands of these.
*** The Devil's Arms have variable attack power based on how many enemies the character in question has killed throughout the course of the game, and you could even save the kill-count for NewGamePlus for truly insane power. However, this power was only unlocked [[BraggingRightsReward after beating the game's toughest boss]] (although there's a [[BrutalBonusLevel Brutal]] BonusDungeon that's unrelated, so they're not pointless). If a given character hasn't killed enough enemies, however, these weapons won't be your strongest.
*** The Meltokio Coliseum has several tournaments available in the player's choice of group fights or {{Duel Boss}}es. Clearing the highest-level solo tournaments would give each character a high-level weapon, and for most, this is their best. Because Lloyd has [[SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship individual "slash" and "thrust" stats]] for his weapons, the weapon he gets from the Coliseum is his highest-level ''thrust'' weapon.
*** Five characters have individually better weapons that they can get from alternative sources. Presea and Regal need to speak to certain [=NPCs=] once they've reached level 80 to obtain their best weapons. Genis gets his best as the prize from a minigame. Zelos gets his by defeating his sister in a unique event at Meltokio Coliseum. Lloyd's best ''slash'' weapon is obtained by defeating a recurring optional boss for the third time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had the Catalyst Weapons, which worked roughly the same way as ''Symphonia''[='=]s Devil's Arms: weak as hell when first acquired, attack-power-based-on-kills after beating the most powerful boss in the game. Additionally, said boss also holds the best Capacity Core in the game; you can only acquire this by stealing it from her, and you can only steal from her when she's staggered, which, as you might guess, does not happen often.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': The Fell Arms work the same way. After you defeat the TrueFinalBoss, the Fell Arms' strength increases by the number of kills that the character has acquired. Combine this with the [[spoiler:cape you receive from defeating Dhaos in the 200 man melee that transforms Destruction Field into a massive attack known as Dhaos Blast]] and Yuri becomes an absolute monster in battle. The difference here is you can keep the activated weapons on a NewGamePlus and they ''remain activated''. Fortunately the ability to save the kill-count was removed, or they'd be the mother of all {{Game Breaker}}s. As it is, it still takes a good while to grind enough kills to make them the best weapons again in a new game. The [=PS3=] version added the ability to save the kill count to the grade shop, and isn't particularly expensive either. To compensate (though barely), if you power up all the Fell Arms, the final boss gets a new third form. Also, even with the extreme attack power they can rack up, it'll barely be enough to fight the Spiral Draco.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', Emil has the Nether Traitor, which, in addition to the highest attack power of all of his weapons, has the incredibly broken Accelerate trait that allows him to lock an enemy into a permanent combo. The Regenerate 3 trait, which restores a sizable chunk of his HP periodically, is just gravy. Marta's Kismet has the highest physical and magical attack of any of her weapons, and will automatically revive her once per battle if she gets knocked out. [[RandomDrop Good luck getting it.]]
*** Though not a weapon, the "Star Breaker" Gauntlets and the "Healer's Ribbon" errr...Ribbon, give you the Technical 3 skill, which means ALL ARTES cost just 1 TP. Couple that with Marta's broken speed casting late game, and you've got an infinite photon/prism sword/divine saber combo, which can trap the final boss, making sure he never TOUCHES YOU.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has the Fell Arms, as well. They all drop from separate optional bosses that can be found wandering around specific field and dungeon maps, and the full potential of the weapons is only unlocked after beating the Golden Mage Knight in the bonus dungeon. However, they're practically required if you want the later boss fights on Unknown difficulty to conclude in a reasonable amount of time due to the sheer amount of HP and defense they have.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' continues the tradition; however, they're instead obtained by beating the postgame EX Tag Arena with the corresponding party members. The damage is now based on the number of times the character has performed a link attack, which makes it take longer to increase their damage up to the max, but unlike the prequel, getting them to this point ''will'' make you destroy absolutely everything in seconds regardless of the difficulty setting.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has Excalibur, a sword better than the game's purported InfinityPlusOneSword, the Eternal Sword. To get it, you need to visit the secret dungeon below the Morlia Mineshaft (which has the most powerful enemies in the game, TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon notwithstanding). Conveniently, you also get the spear version of this, a weapon you've had once before but had it confiscated, the most powerful offensive magic spell, and the most powerful summon in the game -- four Infinity Plus One Swords for the price of one dungeon.
** In later games (except for ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', [[spoiler:the prequel of ''Phantasia'']]), the Eternal Sword itself was the InfinityPlusOneSword, generally won by defeating Cless, the protagonist of ''Phantasia'', in some kind of arena. He's generally [[GoodIsDumb a lot stronger and faster than he was back then.]] For extra fun, turning the difficulty up adds in either ''Phantasia'''s WhiteMage or witch. (Keep in mind, the WhiteMage can ''stop time''.)
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the Eternal Sword was only the ultimate weapon in terms of sheer power, sacrificing other stats for it. Not to mention its Time element weakens it against certain enemies. The game had a few other weapons like it too. The true InfinityPlusOneSword was the Last Fencer. While not as strong in terms of sheer strength, it had no element, and the advantage of raising all stats at once. It also may or may not be [[ShoutOut named after one of the titles]] Cless gets in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''.
* JustEatHim:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', there are two enemies that will swallow your characters and then spit them out. (It's said enemies' strongest combo attack and can poison you in the case of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named Carnivorous Plant]].)
** The [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Rockgagong]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' devours the party and [[WombLevel serves as a short dungeon]] (They end up escaping with a pouch of pepper they acquired by accident). It also tries to snap up anyone to who's standing too close to its face while you're fighting it as a {{Superboss}} later, which removes any victims for the rest of the battle. For some awkward reason, this attack is ''blockable'', which makes it a lot less threatening it sounds [[ArtificialStupidity (Unless the AI is the one standing close to it...)]].
* KickingAssInAllHerFinery:
** A staple of the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', and not just for the ladies. Games with alternate costumes will often include fancy high-class outfits that the character(s) will not only walk around in but continue to wear while kicking ass in battle. Examples include ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Legendia]]'', both of which provide this option for almost every playable character (the latter only has the outfits in battle though; they wear their normal outfits on the field for some reason).
** Special mention goes to [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Philia]]; the GoodShepherd [[TheSmartGirl Smart Girl]] who wears a giant poofy dress and who [[HyperspaceArsenal can throw out hundreds of]] [[StuffBlowingUp home-made bombs]] and wields a {{BFS}} that can summon [[BoltOfDivineRetribution bolts of divine retribution]] the moment it hits a foe... and that's not even ''beginning'' to get into [[BlackMagicianGirl her arsenal of magic]].
* LethalChef: A recurring theme in the series is using cooking as a way to heal after battles. Inevitably, one party member will be a danger to themselves and their teammates the moment they get anywhere near cookware. The fun thing is that every Lethal Chef is lethal for a different reason:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': Arche is just plain bad. In a skit in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Radiant Mythology'', it knocked out Kratos, Lloyd, and Mormo. The protagonist chokes it all in to avoid the taste. Reid was practically immune to the taste of the food, since he finished his plate fine.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Raine has a tendency towards bizarrely experimental food combinations (''"Spicy cake would be a breakthrough!"''). Each character also has a "signature" ingredient that they favor using when they cook, though it's usually an optional thing... Raine's is lemons. Raine's younger brother Genis is a SupremeChef by contrast, since he says he'd never have survived if he had to eat Raine's cooking all the time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'':
*** Marta only ever cooked for her father, who said her cooking was wonderful no matter what. (Though in a break from the normal way this trope works, Marta acknowledges her lack of skill after it's pointed out and makes a sincere effort to get better, becoming a decent cook in the end.)
*** In contrast, Emil makes incredibly delicious food. In his normal state, he tends to put extreme effort into presentation. In Ratatosk Mode, he puts ''zero'' effort into presentation, but somehow the food is just as tasty.
*** Finally, Richter is quite bad because he's never cooked anything in his life. His first dish was for Emil, which caused the latter to pass out from the horrible taste.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
*** Flynn is a fantastic cook... except he tends to deviate from the exact recipe and lacks the instincts and sense of taste to compensate, resulting in a RussianRoulette of either extreme tastiness or extreme vileness because no matter what it tastes like, it always looks fantastic. It's worth noting that Flynn's cooking is often beaten out by a dog. A OneNoteChef dog who only makes ''dog food''.
*** Before Flynn was made playable in the [=PS3=] release, Rita held the title of "worst team chef" because she considers food more complex than "open a banana" to be a needless extravagance and a waste of time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'': Tytree becomes one accidentally when he makes [[SupremeChef a delicious mushroom stew...]] [[SubvertedTrope With poisonous mushrooms.]] Usually he's quite good, but needs to be careful about what he adds to the food as he's too dumb to notice when ingredients are poisonous or rotten.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Both Luke and Natalia had pampered lifestyles, and never had to cook for themselves before. Natalia misunderstands basic cooking instructions to the point that a stew she tried to make catches fire, and her solution is to use healing magic on the pot. Luke isn't quite as bad, but is still a close second because [[SpoiledBrat he's an incredibly picky eater]][[note]]Even after CharacterDevelopment kicks in, for some reason[[/note]]. Guy could only comment that Luke's cooking was 'avant-grade'.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Eizen is a terrible cook not due to a lack of skill but because of his [[TheJinx Reaper's curse]] sabotaging him.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'': Alphen's cooking is initially lethal thanks to his tendency to go overboard on spices. One skit even has Alphen overcook a chicken to the point that it created a bunch of smoke which [[EpicFail convinced everyone that they were under enemy attack]]. He eventually grows out of this by the time he cooks the Mabo Curry recipe, with his friends coming to enjoy the meal much to his delight.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'': Given the CrisisCrossover nature of the game, the appearance of several Lethal Chefs at once was inevitable. In one skit, the combined efforts of Arche and Natalia somehow turned a tomato ''purple''. In another skit Marta, Arche, Natalia and Raine are trying to make a barbecue, using ''combat magic'', and [[SupremeChef Yuri]] has to explain why this is a bad idea.
* LimitBreak: Called a "Mystic Arte" (or "Hi-Ougi", lit. Hidden Secret Skill, in Japanese). Frequently involves a SuperMovePortraitAttack. The requirement for activating a Mystic Arte varies from game to game.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' there's also has a second LimitBreak system in the form of [[CombinationAttack Unison Attacks]]. Once the Unison Attack gauge is full (it fills up for every hit the player lands on an opponent, so techs that land a lot of blows fill up the meter faster), the player can start a Unison Attack, in which all the characters do a single attack on the enemy (chosen from their pool of techs beforehand.) If certain characters do certain attacks (like if Lloyd and Kratos/Zelos both do a Sonic Thrust-type attack,) two of them will even team up to do a follow-up at the end of the attack (in the aforementioned case, Cross Thrust, where both characters do a second, simultaneous Sonic Thrust).
** The Mystic Artes ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' work somewhat differently. The player first needs to enter Eleth Burst, either by scoring or taking many hits. They then need to build up a meter by scoring hits, with more filling when using Artes that have been used more. Later upgrades allow a character to activate each of their Mystic Artes once per battle if there are enough hits in the current combo. ''[[EnhancedRemake F]]'' added Accel Finalities, which are used by activating Accel Mode with a full meter.
* LostWorld: The series frequently involves plots to save two worlds or peoples, ones that are usually antagonistic towards each other, though neither will be painted as [[PlanetOfHats outright evil]]. Fighting over a common resource is a popular trope. At least one world will be [[TechnologyLevels significantly more technologically-advanced than the other]], and the ''most'' technologically-advanced world [[ScienceIsBad will also be the most antagonistic]]. More often than not, the plot will involve the heroes finding a way to SaveBothWorlds.
* LoveTriangle:
** Up until Chester joins your party, this happens among Cress, Mint, and Arche. Though its more like "Cress X Mint with Arche having an unrequited crush on Cress" then an actual triangle. Must be way she gave up the hopeless pursuit once Chester became an option.
** Subverted for Max, Lyla and Aifread in ''Symphonia''. Max is in love with Lyla, who only ever talks about tracking down Aifread. But she's not actually in love with him at all- Lyla's a Loan Shark and Aifread, a pirate, owes her quite a bit of Gald...
** ''Legendia'': Chloe and Shirley both love Senel... except Senel loves Stella.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' just after the one-tenth mark or so through the game gives the players Asch/Natalia/Luke, with Natalia being attracted to both Asch and Luke (Asch reciprocates, but [[spoiler:his clone]] Luke simply can't like her that way). By the time Natalia has stopped being attracted to Luke (finally able to keep them separate in her memories and [[ShipperOnDeck cheering on Luke's crush on Tear]]), there's hints she might be attracted to NiceGuy Guy as well as the emotionally distant Asch.
** Anise, Arietta and Ion, despite the fact that none of them [[CanNotSpitItOut can spit it out]]. This game makes a kinda cruel variation: [[spoiler:Arietta was in love with the original Ion, since it was him who protected her and taught her everything when she was separated from her monsters family. Anise, on the other hand, falls for the replica Ion, who is the only one she got to know]]. Of course, neither of the girls know about this.
** In a skit, it is implied that, if [[spoiler:Asch]] had not appeared, [[spoiler:Luke, Tear and Natalia]] most probably would have ended up in the same situation.
* {{Magitek}}:
** A critical plot point in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', and, consequentially, the prequel ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Between those two games and their respective backstories, mankind manages to shoot itself in the metaphorical foot fairly often with a magitech WaveMotionGun, causing no less then at ''least'' four AndManGrewProud moments over the course of an 8000 year period.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the entire land of Celestia is run by captured Craymels or minor spirits. In fact, the only reason Inferia, the starting world, is still in a Middle Ages setting is because of their moral refusal to capture Craymels (although they view it more as desecration).
** Both vehicles in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the Elemental Cargo and the Rheaird, are powered by mana. The former is a cargo ship that uses water mana to surf on the water. The latter is a jet ski-like thing that uses electric mana to fly. The ancient technology that was lost in the Kharlan war is actually called "Magitechnology."
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has technology known as Blastia that does everything from control drinking water to power lights to create gigantic barriers that keep monsters at bay. Unfortunately, it's also a form of LostTechnology that has to be excavated, rare enough that it can't be freely distributed despite the high demand, and powered by a type of energy that's very toxic when concentrated. [[spoiler:Then there's the whole overuse-summons-a-world-eating-EldritchAbomination issue...]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' we have Spyrix and Spyrite, both powered by the elemental spirits that compose that world. One of the main problems in the first game is that the former technology kills said spirits, which would eventually cause them to die out entirely, and all life on the planet with them. This is why the latter is developed at the end of the first game, which accomplishes the same thing without killing the spirits.
* ManaMeter:
** The ''Team Symphonia'' style uses Technical Points (TP), a traditional ManaMeter.
** The ''Team Destiny'' style uses Chain Capacity (CC) or Special Points (SP), where characters possess a constantly-regenerating pool of CC[[=/=]]SP, and can chain special moves for as long as they have points remaining.
*** ''Xillia'' uses a combination of both, with the Assault Counter (AC) system: Artes only cost one AC, but cost traditional amounts of TP, allowing you to, again, chain Artes until they run out of AC or TP, whichever comes first.
* MedicinalCuisine: In some games, cooking will restore HP/TP after every battle, or otherwise generate items to do the same. Cooking can bestow multiple effects and vary in potency, depending on which character you choose to be the cook. It is also trained as a skill, with characters improving their skills the more they practice a recipe.
* MetalSlime:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' combines this with a ChestMonster in form of Fakes, which are, as the name suggests, fake treasure chests. They're extremely resistant to all attacks but they start off the battle poisoned, meaning that if you survive long enough, you can eventually kill them even if you're underleveled. While they themselves don't give that much experience per kill, they're the only refightable enemy (a conveyer belt in a specific dungeon spawns an unlimited number of them when you flip a switch) in the game that're durable enough to survive a full set of Maxwell extensions, which awards the party 100,000 experience whenever you successfully pull one off.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' have Apple, Peach, and Grape Gela. Found on one island in the game. Their HP is paltry, but they have 9999 defense and tech defense. They drop perfectly normal Apple, Peach, and Grape Gels, but their ''steal'' items are stat-boosting herbs.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has the Bacura. "Hey, you can't fight the block thing in the mines!" Well, no, you ''can't'' fight it... in the mines. Instead, you have to fight it [[GuideDangIt on the path by the SE Abbey, and due to their low spawn rate it helps to have a Dark Bottle active]]. It takes 1 damage from every single attack and runs away after a set amount of time. For defeating it, you get 11 to 35 Grade (depending on [[GuideDangIt various things]]). For comparison, most enemies give you no Grade for merely defeating them (as the name implies, Grade is awarded for fighting ''well''), most bosses give you 10, and beating the game gives you a whopping 1000.
** Bacuras reappear in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' in normal, bronze, silver, and golden varieties. They can take the place of seemingly any enemy in certain areas starting early on in the game, and give a healthy sum of EXP. They only attempt to flee prior to engaging them in battle, but they have sky high defense, resist every element, and are surprisingly capable fighters for featureless blocks.
* MirrorMonster:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', one of the dungeons in [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Dycroft]] is full of mirrors. Stepping in front of any of these mirrors to where you see Stahn's reflection causes a battle between him and a duplicate called a "Shadow". Presumably, the reflection comes to life and emerges from the mirror to attack him.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', when the group explores the GhostShip, the Atherum, the ghosts themselves are only visible on the mirrors of the walls.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', Sorey at one point asks if Seraphs (who are normally invisible to humans) can be reflected in mirrors, Lailah answers that only if they focus really hard they can only make themselves visible for a short moment, which is usually enough for them to groom themselves in it; Rose then wonders if people have been freaked out upon seeing a Seraph's image alongside theirs in the mirror, and thinks that maybe that's the origin for the stories of ghosts that appear in the mirrors.
* TheMole:
** Leon Magnus in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' is technically a mole, but since he was officially put in the group to keep an eye on them, it's not a secret to anyone.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', there are no less than three people spying from within the party at various points. First you have [[TheStoic Kratos]], who betrays you in the [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle fake ending]]. Next, you have the BigBad himself, who uses his true form as a young boy to appear innocent and gain the party's trust, although at least he isn't an official party member. And finally, you have [[HandsomeLech Zelos]], who was spying on your party for both the BigBad ''and'' LaResistance.
** Subverted with Raine early in the game as well. Early on she [[EvilLaugh laughs maniacally]] when exploring a ruin and even drools over an [[{{MacGuffin}} Exsphere]] complete with [[HellishPupils flat, psychotic eyes]]. It's revealed quite quickly (and PlayedForLaughs) that she's not evil, just ''really into ancient ruins''.
** We also have Raven from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', although he [[HeelFaceTurn switches sides]] shortly after this is revealed.
** Anise from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. However, after it is revealed that she is leaking information on the party's actions to the enemy, it is never [[EasilyForgiven brought up again]].
** Innes from ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', though like Raven, she quickly pulls a HeelFaceTurn in the same scene she's revealed to be this.
** There's also Ricardo from ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''. To be fair, he does have his own reasons, and [[TeamDad doesn't take it well]] upon finding out what the Grigoris are about to do to the party. Man, the Tales series just loves this trope.
** Alvin from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''. Unlike some of the other examples, he keeps playing both sides long after he's found out for the first time, only giving up on his ways towards the end of the game.
** The VideoGame/TalesSeries loves this trope so much, along with party member betrayal, that fans were legitimately shocked that ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' never had anyone turncoat on you or be revealed to be working for the BigBad. Its prequel, ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', [[RedHerring makes it seem like Magilou]] will be the traitor due to her suspicious behavior and an early game incident where she sold out Velvet to avoid interrogation. [[spoiler:The real traitor turns out to be her Malak, Bienfu, who was forced to leak info on the party due to Melchior's {{Geas}}.]]
* MonsterCompendium:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' gives Raine a title if you fill in 100% of all enemies, which are automatically logged when encountered. It's still a good idea to scan them, though, as it will give you information that simply seeing them won't (Health, Weaknesses, etc). However, to truly complete the book, you need to use Raine to scan them. Otherwise, you'll lack their location info.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Building a compendium is one of the game's major sidequests for one of your characters who is a monster hunter.
* MoreDespicableMinion: If the BigBad is a WellIntentionedExtremist, the game will include at least one [[MoreDespicableMinion utterly vile minor villain]] to act as a HateSink. More often than not, they'll be TheUnfought, quickly dispatched [[CutsceneBoss in a cutscene]], or uncommonly [[DiscOneFinalBoss like a final boss]], just before the major plot kicks in. In the English dubs, this character [[TypeCasting is nearly always voiced by]] Creator/LiamOBrien.
* MultipleEndings:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': The ending changes depending on whoever is at the top of your RelationshipValues. [[DownplayedTrope The primary thrust of the plot remains the same]], but the character chosen gets the main focus in several plot scenes, and joins Lloyd [[spoiler:in his quest to collect and destroy all the Exspheres in the world]] after defeating the FinalBoss. One notable deviation from that formula is [[spoiler:choosing Kratos results in a slightly modified version of the Colette path, in which Zelos decides to [[SuicideByCop get himself killed at your hands]] after his apparent betrayal, and Kratos replaces him as a playable party member]]. The sequel, however, [[CuttingOffTheBranches cuts off that branch]], by specifying that [[spoiler:Zelos lives]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has 3 endings: The Best Ending, The Good Ending, and the Bad Ending. You get the Best Ending by [[spoiler:getting both Ignus' and Tonitrus' Cores and losing to Lloyd and Marta]], and it involves [[spoiler:Emil splitting from Ratatosk and returning to Earth to live a normal life]]. You get the Good Ending by [[spoiler:losing Ignus and/or Tonitrus to Lloyd]], and it involves [[spoiler:Emil/Ratatosk and Richter staying in the Ginnungagap]]. You get the Bad Ending by [[spoiler:winning the fight against Lloyd and Marta]], and it involves [[spoiler:Emil killing himself because he injured Marta]]. The Bad Ending is pretty much a NonstandardGameOver.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
*** The Bad Ending, [[spoiler:also called the Julius Ending: Ludger chooses to sacrifice the world to save his brother, resulting in him killing the rest of the party and giving up any chance of saving Elle.]]
*** The Ludger Ending, [[spoiler: the world is saved, but Elle has to sacrifice herself in the process. Humanity technically passes Origin's trial, but on a bittersweet note because of Elle's sacrifice, and Ludger eventually lives to meet her mother, Lara.]]
*** The Elle Ending, [[spoiler: the world is saved, but Ludger sacrifices himself in place of Elle so that she can live. Humanity technically fails Origin's trial, but Origin allows them to pass anyway because Ludger's selflessness proves the point the trial was meant to test. Elle grows up with peace between Elympios and Reize Maxia, and nature is healing with help Jude's spyrite research.]]
*** If you choose to pay off your debt in its entirety, you unlock a HotSpringsEpisode.
*** Completing the cameo boss fights and job requests nets you a joke ending where the cameo characters use the Eternal Sword to go up to [[spoiler:Canaan, beat up the FinalBoss and rescue Elle for you]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': If you manage to defeat Heldalf before Zaveid is recruited, it unlocks the Bad Ending where because [[spoiler:the party never finds out about the corrupted Maotelus until he becomes too powerful to be stopped the world is destroyed]].
* MythologyGag: Has its own page [[MythologyGag/TalesSeries here]].
* NoobCave:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'''s first "dungeon" is a small forest with non-threatening enemies. The first proper dungeon thereafter is bigger but also relatively non-threatening.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has the Temple of Martel, a small dungeon with no boss (unless you count Vidarr, who actually comes before you enter) and a small block-pushing puzzle.
* OptionalBoss: A common optional RecurringBoss known as the Sword Dancer, who is a giant skeleton wielding [[MultiWielding multiple swords]], will also show up in some games. He's usually fought a total of three times throughout the game, and managing to beat him in all three fights will usually reward the main character with an exceptionally rare but powerful sword.
* OptionalCharacterScene: "Skits" are short conversations between party members outside of the main story, though some are mandatory story events, in place of overworld cutscenes, most are optional and triggered by selecting pop-ups. They serve to flesh out party interactions or add to the general plot.
* PenultimateWeapon:
** The Eternal Sword in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is outclassed by some BonusDungeon weapons. It doesn't stop other [[VideoGame/TalesSeries Tales games]] from using it as a proper Infinity Plus One Sword. ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' reverses this, as it's the Excalibur that serves as the PenultimateWeapon to the Eternal Sword.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Lloyd's Material Blade is outclassed quickly by the Ninja Sword found in the last dungeon (to add insult to to injury, the FinalBoss is also weak to it) and two sidequest rewards (the Valkyrie Saber and the Kusanagi). Lloyd's Devil Arm should [[InfinityPlusOneSword outclass all of them]] unless you have been running from most of the fights. Even sadder, the [[JokeWeapon paper fans]] you can buy in Luin are at least as good as, if not better than, the Material Blade. Funnily enough, the scene where Lloyd gets the Material Blade is accompanied by this quote: "I doubt you have a blade in your possession that can match it." Guess what? You can get one of these sword sets before that point.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Yuri is temporarily lent the Dein Nomos around halfway through the game. Most players probably didn't think they'd to get to keep it, but given how much the sword had been built up and the [[CutscenePowerToTheMax awesome power it commands in cutscenes]], you might expect this to be ATasteOfPower where you get to wield the InfinityPlusOneSword. It's actually an incredibly average weapon. Though it will probably be the strongest sword in your inventory when you first get it (assuming you aren't on a NewGamePlus with endgame equipment) you'll find better ones long before you're required to give it up. The only really noteworthy thing about it is that it teaches Yuri the [[LimitBreak Special]] skill, but it's not even the only weapon in the game that can do that. The real InfinityPlusOneSword later turns out to be a different weapon, [[spoiler: though it's part of the same set as Dein Nomos.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the Eternal Sword might also still count depending on when you get it. As it was only the ultimate weapon in terms of sheer power, sacrificing other stats for it. Not to mention its Time element weakens it against certain enemies. The game had a few other weapons like it too. The true InfinityPlusOneSword was the Last Fencer. While not as strong in terms of sheer strength, it had no element, and the advantage of raising all stats at once. It also may or may not be named after one of titles Cless gets in Tales Of Phantasia. So um... TakeThat?
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', the Devil's Arms are supposedly the most powerful weapons in the world, each embedded in the body of a powerful {{Superboss}}. By the time you're strong enough to actually defeat these bosses, the Devil's Arms you get from them will probably be outclassed by weapons you already have. (Elize's is heavily outclassed by a [[LethalJokeWeapon toy princess staff she gets from a couple of pink-obsessed valley-girls]]) There's a sidequest you can do to unlock their true power, but it can only be done after beating the game, and it involves beating the game's strongest {{Superboss}}, so even then they're more of a BraggingRightsReward.
* PlayerNudge: The games sometimes use the skits to give hints either on what the player should do next (or outright tell you) or about any sidequest they have the opportunity to do at that moment. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', if you die on a boss, you get an extra option on the GameOver screen that lets them view a skit where the characters lament over their failure and then try to think of a strategy for when the player tries again. You don't need to fight the boss this way, but it helps a lot.
* PlayingPossum: Karol from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' can do this with one of his skills in order to regain HP/TP and escape enemy notice after he's been knocked down. He's a bit cowardly, so it fits. It returns as a skill usable by multiple party members in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', cowardly or not.
* PointOfNoReturn:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' involves TimeTravel, which happens as part of the plot when called for, and the trips are one way, locking off absolutely everything that came before. While the first one ([[spoiler:going from the present to the past after beating The Catacombs]]) isn't too big of an issue (you lose one party member for a very long time, but he does eventually rejoin), the second trip ([[spoiler:Past to Future via Thor and the events that follow]]) is massive and world changing.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has an odd one- after completing the fire seal, the player has the option to follow the intended route and take a boat to Palmacosta and head towards the water seal, or go across a bridge far to the north and head towards the light seal, which is intended to be the final seal of Sylvarant. The story accommodates whatever route the player chooses, but the enemy levels don't, and once you cross the sea, whether it's by boat or by bridge, you're locked into the route. For an exploration-minded first-time player who wasn't aware of this and finds themselves getting destroyed by enemies twice their level, this means either a lot of tedious grinding in old areas or restarting the game. There's a second, minor but more traditional one later on, at the end of GCN version's first disc, that destroys one town and a handful of dungeons.
* PoorCommunicationKills:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has the information about what Van is planning and the fact that [[spoiler:Luke is a replica of Asch]] being kept hidden despite all logic. At one point, DeadpanSnarker Jade doesn't tell the party something because he "didn't feel like it." PlayedForDrama later on when Jade actually ''recognises'' that his uncaring attitude has led to a lot of problems in the world.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** The game dances around the issue of what's going to happen to Colette until it's too late to do anything about it. Colette does herself no favors by even telling her teammates to keep quiet, or just trying to pretend there isn't a problem. That never ends well; the party always has to stop trying to save the world to help cure what ails Colette. Thankfully, [[CharacterDevelopment she recognizes this and grows out of it]].
*** Midway through ''Symphonia'', Kratos, having realized that [[spoiler:the Key Crest Lloyd gave to Colette is failing to contain the Cruxis Crystal]], warns Collette that she must remove the "worthless Key Crest" if she values her life. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't explain why Colette's life is in danger from the necklace ([[ItWasAGift which was a late birthday gift from Lloyd]]), so Colette doesn't listen to him. It doesn't help that Kratos [[spoiler:had betrayed the group by this point]], so the group had even less reason to trust him.
*** Kratos also warns the party not to make pacts with all eight Summon Spirits in order to separate the worlds in order to end the cycle of prosperity and dearth. Again, since Kratos doesn't specify the consequences and [[spoiler:is working for the villains(who don't want that to happen, either) at this point]], the party doesn't realize the real reason why he's warning them until it's too late.
** Also shows up in the game that ''Symphonia'' is a prequel to, ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', in which the ''entirety of the plot, with all its casualties'', was the result of [[BigBad Dhaos]] not having bothered to explain that he needed a mana seed and the humans were currently using too much mana for the tree to produce one, and instead going directly to "attack humans until their mana usage drops", which proves counterproductive in starting a war meant to get humans to use less mana (without actually telling them to use less mana) he provokes them into firing the mana canon at his monster army, burning away a RIDICULOUS amount of mana. The OVA fixes this by actually including a scene where Dhaos warns people about what will happen if they rely too much on mana, [[CassandraTruth but they end up rejecting him]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': Had [[spoiler: Leon]] bothered to tell ''someone'' that his father was holding Marian hostage, [[spoiler: he wouldn't have gotten himself killed.]] In the remake, [[spoiler: Chaltier]] even chews him out for not asking Stahn for help dealing with the situation when it's clear he can't deal with it alone.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'' has a lot of this. An entire subplot (albeit a short one with a lot of character development) and a bunch of suspicion could have been solved if Judas had just [[spoiler: told someone he was Leon Magnus]] and that [[spoiler: Elraine's plan involved messing with the past.]] Also applies to Reala, she knew a lot more than she was letting on about [[spoiler: Elraine and her motives]] but just wouldn't say anything about it until absolutely necessary, including dropping a huge plot twist ''near the end of the game''. Loni and Rutee also held back very important information [[spoiler: to Kyle about his father.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Several characters know what the nature of Estelle's healing power is. One even comments that her power is a "poison" to her. None of them explain it to her, as everybody agrees she's too nice and they don't want to trouble her. Naturally, this leads to her using it on somebody to whom it ''actually is'' poison, leading to their easily avoided death.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': If Alvin had just told the party [[spoiler: there was another world he wanted to get back to]], the party could have been spared the ordeal of half a dozen betrayals at least and [[spoiler: Milla's death. Though it is debatable whether Milla would have allowed him to before the Schism was damaged.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'':
*** Lailah traveled with the previous Shepherd and was an eyewitness to the incident that began the Age of Chaos and caused Heldalf's StartOfDarkness, but in order to gain the power to purify hellions, she took an oath to never speak about it to anyone. About 3/4 of the plot could have been avoided if Lailah had been able to share her knowledge with the others, but at the cost of leaving the remaining 1/4 insurmountable because no one had the power of purification.
*** [[spoiler: Dezel's death]] probably could have been prevented if he had been willing to tell the rest of the party, especially Rose, about what his goals were and why he was traveling with them.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'':
*** Velvet's entire revenge is based on seeing Artorius having killed her little brother, using him during the Advent [[spoiler:and as the needed vessel to house Innominat]]. It isn't until two-thirds through the game that it turns out [[spoiler:that Laphicet willingly sacrificed himself because he knew his death would make a better world for his sister, and that [[YourDaysAreNumbered he was going to die soon, anyway]]. He even made Artorius promise to not tell Velvet about his planned death]]. The news sends Velvet into a HeroicBSOD, realizing that everything she has done so far, which included several people's deaths, was for naught. In a subversion, she eventually decides that this explanation is bullshit and doesn't matter; [[spoiler:summoning Innominat was a horrible idea from the very start, whether the sacrifice was willing or not]].
*** Most of the party has secrets, but they're not particularly important and no one really cares. Most of the party isn't aware that Artorius was married to Velvet's sister, for example, but that's just because [[YouDidntAsk Velvet didn't think it was worth mentioning]]; when the others find out, they're surprised, but admit that Velvet was right, it doesn't change anything. The biggest secret is probably Magilou's [[spoiler:status as the Lost Legate of the Abbey]]. Once it actually becomes relevant, she immediately tells everyone, at which point they just shrug and accept it.
* PurpleIsTheNewBlack:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' does have a black Shadow, but the logo of his power is purple, though still represented with pitch black half the time.
** Yuri Lowell from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has purple hair, but it's described in the game as "raven black". It looks black in some of his promo art.
* RecurringElement:
