The ''Tales'' series, known in Japan as the ''Tales of'' series, is a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

of fantasy Japanese

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s published by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...

(formerly

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

), and developed by its subsidiary,

Namco Tales Studio , formerly known as , was a Japanese video game development company founded in 1986. The company was renamed in 2003 when Telenet Japan sold part of its stake and made Namco the majority shareholder. Namco Tales Studio was originally the primary d ...

until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco. First begun in 1995 with the development and release of ''

Tales of Phantasia is an action role-playing game originally developed by Wolf Team. It is the first title in Namco's ''Tales (video game series), Tales'' series. Initially released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Famicom in December 1995, it was ...

'' for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

, the series currently spans sixteen main titles, multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series, and

audio dramas Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

. Multiple titles in the series use licensed theme songs by multiple Japanese artists: among the artists are Garnat Crow (''Eternia''), Deen (''Destiny''/''Hearts''), Kokia (''Innocence'') and

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

(''Xillia''/''Xillia 2''). One recurring aspect of many earlier localizations was the removal of the Japanese theme song, such as with ''Symphonia'', which had its theme song replaced with an orchestral version. The first western release of a ''Tales'' title to feature the theme song used in Japan was ''Vesperia''.

Lists

Original Soundtracks

Related single albums

Notes

References