Tales of Zestiria
Tales of Zestiria (Japanese: テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア, Hepburn: Teiruzu Obu Zesutiria) is a Japanese role-playing game. It is the fifteenth main entry in the Tales series, developed by Bandai Namco Studios and tri-Crescendo, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released in January 2015 in Japan on the PlayStation 3. For Western release in October of the same year, it was also ported to PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows via Steam. The PS4 version was released in Japan in July 2016. As with previous entries in the Tales series, the game uses a variation of the action-based Linear Motion Battle System, with additional elements including a navigable open world, and the ability for certain characters to fuse into a single entity in battle to deliver powerful attacks.
Tales of Zestiria | |
---|---|
![]() Box art of the Japanese release, also used for worldwide release | |
Developer(s) |
|
Publisher(s) | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Director(s) |
|
Producer(s) | Hideo Baba[2] |
Designer(s) |
|
Artist(s) |
|
Writer(s) |
|
Composer(s) | |
Series | Tales |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Mode(s) |
|
The story follows Sorey, a young man blessed with powers by a mystical spirit race known as the Seraphim who act as a stabilizing force in the land, as he travels to free the land of Glenwood from the threat of the Hellion, creatures spawned by negative emotions. The game's characteristic genre name is Jōnetsu ga sekai o terasu ārupījī (情熱が世界を照らすRPG, lit. "RPG of Passion Lighting the World"), with its story focusing on the passion of the characters.
The game began development in 2012 as the 20th anniversary title for the Tales series, returning to the series' thematic roots as established in Tales of Phantasia and featuring revamped gameplay systems. Multiple staff members from previous Tales games returned, including producer Hideo Baba, battle programmer Tatsuro Udo, designers Kōsuke Fujishima and Mutsumi Inomata, and composers Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina. It has received positive reviews in Japanese gaming magazines, and shipped over 400,000 units in its first week. It has similarly garnered mixed to positive reviews in the west, with the majority of praise going to the battle system while its story and presentation received a mixed response. Despite the praise, it has received criticism from fans in Japan for its handling of the game's characters.
Gameplay
Tales of Zestiria is an action role-playing game set in a fantasy world with three-dimensional characters rendered to scale with the areas around them. The game's main world employs an open world layout, in contrast to previous entries in the series.[8][9] Skits, extra conversations between characters that can be either dramatic or comical, also return; their full-body representation of characters is carried over from Tales of Graces.[10] As in Graces and Tales of Xillia, they are fully voiced.[11] During exploration of the field area between locations and while a specific Seraph character is assigned, the player can execute special commands; they are slicing through minor obstacles (all characters), smashing large obstacles (Edna), temporarily shielding themselves from enemy view (Mikleo), igniting special lights in dungeons (Lailah), or teleporting across gaps (Dezel).[12][13] A changeable second character accompanies the lead character, and story-relevant or trivial conversations can be started with them.[14] Characters all have unique Support Talents, which range from locating treasure chests to monitoring a characters health, which can be leveled up along with the characters.[15]
New special abilities for characters are gained by performing side-quests for creatures called Normins scattered through the land.[16] Equipment assigned to characters can be given special skills, with one piece of equipment having four skill slots. Certain combinations add additional effects produced by equipment. Some equipment types can only be obtained by fusing two different accessories.[17] A local four-player multiplayer option is also available.[18] Items such as outfits, weapons and armor and items can be bought and sold at shops across the land. Using a certain shop enough levels it up, unlocking higher-end items. During exploration, players visit various regions under the control of Lords of the Land, which require the protection of the Seraphim. Ensuring this protection gives the player access via the Lords of the Land to abilities such as warping between save points for a fee. Other abilities including various abilities and bonuses unlocked by completing certain objectives in battle and establish further Normin. The player can increase these boons by leveling up the strength of the protection through battles in the area. Players can rest characters at inns, restoring their health and magic meters.[15]
Battle system
As with previous titles in the series, the game uses the trademark action-based Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS). The variant used in Zestiria is called the Fusionic Chain LMBS.[18][19][20] Unlike previous entries in the series, which featured a separate battle screen, battles in the open field and environments like towns and dungeons take place in the same space as exploration. These encounters are called "Real Map Battles". The player characters' fighting ability during this battle can be affected by the topography and features such as ponds and rocks. Preemptively attacking enemies also grants the player an advantage during the battle.[13][14] Like previous entries in the series, the LMBS incorporates special skills called artes. There are two types of artes: human characters specialize in close-quarters melee-based artes, while Seraph characters employ mid-to-long range magical artes. These artes are further divided into multiple categories for each character. Artes can interrupt standard attacks.[21][22][23] Alongside standard attacks and artes, characters can cast spells for actions such as healing or attacking enemies. The standard attacks, artes and spells are governed by a rock-paper-scissors system.[23] Special attacks called Mystic Artes[Jp. 1] can be performed which deal high damage, with each character having a unique Mystic Arte.[24]
While in battle, characters status is displayed in special windows on the battle screen: their window shows their current health, their Blast gauge (an energy bar linked to special abilities), and Spirit Chain (SC) gauge, which fuels the ability to link characters and perform special attacks.[22] A high level of SC points grants conditional boons to characters, such as dealing higher damage and faster recovery of SC.[23] Characters have the option to side-step (dodge forward, backward or to the side), and precisely timed dodges can allow characters to stagger enemies and fill the SC gauge.[15][22] The Blast gauge allows characters to trigger a blast of energy which knocks enemies back and heals injuries.[22][25] The SC gauge allows for a maximum of four linked attacks, and any remaining points in the gauge can be used for later linked attacks. The order of activation for linked attacks cannot be changed.[22][23] At the end of battles, if certain requirements are fulfilled, characters can learn skills called Battle Acts, abilities that grant the characters advantages in battle, such as being able to run around the field freely.[15]
