Watch the Tales of Hearts Opening in the Flavor of Your Choice

Tales of Hearts will officially be out in Japan tomorrow in two separate versions: CG and Anime. To give you a taste of what each has to offer, Namco Bandai has released the opening video for both versions of the game.

Take a look and let me know which you prefer.

Anime Edition


CG Edition


I have been NOT-playing the Anime Edition, and so far its decent for a DS title. The anime sequences are quite well-done, and kind of overshadow the rest of the game. If you like the old school 2D Tales of battles, and can handle terrible DS 3D, then the game might be your thing.

I refuse to touch that 3D CG abomination.

Tales of Hearts Pushed Back

In news that probably none of you care about, Namco Bandai's upcoming DS RPG, Tales of Hearts, has been pushed back a week in Japan.

Namdai cites a delay in finishing the game as the cause for the delay. Sounds a little hokey considering the game would already be finished with months of beta testing on a mostly finished product. What one extra week would do for that process is a mystery to me.

They probably just had printer problems.

Tales of Hearts will now be available on December 18, 2008, rather than the 11th. In Japan. No word on the fate of the game in North America or Europe.

SURPRISING: Idolmaster Character Cameo in Tales of Hearts

Okay, so remember how there are cameo characters in Tales of Hearts? And remember how Namdai said there would be some "surprising" cameos? Well, here's the first: Yayoi Takatsuki from the big-in-Japan idol simulation games The Idolmaster.

Yayoi is the second youngest idol in the series (13 years old) and describes herself as "200% Genki." Scary.

Summoning her in battle apparently unleashes her giant slap attack, or something along those lines. Again, scary stuff.

But I have to take back what I said. I am genuinely surprised that a character from such a non-related IP is making a debut. Perhaps next we'll get the Prince or something?

Tales of Hearts will be available on Nintendo DS in Japan on December 11, 2008.

Any requests for a Namdai cameo character?

Tales of Hearts Gets Cameo Characters, Green Haired Girl

Seems like it's been a while since we've heard much about Tales of Hearts, Namco Bandai's third Tales of title on the Nintendo DS. For the forgetful, the game launches in Japan next month in two flavors: Anime and CG (a first for the series).

Via the latest issue of Jump it has been revealed that characters from previous Tales of titles will be making appearances in 2D glory as supporting characters in battle. Judas from Tales of Destiny 2 (never released in North America), Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss, and Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia have all been confirmed, and it has been hinted that there are more yet to be announced, including at least one "surprising" cameo (something I doubt unless it's a NOT Tales of character...). These characters do not appear to be controllable by the player, but function more like special attacks or summons that become available after the player has fulfilled certain requirements.

Additionally, the game's 8th playable character has been revealed. Richea Spodune is a woman of the Quote tribe (a strange name for a species that is written literally as "Crystal People" in Japanese) who, despite her young and delicate appearance is actually over 2000 years old and very strong willed. She also apparently was friends with Shing's grandfather.

Tales of Hearts will be available in Japan on Nintendo DS on December 11, 2008. There is currently no word on a North American or European release at the moment.

More DS RPG Scans Than You Can Shake a Stick at

Trust me, I tried. There were just too many.

Blazer Drive
Nintendo DS
Sega
Available December 04, 2008 (Japan)


Gensou Suikouden Tierkreis (Suikoden Tierkreis)
Nintendo DS
Konami
Available December 18, 2008 (Japan)


Nostalgia no Kaze (Wind of Nostalgia)
Nintendo DS
Matrix, RED, Tecmo
Available November 06, 2008 (Japan)


Phantasy Star Zero
Nintendo DS
Sega
Available December 25, 2008 (Japan)


Ragnarok Online DS
Nintendo DS
GungHo
Available December 18, 2008 (Japan)


Tales of Hearts
Nintendo DS
Namco Bandai
Available December 11, 2008 (Japan)


Thanks to RPGLand for the scans.

Translation requests go below in the comments. Cheers.

New ToH Trailer: CG vs. Anime... FIGHT!

Namco Bandai has just released a new trailer for its upcoming DS RPG, Tales of Hearts, once again viewable in two flavors: "Classic Anime" or "Soulless CG." Choose your favorite and watch below!

Anime


CG


I watched the anime trailer first, and thought, "Whoa! That looks pretty epic!" Then I watched the CG trailer and thought, "Whoa! That still looks creepy!"

However, what I found quite interesting about this trailer (these trailers?) is the fact that all of the text is in both English and Japanese, right up front. This is an atypical pattern for Japanese Tales of promotional materials, and thus could point to a possible North American release. This is purely guess work, but ToH might mark the first DS Tales of iteration to make it to our shores.

