Tales of Destiny is an action role-playing game created by Telenet Japan's "Wolf Team" as the second main game in Namco's "Tales of" series. It was first released in Japan for the PlayStation in December 1997. Later, an English version was released in North America in September 1998. Many of the same developers who worked on the earlier game, Tales of Phantasia, also worked on Tales of Destiny. These developers included composers Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura, and character designer Mutsumi Inomata, who was new to the series. The game's producers gave it a name that describes its genre. A remake for the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan in November 2006. This was followed by an updated version called Tales of Destiny Director's Cut in January 2008. Both versions were only available in Japan. The remake received a unique genre name from its producers, called "RPG called 'Destiny.'"

The game takes place in a fantasy world. It follows the story of Stahn, a young man who finds a sword named Dymlos that can think and speak. He later meets other people who also use similar swords. Together, Stahn and his friends must work to stop evil forces trying to find a relic from a long-ago war. The original PlayStation version of Tales of Destiny was well-received by players. It sold over one million copies worldwide and became the best-selling Tales game in Japan.

Gameplay

The game uses an improved version of the Linear Motion Battle System first introduced in Tales of Phantasia, the first game in the series. Battles happen on a two-dimensional space where characters and enemies act at the same time. Melee and ranged attacks happen in real time, while casting spells requires a chanting time that increases with the spell’s complexity. When a spell’s chanting finishes, game time briefly stops as the spell animation plays and damage is calculated, making spells pause the battle. Special melee and ranged attacks deal more damage or have more hits than regular attacks but require technical points, or TP, to use. The battle system also gives extra experience for using multiple attacks in a row. This change from traditional turn-based RPG systems creates a faster, more reaction-focused system similar to side-scrolling action games.

Before battles, players can assign spells and special attacks to buttons or button-directional combinations, adjust the party’s battle formation or order, and set AI behavior for computer-controlled allies. Some spells can be removed from the list of spells computer-controlled allies can cast. At any time, the AI controls the other party members not directly commanded by the player, following general strategy orders. The player controls one character at a time but can switch to other characters and give special attack or spell orders using an in-battle menu. This menu lets players use items, spells, or special attacks anytime during battle. It also allows giving commands to the entire party and quickly changing strategy or formation orders.

Plot

In the past, a comet hit Earth, causing dust to rise into the sky and covering the world in cold and darkness. Around the same time, the people living there, called the Aethers, found a new type of energy from the center of a meteorite. They named this energy Lens. Using this discovery and more research, the people built floating cities in the sky and lived there. However, only a few people were chosen to live in these cities, while the rest remained on the planet's harsh surface. These people became known as the Erthers.

Over time, the sky's people were called Aetherians, and their cities were named Aeropolis. They made a terrible weapon called the Belcrant, which could destroy anyone who opposed them. This led to a big war between the two groups, now called the Aeth'er Wars. Despite the efforts of the Erthers, the Aetherians used their powerful weapon to win every battle.

Some Aetherian scientists were upset with their people's unfair treatment of others. They went to the surface and, with help from the Erthers, created special swords called Swordians. These swords were different because they could choose their own masters and use the power of nature to fight. With these weapons, the Erthers finally had a chance to fight back against the Aetherians.

Because of the Swordians and their masters, many Aeropolis cities sank into the ocean. In the end, the Erthers won the war against the Aetherians. After thousands of years, this story was mostly forgotten. Meanwhile, the Swordians went into a deep sleep, only waking up when serious dangers appeared again.

The story of the game begins when a young man named Stahn Aileron, who wants fame and adventure, sneaks onto a flying ship called the Draconis. He is discovered by the crew and forced to work as a helper, but when the ship is attacked by enemies, the crew is unable to fight back. Stahn escapes during the chaos and finds a broken sword in a storage room. The sword speaks to him, calling itself Dymlos and claiming to be a Swordian from the Aeth'er Wars. With Dymlos, Stahn fights his way to an escape pod and leaves the ship before it crashes.

Dymlos helps Stahn achieve the fame and adventure he desires as he meets other Swordians and joins a battle to find a powerful Lens called the Eye of Atamoni.

• Stahn Aileron is a 19-year-old adventurer who becomes a strong fighter using a sword. He is the main character of Tales of Destiny. He is not known for being smart or coming from a wealthy family. His sword, Dymlos, controls fire. He is voiced by Tomokazu Seki.
• Rutee Katrea is an 18-year-old hunter who uses a sword called Atwight, which controls water. She travels the world with her partner, Mary, and earns money. She later becomes close to Stahn. She is voiced by Yuka Imai.
• Leon Magnus is a 16-year-old swordsman from Seinegald, the youngest in history to serve the kingdom. He is a close friend of the president of the powerful Oberon Company. His sword, Chaltier, is fast and agile. He is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa.
• Philia Felice is a 19-year-old priestess who is kind and helpful but also very particular. Her sword, Clemente, helps her cast strong spells. She is voiced by Kikuko Inoue.
• Garr Kelvin is a 23-year-old prince from Phandaria who is skilled with both swords and bows. His sword, Igtenos, controls wind. He is calm and makes smart decisions in battle. He is voiced by Shō Hayami.
• Mary Argent is a 24-year-old woman who does not remember her past. She does not have a Swordian but is strong with swords and axes. She is usually friendly but can become very angry in battle. She is voiced by Yuri Amano.
• Chelsea Torn is a 14-year-old girl who is the granddaughter of a famous archer. She is young but very skilled with bows. She is voiced by Naoko Watanabe.
• Bruiser Khang is a 39-year-old fighter from a competition. He is loud and proud, using his fists to fight. He is voiced by Tesshō Genda.
• Karyl Sheeden is a 26-year-old bard from a rich family. He looks weak but can help the group with songs played on his lute. He is voiced by Kōichi Yamadera.
• Lilith Aileron is Stahn's younger sister. She is cheerful and energetic but can