** Some [[LimitBreak Mystic Artes]] are used by multiple characters across games:
*** A recurring Mystic Arte where the character delivers [[SpamAttack a massive flurry of attacks close range]], known as ''Satsugeki Bukouken'' (officially translated as ''Final Fury'') Characters that have used this technique are as follows: [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Cress Albane]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn Aileron]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Farah Oersted]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld Regal Bryant (uses a variation)]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Anise Tatlin]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Kohaku Hearts]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Jude Mathis]].
*** Another recurring Mystic Arte is Big Bang, which is pretty much the equivalent to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'''s Supernova where the user attacks enemies with ''the explosion that created the entire universe''. Mostly used by the villains, but some heroes can also use this Mystic Arte. Characters that have used this technique are as follows: [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Arche Klein]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Laville Clemente, Philia]] [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Felice]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Will Raynard, Dark Vaclav]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Arietta, Nebilim]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Ange Serena]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Duke Pantarei]].
*** There is also a reoccurring Mystic Arte where the character summons [[ShockAndAwe a gigantic bolt of lightning]] called "Indignation." Said Arte will also usually have the same/similar incantation across multiple games.[[note]]''"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens command thee, who opens the gates of Hell! Come forth, divine lightning! This ends now! INDIGNATION!"''[[/note]] Characters that have used this technique include [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Genis]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Jade]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Cheria]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Rita]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria Maotelus]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria Laphicet]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfArise Lord Gananbelt]].
** The Sorcerer's Ring is an item that shoots small energy bolts and is used to solve puzzles, that recurs across games. Its functions are usually upgraded as the story proceeds.
** A broadly-shared list of artes and spells. It's possible to tell how nostalgic a game is attempting to be by how closely it sticks to that list. Games such as ''Destiny 2'', ''Rebirth'', and ''Hearts'' tried to break out completely. Very common moves include "Demon Fang" and "Tiger Blade" as the first moves the sword-wielder and "Photon", one of the early Light magic spells, for the magic user. There are also a few games where one character doesn't use the "Traditional" artes used by most ''Tales'' series main characters...but another character does. Examples include Chloe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' (And even then, some of their artes overlap with each other or the classic ''Tales'' series heroes), Guy in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', or Spada in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''.
** The Dark Wings, a trio of quirky thieves whose role is usually as comic relief. (In ''Tales of Rebirth'', ''Tales of the Abyss'' and ''Tales of Arise'', they play a bigger role than usual.) Since the games usually take place in different worlds, it's generally a different group in each game, almost always composed of two males and a female (The notable exception would be the Schwann Brigade in ''Tales of Vesperia'', which is composed of three guys, all of them LawfulStupid knights... most of the time, which plays the comic relief role). [[note]]''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' is a DarkerAndEdgier reinterpretation of this group, in which the group consist of at least 2 notable guys, the leader takes charge for the most part, and unfortunately said leader is LethallyStupid, playing right into the hands of a particularly vile villain, and indirectly causing and falling victim to a massacre. All of them are PlayedForDrama.[[/note]]
** A famous, but in most of the games [[TheGhost never seen]], pirate named Aifread (like the Dark Wings, it's probably not the same Aifread in each game). He usually only plays a role in sidequests (which often involve finding his buried treasure), or is only mentioned as part of the lore (such as in item descriptions or NPC dialogue).
*** Main cast members Chat from ''Eternia'' and Patty from the UpdatedReRelease of ''Vesperia'' are said to be descendants of the original Aifread.
*** He plays a larger role than usual in ''Berseria'', as his gang of pirates are important allies, and the search for him is a part of the main plot. That said, he still only shows up in a handful of scenes.
*** He also makes an actual on-screen appearance in ''Symphonia'', but only as part of a sidequest.
** An interesting case with recurring plot point: almost every game has a [[TheMole traitor]]. Their identity and causes varies -- it can be TheLancer, GuestStarPartyMember, TheBigGuy, CombatMedic, TeamPet, and even ''TheHero himself''. Party may or may not have to fight them, and they may or may not survive. If they do, "WelcomeBackTraitor" reaction is inevitable.
** Cameo boss fights. The final battle in the coliseum would almost always be a party, made up of party members from previous games. If there is no coliseum, they'll show up in the sidequest. It's almost never explained, how did they get here in first place, since games has no single continuity, but it [[RuleOfCool doesn't matter]], since fights tend to be [[AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries absolutely awesome]].
* RequiredPartyMember:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Colette is required in all of the boss fights at the end of Sylvarant's temples(which are seals she must open for her journey of regeneration as TheChosenOne), while Sheena is required for all summon seals. Also, in order to get the location information for monsters into your Monster Book, you need to use the Magic Lens with Raine, not any of the other characters. Raine is also required for the Windmaster boss fight, because she is participating in the ritual, and Lloyd is required for [[spoiler:the third battle with Yggdrasill, the [[DuelBoss third battle with Kratos]] and the battle with Origin]].
** This happens extremely often in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', forcing an entire party formation on you for every story chapter but the last one, and requiring one or two specific members for the character episodes. Naturally, they end up making you have to fight ThatOneBoss using a formation that doesn't have any of the party's primary healers.
* RockThemeNaming:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has its main characters named after minerals: Shing (last name Meteoryte), Kohak, Hisui, Innes Lorenz(inite), Beryl Benito, and Kunzite. For those of you who missed it, Kohak and Hisui are sister and brother, and their names are Amber and Jade respectively in Japanese. Supporting characters are named Chalcedny, Peridot, Byrocks, Paraiba... and the old party contains names like Iola, Tekta, and Labrado(rite)... and the BigBad is [[spoiler:Creed Graphite]]. Early-game villains are named Grossular and Kornerupine, while the BigBad's posse consists of Corundum, Clinoseraph, Chlorseraph, Geo Strigau, and Incarose. Look them all up. [[spoiler:The only one not to follow this theme is Gall Gruner, added in Hearts R. This is a hint that he is not from this world.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', we have Jade, his sister Nephry (Nephrite), and childhood friend Saphir (Sapphire). In a manga bonus chapter, Jade and Saphir are seen going to school with a young man named Jasper, all of which suggests that these kind of names may be somewhat traditional in Malkuth.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Eleanor shares her name with a precious gemstone also called "Eleanor" that her DoomedHometown had previously passed down and guarded for generations.
* ScaryShinyGlasses:
** It is implied that Jade Curtiss from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' literally wears his glasses to ''protect the environment from his eyes.'' Needless to say, they flash often, especially in the anime adaptation. In both the game and anime, the only time you ever see both of Dist's eyes is when he's not wearing his glasses.
** Julius from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' has glasses that turn an opaque white and hides his eyes, sometimes for comedy but more often for horror or drama when his expression is unreadable. The equippable accessory description for his glasses say that he enjoys how they hide his true emotions.
* SomeoneHasToDie:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', that's the entire purpose of the Chosen. Also, at one point, [[MauveShirt Botta]] and two [[RedShirt nameless]] [[LaResistance Renegades]] trap themselves in a flooding room in order to stop the self-destruct sequence of an underwater Desian Base. Yuan doesn't seem surprised, hinting that at least someone was expecting this.
*** And later on, all supporting characters left in the cast do this as a part of the sequence of false {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s that reduces the party to Lloyd alone, while climbing the Tower of Salvation. Only in the cases of Raine and [[BrattyHalfPint Genis]] does it seem a knowing choice of unavoidable death, the other cases looking more like accidents with a possibility of survival ("I'll get out of this mess on my own, you hurry on, you can't afford to lose any time !"), but a Z-skit springing up right before the first "sacrifice" shows Regal and Raine calmly discussing this, acknowledging the fact that they're [[MoreExpendableThanYou more expendable than Lloyd.]] Right before that whole sequence, Zelos invokes this if you follow Kratos' path.
** A particularly [[TearJerker poignant]] part of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' invokes this trope: the only surefire way to neutralize the poisonous miasma covering the world is to cause a "hyperresonance" so powerful that it would take the user's life and the lives of ''thousands of willing sacrifices.'' The thousands of sacrifices are supplied by eventually-[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman all-too-willing replicas]], and Luke and Asch argue for a while over who should be the one to instigate the hyperresonance. It eventually ends with [[MessianicArchetype Luke]] trying to do so, but Asch needing to contribute a bit of his power anyway because Luke isn't strong enough on his own. Possibly for this reason, though it's never quite explained, both of them survive.
*** On the other hand, Luke, and it's implied Asch as well, soon find out [[PlayerPunch the phlebotinum in their bodies is dissipating, leading to their own eventual death-by-dissipation.]] Funnily enough, neither of them last long enough for said dissipation to kick in, as they both end up performing more standard HeroicSacrifices by the time the credits roll. [[MindScrew And one of them comes back. Who knows which one?]]
* SorryImLate:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Early on, Lloyd is captured while he and Genis are looking for Colette and the others. After a short dungeon on his own, Lloyd runs into the base's leader. Before they come to blows, the rest of the party shows up.
*** This also happens later in the game, [[spoiler: going through the base of the world tree, the other party members stay behind one after the other to allow the others to continue. Just as Lloyd gets to the end, they all show up again to help.]]
*** Kratos actually ''says'' "Sorry I'm late" when he turns up to fight off the "Desians" attacking Colette in the OVA.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', when you fight Gusios for the first time, Yuri will start off alone due to a cave-in Gusios caused, separating him from the rest of the party. As the battle progresses, Repede, Estelle, and Rita will join in. Rita even says "Sorry I'm late."
** In the final battle of ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', each party member catches up to the main protagonist in the order of how much time they spent Linked with them in battle, and unleashes their [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] as they arrive.
* SquadControls: ''Tales'' games allow you to give each character orders on what to do, [[ArtificialStupidity but sometimes they'll just do whatever]]. Most of them include preset orders for defensive and aggressive behaviors, which can then be further customized in the strategy menus. You can also choose to enable and disable certain of your party members' abilities, and most entries allow you to choose how often they use special techniques, and in some cases what kind (for example, you might be able to set the healer to focus on conserving mana, healing everyone, or casting a lot of support spells). You can also set their default distance from the enemy when they enter battle, how closely they choose to engage the enemy when actually in combat, and sometimes what kind of enemies they focus on attacking (same as the player, different from the player, flying enemies, etc).
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' introduce the ability to switch the controlled character in the middle of battle after gaining a particular item.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' also allows you to set the behavior of AI controlled party members. However, it gives the player far more options to work with, from selecting formations, setting the distance AI team mates should maintain between the PlayerCharacter and the enemy, and whether to allow them to use items (and how often).
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' uses a simple method of AI customisation where you can switch the abilities you want them to use on and off.
* SummonMagic:
** In ''Phantasia'', Claus F. Lester is a human studying summoning, as only those of elven blood can use magic. Summoning is a plot point established for the initial arc of the Past segment of the game, with Cress and Mint attempting to help Claus make summoning pacts so that, in a way, a human CAN use something akin to magic. However, after Claus makes a pact with [[BlowYouAway Sylph]] and the team adds Arche, this side-plot is dropped.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the second game to use Summons, ratcheted up the pace of the battle in every way, including making all spells take place in real time...except summoning the Greater Craymels. But then, it also switched the summons from being just another kind of spells (as Klarth used) to being a sort of magical LimitBreak charged up by repeatedly using the proper element of spells. (Anyone who's played the game enough knows how often you get to summon Undine, whose domain contains both water and ''healing'' spells.)
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' (360) has the basic four Spirits from the series, but doesn't let you summon them in-game. ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' ([=PS3=]) totally makes up for it by giving Estelle a Mystic Arte that summons all four of them at once.
** Pascal in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' can summon the spirits Grim Sylphie (wind), Cyan Deem (water) and Blood Flamme (fire).
** Sheena from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is a {{ninja}} who can form pacts with each of the 8 [[ElementalPowers elemental]] [[PhysicalGod spirits]], ([[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[MakingASplash Water]], [[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[LightEmUp Light]], [[CastingAShadow Darkness]], [[BlowYouAway Wind]], [[ShockandAwe Lightning]]), and 2 [[InfinityPlusOneElement other extremely powerful]] [[NonElemental non-elemental]] ones after [[DefeatMeansPlayable defeating]] them in [[DefeatMeansFriendship battle]]. While these summons are incredibly powerful, they are somewhat [[AwesomeButImpractical impractical]] since Sheena can only summon while in [[TurnsRed Overlimit mode]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', Summon Magic serves as Reala and Harold's [[LimitBreak limit breaks]]. They share [[PlayingWithFire Efreet]] and [[MakingASplash Undine]] between them, while Reala also summons [[DishingOutDirt Gnome]] and [[BlowYouAway Sylph]] while Harold has [[HolyHandGrenade Rem]] and [[CastingAShadow Shadow]]. There is also a GoodBadBug in the original [=PS2=] version that allows Nanaly to summon Efreet.
* SupremeChef:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', everyone loves Nanaly's cooking, even picky eater [[SugarAndIcePersonality Judas]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Genis has a reputation as a Supreme Chef in Iselia, and has several scenes in the beginning of the game with characters praising his cooking. Though considering his older sister Raine is a LethalChef extraordinaire, it's almost a ''necessity'' for him. Genis is not the altogether best chef in the game, however: That would be Regal, who earns the special title "God of the Kitchen" in a late-game sidequest.
*** An interesting twist on this trope and {{One Note Chef}} is that all the characters (save Raine and Presea) have themes to the recipes they are best at, even outperforming the Supreme Chefs of the party with certain recipes. Lloyd is better at foods with meat in them, Colette is good with desserts and recipes where a major component is fruit, and Sheena excels with Asian-themed foods like Udon Noodles. Even Genis and Regal have their specific wheelhouses where they outperform the other. Genis works best with everyday recipes like omelets, and Regal has the highest skill with the most complex recipes.
*** In the sequel ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', Emil reveals himself to be a Supreme Chef in skits, though in the actual cooking mini-game he lags behind Regal and Genis, the previous game's Supreme Chefs. He also shows a penchant for preparation, cutting fruit and vegetables into animal shapes and such. In Ratatosk Mode, he has ''zero'' care for preparation, and Tenebrae compares the visuals to [[LethalChef Marta's]] cooking... but to his and Marta's surprise, the taste is just as supreme as ever.
** For ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''; in the short time you have him, [[GuestStarPartyMember Asch]] is shown to be a great chef via skit, in contrast to Natalia and Luke who are his [[spoiler:[[ChildhoodMarriagePromise fiance]] and replica, respectively]], both of whom are no good in a kitchen.
*** Otherwise your recommended chef is Anise, she is the character who can create better than normal recipes and can gain a title that makes it impossible to ruin dishes.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has their protagonist Yuri Lowell. When he says his secret ingredient was "love", HilarityEnsues. Of course, it turns out he didn't really do anything special; he just follows the recipes to the letter.
** Ludger from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' is considered a really good chef by most of the characters in the game, having learned to cook on his own when he was seven years old, and were it not for the events of the plot, could have ended up with a job as a cook.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Velvet frequently cooked for her family growing up, and even when she [[SenseLossSadness loses the ability to taste]], her food is still good enough to eat, and once she finds a [[MundaneSolution taste tester to taste for her]], she goes back to being an excellent cook.
** Games with Cooking will frequently include the Wonder Chef, a mysterious individual who disguises himself as various objects around the world and--if unmasked--will teach you new recipes.
* TakeCareOfTheKids:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
*** In Chapter 11, [[spoiler:if you refuse to let go of Fractured Milla when she is being sucked into the summoning portal, and her RelationshipValues with Ludger are high enough, then she tells Ludger to let her go so he can save Elle from Rideaux. If Ludger continues to hold on, she lets go herself and her last words plead to him to take care of Elle.]]
*** In Chapter 12, after Ludger reluctantly kills [[spoiler:his AlternateSelf, Victor, to retrieve [[PlotCouponThatDoesSomething the final Waymarker]], Victor asks him to take care of his daughter, Elle]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Shortly before the final battle, Velvet asks Eleanor to look after Laphicet if something should happen to her. Part of this is because they're going up against a god so survival is unlikely, but Velvet has also begun to suspect that her life is tied to the BigBad, so if he dies she might too. [[spoiler:Velvet ends up [[SealedEvilInADuel sealing him in a duel]], while Laphicet becomes a god and takes his place. Eleanor decides the best way to fulfill her promise to Velvet is to turn the Abbey into a force of good that will support their new god]].
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: The series loves this; typically there will be cutscene exposition before a plot-important fight and then the characters will banter ''during'' it, apparently not even needing to breathe.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has some quite lengthy dialogue between the party and some bosses, while running round shouting out arte names and casting spells that require incantations. It's PlayedForLaughs when the party is running from Alice and Decus in the Ice Temple. When they try to hold a conversation in a skit like they always do, Tenebrae reminds them that they're supposed to be running like hell and declares a ban on speaking. It doesn't take long for the party to turn this on him and prevent ''him'' from speaking as well.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' takes a jab at talking during fights when Yuri and Flynn work together to defend a village of refugees from monsters. Yuri can't concentrate if he isn't talking and Flynn can't concentrate when someone is talking. And then [[spoiler:they fight each other and trash-talk each other while they're kicking each other's ass]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' introduces "Chats", which are conversations but instead occur during battles automatically. In some of these battles, they can be between the character the party is fighting against, if they also have a voice actor.
* ThanksForTheMammary:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', this happened to Guy after Luke (under orders from Jade) kicked him into the girl's area of the spa (it should be noted that Guy is ''very'' gynophobic). The girls were angry at first, but then realize that he was the least likely guy to grope them. Then [[TheGadfly Anise]] asked him who was bigger: Natalia or Tear. After he said Tear, they got angry and called him a pervert again, netting him the new title "Naughty Devil".
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', Fractured Milla trips while walking on a rather treacherous path near some lava, at which point Ludger is given the choice of catching her fall or doing nothing. The former option results in the trope and earns him a punch [[RelationshipValues (And some affinity)]], though she apologizes for it quickly. She ends up being fine in the latter option, but she gets mad at him for letting her crash into the ground instead.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** Several enemies in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' screw the rules on numerous occasions. You have to be in overlimit to use a mystic arte. Several bosses that have them can use it randomly. They may also not only go into overlimit numerous times in a row. The final boss does both - when you take out half his health and get a cutscene mid-way through the boss battle, he may use Celestial Elegy without even going into overlimit or immediately go into overlimit twice in a row. The player can not do this themselves.
** The major antagonist of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' , [[spoiler: Alexei]] is famous for ripping out his Mystic Arte, Brilliant Cataclysm, multiple times in a battle and he can do it up to 10 times on higher difficulties. Brilliant Cataclysm has a huge area of effect and does enormous amounts of damage. He cheats in multiple ways. First, he can use a skill that is a powerful attack and a healing spell at the same time without consuming TP, often spamming it to a point at which he heals faster than you can damage him. If you set your AI to stay away from the enemy, they will move in on him before he uses Brilliant Cataclysm to ensure that they are within the area of effect. If you get close to actually winning the battle, he can activate Brilliant Cataclysm without having to go into Over Limit, and it will override an All-Divide (that is supposed to halve all the damage dealt by both you and the enemy), usually killing your entire party in a single blow.
** In both ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia,'' the traditional climactic DuelBoss ([[spoiler: Asch]] in ''Abyss'' and [[spoiler: Flynn]] in ''Vesperia'') can actually interrupt your Mystic Arte and counter with their own, which is downright ''absurd.'' Getting Luke's Radiant Howl off on [[spoiler: Asch]] is made damn near impossible for this reason; he interrupts you ''every time.''
*** In ''Vesperia'' it is literally impossible, as the player will lose control while the boss overlimits and uses his Arte even if he was stunned or on the ground, he would immediately recover. In ''Abyss'' it's possible though if the boss isn't in a position to attack by being stunned or in the air. Simply chain the MA from a full connection of Luke's Light Spear Cannon and the boss will still be in the air for the final hit and unable to counter.
** Your ''allies'' cheat like rotten bastards in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' when you link with them. AI link partners will position themselves flawlessly behind your target, time their attacks to the frame to help with your juggles, use free abilities they otherwise don't have access to, and will move to defend your back the femtosecond a hostile decides to go for it. In fact, the system relies so much on AI omniscience and hidden abilities you can't link with player-controlled allies.
* TheseHandsHaveKilled:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Luke is utterly horrified the first time he ends up killing another human. [[spoiler:Later on in the game, Jade notes that Luke has nightmares each time he kills another human, even if it was a bandit or Oracle Knight.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Regal killed Presea's sister Alicia in the past and so keeps himself handcuffed as penance. He switched to killing things (monsters) with his legs.
* TitleThemeDrop:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' the title theme plays when [[spoiler:you heal the dying tree Yggdrasil in the past, preventing it from being dead in the present/future and allowing you to use magic in the rest of the game]].
** In the final chapter, when Ludger saves Elle and [[ThemeMusicPowerUp unlocks his full Chromatus]], a remix of the opening theme "Song 4 U" plays through the ensuing cutscene and boss fight.
* TokenMiniMoe:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Presea Combatir, who appears to be about twelve. It's established that [[OlderThanTheyLook Presea stopped aging]] due to the setting's AppliedPhlebotinum, but doesn't directly tell the rest of the party her age when asked. The ending reveals that [[spoiler:she's twenty-eight.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Anise Tatlin, who is 13 years old and [[ImprobableAge the body guard for the setting's equivalent of the pope.]] Her melee attacks are performed by her rag doll, which is capable of growing to large size.
** The [=PS3=] version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has Patty, who despite looking like a child tends to speak and act like an older woman. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Patty ''was'' an older woman until [[FoutainOfYouth something]] changed her physical age.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' has Sophie, who appears to be in her early teens but has little memory or understanding of the world and tends to behave more like a small child. [[spoiler:She's later revealed to be a millennium-old ArtificialHuman]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has Elise, a [[ChildMage twelve-year-old magic user]] with an animate stuffed doll. Unlike some of the series' [[GlacierWaif other examples,]] Elise is [[SquishyWizard just as durable]] in a fight as you would expect a twelve-year-old to be. She returns in [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 the sequel,]] now a year older.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has the seraph Edna, who appears to be a young girl, and on one occasion [[DeliberatelyCuteChild uses her appearance to try and manipulate another seraph]], she is [[Really700YearsOld actually one of the oldest party members]] and otherwise acts like it.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has the malak Laphicet, by far the youngest (and [[PintSizedPowerHouse shortest]]) playable character in the series at around 10 years old. He gets roped in the adventure after being effectively kidnapped by the group, and acts as a major MoralityPet to [[AntiHero Velvet]], whom named him after her deceased little brother.
* TwentyBearAsses:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the innkeeper in Olive village asks the player to bring him at least five Basilisk scales ([[OrganDrops dropped from Basilisks]], of course) while they are waiting for Edward Morrison to show up. Thankfully, the drop rate of scales is frequent and the Basilisks can be met even more frequently with [[EncounterBait Dark Bottles]], but the Basilisks [[TakenForGranite are pretty dangerous nonetheless]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', there is a quest requiring you to get a certain species of wolf pelts to burn down overgrowth blocking the path through a forest. While the pelts are an 100% drop, capturing the wolves so you can fight them in the first place is an almost [[ThatOneLevel painfully tedious task.]]
** In order to get all the girls' "sexy outfits" in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', you must collect several randomly dropped items from monsters, including from a type of monster that only appears in the very center of a deserted island ''at night''. To make matters worse, they are still a rare encounter and the item drop rate is not very high.
* WelcomeToCorneria:
** In the game ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', although he only has one line, if you talk to a certain NPC enough (something like 50 times) then he gives you an item (and says something different).
** In the sequel, most [=NPC=]s have about 3 lines of dialogue that reset every time you enter the area. They also tend to change dialogue depending on the events of the story. Even so, it follows this trope fairly faithfully.
*** Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' when you talk to one of the king's bodyguards and he will say "Stop making me say the same thing over and over again!"
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' subverts this by having each NPC highlighted with smiley face chat icons, which turn dark gray and into normal face icons to let the player know the NPC is done with his/her dialogue. [=NPCs=] will also shuffle in-between events, so with the exception of some key [=NPCs=] related to the plot, there will be a fresh batch of new [=NPCs=] to talk to each time you clear an event, etc. in each town. In addition, there are also special voice chats which are only said once and are highlighted with exclamation marks instead of smiley faces.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Most of the BigBad villains have sympathetic goals:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': [[spoiler:Dhaos wanted mana from the planet's world tree to save his ''own'' home planet, and was only blowing stuff up because the rapid advancements in magitech were consuming all the mana and slowly killing the world. Upon discovering his true motivations, the party sympathizes with his desire to protect his world.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** [[spoiler:Yggdrasill wanted to end discrimination and war, and resurrect his beloved sister (who had died as a result of said discrimination and war). He intended to do this by transforming everyone into the same soulless lifeform, powered by crystals that are created from human suffering.]]
*** [[spoiler:Although Yuan is acting against Yggdrasill's plan whose end result would be turning people into organic robots for eternity while allowing the world to rot from mana deprivation, he counters it by killing anyone and everyone who could potentially allow the plan to come to fruition. To be precise, he and the resistance group, the Renegades, have most likely been killing the Chosens of Sylvarant for several centuries, so as to avoid the creation of a vessel for Martel.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' had two: [[spoiler:Richter wanted to resurrect his dead friend and take revenge on Ratatosk for killing him; however, this would involve killing the innocent main character and turning the world into a demonic realm (though, secretly, he planned to use a HeroicSacrifice to stop that last part from happening). Ratatosk himself was the second example, wishing to restore the world's flow of mana by killing everyone who had distorted it: namely, all the humans, elves, and half-elves in the world]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': [[spoiler:Van wanted to free humanity from the chains of [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight the prophecy of Yulia Jue's Score]]: an understandable sentiment, considering that the major leaders were willing to actively plunge the world into war simply because it was predicted, and, unknown to everyone but Van, the Score ends with humanity being destroyed. His plan was to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the current world]] and substitute {{Replacement Goldfish}}es for everything and everyone, because he believed that the aforementioned Goldfishes were not predicted by, and thus not bound by, the Score. He is fully aware of the irony in the fact that his plan to overturn the Score would make it a SelfFulfillingProphecy.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
*** [[spoiler:Duke wanted to destroy the [[SealedEvilInACan Adephagos]] as much as anybody. Having lost faith in humanity, though — they turned on him and [[CynicismCatalyst killed his best friend]] even after they both fought on humanity's side in the war — his plan was to [[HumanSacrifice sacrifice them all]] to fuel his strike against it. He is unique in that the party actually talks him out of it by the end of the game.]]
*** [[spoiler:Alexei, who [[GoMadFromTheRevelation Goes Mad From The Revelation]] that there was nothing he could do to save a world that was slowly killing itself... except for using a WeaponOfMassDestruction to destroy and recreate it with less self-destructive natural laws]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'':
*** Exodus, a mysterious faction that terrorizes both Auj Oule and Rashugal with the goal of killing Milla, and [[spoiler:with which Alvin is allied to, are the remains of civilians who were stranded in this world in a freak accident twenty years ago. Their attempts on Milla's lives are due to the belief that killing Maxwell would destroy the Schism and allow them to return home. While Gilland, their leader, is not entirely altruistic, intending on using the people of Auj Oule and Rashugal as a power source for his own country, Elympios, as well as using this to become head of the Svent family back in Elympios, even the party acknowledges that Gilland and modern Elympios can't be held responsible for their dependency on the spirit-killing spyrix.]]
*** Gaius [[spoiler:wants to gather all of the world's weapons to ensure no one will misuse them, because he feels that the strong should protect the weak, and have a duty to do so. The rest of the party calls him out on this several times, notably Milla [[AndThenWhat asking Gaius if the next king of Auj Oule will have the same idea]], and note that he's going to have to kill a lot of people to get what he wants. Notably, Gaius considers Jude a WorthyOpponent, and the two come to develop a mutual respect for each other, to the point where after the party [[FinalBoss defeats him]], [[GracefulLoser Gaius backs down]], and lets the party do things their way.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Artorius [[spoiler:knows full well how strong negative emotions turn humans into Daemons and in fact lost his wife because of it. As such, all he wants is to prevent people from turning into Daemons at all, which would allow the world of Desolation to be freed from the sins of man. His way of going about realizing this ambition ultimately means eliminating all semblance of emotion from people, turning them into human automatons lacking will, and by the start of the game, he already has forced many, many malakhim to become brainwashed slaves for the Abbey. Not to mention, his plan also requires allowing Innominat to feed off the the strong negative emotions of a number of unlucky Daemons called 'Therions' ''and'' required him to turn a few malakhim into dragons, which is a thoroughly painful process that also requires the malak in question to mentally ''break.'']]
* WorldTree:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the protagonists have to revive a dying world tree called Yggdrasil, which supplies the world with {{Mana}}.
** The OpeningMonologue of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' describes a tree which was once a source of ever-flowing [[LifeEnergy mana]], until it was killed in a GreatOffscreenWar, after which the modern world is suffering from constant mana shortages. While it's believed to be a myth when the game starts, it soon becomes clear that the Giant Kharlan Tree was real, and its seed is still around, so the ultimate goal of the game is to grow a new one. Not coincidentally, the BigBad of this game is named Yggdrasill, and the ending cutscene involves giving the new tree a MeaningfulRename. Careful investigation makes clear that ''Symphonia'' is a StealthPrequel to ''Phantasia'', and the tree that grows at the end of this game is the same one that had to be revived in the other game.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': The plot revolves heavily around the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, the previous World Tree, who awakens immediately after ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]''. It's interesting that he's named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatosk Ratatosk]], which connects to Norse mythology, which the game takes many ideas from.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has the Sephiroth Trees, which [[spoiler:support the FloatingContinent]] and produces fonons.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover Radiant Mythology]], where the player's goal is to revive the World Tree (again).
* VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon:
** The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is Dhaos's Castle. Not the ''same'' Dhaos Castle that was the DiscOneFinalDungeon; this one has a totally new layout and it's hidden in a ''different time period''. The heroes have to bend space-time to their will to even make it to the front door.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** The game has Derris-Kharlan, which is a purple, gaseous planet that is just a bit too close to the planet where most of the game takes place. Inside you've got really powerful [[OurZombiesAreDifferent undead monsters]], [[spoiler:[[LightIsNotGood evil angels]]]], and it ends with a busted up castle with what appears to be a black hole behind it. Yeah, AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield. Oh, when Derris-Kharlan appears, it is started with the BigBad [[spoiler:''hijacking the body of TheHero's closest friend (who may be his lover)'' then causing [[EvilTowerOfOminousness the Tower Of Salvation]] to EXPLODE, sending chunks of it raining down as meteors. If that's not enough, when the dungeon does appear, it is seen with it so close that bolts of space lightning are raining down from it and its gravity is causing huge storms on the planet.]] And it turns the sky purple.
*** [[spoiler:The sequel sets the final battle at the Ginnungagap, the gateway in between the heroes' world and Niflheim, the realm of the demons. Failure means the heroes' world will become one with Niflheim. But seriously, no pressure.]]
** Due to it having 2 mostly independent stories, ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has 2 of these. First is the Wings of Light, which is ridiculously obscenely long and has 3 distinctive sections, each of which could qualify as a full dungeon on its own. The second, the Cradle of Time, isn't so impressive length-wise, but it's a place that exists outside of time, and is made of small floors that on each one is a boss fight.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' ends at the Absorption Gate, a castle located at the North Pole where all the world's energy returns to the Core. [[spoiler:Then the game pulls a YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle on you and it turns out that the real Final Dungeon is Eldrant, a replica of an entire island, which is now capable of flight (until it crashes by way of your party), and resting place of the CrystalDragonJesus.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has the Tower of Tarqaron, a floating city which has been converted to a {{Magitek}} weapon of enough power to annihilate an EldritchAbomination... by sacrificing the life force of ''every human on the planet'' for its power source.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' has the Lastalia, the core of the planet Ephinea and the source of all eleth that gives life to the planet. [[spoiler:It was about to be corrupted by Lambda until Asbel and co. put a stop to his plans. The final dungeon for the ''Lineage and Legacies'' storyline is another Lastalia, but this time, of the dead planet Fodra.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has as its final dungeon the Temporal Crossroads. [[spoiler:It is located somewhere between the worlds of Rieze Maxia and Elympios, but is not normally accessed except via dimensional scars. You visit it twice -- first, when Jude and Milla unite to confront the real Maxwell; and second, when the united party faces the final bosses of the game, Gaius and Muzét.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' ends at the Land of Canaan, where some say that it leads its travelers to the "Promised Land".
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has Artorius' Throne, an enormous ruined temple, where [[BigBad Lord of Calamity]] lurks. The skies here has [[RedSkyTakeWarning blood-red color]], and the sun is turned black. Curiously, it's actually [[spoiler:the DiscOneFinalDungeon of the [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria prequel]]. What appears to be a random final dungeon in the first game suddenly makes a lot more sense, given what happened in the epilogue of the second one]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has [[spoiler: Innominat's Domain]], a huge palace in the sky where the party confronts [[BigBadDuumvirate Artorius and Innominat]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' has [[spoiler:Del Fharis Castle in Ganath Haros, where it's built up to be the Final Dungeon as it is the residence of Big Bad Vholran, the last Renan lord to be fought against. As per Tales series tradition though, it is actually a Disc-One Final Dungeon, with the real one taking place in the decimated planet of Rena.]].

