04.08.04 - 8:41 PM
Despite not being expected until later this month, Namco has announced the two newest additions to its popular Tales series of RPGs. First is a PlayStation 2 version of last year's Tales of Symphonia. While the new version will differ from the original GameCube release, it is not yet clear as to what specific changes Tales Studio will implement, besides changing the blue text in the logo to red. Released originally in August 2003, Tales of Symphonia has sold 315,000 copies in Japan, and is due for a North American GameCube release this July. No word yet on a domestic release of the PS2 version.
The second game is the highly anticipated next installment in the series, Tales of Rebirth for PlayStation 2. Its protagonist is a young man named Vague Ryungbell, who has closed his heart following a certain accident in his past. The white-haired Vague lives in the world of Kalegia, which is inhabited by humans and a second race known as Gajema. Visually, the game is reminiscent of its predecessors, featuring the comic-style visuals, which have over time become a series trademark. The graphics also appear to be hand-drawn per series tradition as opposed to Symphonia's 3D visuals.
Tales of Symphonia for PlayStation 2 will be available in Japan sometime this year. Tales of Rebirth for PlayStation 2 has yet to receive a release date, however according to previous statements by Namco executives, the game should hit Japanese retail stores sometime later this year.
The first images of Tales of Rebirth can be seen in the (sadly, low quality) scan below.
Updated 04/12/04: Galleries for both titles have been added and are linked below.
Update: Thanks to reader and board member 'Growlanser' for pointing out a much higher quality version of the magazine scan below. Be warned, it's a large image at over 400k.
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| Chris Winkler |