Hideo Baba encourages us to try Tales of Zestiria.
Last Friday premiered the past Tales of Zestiria. It is a special date because the saga turns 20 and launches a lot of new features in this installment. We have already completed the game and you can read our impressions in the following link. But today we want to talk to you about the words that Hideo Slime has written on the Playstation blog.
“I’m glad to finally introduce Tales of Zestiria, the latest installment in the Tales of… series, to all players in Europe and the SCEE region. My team and I have spent over four years bringing this title to life, from the development phase to the production of the Japanese edition, and now with the international edition. It is a project that I remember with great pride. You, the fans, have supported the series for 20 years. I wanted to tell you, from myself and from part of the team, we are deeply grateful for all the love and support you have given us.”
“From the earliest stages of development, this title has revolved around a singular theme, that of Passion. We wanted to create a classic adventure story, supported by a cast of characters who have some kind of unique passion that guides them through his actions. In Sorey’s case, it’s his love for the mysteries of the many ancient ruins found around the world. The main theme of the “Passion” was what led us to the overall concept of this title, which was ” a story in which the characters never betrayed their beliefs and always stayed true to their passions.”
“When Sorey becomes a Shepherd, he is constantly reminded by his Overlord Lailah to be true to himself. That was one of the tools we used to complement and reinforce our core concept throughout the game.
Each character Sorey meets has their own passions, and that is what guides them and gives them the strength to never run from conflict and overcome adversity. In turn, the tests and difficulties they encounter allow them to develop as characters. If players who play through the title to the end can feel a true connection to Sorey and the other characters they’ve met, that would make me feel immensely fulfilled as a developer.
The Tales of… series is very character-focused, so all of us spent a lot of time discussing each character’s personality and mindset to create a story that had a lot of depth. I hope you can appreciate our efforts and experience the full story to the end.”
“Apart from the story, we have developed the gameplay taking into account the interests and preferences of our players, and we approached our development environment differently. Compared to the other titles in the series, we wanted Tales of Zestiria to have more flexibility and freedom regarding role-playing elements, so that players could create characters that are unique and truly their own. We hope that our efforts and innovations will allow you to have an even more intense gaming experience when you upgrade your character.
Talking like that about a game that we’re about to release is weird, and especially across the pond, but I think the Tales of… series will continue to evolve in the future. I hope the wonderful fans of the series continue to support it, as they have in the past.
Thank you so much for reading, and on behalf of myself and my team, thank you for continuing to support us and the Tales of…”
