Tales Series・by Series・Tales of Zestiria

Tales (known as "Tales of" in Japan) is a franchise of fantasy role-playing video games (RPG) by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Debuting in 1995 with Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom, the brand currently spans 16 main titles, multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of manga, anime and audio dramas. The series can be divided into two main categories; the Mothership titles develop the main plot, while the Escort titles (also called spin-off titles) focus on side-stories. Tales of the World is a sub-series under the Escort title and heavily emphasizes the crossover appearances of characters from past games.

Tales of Zestiria's story follows Sorey, a young man who was given powers by a mystical spirit race who act as a stabilizing force in the land known as the Seraphim. Sorey sets off on a journey to free the land of Glenwood from the threat of the Hellion, creatures spawned by negative emotions. The game's characteristic genre name is Jonetsu ga sekai o terasu RPG (which translates to "RPG of Passion Lighting the World"), with its plot built around the passion of the characters.

Tales of Zestiria began development in 2012 as the 20th anniversary title for the Tales series, featuring revamped gameplay systems and returning to the series' thematic roots as established in Tales of Phantasia. Multiple staff members from previous Tales games returned, including producer Hideo Baba, battle programmer Tatsuro Udo, designers Kosuke Fujishima and Mutsumi Inomata, and composers Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina. It shipped over 400,000 units in its first week and has received positive reviews in Japanese gaming magazines. It has similarly garnered overall above-average reviews in the west, with the majority of praise directed at the game's unique battle system.