Tales of Mobile


Tales of Mobile is the collective name of several mobile phone-based games, available only to Japanese NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i cellphone users. The games often feature characters and story elements from the popular Tales role-playing video game series. As these games are offered as a download-only phone service in Japan, none of them have been made available outside Japan outside of Tales of Commons.

Tales of Tactics

Tales of Tactics is a tactical RPG similar to other turn-based tactical war games such as the Fire Emblem series. The game allows the player to take control of several characters from other Tales games and use their specific skills to battle enemies across several different boards. Among the recruitable characters are Cless Alvein from Tales of Phantasia, Judas, Kyle, Reala, and Loni from Tales of Destiny 2, Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia and Stahn from Tales of Destiny.
In addition to the normal game, Tales of Tactics also features several additional features as downloadable content, such as a puzzle-based minigame, a picture and movie gallery from several games in the Tales series, and wallpapers. Also the newest release contains a playable demo for "Tales of Tales".

Tales of Breaker

Tales of Breaker is a Japanese action role-playing game published by Namco. It is the ninth main title in their Tales series of video games. The game was the second full-fledged role playing game developed by Team Tales of Mobile, a small development team composed of members of Namco Tales Studio, created exclusively to make mobile titles for NTT Docomo as well as EzWeb and Yahoo Keitai. It is the second title in the Tales of Mobile subseries, following the crossover game, Tales of Tactics, and is the first of four games to follow an original story with its own world and characters.
The game was released for i-mode on January 31, 2005, and then later re-released for EZapp on December 13, 2007. Breaker features gameplay similar to the ones found in previous titles, and the characters were designed by series veteran Mutsumi Inomata. The scenario was written by Tsutomu Gouda and Akiko Yonemochi, both would go on to be heavily involved in the following three mobile titles. The game's was completed in 6 chapters with a new one releasing each month.

Gameplay

Tales of Breaker uses a unique take on the traditional Tales system. It uses the 2-2 Linear Motion Battle System. Unlike the previous game's experimental combat, battles go back to being on a singular plane, and this time both player characters and enemies are limited to 2 at all times on screen. This effectively makes the battles more similar to the earlier games, namely, Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Destiny, but without spells or summons pausing the screen. Characters' health is represented by Health Points and special attacks by Technical Points.
Breaker incorporates the Jenes Migrates. Jenes Migrates are rare jewels of important significance within the game's world that the player can equip and, upon leveling up, boost stats with some unlocking brand new powerful artes named JM artes. Using them requires filling up the JM meter, a red bar in battle that slowly filling up each time the player takes a hit. The maximum limit to equip JM is 10 points, with some costing more than others. Additionally, each character can only equip one JM arte at a time. Mika, the game's protagonist, is the only one who can have more than two JM artes due to her unique background.

Plot

Tales of Breaker is set on the planet Lucina, a world divided among various nations and tribes. Two major powers vie for influence: the dominant Lilierecht Empire, and the Republic Alliance, a coalition of Audentia, Czarheit, and Grug. The Empire has risen to prominence through exclusive control over Amnisfield-based technology and the powerful Weltex Corporation, enabling it to aggressively expand its reach and pursue global domination.
In a quiet village, a young woman named Mika lives a simple life until an anonymous letter reveals long-buried secrets about her heritage. Compelled by the truth, Mika embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, she forges bonds with new allies and becomes entangled in a struggle against the Empire, all while confronting the mysteries of her own past.

