Tales of Hearts is an action role-playing game released for the Nintendo DS in Japan and the PlayStation Vita worldwide. It is the eleventh main entry in the Tales series, developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Bandai Namco Games. The Japan-exclusive DS version received two editions: the "Anime Edition," featuring cutscenes by Production I.G, and the "CG Movie Edition," featuring CGI cutscenes created by Shirogumi. A remake of the game, Tales of Hearts R, was released on the Vita in March 2013 and later released in western regions in November 2014. Hearts R was also ported to iOS and released in Japan in October 2013 although it was pulled from the App Store on March 31, 2016, and therefore no longer available for download. Hearts R was developed by 7th Chord and includes staff from Bandai Namco Studios.
The game follows main protagonist Kor Meteor after he discovers a woman named Kohaku Hearts and her brother Hisui near his home town. When Kohaku is attacked by a mysterious antagonist named Incarose and infected by a monster called a xerom, Kor attempts to cure her using his Soma, an ancient weapon designed to fight xerom. In the process, he ends up shattering Kohaku's Spiria, the essence of her heart and emotions, and scattering the pieces across the world. Together with Hisui, Kor sets off with Kohaku on a quest to restore her Spiria. Its characteristic genre name, a concept used extensively in the Tales series, is . It represents the game's central theme of people's hearts uniting to overcome strife. For Hearts R, extra story scenes were created and the genre name was altered to .
Hearts began production in the winter of 2006, during the final development stages of the PlayStation 2 remake of Tales of Destiny. It was produced by Hideo Baba, the former brand manager for the series. Though the third title on the DS, it was the first portable title to be developed by Namco Tales Studio. The remake was mostly handled by different development staff, but the writer and character designer both returned to add new content. Both versions of the game have received strong sales and highly positive reviews in Japan, with the DS version selling 260,000 units by 2009. Reviews of the DS version have been positive overall, while western reviews of Hearts R have been mixed to positive.
Gameplay
Like previous entries in the Tales series, Tales of Hearts is an action role-playing game. The game is split into two main areas: the field map and battlefield arenas triggered upon encountering an enemy. The battle arenas are fully rendered and played out in 2D. Characters are rendered outside pre-rendered cutscenes as 2D character sprites against 3D backgrounds. For the original Nintendo DS version, the top screen shows the main visuals, while the bottom screen shows the navigation map and other functions. Battles are triggered by running into enemy sprites rather than appearing as random encounters. As with previous titles, Skits, extra conversations between characters, are available for the player to trigger.
The battle system is a variant on the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS) from multiple Tales titles: an action-based combat system similar to a fighting game: button commands instantly trigger various attacks and actions, and different attacks string together to form combos. The system used in Hearts is called the "Combination Aerial LMBS". Up to three characters participate in battle, with one controlled by the player and the other two controlled via artificial intelligence. The two AI characters be assigned to perform different actions such as healing or attacking. The "Combination" element refers to a special gauge that fills up and can be used to perform special attacks with party members not assigned in battle. A second "Emotion" gauge determines how many moves a character can perform: the gauge fills while the character is blocking, and is depleted by performing actions. The lower the gauge is, the lower a character's defenses are. Characters can employ special attacks called "Combination Blasters," Hearts take on the series' staple Mystic Artes ("Hi-Ougis" in the Japanese version). Defeated enemies drop items and materials that can be used to level up character abilities, with certain combinations of items yielding certain abilities and skills. Once enough skills have been learned, a character's weapon can be upgraded via three separate skill trees, with the abilities and power of the character changing according to the choice of skills beforehand.
For the PlayStation Vita remake, the gameplay takes place in 3D environments with fully rendered character models. Along with including a fourth AI-controlled character in battle, Hearts R uses a redesigned battle system titled the Aerial Chase Linear Motion Battle System (called "Arc Chase" in the Japanese version). The "chase link" mechanic enables a character to follow an enemy after knocking it into the air and continue a combo attack. By selecting an ally at the right moment, the player character can perform a Chase Cross attack, while holding down the attack button activates a finishing move. Multiple items found in chests scattered across the land can be used in battle (such as curative items) and for obstacles and objects in the field areas. Multiple elements from the series, including cooking healing recipes, are included. Random encounters with enemies on the field are also present. Characters level up using Soma Build Points (SBP), with the "soma" being a character's signature weapon and points causing the Soma to evolve, granting new abilities. SBPs are assigned to character stat values called Spir Parameters, which strengthen different character stats. Mystic Artes from the original game are carried over, along with new ones. Also added are Union Artes, special attacks unique to a particular character pairing. Characters can be assigned special accessories called "Combo Commands": activated by a specific set of button presses, the accessory grants a character full access to all their Artes for a limited time.