The characters Sorey and Rose can also perform "Armatization",[Jp. 2] which fuses either of them with a chosen Seraph partner to produce a powerful hybrid form, which can perform magical attacks indicative of the element the Seraph represents.[10][18][26] While in this form, the human character's stats are boosted, and they gain special abilities unique to the fusion: the character can wield a large sword and fire-based magic (Lailah), shoot water arrows using a bow (Mikleo), use stone fists and summon stone pillars (Edna), and gain blade-like wings and summon whirlwinds (Dezel/Zaveid).[11][16] A character can swap out their Seraph partners while not in this form.[27] Both characters capable of Armatization can be in this form at the same time.[26] If the human character is defeated on the field, activating Armatization will resurrect them if their current Seraph partner is still active.[23] There is a maximum of four party members allowed in battle, with one human being linked to one Seraph.[27]
Plot
Setting
Tales of Zestiria takes place on a fictional continent named Glenwood.[28] Glenwood is set in the middle of an ocean-dominated world, sharing its setting with Tales of Berseria, the latter being set in the distant past of Zestiria's world.[29] Glenwood is divided between two warring countries: the Hyland Kingdom, which is ruled by a constitutional monarchy, and the Rolance Empire.[14][28] Existing independently are multiple Guilds, who readily profit from the conflict and encompass multiple professions from transportation to goods manufacture to assassination.[17] Throughout the land, an impurity known as "malevolence" generated by the negative emotions of humanity periodically transforms the living, the dead and even inanimate objects into monsters called the Hellion,[Jp. 3][30] who pose a threat to the world.[31][32] Along with humans, one of the main races of the world is the Seraphim,[Jp. 4][30] supernatural humanoids and animals who can only interact with humans with sufficient resonance in them.[31] Though once an abundant people in Glenwood, the Seraphim have become scarce.[22] The people of the world call those who interact with the Seraphim "Shepherds",[Jp. 5] and they are both hailed as saviors and feared because of their power. The Shepherds have frequently appeared during times of crisis, and have entered into common folklore along with the Seraphim.[28] Seraphim can also form contracts between themselves, with one dominant figure called a "Prime Lord" and a number of partners called "Sub Lords" who act as supports for them.[22] The game tells the story of the Shepherds during the "Era of Chaos", when the Hellion are running rampant across Glenwood, attacking both the countryside and cities.[32] Dragons play an important role in both the world lore and main story arc, but do not follow their traditional representation as beings of good and evil or symbolic creatures; rather, they are actually Seraphim who are corrupted by [the aforementioned] malevolence.[8][20][33]
Story
The game begins with a young human called Sorey and his friend Mikleo, a Seraph of water exploring some nearby ruins when they rescue a human girl, Alisha, and bring her back home in the village of Elysia. Once Alisha departs back home, Sorey and Mikleo have a short clash with a Hellion called Lunarre and fearing for her safety, they decide to leave the village in search for her. While looking for Alisha's whereabouts, Sorey has an encounter with Lailah, a Seraph of fire known as the Lady of the Lake, who makes a pact as his Prime Lord, granting him the power to purify the Hellions and making him a Shepherd. After Sorey reunites with Alisha, who is revealed to be a princess to the Hyland Kingdom, she becomes his "Squire" to fight the Hellions by his side, and the party starts traveling the continent purifying the Hellions and searching for the main source of the malevolence that plagues the land into an Era of Chaos, the individual known as the "Lord of Calamity". During their travels Sorey and the others have a short encounter with Zaveid, a rogue Seraph of wind who hunts down Hellions on his own accord, and befriend Edna, an earth Seraph who also joins the party. However, Alisha's low resonance with the Seraphim takes a toll on Sorey's body and she is forced to leave the group.
When a war between Hyland and the neighboring Rolance Empire breaks out, Alisha is used by Hyland's military as a leverage to force Sorey and his friends to take part in a battle. During the skirmish, Heldalf, the Lord of Calamity himself, appears before Sorey and he is almost killed, being rescued in the nick of time by an assassin called Rose. After recovering, Sorey learns that there are four shrines with trials that a Shepherd must accomplish in order to become stronger and decides that he must clear them first before challenging Heldalf again. During his journeys, it is discovered that Rose has a high level of resonance and she becomes Sorey's Squire, joining the party along Dezel, a Seraph of wind who was guarding Rose as part of a secret agenda. After the party completes the four trials, they fall into a trap by Symonne, a fallen Seraph who works under Heldalf. It is then revealed that Dezel's true objective was to enact revenge on Symonne for causing the death of his friend and disgracing Rose's guild. Rose is severely wounded during the battle, forcing Dezel to sacrifice himself in order to protect her, and Zaveid joins the party afterwards.
Sorey and his friends then confront Heldalf again, but figure out that something is amiss as he does not show any intention to kill them immediately, as after failing to provoke Sorey, Heldalf attempts to convince him to join his side: this prompts the party to retreat and look for the true reason behind his motives before their final confrontation. It is revealed that the Era of Chaos was initiated when the previous Shepherd turned Heldalf, a Rolance military general at a time, into a cursed immortal being by infusing him with the fallen Seraph Maotelus when he refused to provide aid to his village when it was invaded: this filled his life with hatred and turned him into the Lord of Calamity. It was also revealed that two infants from the village, Sorey and Mikleo, were saved and taken in to be raised with the Seraphim. With the truth revealed and understood, the Shepherd and his comrades take on Heldalf once again and defeat him once and for all, turning Heldalf back into his human self and Sorey finally ending his life, giving him the peace he craved. Sorey then merges with Maotelus to expel the malevolence from the world and usher in a new era, where both the Seraphim and humans finally live together peacefully. In a post-credits sequence, a future Mikleo is shown exploring some ruins, and is saved from a fall by a reawakened Sorey.
