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Tales of Destiny 2
ToD2 Logo
Information
Game Systems PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable
Developers PS2 Telenet Japan ("Wolf Team")
PSP Alfa System
Publishers PS2 Namco
PSP Bandai Namco Games
Character Designers Mutsumi Inomata
Composers Motoi Sakuraba
Shinji Tamura
Animators Production I.G
Japanese Releases PS2 November 28, 2002
PSP February 15, 2007
Opening Theme "Key to My Heart" by Mai Kuraki
Ratings PS2 (original) unrated
  ("the Best") CERO:
  FREE (all ages)
PSP CERO: A (all ages)

Tales of Destiny 2 (テイルズ オブ デスティニー 2 Teiruzu obu Desutinii Tsu?) is the fourth Mothership Title in Namco's Tales series of games, serving as a generation sequel to Tales of Destiny that takes place in the same world. Its characteristic genre translates to "Liberating Fate RPG" (運命を解き放つRPG Unmei wo tokihanatsu RPG?). Tales of Destiny 2 is easily confused with the name of the North American release of Tales of Eternia, Tales of Destiny II, which was renamed since the name Eternia is trademarked by Mattel for the He-Man toys in North America.

In carrying on the traditions of the Tales series, Tales of Destiny 2 relies on such mainstays as the Linear Motion Battle System and sprite-based characters. Like most games in the series, Tales of Destiny 2 includes an introduction and insert-scenes animated by Production I.G., and a J-pop theme song, which in this case is "Key to My Heart" by Mai Kuraki.

Story[]

Tales of Destiny 2 begins 18 years after the events of Tales of Destiny. While the exploits of Stahn Aileron and the Swordian Masters are known far and wide, it has begun to fade from the hearts of the people. Now, everyone is preoccupied with the Holy Woman Elrane, who promises immediate happiness for all. In this setting, a boy named Kyle Dunamis takes his first steps in pursuit of adventure. As the son of the world-renowned heroes, Stahn and Rutee Katrea, Kyle is certain that it is his destiny, even his duty, to become a hero as well. While exploring the ruins of an ancient city near his home, Kyle encounters a mysterious girl named Reala, who emerges from a huge Lens. She announces that she is in search of a hero. In his attempts to become the hero Reala seeks, Kyle's destiny is set in motion. In a journey encompassing past, present, and future, Kyle learns the true meaning of heroism from the heroes of old.

Setting[]

Over 1,000 years prior to Tales of Destiny, a comet collided with the unnamed planet on which the game occurs, ushering a long and enduring winter. The survivors, desperate for the light of the sun, harnessed Lens, an energy source they found in the remains of the comet, to create Dycroft, a flying city. Eventually, the residents of the flying cities came to dominate those who remained on the surface using a powerful weapon called Belcrant, and the Aeth'er Wars began as a result. The team of scientists who created Belcrant defected to the side of the surface-dwellers and developed powerful Lens-based weapons called Swordians, sentient swords, on their behalf. The Swordian Masters, empowered by the Lens flowing through their Swordians, then destroyed all of the flying cities and sunk Dycroft into the ocean, ending the Aeth'er Wars.

The Swordians lay dormant for centuries until conflict emerged for possession of an enormous Lens known as the Eye of Atamoni, ultimately orchestrated by the defeated, but never truly killed, ruler of Dycroft. Stahn Aileron, a young man on a journey for fame and fortune, happened to find the Swordian Dymlos, setting him on a course to save the world from impending disaster. Joined by fellow Swordian Masters Rutee Katrea, Garr Kelvin, Philia Felice, and Leon Magnus, Stahn prevented the resurrection of Dycroft and restored peace to the world in the original Tales of Destiny. However, the surface world had been extensively damaged by the Belcrant weapon during the recent conflict, leaving a number of cities in ruins.

Plot[]

Tales of Destiny 2 begins with Kyle, son of the hero of the previous game, embarking on a quest to save the orphanage that his parents operate from financial ruin. During his quest, he finds a giant Lens, from which a mysterious girl named Reala emerges and claims to be in search of a hero. Believing it his duty to become the kind of hero his parents were, he follows Reala to prove himself as the hero she seeks.

Partway through the story, a large quantity of Lens is stolen from the king's treasury by the holy maiden Elrane. Throughout the story, Elrane has been accumulating power and influence by claiming to be able to solve the world's problems through magical means, using the Lens. As Kyle pursues Elrane, she captures Reala. After Kyle defeats Elrane and rescues Reala, she realizes that Kyle is the hero that she has been seeking. Kyle proceeds to destroy the Draconis, the war ship used to steal the Lens from the king. However, the Lens was still in the Draconis when it was destroyed. The destruction of the Lens causes a temporal rift to appear, sending Kyle and Reala to an alternate timeline. In this timeline, the Aeth'er Wars, a war fought 1,000 years ago between the surface-dwellers and the people living underground, was won by the subterranean people instead of the surface-dwellers. The remnants of humanity live in cities scattered across the world. After a confrontation with Elrane, in which Kyle is forced to flee due to her unmatched power, Reala uses her pendant to help them escape.