----

The following entries here may be lacking in context/too general at the moment to be a valid example, but could be salvaged:

[[folder: Needs Context]]
* AHeroToHisHometown: The so called Demon Lord of the VideoGame/TalesOf... series is considered to be a wise and just ruler by his subjects and is willing to do anything to ensure their survival, including destroying your player character's world.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', when you fight [[{{Superboss}} Maxwell]], the [[{{Magitek}} Sin Incarnates]], and the [[OneWingedAngel Robot version of the]] BigBad. Also any fights in the [[BrutalBonusLevel book, Forbidden Anamnesis]]. And the area before the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, would count as well.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia's'' final battle starts off on regular stone platform, but gets more like this trope with each form of the boss you defeat.
* ApocalypseMaiden:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' plays with this. To Sylvarant, Colette is the [[TheMessiah Messianic]] BarrierMaiden. But to Tethe'alla she is this trope. Finding that out is what makes the main party decide to ScrewDestiny and TakeAThirdOption. Helps that the BigBad is behind the whole corrupt system, giving them a target to beat up.
** The reason why Richter's after Marta in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. He should have been more concerned with Emil.
** Shirley from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Great job taking away all her reasons for ''NOT'' wanting to destroy humanity, Senel]].
* ArchnemesisDad:
** [[spoiler:Kratos Aurion]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is this to the main character. Unlike Darth Vader, it results in [[spoiler:a much more successful HeelFaceTurn]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has two examples:
*** [[spoiler: Natalia's biological father is Largo the Black Lion, something she only finds out in the end game. Since Largo considers that part of him long dead, it's a major tearjerker when Natalia fights and kills him personally despite making it clear before she wants to get to know him as a person.]]
*** [[spoiler:It's made clear throughout the game Luke looks up to [[BigBad Van]] as his ParentalSubstitute and he's even responsible for his creation. In the end, Luke kills him...and makes it ''very'' clear he never got over the fact Van is his father in all but blood.]]
* ArmiesAreEvil: Evil military leaders, somewhere close to TheEmpire. The position of Commandant is a [[{{Foreshadowing}} particularly common warning sign]] for nefarious schemes. Multiple times, there are named officials, and you will end up fighting them in a BossFight. If soldiers use the color red (or dark colors like [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]]), along with SigilSpam on the armor, they are ''definitely'' a part of TheEmpire and the antagonistic world.
* BareFistedMonk: This is becoming a common element of the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, starting with ''Tales of Destiny''. It is not uncommon to see this archetype combined with elements of other classes, for example [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Yuri Lowell]].
** Bruiser Khang from ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny''
** Farah Oersted from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''
** Regal Bryant from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Since he only uses his legs to fight, he also doubles as an ExtremityExtremist.
** Tytree Crowe from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', who also doubles as an archer
** Senel Coolidge, the main protagonist from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''
** Anise Tatlin from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', though her giant doll Tokunaga does the swinging while she does the casting.
** Hermana Larmo from ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''
** Sophie from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''
* {{BFS}}:
** In the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, there's the spirit Undine's blade in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Philia Philis' Clemente (heavily magic-tilted and terrible for offense, unlike most examples here) and Berselius in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Ruca Milda's signature weapon type in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', and Decus's sword (which he keeps stored in a man-sized iron maiden) from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. There are also massive axes to be found, specifically Barbatos's axe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Presea Combatir's Gaia Cleaver]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Innes Lorenz' Folseus]] (and both characters are MightyGlacier types to boot).
** And then there is the [[spoiler: VBFFS (Very Big F'n Feather Sword) in the ending of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'']].
* BlackoutBasement:
** The Temple of Lightning in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' games has like this, lit up only by the occasional flash of lightning.
** The BonusDungeon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has two such rooms, one of which is a maze that will sour your opinion of rocks and stalagmites.
* CampfireCharacterExploration: In general, the party spends the night around a campfire or at an inn, and the main character, who can't sleep, becomes the only controllable character. These scenes typically allow the player to have hushed, intimate conversations with all the party members separately, but involve one or two specific required conversations between the main character and one or two other characters before the plot will progress. '''[[green:Note: Too general?]]'''
* CaveBehindTheFalls:
** [[ThatOneLevel Latheon Gorge]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' comes to an end in one of these - although you repeatedly enter and exit the cave throughout the dungeon, the final entrance is opened by dropping a huge boulder into the waterfall, unveiling the cave entrance behind it. Of course, there's a MacGuffin and a huge ManEatingPlant in there. Also, while there are no caves involved, there's goodies behind the mini waterfalls in the Torrent Forest later in the game.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has the Water Trial Shrine hidden behind like this. Amusingly you access it by using the Wind field ability.
* CoolOldGuy: At least one character who is physically and mentally over 25 years old (ignoring the ReallySevenHundredYearsOld characters, since they don't look their age). The oldest main party member in a Tales game is 62. [[note]][[DoubleStandard This character's]] AlwaysMale, however; the oldest female party member is 25, and even then she's only that old in [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld a spinoff]] of [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia her original game]] as a result of a timeskip.[[/note]] This character will almost always be the butt of jokes about being an 'old man'.
* CrapsaccharineWorld: If the game has a remotely positive look for face value, even if it's for seemingly minor plot points, chances are the game will ShooOutTheClowns at some point in the story.
* CuteMonster: Especially noticable once {{Pre Rendered Cutscene}}s entered the fray; the intro to Tales of the Abyss looks like Jade, Anise, Natalia and Guy are slaughtering a horde of plush toys. One of them ''with'' a plush toy.
* DeconstructorFleet: '''[[green:Almost every entry I've seen about this franchise's deconstruction tendencies trends towards gushing about the games, this is going to need its own overhaul later.]]'''
** Plots that [[InvokedTrope start]] as {{Cliche Storm}}s, but later go on to [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] the very tropes they employ, often by [[DeconstructorFleet drastically highlighting the nasty downsides]] of those tropes. This is one of the main reasons why the games have a fanbase.
** Creating some sort of [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]], then showing how much ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne.
** Deconstructing BlackAndWhiteMorality by having the heroes do [[ShootTheDog morally ambiguous things]] in the name of saving the world. In the most extreme cases, it even bends towards BlackAndGrayMorality.
* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series has anti-piracy messages at the start of some of their games; when the game is booted up, a character will come on screen and talk about they're relying on the player to keep the industry alive, et al. '''[[green:Which one?]]'''
* DoomedHometown: '''[[green:Doesn't this trope require that it happen at the start of the story/kick off the character's plot, not just any time a character's home is threatened?]]'''
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'': Meredy's hometown gets destroyed somewhere during the middle of the game. Arguably the first thing that made Reid realize not caring is not the answer to life.
** Downright inverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' -- it happened to the ''villain'' during the backstory and is his main motivation for his WellIntentionedExtremist ways.
*** Though one of the protagonist's companions comes from the same town and was only able to get past the "wanting revenge" thing due to the friendship of the protagonist.
*** Ditto in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts''. The villain is attempting to restore his dead planet. Unfortunately, not only does he plan to do this by stealing the life energy from the main characters' planet, but his plan isn't even going to work.
** Every time a town is attacked by an enemy force in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', its ''always'' Lhant. "Save Lhant from " is regularly recurring objective in the game. Every military in the world attacks it at some point, plus the BigBad's monsters of course.
* EliteFour: A core group of four military leaders [[EliteFour often called "The Four [x]"]] and have [[RedBaron other titles]] associated with them. There are always {{Boss Fight}}s with each individual, but whether or not they pop up and fight you again is really dependent on the story. (Since the series is Japanese, you can probably guess [[FourIsDeath why there are four]].)
* EvilFormerFriend: least one member of the BigBad's team will be former friends or family of a fellow party member.
* EvolvingAttack: sometimes combining two attacks together.
* FinalBossPreview:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', which was released first but takes place far later in the same timeline as ''Symphonia'', does this with Dhaos. [[spoiler:Twice, as Dhaos is also the boss of the DiscOneFinalDungeon.]]
** Also, Shizel in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''. It isn't as much of a curb stomp since you CAN fight back, but after a while the fight abruptly ends anyways.
* FissionMailed:
*** The fight against [[spoiler:Dozo and Okiyo in the Euclid Arena]] qualifies, but it is possible to win with some extra grinding/Infinity Plus X swords available elsewhere (It goes up to Infinity Plus 5!)
* GoWaitOutside: So common that whenever it is ''not'' used, it's usually to cram in a cutscene or another dungeon for you to loot while it's being made.
* GreenAesop: ??? If there is something the entire planet is dependent on, such as the world-wide religion or advanced technology, the things that let everyone use artes/the things that strengthen abilities, etc., chances are it won't make it to through the end of the game. It is usually revealed to be obtained or performed in a [[PoweredByAForsakenChild less-than-moral way]] or is [[GreenAesop ultimately bad for the planet]], sometimes as part of the WhamEpisode as well, and the second half of the game is mostly spent on fixing this problem.
* GuestStarPartyMember:
** Leon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', though the remake had narikiri dolls that let the player turn any party member into a replica of him complete with arte set.
** Ras in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''.
** Asch in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. A rather GuideDangIt glitch can be used to keep him in the party instead of the main character (who he replaces during his stint in the party), at the expense of a few treasures and sidequests. He has two stints[[note]]Well, three; in the third one, he actually is in the party at the same time as the protagonist, but he never gets into any battles so it doesn't really count too much.[[/note]], and manages to get massively depowered between them without a GoodIsDumb moment - he just has the same equipment at the end of the game that he had in the middle, and it turns out that a sword that was pretty damn good 20 hours into the game isn't so great when everybody else has gotten a twofold increase in attack power. '''[[green:Needs a rewrite. Is this an actual glitch that isn't intended by the game or is it a feature that's GuideDangIt?]]'''
* HeroesPreferSwords: The Main Character having a sword as their weapon. Even Velvet from ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', who doesn't use a traditional sword and mostly fights with [[KickChick kick-based attacks]], has a [[BladeBelowTheShoulder retracting gauntlet blade]] at her disposal. [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Senel]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Jude]] are the two exceptions to this gameplay element since they use [[GoodOldFisticuffs their fists]] instead. '''[[green:List all sword users and then state the very few ones that don't.]]'''
* IdiotHero:
** Country-bumpkin [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn Aileron]]. His genes of Idiot Hero is passed down to his son Kyle Dunamis.
** Reid from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' as well, but that's mostly in the first half of the game, where his stomach is bigger than his brain.
** Lloyd from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', who really takes the Idiot Hero → Fool → Messiah evolution to a whole new level of exaggeration, [[spoiler:insofar as he actually ''sprouts wings'' near the end of the game]].
** Subverted. He is absolutely BookDumb, but he is very competent when it comes to crafting. As the game goes on, he proves to be a competent leader and other characters sometimes remark that he's better at making quick decisions than them. Some of this is CharacterDevelopment.
** Colette is also an example, and she also happens to be TheChosenOne.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' protagonist Luke fon Fabre. Although [[spoiler:he becomes a better person after his ImportantHaircut]] he still has plenty of moments that prompt someone, usually Tear, to tell him that he's an idiot.
** It should be stressed again -- Luke is [[spoiler:mentally seven-years-old, due to the whole cloning thing]]. When you see it from this perspective, he's quite ''smart'' [[spoiler:for his age]].
*** Further subverting Luke's Idiot Hero status is the fact that, in addition to having to learn everything from scratch over the past seven years (including ''walking'', ''talking'', and ''the faces of his family'') he spent the entirety of those seven years being locked in his mansion with his family, closest friend and beloved teacher doing their best to keep him from getting any info about the outside world, ostensibly for his own security [[spoiler: but actually because they're either plotting to eventually trick him into being a suicide bomber, kill him and his family, or ''both'']]. Seriously, can you ''blame'' the poor kid?
* ImpliedLoveInterest: '''[[green:Is it actually intentional though or is it plain ShipTease[=/=]HomoeroticSubtext? I don't go here, but I remember cutting the FanPreferredCouple entries because Vesperia doesn't seem to have any creator-preferred ships besides giving everyone teasing moments.]]'''
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Rita and Estelle's friendship is another case that borders on HideYourLesbians, since it's never officially confirmed.
*** Several in-game skits lampshades the implied attraction between them, such as when Yuri and Karol discuss how Rita always [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5lciiqp5Oo frets over Estelle's safety.]] A separate skit has Judith call Rita out for trying to make an excuse to visit her, while a third one has Yuri outright call them [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5yexLrUfXI "Ristelle."]]
*** Rita's also [[CrushBlush prone to blushing]] whenever Estelle pays direct attention to her, or anytime she gives Rita a compliment. Karol teases her about it in the following victory skit:
---->'''Estelle:''' Wow, Rita! That was SO cool!\\
'''Rita:''' ''[blushing]'' Really? Um, t-thanks...\\
'''Karol:''' ''[grinning]'' Oooo~ooo!\\
'''Rita:''' ''[flustered]'' Sh-shut up, YOU!!
*** Further implicated by the live-action [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwC5VHMaI3Y "Tales of Ristelle"]] skit. During which, [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Zelos']] [[Creator/MasayaOnosaka Japanese VA]] tricks [[Creator/RikaMorinaga Rita's VA]] into showing up by telling her Estelle would be there. When Rita calls him out for it, he and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Milla's]] [[Creator/MiyukiSawashiro VA]] tease her for being {{Tsundere}} towards Estelle.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Those outfits requiring an enormous amount of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_tape bias tape]] for cosplayers to reproduce.[[note]]There's a fandom joke that bias tape is to Tales as [[TooManyBelts belts]] are to Franchise/FinalFantasy[[/note]] '''[[green:Rewrite so they're not so dependent on looking at the image links themselves.]]'''
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': Asbel Lhant's BadassLongcoat [[http://images.wikia.com/aselia/images/c/c0/ASBEL_LHANT.png as seen here]]. Not only does it seem to have an awesome pattern on every side, but the arms are practically held together with ''gold disks''.
** A few "Tales" characters are guilty of this.''Tales of Legendia'' seems to be one of the worse offenders. To start of, the main character Senel's top is not only skin tight but has strange mechanics attached to it. Makes one wonder how exactly he puts them on, and how they STAY on.
*** Norma's full outfit looks like it would take some effort to put on. In addition, there are Moses's pants. Good lord, his pants.
** [[http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081020204947/aselia/images/5/5f/Yuri_Lowell.jpg Yuri Lowell]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' generally has one of the series' simpler character designs, barring a pair of knee-length boots which are open at the front and don't appear to have any laces. They pretty much defy the laws of gravity by even staying up. One possible explanation is that they are actually buttoned onto his pants, which makes them less impossible, but still really, really silly.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: Though it's never outright stated, Yuri and Estelle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' fall into this. Despite numerous ShipperOnDeck moments from other companions in various skits, they never stray from being like brother and sister.
* OneTimeDungeon:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': The Catacombs and [[spoiler: Thor]], the latter of which serving as a MAJOR PointOfNoReturn as well.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Every Human Ranch, except for [[spoiler: Iselia's]], as well as the dungeons within [[spoiler: Welgaia]] and [[spoiler: the Tower of Salvation]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Deo Pass and Akzeriuth Mine Shaft 14.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': The E.S.S. Zenethra.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': ''Every single'' [[spoiler: Fractured Dimension]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': [[spoiler: The Calix]]
* PatchworkMap: A snowy town and a desert town; the former usually has a "romantic" atmosphere which may be explored or just touched upon. Oddly enough, ''Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World'' ends up with both at once by covering its predecessor's desert town with snow.
* PortTown:
** Izoold and Palmacosta in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
** Venezia in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is where the protagonists can get a boat to Alvanista, which is also a port town.
** Capua Nor and its sister town Capua Torim in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', along with Nordopolica to a lesser extent.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has Hellawes, Port Zekson, Port Cadnix, Reneed, Yseult, and Taliesin.
* PraetorianGuard:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has the five Grand Cardinals, who double as bosses. The four Seraphim of [[BigBad Yggdrassil]] may also count, though at the time of the game all are either dead or rebelling against Yggdrassil, openly or otherwise.
** The six God-Generals in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' serve [[BigBad Van]] and double as bosses as well.
** ''VideoGame:TalesOfLuminaria'': Blaze for the Federation and the Alphas for the Empire.
* PrisonEpisode: At some point, the party (or at least the main character) will end up in jail. It's also possible that if the party ends up escaping from the police, a very badly drawn wanted poster will feature them.
** RareCandy: Some herbs that can increase base statistics.]]
* SayMyName: Lots of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZDW3xtHAxU&fmt=18 shouting.]] Particularly, [[SayMyName someone's name being screamed out]]. Almost every Tales-related meme requires capslock.
---> '''Note:''' [[SayMyName/VideoGames They're basically all Zero-Context]], maybe we should just cut them...
[[/folder]]

