Tales of Destiny 2

Not to be confused with Tales of Destiny II (original name Tales of Eternia), this installment in the Tales Of… series, unreleased in the West, is one of the few “true” sequels within the franchise, directly connected in its setting and plot to Tales of Destiny.

The story takes place eighteen years after the events depicted in Tales of Destiny. Kyle, the son of the previous game’s hero, is trying to find support for an orphanage operated by his parents. On his journey, he comes into contact with a powerful energy source known as Lens. A girl steps out of it, telling Kyle that she is on a quest to find a true hero. Naturally, Kyle is that hero; and very soon, he will have to prove it, when a mysterious woman uses the power of the Lens to revert history, sending Kyle into an alternate universe, in which the ancient Aeth’er Wars were won by a different side…

Gameplay-wise, Tales of Destiny 2 is very similar to its predecessors in the series. As before, most of the game is played in a Japanese RPG fashion, with town and dungeon exploration, and random combat. The trademark side-scrolling action-based battles of the series remain intact in this installment; for the first time, a zoom feature allows a more detailed view of combat.

Player-controlled characters learn skills of different tiers, which can be chained into combos. Performing combos increases the damage inflicted on the enemy, and provides bonus experience. Powerful special techniques cost TP (technical points) as well as SP (spirit points) to execute.