February 27, 2008
NAMCO BANDAI Games Celebrates 10th Anniversary
of Tales Series with Two New Games in 2008
Tales of Vesperia for Xbox 360 and Tales of
Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii Highlight Celebrated Role-Playing
Series’ First Decade
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced
Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
for Wii. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Tales franchise in North America,
these two new games expand the series’ winning combination of real-time combat,
captivating storylines and remarkable graphics while introducing original
elements that set a new standard for role-playing gameplay and interactive
storytelling.
The debut of the Tales series on the Xbox 360,
Tales of Vesperia launches the series to new heights of interactive narrative
and engrossing gameplay with incredible anime-style graphics, a captivating
storyline and characters as well as an upgraded battle system. Set in a world
reliant on a mysterious ancient technology known as “blastia,” the game follows
former knight Yuri as he delves into a shadowy plot to use these magical devices
to control civilization, or destroy it.
A bold new interpretation of the elements that
made the Tales series a hit with gamers around the world, Tales of Vesperia
delivers a standard-setting RPG experience on the Xbox 360. Using an all-new
graphics engine and character designs by the renowned Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My
Goddess, Sakura Taisen), the game delivers high-quality HD character models and
environments that are indistinguishable from traditional cel-based anime. The
game also makes significant additions to the series’ trademark real-time combat
system, allowing players to do battle in massive battlefields and learn new
special attacks that are tied to individual weapons. New finishing blows allow
players to take down enemies in a single hit with correctly timed button
combinations, while mission-based battles increase the variety of each encounter
as players gain unique items by fulfilling various battle objectives. Players
can also use materials collected by successfully executing finishing moves to
craft rare and unique equipment for their characters.
Set two years after the events of the
award-winning Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube, Dawn of the New
World follows the journey of two new young heroes, Emil Castagnier and Marta
Lualdi, as they seek to uncover the mystery of why their world has fallen into
ruin. In their quest, their paths will cross with the original cast of Tales of
Symphonia including Lloyd and Colette, as well as a summon spirit known as
Ratatosk who claims to be the lord of all monsters.
Advancing the combination of story, characters
and real-time battles that made Tales of Symphonia one of the best-selling and
highest-rated role-playing games for the Nintendo GameCube, Dawn of the New
World introduces a new monster recruitment feature in which players can capture
more than 200 unique enemies and train them to actively participate in battle.
Players can then feed these monsters to make them more effective, and even
evolve them into several new fearsome forms. The game also features an updated
real-time battle system that lets players move freely in all directions around
the battlefield, execute powerful unison attacks and take advantage of a new
elemental alignment system for even more strategic depth. Dawn of the New World
gives players complete control over a full roster of Tales of Symphonia
characters and ally monsters, letting them customize their adventure party into
hundreds of unique combinations.
“The Tales series is one of our most successful
and well-regarded franchises, and we’re celebrating its 10th anniversary in a
big way with two new games that redefine role-playing on the Xbox 360 and Wii,”
said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for NAMCO BANDAI
Games America Inc. “Not only can gamers look forward to playing these two
incredible titles later this year, but we’ll be supporting special
anniversary-themed programs throughout the year to thank all the fans of the
series for their dedication and enthusiasm.”
Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 and Tales of
Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii will be available in stores later this
year. Tales of Vesperia is currently featured in the March issue of Play
magazine, and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is featured in the March
issue of Nintendo Power magazine, both now on sale nationwide. For more
information on the Tales series, please visit
www.namcobandaigames.com.
