Hot on the heels of the Tales of Berseria reveal last week comes a much more European-centric announcement from the folks behind the brightly-coloured, light-hearted Japanese role-playing game series, "Tales of" - now well into it's 20th year in it's native Japan. Announced what seems like an eternity ago, it seems Tales of Zestiria, the 20th anniversary commemorative title which hit Japan earlier in the year will be releasing Europe in just a few months time - and on more consoles than we'd previously anticipated. How this supposedly celebratory title differs from simply being the next instalment, we're not entirely sure, but as huge Tales fans, we're not really complaining - roll on October!
In traditional JRPG style, the world of Tales of Zestiria is in peril - a land divided by war, a corruption known only as the Malevolence is spreading far and wide, corrupting everything it touches. Playing as the pure-hearted Sorey (he of feathered earrings fame), it's up to you become the prophesied Shepherd with the power to banish the Malevolence and restore peace to the world once more. But such a power comes with a risk - will Sorey find the strength to wield the power for good, or will he fall prey to the evils of its power? Joined by his childhood friend Mikleo, the princess knight Alisha, the merchant Rose and many others, Sorey sets off on another epic globe-trotting adventure - this time with added dragons.
Tales of Zestiria deals with the important things in life...
Bringing with it a continuation of the traditional Tales of battle system - a fast paced, real-time, button-mashy mix of regular attacks and flashy special moves that's surprisingly easy to pick up, Zestiria adds it's own flair with it's new fusion options. During Sorey's adventure he'll befriend various humans and spirits known as the Seraphim, a race unseen to most humans, who'll aide him on his journey. Using his unique ability to communicate with the Seraphim, he can fuse with them into a more powerful form, gaining a load of element-specific magical attacks in the process, wielding huge fiery swords, shooting water arrows or summoning huge stone pillars. For the first time in the series, battles now take place on the field too, rather than transitioning into a separate battle screen when you touch an enemy - which means you'll need to take into account scenery too, with stuff like ponds, rocks and hills quickly turning into problematic obstacles on the battlefield.
Previously announced for just the Playstation 3, we were more than a little worried when we saw the headline of the press release, mentioning only the Playstation 4 and PC. But thankfully, Tales of Zestiria will be hitting both the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 across Europe on the 16th October, with a PC version coming just a few days later, on the 20th October, marking the first time the series has been on anything other than Playstation platform, or even a conventional home console, for a long time. Why not check out the brand new trailer below:
