Tales of Series

s a franchise of fantasy role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco), and developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco Studios. First begun in 1995 with the development and release of Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom, the series currently spans sixteen main titles, multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of manga series, anime series, and audio dramas.

While entries in the series generally stand independent of each other with different characters and stories, they are commonly linked by their gameplay, themes and high fantasy settings. The series is characterized by its art style, which draws from Japanese manga and anime, and its action-based fighting system called the "Linear Motion Battle System". Multiple people have become linked with the series, including character designers Kōsuke Fujishima and Mutsumi Inomata, producers Hideo Baba and Makoto Yoshizumi, and composer Motoi Sakuraba. The series was created by Yoshiharu Gotanda.

Tales of Destiny
The Japanese light novel series written by Ryuji Matsuki, illustrated by Akira Toshimitsu and Mutsumi Inomata. The Series is a light novel adaptation of the PlayStation game 'Tales of Destiny' and began publication on March 10, 1998 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint.

The story of the game begins when country-boy-turned-adventurer Stahn Aileron, who seeks fame and adventure, sneaks aboard the flying ship Draconis as a stowaway. He is found out by the crew and forced to work as a deckhand, but when a large hostile force attacks the ship, the crew is overwhelmed and Stahn breaks free during the ensuing chaos. Looking for a usable weapon to fend off the attackers, he gains access to a storeroom and discovers a "junk" sword. However, the sword starts talking to him, calling itself Dymlos and claiming to be a sentient Swordian from the Aeth'er Wars. Armed with Dymlos, Stahn fights his way to an escape pod, which he uses to escape the rapidly descending ship before it crashes into the ground.

Dymlos becomes the key to the fame, fortune, and adventure Stahn seeks as the young man meets other Swordians, quickly becoming embroiled in a battle for a relic of the Aeth'er Wars: a huge, extremely powerful Lens called the Eye of Atamoni.

Tales of Phantasia
The Japanese light novel series written by Ryuji Matsuki, with illustrations by Kobo Shibusawa. The Series is a light novel adaptation of the SNES game 'Tales of Phantasia' and began publication on May 10, 1999 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint.

The game begins as four heroes are locked in battle with a powerful sorcerer king named Dhaos. Before he can be defeated, Dhaos uses his magic to travel several years into the future, where he is immediately met by one of the four warriors' descendants and three companions, who seal him away with two magic pendants. Twelve years later, two young men named Cress and Chester return to their village to find it razed to the ground by a dark knight named Mars, whose army kills many of its inhabitants including Cress's parents and Chester's sister. While Chester stays behind to bury them, Cress leaves to meet his uncle Olson for help, who reveals that he is being forced to work for Mars before stealing his father's pendant and locking him in jail. Quickly escaping with the help of a dying woman in a nearby cell, he meets another prisoner, a young priestess named Mint, who reveals that the woman was her mother before the two leave through the dungeon's aqueducts.

After rendezvousing with Chester, the party meets Trinicus D. Morrison, one of the four heroes who sealed Dhaos away years ago, who reveals that their parents were once his comrades and is shocked to discover that Cress and Mint's pendants were stolen. Following him to a nearby mausoleum, the group encounters Mars just as he uses the pendants to break the seal on Dhaos's tomb, setting him free. As Mars is killed by the dark sorcerer after asking for his power, Trinicus laments that no force in this time can possibly stop Dhaos, and uses his magic to send Cress and Mint back through time to seek out a means to do so while Chester stays behind to cover their escape. The two arrive one hundred years in the past to a time before Dhaos was initially sealed, where the villain is currently waging a war with his demon armies against the human kingdoms. Learning that only magic can harm him, they seek the aid of a young mage named Arche Klein, and summoner named Claus F. Lester, who accompany them to Dhaos's castle. After a fierce showdown, Dhaos escapes once again, and the party makes their way to an ancient city called Thor that houses a functional time machine to return to the future.

Arriving just moments after they first left, Cress and his companions join Chester in his fight against Dhaos and seemingly defeat him for good. However, they are approached by a traveler named Harrisson from 50 years in the future who tells them that Dhaos is now ravaging the world in his time. Using the Thor machine once again, the team arrives in the new period where they meet a ninja named Suzu who accompanies them (except in the original release). After meeting with a group of elves, Cress obtains the legendary Eternal Sword, the only thing that can stop Dhaos from moving through time, and travel to his invisible fortress for the final confrontation. After finally defeating him, the party learns from a tree spirit named Martel that he is a visitor from a dying planet called Derris-Kharlan, whose world was slowly withering due to the death of its world tree, the source of all mana and lifeblood of everything in it. Attempting to obtain a seed from this planet's world tree, Yggdrasil, Dhaos instead found that its power was fading as well due to the humans' constant misuse of mana-based technology, and decided to wipe them out to save it. As the party members realize that by saving their world they have doomed his, Martel takes pity on their plight and sends a mana seed into space in an attempt to rejuvenate Derris-Kharlan's tree as Cress and his team return to their proper times.

