Tales of Destiny

Tales of Destiny
North American cover art, depicting the protagonist, Stahn Aileron
Developer(s)	Wolfteam (PS1) Namco Tales Studio (PS2)
Publisher(s)	Namco
Designer(s)	Mutsumi Inomata (character)
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba Shinji Tamura
Series	Tales
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	PlayStation JP December 23, 1997 NA September 30, 1998 PlayStation 2 Remake: JP November 30, 2006 PS2 Remake Director's Cut: JP January 31, 2008
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T
Media/distribution	1 × CD-ROM (PlayStation)

Tales of Destiny (テイルズ オブ デスティニー, Teiruzu obu Desutinī^?) is a video game in the RPG genre published for the PlayStation console by Namco on December 23, 1997 in Japan, selling 1,139,000 copies^[1]. Tales of Destiny's characteristic genre name is 'RPG of Destiny' (運命のRPG, Unmei no RPG^?). Both the Japanese and North American versions of the game have an introductory video animated by the renowned studio Production I.G, and the Japanese version has a song accompanying the video called Yume de Aruyouni by Deen. It is similar to its predecessor, Tales of Phantasia, in terms of gameplay, graphics, and content. Tales of Destiny is the second mothership title in the Tales series.

Gameplay

Battle System

Battle from the North American version of Tales of Destiny.

Tales of Destiny continues the trademark Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS) of the Tales series, with the E-LMBS (Enhanced Linear Motion Battle System), there are some graphical enhancements to the system as it was first implemented in Tales of Phantasia. Nevertheless, the combat is still very similar to the first game in the series, taking place on a 2-D plane where characters and enemies act in real time. Typical RPG conventions of HP, TP, experience, and leveling apply. Melee and ranged attacks are executed in real time, with spell casting requiring a chanting time that increases directly with the complexity of the spell being cast. When the chanting of a spell is complete, game-time temporarily stops as the spell animation is carried out and damage is assigned, so spells essentially act as interrupts. Special melee and ranged attacks do more damage or have more hits than normal attacks, but require technical points, or TP, to be consumed for use. Also, the battle system rewards the player with extra experience for stringing together multi-hit combos. The end result of this break from traditional turn-based RPG battle systems is a more fast-paced and reaction oriented system that behaves more like a fighting game and less like a typical Final Fantasy-esque title.

Pre-battle options include assigning spells and special attacks to buttons and button-directional combinations, changing the party's battle formation or order, and assigning AI behavioral patterns for your computer-controlled allies. Certain spells can also be taken off the active casting list for computer-controlled allies. At any one time, the AI is controlling the other characters in the party that the player is not directly commanding, taking general strategic orders into consideration when acting. The player controls one character directly at a time, but can switch to other characters and issue special attack or spell orders for any character on command using an in-battle menu system. This menu system enables the player to use items, spells, or special attacks on the fly in battle. Also, the menu system allows the use of general commands given to the entire party during battle, along with instant adjustment of previous strategy or formation orders. All of these control options were innovative at the time, even when considering that Tales of Phantasia was released in 1995 with nearly identical tactical options.

Plot

Setting

In the past, a comet crashed into the world, throwing dust clouds into the sky and shrouding the world in cold and darkness. At about the same time, the inhabitants, the Aethers, discovered a new form of energy from the meteorite's core, which they named Lens. Combining this with further research, the people were able to create cities in the sky and live in them. Unfortunately, only a select few were chosen, leaving the rest of the people to remain on the bleak surface of the planet. These people became known as the Erthers.

Over time, the sky's inhabitants became known as the Aetherians and their Aeropolis cities. They created a horrific weapon called the Belcrant that shot down any who dared oppose them. This caused full scale war to erupt between the two civilizations, now known as the Aeth'er Wars. However, regardless of their will and persistence, the Aetherians continued to have the power to dominate every engagement through the use of their superweapon.

In their disgust of their civilization's elitist behavior, a group of Aetherian scientists went to the surface. There, with aid from the people, they were able to create special swords, called Swordians, that were sentient. Unlike other weapons, these swords chose their masters and were able to call upon the elements of nature to do their will. Using these weapons, the people of the surface finally had an edge against the Aetherians.

Thanks in part to the Swordians and their masters, scores of Aeropolis were sunk to the depths of the ocean. In the end, the Erthers claimed victory over the Aetherians. Thousands of years later, this story has been mostly forgotten. In the meantime, the purposeless Swordians fell into a deep stasis sleep, only to awaken when grave threats rose once again.

Story

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.

