Bandai Namco's Tales Of series last December celebrated its 25th anniversary. Yep, it's actually been around for that long now! It all started out on the Super Famicom in December 1995, and since then the series has continued to thrive.
There's been mainline entries, sequels and even spin-offs. Arguably the best entry is still the 2003 release, Tales of Symphonia, which at the time arrived first on the Nintendo GameCube. And if sales are anything to go by, perhaps it's true.
During a live stream on its official Tales Of YouTube channel, Bandai Namco revealed the best-selling Tales games of all-time worldwide and Symphonia topped the list. Based on each region, Symphonia was the best-selling entry in North America, Tales of Destiny topped Japan's local list and Tales of Zestiria led in Europe. You can see the full results for each region over on Gematsu.
A number of years ago, the Tales series producer put Symphonia's success down to multiple factors. One was it being the first entry to be rendered in 3D polygons, and the other was that the developers had "a lot of support from Nintendo" at the time, allowing Namco to reach a broader audience.
- Tales of Symphonia – 2,400,000 units
- Tales of Vesperia – 2,370,000 units
- Tales of Destiny – 1,720,000 units
- Tales of Zestiria
- Tales of Berseria
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tales of the Abyss
- Tales of Eternia
- Tales of Xillia
- Tales of Destiny 2
How do you rate the above list? Did you contribute to Tales of Symphonia's global sales? If you're keen for some Tales action on the Switch, you can always try out Tales of Vesperia.
[source youtu.be, via gematsu.com]
Comments 67
Symphonia uses a gorgeous art style, so that’s no surprise!
NINJA APPROVED
Probably the best RPG on gamecube! I need to replay this one. It's been far too long.
Is this including ports and remasters?
@Dezzy I believe so.
I haven't played all of them, but I think that "Tales Of Hearts R" is my favourite so far. I have Vesperia sitting in my Switch backlog, unplayed as of yet. I must address that!
@Zeldafan79 I never finished it on the GameCube, maybe I should repurchase it on PC. Sadly there is no Switch port.
Make a Switch collection with Tales of Symphonia 1&2 and I'll gladly buy it again.
Not sure if it’s changed much in the series but Symphonia has the best real time combat. It’s very satisfying when you rack up a combo and land a unison attack that has one of those compound attacks at the end. If I remember correctly.
Symphonia and RE 4 were my GameCube games that got the most repeated plays.
@Zeldafan79 We NEED a remastered port for Switch for Symphonia. That's what us fans need!
Symphonia is my personal favorite, alongside Vesperia and Abyss. I wouldn't mind seeing the PS3 version come to Switch.
Uh oh, Vesperia is catching up thanks to the remaster. Better remaster Symphonia ASAP before Vesperia takes the lead.
Symphonia has always been my favourite.
Can't wait for Arise to release this year, I might download Vesperia Definitive to replay while I wait.
The only game in the series I've played is the Switch port of Vesperia which I thought was pretty average. Maybe I'd give the series another chance to impress me if they ever decided to re-release Symphonia again.
Arguably Symphonia has had the most exposure. It's come out on quite a few consoles and I think it's on pc? Unlike a lot of others. Vesperia is also widely available - plus it's on the latest generation which has sold she'd loads of units.
I still want some ports of older games so I can play them (even though some.of the older games are apparently a bit pants)
idk there is just something iconic about the Gamecube cover compared to the other games.
F*******ck.
Saw the thumbnail and "Tales of Symphonia" in the title and got way to happy.
Really hope it will eventually come to Switch, having it on Gamecube, Playstation 3 and Steam is just not enough.
Only played the Vesperia port on switch and really disliked the gameplay (cluncky movement and hard to set the companions AI). Had to trade it after 5h or so
And yet Bamco has been so hot and cold with Tales for Nintendo owners.
@eatdogs Symphonia 1 is one of the best RPGs of all time.
The sequel is hot garbage that shouldn’t have existed at all.
Emil is one of the worst protagonists in a video game... and wow... that god awful voice acting... even worse than the English dub of Rex from Xenoblade 2.
Symphonia is my all-time favorite game, so that's nice to hear.
