The Tales Series is a long-running JRPG series by Namco Bandai, famous for its action-combat battle system, copious amounts of Character Development and continued Deconstruction of the very genre it inhabits.Earlier games in the series were developed by Wolf Team, once a subsidiary of Telenet Japan, which was reorganized as Namco Tales Studio in 2003. Namco Tales Studio was shut down in 2011 but absorbed into Namco Bandai, which intends to continue the series.The series is divided into two sections:
"Mothership" Titles are considered the main entries in the franchise, comparable to the numbered Final Fantasy titles.
This game follows a pair of twins named Mel and Dio as they explore the aftermath of the events of Tales of Phantasia with the help of Arche the witch. Narikiri Dungeon X is a Video Game Remake that includes an Updated Rerelease of Tales of Phantasia, adding a new character (Rondoline E. Effenberg) into both games.
A tactics game that followed Fulein K. Lester, a descendent of Claus F. Lester from Phantasia, and his robot ally Macaron.
Tales Of Fandom
Compilation games with the Tales characters in various scenarios. The first features the cast of Phantasia, Destiny, and Eternia, while the second stars Phantasia, Symphonia, and Abyss.
A humorous DVD extra released with Tales Of Fandom 2, featuring the heroes of the games arguing over who's the best.
Viva - Tales Of!
A series of DVD extras given away with pre-orders for games in the series, featuring Zelos Wilder and Jade Curtis as talk show hosts interviewing various characters. Hilarity Ensues.
Tales of Theatre
A set of five anime shorts given away as a pre-order bonus for Tales Of The Heroes: Twin Brave, featuring the Twin Brave characters in chibi style.
Keroro RPG: The Warrior, the Thief, and the Legendary Pirate
An RPG based on the Sgt Frog anime. Here because it's made by Namco Tales Studio itself, using the Tales Of series' Linear Motion Battle System and even having the Tales-styled skits. It is known among Tales fans as "Tales of Keroro" (NDS, released in March '10)
See also Star Ocean, a RPG franchise made by many of the same creators as Tales of Phantasia.Information and tropes pertaining to the individual titles are on their respective pages.
Liberal use of Crapsaccharine World. If the game has a remotely positive look for face value, even if it is for seemingly minor plot points, chances are the game is very dark and will have Cerebus Syndrome.
Heavy use of Magitek in the plot, powered by some world specific Applied Phlebotinum (lenspunk, craymelpunk, fonpunk, blastiapunk, psipunk, manapunk...)
A World Tree, which is often the source of aforementioned Life Energy and scales on both sides of massivesymbolism. While Phantasia and Symphonia are the only two Mothership titles to really feature this (and that's because they share the same setting), the World Tree is an almost omnipresent feature in the Escort titles.
Religion as a major part of the world. If there's a religion, or even an organisation with vaguely-religious imagery, chances are it's a Corrupt Church, with a Knight Templar or Blood Knight to boot. In some cases, they are lying through their teeth if they have any relation to the plot.
A Big Bad with a personal reason for wanting to do whatever he's doing. He often wants to save something precious to him, or sincerely wants to Save The World. The problem is that his method involves killing an awful lot of people.
Evil military leaders, somewhere close to The Empire. The position of Commandant is a particularly common warning sign for nefarious schemes. Multiple times, there are named officials, and you will end up fighting them in a Boss Fight. If soldiers use the color red (or dark colors like purple), along with Sigil Spam on the armor, they are definitely a part of The Empire and the antagonistic world.
Fantastic Racism as a whole. Several of the games have used it as their central focus and aesop.
People in your party having the dire need of pulling off a Heroic Sacrifice 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.
A duel between two friendly characters for a reason other than malice. The fight will be used as a plot device for the two duellists 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.
One party member who pulls a Face Heel Turn at some point and/or turns out to be The Mole.
One Combat Medic. Pure White Magician Girl characters are rare; the main female will always have some degree of combat training to go with her spellcasting and healing abilities.
At least one character who is over 25 years old (even with some party members being Really 700 Years Old). The oldest main party member in a Tales game is 62.
Frequently, but not always, a Guest Star Party Member. Sometimes they can be re-acquired; in the case of an Updated Re Release they may become a permanent party member, if they're popular.
One Wham Episode in the perfect center of normal gameplay (it is really that horrifyingly accurate). 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 Big Bad will end up becoming the Well-Intentioned Extremist he will be properly known for.
Tragedies that could have easily been avoided if people would just opened their damn mouths; this can range from the Well-Intentioned ExtremistBig Bad doing horrible things that could have been avoided if he had only asked nicely all the way to Nice Job Breaking It, Hero because people somehow thought it better not to tell the player character vital information.