* LikeBrotherAndSister:
** Though it's never outright stated, Yuri and Estelle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' fall into this. Despite numerous ShipperOnDeck moments from other companions in various skits, they never stray from being like brother and sister.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': When Asbel refers to himself, his brother Hubert, and Cheria -- who clearly harbours romantic interest for him -- as "Lhant's Triplets of Terror", Cheria angrily retorts, "I am ''not'' your sister, Asbel!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:To Check]]
* LimitBreak: Called a "Mystic Arte" (or "Hi-Ougi", lit. Hidden Secret Skill, in Japanese). Frequently involves a SuperMovePortraitAttack. The requirement for activating a Mystic Arte varies from game to game, but the most common requirements are: the character must be in Over Limit, the character must have learned and equipped a skill called "Special", and the character must successfully hit an enemy with an Arcane Arte. Less common requirements include having a [[DesperationAttack very small amount of HP]], expending a large amount of TP/CC and/or building a long-enough combo.
** Recurring Mystic Artes can probably go under RecurringElement or MythologyGag? A recurring Mystic Arte where the character delivers [[SpamAttack a massive flurry of attacks close range]], known as ''Satsugeki Bukouken'' (officially translated as ''Final Fury'') Characters that have used this technique are as follows: [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Cress Albane]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn Aileron]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Farah Oersted]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld Regal Bryant (uses a variation)]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Anise Tatlin]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Kohaku Hearts]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Jude Mathis]].
** Another recurring Mystic Arte is Big Bang, which is pretty much the equivalent to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'''s Supernova where the user attacks enemies with ''the explosion that created the entire universe''. Mostly used by the villains, but some heroes can also use this Mystic Arte. Characters that have used this technique are as follows: [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Arche Klein]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Laville Clemente, Philia]] [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Felice]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Will Raynard, Dark Vaclav]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Arietta, Nebilim]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Ange Serena]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Duke Pantarei]].
** Finally, a reoccurring Mystic Arte where the character summons [[ShockAndAwe a gigantic bolt of lightning]] called "Indignation." Said Arte will also usually have the same/similar incantation across multiple games.[[note]]''"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens command thee, who opens the gates of Hell! Come forth, divine lightning! This ends now! INDIGNATION!"''[[/note]] Characters that have used this technique include [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Genis]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Jade]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Cheria]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Rita]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria Maotelus]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria Laphicet]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfArise Lord Gananbelt]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Tales|Series}}'' games since the ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' [=PlayStation=] remake featured Hi-Ougis. They usually require a huge TP payment as well as low HP. In games that focus more on repeated comboing, the condition may be building up a combo meter instead, a la ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Lloyd, Genis, and Colette all have Limit Breaks (called Hi-Ougis), although all of them have different activation triggers. Sheena's summons require similar conditions, even if they don't techinically count as Hi-Ougis. In the Japan-only rerelease, all nine playable characters have their own Hi-Ougis. There's also has a second Limit Break system in the form of [[CombinationAttack Unison Attacks]]. Once the Unison Attack gauge is full (it fills up for every hit the player lands on an opponent, so techs that land a lot of blows fill up the meter faster), the player can start a Unison Attack, in which all the characters do a single attack on the enemy (chosen from their pool of techs beforehand.) If certain characters do certain attacks (like if Lloyd and Kratos/Zelos both do a Sonic Thrust-type attack,) two of them will even team up to do a follow-up at the end of the attack (in the aforementioned case, Cross Thrust, where both characters do a second, simultaneous Sonic Thrust.).
** The official translations of the later games seem to have decided to call them Mystic Artes (granted, the same games changed the translation of regular abilities from "techs" to "artes", so maybe you might call it a "[[IncrediblyLamePun hi-tech]]").
** Later games also seem to have stabilized how hi-ougis/Mystic Artes are used: be in [[SuperMode OverLimit]] and use a high-level arte while holding down the arte button. Some games have other, more powerful Mystic Artes, though, which have other conditions such as holding down different buttons, casting a certain spell, or [[DesperationAttack being under a certain HP threshold.]]

* LostWorld: Plots that involve at least two isolated worlds. These worlds will be antagonistic towards each other, though neither will be painted as [[PlanetOfHats outright evil]]. Fighting over a common resource is a popular trope. At least one world will be [[TechnologyLevels significantly more technologically-advanced than the other]], and the ''most'' technologically-advanced world [[ScienceIsBad will also be the most antagonistic]]. More often than not, the plot will involve the heroes finding a way to SaveBothWorlds.
* LoveTriangle: between three main characters of uncannily similar age appearances. It is usually TheHero, ChildhoodFriend, and an AmbiguouslyHuman[=/=]character from the other world who is central to the plot. More often than not, the Hero picks the AmbiguouslyHuman.

* LukeIAmYourFather: At least two characters who are directly (by family) or [[MindScrew indirectly]] ([[EpilepticTrees there are many weird cases]]) related to each other. Often very important to the plot.

** Both vehicles in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the Elemental Cargo and the Rheaird, are powered by mana. The former is a cargo ship [[CargoShip (not that kind)]] that uses water mana to surf on the water. The latter is a jet ski-like thing that uses electric mana to fly. The ancient technology that was lost in the Kharlan war is actually called "Magitechnology."

* MedicinalCuisine: Cooking as a means to recover HP/TP after every battle. Cooking can bestow multiple effects and vary in potency, depending on which character you choose to be the cook. It is also trained as a skill, with characters improving their skills the more they practice a recipe.
* MediumAwareness:
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', one skit called "For Lazy People" has Lloyd complaining about having to walk through one of the dungeons again. Specifically, he asks "Couldn't they at least give us a Quick Jump option?" This confuses the other characters, who have no idea what he's talking about - he's referring to a few dungeons that ''can'' be skipped after you've beaten them once. It's done again by Tenebrae in another skit for the sequel.
** This happens in other ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' games as well; these comments usually come from the main character, who often represents the player and asks questions about his world that should be common knowledge.

** Either a DownerEnding (common) or a BittersweetEnding for defeating a HopelessBossFight.
** A BittersweetEnding for completing the game, sometimes combined with the above-mentioned GainaxEnding.

* NeverSayDie:
* The French version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is a funny example of this when you understand English, because while the text is in French, the voice acting is still in English. So you ''hear'' "killed" and ''read'' "destroyed/eliminated/disposed of/badly hurt". They toned down some of the stuff Zelos says, too...
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' At a certain point in the game, Luke is talking to Asch, telling him that he'll stop [[spoiler:Van]]. Asch bluntly corrects him by saying: "Not 'stop'. Kill!"
* In the video game series ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' when the party is killed by monsters, the usual death screen message is "they were never heard from again..." paired with depressing or unsettling music.
* NoobCave:

** The Imperial Capital Sewers fill this role in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''.
* The first dungeon in ''VideoGame/LastScenario'' is an abandoned copper mine populated with enemies that are lucky to [[ScratchDamage deal even 1 hitpoint of damage]] to Hilbert... and a griffin that can be nasty if you don't bring antidotes along.
* OneTimeDungeon:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': The Catacombs and [[spoiler: Thor]], the latter of which serving as a MAJOR PointOfNoReturn as well.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Every Human Ranch, except for [[spoiler: Iselia's]], as well as the dungeons within [[spoiler: Welgaia]] and [[spoiler: the Tower of Salvation]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Deo Pass and Akzeriuth Mine Shaft 14.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': The E.S.S. Zenethra.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': ''Every single'' [[spoiler: Fractured Dimension]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': [[spoiler: The Calix]]

* OptionalCharacterScene: * The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series has featured these since the second game in the form of skits.
* PatchworkMap: A snowy town and a desert town; the former usually has a "romantic" atmosphere which may be explored or just touched upon. Oddly enough, ''Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World'' ends up with both at once by covering its predecessor's desert town with snow.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Eternia]]'', the Eternal Sword might also still count depending on when you get it. As it was only the ultimate weapon in terms of sheer power, sacrificing other stats for it. Not to mention its Time element weakens it against certain enemies. The game had a few other weapons like it too. The true InfinityPlusOneSword was the Last Fencer. While not as strong in terms of sheer strength, it had no element, and the advantage of raising all stats at once. It also may or may not be named after one of titles Cless gets in Tales Of Phantasia. So um... TakeThat?

* PlayerNudge: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' games sometimes use the skits to give hints either on what the player should do next (or outright tell you) or about any sidequest they have the opportunity to do at that moment. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', if you die on a boss, you get an extra option on the GameOver screen that lets them view a skit where the characters lament over their failure and then try to think of a strategy for when the player tries again. You don't need to fight the boss this way, but it helps a lot.
* PlayingPossum:
** Karol from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' can do this with one of his skills in order to regain HP/TP and escape enemy notice after he's been knocked down. He's a bit cowardly, so it fits.
** Returns as a skill usable by multiple party members in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', cowardly or not.
* PointOfNoReturn:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' involves TimeTravel, which happens as part of the plot when called for, and the trips are one way, locking off absolutely everything that came before. While the first one ([[spoiler:going from the present to the past after beating The Catacombs]]) isn't too big of an issue (You lose one party member for a very long time, but he does eventually rejoin), the second trip ([[spoiler:Past to Future via Thor and the events that follow]]) is massive and world changing.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' dances around the issue of what's going to happen to Colette until it's too late to do anything about it. Colette does herself no favors by even telling her teammates to keep quiet, or just trying to pretend there isn't a problem. That never ends well; the party always has to stop trying to save the world to help cure what ails Colette. Thankfully, [[CharacterDevelopment she recognizes this and grows out of it]].
** Midway through ''Symphonia'', Kratos, having realized that [[spoiler:the Key Crest Lloyd gave to Colette is failing to contain the Cruxis Crystal]], warns Collette that she must remove the "worthless Key Crest" if she values her life. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't explain why Colette's life is in danger from the necklace ([[ItWasAGift which was a late birthday gift from Lloyd]]), so Colette doesn't listen to him. It doesn't help that Kratos [[spoiler:had betrayed the group by this point]], so the group had even less reason to trust him.
** Kratos also warns the party not to make pacts with all eight Summon Spirits in order to separate the worlds in order to end the cycle of prosperity and dearth. Again, since Kratos doesn't specify the consequences and [[spoiler:is working for the villains(who don't want that to happen, either) at this point]], the party doesn't realize the real reason why he's warning them until it's too late.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': Lailah traveled with the previous Shepherd and was an eyewitness to the incident that began the Age of Chaos and caused Heldalf's StartOfDarkness, but in order to gain the power to purify hellions, she took an oath to never speak about it to anyone. About 3/4 of the plot could have been avoided if Lailah had been able to share her knowledge with the others, but at the cost of leaving the remaining 1/4 insurmountable because no one had the power of purification.

*** In general, ''Berseria'' is known for being much better about this trope than most other games in the series. Most of the party has secrets, but they're not particularly important and no one really cares. Most of the party isn't aware that Artorius was married to Velvet's sister, for example, but that's just because [[YouDidntAsk she didn't think it was worth mentioning]]; when the others find out, they're surprised, but admit that Velvet was right, it doesn't change anything. The biggest secret is probably Magilou's [[spoiler:status as the Lost Legate of the Abbey]]. Once it actually becomes relevant, she immediately tells everyone, at which point they just shrug and accept it.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Several characters know what the nature of Estelle's healing power is. One even comments that her power is a "poison" to her. None of them explain it to her, as everybody agrees she's too nice and they don't want to trouble her. Naturally, this leads to her using it on somebody to whom it ''actually is'' poison, leading to their easily avoided death.
* PortTown:
** Izoold and Palmacosta in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
** Venezia in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is where the protagonists can get a boat to Alvanista, which is also a port town.
** Capua Nor and its sister town Capua Torim in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', along with Nordopolica to a lesser extent.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has Hellawes, Port Zekson, Port Cadnix, Reneed, Yseult, and Taliesin.
* PraetorianGuard:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has the five Grand Cardinals, who double as bosses. The four Seraphim of [[BigBad Yggdrassil]] may also count, though at the time of the game all are either dead or rebelling against Yggdrassil, openly or otherwise.
** The six God-Generals in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' serve [[BigBad Van]] and double as bosses as well.
* PrisonEpisode: At some point, the party (or at least the main character) will end up in jail. It's also possible that if the party ends up escaping from the police, a very badly drawn wanted poster will feature them.
* PurpleIsTheNewBlack:

---> '''Note:''' (I think the following can probably go under their own separate tropes)
** "Gald" as a unit of currency.
** "Gels" as healing items. In a change from normal RPG convention, Gels heal [[PercentBasedValues by percentage]] (e.g. 30% of a total) rather than a fixed amount.
** Item sets which avert the idea that MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap. While magic-restoring items tend to be a little more expensive than health-restoring ones, they are by no means uncommon. Some games in the series don't have magic points at all.
** "Bottles" as items used to heal status effects.
** The "All-Divide", a rare item that cuts all damage taken by friend and foe by half. This item is usually given after defeating [[ChestMonster Mimics]].
** [[RareCandy Herbs that can increase base statistics.]]
** The Sorcerer's Ring, an item that shoots small energy bolts and is used to solve puzzles. Its functions are usually upgraded as the story proceeds.
** LegendaryWeapon: The Eternal Sword. Also known as the Sword of Time, it is capable of cleaving time and space itself.
** "Grade" as an extra unit of currency that can (for all intents and purposes) be treated as the player's "[[ScoringPoints score]]". Grade is awarded after battle according to how well the player did, with Grade awarded for achieving long combos or blocking attacks, and Grade deducted for taking damage, using ineffective artes (such as a Fire-elemental arte on a Fire-resistant monster) or relying on recovery items. Grade awards bonus EXP in battle, but can also be used to purchase NewGamePlus bonuses and occasionally in-game bonuses too.
** A broadly-shared list of artes and spells. It's possible to tell how nostalgic a game is attempting to be by how closely it sticks to that list. Games such as ''Destiny 2'', ''Rebirth'', and ''Hearts'' tried to break out completely.
** Very common moves include "Demon Fang" and "Tiger Blade" as the first moves the sword-wielder and "Photon", one of the early Light magic spells, for the magic user.
** The swordplay style used by the main character of ''Phantasia'' (and its accompanying moveset) would become synonymous with ''Tales'' series main characters.
** There are also a few games where one character doesn't use the "Traditional" artes used by most ''Tales'' series main characters...but another character does. Examples include Chloe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' (And even then, some of their artes overlap with each other or the classic ''Tales'' series heroes), Guy in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', or Spada in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''.
** A ChestMonster called the Fake which sometimes drops the All Divide.
** Several common items, such as Gald" as a unit of currency, "Gels" for healing items, etc.
** Combat techniques, known as "Artes". There are several artes, that appear in almost every game in the series.
*** "Demon Fang" -- a basic SwordBeam, learned by most swordsmen
*** "Indignation" -- a BoltOfDivineRetribution with [[Memes/TalesSeries memetic]] incantation, used by some mages.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Collette is required in all of the boss fights at the end of Sylvarant's temples(which are seals she must open for her journey of regeneration as TheChosenOne), while Sheena is required for all summon seals. Also, in order to get the location information for monsters into your Monster Book, you need to use the Magic Lens with Raine, not any of the other characters. Raine is also required for the Windmaster boss fight, because she is participating in the ritual, and Lloyd is required for [[spoiler:the third battle with Yggdrasill, the [[DuelBoss third battle with Kratos]] and the battle with Origin]].

* SayMyName: Lots of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZDW3xtHAxU&fmt=18 shouting.]] Particularly, [[SayMyName someone's name being screamed out]]. Almost every Tales-related meme requires capslock.
---> '''Note:''' [[SayMyName/VideoGames They're basically all Zero-Context]], maybe we should just cut them...

** Julius from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' gets this from time to time, though he's not a bad guy. His AlternateSelf that's encountered early on, [[AxCrazy however]], tells a different story.
* SchizoTech: ''Symphonia'': particularly within the waning world of Sylverant. While the Sylveranti consider a coal-powered steamship to be their most technologically advanced vehicle, Cruxis, the Renegades, and later the main party possess Rheairds, which are basically personal interdimensional jets. Note also the Desian human ranches. While they have elevators, electric lights, automated factories with electronic control panels, AND autonomous robots with lasers, the outside world is comparatively primitive. Heck, people have to travel to the Thoda Geyser using wooden wash buckets.
* ScoreScreen: based on your gald and maximum hit combos, among other things.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''

** This happens in the final battle of ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''. Made awesome by the fact that each member unleashes their [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] as they arrive.
* SpaceWhaleAesop: ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': If you don't use environmentally friendly technology, [[spoiler:a technicolor interdimensional ghost squid will come down from space and eat everybody]].
---> '''Note:''' Vespiria is the only game crosswicked here. It may be too rare to be series-wide. (But just by reading this, it feels like misuse?)
* SquadControls: ''Tales'' games allow you to give each character orders on what to do, [[ArtificialStupidity but sometimes they'll just do whatever]]. Pretty much all of the ''Tales'' games do this, with varying levels of complexity depending on the age of the entry. Most of them include preset orders for defensive and aggressive behaviors, which can then be further customized in the strategy menus. You can also choose to enable and disable certain of your party members' abilities, and most entries allow you to choose how often they use special techniques, and in some cases what kind (for example, you might be able to set the healer to focus on conserving mana, healing everyone, or casting a lot of support spells). You can also set their default distance from the enemy when they enter battle, how closely they choose to engage the enemy when actually in combat, and sometimes what kind of enemies they focus on attacking (same as the player, different from the player, flying enemies, etc).

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' is similar to the ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' example, in that it also allows you to set the behavior of AI controlled party members. However, it gives the player far more options to work with, from selecting formations, setting the distance AI team mates should maintain between the PlayerCharacter and the enemy, and whether to allow them to use items (and how often).

** Ludger from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2''. Not surprising, considering that his job is being an actual chef. Everyone praises his cooking, and nobody minds him using tomatoes in practically everything he cooks (except for Elle, who gets over it). The developers put a lot of effort into [[FoodPorn making his dishes look delicious]].

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': If you refuse to let go of Fractured Milla when she is being sucked into the summoning portal, and her RelationshipValues with Ludger are high enough, then she tells Ludger to let her go so he can save Elle. If Ludger continues to hold on, she lets go herself and her last words plead to him to take care of Elle.

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series loves this; typically there will be cutscene exposition before a plot-important fight and then the characters will banter ''during'' it, apparently not even needing to breathe.
** ''Xillia'' introduces Chats, which are also conversations but instead occur ''during'' battles automatically. In some of these battles, they can be between the character the party is fighting against, if they also have a voice actor.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' takes a jab at this trope when Yuri and Flynn work together to defend a village of refugees from monsters. Yuri can't concentrate if he isn't talking and Flynn can't concentrate when someone is talking.
*** And then [[spoiler:they fight each other and trash-talk each other while they're kicking each other's ass]].
** Played in full force by ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' where there is some quite lengthy dialogue between the party and some bosses, while running round shouting out arte names and casting spells that require incantations.
*** PlayedForLaughs when the party is running from Alice and Decus in the Ice Temple. When they try to hold a conversation in a skit like they always do, Tenebrae reminds them that they're supposed to be running like hell and declares a ban on speaking. It doesn't take long for the party to turn this on him and prevent ''him'' from speaking as well.
* ThanksForTheMammary:

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', Milla trips while walking on a rather treacherous path near some lava, at which point Ludger is given the choice of catching her fall or doing nothing. The former option results in the trope and earns him a punch [[RelationshipValues (And some affinity)]], though she apologizes for it quickly. She ends up being fine in the latter option, but she gets mad at him for letting her crash into the ground instead.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:

* TheThunderdome: An optional arena where you can take on a number of challenges, such as {{Solo Character Run}}s and {{Boss Rush}}es. You can even end up fighting your own party members.
* TitleThemeDrop:

** It's common in the series for a remix of the game's main theme to be used during pivotal scenes or important fights. Example include the one-on-one rival fight in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' and the final boss in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2''.
* TokenMiniMoe: a kid who is much younger or shorter than everyone else]]. Most of the time they turn out to be the [[GlacierWaif most powerful physical attacker]] of the party. Is usually female, but not always.
* TwentyBearAsses:

** In the game ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', although he only has one line, if you talk to a certain NPC enough (something like 50 times) then he gives you an item (and says something different.)

** In the majority of ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' games, this is the case. However, [=NPC=]s often have varied activities depending on your actions, and they're frequently updated constantly throughout the game, to a remarkable degree.
** [[ChivalrousPervert Zelos]] gets different dialogue, at least from female [=NPC=]s...

