With the next installment of the brightly coloured Japanese role playing game series, Tales of Hearts R just under a couple of months away from release, Bandai Namco have published a list of pre-order bonuses for the game - but, unusually for Namco, this one's a bit disappointing.
Coming to the PlayStation Vita this November, Tales of Hearts R follows the tale of Kor Meteor, a man who has a perfect name for a career spotting shooting stars, but instead ends up playing the hero in this story. After discovering the equally unusually named woman Kohaku Hearts, and her brother Hisui near his home town, fleeing from an evil sorceress, Kor decides to step in to save the day, but somehow ends up destroying Kohaku's 'spiria', the crystalline essence of her soul and emotions, fragmenting and scattering it to the far corners of the world. That's a pretty impressive cock-up, and so, feeling at least partially responsible, Kor joins Kohaku and Hisui as they hunt for the fragments and restore her soul on an adventure infused with the usual Tales light-hearted story-telling, fast-paced battles and crazy cast of characters.
Available as a special "day one" edition, known as the Soma Link edition, Tales of Hearts R will come with a set of free downloadable Tales of Vesperia outfits for Ines, Kunzite, and Beryl. While it's arguably better than nothing, it pales in comparison to the steelbook and soundtrack CD you got for buying Tales of Xillia 2. As far as we're aware, all pre-orders will be upgraded to the "day one" Some Link edition - but it's probably worth checking with whoever you've placed your pre-order with, just in case.
The day one edition offerings in full
Perhaps more interestingly, along with the downloadable costumes, Bandai Namco will also be including a special code in each Soma Link Edition box. A kind of lottery in a box, this code will enter you into a prize draw to win 1 of 5 exclusive Japanese Collector's Editions. Much more impressive than a few download codes, the Japanese collector's edition came complete with a giant box (always handy), and a Tales-themed PS Vita accessory set, consisting of a screen cleaning cloth, a PS Vita case, a screen protector/skin, and what appears to be a docking cradle. Going above and beyond the Japanese release, winning the lottery will net you:
- A Japanese Collector's edition of Tales of Hearts R signed by the team
- A unique 'congratulations video' from Hideo Baba himself (Producer on the Tales Of series)
- And a personalised outer case with the name of each winner.
Now that is a prize worth winning.
If you choose to pre-order at participating retailers - GAME, Amazon, ShopTo, The Hut and Zavvi - you'll also be getting three bonus costumes along with your day one edition, each of which has been lifted from previous Tales games:
- The Legacy Costume of Caius from Tales of The Tempest for Kor
- The Legacy Costume of Marta from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Kohaku
- And last but not least the Legacy Costume of Spada from Tales of Innocence (although the infographic shows Malik from Tales of Graces f instead) for Gall
So, while the standard day one edition may disappoint, there's the potential for winning a money can't buy prize if you're one of the lucky five. With no idea how large the day one edition print run will be, there's no way to tell how much of a chance you'll have of being one of the lucky ones, but we can't imagine it'll be very long odds.
With the game out on the 14th November, there's still plenty of time to pre-order if you fancy your chances. Make sure you check back soon for a full review.