Destiny is my fav of the lot. Would love to try an HD remake of that as well as Destiny 2. Symphonia ain't bad either of course.
Symphonia was one of the best cube games of all. And the ps3 version I put so many hours into. Deserves to be the best seller. Shame about Graces. I had a lot of fun with that.
I’ve always wondered... Berseria has some pretty amazing trailers. I have it downloaded on my PS4 but haven’t been able to play it. Is it any good?
Im still pouring 90+ hours on the Xenoblade Defiinitive Edition.
Symphonia got it's own edition of the GameCube console. Can any other Tales games claim that same level of glory?
been looking at Vesperia for a while. But torn between that and Trials of Mana. Can anyone recommend one over the other?
@Beatrice that’s good to hear! I’ve always been curious about Berseria... the story seems pretty good. After I finish Xenoblade that will be my next RPG
No mention of Legendia?
@Exivilon
As well as the Lloyd Mii Outfit.
"Zestiria led in Europe." Europe has the worst taste confirmed, lol. (jk)
Is kinda disappointing that Zestiria is so high up the list though. It's an okay game, but definitely the bottom rung of all the Tales games I've played. (Abyss = Vesperia > Berseria > Zestiria).
Symphonia is one of my favorite games ever, glad to see the recognition.
Also, seeing Vesperia up there makes me wonder whether I should buy DQ11 or Vesperia as my next JRPG.
Will have to dig deeper into reviews and comments
They had re-released Tales of Symphonia three times in the past, one for PS2, PS3, and PC (all which are inferior to the GameCube original but had more extras), not sure why they won't release it a fourth time for Switch during this Tales anniversary of theirs. I would buy it.
One of the best tracks from the game and overall in series!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25-BEGZCc0U
Neither am I surprised. I only played Symphonia and Vesperia, but between those Symphonia was the better experience.
Happy to see Berseria at 5. It's easily one of the best Tales of games and probably has my favorite cast of characters in the series. But too bad it couldn't beat Zestiria's sales
Seems like the people that bought Zestiria and ended up hating it decided not to give the next game a chance. When that next game is far far better
That's the best Tales after all. I'm glad it sits on top
I agree. Tales of Symphonia is the best
Oh man, my favorite is last
Symphonia is so good, I double-dipped when it went to PC
Still hoping for a loyd smash announcement alongside a symphonia remake on switch.
I didn't like Symphonia that much. I watched a let's play of it a few years back, and the game felt dated. Skits aren't voice acted, which is a bummer since I don't like to read dialog.
Vesperia is my favorite with Symphonia a close second so I'm pleased with this list. Symphonia remaster when?
@fafonio Berseria is my nr 2 favorite Tales game after Vesperia. I'd definitely recommend it. The story is really emotional
My top 6 of the ones I've played and finished.
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. Tales of Berseria
3. Tales of Xillia 2
4. Tales of Xillia
5. Tales of Graces F
6. Tales of Zestiria
Zestiria being #4 is pretty embarrassing...
"Did you contribute to Tales of Symphonia's global sales?"
I've owned at least 3 different copies, so I'd say so. Symphonia is my favorite game full stop, though objectively, Berseria might be an even better game.
Wow, glad to see all the love for Berseria. I’m more motivated to play it now.
Also it makes me happy that Symphonia has all the well-deserved praise from this community
We really need Symphonia and Abyss to be at least ported to current consoles. It's tragic they're caught on old hardware. (And Sony's killing the old stores.)
Why is Abyss not on this list?!?
The only Tales game I played was Abyss on 3ds and it was just okay. I would love to someday try out Symphonia as I heard great things way back in the day
@NEStalgia, it's at #7.
I agree that's a criminally low spot for it (it's definitely better than at least Zestiria).
Symphonia (played it on Gamecube) is such a great game, well deserved!
Great combat, great soundtrack, great coop, Symphonia was fun!
and why havent you namco bring this to switch yet or are you still butthurt over getting replaced on prime 4 development.
@RR529 Oh good, at least it made the list! The red text threw me off. Not sure it belongs below Zesteria, though Zesteria isn't as bad as the internet hate makes it seem. It's likable, just not as likable as the classics or it's own spinoff.