Main characters
- Sorey (スレイ, Surei)[8] is a human raised by the Seraphim. Because of his upbringing, he possesses high levels of resonance, allowing him to interact with the Seraphim. Due to becoming a Shepherd after entering into a pact with Lailah, Sorey holds the power to purify the Hellion.[34] In battle, he wields a sword and is capable of Armatization.[18][31] Sorey is designed by Kōsuke Fujishima and voiced by Robbie Daymond in English[35][36] and Ryōhei Kimura in Japanese.[37]
- Mikleo (ミクリオ, Mikurio)[38] is the Seraph aligned with the element of Water, and Sorey's childhood best friend.[39] He acts as a contrast to Sorey, being cool and considerate, but because of this he has a very strong bond of friendship with him.[40] Mikleo fights with a long Earth-based staff and Water-based seraphic artes. He is designed by Mutsumi Inomata and voiced by Michael Johnston in English[41] and Ryōta Ōsaka in Japanese.[37]
- Rose (ロゼ, Roze, Rosé in Japanese) is a young human woman who joins Sorey's quest, originally seen as a member of the "Sparrowfeathers"[Jp. 6] merchant's guild. Although possessing high levels of resonance similar to Sorey, an incident in her youth removed her ability to see the Seraphim until she becomes a "Squire" to Sorey.[42] During gameplay, she fights using twin daggers and is capable of Armatization.[43] Officially, she is classified as a playable accompanying character, as opposed to accompanying NPCs such as Claire Bennett in Tales of Rebirth.[44] Rose is designed by Fujishima and voiced by Caitlin Glass in English[36][45] and Mikako Komatsu in Japanese.[37]
- Alisha Diphda (アリーシャ・ディフダ, Arīsha Difuda)[38] is a princess to the Hyland Kingdom. Due to her mother's low status and the decreasing importance of the kingdom's monarchy, she is treated poorly by the royal family, and decides to become a knight. While initially unable to see and interact with the Seraphim as Sorey can, she enters a pact with him to become a "Squire", a servant of the Shepherd with limited magic and the ability to see the Seraphim.[14][46] Due to conflicting loyalties and patriotism, and negative effects on Sorey due to lacking resonance within her that is taking its toll on Sorey, she leaves the party early in the story.[47][48] Alisha wields a long spear in battle.[31] She is designed by Okumura and voiced by Alexis Tipton in English[36][49] and Ai Kayano in Japanese.[37]
- Lailah (ライラ, Raira)[8] is a Seraph aligned with the element of Fire. She acts as a tutor to Sorey, and forms a pact with him when he wishes to become a Shepherd. Lailah becomes a Prime Lord to Mikleo, Edna and Dezel/Zaveid as Sub Lords, being the senior member of the partnership.[50] Though she is knowledgeable, she is prone to delusional outbursts if provoked.[34] Lailah fights with book pages and Fire-based seraphic artes.[51] She is designed by Inomata and voiced in English by Carrie Keranen[36][52] and in Japanese by Miyu Matsuki in the game[37] and by Noriko Shitaya in the anime.
- Edna (エドナ, Edona):[38] Edna is a Seraph aligned with the element of Earth. While she has a pretty and petite exterior, she has a cold personality and has a hatred for humans. However, when it comes to her brother, she is prone to outbursts of emotion.[53] Edna uses her parasol in combat and utilizes Earth-based seraphic artes.[54] She is designed by Minoru Iwamoto and voiced by Kira Buckland in English[36][55] and Misato Fukuen in Japanese.[37]
- Dezel (デゼル, Dezeru)[38] is a Seraph aligned with the element of Wind. Working in secret among the human population, he seeks vengeance against the Hellion after they killed a close friend. He is also considered an outlaw by the humans and the Seraphim. Dezel uses whip-like pendulums and Wind-based seraphic artes in battle.[51] He is designed by Daigo Okumura and voiced by Chris Niosi in the English version of Zestiria the X[36] and Daisuke Ono in Japanese.[37]
- Zaveid (ザビーダ, Zabīda, pronounced "Zaveed")[8] is a Seraph also aligned with the element of Wind. Though he also fights the Hellion, he is generally a prankster and shares some form of connection with Dezel, he is also dangerous due to his uncertain allegiance and his willingness to fight Sorey. Zaveid fights with whip-like pendulums and Wind-based seraphic artes too.[56] The character is designed by Iwamoto and voiced by Ian Sinclair in English[36][57] and Kenjiro Tsuda in Japanese.[37] He makes an appearance in the prequel, Tales of Berseria, where he comes across the party of that game several times.
Development
Tales of Zestiria began production at Bandai Namco Studios in 2011, roughly three years prior to its release.[47][58] Japanese developer tri-Crescendo helped with the game's programming.[1] The game was conceived as a 20th anniversary title for the series, incorporating classic elements with new gameplay ideas.[4] The story focuses on the theme of the casts' passion in pursuing their beliefs, in contrast to other entries in the series where the theme was justice or faith: the title "Zestiria" refers to the "zest" of the main characters. It also focused on the series theme of coexistence between different peoples and races.[9][59][60] The game also returned to a medieval European high fantasy setting involving dragons, as opposed to the previous recent entries such as Tales of Xillia and its sequel.[61][62][63] Producer Hideo Baba wanted to return to the themetic roots of the Tales series first explored in Tales of Phantasia to celebrate the series' anniversary.[59] When beginning development, the team built off the basics established in the Xillia games.[64] The game's main director was Yuuta Hase, who had previously helped develop the gameplay systems for the Xillia games. In helping develop the gameplay systems, he was initially in a deadlock with the rest of team about developing the new functions while maintaining traditional elements.[65] Roughly two hundred staff worked on the game, double the number of the previous mainline Tales game Xillia 2.[60]
The main scenario writer was Naoki Yamamoto, who had previously written the scripts for Tales of Hearts and the Xillia games. He wrote the script keeping the concept of a long and fun journey in mind, and developed Sorey as a mature character representing the game's central theme. Yamamoto worked closely with the team to ensure the story and gameplay relations between human and Seraphim characters were consistent. The concept of the Seraphim being a race invisible to humans was established early in development. This created difficulties in fitting a normal quest structure around this.[63] The story was constructed around Alisha's departure from the party, with the development team adjusting the outfits sold for her as downloadable content (DLC) could also be worn by Rose. While Alisha's DLC scenario hinted at a continuation of the story, Zestiria and its story DLC were a self-contained experience, with no subsequent DLC scenarios planned.[48] The final script covered six script books, including one for battle dialogue.[63] In hindsight, there were concerns from staff that the scenario had not gone very deeply into the characters' psychologies, lessening its potential appeal, with Baba saying that they would attempt to take a more involved approach in future titles.[48][66]
