is a 2002 action role-playing game, co-developed by Wolf Team and Telenet Japan, and published by Namco. It is the fourth main entry in the Tales series of video games, and a direct sequel to 1997's Tales of Destiny. It was released on PlayStation 2 in November 2002 in Japan, March 2003 in South Korea and August 2003 in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The overseas versions were published by Sony Computer Entertainment. An updated port for the PlayStation Portable, developed by Alfa System, was released in February 2007 in Japan, and March of the same year in South Korea. This version was published by Namco Bandai Games. Neither version has received a western release.
The story, set eighteen years after Destiny, follows Kyle Dunamis, the son of the previous game's protagonists Stahn Aileron and Rutee Katrea. Shortly after meeting a mysterious girl named Reala while trying to save Rutee's orphanage from bankruptcy, Kyle is drawn into conflict with Barbatos, a cruel warrior responsible for killing Stahn, and the machinations of Elraine, a religious leader seeking to bring peace to mankind. The gameplay uses two-dimensional character sprites and backgrounds, and the battle system is a revamped version of the series' trademark Linear Motion Battle System.
Development began after the release of Tales of Eternia in 2000, taking approximately two years to complete, and was the last Tales game to be developed by the original Wolf Team before it became Namco Tales Studio. The scenario was handled by Japanese writing company Gekko, the characters were designed by Mutsumi Inomata, and the music was composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura. The PSP port was made after a similar port of Eternia met with commercial success. It was a highly anticipated game, and Namco promoted it heavily in the months prior to release. The game sold over 700,000 units by January 2003, and received critical acclaim from both Japanese and western critics.
Gameplay
Tales of Destiny 2 is a role-playing video game featuring two-dimensional (2D) sprite characters navigating both 2D environments such as dungeons and towns, and a three-dimensional overworld. The overworld features environmental effect such as fog. In towns found across the world, non-playable characters provide both information relevant to the story and world, and provide items and equipment through shops; merchants accept the Tales series currency, which can be obtained from battle or treasure chests on the dungeon and town maps.
Throughout the game, visiting certain individuals in towns will activate optional events and side-quests. Prisons, sewers, forests and story-centric locations serve as dungeon locales; these areas are scattered with treasure chests containing rare items, some of which cannot be purchased in stores. Dungeons frequently contain puzzles and mazes, such as boxes that must be reoriented to form a bridge, which must be cleared to advance; the "Sorcerer's Ring", a relic that shoots tiny plumes of fire, often plays a central role in puzzle resolution, along with the "Sorcerer's Scope", a tool that reveals hidden objects. Aspects of characters such as their current experience level, equipment and money levels, party organization, and assigned abilities. Cooking, a recurring series mechanic, is present: characters learn and cook various recipes using a selection of six ingredients which grant boons upon them such as restoring health. Optional voiced conversations between characters called can be activated when they appear in random locations or after story events. Mini-games within the world include acting as a waiter in a restaurant, and battle arenas where players fight against random enemies.
The game's battle system is the series' trademark Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), which places up to four playable characters on a 2D plain against enemies in real-time combat similar to a beat 'em up. The version used in Destiny 2 is called the "Trust and Tactical LMBS". When entering battle, the camera follows characters, zooming in and out depending on their distance from an enemy. During battle, one character is controlled at any one time, with the others being governed by the game's artificial intelligence (AI): the AI can be customized to behave in various ways, such as adjusting their aggression level, and balancing magical and physical attacks. In addition to real-time commands given in battle, the player can issue commands to all characters by pulling up the battle menu and issuing commands. A character's performance in battle is governed by their current level of Spirit Points (SP): the more SP a character has, the higher their defensive and offensive abilities. A character's health is represented by Health Points (HP). Three types of attack are available and activated progressively depending on the number of hits an enemy has taken: a standard attack, named attacks called Artes, and special high-damage attacks called At the end of each battle, its performance is assessed a given a Grade, which can sometimes trigger a bonus such as learning new skills. Some bonuses are also carried over into the next playthrough. In addition to the single-player functions, a local multiplayer option is available, supporting up to four players: when additional controllers with players are connected to the system, AI functions for selected characters are disabled, switching to manual control. An auto-battle option, which has the game's AI controlling all characters during a fight, is also available.
Synopsis Setting Destiny 2 is set on an unnamed world that was struck by a comet 1000 years before, triggering a prolonged winter. Desperate for heat and energy, the people used a type of gemstone brought by the comet called to create a floating city called Dycroft. The people of Dycroft eventually dominated the people below, which led to a conflict between the two realms known as the Eventually, a team of defecting Dycroft scientists developed sentient weapons called Swordians that turned the tide of war in the surface people's favor. This conflict reemerged eighteen years prior during the events of Tales of Destiny. The Swordians found new masters to wield them against Dycroft's vengeful ruler, including Stahn Aileron, Rutee Katrea and Leon Magnus. Stahn's group succeeds in restoring peace, but the world was damaged by Dycroft's weapons, and Leon was killed after he betrayed the group. Destiny 2 begins eighteen years after the events of Tales of Destiny.
