Tales of Symphonia Coming to Next-Gen; Tales of Vesperia Coming to Xbox 360

NAMCO BANDAI is bringing its “Tales” series to the Xbox 360 for the first time with Tales of Vesperia with the incredible anime-style graphics, and captivating storylines and characters that we have grown accustomed to with previous “Tales” games. The setting for the game takes place in a world reliant on a mysterious ancient technology known as “blastia,” and the game follows former knight Yuri as he delves into a shadowy plot to use these magical devices to control civilization, or destroy it.

Included in this new title is an upgraded battle system via the standard-setting RPG with an all-new graphics engine and character designs by Kosuke Fujishima. Also new to the series, are significant additions to the trademark real-time combat system, allowing players to do battle in massive battlefields and learn new special attacks that are tied to individual weapons. New finishing blows allow players to take down enemies in a single hit with correctly timed button combinations, while mission-based battles increase the variety of each encounter as players gain unique items by fulfilling various battle objectives. Players can also use materials collected by successfully executing finishing moves to craft rare and unique equipment for their characters.

For those of us familiar with Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube, the newest installment Dawn of the New World follows the journey of two new young heroes, Emil Castagnier and Marta Lualdi, as they seek to uncover the mystery of why their world has fallen into ruin. In their quest, their paths will cross with the original cast of Tales of Symphonia including Lloyd and Colette, as well as a summon spirit known as Ratatosk who claims to be the lord of all monsters.

Dawn of the New World will introduce a new monster recruitment feature in which players can capture more than 200 unique enemies and train them to actively participate in battle. Players can then feed these monsters to make them more effective, and even evolve them into several new fearsome forms. The game also features an updated real-time battle system that lets players move freely in all directions around the battlefield, execute unison attacks and take advantage of a new elemental alignment system for more strategic depth. Dawn of the New World will give players complete control over a full roster of Tales of Symphonia characters and ally monsters, letting them customize their adventure party into hundreds of unique combinations.

A release date for Tales of Vesperia has yet to be announced, but it will be available for the Xbox 360 in Europe, Japan, and North America. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is a Wii exclusive and will be released during Q2 in Japan with a release date for the rest of the globe to be announced.

For more information on both games, check back with us often as more details and a set date are announced. Screenshots for both games are posted below, and you can look at more of them by clicking on the links above.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Tales of Vesperia