Though the only reason it's lower probably comes down to the fact Zesteria is on the mega-selling PS4, and the most recent console you could play Abyss on was a 3DS. And it was an early 3DS game from when 3DS was failing almost as hard as WiiU pre-price cut. And was a mediocre port that ate battery like candy. And it was a really really short print run.
So they praise Nintendo for their support which lead to some of the success they got for the series, yet we’ve seen nothing new on Nintendo platforms in years, save for a “remaster” in recent times. Interesting.
Beaten Kaitos was better for me but a solid Tales game nonetheless.
Never played one of these games. I really need to snap up Vesperia the next time it's on sale.
Arise has my attention, though.
Me and my brother beat tales of symphonia together on the gamecube back in the day! Good mémories. I almost convinced him not to buy it, cause at the time I thought it looked lame! I wanna go back to 2004 and snack my 14 year old self lol
Only Tales game I've ever played. I remember it being hard to track down a copy at the time, but glad I did- it's a great game.
I went and got Tales of Symphonia on import, because the european release wasn't a sure thing yet.
That trailer with the Day After Tomorrow song really had me hooked, as a few years previously I had gotten around to playing Tales of Phantasia, really digging the art, the music, and the combat.
I will say that I didn't like Symphonia as much as Phantasia, but it's still a fun goofy anime adventure.
My first and favorite Tales game.
Based on those figures Vesperia will overtake soon since it is available for purchase on all modern systems and Symphonia will soon only be available on PC as even the digital version on PS3 will be unavailable in the next few months.
@gb_nes_gamer Symphonia has easily the worst battle system in the entire Tales series. It's the roughest and clunkiest as it attempted to half ass its way to 3D. For the time when it came out, it was definitely a new take and something to be enjoyed, but subsequent games made by the same team (like Abyss) were very similar but better in every way, combat-wise.
Symphonia isn't arguably the best game in the series any more than any entry in any series is "arguably" the best. The sales don't really indicate anything about the quality. The main reasons for it selling well aren't mentioned here at all and they're virtually all that matters. Tales of Symphonia was released on FOUR separate occasions, more than any other game in the series with the exception of Phantasia, but Phantasia only had one real, complete release outside of Japan and it was the worst version of it (on the GBA).
Symphonia isn't just the most widely circulated through its remasters and re-releasing, it also was translated and released across a wider range of territories. Furthermore, it came at the perfect time to make big sales. It was one of the first and only RPGs on the RPG-starved GameCube, as well as later being the second ever Tales game on PC (Zestiria being the only other at the time and still now there are only four total on PC), plus it retailed for $15 on Steam and regularly went on sale for $3.74.
I'm not saying it wasn't a good game. Tales is my favorite franchise and I do very much enjoy Symphonia, but it has the worst battle system of any game in the entire series because it came at an awkward time where the series was trying to transition into 3D. In fact, because they struggled with the clunkiness of the battle system in 3D, the next two entries in the franchise went back to 2D until the series took the next step in 3D with the concept of "Free Run" in Tales of the Abyss. Many of the characters beyond Lloyd also aren't nearly as fully fleshed out as playable characters (which is true of many of the supporting characters in Tales games in the first 6 entries of the franchise).
Personally, I think it also has the third worst cast and one of the weaker storylines, though I still like both. And I'd still love to see it hit modern consoles with a remaster. Preferably in a collection with another Team Symphonia game, Tales of the Abyss or in a broader classic Tales collection.
Symphonia was one of my first jRPG experiences and the first time I fell in love with the genre.
Other Tales of games I've played were good as well, but none of them were on the same level.
Great story, great characters, fun battle system, great music and in my opinion it has the best Engilsh dub I have ever heard on a RPG game
I loved Symphonia (not syphilis as my phone tried to say) but other really popular ones like Abyss and Vesperia just didn't hit for me, sadly.
Best Tales game I played, good cast of characters, great English VA. Though replaying multiple times on New Game+, certain things like the blasted fish fruit quest are annoying as hell
After this, Tales games just released too frequently with less charm. It'd be better to release fewer, more quality titles imo
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