Characters is the main protagonist of Destiny 2. Kyle is very much like his father, Stahn, although Kyle remembers little about him. His defining personality trait is an aversion towards peacefulness and boredom, always seeking out new things to try. is the main female protagonist, appearing suddenly and holding an air of mystery. While she bears an overly-strong sense of responsibility, she is also bright and highly inquisitive. She is one of the two avatars of the goddess . is a young man raised alongside Kyle, being considered a brother by him. A member of the Atamoni Shindan, the military branch of the Order of Atamoni, he has a firm and steady personality that balances against Kyle's hotheadedness. is a mysterious swordsman who appears before Kyle when the latter is in a pinch. A genius swordsman, he wears a beast skull as a mask to hide his face. is a master archer who opposes the Order of Atamoni. In direct contrast to the Order, she believes that happiness should be won by people rather than given to them. is a famous scientist, and the original creator of the Swordians. Something of a mad scientist, she shares Kyle's love of adventure and has a passionate curiosity about the world. is the main antagonist of Destiny 2. Regarded as a living goddess due to her powers, she has an outwardly meek demeanor and espouses bringing happiness to all mankind. She is one of the two avatars of the goddess Fortuna. is one of the primary antagonists of Destiny 2. A veteran of the War of Heaven and Earth, he was forgotten by history and consequently holds a burning desire to be recognized. His chief traits are an intense desire to live and a callous disregard for others.
Plot Kyle Dunamis, the adventurous son of Stahn and Rutee, lives at an orphanage run by Rutee. With the orphanage on the brink of bankruptcy, Kyle defies his mother to go on a quest to search for funds, together with his best friend Loni. Finding a giant Lens, a mysterious girl named Reala emerges from it, claiming to be in search of a hero. Believing that he should become a hero like his parents, he follows Reala so he can prove himself as such. Finding the Lens missing, officials from the Order of Atamoni arrest Kyle and Loni for its theft. They escape with the help of the masked swordsman Judas. After this, Kyle becomes embroiled in the attempts by a man named Barbatos Goetia to kill those who accompanied his parents, eventually learning that Barbatos also killed Stahn when Kyle was five. During his quest, a series of Lens thefts is orchestrated by Elraine, the Holy Woman of the Order of Atamoni who is capable of performing miracles using Lens and seeks to bring happiness to the world through uniting it under a single religion.
During a great theft of Lens, Elrane attacks the group directly, sending them ten years into the future. In this period, the world is beset by conflict between the Order of Atamoni and factions wanting independence from its control. During their travels there, they are joined by Nanaly Fletch. While in this time period, Reala becomes conflicted about who she is, and the group encounters a figure known as the Goddess Fortuna. During this encounter, it is revealed that Elrane and Reala are avatars of Fortuna, designed to save the world and bring happiness to humanity in different ways. Due to her unstable emotions, Reala accidentally transports Nanaly into their time. Feeling guilty because of this, Reala confronts Elraine alone and is captured. Traveling to the ship where the stolen Lens is stored, the group confront Barbatos and Elrane, successfully defeating them and saving Reala. During this confrontation, they learn that "Judas" is in fact the resurrected Leon, who was brought back to life by Elraine just as Barbatos was, but rebelled against her when he knew her full plan.
However, their efforts result in the destruction of the ship, and Reala uses the energy of the Lens to send them through time again. They appear in an alternate timeline where the War of Heaven and Earth was won by the underground dwellers, and Barbatos and Elraine are hailed as saviors. Traveling back to the time of the War, when the initial interference was caused, they ally with Harold Belselius to return history to its proper state. While they are successful and Barbatos is felled, Elraine continues to distort history in her favor. Confronting her one last time, she is defeated, then they are confronted by Fortuna. Defeating her, the group realize that the only way to correct the distorted timeline is to destroy the Lens that forms Fortuna's life source, which will mean Reala will be erased from history. When Reala comes to terms with this and gives her blessing, Kyle destroys Fortuna's Lens, which erases all the changes wrought by her agents and returns the timeline to its original state, sending everyone back to their original times and conditions. In the corrected timeline, Kyle, now raised and trained by both Stahn and Rutee, goes on a journey to the temple where he first met Reala. While her Lens is missing, Kyle's strong will succeeds in bringing Reala back into existence and restoring his memories of her.
Development