Let's see which games topped the list in this recent poll from Netlab Japan.
The Netlab Surveys Division, a subsidiary of ITMedia, Inc. Japan, held a popularity poll from June 14 to June 21, 2022, asking fans which of the Tales of Series titles (under original work, not crossover titles, read more on that here) they like most. Here are the results from a total of 3,426 respondents (in reverse order).
#23 - Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage - 5 votes
Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage
Tales of the World: Summoner’s Lineage, released for the GameBoy Advance, takes place in the world of Tales of Phantasia, featuring Fulein K. Lester, descendant of Klarth F. Lester from Phantasia. Accompanying him is the fairy-like Macaron, a homonculus from an ancient civilization. Unlike the usual LMBS, Summoner’s Lineage is a strategy RPG that uses a grid-like system for battles.
#22 - Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon - 12 votes
Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon
Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon tells the story of Mel and Dio and
takes place 104 years after the events of Tales of Phantasia. It features dungeon crawling style gameplay with the “Narikiri” feature, or being able to adapt classes based on clothes Mel and Dio wear. Originally for the Gameboy Color, the game eventually got a remake on the PSP in the form of Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X.
#21 - Tales of the Tempest - 13 votes
Tales of the Tempest
Tales of the Tempest, the first Tales game to be released for the Nintendo DS, tells the story of Caius Qualls and how he gets involved between the conflicts between the beast-like Leymons and the humans. The game features a 3-on-3 LMBS, similar to Tales of Rebirth’s 3-Line LMBS. Possibly due to poor reception, the game, initially released as a Mothership title based on the old classification, was reclassified to be an Escort title of the series. The game was never localized officially.
#20 - Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - 20 votes
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk, localized as Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World outside of Japan, serves as a direct sequel to the events of Tales of Symphonia. This was the first Tales game for the Nintendo Wii, and was eventually released for the PlayStation 3 bundled with the HD remaster of Tales of Symphonia collectively as Tales of Symphonia Chronicles. The game tells the story of Emil Castagnier and how his life gets intertwined with Marta Lualdi, becoming a Knight of Ratatosk to protect her.
#19 - Tales of Crestoria - 23 votes
Tales of Crestoria
Tales of Crestoria is an upcoming mobile title dedicated for smartphones that is an entirely new story and doesn’t focus on previous Tales of titles. The game features Kanata Hjuger, a young man branded as a Transgressor because of the crimeof “protecting someone important” to him. The game will be released for iOS and Android on 2020.
Info Page | News | Gallery | Official Website (JP) | Official Website (EN)
#18 - Tales of Hearts R - 25 votes
Tales of Hearts / Tales of Hearts R
Tales of the Hearts is the eleventh mothership title of the series and was initially released for the Nintendo DS. The initial DS release featured 2D sprite graphics and the option of having either animated or CG cutscenes in the form of two separate releases. The CG cutscenes release, however, had poor reception from fans. Hearts later got a remake or a “re-imagination” in the form of Tales of Hearts R for the PlayStation Vita, which featured two additional playable characters, remade 3D graphics and new animated cutscenes. The Vita version eventually got an English localization that, for some reason, did not include an English dub.
Info Page | News | News (R) | Gallery | Gallery (R) | Official Website (JP)
#17 - Tales of Xillia - 31 votes
Tales of Xillia
Tales of Xillia is the thirteenth mothership title of the series released for the PlayStation 3 and is considered as the Tales of Series 15th anniversary title. The game features two “main” protagonists, Jude and Milla, whose routes, though with few differences, you choose prior to starting the game. Xillia also features character designs by Mutsumi Inomata and Kosuke Fujishima, as well as animated scenes by ufotable.
#16 - Tales of Innocence R - 41 votes
Tales of Innocence / Tales of Innocence R
Tales of the Innocence is the ninth mothership title of the series and the first one to be released for the Nintendo DS. It later got a remake or a “re-imagination” in the form of Tales of Innocence R for the PlayStation Vita, which featured two additional playable characters, remade graphics, new animated cutscenes and a new opening. Tales of Innocence tells the story of Luca, a merchant’s son, and his discoveries of his past life that he constantly dreams about.
Info Page | News | News (R) | Gallery | Gallery (R) | Official Website (JP)
#15 - Tales of Legendia - 48 votes
Tales of Legendia
Tales of Legendia is the seventh mothership title of the series which was released for the PlayStation 2. The game features character designs by Kazuto Nakazawa. The music, composed by Go Shiina, is highly praised within the community and is arguably considered the best within the series. The game follows the story of Senel and his sister Shirley and features heavy themes of the sea/ocean. The game was released in Japan within the same year as Tales of the Abyss.
#14 - Tales of Rebirth - 55 votes
Tales of Rebirth
Tales of Rebirth is the sixth mothership title of the series and is another title that never received an English localization. Initially released for the PlayStation 2, the game also got ported for the PlayStation Portable. The game tells the story of a world torn between races – the Huma and the Gajuma. In between all that is the journey of Veigue to rescue his friend, Claire.
#13 - Tales of Arise - 70 votes
Tales of Arise
Tales of Arise is the latest mothership title (new classification: original title) of the Tales of Series which was first announced during Microsoft’s Press Conference in E3 2019. The game was released for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC Digital via Steam on September 9, 2021 for Asia and Japan and September 10, 2021 for the rest of the world. The game features use of the Unreal Engine 4 and works on the theme of tradition versus evolution of the series.
