Bandai Namco Promises Steady Releases for Tales Remasters
The franchise is set to commemorate its thirtieth anniversary in the coming year.
- by Alana Hagues
Bandai Namco has launched its Tales franchise’s thirtieth-anniversary festivities with the Anniversary Project Special Broadcast. Although there were no major surprises or announcements, series producer Yusuke Tomizawa reaffirmed that the team is dedicated to developing additional remasters.
During the popular Japanese broadcast (as reported by Gematsu), Tomizawa-san expressed that while he couldn’t specify detailed plans, he did convey that Bandai Namco aims to “offer [remastered titles] somewhat regularly.”
The developers announced the Anniversary Project shortly after the release of Tales of Graces f Remastered, which comprises a team focused on adapting older titles in the series for modern systems. Graces f Remaster is the first title in that “series,” and it is set to debut in January 2025.
Tomizawa-san emphasized all is going well with the statement that indeed, the pipeline for the Remastered Project is established and that the team is working diligently. In fact, an English thirtieth Anniversary website is now live, following the launch of the Japanese version earlier this year.
A separate English broadcast, called 2024 Tales of Anniversary Celebration, didn’t add much to the discussion, but producer Yuki Ishikawa did address a fan inquiry regarding the remastering of 2D titles within the series. He stated he doesn’t believe “the only correct response” to reissue or remake a game is to convert it from 2D to 3D. While he appreciates that “type of representation,” he also mentions “there is something beautiful about pixel art.” We completely agree.
Although no news has emerged regarding new remasters or remakes, they are definitely on the way! We will likely hear more about them next year, so let’s stay attentive. Moreover, Tales of Graces f Remastered is just around the corner, with a release date set for January 17, 2025.
Tales of Phantasia recently celebrated its twenty-ninth anniversary over the weekend in Japan. Initially released on the Super Famicom on December 15, 1995, Phantasia was the very first entry in the Tales series. Thus far, the game has only been seen on GBA in the West.
North America first experienced the franchise on PlayStation with Tales of Destiny (which also has an exclusive PS2 remake in Japan), while Europe was introduced to the series on GameCube through Tales of Symphonia. The latest title in the series is Tales of Arise, which launched on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in 2021.
Earlier this year, a Switch version of Tales of Xillia was discovered online, fueling speculation about the PS3 classic receiving a re-release. Graces was eventually confirmed, but this has many questioning whether the Xillia duo might be next in line.