The characters were designed by Kosuke Fujishima, Mutsumi Inomata, Daigo Okumura, and Minoru Iwamoto, all of whom worked on previous Tales titles. Iwamoto also acted as the game's art director.[67][68] As part of the character designs, the artists reversed the physical stereotypes associated with the classical elements used by the main Seraphim characters: as stated examples, the fire Seraph Laliah was made petite and gentle in appearance, while the earth Seraph Edna was both shorter than the other characters and wielded great power over a potent element. Extensive work was needed to make environments distinctive so players would not get lost during exploration.[68] Anime studio Ufotable created the game's opening and anime cutscenes.[69] Iwamoto worked with Ufotable to make sure the opening successfully conveyed the personalities of the main characters.[68]
Tatsuro Udo, battle programmer for Eternia, Rebirth and Graces, helped design the battle system.[3][61] During the beginning of development, the team had to recreate the basic gameplay from the Xillia games to work off, which proved a difficult task for the team.[66] The battle system was intended to combine familiar elements from previous installments with new ideas intended to refresh the series.[4] Creating the seamless transition between exploration and combat, as well as implementing Armitization, proved to be difficult for the team. The idea of encountering and fighting enemies in the same space as exploration was designed to help evoke a fresh sense of adventure for players, as the team felt the previous method of transferring to a separate battle arena was limiting the series' development. Until the battle system's completion, development of other systems related to it was slow.[65] As part of this development, a completely new engine had to be developed for the game, rather than just modified their old engine as they did in the past. Because of a staff shortage, developing the game was harder than previous titles and took a longer time.[47] The PlayStation 3 was chosen as the original platform of release as the next generation of gaming hardware had yet to take off in Japan in terms of sales, and Bandai Namco was unwilling to take the risk of releasing on platforms with low install bases.[59]
Music
The music for Zestiria was composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina. Due to the title's status as an anniversary title and the popularity of both composers with the Tales series fanbase, it was decided that they should co-compose the soundtrack.[4] During his work on the project, Sakuraba was involved in the composition of over one hundred tracks. The standard and boss battle themes were intended to evoke the atmosphere of the series as a whole.[70] Shiina, who worked on thirty of the game's tracks, encountered difficulties expressing his musical style in the soundtrack. His role included focusing on thematic themes for Alisha, Zaveid and the Dragons. He included choral work in some of the tracks related to the Seraphim.[71] The game's official soundtrack was released on 18 February 2015.[70] Selected tracks from the game were included on a disc in the European and North American Collector's Editions.[72][73]
The game's theme song, "White Light", was composed and performed for the game by J-pop group Superfly.[74][75] Superfly developed the song alongside the game, with the band being allowed to view the material for inspiration. The title was inspired by the idea of people starting out with a "white canvas" and coloring it through their lives.[76] The single was released digitally on iTunes the day before Zestiria's release and was also the lead single of Superfly's fifth album White, released on 27 May 2015.[77] The western releases use an instrumental version of the song in the opening.[78]
Release and promotion
The Tales of Zestiria trademark was registered in Japan, Europe, and North America between August and September 2013.[79][80][81] Bandai launched a website in November as a teaser campaign which counted down for 12 December 2013; A live stream date for Niconico went live after the countdown.[82][84] The game was revealed through the live stream. Localizations for North America, South America, and Europe were announced afterwards.[61][67] Shortly after the game's announcement, it was revealed that character designs and story writing were complete, while the battle system and graphics were still being finalized.[2][85] In April, the game's characteristic genre name was unveiled as Jonetsu ga sekai o terasu RPG (情熱が世界を照らすRPG, lit. "RPG of Passion Lighting the World").[34] The game was released in Japan on 22 January 2015, and it was released in Europe, Australia, and North America in October 2015.[5][86]
Starting in October 2014, Bandai Namco began a promotional campaign for the game, starting with offering Zestiria with a 30% price cut on PlayStation Network. PlayStation Plus members got a further 20% discount.[87] A Zestiria-themed PS3 controller was released in Japan as part of a collaboration with video game accessory company Hori. It included a cleaning cloth featuring chibli renditions of the eight main characters.[88] Lolita fashion brand Putumayo, who had previous collaborated on promotional clothing for Tales of Symphonia, designed clothing and jewellery based on the eight main characters.[89] Figurines of Sorey and Alisha were also produced.[74] After release, the game received two guides: a Complete Guide, published by Bandai Namco Entertainment in February 2015, and a Perfect Guide containing a full breakdown of the game and behind-the-scenes content, published by Enterbrain in April of the same year.[90][91]
The game's planned year of release in Japan was revealed at a Tales Of Festival in June 2014, while its exact release date and period of release in the west at that year's Tokyo Game Show.[8][18] As part of the localization process for the game, Bandai Namco announced it was working to release the game across all major regions within the same year, with the localization starting after the game had released in Japan. The motivation behind this was fan reaction to the delayed release of the Xillia games.[8][92] For the English release, the team actively considered including the Japanese vocal track as in Tales of Symphonia Chronicles.[10] Dual audio was confirmed with the announcement of the game's western release window.[86] Despite the high popularity of the PlayStation 4 (PS4) in the west, no initial plans were made for a port to that console due to a shortage of manpower.[47][58] Later, due to the high adoption rate of the PS4 in western territories, and the popularity of PC games, ports of Zestiria to those platforms were created exclusively for western markets.[93] Collector's Editions were created for Europe and North America: the collections feature DLC codes, chibi figures of four of the game's characters, an art book, and special cases for the game disc. In North America, the collection was exclusive to the PS4. In the European Steam version, a code for the Steam port of Tales of Symphonia was included.[72][73] The PS4 version was later released in Japan on 7 July 2016 as a "Welcome Price!!" budget edition.[7]
Downloadable content