Don't put any money down on it, but don't be too shocked if it happens either.

Tales of Hearts will be available on Nintendo DS on December 11, 2009 in Japan.

TGS 2008: Tales of Hearts Evokes Nostalgia

Me? Long time Tales of fan. And while I'm not particularly pleased that the series' platform of choice is the DS, Namco Bandai's upcoming Tales of Hearts brings back a certain nostalgia for the series' simpler times. Specifically, I get quite the Tales of Eternia vibe from this game (ToE being one of my all-time favorite Tales of titles).

Take a watch below and see if you share my sentiments.

Tales of Hearts Debut Trailer, in 2 Flavors!

Namco Bandai has just released a debut trailer for their next Tales of game, Tales of Hearts. Okay, actually they released two trailers. Well, they are essentially the same trailer, just one features anime scenes by Production I.G while the other features 3D CGI by Shirogumi.

The anime trailer gives me a very PS1 Tales of feeling (a very good thing), while the CG trailer gives me... a sort of sick feeling.

You can watch both below. Who knows, maybe you'll think that the CG version is superior. Or something...

Anime Version


CG Version

Tales of Hearts gets a Release Date

Well, now that we have all settled nicely into Tales of Vesperia (unless you're waiting for the European release, in which case please accept my heartfelt condolences), Namco Bandai has announced an official release date for the next chapter in the series, Tales of Hearts.

According to the publisher, Tales of Hearts will be available on Nintendo DS in Japan on December 11, 2008. Both the CG version and the Anime version will ship at the same time. No word on a North American or European release at this time (and we advise you not to hold your breath).

Emotion, an Older Brother, and Big Boobs in Tales of Hearts

Continuing with Tales of Vesperia Day, we bring you updates on the next main iteration of the Tales of series (that is, the next game after Tales of Vesperia) courtesy Weekly Famitsu. Tales of Hearts is being handled by the ‘Team Destiny’ side of Namco Tales Studio, and is currently in production for the Nintendo DS.

As you should be already aware, Tales of Hearts will ship in Japan with two separate editions: a CG edition, and an Anime edition. True to their distinctions, the CG edition will feature realistic 3D CG movies (a first for the Tales of series) handled by Shirogumi, while the Anime edition will feature traditional animated movies by series staple 2D animation studio Production I.G. The content of the game will be 100% unchanged between the two versions other than the movies.

As a personal note, I've said this before, and I'll say it again: rendering realistic 3D models of Mutsumi Inomata's designs is a serious crime and should not be tolerated.

This week’s article brings us up to speed on the two latest editions to the playable cast, which I will break down for you below.

Innes Lorenz (24)
“Oh my! Referring to me as ‘a busty beauty’…? I get that a lot!”
A woman with incredible brute strength and a glamorous figure, Innes is the president of the Peaceful Days delivery service, and also the only employee. Due to her commanding presence, most are speechless to her smiling words and actions. For some reason, she treats the “Soma” that the Hearts siblings are searching for as a commodity.

Hisui Hearts (18)
“Just as fair warning, if you even touch my little sister, I’ll kill you!”
Kohak’s older borther, Hisui is fiercely dedicated to “protecting” his younger sister ever since he lost someone close to him when he was young. Despite his rough appearance and cold attitude, he is very stubborn at heart and carries a strong passion with him.

Most of you are likely familiar with the action heavy, high speed battle system commonly found in the Tales of series, so I won’t bore you with too many redundant details (like aerial combos and elemental weaknesses, which are found in many iterations of the series). The Famitsu article focuses on 2 new features in ToH’s battle system, namely the Emotion Gauge and the Combination Gauge.

The Emotion Gauge is the blue, rhombic meter positioned above the characters’ portraits in the battle scene. This gauge depletes as the character in question acts, and refills itself automatically while not attacking. The more full the gauge is, the more attacks and skills can be linked together, and the more damage they will inflict. As the gauge empties, the character’s attack power drops, but his or her defense increases. This gauge is apparently affected by how characters feel about one another, though we aren’t sure on the details at this point.

The Combination Gauge (the green meter located below the yellow bar beside the characters’ portraits), on the other hand, represents how much the characters trust one another, and fills as they support one another in battle. This gauge’s progress is apparently saved from battle to battle, and once filled, can be used to unleash a powerful combination attack known as a Connect Command. The Connect Command will apparently change depending on who is supporting who.

