The Tales of… JRPG series continues to dole out a memorable cast of characters embarking on epic adventures. After saving the world on two occasions in Tales of Xillia and its sequel, gamers will now get to do it again within a more medieval setting.
This time around, American and European gamers will get to become a new world’s savior that Japanese gamers are already familiar with – Sorey. Along with the amazing anime visuals this JRPG franchise is celebrated for, its intense action-packed battles also make a return. A new epic plot, changes to how you’ll enter enemy skirmishes and plenty of additional content promise to make this entry one of the best in the series.
Embark with us on our epic journey to find out the five most essential facts you need to know about Tales of Zestiria.
1. This Entry’s Plot Focuses on The Plight of a Young Man Named Sorey
Tales of Zestiria’s story takes place within a continent called Glenwood. Two warring countries are currently at odds as they both exist on such a vast continent – the Hyland Kingdom and the Rolance Empire. Besides those two sides are multiple guilds who take on several professions and profit from the conflicts between the Hyland Kingdom and Rolance Empire.
All of the negativity spawned by the war in Glenwood has led to the creation of evil monsters called the Hellion. One of the safer races that exists besides those monstrous denizens are the Seraphim, supernatural humanoids who speak and interact with humans that exhibit high levels of spirit energy.
One of those special individuals is a young man named Sorey. Sorey embarks upon a quest with several allies by his side to bring peace back to the land of Glenwood. Sorey sets out to acquire the role of a Shepherd, calm the impending threat of the Hellion and its leader and save humanity and the Seraphim. With all of these goals in mind, Sorey and his party are ultimately looking to enter their world into a new age where both races live in perfect harmony.
2. Battles Now Take Place Right Out in The Open Areas You’ll Explore
Unlike past games in the long running Tales of… series, you’ll now enter battles as you travel throughout the open world. No longer will the game transport you to a separate battle screen now that the implementation of “Real Map Battles” has arrived. Several elements within the locations you’ll face your enemies in will impact how your characters fight (examples – the topography of the battlefield, ponds, rocks, trees etc.).
3. The Linear Motion Battle System Makes Its Return
The fast paced, combo centric battle gameplay of this JRPG series is once again being utilized for Tales of Zestiria. The franchise’s Linear Motion Battle System has been molded for this new entry and has been given a new name for a its variant – the Fusionic Chain LMBS. Human characters can dish out damage with close-range melee artes, while the characters that specialize in Seraph abilities employ the use of medium and long-range magical artes.
Two of the game’s party members (Sorey and Rosé) can use a special ability called “Armitization.” This special fusion power allows either character to fuse themselves with a specific Seraph partner, which then gives that character powerful new attacks, special elemental abilities and boosted stats.
Buy the Tales of Zestiria Collector’s Edition Strategy Guide here.
4. Two Editions of This JRPG Are Up For Pre-Orders – The Standard and Collectors Edition
The Standard Edition of Tales of Zestiria comes with a special set of DLC upon putting down your pre-order. You’ll receive the following pieces of costume, gear attachment and artes bonuses:
– classic Tales of… Costumes Set DLC
– classic Tales of… Weapon Attachments DLC
– classic Tales of… Mystic Artes Set..
For those who wanna go bigger with their purchase of this upcoming JRPG, a special Collectors Edition is up for grabs. The following list below will provide you with every type of goodie enclosed within this package:
– a special Limited Edition box packaging
– a Steelbook
– a physical copy of Tales of Zestiria
– a physical Blu-Ray copy of Tales of Zestiria: Dawn of The Shepard anime
– a hardcover game art book
– a special soundtrack CD
– 8-Bit retro character keychains
– a 4-character Chibi Kyun Chara figure set
– the Collector’s Edition DLC pack
Buy the Collector’s Edition of Tales of Zestiria here.
5. A Huge Swath of Free and Paid DLC Will Become Available For The Game
As expected, Tales of Zestiria is going to feature a substantial gathering of free and paid DLC. If you’re a member of Bandai Namco’s VIP Corner, you’ll be gifted with the exclusive “Mystic Artes” pack and an additional story chapter for Alisha. The 1st bit of DLC will be free for VIP Corner members as soon as the game launches. PSN users who buy the digital version of the game will receive this DLC and a special theme. The 2nd piece of DLC will be free for VIP Corner members until November 18th, 2015.
Along with those two DLC packages, owners of Tales of Zestiria can also purchase these other digital bonuses:
– new Adventure Items
– a 23-Character Skit Pack
– new Attachment Items
– the School Costume Set
– the Seaside Resort Costume Set
– the iDOLM@STER video game Costume Set
– the Evangelion anime Costume Set
Getting this content through PSN means you’ll have access to both the PS3 and PS4 versions of it, due to the Cross-Buy feature.