* WellIntentionedExtremist: A BigBad with a [[FreudianExcuse personal reason]] for wanting to do whatever he's doing. He often wants to save something precious to him, or sincerely wants to SaveTheWorld. The problem is that his method most often involves [[WellIntentionedExtremist killing an awful lot of people]]. This in turn puts the Big Bad into AntiVillain territory.
* WhamEpisode: in the ''perfect center'' of normal story progression (it is really that horrifyingly accurate), often accompanied with a FaceHeelTurn. Said Face Heel Turn will also happen somewhere immediately before or after this time. {{Deconstruction}} will play a major part of the segment, but it will most likely not compare to the horror initiated. Due to this change in perspective, the BigBad will end up becoming the WellIntentionedExtremist he will be properly known for.
* WordPureeTitle: The title of each series almost always consists of either [[WordPureeTitle a made-up word that never comes up in the game]], a word that does technically exist but is incredibly niche and not commonly used at all (and also is never said in the game), or a regular word, but has [[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords no real significant meaning to the plot of the game.]] There are a small handful of exceptions, such as Tales of Vesperia (the word in-universe refers to the brightest star in the sky, and the party's guild name themselves "Brave Vesperia" after it), but not many.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the overarching goal of the characters is to re-create The World Tree, but the ''BigBad'' is named Yggdrasil.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the protagonists have to revive a dying world tree called Yggdrasil. It's the same tree, by the way.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': The plot revolves heavily around the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, the previous World Tree, who awakens immediately after ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]''. It's interesting that he's named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatosk Ratatosk]], which connects to Norse mythology, which the game takes many ideas from.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had the Sephiroth Trees, which [[spoiler:support the FloatingContinent]].

** The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' really likes trees -- there's also the treetop village of Morle in ''Eternia'', the big tree in Halure in ''Vesperia'' and the tree that's grown over the Giant Psistone that holds Iola's soul in ''Hearts''. None of them are exactly ''World'' Trees, but they all mark major plot points in their own way.
* VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: that is floating in the sky or actually out in space. (Alternatively: AstralFinale)
* VirtualPaperDoll: Costume Titles, which [[AndYourRewardIsClothes completely change the appearance of a character]] while equipped. May also be a CastingGag or MythologyGag depending on who it is used on.

** Every time a town is attacked by an enemy force in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', its ''always'' Lhant. "Save Lhant from <insert enemy here>" is regularly recurring objective in the game. Every military in the world attacks it at some point, plus the BigBad's monsters of course.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', you fight the final final boss in the JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind of the BigBad, and the BonusBoss at the bottom of some sort of warped space.

** Barbatos, the BonusBoss of the [=PS2=] version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', if fought on the Simple difficulty, will immediately start the fight off with an upgraded version of his [[SwordBeam Genocide Braver]] called Cheap Eliminate, his quote for the attack being something that roughly translates to "You aren't qualified to fight me!". It covers the entire length of the screen in front of him, and is instant death for anyone who gets hit by it, save for those using certain invulnerability granting moves. He'll then use it immediately after ''every single attack'' he performs, but can be defeated if one can get close to him, where dodging it becomes a simple matter of dashing past him when he starts firing it and countering accordingly. The battle generally ends up becoming a solo job due to the AI being incapable of dodging the move consistently, however.

** The [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Rockgagong]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' devours the party and [[WombLevel serves as a short dungeon]] (They end up escaping with a pouch of pepper they acquired by accident). It also tries to snap up anyone to who's standing too close to its face while you're fighting it as a BonusBoss later, which removes any victims for the rest of the battle. For some awkward reason, this attack is ''blockable'', which makes it a lot less threatening it sounds [[ArtificialStupidity (Unless the AI is the one standing close to it...)]].

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', the Devil's Arms are supposedly the most powerful weapons in the world, each embedded in the body of a powerful BonusBoss. By the time you're strong enough to actually defeat these bosses, the Devil's Arms you get from them will probably be outclassed by weapons you already have. (Elize's is heavily outclassed by a [[LethalJokeWeapon toy princess staff she gets from a couple of pink-obsessed valley-girls]]) There's a sidequest you can do to unlock their true power, but it can only be done after beating the game, and it involves beating the game's strongest BonusBoss, so even then they're more of a BraggingRightsReward.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', when you fight [[BonusBoss Maxwell]], the [[{{Magitek}} Sin Incarnates]], and the [[OneWingedAngel Robot version of the]] BigBad. Also any fights in the [[BrutalBonusLevel book, Forbidden Anamnesis]]. And the area before the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, would count as well.

* InevitableTournament: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series almost always has an arena. It's rarely necessary to ''complete'' the tournament, though the BonusBoss therein often coughs up some sweet stuff if you beat it, but you are often required to participate in a fight or three when the plot calls.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', the Score states that "The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city." It said [[spoiler:miner's city]], not [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]]. That part is actually subverted. [[spoiler: Akzeriuth just wasn't possessed of a name two thousand years ago.]] The more accurate bit of ExactWords is the next part that says "There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city." [[spoiler: It just says "destroys" and that is exactly what not only [[HeroicBSOD happens]] [[TomatoInTheMirror to]] [[CloningBlues Luke]], but would have happened to the original Luke since the "Light of the Sacred Flame" aka the "young scion of Lorelei's power" is mentioned on the Seventh Fonstone long after Akzeriuth's destruction.]] In all, the Score actually is ''very'' literal about everything it predicts, as Lorelei was attempting to be as precise as possible so humans wouldn't get confused. Unfortunately, the Score is taken as a mystical thing instead of just a long list of events in chronological order that has some LostInTranslation problems mixed in.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this with the Replicas. They're considered freaks by most of the townspeople due to being clones ([[spoiler:and many of the people they are clones of didn't survive the cloning process or were already dead to begin with, resulting in the replicas getting the blame for the deaths]]), and they generally feel like they have nowhere to live where they can be accepted. In the end, [[spoiler:[[CloningBlues 10,000 replicas willingly sacrifice their lives in the hope that their sacrifice will mean replicas in the future will have a place in the world to live in without being condemned for simply being born.]]]]

** A particularly [[TearJerker poignant]] part of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' invokes this trope: the only surefire way to neutralize the poisonous miasma covering the world is to cause a "hyperresonance" so powerful that it would take the user's life and the lives of ''thousands of willing sacrifices.'' The thousands of sacrifices are supplied by eventually-[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman all-too-willing replicas]], and [[CloningBlues Luke and Asch]] argue for a while over who should be the one to instigate the hyperresonance. It eventually ends with [[MessianicArchetype Luke]] trying to do so, but Asch needing to contribute a bit of his power anyway because Luke isn't strong enough on his own. Possibly for this reason, though it's never quite explained, both of them survive.

** For ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''; in the short time you have him, [[GuestStarPartyMember Asch]] is shown to be a great chef via skit, in contrast to Natalia and Luke who are his [[spoiler:[[ChildhoodMarriagePromise fiance]] and [[CloningBlues replica]], respectively]], both of whom are no good in a kitchen.

** It should be stressed again -- Luke is [[spoiler:mentally seven-years-old, due to the whole CloningBlues thing]]. When you see it from this perspective, he's quite ''smart'' [[spoiler:for his age]].

** The original bathing scenes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' had peeping on ''both'' sides: Chester on the male side, and Arche on the female. Chester also gained the title of Muscleman, [[WhiteMagicianGirl Mint]] the title "[[GagBoobs Boin~chan]]".

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had two scenes: one gives you new outfits and another gives Guy the title [[AccidentalPervert Naughty Devil]] due to him [[ThanksForTheMammary groping]] both [[GagBoobs Tear]] and Natalia after being shoved by Luke and Jade for [[ForTheLulz an experiment]].

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', this happened to Guy after Luke (under orders from Jade) kicked him into the girl's area of the spa (it should be noted that Guy is ''very'' gynophobic). The girls were angry at first, but then realize that he was the least likely guy to grope them. Then [[TheGadfly Anise]] asked him who was bigger: Natalia or Tear. After he said [[GagBoobs Tear]], they got angry and called him a pervert again, netting him the new title "Naughty Devil".

* CoolOldGuy: At least one character who is physically and mentally over 25 years old (ignoring the ReallySevenHundredYearsOld characters, since they don't look their age). The oldest main party member in a Tales game is 62. [[note]][[DoubleStandard This character's]] AlwaysMale, however; the oldest female party member is [[ChristmasCake 25]], and even then she's only that old in [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld a spinoff]] of [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia her original game]] as a result of a timeskip.[[/note]] This character will almost always be the butt of jokes about being an 'old man'.

* HotSpringsEpisode:
** The original bathing scenes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' had peeping on ''both'' sides: Chester on the male side, and Arche on the female. Chester also gained the title of Muscleman, [[WhiteMagicianGirl Mint]] the title "[[GagBoobs Boin~chan]]".
** One of the inns in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is also a hot spring, and going there with Zelos in the party results in a cutscene where Zelos tries to spy on the female party members while they're bathing. Lloyd shows up and chastises him, but the ladies hear him and Zelos runs off, leaving Lloyd to take the blame. The game even gives Lloyd the title of "Peeping Tom".
** The same kind of situation happens in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. If the party goes to the hot spring at one point and have the ladies go in, Zelos tries to spy on the females (while Emil and Lloyd give him crap for it), and Lloyd gets blamed again as he's the only one who didn't run. When the males take their turn, ''Marta'' tricked everyone but Emil into not coming in so she could spend time with him. When Emil finds out he ends up calling everyone else attention. Naturally, everyone but Lloyd decides that Emil must have planned this even though both claim otherwise (and them all knowing how openly affectionate Marta is towards Emil), and Emil also gets the title "Peeping Tom".
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had two scenes: one gives you new outfits and another gives Guy the title [[AccidentalPervert Naughty Devil]] due to him [[ThanksForTheMammary groping]] both [[GagBoobs Tear]] and Natalia after being shoved by Luke and Jade for [[ForTheLulz an experiment]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' had no wall-watching, although Reid did have to smuggle Chat into the men's dressing room to get one of her skills, which leads to a rather unfortunate scene between her and Keele. Also on a separate occasion, Meredy decided to bath near the man's side instead, and HilarityEnsues.
** They're at it again in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. There are three different scenes. The first scene costs 300,000 gald, the second 600,000, and the third is free. The first time, Raven keeps trying to peek at the woman's side of the spring, with little success. The second time, Raven manages to see Judith completely nude, and coerces Karol into being his accomplice. Judith appears to be aware of this, but [[MsFanservice utterly nonchalant]]. In the third scene, the party winds up working there and at the end, they all get [[AndYourRewardIsClothes costume titles]]. The [=PS3=] version adds a few scenes to accommodate Flynn and Patty being in the party.
** After the series' staple scene was cut from the first game for time constraints, ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' made up for it by making the hot springs event an animated cutscene. The party gets treated to it as a reward for paying off Ludger's 20 million gald debt. However, the hot spring they go to ends up lacking a partition, forcing them to improvise by having the guys cram themselves into a water-filled, super-sized Tipo while the girls get to bathe comfortably. Hilarity and fanservice ensue.
** Present in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', with the added effect of a FreakyFridayFlip.

* FortuneTeller:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' there is a fortune teller in Triet. The first time you visit her, she gives directions that help advance the plot. Subsequent visits are an optional thing to check on the game's RelationshipValues.
** Lailah in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' acts like this at times, mostly in victory quotes and in a skit.
* FullBoarAction: Boars' signature move is to lift you up with their tusks like a forklift and then throw you over their backs. (A real-world boar would run between your legs, slashing them with his tusks as he went.) A large boar was also featured in the beginning of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', where hunting one caused the heroes not to be in town when it was [[DoomedHometown burned down]]. When you return to the future, you can hunt them freely, and they usually come with several children that, if you can catch them before they flee, drop large amounts of Pork.
* GameWithinAGame:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had the classic first generation side-scroller ''Dragon Buster'' as an unlockable bonus.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the player can engage in an arcade game on Nam Cobanda Isle called "Tales of Draspi."
* GenreShift:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' is yet another JRPG to switch genre to [[spoiler:Sci-Fi]], though in this case it happens halfway through the plot.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' starts as a lighthearted journey story before it takes a ''very'' dark shift as [[spoiler:the protagonist becomes a VigilanteMan and [[PayEvilUntoEvil murders several villains who were "above the law"]], with his increasingly extreme methods [[OrderVsChaos bringing him into conflict with his friend]] who intends to go the InternalReformist route]]. Then it becomes a slightly lighter, but still dark, take on a [[spoiler:typical rescue-the-princess story]], and then the mood becomes much lighter and the plot turns into [[spoiler:an elaborate analogy for global warming]].
* GiantEnemyCrab: A common enemy type in the 3D games. They're usually about the size of a small car.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', where you can fight an ordinary sized crab. The fact that the ''boss theme'' plays while you do so might give one the impression that [[KillerRabbit it's actually dangerous]], but it doesn't do anything other then run around at an absurd speed, which coupled with its sky high defense stat and tiny size, just makes it annoying for a lower leveled party to kill.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Narikiri Dungeon X'', Mel and Dio can be giant ''ally'' crabs with a certain costume, that while lacking in attacks, possess the same ridiculous speed and defense as the aforementioned crab.
* GladiatorSubquest: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series has this as a typical sidequest in most of its games. The earlier games only let you use the main character in the arena, but later games let you use every party member, or even an entire party. This is where cameo characters often like to hang out.
* GoodShepherd:
** Ion from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is the figurehead of a rather CorruptChurch, so his power is limited. He is, however, very kind, willing to help the heroes at every turn, does not hold grudges, and believes that adhering to the Score religiously is not the only course of action.
** Ange from ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' has a reputation as a holy woman who will cure any malady or disability. She is able to make cripples walk, restore people's eyesight, and rescue people at the brink of death. She is also self-sacrificing, kind to children, and offers assistance to anyone in need. At the end of the game, she is seen taking care of orphans.
* GrowlingGut:
* ''VideoGame/TalesOf''
** In one of ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'''s many comedic skits, a hungry Magilou tries to avoid having to admit to wanting something to eat by asking Velvet about her own hunger in an insensitive, roundabout way. When the party admits to wanting to stop for food, she denies her hunger and smugly tries to make fun of them for getting fired up about food... only for her roaring stomach to give her away.
** If you don't allow the party to eat anything for a while in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', several cutscenes will play hinting that it's a conscious choice on behalf of the party. The first indicates that it's due to dieting for Judith, Rita, and Estelle, whose growling stomachs startle the boys due to thinking they were taking their hunger in stride. It also happens to Karol in the second skit, who is ''furious'' about the party being forced to fast.
** Milla's stomach rumbles twice in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', but instead of it being a source of embarrassment it merely amuses her. Since she's a newly depowered spirit, she's never had to deal with hunger until now and views it as a fascinating aspect of the human condition.
** This happens to Elle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', whose growling belly defuses the tension while the party is discussing threats they've encountered in the parallel worlds with Bisley Bakur at the end of Chapter 7. Milla and Bakur are amused, while the poor girl's just embarrassed.
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' the hero's martial arts teacher, who has been teaching him for years, goes over how to use the controller and attack. The concept of teaching him the very basics after years of training and practice is strange enough, but him naming the controller buttons to push sounds even sillier than you might think.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Genis fulfilling that role towards Lloyd when a wild monster wanders into the village. Even sillier because Lloyd is a self-learned swordsman and should probably know these things already, whereas Genis is a wizard who's had no part whatsoever in Lloyd's training.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has several [=NPCs=] who keep mentioning D-Pad combinations to use when a certain item has been found and much more general instructions on how use [[GlobalAirship Rheiards]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' both subvert this, doing away with immersion-breaking tutorials because all of the characters involved are seasoned warriors (and in ''Vesperia'', everyone except Yuri and Karol are some variety of MagicKnight, leading to homogenized movesets.) Game controls are instead explained through on-screen hot tips during or after battles.
* HeroicMime:
** The Descender in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' Radiant Mythology Series as well as the first in the series in general. Like Ludger he/she may do some [[CallingYourAttacks calling of attacks]] in battle and their Mystic Artes. The Descender also has various dialogue choices to choose during story dialogue and skits.
** Ludger, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' is completely silent, save for some grunts, [[{{Kiai}} yells]], and the usual [[CallingYourAttacks calling of attacks]] in battle (though even in that case, he only ever says the attack's name, leaving out the usual BadassCreed from his solo [[LimitBreak Mystic Artes]], and letting his partner say it for the dual Mystic Artes). The only actual lines you can hear from him are for the dialogue choices you pick in skits and cutscenes, and they aren't actually voiced until you enable the option in a NewGamePlus. On the few instances where Ludger runs into an AlternateSelf, however, they ''do'' talk. No other mothership title uses this trope.
** The Savior [[spoiler: Allen]] from VideoGame/TalesOfLink doesn't speak [[spoiler: until Chapter 5]].
* HopelessBossFight:
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Leon is nearly impossible to beat the first time you face him, which is quite early in the game. If you do manage to win, you get a [[NonstandardGameOver special ending]] right then without playing through the rest of the game.
** In the [=PS2=] remake, however, your efforts are rewarded by him suddenly unleashing his LimitBreak and ending the battle regardless of whether everyone actually got KO'd or not.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'': The first fight against Shizel. She'll give you the illusion that you're actually fighting her, and after a little while, she opens up a can of god-power that knocks everyone down to 1 HP before effectively flicking everyone to death. (Bonus points if, instead, the AIRoulette decides to finish you off with something powerful like Prism Flasher.) If you manage to pull yourself back from the brink of defeat, the game cuts away from the battle abruptly and pretends you lost anyway when she's reduced to half HP.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has an odd variation during a series of {{Climax Boss}}es:
** You have a normal boss fight against [[spoiler:Remiel]] that you must win, immediately followed by a (very difficult) fight against [[spoiler:Kratos]] which you may win or lose ([[ButThouMust story-wise it makes no difference which one]], though you do get a different cutscene after the fight based on what happened) and an unwinnable fight against Yggdrasill that you lose. The second encounter with Yggdrasil (a standalone one in this case) is also unwinnable, [[TheBattleDidntCount although this time you are required to survive the battle until a cutscene is triggered.]] Defeat will result in a standard game over.
** You can actually avoid losing the first fight against Yggdrasil (though that isn't likely because if you lose the scripted fight prior to that you will start the fight off with 1 HP), but it is virtually impossible to beat him because the fight will automatically end after a certain amount of time. However, using certain NewGamePlus upgrades, you can win the fight and force him to flee. He then pulls out CutscenePowerToTheMax, giving you a glimpse of his nifty SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the process, which justifies both the trope and the rescue cutscene immediately afterward.
** The first battle with Vidarr has a feeling of this trope included as well. Although you still have to win, no matter how well you do, your team will get a cutscene with them about to be killed, only to be saved by Kratos. You can Action Replay this, hit him once down to near death, but this scene will trigger regardless.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has so many of these, that the player may have trouble discerning whether a given boss battle is winnable or not.
** The game also has two types of these: Fights that are just ''really, really'' hard to win, and fights that you can't win at all (because the boss' HP won't go down). This can become downright ridiculous, like the first fight against [[spoiler:Commander Brute]]. Cue a long string of "Impressive !" as he flinches constantly under your attacks... without losing any HP. During the second encounter, he doesn't get any stat buff but loses that plot invincibility. CurbStompBattle [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome ensues]].
** Lloyd, the first boss of the game is normally unbeatable, but if you can carry your strongest monsters over to your [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] or know how to trap him in an infinite combo, he's beatable, thus netting you several levels of experience. But the story advances as if you lost.
*** Similarly, the post-final boss fight with [[spoiler:Lloyd and Marta]] normally just outright deletes you to advance the plot, but NG+ makes this entirely beatable.... but [[EarnYourBadEnding do you really want to?]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'':
** The first battle against Walter is interrupted by Moses kidnapping Shirley.
** The DuelBoss between Senel and Melanie ends after a few minutes. The following cut-scene has Senel defeated.
** The party's first battle against Vaclav. He only has about 8000 HP, but once you've worked him down to about 4000 he unleashes a massive spell that knocks your entire party unconscious.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' features two boss fights you're "supposed" to lose, the one against Chalcedny early on for Kohak's Shy Spirune and the one against Sorceress Incarose about halfway into the game. Both of them are technically winnable, and in a subversion, if you beat Chalcedny, he actually does hand over the Spirune immediately (though the party finds another excuse to go through the area where you'd normally actually get it back).
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Subverted with the first Luke vs. Asch fight, where you're expected to lose. You can win, but it requires you to be either very skillful with the battle system, level grind, be in NewGamePlus, or have a lot of healing items. There is a slight variation in the cutscene after if you do manage to win, and you do get experience, so it's not all for nothing at least. It's pretty entertaining [[spoiler:to hear Asch whine and cry about how worthless he is because he just lost to his replica.]]
* The original version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' didn't have one of these, but the [=PS3=] version adds a [[DuelBoss one-on-one]] fight between Yuri and [[spoiler:Don Whitehorse at the end of Keiv Moc]]. It is possible to defeat him, even on the first playthrough...but only if you've undergone some serious LevelGrinding, set the difficulty to Easy, and are very, very dedicated - otherwise, you'd be best advised to try again [[NewGamePlus the second time around]]. Nothing changes much if you do win except for acquiring an okay-but-not-great accessory (a Diamond).
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', the first fight against [[spoiler:Hubert]] in the adult arc is this. Even if you're either leveled enough to deal decent damage against him, or skilled enough with the game's combat system to dodge his very wide close-range attacks, he'll build up his [[LimitBreak eleth gauge]] incredibly quickly and then use his [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] to end the battle. Even if you get strong enough to deplete all of his HP, it'll simply display as ???? and he'll keep on fighting.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': When the party fight [[spoiler: the real Maxwell]] it consists of 4 rounds with cutscenes in between, the first three you can't beat [[spoiler:Maxwell]] no matter how hard you try, as he'll eventually fire off a party wiping attack each round (which ironically if the party is equipped well hardly does any damage) which leads to the next cutscene which they regain their feet and charge again. It isn't until [[spoiler: Jude's DidYouJustPunchOutChtulhu moment and Milia joins the battle]] can you win.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
** The game opens with one of these, and it'll only end if you get knocked down (Which leads to the boss hitting you with his mystic arte). Due to an oversight, the fight can potentially never end in a NewGamePlus, as if you have the Glory skill equipped, you'll never get knocked down.
** The second phase of the second battle with Khronos is also meant to be such, as you aren't given any clues as to how to prevent him from using his time reversal technique [[note]]Just activate Ludger's Corpse Shell when he tries to use it[[/note]], which will result in the fight ending if he pulls it off successfully. However, if you manage to stop him, you're allowed to defeat him and get some EXP for your efforts, though the following cutscene is unchanged.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' takes the cake for its use of the trope.
** Near the start you fight a giant dragon. Its level depends on the difficulty but it will always dwarf yours and can kill you instantly if you try anything against it. You're supposed to run away and come back later to kill it. Its stats are all end game level and you are slightly gimped so we mean much ''much'' later.
** A little later in the game, after his introduction, the BigBad will occasionally block off routes;[[PlotHole of course with no explanation as to why nor does anyone comment on this]]. You can fight him but you are ''heavily'' weakened and his attacks are all end game level so its nigh impossible to do this even with excessive grinding. If you somehow manage to beat him (there's a few exploits you can abuse to help yourself here) then you'd expect him to be unkillable or kick you back out or something, right? [[spoiler:Wrong, it actually unlocks the BadEnding. Don't worry, unlike his appearance, ItMakesSenseInContext. It might be a little jab at players as well since you basically need to cheat to beat him, [[CheatersNeverProsper your reward is a bad ending]]]].
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': The first fight against [[spoiler:Artorius]] is one of these, both gameplay-wise and storywise. At a time when your party members might be around level 20, he's level 60, and your attacks only do ScratchDamage, if that. Eventually, [[spoiler:Artorius]] unleashes his Mystic Arte on Velvet, causing a long cutscene to trigger where [[CurbStompBattle Velvet can't even hit him]].
* HyperactiveMetabolism: Cooking food heals a portion of HP and TP depending on the dish and the skill of the cook, but this can only be done outside of battle, and once you've cooked, you can't do it again until you've been through a fight or slept ("Come on, we just ate!")
* ImprobableWeaponUser:
** A running gag in the VideoGame/TalesSeries is for the player to find extremely powerful but unlikely weapons for the characters late in the game. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', for example, Lloyd can buy a pair of giant paper fans and Presea (who usually uses an axe) can buy a giant toy hammer.
** The best one, though, would probably be Sheena, from ''Symphonia''; she uses cards with shinto wards inscribed on them. Her gag weapon is even more ridiculous; she beats enemies up with ''paper money'', referencing that summoners in medieval times delivered cards to summon people to court. Guess they [[ShownTheirWork did the research]].
*** Her joke weapon is actually a Money Bag, presumably full of coins.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' also has [[ChildMage Genis]], who uses a kendama, a child's toy. Presumably, he plays with it to help improve his focus and rhythm while he has free time. He also claims to have knocked Lloyd out with it accidentally the first time he used it, and Lloyd knocks himself out with it when he plays with it in a skit. Presea and Zelos can randomly start a fight wielding a giant plush bunny or a bouquet of flowers, respectively, if they have their formal outfits on.
** Anise in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' quite sensibly uses maces and magic scepters as weaponry... But she never actually attacks with them. Instead, she attacks by ''animating her stuffed bear with magic and turning it into a seven foot tall engine of destruction''. She's the game's CuteBruiser, incidentally.
** Most of the weapons used by the heroes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' tend to sit within the realm of probability--swords, maces, hammers, knives, polearms, bows, etc. That is, except for Rita, who uses sashes (Long pieces of cloth), along with the aforementioned kendama. She also gets some more practical chains and whips, though.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'''s Meredy uses a whistle to command her actual attacking weapon, her TeamPet Quickie. Chat uses handbags full of infinite cannonballs, which she throws.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' carries on the tradition. Kohak's Soma Elrond's weapon half takes the form of a baton, and Beryl's Thiers produces a paintbrush as tall as she is.
*** The baton can be used as a blunt object, like a pipe or something though. The Elrond seems to be useful as a weapon with the balls at each end, and she sometimes uses magic to reinforce them in her melee moves
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has more then its fair share of improbable weapon users, as well. There's Shirley who uses pens and brushes, Grune who uses urns, and Norma with straws that she uses to ''blow bubbles'' at enemies. Granted, none of the spellcasters can learn any physical attacks, but they're still odd weapon choices.
*** Shirley actually throws her Teriques, and is the only caster to actually have an attacking combo because she can send it halfway across the battlefield.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has a unique twist on it; while Lailah uses paper (that she [[PlayingWithFire sets on fire]]), [[DishingOutDirt Edna]] uses a parasol, and [[BlowYouAway Dezel and Zaveid]] use pendulums, this is actually ''normal'' for seraphim. Their weapons represent the element they are strong over (wind, water, and earth respectively), which means [[MakingASplash Mikleo]] is unusual for using a MagicStaff instead of something representing fire. He's doing it the '''hard''' way compared to the rest... and it's apparently because he's [[HeightAngst short]] compared to his ChildhoodFriend Sorey.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has Magilou with her shikigami, which are essentially pieces of paper, typically inscribed with some manner of facial design. Rather then enchant them with elemental magic, she alters their size, shape, and density to make them suitable for use as blunt weapons. There's also Laphicet, who wields paper tags in a manner similar to Lailah, but doesn't favor any particular element when it comes to enchanting them.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'' has Mileena, who uses mirrrors.
* InevitableTournament: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series almost always has an arena. It's rarely necessary to ''complete'' the tournament, though the BonusBoss therein often coughs up some sweet stuff if you beat it, but you are often required to participate in a fight or three when the plot calls.
* InfinityPlusOneSword:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has three brands of these.
*** The Devil's Arms have variable attack power based on how many enemies the character in question has killed throughout the course of the game, and you could even save the kill-count for NewGamePlus for truly insane power. However, this power was only unlocked [[BraggingRightsReward after beating the game's toughest boss]] (although there's a [[BrutalBonusLevel Brutal]] BonusDungeon that's unrelated, so they're not pointless). If a given character hasn't killed enough enemies, however, these weapons won't be your tops.
*** The Meltokio Coliseum has several tournaments available in the player's choice of group fights or {{Duel Boss}}es. Clearing the highest-level solo tournaments would give each character a high-level weapon, and for most, this is their best. Because Lloyd has [[SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship individual "slash" and "thrust" stats]] for his weapons, the weapon he gets from the Coliseum is his highest-level ''thrust'' weapon.
*** Five characters have individually better weapons that they can get from alternative sources. Presea and Regal need to speak to certain [=NPCs=] once they've reached level 80 to obtain their best weapons. Genis gets his best as the prize from a minigame. Zelos gets his by defeating his sister in a unique event at Meltokio Coliseum. Lloyd's best ''slash'' weapon is obtained by defeating a recurring optional boss for the third time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' had the Catalyst Weapons, which worked roughly the same way as ''Symphonia''[='=]s Devil's Arms: weak as hell when first acquired, attack-power-based-on-kills after beating the most powerful boss in the game. Additionally, said boss also holds the best Capacity Core in the game; you can only acquire this by stealing it from her, and you can only steal from her when she's staggered, which, as you might guess, does not happen often.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': The Fell Arms work the same way. After you defeat the TrueFinalBoss, the Fell Arms' strength increases by the number of kills that the character has acquired. Combine this with the [[spoiler:cape you receive from defeating Dhaos in the 200 man melee that transforms Destruction Field into a massive attack known as Dhaos Blast]] and Yuri becomes an absolute monster in battle. The difference here is you can keep the activated weapons on a NewGamePlus and they ''remain activated''. Fortunately the ability to save the kill-count was removed, or they'd be the mother of all {{Game Breaker}}s. As it is, it still takes a good while to grind enough kills to make them the best weapons again in a new game. The [=PS3=] version added the ability to save the kill count to the grade shop, and isn't particularly expensive either. To compensate (though barely), if you power up all the Fell Arms, the final boss gets a new third form. Also, even with the extreme attack power they can rack up, it'll barely be enough to fight the Spiral Draco.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', Emil has the Nether Traitor, which, in addition to the highest attack power of all of his weapons, has the incredibly broken Accelerate trait that allows him to lock an enemy into a permanent combo. The Regenerate 3 trait, which restores a sizable chunk of his HP periodically, is just gravy. Marta's Kismet has the highest physical and magical attack of any of her weapons, and will automatically revive her once per battle if she gets knocked out. [[RandomDrop Good luck getting it.]]
*** Though not a weapon, the "Star Breaker" Gauntlets and the "Healer's Ribbon" errr...Ribbon, give you the Technical 3 skill, which means ALL ARTES cost just 1 TP. Couple that with Marta's broken speed casting late game, and you've got an infinite photon/prism sword/divine saber combo, which can trap the final boss, making sure he never TOUCHES YOU.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has the Fell Arms, as well. They all drop from separate optional bosses that can be found wandering around specific field and dungeon maps, and the full potential of the weapons is only unlocked after beating the Golden Mage Knight in the bonus dungeon. However, they're practically required if you want the later boss fights on Unknown difficulty to conclude in a reasonable amount of time due to the sheer amount of HP and defense they have.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' continues the tradition; however, they're instead obtained by beating the postgame EX Tag Arena with the corresponding party members. The damage is now based on the number of times the character has performed a link attack, which makes it take longer to increase their damage up to the max, but unlike the prequel, getting them to this point ''will'' make you destroy absolutely everything in seconds regardless of the difficulty setting.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has Excalibur, a sword better than the game's purported InfinityPlusOneSword, the Eternal Sword. To get it, you need to visit the secret dungeon below the Morlia Mineshaft (which has the most powerful enemies in the game, TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon notwithstanding). Conveniently, you also get the spear version of this, a weapon you've had once before but had it confiscated, the most powerful offensive magic spell, and the most powerful summon in the game -- four Infinity Plus One Swords for the price of one dungeon.
*** In later games (except for ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', [[spoiler:the prequel of ''Phantasia'']]), the Eternal Sword itself was the InfinityPlusOneSword, generally won by defeating Cless, the protagonist of ''Phantasia'', in some kind of arena. He's generally [[GoodIsDumb a lot stronger and faster than he was back then.]] For extra fun, turning the difficulty up adds in either ''Phantasia'''s WhiteMage or witch. (Keep in mind, the WhiteMage can ''stop time''.)
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the Eternal Sword was only the ultimate weapon in terms of sheer power, sacrificing other stats for it. Not to mention its Time element weakens it against certain enemies. The game had a few other weapons like it too. The true InfinityPlusOneSword was the Last Fencer. While not as strong in terms of sheer strength, it had no element, and the advantage of raising all stats at once. It also may or may not be [[ShoutOut named after one of the titles]] Cless gets in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''.
* InnSecurity: This is rarely in the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series. You are frequently offered free rests at inns, but the result is almost never dangerous or detrimental. More frequently, it is used to advance the plot.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' used the trope both directly and in variation repeatedly. Near the beginning of the game, you have to rest at your uncle's house, and the resulting cutscene kicks you into the dungeon. On the other hand, the game ''also'' offers you a free rest when something has to happen "tomorrow" or "in a while," such as when you're waiting for an NPC to return to the inn to meet him, or when your characters decide to meet in the inn to discuss the plan to infiltrate a castle (well, the first one's free - you have to pay to visit the cutscene if you decide to hold off on the mission).
* JustEatHim:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', there are two enemies that will swallow your characters and then spit them out. (It's said enemies' strongest combo attack and can poison you in the case of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named Carnivorous Plant]].)
** The [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Rockgagong]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' devours the party and [[WombLevel serves as a short dungeon]] (They end up escaping with a pouch of pepper they acquired by accident). It also tries to snap up anyone to who's standing too close to its face while you're fighting it as a BonusBoss later, which removes any victims for the rest of the battle. For some awkward reason, this attack is ''blockable'', which makes it a lot less threatening it sounds [[ArtificialStupidity (Unless the AI is the one standing close to it...)]].
* KickChick: There are a few female characters who specialize in kicking:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has Kohaku Hearts who is a unique hybrid of a fire mage, healer and a martial artist with her specialty being kicking. Kicking is also one of her traits as her wanted poster in a skit in Tales of Hearts R noted.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' has Sophie who is a healer and a martial artist. She is small, but her kicks are deadly.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' has Hermana.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has main character Velvet Crowe use a wrist blade and a demonic left arm as her main weapons but a lot of her artes use kicks and blades hidden in her shoes as well.
* KickingAssInAllHerFinery:
** A staple of the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', and not just for the ladies. Games with alternate costumes will often include fancy high-class outfits that the character(s) will not only walk around in but continue to wear while kicking ass in battle. Examples include ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Legendia]]'', both of which provide this option for almost every playable character (the latter only has the outfits in battle though; they wear their normal outfits on the field for some reason).
** Special mention goes to [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Philia]]; the GoodShepherd [[TheSmartGirl Smart Girl]] who wears a giant poofy dress and who [[HyperspaceArsenal can throw out hundreds of]] [[StuffBlowingUp home-made bombs]] and wields a {{BFS}} that can summon [[BoltOfDivineRetribution bolts of divine retribution]] the moment it hits a foe... and that's not even ''beginning'' to get into [[BlackMagicianGirl her arsenal of magic]].
* LethalChef: A recurring theme in the series is using cooking as a way to heal after battles. Inevitably, one party member will be a danger to themselves and their teammates the moment they get anywhere near cookware. The fun thing is that every Lethal Chef is lethal for a different reason:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': Arche is just plain bad. In a skit in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Radiant Mythology'', it knocked out Kratos, Lloyd, and Mormo. The protagonist chokes it all in to avoid the taste. Reid was practically immune to the taste of the food, since he finished his plate fine.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Raine has a tendency towards bizarrely experimental food combinations (''"Spicy cake would be a breakthrough!"''). Each character also has a "signature" ingredient that they favor using when they cook, though it's usually an optional thing... Raine's is lemons. Raine's younger brother Genis is a SupremeChef by contrast, since he says he'd never have survived if he had to eat Raine's cooking all the time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'':
*** Marta only ever cooked for her father, who said her cooking was wonderful no matter what. (Though in a break from the normal way this trope works, Marta acknowledges her lack of skill after it's pointed out and makes a sincere effort to get better, becoming a decent cook in the end.)
*** In contrast, Emil makes incredibly delicious food. In his normal state, he tends to put extreme effort into presentation. In Ratatosk Mode, he puts ''zero'' effort into presentation, but somehow the food is just as tasty.
*** Finally, Richter is quite bad because he's never cooked anything in his life. His first dish was for Emil, which caused the latter to pass out from the horrible taste.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
*** Flynn is a fantastic cook... except he tends to deviate from the exact recipe and lacks the instincts and sense of taste to compensate, resulting in a RussianRoulette of either extreme tastiness or extreme vileness because no matter what it tastes like, it always looks fantastic. It's worth noting that Flynn's cooking is often beaten out by a dog. A OneNoteChef dog who only makes ''dog food''.
*** Before Flynn was made playable in the [=PS3=] release, Rita held the title of "worst team chef" because she considers food more complex than "open a banana" to be a needless extravagance and a waste of time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'': Tytree becomes one accidentally when he makes [[SupremeChef a delicious mushroom stew...]] [[SubvertedTrope With poisonous mushrooms.]] Usually he's quite good, but needs to be careful about what he adds to the food as he's too dumb to notice when ingredients are poisonous or rotten.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Both Luke and Natalia had pampered lifestyles, and never had to cook for themselves before. Natalia misunderstands basic cooking instructions to the point that a stew she tried to make catches fire, and her solution is to use healing magic on the pot. Luke isn't quite as bad, but is still a close second because [[SpoiledBrat he's an incredibly picky eater]][[note]]Even after CharacterDevelopment kicks in, for some reason[[/note]]. Guy could only comment that Luke's cooking was 'avant-grade'.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Is a notable subversion of the theme as Velvet; despite [[SenseLossSadness losing the ability to taste]], she is an excellent cook but needs a [[MundaneSolution taste tester to taste for her]]. Eizen Is closer to this trope; not due to a lack of skill but because of his [[TheJinx Reaper's curse]] sabotaging him.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' Alphen's cooking is initially lethal thanks to his tendency to go overboard on spices. One skit even has Alphen overcook a chicken to the point that it created a bunch of smoke which [[EpicFail convinced everyone that they were under enemy attack]]. He eventually grows out of this by the time he cooks the Mabo Curry recipe, with his friends coming to enjoy the meal much to his delight.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'': Given the CrisisCrossover nature of the game, the appearance of several Lethal Chefs at once was inevitable. In one skit, the combined efforts of Arche and Natalia somehow turned a tomato ''purple''. In another skit Marta, Arche, Natalia and Raine are trying to make a barbecue, using ''combat magic'', and [[SupremeChef Yuri]] has to explain why this is a bad idea.
* LifeEnergy:
** Mana from ''Symphonia''. When the world decays, a Chosen sets out to restore Mana, and takes it away from the parallel world, causing them to spit out a Chosen to tilt it back again.
---> '''Note:''' Potholed on ''Rays'' and ''Tempest''.
* LikeBrotherAndSister:
* Though it's never outright stated, Yuri and Estelle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' fall into this. Despite numerous ShipperOnDeck moments from other companions in various skits, they never stray from being like brother and sister.
** The same case can also apply with the main hero and heroine of ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. Despite the traditional romantic feelings harboring between the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' heroes, this time, the main character's love interest isn't the main heroine (who unfortunately is [[DieForOurShip hit hard by some fans]]), so despite the numerous ShipTease moments, nothing romantic ever occurs between the two of them. [[spoiler: It doesn't help that the main heroine isn't even human.]] In the Lineage to the Future arc, [[TheHero Asbel]] explicitly refers to [[MysteriousWaif Sophie]] like a sister (although in a skit, she refers to him like a father-figure as well -- ItMakesSenseInContext).
*** [[spoiler: Eventually, Asbel adopts Sophie into his family -- not as his sister, but as his ''daughter.'']]
*** ''Graces'' also seems to be invoking this trope with one of its win quotes. Asbel refers to himself, his brother, and Cheria -- who clearly harbours romantic interests for him -- as "Lhant's Triplets of Terror." Cheria angrily retorts, "I am ''not'' your sister, Asbel!"
* LimitBreak: called a "Mystic Arte" (or "Hi-Ougi", lit. Hidden Secret Skill, in Japanese). Frequently involves a SuperMovePortraitAttack. The requirement for activating a Mystic Arte varies from game to game, but the most common requirements are:
** The character must be in Over Limit.
** The character must have learned and equipped a skill called "Special".
** The character must successfully hit an enemy with an Arcane Arte.
** Less common requirements include having a [[DesperationAttack very small amount of HP]], expending a large amount of TP/CC and/or building a long-enough combo.

** In the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, there's the spirit Undine's blade in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Philia Philis' Clemente (heavily magic-tilted and terrible for offense, unlike most examples here) and Berselius in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Ruca Milda's signature weapon type in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', and Decus's sword (which he keeps stored in a man-sized iron maiden) from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. There are also massive [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] to be found, specifically Barbatos's axe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Presea Combatir's Gaia Cleaver]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Innes Lorenz' Folseus]] (and both characters are MightyGlacier types to boot).

* AHeroToHisHometown: The so called Demon Lord of the VideoGame/TalesOf... series is considered to be a wise and just ruler by his subjects and is willing to do anything to ensure their survival, including destroying your player character's world.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the final fight with Dhaos, after he [[OneWingedAngel transforms into his true form]], takes place in outer space, apparently high above the protagonists' home world.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', when you fight [[BonusBoss Maxwell]], the [[{{Magitek}} Sin Incarnates]], and the [[OneWingedAngel Robot version of the]] BigBad. Also any fights in the [[BrutalBonusLevel book, Forbidden Anamnesis]]. And the area before the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, would count as well.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', when you've beaten the BigBad, [[spoiler:Tear will begin singing a lullaby, while [[TheHero Luke]] uses his powers to stop an uber attack from said BigBad, the battle background shifts into this blue [[InstantRunes thing with mysterious symbols every where]], and while this is going on, everyone has infinite HitPoints, and you can't pause, or open the menu, or see the status of your characters. You just fight until Luke wins.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia's'' final battle starts off on regular stone platform, but gets more like this trope with each form of the boss you defeat.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', you fight the final final boss in the JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind of the BigBad, and the BonusBoss at the bottom of some sort of warped space.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has the final boss fight with a background of black kaleidoscopic swirling.
* AnnoyingVideoGameHelper:
** The in-battle voice triggers can be cool, if not helpful, but ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' takes it too far. Other characters will warn a unit when his TP is getting low, which could be helpful for newbies, but aggravating to a player who knows how to watch his TP but, for some reason (say, holding a boss still) chooses not to. And all the more annoying when the player is ''put down'' for it, generally by [[{{Tsundere}} Rita]]. Worse is when a character is berated for running away from an enemy for some length of time, again usually by [[JerkAss Rita]] or Raven, since most of the times that situation will come up, it's because the running character is trying to ''kite'' the enemy - keeping its attention while not letting it hit himself or another unit. Other useless "help" messages include "I don't think going back is such a good idea." "Oops, made a wrong turn!" "We shouldn't be going this way." "Are you sure it's this way?"
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' takes the ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' and ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' problem of overactive spell casters and healers to a whole new level. If your spell casters waste all their magic either healing 1 hp of damage repeatedly or attacking the boss/enemies, they bum rush that enemy and get wasted in under a second. Fortunately, you ''can'' alter that behavior, there are many options like "save" (always leaves at least 75% TP) and stuff... at least for the offensive spells.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'': If it gets any closer... It interrupted the Eres!
* ApocalypseMaiden:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' plays with this. To Sylvarant, Colette is the [[TheMessiah Messianic]] BarrierMaiden. But to Tethe'alla she is this trope. Finding that out is what makes the main party decide to ScrewDestiny and TakeAThirdOption. Helps that the BigBad is behind the whole corrupt system, giving them a target to beat up.
** The reason why Richter's after Marta in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. He should have been more concerned with Emil.
** The [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Score]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Luke fon Fabre ultimately be this. The prophesied destruction of Akzeriuth is supposed to kick off a series of events that results in TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The plot kicked off because Van decided to make the world end on ''his'' terms and thus created the replica of the original Luke fon Fabre to take the original's place. This instead ends up kicking off events that result in ''preventing'' the end of the world and the choice to ScrewDestiny by the main party.
** Estelle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. As a Child of the Full Moon she naturally disrupts the [[{{Mana}} Aer flow]] of the planet, making her very existence a huge contributor to the decay of both the world and the seal on an ancient EldritchAbomination.
** Shirley from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Great job taking away all her reasons for ''NOT'' wanting to destroy humanity, Senel]].
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', Asbel's biggest SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome comes when he asks "AndThenWhat" to the villain. The FinalBoss is ranting about how [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans are evil]], and how he's going to kill them all. Asbel promptly turns this into an Armor-Piercing Question by asking "[[{{Deconstruction}} Okay, then what? If you kill everybody, you'll be totally alone, and you and everything in the entire world will die. You really want that?]]" The BigBad is silent for a {{Beat}}, then basically throws a tantrum and begins the final boss battle proper. [[spoiler:After defeating him, Asbel shows Lambda that there's another way by proving that HumansAreSpecial.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Lloyd and the party confront Remiel on what it ''really'' means for Colette to become an angel, and Sheena reveals that [[spoiler:she comes from another world parallel to Sylvarant]]. When Lloyd protests about the angel transformation, Remiel has this to say (to which Lloyd [[VisibleSilence doesn't have an answer]]):
--->'''Remiel''': The sacrifice of one single person, the Chosen, will bring salvation to world. Are you saying you would [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl choose one soul]] [[TheNeedsOfTheMany over the entire world?]]
*** [[spoiler: Mithos]] also drops one on the party after TheReveal of who he really is, Lloyd gives a speech about how everyone who has been born should be allowed to live and nobody should be made into a sacrifice. [[spoiler: Mithos]] responds:
--->'''[[spoiler: Mithos]]''': No life should be born for the sole purpose of dying? [[PoweredByAForsakenChild What do you think those exspheres are that you're using?]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'':
*** [[BigBad King Gaius]] proves that one should not try to ask one of these questions to him by attempting to point out a hypocritical aspect of his actions. He will retort with one himself and it will work much better.
---->'''Gaius:''' Yes, to try and live a satisfying life. How do you think one can achieve that? Do you even know?\\
'''Jude:''' W-well...
*** However, Milla does manage to briefly get Gaius to falter with such a question, suggesting that Gaius is NotSoStoic. During a MotiveRant, Gaius reveals that his plan is to gather all the world's superweapons to protect the weak and to keep the weapons out of the hands of those who would abuse them. Milla's response can be summed up as "one day, you're going to die. How are you so sure the next guy who takes the throne will have the same ideals that you do?" For the only time in the game, Gaius has no response.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''.
*** Early on, Flynn asks Yuri if him quitting the knights changed anything. Yuri can't respond, simply leaving and admitting when he's alone that Flynn knows how to get to him, and that he's exactly right.
*** After witnessing Yuri kill Cumore, Flynn and him get into an argument over whether or not Yuri was justified in killing him. Near the end of the argument, Flynn tries asking him a question, but Yuri quickly defies this by giving him an [[ArmorPiercingResponse answer that momentarily leaves him speechless]].
---->'''Flynn:''' So I’m supposed to sit by while you intend to dirty your hands?\\
'''Yuri:''' Intend to? ''[[TheseHandsHaveKilled I already have!]]''
*** Later on, at Nordipolica, as Yuri and Brave Vesperia flee the city after accidentally killing Belius, they get cornered by Flynn, who demands that they hand over Estelle, and Belius’ Cyano Ceil Crystal. Yuri [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out on it]], pointing out how he’s doing exactly what he was trying to prevent, by taking what they wanted by force, and asks him a question that Flynn is unable to answer.
---->'''Yuri:''' How is this ''any different'' from what I’ve come to expect from the Empire?!
* BareFistedMonk: This is becoming a common element of the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, starting with ''Tales of Destiny''. It is not uncommon to see this archetype combined with elements of other classes, for example [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Yuri Lowell]].
** Bruiser Khang from ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny''
** Farah Oersted from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''
** Regal Bryant from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Since he only uses his legs to fight, he also doubles as an ExtremityExtremist.
** Tytree Crowe from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', who also doubles as an archer
** Senel Coolidge, the main protagonist from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''
** Anise Tatlin from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', though her giant doll Tokunaga does the swinging while she does the casting.
** Hermana Larmo from ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''
** Sophie from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''
** Jude Mathis, one of the two main characters from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''.
** Velvet Crowe ''and'' Eizen from ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria''. Velvet's fighting style is dependent on her artes. Her hidden artes use wrist blades, but all her martial arts use her legs. Eizen is more exclusively bare-fisted, utilizing stomps, a few kicks, and mostly bashing things with his fists.
* {{BFS}}:
** In the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, there's the spirit Undine's blade in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Philia Philis' Clemente (heavily magic-tilted and terrible for offense, unlike most examples here) and Berselius in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', Ruca Milda's signature weapon type in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', and Decus's sword (which he keeps stored in a man-sized iron maiden) from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld''. There are also massive [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] to be found, specifically Barbatos's axe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'', [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Presea Combatir's Gaia Cleaver]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Innes Lorenz' Folseus]] (and both characters are MightyGlacier types to boot).
** And then there is the [[spoiler: VBFFS (Very Big F'n Feather Sword) in the ending of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'']].
** All of Karol's swords are longer than he is tall. That's not saying much(he's 12 years old) but his first sword is so big that after Yuri cuts it in half he can use the base as a hammer. (Karol is the tank in the game and all his weapons are way too big for him)
** In Symphonia, there are a couple of bosses that wield these, either in or out of battle. The Eternal Sword is used only in cutscenes [[spoiler:until Lloyd gets it, anyway]], but when you fight Yuan, he has a [[DoubleWeapon swallow blade]] that's about as long as he is tall.
** Gaius from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' wields a nodachi that about equals his height in length, making it in the range of six feet or so.
** Veigue Lungberg from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' wields a great sword that makes him attack in slower speed than normal Tales hero, but still deals a big chunk of damage per strike.
* BigBadWannabe:
** Saleh from ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' is at first [[InformedAbility shown and described]] as a powerful enemy general, with [[ForTheEvulz a reasonless penchant for destruction and disgust on anything that is 'good']]. Every time Veigue tried to approach him during the first half of the game, he spends his time outwitting and overwhelming Veigue... [[CutscenePowerToTheMax in cutscenes]]. However, he is never seen in battle on solo compared to his partner Tohma, he's usually fighting with a friend. Veigue defeats him rather easily, and following Tytree's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, it would seem that Saleh would try to get his threat level higher. Unfortunately, he spends most of his time after that just annoying Veigue with words on how he's going to crush their 'power of hearts', without actually kicking ass, and when he's actually fought the second time (with all his allies, nonetheless!), he's beaten just as easily. In other words, Saleh barks as if the power of evil will triumph all the time, but he couldn't back up with actual prowess.
** Grand Maestro Mohs from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' thinks that he has the God Generals of the Oracle Knights wrapped around his finger, under the belief that he can bring about salvation through Yulia’s Score. In reality, the God Generals were only using him for their own ends, mostly to keep the party at bay while they carried out their plan to destroy the world, and they leave him to die when they no longer needed him.
** Barbos, the leader of the Blood Alliance, is the main antagonist in Act 1, of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. Act 2, reveals that Commandant Alexei had been using him to set up a node for his [[{{Magitek}} blastia]] network to resurrect Zaude, which he sought to use to recreate the world in his own image. [[spoiler: However, Zaude turned out to be a seal to keep the [[EldritchAbomination Adephagos]] at bay, and Alexei dies admitting that he was a fool.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': Cedric, Richard’s uncle, is the main antagonist of the first act of the game. He tries to have Richard assassinated to prevent him from reclaiming the throne of Windor, but due to Richard [[spoiler:serving as the host body for the real BigBad, Lambda]], he fails, and is killed at the hands of his nephew.
* BlackoutBasement:
** The Temple of Lightning in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' games has hallways like this, lit up only by the occasional flash of lightning.
** The BonusDungeon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has two such rooms, one of which is a maze that will sour your opinion of rocks and stalagmites.
* CaveBehindTheFalls:
** [[ThatOneLevel Latheon Gorge]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' comes to an end in one of these - although you repeatedly enter and exit the cave throughout the dungeon, the final entrance is opened by dropping a huge boulder into the waterfall, unveiling the cave entrance behind it. Of course, there's a MacGuffin and a huge ManEatingPlant in there. Also, while there are no caves involved, there's goodies behind the mini waterfalls in the Torrent Forest later in the game.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has the Water Trial Shrine hidden behind like this. Amusingly you access it by using the Wind field ability.
* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Equipment can be generally changed on the fly in the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series, even in the middle of battles. This is especially useful during the [[MonsterArena arena gauntlets]], where your constantly changing opponents may warrant the use of equipment that's effective against certain enemies or provides resistance to certain elements and/or status ailments.
* CrateExpectations: Crates are used to make paths, [[BlockPuzzle press buttons]], destroy obstacles, etc. Typical video game stuff. There are also mini-game warehouses that have you re-arrange crates.
* CulturalCrossReference:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': In the beach sidequest of the first game, the names of the four girls you're supposed to find easily remind you of a certain book series that is [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff beloved by the Japanese]]. [[Literature/LittleWomen Amy, Jo, Beth, and Meg]] make cameo appearances. Seriously. Bonus points to Jo apparently being a {{Bokukko}} here, and having Amy be blonde.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'', Iria's father comments that her siblings are called Monica, Ross and Gunther -- characters from ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Some actually believed this to be an attempt at {{Woolseyism}} by the game's {{fan translat|ion}}or, but when questioned about it, he confirmed that yes, that's in the Japanese script too. He was as surprised as anyone else.
* DialogDuringGameplay:
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' had conversations mid-battle, usually as the result of player action (i.e. using items, taking a lot of damage).
--> '''Marta:''' You're using too many Artes!
--> '''Emil:''' It's to win!
** This has become very common amongst many games in the ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series. Frequently, the beginning of a BossBattle will have dialogue between the participants during the fight itself. Party members may comment on the player's tactics, such as using the same technique repeatedly or running around the enemies and not attacking.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', its [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 sequel]], ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' all have your party members provide dialogue while you're moving about in the field and during battles, especially when you eccounter an enemy for the first time or fight a boss.
* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series has anti-piracy messages at the start of some of their games; when the game is booted up, a character will come on screen and talk about they're relying on the player to keep the industry alive, et al.
* EasyModeMockery:
** Barbatos, the BonusBoss of the [=PS2=] version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', if fought on the Simple difficulty, will immediately start the fight off with an upgraded version of his [[SwordBeam Genocide Braver]] called Cheap Eliminate, his quote for the attack being something that roughly translates to "You aren't qualified to fight me!". It covers the entire length of the screen in front of him, and is instant death for anyone who gets hit by it, save for those using certain invulnerability granting moves. He'll then use it immediately after ''every single attack'' he performs, but can be defeated if one can get close to him, where dodging it becomes a simple matter of dashing past him when he starts firing it and countering accordingly. The battle generally ends up becoming a solo job due to the AI being incapable of dodging the move consistently, however.
*** In the UpdatedRerelease, he gains a new attack called Hell Heat that fires dozens of similarly powerful homing beams that he'll use in between every few Cheap Eliminates (And almost constantly at low HP). This will wipe out those who opted to dodge the former attack by simply jumping over it, but can still be negated by other means. His stats also got buffed so he doesn't go down nearly as quickly as in the original version.
** Fighting on Easy in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' will get you zero GRADE, meaning no treats for NewGamePlus.
* ExactWords:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', the Score states that "The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city." It said [[spoiler:miner's city]], not [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]]. That part is actually subverted. [[spoiler: Akzeriuth just wasn't possessed of a name two thousand years ago.]] The more accurate bit of ExactWords is the next part that says "There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city." [[spoiler: It just says "destroys" and that is exactly what not only [[HeroicBSOD happens]] [[TomatoInTheMirror to]] [[CloningBlues Luke]], but would have happened to the original Luke since the "Light of the Sacred Flame" aka the "young scion of Lorelei's power" is mentioned on the Seventh Fonstone long after Akzeriuth's destruction.]] In all, the Score actually is ''very'' literal about everything it predicts, as Lorelei was attempting to be as precise as possible so humans wouldn't get confused. Unfortunately, the Score is taken as a mystical thing instead of just a long list of events in chronological order that has some LostInTranslation problems mixed in.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'': [[spoiler: Hugo]] never said he'd let [[spoiler: Marian]] go, [[spoiler: and he doesn't, even after Leon steals a dragon and the Eye of Atamoni, betrays his friends, and dies to buy him time.]]
* FinalBossPreview:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** [[spoiler:Yggdrassil.]] You get into ''two'' {{Hopeless Boss Fight}}s with before you finally get a chance to fight him legitimately.
*** And just [[SequentialBoss before that]], you get to fight [[spoiler:Kratos]]. He isn't going to be the final boss, but you'll have to [[DuelBoss solo]] him at one point near the end of the game, yet here you're not even required to win with your full party present (rather lose, plot-wise). Just so that you know how badass you're going to get.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' does this in a strange way. The Final Boss turns out to be Richter Abend, a [[GuestStarPartyMember temporary party member]] from the beginning of the game. However, when the party learns that he's not actually on their side, there is a HopelessBossFight against him, where he uses his own [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] to destroy the party in one fell swoop, and proves his having the annoying ability to ''counter'' Emil's Mystic Arte any time he uses it. And when the party finally ''does'' battle Richter in a proper battle, it turns out that [[spoiler:the ''real'' Final Boss is Emil's SuperpoweredEvilSide 'Ratatosk']].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', which was released first but takes place far later in the same timeline as ''Symphonia'', does this with Dhaos. [[spoiler:Twice, as Dhaos is also the boss of the DiscOneFinalDungeon.]]
** Also, Shizel in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''. It isn't as much of a curb stomp since you CAN fight back, but after a while the fight abruptly ends anyways.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' does this with [[spoiler:Gaius]] and [[spoiler:Muzet]]. Both of them are fought multiple times, but the final boss fight pits you against both of them simultaneously.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has the party's ill-fated first battle with Shepherd Artorius Collbrande, in which all your attacks (with the exception of Mystic Artes) will do zero points of damage and you're automatically KO'd when Artorius uses his own Mystic Arte.
* FissionMailed:
** '' VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'':
*** The game, at least in the PS version, has a puzzle in Moria Mine where using the Sorcerer's Ring on a certain candle will cause an arrow to fire from a wall and seemingly kill you, as the "Game Over" music starts playing. Cless, however, gets back up and mentions that (dying from an arrow) would never happen. In the SFC version, you just lost hitpoints.
*** The fight against [[spoiler:Dozo and Okiyo in the Euclid Arena]] qualifies, but it is possible to win with some extra grinding/Infinity Plus X swords available elsewhere (It goes up to Infinity Plus 5!)
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', there are two Fission Mailed battles [[spoiler:at the Tower of Salvation against Kratos and Yggdrasill]]. Both battles allow you to lose and still continue the game. The first battle can be beat with a bit of grinding; the second the most you get for your trouble is just staying alive a little longer (probably wasting a lot of healing items), as the battle ends automatically after a certain amount of time.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld,'' the sequel, features a few of these as well. [[spoiler:Under the Tower of Mana against Lloyd, who you can defeat, but the game will continue as if you lost anyway, Richter toward the end of Chapter 7 can be beaten, but losing to him changes nothing about the plot, and against Lloyd and Marta at the end of the game, only this time winning gets you the Bad Ending and losing will get you the true/normal ending]].