A Space Whale Aesop 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.
The Dark Wings, a trio of quirky thieves whose role is usually as comic relief.
At some point, the party (or at least the main character) will end up in jail.
Common and recurring gameplay elements:
A real-time combat system called some variation on the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS). The player controls one character, while the other battle characters are controlled by the AI and follow general commands. In best cases, they're pretty good, as they are able to hold their ground, don't use unnecessary actions, and not flailing around like an idiot, but you can call a friend for co-op in battles if you're that desperate. The battle system is reminiscent of a 2D fighting game, and focuses on chaining moves together.
Combat techniques known as "Artes". Advanced techniques are known as "Arcane Artes". The combo system is often based upon chaining Artes into Arcane Artes.
The Team Symphonia style uses Technical Points (TP), a traditional Mana Meter.
The Team Destiny style uses Chain Capacity (CC), where characters possess a constantly-regenerating pool of CC, and can chain special moves for as long as they have CC 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.
A form of Super Mode called "Overlimit", in which characters gain increased defensive power and become immune to stagger. At higher levels, Overlimit can even allow characters to use Artes without consuming CC or TP.
A Limit Break called a "Mystic Arte". The requirement for activating a Mystic Arte varies from game to game, but the most common requirements are:
The character must be in Overlimit.
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 very small amount of HP, expending a large amount of TP/CC and/or building a long-enough combo.
A list of commonly-recurring items, such as:
"Gald" as a unit of currency.
"Gels" as healing items. In a change from normal RPG convention, Gels heal by percentage (e.g. 30% of a total) rather than a fixed amount.
"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.
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.
"Grade" as an extra unit of currency that can (for all intents and purposes) be treated as the player's "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 New Game Plus 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.
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 Tales Of Legendia (And even then, some of their artes overlap with each other or the classic Tales Series heroes), Guy in Tales Of The Abyss, or Spada in Tales Of Innocence.
Summon Magic, called "Summon Spirits". The core four are Sylph (wind), Ifrit (fire), Undine (water) and Gnome (earth). The most popular second-tier Summon Spirits include Maxwell (all four core elements), Volt (lightning) 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.
Titles, which can be attached to a character just like a piece of equipment. New titles are usually earned at key storyline moments, or for special achievements (such as building a long-enough combo). The actual effect of a Title varies from game to game: in some it is merely cosmetic while in others it affects stat growth or contains hidden effects. This is one of the more widely known features of the Tales series, since some of them can be appropriate and define the situation in which they are given or downright hilarious.
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.
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.
Skits, which are little conversations between the party members that can be triggered while travelling. They are one of the main sources of Character Development in the game. Depending on the game, skits can also affect Relationship Values.
Xillia introduces Chats, which are also conversations but instead occurs 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.
Crowning Music of Awesome, often done by Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura. Some of the more recent ones have had other composers assisting Sakuraba, most notably his protege Hibiki Aoyama. Has its own page.
Go Shiina has also gained a lot of plaudits for his composition of Legendia's epic soundtrack (in place of Sakuraba) and for his contributions to some of the Escort games.
An optional arena where you can take on a number of challenges, such as Solo Character Runs and Boss Rushes. You can even end up fighting your own party members.
A Chest Monster called the Fake which sometimes drops the All Divide.
Katamari Damacy seems to be getting its fair share, with the Prince making his appearance as a secret attachment for different characters (Anise's Tokunaga and a charm for Yuri, for instanceA
Cute monsters. Especially noticable once FMVs entered the fray; the intro to Tales of the Abyss looks like Jade, Anise and Guy are slaughtering a horde of plush toys. One of them with a plush toy.
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, and shooting bubbles out of a straw.
Pretty much all of the Tales Series 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).
Tales Of The Abyss allows the player to switch the controlled character in the middle of battle after gaining a particular item.
Tales Of Vesperia is similar to the Star Ocean 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 Player Character and the enemy, and whether to allow them to use items (and how often).
Tales of Phantasia uses a simple method of AI customisation where you can switch the abilities you want them to use on and off.
If there is something the entire planet is dependant on, chances are it won't make it to through the end of the game, such as the world-wide religion, the things that let everyone use artes/the things that strengthen ability, etc. Alternately, or often together with the fact that whatever it is is revealed to be obtained in a less-than-moral way or is ultimately bad for the planet.
Legendary Weapon: The Eternal Sword. Also known as the Sword of Time, it is capable of cleaving time and space itself.
Many games feature an End Game Results Screen based on your gold and maximum hit combos, among other things.
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