The pendant sends them 1,000 years in the past, during the Aeth'er Wars. After helping end the war with a victory for the surface-dwellers, Kyle and Reala travel to various other time periods to correct other disturbances to the timeline. Ultimately, it takes the death of the goddess Fortuna, who is providing Elrane her power, to correct the timeline altogether. Upon Fortuna's death, the timeline is restored to normal, but Reala has ceases to exist, as she was a direct product of the goddess. The protagonists also lose their memories of the adventures they experienced, as if they never happened, which includes Stahn being still alive in the epilogue because Barbatos Goetia never interfered with the original timeline events. In the epilogue, Kyle visits the location where Reala first appeared to him. When Kyle begins to leave, Reala emerges from a bright light. Kyle recalls her name, and Reala jumps toward him with joy upon their reunion.

Characters[]

Playable Characters[]

  • Kyle Dunamis (カイル・デュナミス Kairu Dyunamisu?) - The main character of the game, Kyle is very much like his father, Stahn. However, Kyle remembers little of his father, as he claims that the famous hero left on a journey when Kyle was very young. His mother, Rutee, runs the Dunamis Orphanage based in the town of Cresta, so the other children there are akin to family. Kyle has absolute faith that he will become a hero someday due to the heroic bloodline of his parents.
  • Reala (リアラ Riara?) - A girl who suddenly appears from within a gigantic Lens found in the Laguna Ruins. Reala has an ethereal quality about her and is generally cheerful and inquisitive, but she is surrounded by mystery. She says that she is looking for a hero that her pendant will react on, and as such, Kyle chases after her in hope to become the hero she seeks.
  • Loni Dunamis (ロニ・デュナミス Roni Dyunamisu?) - Loni was raised in the Dunamis Orphanage but left to join the Order of Atamoni. He is like an older brother to Kyle. Thanks to his rather frivolous manner, he gives the impression of being irresponsible, but in fact, Loni is resourceful and has a strong sense of justice.
  • Judas (ジューダス Juudasu?) - A masked swordsman who helps Kyle out of difficult situations, Judas is slight in stature but has a commanding presence. His name was assigned to him by Kyle during their first encounter in the Darilsheid prison, where Judas enables their escape. For unknown reasons, Judas wishes to protect Kyle.
  • Nanaly Fletcher (ナナリー・フレッチ Nanarii Furetchi?, "Nanaly Fletch") - A woman who takes pride in her skill with bows, which puts most men to shame. She is also adept with magic, wielding spells overshadowed only by her fellow female protagonists. Outwardly stout-hearted and self-assured, Nanaly often seems tomboyish, but she is also deeply empathetic and, in fact, very refined. She cares for orphaned children in her home of Hope Town.
  • Harold Belserius (ハロルド・ベルセリオス Harorudo Beruseriosu?, "Harold Berselius") - Harold is the creator of the Swordians, and because of her name and accomplishments, she is often believed to be a man, though this does not bother her in the least. The classic eccentric genius, Harold thinks of everything in terms of her research and is all but helpless in non-academic affairs. While she often seems childish and unpredictable as a result, she is also very perceptive.

Non-playable Characters[]

  • Barbatos Goetia (バルバトス・ゲーティア Barubatos Geetia?) - Barbatos is a warrior who fought in the Aeth'er Wars but was killed by Dymlos. His power was equal to the Swordian Dymlos, but due to his own selfish behavior, he was written out of history. Now, Barbatos fights in order to validate his existence.
  • Elrane (エルレイン Erurein?) - The Holy Woman of the Order of Atamoni, Elrane is worshiped as a living manifestation of the goddess Fortuna. She takes joy in granting happiness to people and is able to create miracles at will by drawing power from Lens in a fashion similar to Reala. For this reason, people flock to her with offerings of Lens in order to receive her blessing.
  • Fortuna (フォルトゥナ Forutuna?) - A mysterious goddess who serves as the center for the world's religion. A living deity, she encounters the protagonists on numerous occasions, their ideologies clashing with her vision of a perfect world. Elrane and Reala are connected to her somehow.
  • Rutee Katrea (ルーティ・カトレット Ruuti Katoretto?, "Rutee Katret") - Kyle's mother and Loni's adoptive mother, Rutee is a protagonist from the prequel who now runs the Dunamis Orphanage in Cresta.
  • Philia Felice (フィリア・フィリス Firia Firisu?, "Philia Philis") - Another protagonist from the prequel who now serves as a High Priestess of the Straylize Temple.
  • Garr Kelvin (ウッドロウ・ケルヴィン Uddoroo Keruvin?, "Woodrow Kelvin") - The final returning protagonist from the prequel who plays a role in this game's plot, Garr serves as the king of Phandaria, residing at his castle in Heidelberg.

