In a recent interview with Famitsu (translated by Siliconera) Tales producer Hideo Baba leaked some juicy details about upcoming Tales game Tales of Zestria and how it will be different from other Tales games. First of all, the game will be far more non-linear than any previous Tales game. He described the Tales series up until now as “like moving on a highway” and has said that Zestria will not be like that.
Second, he revealed Zestria ’s main character, Alicia. Alicia is a noble daughter of the ruler of her kingdom. However, she is not the only one. In fact, she is furthest in line for the throne and as such has chosen the life of a knight instead of a life of nobility. This is actually sounding a whole lot like Tales of Graces .
The battle system of Tales of Zestria will be different from what we are used to. It will be evolved from the current linear-motion battle system that Tales of Xillia uses, but Baba has said that there will be a big surprise in store for us. Hopefully skill chaining and combo mechanics are re-added into the game as Tales of Xillia ’s battle system was very spammable. Hopefully, Zestria will also bring back the ability to fight with four players simultaneously without giving up control to an A.I.
Zestria ’s tone will also be taking a big left turn from Tales series staples. While Tales series have known to play up the “magic versus technology” angle, Zestria will be pushing the medical fantasy angle a little harder. Dragons will be the main focus of the story, though what role they will play has not yet been revealed. Perhaps they will be taking the place of the iconic summon spirits we know and love.
Tales of Zestria is currently in development for the PS3. So Tales fans probably shouldn’t trade up to the PS4 just yet.
Source: Siliconera