Tales (universe)

The Tales universe, known as the Tales of universe in Japan, refers to the  series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from NAMCO's series of console role-playing games. Similar to many Japanese role-playing games in a series, most games or media of the series are unrelated to each other beyond certain elements. Widely known for its heavy influence by anime and Japanese culture, the series often makes use of popular manga artists or illustrators, and animated cutscenes produced by Production I.G. The series' popularity in the west is attributed to the release of Tales of Symphonia, given this, the game represents the Tales series in the Super Smash Flash series. Its symbol is based on the stone compass that can be seen on the back of the logo for the original Tales of Symphonia.

Franchise description
Near 1995, NAMCO created a series of fantasy RPG-video games involving magical lands and creatures. The first game, Tales of Phantasia, was originally released in that year in Japan for the Super Famicom. Later it was ported to the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation Portable systems. Tales of Eternia, the third entry, was the first game to have English voices and was the first game to have an anime adaption. Tales of Destiny 2, the fourth entry in the series, became the first to be released on the PlayStation 2 when it was released in 2002. The fifth entry, Tales of Symphonia was released in 2003 and is the only game in the series to be released on the Nintendo GameCube.

Celebrating the series tenth anniversary, the eighth entry in the series, Tales of the Abyss, was released in 2005. This was followed by the series' first Mothership Title made for a handheld, Tales of Innocence, in 2007. The tenth Mothership Title in the Series, Tales of Vesperia, was released on the Xbox 360 in 2008 (which is currently the most sold Xbox 360 in Japan), with an enhanced PlayStation 3 port containing new content released in September 2009. The eleventh Mothership Title in the series and the second Mothership Title on a handheld, Tales of Hearts, was released in 2008. The twelfth game of the series, Tales of Graces, released on the PlayStation 3 in March 2010 as Tales of Graces f.

In addition to the main games of the series, there are several "Escort Titles" which are side-stories and spin-off games linked to the series. The first of these titles, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2000 as a sequel to Tales of Phantasia. The game that most of the sprites in Super Smash Flash comes from is Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3. Five games in the "Tales of the World" subseries have been released for hand-held systems. A Fan Disk for the series, Tales of Fandom Vol.1 was released for the PlayStation in 2002. The second volume, Tales of Fandom Vol.2 was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2007. Currently the fan disks are only released as the last Tales game for that current (console) generation. Tales of the Tempest, released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, is currently the only Escort Title with an original plot and cast. Six games have also been released under the "Tales of Mobile" sub-series, for playing on cell phone systems. The first, Tales of Tactics, was released for the DoCoMo, FOMA, au, and WIN services in 2004. None of these titles are available outside of Japan.

Tales of Innocence was released in Japan on the Nintendo DS in 2007. A remake of the game, Innocence R was released on the PlayStation Vita in 2012. Neither version has been released in the west. The first release on seventh-generation consoles, Tales of Vesperia for Xbox 360, was released in Japan and North America in 2008 and in Europe in 2009. A Japan-exclusive PlayStation 3 port was released in 2009 as well. Tales of Hearts was released on the Nintendo DS in 2008. A remake, Hearts R, was released in 2013 in Japan and 2014 in North America and Europe.

The latest Escort Title in the series is called Tales of VS. for the PlayStation Portable it features a different gameplay from other titles in the series with gameplay resembling FINAL FANTASY: Dissidia. It is the second Tales games of 2009 to be released (the first was Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, a sequel to Tales of Symphonia.), it was released on August 6, 2009. The game features a total of 35 characters from past Mothership and Escort Titles in the Tales series.

The twelfth entry, Tales of Graces, released on the Wii in Japan in 2009. A PlayStation 3 port, Graces f, was released in 2009 in Japan, and in 2012 in North America and Europe. Tales of Xillia, the series' 15th anniversary title, was released in Japan for PlayStation 3 in 2011, and in North America and Europe in 2013. Xillia ' ​s direct sequel and the fourteenth main title, Tales of Xillia 2 ', was released in 2012 in Japan and 2014 in North America and Europe. The fifteenth main title, Tales of Zestiria, was released in January 2015 in Japan and it was released in North America on October 20, 2015. The sixteenth main title, Tales of Berseria, is in production for PS3 and PlayStation 4. On September 2021. Tale of Arise, the seventeenth main title, was released for modern consoles.

In Super Smash Flash
As with many franchises in the first Super Smash Flash, the Tales franchise appears as a bonus franchise represented by only one playable character hailing from the game Tales of Symphonia.

Character

 * Lloyd Irving: An irresponsible, and brash young man, but also a gentle idealist who wishes for peace in the world; he is Tales of Symphonia ' s protagonist. Orphaned as a child, he was adopted and raised by a dwarf, Dirk, just outside the village of Iselia. Lloyd is a person who wants to save the world without sacrificing any lives. Though his intellect is somewhat limited, Lloyd is very strong-hearted and adheres unwavering to his morals of racial equality and altruism. As an unlockable fighter in SSF, Lloyd wields two swords: the fire sword Flamberge, and the ice sword Vorpal Sword. He can perform attacks like Tempest or Rising Falcon, and can also launch small projectiles with the move Demon Fang.

In Super Smash Flash 2
The Tales franchise was expanded in Super Smash Flash 2, however the franchise is still represented only by a newcomer and a starter stage.

Characters

 * Lloyd Irving: Lloyd, the protagonist of Tales of Symphonia, debuted in demo v0.1a, being one of the four first playable characters in SSF2. Returning as a starter fighter, Lloyd was one of the few characters that did not received a sprite change or a recolor when he appeared in SSF2 much like the Sonic characters. Lloyd is considered a newcomer instead of a veteran due to him not appearing the main  games. Lloyd has a moveset similar to the moveset he had in SSF. In Lloyd's Final Smash, the Falcon's Crest, Lloyd pokes his ice sword to trap his opponents. If he connects correctly, Lloyd's swords will merge to create the Eternal Sword which is then used to create two explosions. Both explosions can also harm opponents that are not trapped by Lloyd's ice and flame swords.

Enemy

 * Mithos Yggdrasill: An enemy appearing at the upper middle of the stage, attacking players who attack it first. It also can summon lasers from the ground, or in between the platforms. It can summon spears that rain on the platforms. If the player is hit by the spears, they are knocked up into the other spears, likely KO-ing them.

Stage

 * Tower of Salvation: A tower that appears in the flourishing world and the declining world after the Chosen of Regeneration receives the oracle, it that connects the two worlds Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. It is the place where the Eternal Sword lies. It is a very small stage with one major main platform alongside two small moving platforms in both sides.

Trivia

 * The Tales universe is one of two universes to be introduced in the Super Smash Flash series before having a minor roll in the official games. It shares this distinction along with .