Gameplay[]

Standard Gameplay[]

ToD2 PS2 (NTSC-J) game cover

Cover for the PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Tales of Destiny 2 employs the Tales series' characteristic style of combat, the Linear Motion Battle System, in which the player controls the characters in real-time, and the characters perform actions on a two-dimensional field. This iteration of the battle system is known as Trust and Tactical Linear Motion Battle System (TT-LMBS), and it is designed to encourage the player to think more about coordinating the characters to make combat more efficient. One of the ways this is achieved is by the introduction of the Spirits System.

Tales of Destiny 2 also employs an auto-zoom feature in combat, which becomes standard in future Tales series games. When there is a great distance between the characters, the camera zooms out, making it easier for the player to monitor the whole party, and when the characters are grouped together, or there is particularly intense action, the camera zooms in. Another unique twist in this game is the introduction of the Grade system that has been employed in the other main installments. Depending on the characters’ actions in battle, the party receives either positive or negative Grade at the end of battle, and upon completing the game, they can exchange Grade at the Grade Shop for certain features to be included in their next game.

ToD2 Characters

Official artwork of the game's central characters.

Like many Tales games following it, Tales of Destiny 2 retains the cooking system that was introduced in the PlayStation version of Tales of Phantasia. Basic ingredient foods such as vegetables, meat, and bread are common throughout the game, and the characters learn recipes for making those ingredients into dishes, which restore HP and TP. This system is offered as an alternative to using ordinary healing items outside of battle. Like previous games in the series, Tales of Destiny 2 features titles for each character. However, this is the first game where they affect character growth parameters.

Spirits System[]

Characters have a spirits bar that depletes as they take actions and refills when they defend or are not executing any commands. When a character has very low spirits, they cannot perform even basic attacks, requiring the player to let some characters fall back and allow other characters to take the offensive. A downside to the Spirits System is Zone Penalty; the battlefield is divided up into two zones the party's (blue) and the enemy's (red). As either side advances, so does their zone, and if a party member gets behind the enemy, entering the red zone, their SP bar is reduced by half.

Artes and Magic[]

Destiny 2 Cast (ToLink)

Artwork of the game's cast for Tales of Link.

An interesting twist on Tales of Destiny 2 characters occurs in that all six party members can use magic, rather than select characters using only magic to fight, like Keele Zeibel from Tales of Eternia. The females are predominantly mages, while the males are fighters; however, the player can choose to do either with the party members. Artes are still divided into base artes and arcane artes, and spells keep the tier system novice, intermediate, and advanced, though extensions are added. Fighters can extend a base arte to execute a somewhat mid-level attack; Kyle's Souhajin, for example, can be extended into Souhatsuiren, which fires a second wind blast. However, when characters extend an arcane arte, they perform a mystic arte.

Spells extend as well; novice and intermediate spells extend into other spells, but an advanced spell's extension summons one of the six Spirits. To use an extension, the player must equip a certain Action Enchant to an arte. Enchants are another first in this game; they are abilities that can be set to each arte to increase their effectiveness. There are two kinds: Passive and Action. Passive Enchants do not require TP or SP to execute, and their effects vary from reducing SP or TP cost to raising the attack power the attack or hit of a skill. Action Enchants require SP, sometimes TP, and a press of the "Attack" button. Special Actions like extending an arte or canceling into another base arte can be executed with these, though each arte can have only one Passive and one Action equipped at a time.

Version History[]

Game Title System Catalog Number Release Date Region
Tales of Destiny 2
テイルズ オブ デスティニー 2
PlayStation 2 SCAJ-20028
SLPS-25172
SCPS-55050
SLPS-72502
SLPS-73219
SCKA-20054
November 27, 2002
November 28, 2002
August 14, 2003
November 6, 2003
July 7, 2005
September 7, 2005
Asia
Japan
Taiwan
Japan ("MEGA HITS!")
Japan ("PlayStation 2 the Best")
Korea ("PlayStation 2 Big Hit Series")
Tales of Destiny 2
テイルズ オブ デスティニー 2
PlayStation Portable UCAS-40141
ULJS-00097
ULKS-46118
ULJS-19034
February 13, 2007
February 15, 2007
March 7, 2007
January 28, 2010
Asia
Japan
Korea
Japan ("PSP the Best")

Trivia[]

  • The names of several antagonists and bosses in Tales of Destiny 2 are inspired by demonology and can be found in the Lesser Key of Solomon, an anonymous grimoire compiled in the mid-seventeenth century. These include Barbatos himself, Sabnock, Dantalion, Gaap, Ose, Vassago, Buer, Glasya-Labolas, Forneus, Halphas, and Vepar.

External Links[]


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