Story
Setting Tales of Hearts is set on the worlds of OrganicaCelland in Hearts and the Japanese version of Hearts R and MineraQuartzia in Hearts and the Japanese version of Hearts R (known to Organicans as the "white moon"), with the events of the story mostly taking place on Organica. Two millennia before the present day, Minera was in a state of war with itself, and Organica's inhabitants were used by the Minerans as a food source for organic weapons called xeroms. The xeroms were designed to attack Spirias, the crystalline essence of a person's emotions, and either destroyed them or infected them with an ailment known as despir. Some Minerans who sympathized with the Organicans' plight and wishes for peace provided them with weapons to fight off the xerom, called Soma.Lithia: Eons ago, the Mineran race flourished, boasting a culture highly skilled in the use of Will artes. But such prosperity led to greed and decadence, and our weak Spirias soon turned against each other. During the course of the unending Will artes war, a weapon was born. / Ines: The xeroms! / Lithia: Yes. Xeroms were engineered to be living weapons that fed off Spirias in order to fuel their monstrous evolutions. Though primitive, you Organicans boasted powerful Spiria, which attracted the attention of we Minerans. / Hisui: So you decided to turn people from our world into xerom chow. / Lithia: We invaded your planet and enslaved your ancestors to power the xeroms' evolutions. [...] No words can express my profound regret. However, know that some among us were gentle souls who detested these actions. My elder sister Fluora was one such person, and she dedicated her life to ensuring peace between realms. She created the Somas and the fortress of Mysticete so that we might be able to bridge our Spiria. In the present day, after Minera was destroyed, the xerom continue to threaten the people of Minera and the people who bear Somas and fight the creatures are called Somatics. Other remnants of the Mineran civilization left on the planet include the airship fortress Mysticete, mostly known to the Organicans as the "Forest of Thorns", and mechanoids, machines with synthetic Spirias who acted as guardians to important Minerans. During the events of Hearts, Organica is under the united rule of the Maximus Empire, which waged a war against the world's other factions eighteen years before in a conflict called the "Unification War".
Characters A boy with a strong curiosity for the world, Kor lives on an isolated island with his grandfather Sydan. Encountering Kohaku and Hisui and venturing beyond his town for the first time, his grandfather is killed by Incarose. His attempt to save Kohaku from an attack of despir unwittingly causes her Spiria to shatter, prompting Kor to join Hisui and Kohaku in an effort to restore her. By the end of the game he has developed romantic feelings for Kohaku. His name is in the original Japanese. His first name was based on the Japanese words and , which was intended to mean that he "is armed with a heart." His surname was taken from the English word meteorite.
A girl who travels the world with her brother searching for a Soma, guided on her quest by Lithia. Attacked by Incarose and infected by a xerom, Kor's attempt to save her ends up shattering her Spiria, rendering her virtually emotionless. During the course of the game, she develops romantic feelings for Kor. Kohaku's first name is the Japanese word for "amber". Her name is alternately translated as "Amber Hearts".
Kohaku's older brother. Because of the circumstances of their mother's death, he is overprotective of his sister. He is initially distant and cold towards Kor because of the latter's actions with Kohaku, but gradually comes around. Hisui's first name is the Japanese word for "jade". His name is alternately translated as "Jadeite Hearts".
A woman who is the manager and sole employee of the transport shop "Wanderlust". Possessed of superhuman strength, she initially accompanies the group to help sell her wares. Her surname is based on the mineral lorenzenite.
A girl who ran away from her village to become a court painter, she is easily conned due to her inexperience of the world and prone to be nihilistic. Her name is directly drawn from both the eponymous gemstone and the mineral benitoite.
A guardian knight hidden from the public by those currently using him, he is an ancient machine constructed with functions that mimic and understand human emotions, giving him the equivalent of a heart. He was created as Richea's guardian. His name is one of the names for spodumene.
The leader of the Crystal Knights, Chalcedony has been a skilled swordsman from childhood, and is initially antagonistic towards the protagonists. Originally a non-player character (NPC) in Hearts, he is included as a playable character in Hearts R.
A veteran Somatic who joins Kor's group in the hope of destroying the Xerom. He became a master after his wife and daughter were killed by Xerom, and becomes attached to Kohaku as she reminds him of his daughter. Initially cold and distant, he begins to show a lighter side while traveling with the group.
Plot Note: Aside from the addition of Gall and Chalcedony's presence in the late section of the game, the plots of Hearts and Hearts R are the same.