Info Page | News | Gallery | Official Website (US) | Official Website (JP)
#12 - Tales of Xillia 2 - 98 votes
Tales of Xillia 2
Tales of Xillia 2 is the fourteenth mothership title of the series released for the PlayStation 3 and is a direct sequel of Tales of Xillia. Xillia 2 features redesigns of the original Xillia cast by Mutsumi Inomata and Kosuke Fujishima, along with character designs by Daigo Okumura for the hero and heroine. The game heavily emphasizes the use of choices that may heavily cause different outcomes to the story.
#11 - Tales of Berseria - 102 votes
Tales of Berseria
Tales of Berseria is the latest mothership title of the Tales of Series which was first announced during Tales of Festival 2015. The game was released for both the PS3 and PS4 on August 18, 2016 in Japan, January 24, 2017 in North America and January 27, 2017 in Europe for the PS4 and PC. The game features a female protagonist named Velvet and a theme of pirates and ships. It’s also confirmed as a distant prequel to Tales of Zestiria.
#10 - Tales of Destiny 2 - 143 votes
Tales of Destiny 2
Tales of Destiny 2 is the fourth mothership title of the series and the first one to make it to the PlayStation 2. It is a direct sequel of Tales of Destiny and tells the story of Kyle, the son of Stahn and Rutee from the said previous title. The game, unfortunately, never received an English localization.
#09 - Tales of Luminaria - 253 votes
Tales of Luminaria
Tales of Luminaria is an upcoming Tales of Series original title for iOS and Android released November 2021. The game was first announced during Gamescom Opening Night Live. Unlike the recent Tales mobile games, Luminaria has been reported to have its own original world with only original characters and no previous Tales characters, as well as an English dub. Unfortunately, the game has announced termination of service worldwide on July 19, 2022.
Info Page | News | Gallery | Official Website (EN) | Official Website (JP)
#07 - Tales of Symphonia - 284 votes
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Symphonia is the fifth mothership title of the series and the only title to be released for the Nintendo GameCube. It was then later ported to the PlayStation 2. It has a direct sequel escort title in the form of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, and the two were later ported to the PlayStation 3 as a single release in the form of Tales of Symphonia Chronicles. The game is a distant prequel to Tales of Phantasia.
#07 - Tales of Graces f - 284 votes
Tales of Graces / Tales of Graces f
Tales of Graces is the twelfth mothership title of the series initially released for the Nintendo Wii. The game later got ported to the PlayStation 3 as Tales of Graces f and featured an additional lengthy story arc. It was only the PS3 version that received an English localization. The game tells the story of Asbel within the world of Ephinea.
Info Page | News | News (Graces f) | Gallery | Official Website (JP)
Note: Both Symphonia and Graces f were given the same ranking since their number of votes is exactly the same.
#06 - Tales of Destiny - 287 votes
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Destiny is the second title to be released for the Tales of Series and is the first in the entire series to get localized for North America. It is the first game to feature character designs by Mutsumi Inomata. The game, originally for the PS1, eventually got a full remake for the PS2, as well as a Director’s Cut featuring a story arc from popular Tales character Leon Magnus’s point of view. Tales of Destiny 2 is its direct sequel.
#05 - Tales of Vesperia - 288 votes
Tales of Vesperia
Tales of Vesperia is the tenth mothership title of the series initially released for the Xbox 360. The Japanese and North American English localization release dates of the game were within the same month, a first in the entire series. It later got ported to the PlayStation 3 with additional features, but this never got an English release. An updated version known as “Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition” will be released for both Japan & the West in Winter 2018. Vesperia tells the story of Yuri, a former Imperial Knight. A movie called Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike was later released which tells the story of Yuri prior to the game’s events.
#04 - Tales of Zestiria - 291 votes
Tales of Zestiria
Tales of Zestiria is the Tales of 20th anniversary title and was released in Japan for the PS3 on January 22, 2015 and for the PS4 on July 7, 2016. It was also released in North America and Europe for the PS3, PS4 and PC Digital on October 16 and 20, 2015. The game features Sorey, a young man set out to be the Shepherd. The game is a distant sequel to Tales of Berseria. An anime series by ufotable, called Tales of Zestiria the X is currently airing worldwide.
#03 - Tales of Phantasia - 308 votes
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Phantasia is the first and founding title for the Tales of Series, first released back in 1995. At present, it is the title with the most number of ports and/or remakes and also has an anime OVA adaptation. The game features heavy influences of time travel and a bit of Norse mythology. It is confirmed as a distant sequel to Tales of Symphonia.
#02 - Tales of Eternia - 319 votes
Tales of Eternia
Tales of Eternia is the third mothership title to be released for the Tales of Series. Not to be confused with the actual Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Eternia was localized in North America as “Tales of Destiny II” for brand name recognition purposes. The game tells the story of Reid and his friends and the two worlds in their universe – Inferia and Celestia. It later got an online game based on the game’s world but was later shut down.
Comments from fans:
- I liked the fact that Eternia had such a world-centric aspect.
- It doesn't get old even if it's been 10 years since I last played it.
#01 - Tales of the Abyss - 412 votes
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of the Abyss is the eighth mothership title of the series initially released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in the same year as Tales of Legendia. It is the Tales of Series 10th Anniversary title. The game was later ported to the Nintendo 3DS and was adapted into a 26-episode TV anime by Sunrise. Abyss tells the story of Luke, a young noble whose life turns upside down upon meeting a mysterious girl named Tear. The game appears to be influenced by musical themes.
Comments from fans:
- This game had a great scenario.
- This game was the best, except for the loading times.
A remaining 14 votes were for other titles no longer ranked.
What do you think of this ranking? It's nice to see the older games still get so much love. And despite the most successful title so far, Tales of Arise ranked below the top 10. Another thing to note is that even those that got discontinued rather early, such as Tales of Crestoria and Tales of Luminaria, still get a good amount of love.
Source: NetLab