Multiple pre-order bonuses in the form of DLC were created to promote the game. The standard bonuses were four new Mystic Artes for Lailah, Mikleo, and Alisha, plus limited rubber straps portraying the playable characters.[94] A further offer for those who pre-ordered the game through 7-Eleven stores included special character costumes and a powerful healing ability for Sorey.[43] Along with the pre-order DLC, Bandai Namco also created crossover character costumes based on the Rebuild of Evangelion film series for selected characters, and four playable characters from the raising simulation video game The Idolmaster One For All.[43][95][96] They also created original Academy Costumes for the eight main characters.[95] For the Idolmaster DLC costumes, the battle music changed to match the characters' appearances.[97] There were further collaborative efforts with costumes based on characters from the manga Blue Exorcist, and attachments inspired by characters from Capcom's Sengoku Basara 4. In addition to these, there are also swimsuit costumes and outfits based on protagonists from previous Tales titles.[98]
Japanese players who kept save data from the Xillia games, and the PlayStation 3 ports of Vesperia and Graces, unlocked attachments themed after the main protagonists of those games.[99] After release, further DLC in the form of further costumes, cosmetic accessories, and free skits. Delivery of these and other DLC ended in March 2015.[47][96] A downloadable scenario titled Alisha's Story: The Strength of a Knight[Jp. 7], featuring Alisha and Rose in a post-endgame scenario, was released on 12 February 2015 in Japan and alongside the game in the West.[100][101] The scenario can be played without needing to complete the main game, with the playable characters' stats carried over from the main game.[102] To celebrate the series anniversary and the game's initial sales, the company made the scenario free until 26 February.[100] Alisha's Story and much of the original pre-order DLC was included in the European and North American Collector's Editions.[72][73] It was also offered free for a limited time to players who purchased the game on Steam.[101]
Reception
Reviews
Reception | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The game received a positive reception overall. Aggregate site Metacritic gave the PS4 and PC versions of the game scores of 72/100 and 77/100 respectively.[103][104] The Japanese version also received positive press prior to release: at the 2014 Japan Game Awards after that year's Tokyo Game Show, Zestiria was among the games that won the "Future Division" award.[117] The game also received the Platinum award from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu upon release.[118]
The story and characters were praised by Famitsu and fellow gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation: Famitsu called the former "epic" and the latter "charming".[105][111] Dengeki generally referred to Zestiria as the Tales series' "finest masterpiece".[111] Erren Van Duine, writing for gaming website PlayStation Lifestyle, called the characters "likable" and praised the first half of the story, but felt that the narrative "fell flat" during the second half.[112] In a different review for the same site, Jowi Meli found the experience enjoyable despite a slow start and awkward English voice work.[113] Opinion on the characters was generally divided in western reviews: while Danielle Lucas of PC Gamer, RPGamer's Adriaan den Ouden, RPGFan's Alana Hagues and Ben Moore of GameTrailers enjoyed the characters, other reviewers such as Hardcore Gamer's Jordan Helm, IGN's Meghan Sullivan, and GameSpot's Miguel Concepcion were generally less impressed, with Concepcion in particular drawing comparisons between multiple other games within the genre and saying that the cast came across as unoriginal.[107][110][114][115][116] The story received mixed opinions from reviewers, with some enjoying it and others noting a lack of originality as its primary fault. In particular, Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer found it less innovative than previous titles despite a more mature approach and less cliched dialogue.[106][107][110][114][115][116]
Famitsu positively noted a noticeable "evolution" in the interaction between battles and navigation, described the battles as exciting and found the Armitization feature worked smoothly. The main point of criticism was the environmental interaction, which grew tiresome once the player grew used to all the skills.[105] Van Duine said that, while not perfect, the battle transition "[provided] a greater sense of environment rather than shifting to an instanced zone", while Dengeki PlayStation positively noted smooth gameplay, "seamless" transition from navigation to battle, and the ability to retry battles after being defeated.[111][112] Wallace was pleased with the battle system and praised Armitization despite a general slow pace, while Remi found the gameplay deeper than in previous titles and echoed Wallace's praise for the battle system.[106][113] This praise and similar notes surrounding Armitization were shared by multiple other western reviewers, although a few minor criticisms arose concerning old-fashioned gameplay mechanics, and item and equipment management.[107][108][109][110][114][115][116] A common issue raised by reviewers was the camera behavior both in battle and when navigating environments, which was generally described as wayward or distracting.[105][108][109][111][112]
Some other issues were raised, with Famitsu citing obscure tutorials as one of the game's weak points.[105] Van Duine, while praising the art style, noted multiple dips in frame rate, showing that the hardware was having trouble coping with the game.[112] Both Boone and Wallace noted a lack of hints for players, which resulted in bouts of aimless wandering.[106][108] Wallace also critiqued archaic elements within the game, and faulted the artificial intelligence for other characters in battle.[106] The game's graphics also came in for criticism, with Remi in particular comparing it to titles for the PlayStation 2.[107][112][113][114] Multiple reviewers also noted rough patches when traversing the open world, with a few commenting that it was made harder when the teleport system was disabled at certain points in the story.[107][108][109][115]
Sales
According to Media Create, Zestiria topped the Japanese sales charts upon release, selling 340,891 units, beating The Legend of Legacy for the Nintendo 3DS and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for Wii U.[119] A week after release, Bandai Namco announced that the game had shipped over 400,000 units.[100] It was the fifth best-selling game during the period between its release and August 2015.[120] Upon release in the United Kingdom, Zestiria reached #8 in the top twenty game titles in its week of release, becoming the highest-ranking new release.[121] The Steam version has sold over 450,000 copies as of April 2018.[122]
Controversy
