GameInformer: "Ever wanted to get into the Tales series, but you're not sure where to start? You're in luck; RPG Spotlight offers a concise overview of the elements that give a franchise its heart and soul."
Gamasutra: "The Tales of series has quietly and slowly become prominent among RPG fans in the West. Starting with 1998's Tales of Destiny, the series has had a bumpy road -- many titles never connected with audiences, and many others never left Japan. But after the unexpectedly strong performance of Tales of Graces f in 2012, Namco Bandai has recommitted to the franchise. Interest in it is 'progressing very steadily,' according to franchise producer Hideo Baba."
"Back then there was a lot of rivalry; there was a lot to look at compared to now. But now what really stands out is Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Tales. It's much more lonely."
This was Konami's chance to make Suikoden 6 and shine and surprise everyone with their awesomness of 108 unique recruitable characters and shades of gray focused stories. 3 types of battle set-ups that included strategic battles using your army, turn based battles with whatever combination of 6 characters that you wanted and to mention the 1 on 1 duels, side-quests and extremely deep customization of skills and armament.
The next entry in Namco Bandai's revered JRPG series is finally available in the states. Tales of Xillia will take gamers on a epic adventure that involves fast paced battles, the usage of strong mana and deep emotional moments between the game's main cast of characters. We at Heavy are here to commemorate the release of this game on our shores by showcasing 20 wonderful fan art images for the game. First up is this powerful image by kanakanapier.
Gematsu: "At Comic-Con in New York, we spoke to Tales series producer Hideo Baba about the upcoming English localization for Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2, the Tales series in general, Baba-san’s thoughts on the western market, and other subjects."
Baba: The graphics in western games are very photo-realistic, such as Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, Skyrim. Capcom had Dragon’s Dogma, which is an RPG and performed well in the western countries, as well. But I like these characteristics in western games. I don’t implement these features in the Tales series. But I do enjoy these features in the western games.
Square enix, and many other RPG company's can learn a lot about this note
I now have even more high respect for Mr. Baba-san after reading his comments. He knows that his product, the Tales series, is his baby, and that growing it does not mean alienating the fans with mechanics that don't meld well with the base identity of the series.
Thing is, ToX incorporates more realistic physical proportions for the characters, as opposed to the previous titles' cartoonish character renders. This is a good addition; however, Baba-san knows his limits and that over-reaching for all audiences by incorporating 'western' touches will not work for his craft.
Personally, I would like Baba-san work on that open-world game he is dreaming of creating provided sales and finance restraints are non-existent. Imagine an RPG, open-world game that's Japanese made! The closest thing to this is Dark Souls. Japan, we want more!!! We know you can do it!!!
Yay Tales! Xillia is so close... Can't wait to pick that up.
Tales of Xillia so awesome can't wait.
Tales series has been doing what FF should be doing since forever. Too bad its really underrated
you know this generation's JRPG support on consoles is weak when an average franchise like Tales of series is considered one of the best current JRPG series.
Just finished Graces f on the PS3 and I can't wait for Xillia 1&2!
I only played Tales of Vesperia on the 360, but i was pleasantly surprised. It was a great game.