Cherished Tales of character designer Mutsumi Inomata has passed away as confirmed by her sister on social media Monday. Her legacy includes working on multiple beloved Tales of RPG entries and anime series, wit?h roles as an animation director and character designer.

As translated by Siliconera, the social media message from Inomata's sister explained her passing was a "very sudden death." No cause has been given. Unfortunately, Inomata has unfinished drafts she was working on. She added that Inomata is "??probably surrounded by cats and creating more characters with strong eyes??."

The end of the ?message gives thanks to the fans for appreciating Inomata's work over the years. The open letter also asks not to sen?d flowers to the grieving family.

Inomata has been associated with the Tales of series since its second entry, Tales of Destiny. She has worked on 12 of the series titles and has certainly left a mark on the RPG genre, including both Tales of Xillia games. She's known for her imaginative fantasy designs and watercolour-inspired art �a striking piece fans in the West may be most familiar with include her brilliant design on the Tales of Graces cover. The artist also worked on Brain Power and City Hunter anime series among many others.

"I admired Inomata-san's beautiful paintings, and eventually became a part of the industry, and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with her on The Continent of the Wind," said Space Battleship Yamato 2199 character designer Nobuteru YÅ«ki on social media.

"I am who I am today because I was fascinated by Inomata's paintings, and she gave me a lot of encouragement," said Slayers character conceptual designer Rui ??Araizumi. "Thank you very much for all your wonderful works."

The last game Inomata worked on was 2017's Tales of Berseria. As of the time of writing, the game is currently 90% off on Steam until March 21.

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A tale of two Shepherds

My history with the Tales series is sort of akin to an on again, off again relationship. I was introduced to Phantasia by way of a friend's import copy, and immediately fell in love. After that I only dabbled in a few entries before being courted all over again by Vesperia, then went back to dabbling.

But when Zestiria came across my desk, I knew it was time to ??jump back in again. I'm ??glad I did.

Tales of Zestiria (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios, tri-Crescendo
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
MSRP: $49.99 (PC, PS3), $59.99 (PS4)
Released: January 22, 2015 (JP), October 16, 2015 (EU) October 20, 2015 (US)

If you've played a Tales game before, you pretty mu??ch know what to expect. This is still very much a hero's journey affair, with the main character Sorey embarking upon an epic quest to become a ?Shepard and save the world. This is complicated by two warring nations, the evil Heldaf, and the Hellion -- monsters created out of pure evil energy. Along the way Sorey will conscript new companions into his crew, including his childhood friend Mikleo.

For the most part, the story stays on point and doesn't stray from its primary goal of a fantasy epic. Just when you think it's starting to get crazy with the juxtaposition of humans and the heavenly Seraphim race, Zestiria quickly grounds things with Sorey as a tether, who was raised by the latter but is still a human. It's all very straight-forward, partially to a fault, and is easy to follow. Zestiria houses a? stable of interesting, memorable characters, but they don't necessarily grow over time. Sorey also sports a bit of a drab persona, but agai??n, it helps that he's at least likable.

As you may have heard, Zestiria has generated a fair bit of controversy over in Japan when it was released earlier this year. The crux of the issue stems from a character named Alisha, who was heavily promoted before the game's release, and then relegated to a side character that wasn't in most of the game -- and later sold as DLC. The producer even apologized for it. This in no way effects the review, but it's something to be aware of in case you might have heard something negative about Zestiria&nbs??p;in the past. Ultimately, I'm ok with this being Sorey's tale.

When it comes to exploration, Zestiria walks a fine line between open environments and too many linear dungeon-like settings. It's actually more open than both Xillia games, but don't get the impression that they're as sprawling as say, Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm ok with this compromise though, as the developers have stuffed a ton of secrets into the game's universe, including monoliths that grant you information, and cute hidden creatures called Normin that grant you rewards the the effort of finding them. The concise focus also helps m??ake the dungeons less of a slog, and allows them focus more on a centralized theme or puzzle element.

Combat is easily the most meaningful advancement Zestiria has ma??de, however. It's now a lot more action-oriented, and relies on SC (spirit chain) energy, which adds a new strategic element to the mix. At first pla??yers will start off with just 4-hit combos, which are essentially a mash session, but the game quickly ramps up into something much more interesting. For starters, your attacks get stronger as you expend SC, but unloading all of it will leave you vulnerable. To recharge SC you'll have to guard or stay idle, leaving you open to attack.