There was negative player feedback after release concerning the handling of playable characters, in particular that Alisha was not playable through most of the game despite her prominent presence in early promotional material.[47][102] It was further inflamed by the announcement of Alisha After Episode, with many players saying that Alisha's absence from the second half of the main game was an excuse to monetize the character.[102] During an appearance at the Taipei Game Show, Baba said that the appearance of characters in promotional material reflected their order of appearance in the game rather than their importance or prominence in the game. He also stated that the story did not have a specific heroine, leaving players the freedom to choose one for themselves.[47] Later, Baba elaborated to Famitsu that the material sent to publications did not specifically refer to Alisha as the game's heroine, although the development team for mobile spin-off Tales of Asteria included information describing Alisha as Zestiria's heroine, much to Baba's regret. He further stated that Alisha's story role is important despite her early departure, and that the ability for Rose to wear Alisha's DLC costumes was kept quiet to avoid spoiling the story.[48] Bandai Namco kept this situation in mind while considering whether to release Alisha After Episode with the main game or as a standalone product in the west.[123]
Media adaptations
Animation
A made-for-television anime film titled Tales of Zestiria: Dawn of the Shepherd[Jp. 8] was produced to promote the game. It was animated by Ufotable, and distributed by Bandai Namco Games.[74][124] The anime depicts the opening part of the game, where Sorey trains to become a Shepherd and first encounters Alisha and Lunarre.[125] The anime was directed by Haruo Sotozaki, produced by Baba, and scored by Sakuraba and Shiina.[124] Given the costs associated with including the anime with the game on a Blu-ray hybrid disc, the company was originally opposed to its creation and originally planned for a Tales of Berseria anime adaption. Despite this, Baba wanted to create the anime as part of the 20th anniversary series celebrations related to the game.[126] It was first broadcast on 30 December 2014 on Tokyo MX and Kyoto Broadcasting System (KBS), and on 31 December on BS11.[127] It was subsequently broadcast through January on Kochi TV, Okayama Broadcasting, Ehime Asahi Television and Bandai Channel.[125] It was repeated again on 20 January to commemorate the release of the game.[126] In Japan, the anime is included on the game's disc.[43] For its western release, the anime was included in the European and North American Collector's Editions.[72][73]
An animated television series adaptation, titled Tales of Zestiria the X,[Jp. 9] also animated by Ufotable, was announced at the Tales of Festival 2015. The original plans for the anime was about Tales of Berseria and its promotion before its release, hence the reason why the game makes an adapted appearance.[128][129] The series is directed by Haruo Sotozaki and written by Ufotable staff. Akira Matsushima is adapting the original character designs for the anime, while the art director is Minji Kim. The music is composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina. The anime's opening theme song, "Kaze no Uta", is composed by Flow, while the ending theme, "Calling", is composed by Fhána. The main voice actors from the game will reprise their roles in the series except for Lailah's voice actress Miyu Matsuki, who died in 2015 and was replaced by Noriko Shitaya.[130] The series was originally announced for broadcast sometime in July 2016.[130] The anime has been licensed by Funimation[131] and by Madman Entertainment[132] for streaming. The first half of the anime television series adaptation aired from 3 July 2016 to 25 September 2016. The second half aired from 8 January 2017[133][134] to 29 April 2017. The anime shares certain scenes and plot points with the game and, at times, also deviates from the game.
Print
A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Shiramine, titled Tales of Zestiria: The Time of Guidance[Jp. 10], began serialization in Japan on 28 January 2015 in Monthly Comic Zero Sum.[135][136] An official novelization of the opening part of the game, written by Sawako Hirabayashi, was released on 30 April 2015.[137] Seven Seas Entertainment have licensed the manga for a North American release.[138]
References
- 秘奥義 Hi Ougi
- 神依 Kamui, lit. "Divine Reliance"
- 憑魔 Hyōma, lit. "Possessing Evil"
- 天族 Tenzoku, lit. "Heavenly Race"
- 導師 Dōshi, lit. "Monks"
- セキレイの羽 Sekirei no Hane
- アリーシャ アフターエピソード -瞳にうつるもの- Arīsha Afutā Episōdo -Hitomi ni Utsuru Mono-, lit. Alisha After Episode: What is Reflected in the Eyes
- テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア ~導師の夜明け~ Teiruzu Obu Zesutiria: ~Dōshi no Yoake~
- テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア ザ クロス Teiruzu Obu Zesutiria Za Kurosu, pronounced "Tales of Zestiria the Cross"
- テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア: 導きの刻 Teiruzu Obu Zesutiria: Michibiki no Koku
- References
- 株式会社トライクレッシェンド 製品情報 (in Japanese). tri-Crescendo. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- Sato (4 January 2014). "Tales of Zestiria Producer Shares More Information On The Game's Heroine". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- Romano, Sal (16 December 2013). "Tales of Graces lead planner involved in Tales of Zestiria". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- Tony (3 August 2014). "AnimagiC 2014: Our interview with Hideo Baba". JPGames. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- "Mikako Komatsu to Play Tales of Zestiria's Rosé". Anime News Network. 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- Dunning, Jason (12 June 2015). "Tales of Zestiria PS4 Version Confirmed, PS4 & PS3 Release Date Revealed". PlayStation LifeStyle. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- Romano, Sal (1 May 2016). "Tales of Zestiria for PS4 launches July 7 in Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- Robson, Daniel (26 June 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's Secret Weapon is Fusionic Chain". IGN. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- Yip, Spencer (24 December 2013). "Tales Games Are Like Moving On A Highway, Tales Of Zestiria Won't Be Like That". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- Vitale, Adam (31 May 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's battle system involves fusions with other characters - Trailer". RPG Site. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』旅の行く手を阻むこの天族は……!? (in Japanese). Famitsu. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- Romano, Sal (9 July 2014). "Tales of Zestiria introduces new character Martran". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- Romano, Sal (24 July 2014). "Tales of Zestiria screenshots show Matran, Baltro, map actions, real map battles, more". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Romano, Sal; James, Thomas (16 July 2014). "Tales of Zestiria details Baltro, Martran, Map Battles, Map Actions, and more". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- 導師旅立っ一 20年の歩みを追う30ぺージ大特集. Dengeki PlayStation (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works (582): 32–38. 15 January 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria's Slay's Fusions With 4 Party Members Unveiled". Anime News Network. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- 変貌する現実人が"憑魔"へと. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese). Enterbrain (1350): 63–65. 16 October 2014.