Characters

Playable characters

Stahn Aileron (スタン・エルロン, Sutan Eruron^?, Stahn Aileron)
Japanese Voice: Tomokazu Seki
English Voice: Liam O'Brien (in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology)
A young 19-year-old adventurer who grows into a powerful sword-based physical fighter, Stahn is the protagonist of Tales of Destiny. Not known for his intelligence or his cultured background, his fire-elemental Swordian is Dymlos. Learning the most special attacks of any character, including extremely effective combination Sacred Skills, Stahn has the potential to become the most powerful character. His wide array of powerful attack options makes up for his limited fire-based magical arsenal.

Rutee Katrea (ルーティ・カトレット, Rūti Katoretto^?, Rutee Kartret)
Japanese Voice: Yuka Imai
English Voice: Michelle Ruff (in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology)
Armed with Atwight, the Swordian of water, 18-year-old Rutee is a headstrong Lens hunter who travels the world looking to make a profit with her partner, Mary. She has a bad reputation in the Kingdom of Seinegald because of her money-hungry ways, but she does not let it bother her. Rutee has a balanced selection of technical physical and magical attacks. Rutee eventually develops a romantic feeling relationship with Stahn. She is revealed to be Leon's sister late in the game.

Leon Magnus (リオン・マグナス, Rion Magunasu^?, Lion Magnus)
Japanese Voice: Hikaru Midorikawa
English Voice: Michael Lindsay (in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology)
Leon is a master swordsman of Seinegald - at age 16 the youngest in history to serve the kingdom, and a close associate of Hugo Gilchrist, the president of the powerful Oberon Company. A complex and slightly brooding character, Leon's agile Swordian is Chaltier. Using fast attacks and spells that can devastate, Leon does not waste time or effort in battle.

Philia Felice (フィリア・フィリス, Firia Firisu^?, Philia Philis)
Japanese Voice: Kikuko Inoue
English Voice: Bridget Hoffman
A 19-year-old priestess at Straylize Temple studying the A'ether Wars period, Philia is isolated from the outside world until the events of the game. She has a sweet, charming personality and is very dependable, but she can also be overly fastidious. Her powerful spell casting ability is augmented by her Swordian, Clemente, but her physical attacks are weak. It is revealed that she also has feelings for Stahn, but does not reveal them because she does not want to get in the way of Rutee, and is also too afraid to tell him.

Garr Kelvin (ウッドロウ・ケルヴィン, Uddorō Keruvin^?, Woodrow Kelvin)
Japanese Voice: Sho Hayami
The 23-year-old Prince of Phandaria, Woodrow is a skilled archer as well as a swordsman; Igtenos is his wind-elemental Swordian. Wise and mature, Woodrow is known for his cool-headed battle tactics. In battle, Woodrow can engage targets from long or short range with his two weapon types.

Mary Argent (マリー・エージェント, Marī Ējento^?, Mary Agent)
Japanese Voice: Yuri Amano
Suffering from amnesia, 24-year-old Mary is not aware of her last name due to an unknown event in her past. Mary has no Swordian, but can use swords and axes as a strong physical attacker. She is generally easy-going, but sometimes flies into berserker rages in battle. Her partner, Rutee, uses Mary for her own financial gain.

Chelsea Torn (チェルシー・トーン, Cherushī Tōn^?, Chelsea Tone)
Japanese Voice: Naoko Watanabe
The 14-year-old granddaughter of Garr's archery master, Alba. Even though she appears cute and innocent, Chelsea is an archer skilled beyond her mere 14 years of age. While weak in direct physical combat due to low defense, she is a good long-range attacker with her bow; not a Swordian user.

Bruiser Khang (マイティ・コングマン, Maiti Konguman^?, Mighty Kongman)
Japanese Voice: Tesshō Genda
A 39-year-old powerful fighter from the battle arena, Kongman is an optional character. However, he forcibly joins Stahn's group in the PS2 remake. Using his fists as a weapon, he is the undefeated champion of the world when it comes to battling in the arena; no Swordian.

Karyl Sheeden (ジョニー・シデン, Jonī Shiden^?, Johnny Shiden)
Japanese Voice: Koichi Yamadera
An estranged 26-year-old son of an aristocratic family, Johnny is a bard by trade. He may seem fragile from outward appearances, but he can provide useful support in the party through songs played on his lute. When his lute songs are learned, Johnny can become surprisingly strong, but he has no Swordian.

Lilith Aileron (リリス・エルロン, Ririsu Eruron^?)
Japanese Voice: Yuka Imai (Playstation); Chie Sawaguchi (PlayStation 2, Drama CDs, Tales of Fandom Vol.1, Tales of Destiny 2); Taeko Kawata (Tales of Phantasia)
Stahn's 17-year-old sister, who is very concerned about him and wishes he wouldn't go on such dangerous adventures, is a secret character available only through use of a Game Shark or similar device. However, she can only be acquired through a glitch without a cheat device in the initial Japanese release; this was fixed in later versions. Her weapons are rods and ladles that can inflict very respectable damage, and her techniques are a mixture of Bruiser's and Mary's. She appears once again in the Tales of Destiny remake for PS2, and this time, she is fully playable by default. Note that if you do hack Lilith into the game via a GameShark, her default name is Lilis.