It's interesting, as sometimes you'll want to go all out on a foe if they're stunned or if you're attempting to finish them off, but it can completely backfire. It's a nice risk-reward system that's present in every fight, not just boss encounters. Other advanced arts like quickstepping (dodging) come into play on a constant basis. Oh, and certain characters can actually fuse, Dragon Ball style, with Seraphim companions to supercharge their abilities, whic?h is just as fun as it sounds. Everything having to do with character customization is supercharged this time around, actually.

Players can stack skills for each party member to make them stronger, or diversify their elemental loadouts?? to create new skills. There's also a host of meta-abilities like snack preparation and discovery, which recharge party member's health bars and present ico??ns on the minimap respectively. You can even further augment characters with abilities like auto-guard, and alter your AI's strategic tendencies when you're not in control. They really went all-out when it comes to the game's core mechanics.

Like most Tales games, Zestiria has a beautiful art style in tow, with plenty of bright colors and endearing character designs. It has its limitations however, as it is a PS3 game at heart, and longshots typically don't have the same impact. Also, the camera angle is insufferable at times, especially indoors, and can't be easily manipulated. Thankfully dual aud??io comes standard with the western release, and both the dub and sub are well done. You can also alter the battle diffi??culty at any time, lengthy combo input windows, utilize fast-travel, skip cutscenes, and even skip individual lines of dialogue. Oh, and players can save anywhere with a quick save system, which is convenient.

Tales of Zestiria plays by the book in a lot of ways, particularly when it comes to its cast and narrative. But it's still a great entry into the series, and a welcome return for old fans, especially as far as the battle system is concerned. In fact, it's even inspired me to go back and finish both Xillia titles -- that's the magic of the Tales series at work.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Coming in October

Bandai Namco's worst kept secret is now officially official. Today, the publisher confirmed the rumors are indeed true. Yes, Tales of Zestiria is in development for PlayStation 4 and PC.

Alongside the previously announced PlayStation 3 version, the PS4 port will debut across Europe, The Middle East and Australasia on October 16. North America and P??C get in on the action starting October 20. The Brazilian lau??nch is slated for October 23.

In? addition to featuring English and ??Japanese voicework with standard EFIGS subtitles, the PS4 and PC versions will also include Russian subtitles, a first for the series. 

Tales of Zestiria on PS4 and PC digital [Official Tales of Blog, Bandai Namco]

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For cute rewards

Tales of Zestiria is launching on January 22nd in Japan, and it will likely arri??v?e at some point in 2015 for the rest of the world. Fans will be excited to know that the latest iteration will read save data from previous titles, and provide them with an appropriate attachment doll for their troubles.

The support games include Vesperia, Tales of Graces F, Xillia, Xillia 2, Symphonia, and Dawn of the New World. Odds are you've played one of those game??s right? If not, get on it!

Tales of Zestiria [GamesTalk via Gematsu]

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Rolling hills and clashing swords

Ask most Tales fans what game has their absolute favorite version of the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), and you're likely to get a wide variety of answers. Some prefer the 2D combat from the Tales of Destiny PS2 remake and its sequel, while others hold up Tales of Graces F as representative of the direction the system should go. While I wasn't a huge fan of the latter game, I adored its fast paced, technical combat, and was let down when I eventually played through Tales of Xillia. I?t wasn't n?ecessarily bad, it just wasn't what I wanted from the series.

I had heard that Tales of Zestiria would be borrowing major elements from Graces' combat, and after ten minutes of? time with the TGS demo, I can definitely see the similarities. 

There were two separate demo options for Tales of Zestiria at this year's TGS. Visitors could choose from the "Scenario Mode," which went through a chunk of the story before culminating with a boss fight, or the "Battle Mode," which dropped players in a wide open field and allowed for limited exploration and combat until time ran out. I figured "Battle Mode" would give me the most bang for my metaphorical buck, and was immediately given control of the protagonist, Sorey. As I ran around the field looking for treasure and perhaps some secret locations, I noticed that one of my party members, the lance-wielding Alisha, trailed behind me while occasiona?lly commenting on our surroundings. I was instantly reminded of older SNES and PSX RPGs in which your entire party would follow behind you like a party line of sorts.