- Moriarty, Colin (17 September 2014). "TGS 2014: Tales of Zestiria's All-New Take on a Classic JRPG Series". IGN. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- Romano, Sal (25 April 2014). "Tales of Zestiria second trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- Hillier, Brenna (6 January 2014). "Tales of Zestiria story features dragons, battle system will have a "big surprise" for fans". VG247. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- Vitale, Adam (16 April 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's fifth character revealed - screenshots". RPG Site. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』小野大輔さん演じるアウトローな天族の新キャラクターが解禁! 注目の戦闘システム詳細も公開 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- Mio, Francesco de (7 January 2014). "Tales of Zestiria Receives New Battle System Details, "Blast" Mechanics Revealed". Explosion.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Romano, Sal (10 September 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's Mystic Artes detailed". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- Romano, Sal (14 May 2014). "Tales of Zestiria introduces new character Dezel". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- Romano, Sal (11 December 2014). "Rose confirmed as Tales of Zestiria party member". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- James, Thomas (29 August 2014). "Tales of Zestiria introduces Sergei, Lucas, and Normin, new field, battle, and character footage". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
- Sato (27 February 2014). "Tales of Zestiria Gives Us A History Lesson On The World And Its Lost Tribe". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- Romano, Sal (22 December 2015). "Tales of Berseria set in the past world of Tales of Zestiria". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- Nakamura, Toshi (5 February 2014). "Can't Understand the New Tales of Zestiria Trailer? We're Here to Help". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- Ohara, Cameron (25 December 2013). "Tales of Zestiria detailed in Famitsu". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- Romano, Sal (27 March 2014). "Tales of Zestiria screenshots". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア 公式コンプリートガイド [Tales of Zestiria Official Complete Guide] (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. 22 February 2015. ISBN 978-4-902372-51-9.
- Romano, Sal (9 April 2014). "Tales of Zestiria introduces new character Lailah". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- "Resume". Robbie Daymond. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- "Tales of Zestiria the X (2016) Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- "Tales of Zestiria (2015) Japanese Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- Harnage, Jeremy (24 July 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's Character English Names Confirmed". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- "Ryota Ohsaka Voices Mikurio in Tales of Zestiria". Anime News Network. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- Sato (19 February 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's Miclio Is An Angel-Like Character From A Lost Race". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- "Michael Jonston, Actor (Zach)". Bornless Ones – Official Website for Bornless Ones. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ドラマを動かす少女との出会い. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese). Enterbrain (1346): 118–120. 18 September 2014.
- "Tales of Zestiria Anime Special to Air on December 30". Anime News Network. 21 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- Meom, Francesco De (29 December 2014). "Tales Of Zestiria's Rose Is A Playable "Accompanying Character", Series Producer Confirms". Explosion. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- "FINALLY! I can say it! I Play Rose in... - Caitlin Glass Voice Actor". Facebook. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』津田健次郎さん演じる正体不明の危険な天族・ザビーダが公開! ついに明かされた戦闘システム"神依化"など最新情報が到着 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- "【TpGS 15】馬場英雄來台宣傳《時空幻境 熱情傳奇》20 週年紀念卡拉 OK 大賽舉辦" [[TpGS 15] Hideo Baba come to Taiwan for publicity A Kara OK contest of Tales of Zestiria 20th anniversary is held] (in Chinese). Gamer.com.tw. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Kawashima, Keiji (8 May 2015). 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』馬場英雄プロデューサーに訊く、"ヒロイン"のこと、シリーズの"これから"のこと。 (in Japanese). Famitsu. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- "Alexis Tipton on Twitter: "Just got permission to make this announcement. I voice Alisha in the new Tales of Zestiria Game #Fall2015 http://t.co/2oxughbg2b"". Twitter. Retrieved 9 September 2019. External link in
|title=
(help) - Barker, Andrew (25 June 2014). "Tales of Zestiria Gallery Update". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- James, Thomas (29 May 2014). "Tales of Zestiria's new combat systems detailed". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
- "Guests". Kraken Con. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- Sato (20 March 2014). "A Closer Look At Tales of Zestiria's Newest Character, Edna". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- "Misato Fukuen Voices Edna in Tales of Zestiria". Anime News Network. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- "Kira Buckland Voice Actress". Kira Buckland Voice Actress. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- James, Thomas (4 June 2014). "Tales of Zestiria introduces new character Zabida". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- "Ian Sinclair on Twitter: "I'm thrilled to announce that I play Zaveid in the game Tales of Zestiria. Go buy it. It's awesome. #TalesOfZestiria https://t.co/s9kjGCkJxu"". Twitter. Retrieved 9 September 2019. External link in
|title=
(help) - Yip, Spencer (17 September 2014). "Tales Of Zestiria Hands-On: Battle System Elements". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- Robson, Daniel (26 June 2014). "Why 90% of Fans at Tales of Festival Are Female". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- Inamoto, Tetsuya (13 December 2013). 「テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア」では謎のドラゴンがカギを握る? 最新作が公開された「20周年記念タイトル制作発表会」をレポート. 4Gamer.net. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- Romano, Sal (12 December 2013). "Tales of Zestiria confirmed for worldwide release". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- Ashcraft, Brian (12 December 2013). "First Look at the New Tales Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- 【全文掲載】『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』"情熱"を込めた作り手たちからの産地直送メッセージ【その1:シナリオ編】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』馬場英雄プロデューサーへのインタビュー全文掲載&追記あり!. Famitsu. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- 【全文掲載】『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』"情熱"を込めた作り手たちからの産地直送メッセージ【その2:バトル編】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア 公式コンプリートガイド [Tales of Zestiria Official Complete Guide] (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. 22 February 2015. pp. 589–594. ISBN 978-4-902372-51-9.
