Call of Duty. Bioshock. Halo. These three games all fall under the FPS (first-person shooter) category. They're games that we love and play when we want a thrill. But in the world of video games lives a different kind of game called an RPG (role-playing game). While RPGs are (generally) less popular than FPS games or phone games, there's something exciting about these games in which the choices you make matter.
You might even know a series of RPG games called Final Fantasy. Although most of the different installments of the series are set in different worlds or with different characters, this series of games has a different series of criteria that make it a good game or successful among those people that love RPGs.
But even lesser known is the Tales series. Much in the same way that Final Fantasy is different worlds for most of their games, the different installments of Tales games all take place in different places and with different struggles. "Tales of Symphonia," "Tales of Xillia," and the soon to be released "Tales of Zestiria" are just a few of the installments that can be found.
I began my experience with the Tales series with the original Tales of Symphonia, thinking it was a one-off game for the Gamecube. Much to my surprise, a couple years after I had found my used copy of "Tales of Symphonia," there was another game on the shelves, called "Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World." A few years after that, I was even more surprised that there was a re-release of both games together on one disc for the PlayStation 3.
That was when I realized that this game I had been playing wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime thing and that there were so many of them to try.
Tales of Symphonia and its sequel thrive in a single world with graphics that, while cartoonish at times, don't diminish the large events that are occurring in either game. They don't just dance around the issues that they present or shy away from prejudices, but instead incorporate them into the stories and make them part of a rich world that is revealed throughout either game.
Stories of friendship and betrayal, saving the world, and sometimes having to fight against your friends or even yourself; this is what the Tales series is made of. There are so many titles that are unknown, but they shouldn't be. These games exist across so many platforms, which does make it interesting and a challenge to collect them all. There's been a movement that should help with finding all of these games, which is the movement of the games to the PC. "Tales of Zestiria," which is being released on October 20, was available for pre-order not just for the PlayStation 3 and 4, but also through Steam. And included with the pre-order perks on Steam was the promise of an HD remake of "Tales of Symphonia" on the computer.
"Tales of Graces," "Tales of Vesperia," "Tales of Symphonia," "Tales of the Abyss," and many more. All of them share a combat system and themes and worlds with more than meets the eye.
These games are not well known like "Final Fantasy," but they are worth your time. Pick one up some day, and see if you enjoy the story and the choices that you can make.
