As the 3DS moves into its retirement years, it’s an intriguing time to jump into the world of its imports, as it’s clearer than ever to see which games will never see Western release. Sadly, it’s not region-free, but if you take the plunge on the hardware (or explore other options), there are a lot of compelling Japan-only experiences to try, even if you don’t know the language!
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Lots of great Japanese games have major Japanese rock and pop singers providing the theme songs for them. The Final Fantasy series had Gackt providing “Redemption” for Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus and Hikaru Utada always provides the theme song for each Kingdom Hearts game. But if there is one series that reliably brings out the best singers and songs, it is Bandai Namco’s Tales series. It routinely brings the bangers.
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The Tales series has been strong in the West in recent years, including with its most recent release, Tales of Zestiria. But that hasn’t always been the case! There are many games in the franchise that didn’t see release outside of Japan, and the most highly-regarded of these is Tales of Rebirth. Check out our video!
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Tales of Zestiria represents a franchise in transition. That’s true in a purely technical sense, of course; the game bridges the gap between console generations and even extends its footprint to PC. It’s also true in a creative sense: after building the world of Xillia that captured fans’ imagination in a way its immediate predecessors couldn’t and expanding on that for a second installment, it’s in the unenviable position of following that act.
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The Tales series has long been known for its battle system. So what happens when you play a game that takes that away? In the case of Tales of the World: Reve Unitia, you find that there’s a lot more than a battle system that makes Tales feel like Tales.
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