Tales of Hearts is the 11th main series entry into the Tales of library (would have been the 12th had Tales of the Tempest not been kicked out of the group), and the 3rd title to appear on the Nintendo DS. It will reportedly be available in Japan sometime this December. There is no word on whether or not it will be localized in North America or Europe.



Thanks to Gamekyo for the scans.

Happy Tales of Vesperia Day!

Tales of Hearts Exposed! O_o

Tsk, tsk, Namco Bandai. ToS2 was just barely released in Japan, and ToV is only about a month away, but you just don't let anyone catch a breath, do you? Via the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, and courtesy some blessed scanner over at Gamekyo, we have an enormous 4 pages chock full of new information, artwork, and screens of Namco Bandai's next upcoming DS Tales of RPG, Tales of Hearts.

The Sleeping Princess of the Forest of Thorns, Dreaming for a Thousand Years, Sleeping Princess
Her Flowing Hair is Emerald, Her Blushing Cheeks Rose Crystal
The Sleeping Princess of the Forest of Thorns, Unwaking, Sorrowful, Imprisoned Princess
Cursed by Poisonous Feelings, the Demon of Scarlet Hair Weaves,
The Splintered Depths of the Forest of Torns, Forever, Forever Dreaming
A Dream of the End of the World

Beneath the revolving White and Black Moons, people have lived in lukewarm peace throughout the continent for some time, under the rule of the Great Empire. The fairy tales of "the Sleeping Princess of the Forest of Thorns," "The Dream-Eating Monsters," and "The Black Moon which must someday fall" are perpetually retold.

However, in recent years, a mental pollution commonly called the Despir Plague (could possibly be translated as "Despair Plague") has been spreading. Though thought to be nothing more than a fairy tale, the dream-eating monsters known as "Zerom" have been discovered to be real, and have begun to devour the Spiria within people's hearts.

The only thing that can stand against them are powerful weapons that house the powers of the Spiril Links, called Soma, buried deep within the Spiril Maze - a labyrinth that takes shape from the Spira within people's hearts.

(Whew) That was quite the daunting translation due to all the made-up words specific to ToH. Speaking of these made-up words, the Famitsu article provides a handy glossary of some of them. I'll give you a quick run-down:

Spiria (The Energy within People's Hearts) - basically, a natural force that creates "that" out of "that." (A confusing definition to be sure. Probably best compared to The Force from Star Wars.) For people, it's their hearts.

Zerom (The Monsters that Devours Dreams) - the dream-eating demons that appears in the story "The Sleeping Princess of the Forest of Thorns." (Note that the Japanese is a bit ambiguous regarding this, and "Zerom" could refer to either multiple monsters or a single one. It's hard to know which it is without more information.)

Despir Plague (The Mysterious Mental Pollution) - the Zerom have been proved to be real. Acting as parasites, they live off the Spiria of people and other living things. This Despir Plague is the mental pollutant that occurs due to the feeding from the Zerom. It confuses, destroys, and manipulates the Spiria, and drives the host mad.

Soma (The Mysterious Weapons) - these make entering the Spiril Maze possible, and are the only weapons that can stand up to the Zerom.

Soma Link (The Special Power of the Soma) - based in the hearts of Soma-users, this an inner power that networks and builds understanding between others.

Spirune (The Crystalization of People's Feelings and Desires in the Depths of their Hearts) - crystals hidden deep within the labrynth created in people's hearts. If a portion of it is lost, corresponding emotions and awareness is lost...

Next up, the article showcases the first two main characters.

Shing Meteoryte (16) - A young man who possess a strong curiosity, a trait that is now very rare in the current world. He has lived in the small border village of Sheeple with his grandfather Zecks for as long as he can remember. He lacks any restraint in his speech due to his strong curiosity and his lack of experience in dealing with other people, but is pure enough to be able to learn from his mistakes when he realizes them.

Kohak Hearts (17) - A young woman who, for some reason, left her hometown and started on a journey. She is rescued by Shing after collapsing on a nearby beach while searching for Soma. It seems as though her actions are related to someone she occasionally speaks of as "her"...

Tales of Hearts defines itself as an RPG that focuses on the connection people share with their hearts, and will mainly focus on the existance of the Soma and the Zerom.

The game is being developed by Team Destiny (the Tales Studio responsible for Tales of Destiny, Eternia, Destiny II, Rebirth, and Destiny remake), and brings Mutsumi Inomata's character designs into much more traditional 2D sprites reminiscent of the game's PS1 days.

Similarly, the battles will all be handled on a traditional 2D linear line, but promises high-speed action, huge combos and spells, and dynamic camera work. (Not sure how they're going to acheive that in 2D, but hey, I'm willing to be surprised.)