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: ''Xillia'' introduces Chats, which are also conversations but instead occur ''during'' battles automatically. In some of these battles, they can be between the character the party is fighting against, if they also have a voice actor.

** The Dark Wings, a trio of quirky thieves whose role is usually as comic relief. (In ''Tales of Rebirth'', ''Tales of the Abyss'' and ''Tales of Arise'', they play a bigger role than usual.) Since the games usually take place in different worlds, it's generally a different group in each game, almost always composed of two males and a female (The notable exception would be the Schwann Brigade in ''Tales of Vesperia'', which is composed of three guys, all of them LawfulStupid knights... most of the time, which plays the comic relief role).

** Sheena from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is a {{ninja}} who can form pacts with each of the 8 [[ElementalPowers elemental]] [[PhysicalGod spirits]], ([[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[MakingASplash Water]], [[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[LightEmUp Light]], [[CastingAShadow Darkness]], [[BlowYouAway Wind]], [[ShockandAwe Lightning]]), and 2 [[InfinityPlusOneElement other extremely powerful]] [[NonElemental non-elemental]] ones after [[DefeatMeansPlayable defeating]] them in [[DefeatMeansFriendship battle]]. While these summons are incredibly powerful, they are somewhat [[AwesomeButImpractical impractical]] since [[AbsoluteCleavage Sheena]] can only summon while in [[TurnsRed Overlimit mode]].

*** Leia heals single targets for greater power and can [[StatusBuff raise the party's stats]]. Her [[SimpleStaff traditional healer's staff]] is actually a quarterstaff which she uses to charge into the frontlines alongside [[BareFistedMonk Jude]], [[ActionGirl Milla]], and Alvin.

** Another recurring Mystic Arte is Big Bang, which is pretty much the equivalent to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'''s Supernova where the user attacks enemies with ''[[UpToEleven the explosion that created the entire universe]]''. Mostly used by the villains, but some heroes can also use this Mystic Arte. Characters that have used this technique are as follows: [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Arche Klein]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Laville Clemente, Philia]] [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Felice]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Will Raynard, Dark Vaclav]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Arietta, Nebilim]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Ange Serena]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Duke Pantarei]].

** An interesting case with recurring plot point: almost every game has a [[TheMole traitor]]. Their identity and causes varies -- it can be TheLancer, GuestStarPartyMember, TheBigGuy, CombatMedic, TeamPet, and even ''TheHero [[UptoEleven himself]]''. Party may or may not have to fight them, and they may or may not survive. If they do, "WelcomeBackTraitor" reaction is inevitable.

** Justified ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': While only four of six party members appear in battle at once, the other two can be hot-swapped in mid fight (or even mid-''combo''), making it clear everyone is participating. Backup will even jump in to replace critical or KO'ed part members automatically, averting LazyBackup. The only reason you're limited to four at all is the characters [[LampshadedTrope acknowledging]] that six at once would result in getting in each other's way, and having a back line allows injured members to recover, which is [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration reflected in the gameplay]], where characters will regenerate HP while benched.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:To Check]]
* DeconstructorFleet:
** Plots that [[InvokedTrope start]] as {{Cliche Storm}}s, but later go on to [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] the very tropes they employ, often by [[DeconstructorFleet drastically highlighting the nasty downsides]] of those tropes. This is one of the main reasons why the games have a fanbase.
** Creating some sort of [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]], then showing how much ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne.
** Deconstructing BlackAndWhiteMorality by having the heroes do [[ShootTheDog morally ambiguous things]] in the name of saving the world. In the most extreme cases, it even bends towards BlackAndGrayMorality.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Cless' and Chester's initial motivations are revenge for the evil knight Mars burning down their hometown and killing their families.
*** In addition to this, Arche joins the party after being possessed by the spirit of her best friend, whose parents were killed in the destruction of said spirit's hometown. ItMakesSenseInContext.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the main pair is banished for the heinous crime of finding an alien girl, whose presence gets the elder's house attacked.
*** Better example from the same game: [[spoiler:said alien girl's hometown gets destroyed somewhere during the middle of the game. Arguably the first thing that made Reid realize not caring is not the answer to life.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' has the main character able to enter his hometown, but unable to enter his house, since it's under surveillance because he has special powers.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the hometown of Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Raine is partially burned down by Desians. Lloyd and Genis are banished for being partially to blame and forbidden from returning [[spoiler:until Disc 2. But even after that, Genis decides to travel the world with Raine to help half-elves fit in, and Lloyd decides to set out with a companion of his choosing to destroy the Exspheres]].
*** ''Dawn of the New World'', on the other hand, has ''two'': Palmacosta and (nearly) Luin (which, if you recall, both got wrecked in the first game already). They both get better, though.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' averts the trope by having the player see the main character's hometown (which is notably NOT doomed) for the first time in the middle of the game, and when you arrive, he is welcomed home by his ''[[AssPull two living parents]]''.
** Downright inverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' -- it happened to the ''villain'' during the backstory and is his main motivation for his WellIntentionedExtremist ways.
*** Though one of the protagonist's companions comes from the same town and was only able to get past the "wanting revenge" thing due to the friendship of the protagonist.
*** Ditto in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts''. The villain is attempting to restore his dead planet. Unfortunately, not only does he plan to do this by stealing the life energy from the main characters' planet, but his plan isn't even going to work.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' continues the tradition with Rita's hometown, Aspio. But this happens near the end of the game. And no one dies [[spoiler:since the one who destroyed it needs as many human lives as possible to power his superweapon]].
*** Zaphias, the Imperial Capital and home to both Yuri and Estelle, becomes the target of a massive aer overgowth that decimates the city near the climax of Act II. The Lower Quarter, where Yuri is from, is noted to be completely overrun. However, it later turns out that the area was evacuated by the InspectorJavert and his cronies, and the city is rebuilt before the end of the game.
** Every time a town is attacked by an enemy force in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', its ''always'' Lhant. "Save Lhant from <insert enemy here>" is regularly recurring objective in the game. Every military in the world attacks it at some point, plus the BigBad's monsters of course.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' continues the tradition with Velvet's hometown, Aball, which suffers from an outbreak of daemonblight as part of an event that would go down in history as the Advent. Everyone except Velvet and Artorius succumbs to it. For extra fun, because the townsfolk were turned into AlwaysChaoticEvil daemons and Velvet was turned into a daemon who feeds on other daemons Velvet had to eat her entire village to survive. Three years later, the party visits the village, looking as if nothing had ever happened to it, though [[spoiler:it turns out to all be an illusion; Aball has remained uninhabited for those three years.]]

* EliteFour: A core group of four military leaders [[EliteFour often called "The Four [x]"]] and have [[RedBaron other titles]] associated with them. There are always {{Boss Fight}}s with each individual, but whether or not they pop up and fight you again is really dependent on the story. (Since the series is Japanese, you can probably guess [[FourIsDeath why there are four]].)
* EndGameResultsScreen: based on your gald and maximum hit combos, among other things.
* EvilFormerFriend: least one member of the BigBad's team will be former friends or family of a fellow party member.
* EvolvingAttack: sometimes combining two attacks together.
* FantasticRacism:
** Much of the plot of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' involves racism against half-elves on the part of humans and elves. The word "racism" itself is never actually used: the word "discrimination" is always used instead, even when it's just describing racial hatred rather than actual unfair treatment. The majority of the half-elves in the game belong to the Desians, a faction representing TheDevil in the BigBad's [[PathOfInspiration made-up religion]] that subjugates each world in turn to encourage them to do the whole "world regeneration" thing, but it is eventually revealed that half-elves were already hated before the BigBad set all this up.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' also does it the least since the only friend you fight is Asch...No one's sudden betrayals actually result in a battle.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' goes ''crazy'' with this trope. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', you fight [[spoiler:every single party member, including the hero at some point, including a fistfight between Veigue and Tytree as the result of an argument about Veigue not being open with his feelings. Pretty much the only character you don't fight EVER is [[{{Keet}} Mao]]]]. (Unless you count the training battle)
** Like ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' also has a little ''too'' much fun with this trope...but not to the point described above.
*** The Sequel includes a possible final battle but this is one where you're supposed to lose, winning results in the DownerEnding.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has [[spoiler:Jude]] get into a scrap with [[spoiler:Alvin]] after the latter goes too far in trying to snap him out of a HeroicBSOD. Additionally, the EX arena will have either Jude or Milla face off against every other member of party in three pairs, then go one on one with the character you didn't pick.

* GainaxEnding: In some cases, a GainaxEnding that wraps up everything and [[AssPull pulls the above together]].
--> '''Note:''' The only crosswicks are VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss, VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', and VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. I'm inclined to say this is just misuse and misinterpreting intentionally open/ambiguous endings.

** At first glance ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' avert this trope with Veigue Eugene/Mao/Tytree for males and Annie/Hilda for females, but there are Claire and Agarte who often tags along with the party and even has their own status screens. Both of them are female.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has Yuri/Raven/Karol as the males and Estelle/Judith/Rita as the females. And a [[TeamPet male dog]].

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has Shing/Hisui/Kunzite (male) and Kohaku/Innes/Beryl (female). UpdatedRerelease, however, averts the trope by adding Chalcedony and Gall, who are both males.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' gives us Asbel/Hubert/Malik on the male side and Sophie/Cheria/Pascal on the female side. ''f'' tips the balance, however, and adds Richard.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has Jude/Alvin/Rowen and Milla/Elise/Leia.
*** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' seemingly avert this, but, given that [[spoiler:there are two playable versions of one character]], trope still in effect.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has Sorey/Mikleo/Zaveid for males and Rose/Lailah/Edna for females. There is also GuestStarPartyMember Alisha (female) and Dezel (male), who maintain the balance in absence of someone above.

** Tales series loves this trope so much, that even most obscure games follow the trend.
*** Each game from the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld Radiant Mythology]]'' subseries has ActionGirl named Kanonno and (canonically) male protagonist.
*** Each ''Narikiri Dungeon'' game has two OriginalGeneration characters - boy and girl.
*** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'' has Ix and Mileena.
*** Tales of Breaker has Mika/Evelyn/Ruru and Yuteki/Saiber/Berger
*** Tales of Commons has Alvin/Seiun and Sefina/You
*** Tales of Wahrheit has Seltz/Blitz and Vila/Ray. It also has sort-of TeamPet Kalulu and RobotBuddy Gamut
* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'' exhibits this in the final party lineup (Ivy, [[spoiler:Lief]], [[spoiler:Gainer]], and [[spoiler:Yvette]]) as well as the Silver Spring city council. However, this is averted with the villains, who are all male.
* GreaterScopeVillain:
** Fortuna in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'' may be the ultimate superior of [[BigBad Barbatos Goetia]], and is providing her [[SinisterMinister priestess]] [[ManBehindTheMan Elraine]] with her existence and power, but she herself spends most of the game sealed and completely indifferent to the actions of the heroes and only fights you at the very end. And before that, Fortuna actually serves as the BigGood, occasionally helping you on your journey, and only [[FaceHeelTurn becomes]] a case of GodIsEvil after Elraine is defeated.
** [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The]] [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil Adephagos]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', another SealedEvilInACan that does not drive most of the plot. Even when it manifests, it itself is simply a mindless malevolence.
** Michael, the Shepherd prior to Sorey in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', long dead by the events of the game, was the one who brought Maotelus to Camlann and bound him to [[BigBad Heldalf]] after the great seraph fell to malevolence during the Hyland army's massacre of the village, which [[FaceMonsterTurn turned Heldalf into]] the Lord of Calamity and started the Age of Chaos.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' a subgroup of the seraphim themselves are revealed to have cursed their brethren to turn into dragons if they were touched by too much malevolence, which humans produce naturally. This caused the two races to drift apart in the first place. They have also made a promise that if the world descends into calamity, they will destroy it, necessitating Innominat's (or later Maotelus's) presence in the world. And Innominat himself is this for a good part of the game, being a SealedEvilInACan that [[BigBad Artorias Collbrande]] is trying to release, while Velvet Crowe herself is this to the original game Zestiria, being the first Calamity Lord.
* GreenAesop: ??? If there is something the entire planet is dependent on, such as the world-wide religion or advanced technology, the things that let everyone use artes/the things that strengthen abilities, etc., chances are it won't make it to through the end of the game. It is usually revealed to be obtained or performed in a [[PoweredByAForsakenChild less-than-moral way]] or is [[GreenAesop ultimately bad for the planet]], sometimes as part of the WhamEpisode as well, and the second half of the game is mostly spent on fixing this problem.
* GuestStarPartyMember:

** Leon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', though the remake had narikiri dolls that let the player turn any party member into a replica of him complete with arte set.
** Ras in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''.

*** In the sequel, ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld Dawn of the New World]]'', most of the party are partial examples in that they will leave and enter your party frequently (having up to four of them in your party at once until the later parts of the game; you '''finally''' get them all at once in the final chapter) but you can never change their equipment, you can't have one of them as your active member, their titles randomly change between one from the first game, and instead of gaining experience or leveling up they have a fixed level that changes depending on what point you're at in the story. Richter is a straight example.
** Asch in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. A rather GuideDangIt glitch can be used to keep him in the party instead of the main character (who he replaces during his stint in the party), at the expense of a few treasures and sidequests. He has two stints[[note]]Well, three; in the third one, he actually is in the party at the same time as the protagonist, but he never gets into any battles so it doesn't really count too much.[[/note]], and manages to get massively depowered between them without a GoodIsDumb moment - he just has the same equipment at the end of the game that he had in the middle, and it turns out that a sword that was pretty damn good 20 hours into the game isn't so great when everybody else has gotten a twofold increase in attack power.

** A rather controversial example in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': Alisha. [[spoiler: Dezel as well -but he receives a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in Zaveid]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', Seres accompanies you during the escape from Titania, but is not directly controlled by the player.

* HeroesPreferSwords: The Main Character having a sword as their weapon. Even Velvet from ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', who doesn't use a traditional sword and mostly fights with [[KickChick kick-based attacks]], has a [[BladeBelowTheShoulder retracting gauntlet blade]] at her disposal. [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Senel]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Jude]] are the two exceptions to this gameplay element since they use [[GoodOldFisticuffs their fists]] instead.

** One of the inns in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is also a hot spring, and going there with Zelos in the party after a certain plot event results in a cutscene where Zelos tries to spy on the female party members while they're bathing. Lloyd shows up and chastises him, but the ladies hear him and Zelos runs off, leaving Lloyd to take the blame. The game even gives Lloyd the title of "Peeping Tom".
** The same kind of situation happens in ''Dawn of the New World'' if the party goes to the hot spring at one point and have the ladies go in. Zelos tries to spy on the females (while Emil and Lloyd give him crap for it), and Lloyd gets blamed again as he's the only one who didn't run. When the males take their turn, ''Marta'' tricked everyone but Emil into not coming in so she could spend time with him. When Emil finds out he ends ups calling everyone else attention. Naturally, everyone but Lloyd decides that Emil must have planned this even though both claim otherwise (and them all knowing how openly affectionate Marta is towards Emil), and Emil also gets the title "Peeping Tom".
** The original bathing scenes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' had peeping on ''both'' sides: Chester on the male side, and Arche on the female. Chester also gained the title of Muscleman, [[WhiteMagicianGirl Mint]] the title "[[GagBoobs Boin~chan]]". ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' had no wall-watching, although Reid did have to smuggle Chat into the men's dressing room to get one of her skills, which leads to a rather unfortunate scene between her and Keele. Also on a separate occasion, Meredy decided to bath near the man's side instead, and HilarityEnsues.
** They're at it again in ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Vesperia}}''. There are three different scenes. To get the first two, you need to pay 300,000 gald for the first and 600,000 gald for the second. During the first two, Raven keeps trying to peek at the woman's side of the spring, with little success. The third visit is free, During the third, the party winds up working there and at the end, they all get [[AndYourRewardIsClothes costume titles]].
*** In the [=PS3=] version, there were a few scenes added for the hot springs to accommodate Flynn and Patty being in the party.
*** Actually, the second time Raven manages to see Judith completely nude, and coerces Karol into being his accomplice. Judith appears to be aware of this, but [[MsFanservice utterly nonchalant]]. In the final scene, after returning with the new costumes, Raven and Rita have a shouting match through the partition.
** And before Vesperia, VideoGame/{{Tales Of The Abyss}} also had it in two scenes: one gives you new outfits and another gives Guy the title [[AccidentalPervert Naughty Devil]] due to him [[ThanksForTheMammary groping]] both [[GagBoobs Tear]] and Natalia after being shoved by Luke and Jade for [[ForTheLulz an experiment]].
** While absent from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 the sequel]] made up for it by making the hot springs event an animated cutscene. The party gets treated to it as a reward for paying off Ludger's 20 million gald debt. However, the hot spring they go to ends up lacking a partition, forcing them to improvise by having the guys cram themselves into a water-filled, super-sized Tipo while the girls get to bathe comfortably. Hilarity and fanservice ensue.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Heimdall, where many of the main characters (including the BigBad) come from. Entering this village requires a writ of passage from the King of Tethe'alla, and even with it in hand, guards at the front of the village ban the half-elf members of your party from entering the village. For some reason, half-elves are pretty plentiful in both worlds (''much'' more so than actual elves), despite there being only one village of elves that never associates with humans.
** Also found in ''Symphonia'' is Exire, the hidden ''half''-elf village. It is kept floating in the sky by the power of Maxwell, Summon Spirit of Matter. It is so well hidden that it is unaffected by the turmoil on the ground and some of its residents never saw a human before the player's party visits. Talking to the [=NPCs=] also answers the question of how there can be so many half-elves when Heimdall is so isolated: a child with two half-elf parents is essentially the same as a child with one human parent and one elf parent. The half-elf population is [[TrueBreedingHybrid self-sustaining]].
** Somehow, four thousand years later, in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', it's even ''better'' hidden, and now has ''another'' hidden village (specifically, a Ninja village) inside of it, like an isolationist Russian doll.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' also has Mizuho, a Hidden Ninja Village. Though in contrast to most examples, Mizuho is known for taking an interest in the outside world thanks to its intelligence network, those the village itself is still highly isolationist. [[spoiler:At least until the hero's party arrives and makes an alliance with them, thanks to party member and Mizuho citizen Sheena and ReasonableAuthorityFigure Tiga.]]

