6 ‘Tales of’ Games We Still Need in the West

Tales of Destiny Remake

Tales of Destiny was one of the first games in the series to ever make its way west back on the original PlayStation. Even today copies are hard to come by, and the title hasn’t officially been re-released anywhere. Tales of Destiny was also completely remade on the PS2, a version we’ve sadly never seen in English.

Besides getting a complete visual upgrade, the PS2 version of Tales of Destiny makes a number of gameplay refinements. Players can now use any of the party members during battle, instead of being locked only to Stahn. Battles now also have more of an emphasis on aerial combat. There are also brand new scenes added to the story, and a completely remixed soundtrack. Even with all the new additions, the remake keeps the spirit of the original Tales of Destiny alive.

A Director’s Cut of the remake was also released later on, adding on a substantial new story that allows players to see things from Leon’s point of view. With the Tales series becoming more and more popular in the West, it’s really a shame that we never got the remake of Tales of Destiny. The original is still considered a PS1 classic, and was one of the first titles to put the series on the map in North America. It hasn’t aged exceptionally well, however, so it’d be great to get an updated, more streamlined version for new fans of Tales.

Tales of Destiny 2

Although we did get a Tales of Destiny 2 in the west, it was really just Tales of Eternia rebranded for English audiences. Unfortunately, fans have never gotten the chance to continue the story setup in Destiny, at least not in English anyway. Destiny 2 actually takes place 18 years after the first game, with the actions of Stahn and the other Swordian Masters now well-known worldwide. The title focuses on Stahn and Rutee’s son, Kyle, who ends up on his own adventure and learns about the heroes of old.

Tales of Destiny 2 still uses the series’ linear motion battle system, before the franchise moved battles onto a 3D plane. It did, however, introduce the zoom system where the battle camera will zoom out the farther the player is from an enemy, helping you to focus on combat when near and get a full view of the battle when far. An interesting twist on Destiny 2’s combat, however, is that every party character can use magic, instead of a select few.

Destiny 2 originally released on the PS2, with a PSP version coming after. Considering we’ve never gotten the remake of Tales of Destiny either, it’d be great for fans to be able to get both games in one package. Similarly to what Bandai Namco did with Tales of Hearts R, they could just localize the text of the game, leaving the original Japanese voices in. The Vita or Switch even would be the perfect place for a Tales of Destiny dual-pack to release, finally giving fans the chance to experience both.

Tales of Rebirth

Tales of Rebirth is yet another game from the series released on PS2 and PSP that we’ve never gotten in the west. Thematically, it might actually be one of the most interesting Tales games as well, taking place in a world where a human race, known as Huma, and a beast race known as Gajuma coexist in relative peace. You play as Veigue Lungberg a young man from a snowy village who’s close friend Claire Bennett, and heir to a throne, is kidnapped. Veigue sets off to rescue her, and as you’d expect finds himself embroiled in a massive conflict.

Tales of Rebirth is basically the perfect fusion of everything old and new in the Tales series, at least at the point in time it was released. Rebirth does still use the Linear Motion Battle System, with a bit of a twist, however. Like Symphonia, players can move their character onto three different planes in Rebirth, attacking the enemies on that plane or dodging and attack from an enemy on another one. A Force Gauge controls the skills a character can use in battle, and the gauge depletes as you fight. Of course the series traditional skits return once again, shedding light on story moments as well as smaller character moments.

Tales of Rebirth has some big story themes it touches on, primarily with the theme of  coexistence. This is represented through the ethnic conflict between the Huma and Gajuma that players encounter in the game. It’s definitely disappointing fans in the west have never gotten their hands on Rebirth, which proves to be an interesting fusion of old and new ideas in the series. Hopefully, it’s something we can still experience at some point in time, and would be the perfect title to receive a digital-only release on a handheld.

Tales of Innocence R

Tales of Innocence is the ninth entry in the series, originally releasing on DS and PSP. At least aesthetically, Innocence is quite different from the rest of the franchise, employing a sort of Western/Steampunk look. The story focuses on Luca, a merchant’s son who encounters a fugitive named Ilia and ends up rescuing her. Shortly he finds out that he’s inherited supernatural powers from a past life, something the other party members also find out,

Innocence uses an altered version of the Linear Motion Battle System, called Dimension Stride LMBS. This system gives you full range of movement instead of only being on a 2D plane, and there’s a large emphasis on combos and aerial combat. By stringing enough attacks together characters can enter an “awakened” state, significantly increasing their attack power. A remake of the game titled Innocence R was also released making some big changes to combat and world. Puzzles were reworked, a new story dungeon was added, and you can now use four characters instead of three in battle, among other things.

Tales of Innocence is easily one of the most unique and well-rounded titles in the series, with an engaging main story and characters, as well as a fast-paced battle system. With Tales of Hearts R finally releasing in North America a few years back, it seems baffling that we didn’t get something similar for Innocence. Hopefully, it’s still something fans will be able to get their hands on going forward.

Tales of Vs.

Tales of Vs. is easily comparable to something like Dissidia Final Fantasy, a fighting game/brawler that brings together characters from across the long-running series. In truth, the actual combat of Vs. is more comparable to Super Smash Bros., as it uses the Linear Motion Battle System to create four-person brawls. Characters can use both normal attacks and artes, and items appear on the field as well. Some of these will restore health, while others like a boomerang-blade will give you a temporary new attack. However, battles generally focus on 2vs2 battles, although you can also play a four-person free-for-all.

Tales of Vs. features an original story, bringing all the characters together in a world known as Dailantia. This world is largely drained of resources, and consists of four countries. Instead of falling back on war, the countries send representatives to fight in battle, and gain resources through it. Of course outside of story mode, there’s plenty of random battles to be had, and even a fun little minigame called Tales of Wallbreaker.

Fans of the series would definitely love Tales of Vs., as it lets you battle it out as some of your favorite characters. There’s over 20 playable characters featured, from Tales of Phantasia all the way up through Tales of Hearts.

Tales of the World: Tactics Union/ Reve Unitia

Tactics Union is one of the latest crossover game in Japan, changing things up from the usual Tales of the World games by being a grid-based tactical RPG. The game originally released on mobile, with an updated 3DS version titles Reve Unitia releasing in 2014.

Gameplay is similar to something you’d find in a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, equipping your units with different weapons, equipment, and skills before battle. There’s also a bit of Fire Emblem, with favoribility ratings similar to the support conversation system. Certain units can fight near each other and build relationships, gaining boosts when battling, as well as revealing special conversations. There’s also a couple of new characters introduced in the story mode, which takes place in the land of Revaila.

The original mobile title was free to play, with in-game purchases, of course. It wouldn’t be as intensive to localize as a mainstream Tales title, and either the mobile game or digital version of the 3DS title would be a good choice. Unfortunately, we’ve only gotten one of the Tales spinoff titles in North America, with Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology on PSP. Tactics Union is different enough to distinguish itself from the main series, and could be a good choice to finally get another spinoff in English.