Development

Tales of Destiny was first created by members of Telnet Japan and Wolf Team, who had previously worked on Tales of Phantasia. The game includes character designs by anime and manga artist Mutsumi Inomata, as well as animated cutscenes made by Japanese studio Production I.G. It was shown at the September 1997 Tokyo Game Show. An English version was planned for North America in the third or fourth quarter of 1998 and later displayed at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta. The North American producer noted that because the game’s two-dimensional graphics were considered "ordinary," the translation team focused on creating "an outstanding localization" to improve the experience. Namco America originally planned to record character voices in English and search for "excellent voice talent," but the final version kept the original Japanese audio.

In June 2006, Namco Bandai Games announced a remake of Tales of Destiny for the PlayStation 2, set for release in Japan during the following winter. This version includes new features such as three-dimensional environments, re-drawn character designs, and an updated version of the original game’s Linear Motion Battle System called the "Aerial Linear Motion Battle System" (AR-LMBS), which focuses on mid-air combat and complex attacks. All key cutscenes are now fully voiced, and a new feature called the Active Party Window allows characters to interact during the adventure. The game was shown at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, with a planned release date of November. However, delays due to unexpected bugs pushed the release to November 30.

In July 2007, Namco Bandai Games announced another version of Tales of Destiny for the PlayStation 2, called the Tales of Destiny Director’s Cut, set for release in early 2008. This version is compatible with save data from the original PlayStation 2 remake and includes new story events, battle difficulty settings, a "Leon Mode" that lets players control character Leon from his perspective, and a playable character named Lilith, who is Stahn’s younger sister. The game was released in Japan in January 2008 with a special edition that included an artbook and soundtrack.

The music for Tales of Destiny was composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura, who had previously worked together on the soundtrack for Tales of Phantasia. The Japanese version includes the opening theme song "Yume de Aruyouni" by J-pop group Deen. The English version uses an original track due to licensing issues. An official soundtrack for the original PlayStation version was released in March 2000 by Movic, containing 76 songs across two discs. In May 2007, a soundtrack for the PlayStation 2 remake was released by King Records, featuring 108 songs on four discs.

Since 1998, several radio drama albums featuring the Japanese voice cast of Tales of Destiny have been released. A three-volume set called Drama CD Tales of Destiny was released by Movic Records between October 1998 and January 1999, followed by another three-volume collection called Radio Tales of Destiny DJCD between April and June 1999. A third three-volume set, Tales of Destiny Tenjō, was also released by Movic between June and August 1999. In December 1999, a standalone drama album titled Tales of Destiny ~Proust~ Forgotten Chronicle was released.

Reception

Tales of Destiny received a score of 31 out of 40 from the Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, based on individual scores of 8, 7, 8, and 8. This earned the game the publication's Silver Award. In 2006, Famitsu readers ranked it as the 79th greatest game of all time in its "All Time Top 100" feature, making it the third highest-ranked Tales game on the list. The game sold over 450,000 copies in Japan by the end of 1997 and received a "Gold Prize" from Sony in May 1998, indicating sales of more than 500,000 units in Japan. By December 2007, the game had sold approximately 1,139,000 copies worldwide. At that time, it was the best-selling single-platform Tales game.

The English version of the game received generally positive reviews in North America, with an average score of 73% from the review site GameRankings. IGN gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, stating it was "Highly recommended, as long as you're a fan of the classic Super NES." IGN praised the gameplay, story, and sound but criticized the graphics for not being much better than those of the Super NES and the frequency of battles. RPGFan gave the game an 88% rating, calling the battle system "a blast to play" and "well-balanced." However, they had mixed opinions about the graphics, noting that they were "not even as good as some of the SNES" early in the game but improved later with features like transparencies, lighting, and textures. RPGamer gave the game a 6 out of 10, calling it "a fairly good game" but pointing out a lack of originality.

GameSpot gave the game a much lower score of 4.9 out of 10. Reviewers criticized the story as "stale and slow-moving," the characters as "boring," and the dialogue as "dry." They also said the graphics looked "far too much like an SNES game," suggesting the game seemed like a delayed SNES sequel. While the game's graphics were widely criticized, the opening anime video by Production I.G received praise from many critics.

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, giving it three stars out of five. They described it as "a simple yet enjoyable romp through what RPGs once were—long adventures with lots of character interaction and battles." They noted the game could be entertaining and even challenging at times.

The PlayStation 2 remake of the game received a slightly higher score of 32 out of 40 from Weekly Famitsu, based on scores of 8, 8, 8, and 8. This earned it a Gold Award. By the end of 2006, the original version had sold approximately 368,000 copies in Japan. The Director's Cut version sold 142,301 copies by the end of 2008, becoming the 92nd most-bought software title in Japan that year.

Legacy

The game had a follow-up called Tales of Destiny 2, which was released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. It was later made available on the PlayStation Portable in 2006. Both versions of the game were only available in Asia. This should not be mixed up with Tales of Eternia, which was called Tales of Destiny II when it was released in North America.