Let’s cut right to the heart of the matter from the outset: the treatment of the Tales of franchise in recent years has been immensely distressing, with no strong signs of alleviation or hopeful revival.
While there have been store listings and rumors surrounding a potential Tales of Xillia remaster, the lack of mention for its direct sequel and the meager launch quality of Tales of Symphonia Remastered are likely just preparing me for even more disappointment.
In the realm of free-to-play gacha games, the franchise is also dead. Even someone like me who despises gacha titles with every fiber of his being finds it somewhat saddening. What used to have numerous entries over the years between Tales of Crestoria, Tales of Luminaria, Tales of the Rays, and more is now barren. There was always activity in the community thanks to these experiences, and not even those are being kept up.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the state of the Tales of franchise is in its darkest hour, albeit nowhere near as hopeless as the .hack series, but still pretty dire. If Bandai were, at the very least, re-releasing the older entries consistently, akin to Capcom’s efforts with Mega Man and Ace Attorney, matters wouldn’t feel as despairful as they currently do.
The obvious fantasy fulfillment would be if every Tales of entry received ports collectively. But considering how potential future releases would be spaced out, it got me to ponder about which projects would satisfy me the most.
So, I made this brief list of four Tales of re-releases that are really just dream-like scenarios but would excite me beyond belief if they came to fruition. I tried to think beyond single-title remasters and instead tried to visualize other avenues of revival.
Tales of Destiny Collection
Right off the bat, a collection of Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2 would be significant. While the original PlayStation 1 release of the first game was localized, its enhanced PlayStation 2 re-release, Tales of Destiny: Director’s Cut, wasn’t. This version added another playable mode, centering on the party member Leon, and numerous sidequests and gameplay alterations were implemented.
Hell, including a mode for the original PlayStation 1 release would satisfy the diehards. Additionally, Tales of Destiny 2 was never localized, so this collection would be indescribably appreciated. The combat of these entries is amongst the best in the series, and more fans need to experience it.
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology Collection
Tales of the World is a subseries comprised of several entries, not just Radiant Mythology, but even I can’t dream of a world where all of the Tales of the World titles were released together due to the sheer number. Some are also defunct mobile entries and so obscurely niche that I doubt even the most dedicated fans are particularly attached to them.
Regardless, the general draw of Tales of the World is how it crosses over countless characters throughout the franchise, and the Radiant Mythology trilogy is the most well-known of these endeavors. Only the first of these entries was localized, so a trilogy collection making them all available to global audiences would be stellar beyond worlds.
In an age where character crossovers are primarily tied to gacha games, I can’t describe how much I miss when they were actually fully fleshed-out, non-free-to-play experiences.
Tales of Crestoria / Luminaria / Rays Full Console Remakes
These are technically three separate notions, but the idea is identical. Essentially, remaking Tales of Crestoria, Tales of Luminaria, or Tales of the Rays as full console experiences akin to the mainline entries is the dream. These three mobile entries, in particular, were immensely ambitious and had varying degrees of success, with Rays chiefly thriving.
Still, even in cases of offline functionality, so much of these games are lost when their support is ceased. To that end, revivals treating them like mainline mothership entries or at least close to it would give them the respect they deserve. This hope is malleable as it can apply to other mobile entries like Asteria.
Tales of Phantasia Collection
This one is a bit of a mouthful, so let’s break it down. Tales of Phantasia is the first entry in the series, while Narikiri Dungeon is a Game Boy Color sequel set over a century later. And Narikiri Dungeon X is a PSP remake that includes an entirely separate title, Tales of Phantasia: Cross Edition.
To put it simply, Tales of Phantasia has received several ports and versions over the years. It first began on Super Famicom before getting a PS1 remake, followed by a Game Boy Advance release with merged features from the previous two versions, and then a PSP port chiefly based on the PS1 version while adding new voice acting. Tales of Phantasia: Cross Edition is a remake of the PSP port on the same system that added even more new features, making it definitive from a glance. Cross Edition was bundled with Narikiri Dungeon X.
Honestly, a whole article can be spent talking about each version of Tales of Phantasia, but for the purposes of this piece, it’s evident why a collection would be ideal. Besides the possibility of packaging each version of Phantasia together, at least including the Cross Edition and the original Super Famicom release alongside Narikiri Dungeon X would go a long way. Diehard fans are very particular about which Phantasia releases they prefer.
Of course, no version of Narikiri Dungeon was ever localized, and only the Game Boy Advance and (now defunct) iOS ports of Tales of Phantasia came West. With Tales of Symphonia connective tissue seemingly seemingly being in the lore, you can’t go wrong with this potential package.
There are plenty of other Tales of re-releases I would love, such as Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Legendia, Tales of Eternia, and Tales of Graces f getting modern ports, Tales of Rebirth getting localized, and Tales of Innocence R and Tales of Hearts R greeting consoles.
Still, in terms of more elaborate releases that aren’t just remasters, these are the ideas that come to mind. I sure don’t expect anything close to these possibilities to ever be fully realized, but when a franchise you love so dearly is being neglected for so long, these are the types of fantasies you can’t help but conjure.
I don’t think any remake could really re vitalize the franchise at this point. It would end up like Falcom did in the past during a time there were nobody in the studio and they were just remaking Ys I & II again and again…. It wasn’t until they decided to make Ys VI with a cohesive world that their rebirth started.
We will have remake, because they are easy to do… Heck, we even had Symphonia not too long ago and it helped nothing. At this point, they should just start from Arise and build something as nuanced as before from a setting perspective, that’s not easy, but i feel like that’s their only hope. Let the fan translation help with the older entry… It will be done sooner or later as long as the series remains relevant… But for it to be relevant, it has to have new entry.