Swordians

Dymlos (ディムロス・ティンバー, Dimurosu Tinbā^?, Dimlos Timber)
Japanese Voice: Ryotaro Okiayu
Stahn's Swordian. Dymlos was being transported to the capital of Seinegald on the Black Dragonflight with Stahn as a stowaway, and they met when the youth was searching for a weapon after the Draconis was attacked. Dymlos has a hot temper and tends to be impatient. He grants fire-based attack spells, but is more useful in melee combat, with usually equal power in slashing or stabbing. The combination of Dymlos' fire abilities with sword techniques is especially potent. The personality written into Dymlos is that of Lieutenant Dymlos Timber, Division Commander of the 1st E'rther Army from the Aeth'er Wars.

Atwight (アトワイト・エックス, Atowaito Ekkusu^?, Atwight Eks)
Japanese Voice: Emi Uwagawa
Rutee's Swordian. Atwight has been with Rutee since she was very young and serves as mother to her. Kind and resourceful, Atwight practically raised Rutee, and acts as a calming influence on Dymlos. She is the only healing-oriented Swordian, but Atwight has a good balance of water-elemental attack spells and short-range attack power (with an emphasis on stabbing). The personality written into Atwight belonged to Medical Corps Colonel Atwight Eks.

Chaltier (ピエール・ド・シャルティエ, Piēru do Sharutie^?, Pierre de Chaltier)
Japanese Voice: Hideo Ishikawa
Leon's Swordian. Chaltier was given to him by his and Rutee's father Hugo Gilchrist, since Hugo abandoned Rutee. Chaltier is rank-conscious, restrained, and unquestioningly loyal, even when he disagrees with his orders. He specializes in earth spells and also has some status effect abilities, but like Dymlos, he is most effective in short-range slashing combat. The personality written into Chaltier belonged to Major Pierre de Chaltier, a 2nd E'rther Army squadron leader.

Clemente (ラヴィル・クレメンテ, Raviru Kuremente^?, Laville Clemente)
Japanese Voice: Jouji Yanami
Philia's Swordian. Clemente was sunk to the bottom of the ocean with the former E'rther base Radislowe when the Aeth'er Wars concluded, where he remained until meeting Philia and the rest of the party. Jovial, but also fair and insightful, Clemente is the leader of the Swordians. Though large, Clemente is not very useful in melee combat due to low attack power. Instead, he commands a large repertoire of powerful spells from all the elements, not just his own element of lightning. Clemente's personality originally came from Laville Clemente, one of the E'rther Army Chiefs of Staff.

Igtenos (イクティノス・マイナード, Ikutinosu Mainādo^?, Igtenos Minarde)
Japanese Voice: Taiki Matsuno
Garr's Swordian. After the Aeth'er Wars, Igtenos became a symbol of the royal house of Phandaria, handed down from king to king. He is calm, controlled, and prides himself on logical decision-making. Igtenos controls wind-based spells but is a melee-oriented Swordian, balanced between Dymlos and Chaltier in power and speed (focused on stabbing like Atwight). For the majority of the game, Igtenos is deactivated due to the forced usage of it by Lydon. The personality written into Igtenos belonged to Igtenos Minarde, leader of the E'rther Army's Intelligence Unit.

Berselius (カーレル・ベルセリオス, Kāreru Beruseriosu^?, Karell Belserius)
Japanese Voice: Nobuo Tobita (Tales of Destiny 2)
Berselius died in the Aeth'er Wars. He is the one who killed Miktran, but Miktran stabbed the core of Berselius, resulting in its death. And later, unbeknownst to the others, Miktran took possession of the sword and later found Hugo Gilchrist, quickly causing Hugo to lose his mind the instant he touched the sword. Berselius is more powerful than even Clemente with magical skills, though most of it is probably Miktran's own power, being that Berselius' core had been destroyed and replaced. The personality written into Berselius belonged to Harold Berselius, Karell's sister, although she was written into history as a man because of her name.

Related media

Much like its predecessor, Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Destiny contains hidden references to classic Namco arcade games; this section covers the original PlayStation version. This tendency to refer to classic Namco products in each subsequent Tales game has become an enduring characteristic of the series.

• The people who teach Stan Aileron the "Throw Sword" special technique are Cless Alvein and Arche Klaine from Tales of Phantasia; They give the player a quiz with questions about previous Namco games.