- Romano, Sal (12 December 2013). "Tales of Zestiria announced for PlayStation 3". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- 【全文掲載】『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』"情熱"を込めた作り手たちからの産地直送メッセージ【その3:キャラクター&世界編】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- "Daisuke Ono Voices Dezel in Tales of Zestiria PS3 Game". Anime News Network. 14 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』CM第二弾と作曲家インタビュー公開、ネットでは早くも「デゼル死なないで」との声 (in Japanese). Inside Games. 19 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- Warner Music Japan (26 January 2015). テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア 音楽制作の舞台裏【作曲家 椎名 豪編】 (Web video) (Video) (in Japanese). YouTube. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- Romano, Sal (2 July 2015). "Tales of Zestiria collector's edition announced for Europe". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- Romano, Sal (3 July 2015). "Tales of Zestiria PS4 collector's edition announced for North America". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria Game Gets TV Anime Special by ufotable". Anime News Network. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- "Tales of Zestiria Commercial Unveils Superfly Theme Song". Anime News Network. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』 新キャラ&"リアルマップバトル"や"マップアクション"など新情報をお届け テーマソングアーティスト・Superflyのコメントも! (in Japanese). Famitsu. 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- Superfly、5thアルバムのリリースが決定 先行シングル「White Light」の配信がスタート (in Japanese). CD Journal. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- Kish, Mary (16 September 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Opening Cinematic HD". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- Romano, Sal (22 August 2013). "Bandai Namco trademarks three more Tales names". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- Yip, Spencer (4 September 2013). "Tales Of Zestiria Is Most Likely The Name Of The Next Tales Game". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- Yip, Spencer (4 September 2013). "Tales Of Zestiria Trademark Spotted In The U.S.A." Siliconera. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- "Tales of Zestiria Game Announced for PS3". Anime News Network. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- Yip, Spencer (3 December 2013). "Next Tales Of Game Will Be Revealed On December 12". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- "Tales of Zestiria Game Announced for PS3". Crunchyroll. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- Romano, Sal (15 April 2015). "Tales of Zestiria coming this fall with dual audio, first English trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- PS Storeで「テイルズ オブ」シリーズのディスカウントキャンペーン第1弾が開始 (in Japanese). 4Gamer.net. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- Romano, Sal (31 October 2014). "Tales of Zestiria PS3 controller announced for Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- Dong, Bamboo (7 November 2014). "Tales of Zestiria Collaborates with Punk Lolita Clothing Brand Putumayo". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- バンダイナムコエンターテインメントブックス公式サイト / テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア 公式コンプリートガイド (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- 【ファミ通の攻略本】『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』の最終完全攻略本、発売中! (in Japanese). Famitsu. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- Romano, Sal (18 June 2014). "Tales of Zestiria will hit the west the same year it hits Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- Romano, Sal (12 June 2015). "Tales of Zestiria announced for PS4, PC, release date set". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- Romano, Sal (24 September 2014). "Tales of Zestiria system and pre-order trailers". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- Romano, Sal (17 November 2014). "Tales of Zestiria academy and Idolmaster costume DLC announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- Tales of Zestiria テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア / バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト (in Japanese). Tales of Zestiria Official website. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- Yip, Spencer (27 November 2014). "Tales Of Zestiria's Idolmaster And School Uniform Costumes Also Change The Battle Music". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- Romano, Sal (16 December 2014). "Tales of Zestiria has Sengoku Basara 4 and Blue Exorcist DLC collaborations [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- Romano, Sal (11 January 2015). "Previous Tales save data unlocks attachments in Tales of Zestiria". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- Sato (27 January 2015). "Tales of Zestiria To Get A DLC Episode About What Happens To Alisha After The Game [Update]". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- Metcalf, Paul (23 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria New DLC Free But Only For a Limited Time". SegmentNext. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- Woo, Jesse (4 February 2015). "Tales of Zestiria's Controversial DLC is not an Epilogue". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- プレイステーション3 - テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese). Enterbrain (1362): 35. 15 January 2015.
- Wallace, Kimberley (16 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria - Losing Passion and Inspiration". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- Concepcion, Miguel (23 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- Moore, Ben (30 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria - Review". GameTrailers. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- Sullivan, Meghan (16 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- Lucas, Danielle (5 November 2015). "Tales of Zestiria review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- Dengeki Review: テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア (PS3). Dengeki PlayStation (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works (582): 220. 15 January 2015.
- Van Duine, Erran (26 February 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review – Wide Open Spaces (PS3 Import)". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- Meli, Jowi (19 October 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review – Smite the Malevolence (PS4)". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- Helm, Jordan (24 October 2015). "Review: Tales of Zestiria". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- Ouden, Adriaan den (5 November 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review - Cleaning Up the Kingdom". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- Hagues, Alana (2 November 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Review". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- フューチャー部門|受賞作品|日本ゲーム大賞2014 (in Japanese). Japan Game Awards 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- =『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』がプラチナ殿堂入り――週刊ファミ通2015年1月29日号新作ゲームクロスレビューより (in Japanese). Famitsu. 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- Romano, Sal (28 January 2015). "Media Create Sales: 1/19/15 – 1/25/15". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- Richards, Brian (5 August 2015). "Top 100 best-selling games in Japan during the first half of 2015". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- Dunning, Jason (19 October 2015). "UK Sales Chart: Tales of Zestiria, Dragon Quest Heroes & Disgaea 5 Can't Crack the Top 7". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria on Steam Spy". Steam Spy. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- Yip, Spencer (15 April 2015). "Tales of Zestiria Arrives In America This Fall With A Japanese Voice Over Option". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- Newtype (in Japanese). No. January 2015. Kadokawa Shoten. 10 December 2014. p. 131. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』エンディングまでプレイして担当編集者が思ったこと。TVスペシャルアニメも放送間近! (in Japanese). Famitsu. 27 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- 発売直前!「テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア」馬場Pトークショー開催 (in Japanese). Impress Watch. 18 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア-導師の夜明け- - ufotable" (in Japanese). Ufotable. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Tales of 20th Anniversary Animation Produced by ufotable for 2016 Airing". Anime News Network. 7 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- Sato (15 December 2015). ""Tales of Zestiria the X" Anime Announced For Spring 2016". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- "Tales of Zestiria the X TV Anime Unveils Cast, Staff, Teaser Video, Visual". Anime News Network. 26 March 2016. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- "Funimation to stream D. Gray Man, Servamp, Tales of Zestiria, Danganronpa 3, Love Live Sunshine, First Love Monster, Handa-kun, Tsukiuta, Time travel Girl, Xechs, Regalia". Anime News Network. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- "AnimeLab Summer Simulcast Lineup 2016". 25 June 2016.
- "Tales of Zestiria the X TV Anime Gets 2nd Season in 2017". Anime News Network. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- "Tales of Zestiria the X Season 2's TV Ad Reveals Theme Songs, January 8 Premiere". Anime News Network. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- "Tales of Zestiria PS3 Game Gets Manga Adaptation in Early 2015". Anime News Network. 27 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- "Tales of Zestiria Manga Launches on January 28". Anime News Network. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- 『テイルズ オブ ゼスティリア』ノベライズ版がファミ通文庫より本日4月30日に発売 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- "Seven Seas Dashes Off to Adventure With Tales of Zestiria Manga License". Seven Seas Entertainment. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- TV anime series official website (in Japanese)
- 'Tales of Zestiria' English portal