* IdiotHero:
** Country-bumpkin [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Stahn Aileron]]. His *genes of Idiot Hero is passed down to his son Kyle Dunamis.
** Reid from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' as well, but that's mostly in the first half of the game, where his stomach is bigger than his brain.
** Lloyd from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', who really takes the Idiot Hero → Fool → Messiah evolution to a whole new level of exaggeration, [[spoiler:insofar as he actually ''sprouts wings'' near the end of the game]].
** Subverted. He is absolutely BookDumb, but he is very competent when it comes to crafting. As the game goes on, he proves to be a competent leader and other characters sometimes remark that he's better at making quick decisions than them. Some of this is CharacterDevelopment.
** Colette is also an example, and she also happens to be TheChosenOne.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' protagonist Luke fon Fabre. Although [[spoiler:he becomes a better person after his ImportantHaircut]] he still has plenty of moments that prompt someone, usually Tear, to tell him that he's an idiot.
** It should be stressed again -- Luke is [[spoiler:mentally seven-years-old, due to the whole CloningBlues thing]]. When you see it from this perspective, he's quite ''smart'' [[spoiler:for his age]].
*** Further subverting Luke's Idiot Hero status is the fact that, in addition to having to learn everything from scratch over the past seven years (including ''walking'', ''talking'', and ''the faces of his family'') he spent the entirety of those seven years being locked in his mansion with his family, closest friend and beloved teacher doing their best to keep him from getting any info about the outside world, ostensibly for his own security [[spoiler: but actually because they're either plotting to eventually trick him into being a suicide bomber, kill him and his family, or ''both'']]. Seriously, can you ''blame'' the poor kid?

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Rita and Estelle's friendship is another case that borders on HideYourLesbians, since it's never officially confirmed.
*** Several in-game skits lampshades the implied attraction between them, such as when Yuri and Karol discuss how Rita always [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5lciiqp5Oo frets over Estelle's safety.]] A separate skit has Judith call Rita out for trying to make an excuse to visit her, while a third one has Yuri outright call them [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5yexLrUfXI "Ristelle."]]
*** Rita's also [[CrushBlush prone to blushing]] whenever Estelle pays direct attention to her, or anytime she gives Rita a compliment. Karol teases her about it in the following victory skit:
---->'''Estelle:''' Wow, Rita! That was SO cool!\\
'''Rita:''' ''[blushing]'' Really? Um, t-thanks...\\
'''Karol:''' ''[grinning]'' Oooo~ooo!\\
'''Rita:''' ''[flustered]'' Sh-shut up, YOU!!
*** Further implicated by the live-action [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwC5VHMaI3Y "Tales of Ristelle"]] skit. During which, [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Zelos']] [[Creator/MasayaOnosaka Japanese VA]] tricks [[Creator/RikaMorinaga Rita's VA]] into showing up by telling her Estelle would be there. When Rita calls him out for it, he and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Milla's]] [[Creator/MiyukiSawashiro VA]] tease her for being {{Tsundere}} towards Estelle.
---> '''Note:''' All of this feels like misuse and should go under ShipTease or something?
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Those outfits requiring an enormous amount of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_tape bias tape]] for cosplayers to reproduce.[[note]]There's a fandom joke that bias tape is to Tales as [[TooManyBelts belts]] are to Franchise/FinalFantasy[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': Asbel Lhant's BadassLongcoat [[http://images.wikia.com/aselia/images/c/c0/ASBEL_LHANT.png as seen here]]. Not only does it seem to have an awesome pattern on every side, but the arms are practically held together with ''gold disks''.
** A few "Tales" characters are guilty of this.''Tales of Legendia'' seems to be one of the worse offenders. To start of, the main character Senel's top is not only skin tight but has strange mechanics attached to it. Makes one wonder how exactly he puts them on, and how they STAY on.
*** Norma's full outfit looks like it would take some effort to put on. In addition, there are Moses's pants. Good lord, his pants.
** [[http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081020204947/aselia/images/5/5f/Yuri_Lowell.jpg Yuri Lowell]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' generally has one of the series' simpler character designs, barring a pair of knee-length boots which are open at the front and don't appear to have any laces. They pretty much defy the laws of gravity by even staying up. One possible explanation is that they are actually buttoned onto his pants, which makes them less impossible, but still really, really silly.

* SomeoneHasToDie:

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' Muzét could count as a minor example since she has two martial artes that can be used for healing and she has access to the Resurrection spell.

A work-in-progress draft to reformat VideoGame.TalesSeries into actual trope entries.

'''Note:''' I'm going to try my best to research the games I haven't played (basically all of them considering these are largely from 2012) but some are going to end up cut if I can't scrape together enough context/explicit examples to make them valid entries, so help is much appreciated.

[[folder:Actual Tropes]]
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit:
** The entirety of the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' has four as this number, with the actual party size ranging from five (Original ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]'') to ten (UpdatedReRelease of ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Destiny]]''). What, if anything, the extra members are doing while the others are fighting is never explained, barring a fight in ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Abyss]]'' where the two extra members have to secure an escape route.
*** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheTempest Tempest]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Innocence]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Hearts]]'', as well as ''Keroro RPG'', made by the same people, have a limit of three. ''Narikiri Dungeon 3'' for GBA also had four parties of three each, but since the actual party size was [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover every character in the first five games]]…
*** Three [[MissingEpisode now-inaccessible]] ''Tales of Moblile'' games (''Breaker'', ''Commons'' and ''Wahreit'') actually had limit of two party members per battle, despite actual parties being four to six people. This time, all the blame goes to hardware limitations.
** Played with in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' when after defeating the [[SummonMagic Summon Spirit]] [[DishingOutDirt Gnome]], he complains that the party took him "four against one", while his previous summoner [[spoiler:Mithos]] took him one-on-one. This when your party consists of eight people, half of which apparently stood aside and let your main group fight him alone, and when nearly every other plot fight acts like everyone jumped into the melee.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' does give some justification: the only thing preventing your allies' [[FunctionalMagic fonic artes]] from doing just as much damage to you as to the monsters are marks laid on the team by your spellcasters, and they can't mark too many people at once. Essentially, up to two of your party members are getting left out because they can't be made FriendlyFireProof.
** If you go a long time without switching party members in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', you may get a skit where the inactive members complain about being left out of the action. Yes, the others really are just sitting on the sidelines.
** ''Hearts'' also averts it by introducing the "Link Attack" system, by which characters in the back party can be summoned in to use attacks or spells. Since characters Linked in can't be damaged or interrupted, it's useful for calling out a Raise Dead or LastDiscMagic with a charge time of "eternity".

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' plays this straight again, only allowing four party members when you are out and about. The plot forces circumstances, so that only four members (three, since Ludger must always be in the party during the main arc) are in a location.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' justifies this due to the unique nature of your party: namely, most of them are actually spirits, and require a human partner in order to fight most effectively, and you only have two playable humans max at any time. [[note]]Sorey, who is TheHero, and either [[GuestStarPartyMember Alisha]] or [[TheLancer Rose]], depending on where you are in the plot.[[/note]] This is especially true when one of the core mechanics of the battle system is Armatization, which triggers a FusionDance between the human and the current spirit partner into a new spirit-dependent form with unique abilities. Also, for the same reason, [[PartyInMyPocket the spirit partners actually all travel]] ''[[PartyInMyPocket within]]'' [[PartyInMyPocket Sorey's body,]] meaning that you can freely switch them out at any time in battle, and that technically, everyone ''is'' in battle at the same time, just not always actively participating. This is ''also'' justified by the game's premise. [[note]]The Spirits use Sorey as a vessel to protect themselves from [[TheCorruption the malevolence]], which could [[spoiler:irreversibly turn them into Dragons if they fully succumb to the corruption.]][[/note]] As you can tell, this game [[UpToEleven does its damned best]] to [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration integrate its plot with its gameplay quirks.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' goes for a similar effect to ''Zestiria'', albeit less arcane. While only four of six party members appear in battle at once, the other two can be hot-swapped in mid fight (or even mid-''combo''), making it clear everyone is participating. Backup will even jump in to replace critical or KO'ed part members automatically, averting LazyBackup. The only reason you're limited to four at all is the characters acknowledging that six at once would result in getting in each other's way, and having a back line allows injured members to recover (yes, HP does regenerate while benched).

* ArchnemesisDad:
** [[spoiler:Kratos Aurion]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is this to the main character. Unlike Darth Vader, it results in [[spoiler:a much more successful HeelFaceTurn]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has two examples. First is that [[spoiler: Natalia's biological father is Largo the Black Lion, something she only finds out in the end game. Since Largo considers that part of him long dead, it's a major tearjerker when Natalia fights and kills him personally despite making it clear before she wants to get to know him as a person.]] Second is much more complicated [[spoiler: as it's made clear throughout the game Luke looks up to [[BigBad Van]] as his ParentalSubstitute and he's even responsible for his creation. In the end, Luke kills him...and makes it ''very'' clear he never got over the fact Van is his father in all but blood.]]
* ArmiesAreEvil: Evil military leaders, somewhere close to TheEmpire. The position of Commandant is a [[{{Foreshadowing}} particularly common warning sign]] for nefarious schemes. Multiple times, there are named officials, and you will end up fighting them in a BossFight. If soldiers use the color red (or dark colors like [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]]), along with SigilSpam on the armor, they are ''definitely'' a part of TheEmpire and the antagonistic world.
* BettingMiniGame: A casino featuring poker, where the suits feature your party members.
* BribingYourWayToVictory: As of ''Vesperia'', cheat [=DLCs=] if you so choose.
* TheCameo: A previous ''Tales'' series character as a BonusBoss. More often than not, he gives you his weapon as a reward, which proceeds to be one of the {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s or close to it.
* CampfireCharacterExploration: typically occurs [[OncePerEpisode at least once or twice per game]]. In general, the party spends the night around a campfire or at an inn, and the main character, who can't sleep, becomes the only controllable character. These scenes typically allow the player to have hushed, intimate conversations with all the party members separately, but involve one or two specific required conversations between the main character and one or two other characters before the plot will progress.

** Pure [[TheMedic medic]] characters are rare; characters that are proficient in healing will always have some degree of combat training to go with their spellcasting and healing abilities. Even [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Mint]], the straightest example of a WhiteMagicianGirl in the entire series, is capable of at least [[DropTheHammer summoning hammers to fall on her enemies]]. Usually female, and often the main female supporting protagonist of the game, but there are certainly exceptions [[note]]For example, [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Hisui]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria Mikleo]] are male healers, while [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Colette]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Milla]] are combat oriented female protagonists that do not heal (one of Colette's status buff moves ''does'' slightly heal the party, but healing is still far from her specialization; Milla's lack of healing is in large part due to her actually being one of two ''main'' protagonists.)[[/note]]
** Modern Tales games typically have ''two'' healers in the main party instead. One focuses on single target healing, and the other focuses on healing multiple targets at the same time. The single target healer is usually a combat-oriented character by default, with healing a secondary but still prominent skill in their moveset.
** [[FragileSpeedster Rutee]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' can slash enemies with her sword repeatedly in the air, perform damaging attacks that produce money from nowhere, use water spells, and heal, cure status ailments, and raise the dead. ''The'' Combat Medic to which all other Tales Combat Medics aspire.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Regal fits the monk sub-type of this trope, but inverts the general concept by being a primarily melee-based character with just one tech tree of single-target healing spells.
*** [[MagicKnight Kratos and Zelos]] can also learn three different healing spells regardless of their ability trees. They are not as effective as Raine, but they can provide some much needed relief when she's busy.
*** Raine's spell selection consists primarily of healing and buff spells, but eventually she can learn [[LightEmUp Photon and either Ray or Holy Lance]] to give her some offensive abilities as well. She also has access to Prism Stars and Gospel, two of the most powerful Unison Attacks in the game.
*** In [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld the sequel]], Marta does this even having a Mystic Arte that both whacks the enemies for heavy damage and heals everyone in the party!

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''
*** Estelle is a healer who sports the highest defense scores in the game and a fast track to the protective skills. You could viably play her as the party tank and leave spot heals to your less proficient members, as she has an array of melee attacks to take advantage of. She's also no sap at supporting from the sidelines with her light based attack magic.
*** Similarly Karol heals as well as a WhiteMage, though his heals are limited to a small radius around him. He even obtains an arte that lets him remove status ailments!
*** Raven is built for combat, having only a single move that heals for small amount. However, his sheer healing speed and efficiency compared to other characters with higher healing power, like Estelle, makes him the combat medic of choice for many players.
*** Flynn is basically a more melee-oriented Estelle. He has strong offence and crowd control abilities, tanky skills that make it almost impossible for him to die while keeping everyone else safe, light spells to devastate his enemies and two healing spells straight out of Estelle's spell list in case you need to heal. A true Paladin through and through.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has two of them as the brother and sister duo of Hisui and Kohaku Hearts.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' follows the example from VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss in how it handles it's healers.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has three.
*** Jude follows Regal's example. He can heal HP and status ailments in his close vicinity, and can revive the person he is linked with automatically as part of his link skills. He's also an exceptionally powerful martial artist.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' Muzét could count as a minor example since she has two martial artes that can be used for healing and she has access to the Resurrection spell.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has all of the seraphs fit to an extent since all of them have their two healing artes that have secondary effects and are still able to deal fight through attack and seraphic artes.
*** Mikleo's artes are single target but they have the effect boosting arte defense or curing poison and paralysis depending on the arte.
*** Lailah's healing artes both restore SC while granting a boost to arte attack or healing burn.
*** Dezel/Zaveid have artes that restore BG and increase focus or cure fatigue and increase speed.
*** Edna can increase defense with her arte and she gets an area healing arte that also cures slow.
** Zestiria's prequel ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has all of the characters that can cast magic fit this role.

* CoolOldGuy: At least one character who is physically and mentally over 25 years old (ignoring the ReallySevenHundredYearsOld characters, since they don't look their age). The oldest main party member in a Tales game is 62. [[note]][[DoubleStandard This character's]] AlwaysMale, however; the oldest female party member is [[ChristmasCake 25]], and even then she's only that old in [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld a spinoff]] of [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia her original game]] as a result of a timeskip.[[/note]] This character will almost always be the butt of jokes about being an 'old man'.
* CoolShip:
** The Van Eltia from ''Tales of Eternia'' is a massive boat with customizable rooms and looks to be made out of stained glass. It starts off as a simple boat, but later gets upgraded into a CoolAirship, and then a cool starship with mini-submarine pods.
** The teaser image◊ for Tales of Berseria features one.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: If the game has a remotely positive look for face value, even if it's for seemingly minor plot points, chances are the game will ShooOutTheClowns at some point in the story.
* CrystalDragonJesus:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has the ubiquitous Church of Martel, though it's really more background fluff than anything (though you do meet Martel herself a couple of times). However, the civilization of Fenrir built a huge cathedral to worship... well, Fenrir, complete with stained glass, a giant organ, and a heavy organ BGM called "Perverse Religion". By the time the game actually rolls around, the entire Fenrir civilization has risen and fallen and the cathedral's been abandoned for years, to the point where the door is heavily iced shut.
** This is given a ShoutOut in the prequel, ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', with an offhand reference to a legend about Fenrir in the icy regions. Presumably, this later sprouted into a full-fledged religion.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' (which takes place 2 years after ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''), the Church of Martel still exists, but to a lesser extent since the whole Chosen of Regeneration thing doesn't exist anymore (most people went to church to pray for their world to be regenerated).
*** Several scenes have the characters saying that they doubt that the church of Martel would last for much longer, which makes its existence 4000 years later surprising (or a case of the writers overlooking that small detail).
*** The Church of Martel in Symphonia is a very large part of daily life (because of the Chosen system) and the Tethe'alla branch especially has quite a bit of political power. Phantasia's Church of Martel, as mentioned, is there, but it's clearly more of a background "FYI, this world has a religion" than an active player in world affairs. So in a sense, the Church of Martel ''didn't'' last. It became less and less significant over the millennia. (And even if you don't take into account that Phantasia was made first, its Church of Martel is still very different from Symphonia's.)

* CuteMonster: Especially noticable once {{Pre Rendered Cutscene}}s entered the fray; the intro to Tales of the Abyss looks like Jade, Anise, Natalia and Guy are slaughtering a horde of plush toys. One of them ''with'' a plush toy.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Usually of four, but sometimes of three, despite the smallest parties in the series consisting of six members. The treatment of this in-story varies: sometimes it's implied that the other party members are also in the fight but not represented, and sometimes it's implied that they're just watching from the sidelines. In the latter cases, the game may offer a HandWave.
** Some of the games, such as ''Vesperia'', [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on this by having party members comment in skits if they're being left out of fights.
** ''Xillia'', ''Zestiria'' and ''Berseria'', while obeying the limit, allow you to swap active and inactive party members mid-battle.
* ArchnemesisDad: The BigBad is the protagonist's [[EvilMentor teacher]] and/or father figure.

* CoolShip: that is used during the early points of the game, and a CoolAirship that is used after the WhamEpisode.
* CoOpMultiplayer: Most games also allow you to have your friends control any of the other characters instead of the AI. Co-op play wasn't introduced to the series until ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'''s [[UpdatedRerelease PlayStation 1 remake]], which was released after the original Tales of Phantasia and ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'',[[note]] There was a roundabout way to play multiplayer in ''Tales of Destiny'', but which characters could be used was limited and before ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''[[/note]], but ever since then, almost every game has allowed your friends to join in except the portable titles and, for some reason, ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''.

* CrystalDragonJesus: Religion as a major part of the world. If there's a religion, or even an organization with vaguely-religious imagery, chances are it's a CorruptChurch, with a KnightTemplar or BloodKnight to boot. In some cases, they are [[BlatantLies lying through their teeth]] if they have any relation to the plot.

* DoomedHometown: that often serves to {{Foil}} the core situation of the game. TheHero kickstarts his journey due to these events in search of answers.

* FantasticRacism: as a whole. Several of the games have used it as their central focus and aesop.
* FightingYourFriend: A DuelBoss between two friendly characters for a reason other than malice. The fight will be used as a plot device for the two duelists to resolve the differences between them, and/or as a trial for the less experienced fighter to overcome. The importance of the fight will further be highlighted with unique battle music.
* GainaxEnding: In some cases, a GainaxEnding that wraps up everything and [[AssPull pulls the above together]].
* GenderEqualEnsemble: There are rare occasions where the balance is tipped, but it's always by a TeamPet, an OptionalPartyMember, a GuestStarPartyMember, or additions in an UpdatedRerelease.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Some of the older titles would have TheReveal where an EldritchAbomination is pulling the strings of the plot. Preferably, they use main characters and antagonists via [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashing them to do their bidding]], often [[AndIMustScream forcefully]]. It would very often be the FinalBoss of the game.

** Frequently, but not always, a GuestStarPartyMember. Sometimes they can be re-acquired; in the case of an UpdatedReRelease they may become a permanent party member, if they're popular.
** A Guest who doesn't appear in normal battle gameplay and is pushed to skits (see below), but is integral to the plot, normally more so than [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds initially]] [[WalkingSpoiler suspected]].
* GuideDangIt: Sidequests that are very spaced out in-between events and are only available after the game reaches certain points. There is no indication to where or when they'll be available, so a lot of exploration and {{Backtracking}} is required. Doing these sidequests will often reward characters with new titles, costumes, and rare equipment, and can sometimes add further depth into the game's {{Worldbuilding}} and CharacterDevelopment. However, most of the time, these sidequests will be [[PermanentlyMissableContent permanently lost]] if you fail to do them within the event deadline, and there's no second chance at them until the next playthrough. Expect a lot of GuideDangIt to ensue.
** Similarly, there will also be some sidequests that are only available on the [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] or up.

* HotSpringsEpisode: A BeachEpisode, usually in the form of a spa.
* HiddenElfVillage: If there FantasticRacism, expect visiting [[HiddenElfVillage at least one small village of said race that is more down-to-earth than most areas on the worlds]].
* IdiotHero and/or [[HeartbrokenBadass Angsty Hero]]. Occasionally both show up, but they're rarely the same character. (Split)
* ImpliedLoveInterest: is usually (but not always) the approach of the romance aspect of the plots. One way to tell is if the characters [[BoyMeetsGirl just meet briefly]] and [[FirstGirlWins then stay together for the rest of the game]] or if [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend they have met when they were kids]].

* ImprobableWeaponUser: (Or At least ''ONE'' party member who uses a rather unconventional to downright silly weapon. Sometimes the mage, but other times, it's actually a ''melee'' fighter using the silly weapon. Such weapons include brooms, books, scrolls, urns, gigantic plush dolls, paper dolls, and shooting bubbles out of a straw.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Their naming conventions are different (ranging from [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Devil's Arms]] to [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Catalyst Weapons]] to [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Fell Arms]]), but they all function the exact same way through each game. They start off as [[InfinityMinusOneSword pathetically weak weapons]] that can only deal ScratchDamage at first, but once you defeat the game's resident {{Superboss}} related to the weapons, then you unlock their true power, being able to deal ludicrous amounts of damage based on how many enemies you have killed by that point. They can even be carried over to [[NewGamePlus subsequent playthroughs]].
* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Fancy outfits worn even in the most heated battles.
* LethalChef: There will also be at least one LethalChef in the party, with [[HilarityEnsues hilarious consquences]]. With another being the SupremeChef
* LifeEnergy: which often takes the form of {{Mana}}.

* {{Magitek}} and/or SchizoTech: in the plot, which is powered by some world specific AppliedPhlebotinum (lenspunk, craymelpunk, fonpunk, blastiapunk, psipunk, manapunk, etc). Most often, it comes in the form of LostTechnology left behind by either {{Precursors}} or AdvancedAncientHumans of eons past.

* TheMole: One party member who pulls a FaceHeelTurn at some point and/or turns out to be TheMole. Alternatively, one party member who is originally affiliated with the BigBad until certain events prompt him/her to pull a HeelFaceTurn.

* MythologyGag: {{Shoutout}}s to previous ''Tales'' games, as well as to other Namco characters. Especially popular are ''VideoGame/PacMan'', ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}''.
** ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' seems to be getting its fair share, with the Prince making his appearance as a secret attachment for different characters ([[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Anise's Tokunaga]] and a charm for [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Yuri]], for instance).

* PenultimateWeapon: A weapon claimed to be the InfinityPlusOneSword that is actually the InfinityMinusOneSword.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Tragedies that could have easily been avoided if people would just [[PoorCommunicationKills open their damn mouths]]. This can range from the WellIntentionedExtremist BigBad doing horrible things that could have been avoided if he had only asked nicely all the way to NiceJobBreakingItHero because people somehow thought it better not to tell the player character vital information.

(I think? They can probably go under their own separate tropes)

* "Grade" as an extra unit of currency that can (for all intents and purposes) be treated as the player's "[[ScoringPoints score]]". Grade is awarded after battle according to how well the player did, with Grade awarded for achieving long combos or blocking attacks, and Grade deducted for taking damage, using ineffective artes (such as a Fire-elemental arte on a Fire-resistant monster) or relying on recovery items. Grade awards bonus EXP in battle, but can also be used to purchase NewGamePlus bonuses and occasionally in-game bonuses too.
* A broadly-shared list of artes and spells. It's possible to tell how nostalgic a game is attempting to be by how closely it sticks to that list. Games such as ''Destiny 2'', ''Rebirth'', and ''Hearts'' tried to break out completely.

* SomeoneHasToDie: People in your party having the dire need of pulling off a HeroicSacrifice to make the world a better place, with their group always trying to find an alternative to keep their member alive. This character is usually a Guest.
* SpaceWhaleAesop: that brings together all the events of any given game in order to take a stand against some relatively minor (compared to world domination and/or destruction) social or moral issue.

* SummonMagic: called "Summon Spirits". The core four are Sylph (wind), Efreet (fire), Undine (water) and Gnome (earth). The most popular second-tier Summon Spirits include Maxwell (all four core elements), Volt (lightning), Luna, Aska, or Rem (light), and Shadow (darkness). As with the Arte/Spell list noted above, you can usually tell how nostalgic a game is trying to be by how closely it sticks to this list.
* SupremeChef: With another being the LethalChef
* SupremeChef (maybe another mysterious mentor trope): Games with Cooking will frequently include the Wonder Chef, a mysterious individual who disguises himself as various objects around the world and--if unmasked--will teach you new recipes.

* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Enemies who are killed in the story [[KilledOffForReal actually stay dead]], and it's usually by the protagonist's hands. Quite often, there will be some angsting on the part of the protagonist over having to kill someone, even if it's in self-defense.

* WordPureeTitle: The title of each series almost always consists of either [[WordPureeTitle a made-up word that never comes up in the game]], a word that does technically exist but is incredibly niche and not commonly used at all (and also is never said in the game), or a regular word, but has [[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords no real significant meaning to the plot of the game.]] There are a small handful of exceptions, such as Tales of Vesperia which actually does make sense in the game despite being a made-up word, but not many.
* WorldTree: which is often the source of aforementioned LifeEnergy and scales on both sides of [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic massive]] [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]]. While ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' are the only two Mothership titles to really feature this (and that's because they share the same setting), the WorldTree is an almost omnipresent feature in the Escort titles.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: Their naming conventions are different (ranging from [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Devil's Arms]] to [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Catalyst Weapons]] to [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Fell Arms]]), but they all function the exact same way through each game. They start off as [[InfinityMinusOneSword pathetically weak weapons]] that can only deal ScratchDamage at first, but once you defeat the game's resident BonusBoss related to the weapons (usually the hardest boss in the game), then you unlock their true power, being able to deal ludicrous amounts of damage based on how many enemies you have killed by that point. They can even be carried over to [[NewGamePlus subsequent playthroughs]].

* BonusBoss: A common [[RecurringBoss Recurring]] BonusBoss known as the Sword Dancer, who is a giant skeleton wielding [[MultiWielding multiple swords]], will also show up in some games. He's usually fought a total of three times throughout the game, and managing to beat him in all three fights will usually reward the main character with an exceptionally rare but powerful sword.