Tales of Eternia
The Japanese light novel series written by Ryuji Matsuki, illustrated by Masae Hashimoto. The Series is a light novel adaptation of the PlayStation game 'Tales of Eternia' (known as Tales of Destiny 2 in its English Release) and began publication on March 10, 2001 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint.

The game follows Reid Hershel as he tries to prevent the Grand Fall, a cataclysmic event that would destroy his planet along with that of newly found traveling companion Meredy. Specifically, the Grand Fall entails the violent collision of twin planets Inferia and Celestia. The two planets face one another while being separated by the Orbus Barrier. Interaction between the two planets has been infrequent over the last few centuries despite their proximity; the Bridge of Light linked Inferia and Celestia in the distant past, but the link has been severed for an extensive period of time. The Aurora War, an ancient conflict that set Inferia against Celestia over two thousand years ago, continues to generate persistent mistrust between the two groups. The Orbus Barrier has shown recent signs of weakening and possible collapse due to the actions of an unknown external force.

The journey takes Reid across both planets, as he seeks out those responsible for this movement towards the brink of annihilation.

Tales of Xillia
The Japanese light novel series written by Kaoru Yasuhiko, with body illustrations by Yuko Sato and Cover illustrations by Ufotable. The Series is a light novel adaptation of the PS3 game 'Tales of Xillia' and began publication on November 10, 2011 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint.

Two millennia ago, humans developed spyrix, a power source which absorbs spirits to supply power. In response, the spirit Maxwell gathered humans, who share a symbiotic relationship with spirits, onto an isolated land protected by a barrier; the isolated land became known as Rieze Maxia and the outer lands as Elympios. As spirits are needed to sustain nature, Maxwell waits for the day all humans on Elympios die off before dispelling the barrier. Twenty years prior to the present, an Elympion cruise ship becomes trapped in Rieze Maxia, eventually forming a terrorist group known as Exodus. Exodus works with the Elympios military to find a way to destroy the barrier. In the present era, Rieze Maxia is ruled by two countries called Rashugal and Auj Oule. While the two countries appear to live in harmony, they both initiate black operations in attempts to conquer the other in hopes of uniting Rieze Maxia as a single country.

In the present, medical student Jude Mathis investigates a military research facility in order to search for his missing professor. There he witnesses a spyrix-powered weapon called the Lance of Kresnik absorb his professor. The military prep Jude as the next victim, but he is saved by Milla Maxwell, Maxwell's successor. In response, the military activates the lance which absorbs Milla's spirit companions forcing her and Jude to retreat. Jude and Milla decide to confront Rashugal's king who had endorsed the Lance's creation. During their travel, they are joined by Alvin, Elize Lutus, Rowen J. Illbert and Leia Rolando. After Rashugal's king is defeated, Exodus obtains and uses the Lance to temporarily disable the barrier protecting Rieze Maxia, allowing Elympios' army to invade. Assisted by Auj Oule's king, Gaius, the party defeats Exodus at the cost of Milla's life.

After mourning her death, Jude leads the party to meet Maxwell and attempts to persuade him to dispel the barrier and save Elympios. Reunited with Milla, who has been reborn as a spirit, they convince Maxwell of their cause. However, Gaius and the spirit named Muzét seal Maxwell within the Lance of Kresnik, intent on sustaining the barrier until all spyrixs are destroyed; Maxwell sends the party to Elympios before he is completely subdued. There, the party learns about Elympios' dependence on spyrix and an ongoing research on spyrite, a power source harmless to spirits. With renewed conviction, the party confronts and defeats Gaius and Muzét. Maxwell dispels the barrier and disperses its energy to temporarily power spyrixes until the completion of spyrites. The party returns to their daily lives with Jude joining a spyrite research team, Milla resuming her role as Maxwell, and Gaius uniting Rieze Maxia under his rule.

Tales of Xillia 2
The manga adaptation of Tales of Xillia 2. It was written and illustrated by Ryu Naitou. It was serialised in Dengeki Maoh and released under the Dengeki Comics NEXT imprint from June, 2013.

Tales of Xillia 2: Soukyoku no Crossroad
The manga spin-off of Tales of Xillia 2. It was written and illustrated by Kasukabe Akira. It was serialised in Viva Tales of Magazine and released under the Dengeki Comics NEXT imprint from February 2014.