Characters

  • Mika : The main protagonist of Tales of Breaker. She lost her parents, grandfather, and older brother at a young age and was raised by her grandfather's friend. Eleven years later, an anonymous letter arrives with new information about her family, sending her on a journey of self-discovery. She is able to transform into different Sacred Beasts.
  • Yuteki : A researcher for the Weltex corporation, recruited for his innovative inventions and dedication to science. While the company operates under the Lilierecht Empire's goals, Yuteki remains committed to improving lives and takes pride in his work. He first encounters Mika late one night when she sneaks into the facility, quickly finding himself drawn into her adventure.
  • Evelyn : A black-haired, silver-eyed girl who travels the world under the guise of a JM Hunter, though she's more of an information broker, using the title to move freely. She saves the group from the Holy Sea Knights in Lilierecht's capital and, intrigued by their quest, becomes their protector. Skilled in stealth and negotiation, she is really good at dealing with people.
  • Sauber : A mysterious JM hunter who often likes to keep to himself. Having been raised by the JM Hunter guild, he has been hunting for Jenes Migrate jewels for most of his life. Though he's not an enemy, Sauber intentionally hides from the party the whole truth about himself. He accompanies Mika's group for his own interests.
  • RuRu : An experienced magician in the Audentia kingdom. RuRu is a skilled magician able to use a wide variety of spells, even being able to craft a Jenes Migrate for Audentia to use as a water source. As a result of her innocent mindset and mannerisms, she tends to set the mood for the party. She is part of a bloodline of extremely strong fire mages; however, due to something sensitive that happened in her past, she is terrified of fire and refuses to learn fire magic.
  • Berger : The champion of the Radish Church and commander of the Holy Sea Knights. Initially an enemy, Berger begins to question his beliefs after being ordered to cross blades with Mika's party. He eventually decides to switch sides, joining with Mika's group to fight against the Lilierecht Empire.
  • PoPo : RuRu's companion. Although he cannot speak, they can understand each other and he is always ready to encourage her and cheer her up.

    Development

According to producer Tsutomu Gouda, the title Breaker symbolizes the game's mission to break away from series conventions. It is the first Tales title to offer a classic gameplay experience on mobile, and notably, the first in the series to feature a solo female protagonist, a departure from the typical male or dual protagonist structure seen in previous entries.
The story takes a more mature direction, exploring nuanced themes where the antagonists aren't simply evil but are driven by complex ideologies. A central narrative thread focuses on how people react to differences, be it in beliefs, backgrounds, or ideals. At its core, the story revolves around the theme of Truth the idea that no one has all the answers, but they continue to seek them regardless.
During development, the team had passionate internal debates about visual design choices. Some developers felt that the font should be rounded, to reflect the fact that the protagonist is a girl, while others disagreed, arguing for a style that broke gendered expectations. Similar disagreements arose over the color palette : while some advocated for blue, symbolizing the Amnis Field, others believed that purple and red, representing Mika, better suited the tone and her personal journey.

Tales of Commons

Tales of Commons is an action role-playing game in the Tales series of video games published by Namco. It is the eleventh mainline game and the second standalone mobile title developed by Team Tales of Mobile, a subsidiary team part of Namco Tales Studio.
The game was first released in Japan in October 2005 for NTT Docomo's i-mode service
then was later ported to au's EZapp in August 2008. It remains the only title in the Tales of Mobile lineup to receive an official release outside Japan. A Korean version, published by WindySoft in 2010, was made available for mobile devices from LG, SKT, and KT.
While the music is composed by longtime series contributor Motoi Sakuraba, Commons, like Tales of Legendia, features character designs from a new artist to the franchise. This time, the visuals were created by freelance illustrator You Shiina, best known for working on titles such as the Ascendance of a Bookworm novel series by Miya Kazuki and the Legend of Heroes series by Nihon Falcom. The game also features a characteristic genre that translates to "RPG to Walk Alongside a Changing World and Trusting Thoughts" and an opening theme, Kiseki, sung by Kana Uemura which was unusual for mobile games at the time.

Gameplay

Tales of Commons retains the 2-2 Linear Motion Battle System used by Tales of Breaker. Battles take place in a 2D plane limited to 2 characters at all time from both player and enemies, playing in a similar fashion to the original PlayStation version of Tales of Destiny, but without spells stopping actions.
Outside of combats, Tales of Commons plays exactly like its predecessor. However, various additions were made to make it closer to a home console title such as the introduction of series' mainstay, the skits.
The game's skill system makes use of the Souma Orbs. A total of 46 Souma orbs are available throughout the game, each offering various effects such as increased movement speed, enhanced experience point gain, or the addition of elemental attributes to weapon attacks. Certain orbs also grant access to unique abilities known as Souma artes. Each character can equip up to three Souma orbs simultaneously, however, two orbs that correspond to Souma artes cannot be equipped at the same time.