As previously reported, the game will feature either 2D anime cutscenes handled by Production I.G (a staple for Tales of games), or 3D CGI cutscenes handled by Shirogumi (the 3D animation studio behind many well-known games' 3D FMVs, including No More Heroes, Rule of Rose, and Dirge of Cerberus).

Tales of Hearts is set to release on Nintendo DS from Namco Bandai in Japan this winter. There is currently no word on a North American or European release. (But given Namco Bandai's track record of bringing Team Destiny games to North America, I would guess we probably won't see it. Especially since its on the DS...)

Though I wonder where they got whoever named all the characters (I mean, Zecks?), the story sounds rather promising, and I'm all for another 2D Tales of game. Those CGI FMVs, though... Do NOT want!

First Tales of Hearts Trailer... Sucks

Okay, so in this trailer's defense, it is taken from the Tales of conference held recently in Japan via a hand-held camcorder. So, there's the reason the quality is so bad. However, it doesn't account for why the CG looks so awful. Turning Mutsumi Inomata's character designs into quasi-photo realistic 3D should be a crime punishable by law.

Other than that, we have a few new details for the upcoming DS RPG, Tales of Hearts.

First, we have the official Englishizations of the main characters' names: Shing Meteoryte and Kohak Hearts.

.....Seriously?

Second, we have it on good authority that the game will feature two sets of FMVs. One will use the (god-awful) 3D renditions of the characters (visible in the crappy trailer), while the other will feature classic anime scenes. Players will apparently be able to choose which they prefer, though it is uncertain at this point if both are included in one DS card, or if you will have to buy a separate version.

Third, the game does indeed use 2D sprites over 3D backgrounds (think ToE or ToR for this). Battles, similarly will be in 2D linear motion ala the older titles (and ToL for those of you who missed the 2D era).

You can take a look at the video below, which thankfully also feautres some gameplay.



Finally, it has been reported that a third Tales of game was announced at the conference in addition to ToH and ToW2. This currently unnamed title is set to be the next next next main series Tales of game (following ToV and ToH) and is reportedly being developed for Nintendo Wii, though we don't know what development team is in charge of it.

...Holy hell, Namco. I mean, I like the Tales of games, but ever thought of pacing yourself?

ToH gets a Bigger Scan, CG Models still Creepy

The same JUMP issue that brought us news of Chrono Trigger DS has several other DS RPG announcements, not the least of them being Tales of Hearts, the next next Tales of game (how far ahead of themselves does Namco Bandai like to work?)

We brought you the crappy scan earlier this week, and would now like to present you with the high quality scan for your discernment.

While the in-game graphics look like a nice throwback to games like Tales of Eternia on PS1, the 3D CG that they used to make the photorealistic-esque models of Sing and Kohaku is.... well, creepy. Cut that out, and I'll be much more excited for this game. kthxby.

Oh, ToW2 is also included for those of you who liked the first one for whatever reason.

Tales of Japan Loves Their Handhelds

If you get around the internet as much as I do, you probably heard some strange rumors that Namco Bandai was going to announce a new Tales of game in July. If you heard that rumor, you probably also heard the groundless extension of that rumor that it was going to be on PS3.

Well, it's July and, yes, Namco Bandai announced a new Tales of game. In fact, they announced two new Tales of games. But for any of you who believed the (again, may I point out groundless) PS3 rumor, I'm afraid you might be in for some disappointment.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 has been announced for the PSP. I currently do not have a release date for any region, but the crappy, blurry scan indicates that characters from previous installments Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Rebirth, Tales of the Abyss, and Tales of Vesperia characters will be available to play in the game.

Tales of Hearts, the newest addition to the Tales of main series (following ToV for the 360), has been announced for the Nintendo DS. Though, again, I have no release date or solid details at the moment, I can tell you that the game is reported to use 2D character sprites on top of 3D environments. I, for one, hope this is true, because I can't stand DS 3D models. They're just so damn ugly.

The game also appears to employ realistic 3D models (assumedly for FMVs) based on Mutsumi Inomata's character designs. Hopefully this will be the first DS Tales of game to make it to North America, but don't hold your breath.

According to the scan, the (presumably) hero's name is Sing (JP=Shingu) (yeah, stupid name is stupid), while the (presumably) heroine's name is Kohaku (JP=Kohaku).

Again, I apologize for the lack of details, but I have included the crappy scans below if you would like to get a glimpse at the games.

We will keep you updated with any new information as it becomes available.