The first thing I noticed upon spinning the camera around was how wide open the main area was. Unlike Tales of Xillia and its sequel, there were no large walls closing me in on either side. Even more surprising, the whole plain was filled with hills going every which way. It ??seems like a small inclusion, but when you're spending a not insignificant amount of time running between towns and dungeons, any kind of variation help?s. Additionally, I found multiple ruin-like areas littered across the field, giving me reason to explore and deviate off the beaten path. I don't know if this sort of thing will be commonplace in the final game, but I certainly hope that's the case. 

Combat still takes place in a closed off arena, but one of the bigger differences in Tales of Zestiria is the way battle transitions are handled. As soon as the player character makes contact with? an enemy, the game loads in the rest of the mob and immediately goes into action mode on the field. No more cutting to a different screen; a small, but important step toward making the world feel seamless. It's not as smooth as it could be, but it works.

In combat, rather than utilizing an MP system for the various artes, Tales of Zestiria takes a page from Tales of Graces' book, using a recharging bar that fills up as you fight. It rewards smart players who link combos together and utilize the side step mechanic to dodge enemies and stagger them. Much like in Graces, you'll be zipping around enemies and taking more chances so that you can fill up your meter faster. With a system as robust as this, I'm sure I barely touched on the intricacies of combo'ing, but there's only so much I can see in a ten minute chunk of time. As always, folks who want to just press buttons and look cool can do it as much as they please. For those who seek a more technical experience, Zestiria looks like it should satisfy.

The biggest change, which I unfortunately wasn't able to explore too deeply, is the brand new Armitization system. When activated, Sorey can fuse with one of the Seraph's in his party to become a single powerful being with a brand new array of artes and physical attacks. In the demo, I tried fusing with Edna and Lailah. The former uses powerful Earth-based moves, so when fused, Sorey had giant glove-like weapons equipped that did heavy damage to most of the enemies I bumped into. Fusing with Lailah resulted in a magic heavy character that mostly stood away from the front lines to deal damage. Activating Armitization was as simple as tapping the L1 button in combat. Reversing the process takes another press of the same button. It's not at all complicated to use, though I suspect some of the more hardcore Tales fans will be putting together crazy combos.

I'm looking forward to getting more hands ?on time with the game come Japanese release this January.

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Now in HD and even zestier than before!

This past weekend, Bandai Namco gave us another look at Tales of Zestiria from the Niconico Chokaigi live event in Chiba, Japan. As exciting as the new footage was though, the video quality wasn't exactly the best. The audio, in particular, had this tinny air about it that was a tad distracting.&?nbsp;

Luckily, we now ??have a direct feed of the clip to share, which looks fantastic and sounds lovely too.

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And then bummed out

We know by now that when Amazon puts up a listing for a game early, it's probably just a placeholder. There's one up now for Tales of Zestiria -- yes,? already! It's the English version, priced at $59.96 (price is also likely a place??holder).

The holder date of December 31 bums me out. I know it's not the real date, but I got some sads thinking about how long this might take. Given that they announced this game worldwide, all at once, I'm sure Tales fans were hoping to see? t?his one a bit earlier than usual. 

I guess if you want to get in a really, really early pre-order, head here to Amazon.  

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Dragons!

Namco Bandai has unveiled the debut trailer for Tales of Zestiria, and it has dragons. The role-playing game is currently in development for the PlayStation 3 and will ostensibly release in 201??5 in commemoration of the series' 20th anniversary.

In keeping with that theme, the title's creators are aiming to take the franchise back to ?its roots with the latest entry. It will feature characters created by all four of the series' designers, animations from Ufotable, and a medieval fantasy setting.

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Worldwide announcement!

Namco Bandai has announced that Tales of Zestiria, the latest?? Tales series game, will be coming to North and South America for the PS3. This is a worldwide announcement -- a first for the series. How nice!

All we know so far is that the RPG will return to its series ?roots with a fantasy setting. Makoto Yoshizumi, chief producer, says that "this title will be going back to the roots o?f the series."

All four series designers are on-board for character design: Mutsumi Inomata, Kosuke Fujishima, Daigo Okumura, and Minoru Iwamoto. Cutscenes and ope?nings will be handled by?? ufotable.

"Over the past few years the Tales Of team has taken great strides to strengthen our relationship with players across North America and Europe," said Tales producer Hideo Baba. "To respond to their love and support I am honored to open a new chapter of the Tales Of s?erie??s together with Japanese and overseas fans."

YES. More RPGs. More Tales.

Don't miss the two?? tea?ser screenshots in our gallery.

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