Tales fans who follow the series's developments in Japan know what's special about today --- it's the start of the yearly Tales of Festival event that Namco Bandai holds. News from the closed event is beginning to break and we'll be covering today and tomorrow's events in a daily wrap-up column. Any further updates that come in through the day will be added as updates. So without further adieu, let's get on to the news!
The first bit of news is a confirmed release date for Tales of Xillia. The game will be released in Japan on September 8, 2011 for 8,379 Yen. We also have our first look at the game's boxart, which appears to show off two more characters behind all the other characters that haven't been formally announced up until now. Namco Bandai did state that there will be only six playable characters, so these new characters are likely either antagonists or directly related to the events in the game.
Keep on reading to find out more information about Tales of Xillia and Tales of Symphonia: The Animation.
UPDATE (5/29): Added information about the Tales of Xillia Famitsu DX pack.
UPDATE (2:06pm EST): Added some clarification and additional information to the original post.
It's been a while since we've heard news about the United World episode of Tales of Symphonia: The Animation, which takes place after the events of the game. Up until now we've only seen and heard tidbits about the game, without much else. That changes now, as Animate.tv has released a new trailer.
According to the trailer, it will consist of two volumes (instead of the four that the previous two arcs were comprised of) and will be released in late 2011.
Earlier today was the first day of Tales of Festival 2010, which brought some new news along with it, along with partial results of the Tales of Popularity poll that was going on at Tales Channel earlier this year.
Namco Bandai has confirmed the rumors that Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X will be having demos. The first demo will hit in early July, which will focus on the improved battle system in the Tales of Phantasia part of the game. Later in the month, a second demo will hit which features the Narikiri Dungeon X portion of the game. The rumored August 5, 2010 release date was also confirmed at the event.
As for the rumored PS3 Tales game, known as Tales of Unitia, the game was a no-show at the Festival except for a mention that this Summer a "major" announcement would occur. It's unknown why they would push the unveiling that far, but they may be putting some extra polish on the game and didn't want to unveil it just yet.
More news as well as the results of the popularity polls can be found in the full story.
The official website for the Tethe'alla arc of Tales of Symphonia: The Animation has revealed the release dates for the first two DVDs.
The first volume will be released on March 25th, 2010, followed by the second volume on May 26th, 2010. The third and fourth releases are planned for Summer 2010 and Fall 2010, respectively.
As with the Sylvarant arc, there will be a Collector's and a Exsphere edition, differing on their bonus contents.
About two months after the release of the first trailer, the second trailer for Tales of Symphonia: The Animation has been released.
The first anime covered the Sylvarant arc of Tales of Symphonia a few years ago, leaving fans wondering when the second half would be released. The anime version of Tales of the Abyss was recently finished earlier this year.
The trailer begins with some footage from the Sylvarant Arc before showing of the new Tethe'alla Arc.
After Namco Bandai's revealing of the Tethe'alla Arc of the Tales of Symphonia: The Animation anime at this year's Tales of Festival, the official website has released the first trailer.
The first anime covered the Sylvarant arc of Tales of Symphonia a few years ago, leaving fans wondering when the second half would be released. The anime version of Tales of the Abyss was recently finished earlier this year.
The music playing in the background is ALMATERIA, which was the opening theme in the Sylvarant Arc. It's expected that this means the Tethe'alla Arc will have the same opening. Nothing else of mention seems to be included in the trailer. The second half of the anime is set to be released in Spring 2010 in Japan.
Today was the 2nd annual Tales of Festival, a fan event for the Tales of fans in Japan. Among the news was the estimated release for the Tethe'alla arc of the Tales of Symphonia: The Animation anime.
The first anime covered the Sylvarant arc of Tales of Symphonia a few years ago, leaving fans wondering when the second half would be released. The anime version of Tales of the Abyss was recently finished earlier this year.
Not much information was released about the anime outside of the fact that they are planning to release it sometime next year. Hopefully as we get close to 2010, more information about it will come to light.
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The first bit of news is a confirmed release date for Tales of Xillia. The game will be released in Japan on September 8, 2011 for 8,379 Yen. We also have our first look at the game's boxart, which appears to show off two more characters behind all the other characters that haven't been formally announced up until now. Namco Bandai did state that there will be only six playable characters, so these new characters are likely either antagonists or directly related to the events in the game.