• Philia Philis makes a cameo appearance with other Tales series characters (Reid Hershel, Mint Adenade, and Nanally Fletch) during an arena battle in Tales of the Abyss.

• Stan Aileron, Rutee Katret, Philia Philis, Woodrow Kelvin and Lion Magnus appear as a summon in Tales of Eternia

• The most significant reference comes in the form of the game's bonus dungeon, a sixty level recreation of Tower of Druaga complete with the original music and every monster from the original arcade game. The monsters present on each floor closely mirror the monsters present on the same floor in the arcade game. The requirements to receive the treasure chests on each floor are different, however, though several clues to the solutions are given in the actual game through various characters in towns.

• There are additional references to Tower of Druaga outside of the bonus dungeon itself. Items present include: Excalibur, Golden Armor, Golden Helmet, Red Line Shield, Blue Line Shield, Wing Boots (Jet Boots), Hyper Gauntlet, Pickaxe, and the Blue, Red, and Green Crystal Rods. There are statues of Gil and Ki in front of the temple in Kalviola and there is a Blue Line Shield statue in front of the armor shop. Additionally, the dreamy girl in Cresta mentions the characters and story of Tower of Druaga.

• On the Draconis there are pictures in a bedroom of a slightly obscured Pooka from Dig Dug and a Paccet from Baraduke.

• There is an ad for Tekken 3 in Sheeden; Heihachi Mishima is also visible in one of the towns.

• The music and jingles for the Mach Boy race in Neustadt are from New Rally-X.

• There is an S-Flag from Rally-X on a shelf in the Developer's Room and Lens Shop.

• The Gnome item summons several multi-colored characters from Libble Rabble.

• The Valkyrie item summons Valkyrie from Legend of Valkyrie (Valkyrie no Densetsu).

• Typing "OGRE" at one point in the game that asks for a password will give Stahn a clue for Tekken 3: "Seek Ogre's Blood."

• Stan, Rutee and Leon (as Judas) all appear as playable characters in the Namco x Capcom game. Stan and Rutee team up; Leon first appears as an enemy boss and joins the group later on in the game.

• In Tales of Symphonia, Garr Kelvin is one of the characters in the cameo battle in Meltokio Coliseum, along with Meredy and Farah from Tales of Eternia.

• In the beginning of the game, there's a room in the castle that contains a bookshelf. If you examine the bookshelf, Stahn notes that there is a child's book in it called Tales of Phantasia.

PlayStation 2 remake

Main article: Tales of Destiny (PS2)

On June 19, 2006, magazine scans indicated that a remake of Tales of Destiny would appear on the PlayStation 2. As of November 15, 2006, one week before the original release date of November 22, the game was delayed to an unknown date. Two days later on November 17, 2006, the official Namco Tales site announced Tales of Destiny Remake's release date to be November 30, 2006, in order to fix a bug they discovered in the game during testing. Upon release, it sold 395,000 copies^[2]. Regarding the characters, all return again as playable; Lilith returns as a fully playable character by default. The remake features overhauled hand-drawn sprite-on-3D-background graphics similar to Tales of Rebirth and the AR-LMBS, which adds significant importance to aerial combat. The Tales of Destiny Remake overtook Tales of Destiny 2 as the game with the fastest battle system in the Tales series. The game also features additional dialogue, scenarios, and anime sequences. No U.S. release date has been confirmed; it is unlikely that this remake will ever be slated for the North American market on the PlayStation 2 due to the past localization history of the Tales series.

People who signed up to receive news on Namco Bandai's Tales series received a survey asking what they think of the series; this suggests that the company may be considering more North American localizations. Another Tales survey was released, and this points to the fact that Namco Bandai is taking more interest in the North American future of the series. Numerous images were from the Tales of Destiny Remake, and this implies that Namco Bandai is preliminarily considering a North American translation.

On July 20, 2007, a director's cut of the remake was announced, entitled Tales of Destiny Director's Cut; it was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 on January 31, 2008. It was the 92nd best-selling game in Japan in 2008, selling 142,301 copies.^[3]

References

1. ^ "Tales Central information page for Tales of Destiny (PlayStation)". Tales Central. http://www.tales-central.com/generalinfo/destinypsxinfo.html. Retrieved January 30, 2010. 
2. ^ "Tales Central information page for Tales of Destiny (PlayStation 2)". Tales Central. http://www.tales-central.com/generalinfo/destinypsxinfo.html. Retrieved January 30, 2010. 
3. ^ "2008 top 100". Kyoto.zaq.ne.jp. http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/dkbkq103/yso/top100/2008.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-21. 

External links

• 6502 Video Game Vault Tales of Destiny
• Official Japanese Tales of Destiny: Remake Website
• Official English Website (Playstation)
• RPGamer's page on Tales of Destiny
• Tales of Destiny shrine