Top 5 Tales games we want to see get the Remastered treatment

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Bandai Namco’s legendary “Tales of” series, and it looks like they intend to celebrate the milestone in style. The upcoming release of Tales of Graces F Remaster on January 16 marks the beginning of the Tales Remastered Project, which aims to remaster Tales games “consistently.” As someone who has adored the franchise since I first rented Tales of Symphonia on GameCube—and has since gone on to own every officially localized title, along with importing some entries as well—this effort to remaster and preserve games I love fills my heart with joy.

Following the remaster of Graces, the following list features the top five Tales games I would love to see get the remastered treatment.

The List

Special Entry - Any of the Tales the West Never Got

I will be fully transparent with you: if I had not condensed unlocalized Tales of games into a single entry here, the list would have likely *only*  included previously unlocalized Tales titles. As much as I may want the chance to re-experience some of my favorite RPGs on modern platforms — and let new generations check them out for the first time — I would much prefer patching the holes first for those mothership titles we never got.

I’m incredibly excited that Bandai Namco is embarking on this path to remaster this historic series — a path that many of their peers began long ago, including Square Enix and even Tri-Ace with Star Ocean, Tales’ cousin series. In my ideal world, this ‘Tales Remastered Project’ would also include these missing games: Tales of Rebirth, Tales of Innocence R, Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Destiny Director’s Cut, and Tales of the Tempest. My hope is that we will get any one of these games in a style similar to their original releases as opposed to full-blown remakes, just to experience them as players first did. However, I would support remakes as well — I just want to play these games!

Tales of Hearts R

I absolutely adore my PlayStation Vita and will forever shake my fist at some of the decisions Sony made that doomed the high-tech handheld. However, for all the challenges it faced, the fact that it gave Western players a previously unreleased Tales game in Tales of Hearts R is one of the reasons I loved it. Tales of Hearts R, a remake of Tales of Hearts on Nintendo DS, was released in 2014, introducing us to Kohaku Hearts and Kor/Shing Meteor as they dove into people’s hearts to right wrongs and save the world.

Playing through Hearts R, I appreciated the flexibility it offered in developing your characters through the Soma system, and the combat—for a handheld Tales game—was snappy and fast-paced. Most of my playthrough was done on my TV thanks to the PlayStation TV device, so I can attest to how much better it feels playing on an actual controller. I would love to revisit the game on modern systems with a better frame rate and resolution. I wouldn’t mind Hearts getting an official English dub as well, and perhaps fixing Kor’s name. It never stopped being weird seeing “Kor” written while the Japanese voices referred to him as “Shing.” A remaster would be a perfect chance to address this.

Tales of Eternia

Known as Tales of Destiny 2 in the West, Tales of Eternia was the second Tales game that we in the States ever got back in 2001. Telling the story of Reid, Farrah, and Meredy, Eternia sends players on a wild ride, traveling to distant worlds and working to prevent the cataclysmic Grand Fall event. In addition to only being available on the original PlayStation (UK players received a PSP port that North America did not), it has also fallen victim to the retro games price spike, with a complete copy running upwards of $200.

While I prefer the story and characters from Tales of Destiny over those in Eternia, I chose Eternia for this list because if we get a Destiny remaster, I’d want the PS2 remake, Destiny Director’s Cut, over the original PlayStation version. Eternia also has the added benefit of having its protagonist, Reid, voiced by Sly Cooper’s voice actor Kevin Miller in the localized version. Regardless, we need a solid remaster of one of the classic PSX games sooner rather than later.

Tales of Phantasia

The granddaddy of the series, the OG, the progenitor itself, Tales of Phantasia launched the Tales series on the Super Famicom back in December 1995 in Japan. Unfortunately for those of us in the West, we wouldn’t get an official release until 2006 with the Game Boy Advance port, which, sadly, wasn’t the greatest.

I would love to see an official remaster of the Tales of Phantasia Cross version of the game, originally included with Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X for PSP, based on the stellar PSX build. Phantasia puts you in the role of Cress/Cless Albane as you travel through time to thwart the evil Dhaos. It was a monumental achievement when it released and established many of the themes and tropes the Tales series retains to this day. Out of all the games, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one got a full-blown remake instead of a simple remaster.

Reintroducing the game that started it all for new generations would be the perfect way to celebrate 30 years of Tales.

Tales of the Abyss

Tales of the Abyss is one of my top three favorite entries in the franchise, featuring what I would argue is one of the best character arcs in the series with its protagonist, Luke. Abyss offered far more movement options than previous Tales games, thanks to its Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System and the new Free Run ability, which let players move their characters freely in 3D battle arenas for the first time.

Originally released on the PlayStation 2, Abyss eventually received an impressive port on the Nintendo 3DS. That portable release is now nearly 13 years old, with the original being 20 years old, making it difficult to play either through conventional, legal means. Thankfully, however, Abyss has avoided the massive price spike of other games on this list.

A simple visual HD upgrade and performance optimization would make me happy, though I wouldn’t mind hearing some new lines from my favorite sassy military officer, Jade. Seriously, Jade is fantastic—and he has a Pac-Man belt.

Tales of Xillia Duology

With one of the most hype anime intros in the series, Tales of Xillia and its direct sequel are victims of the PlayStation 3’s Cell processor purgatory. Thankfully, with Graces F managing to break free, perhaps Jude and company can as well. Released in the West in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the Xillia titles feel like a celebration of the franchise. They pull in many series staples—like multiple worlds and summon spirits—while introducing unique mechanics, such as viewing the story from two protagonists’ perspectives.

Rumors of a Xillia remaster have swirled for years, making it a safe bet. I hope Bandai Namco releases both games together rather than just the first one, as they did with the Symphonia remaster. While I prefer the original Xillia to its sequel, both games deserve the remaster treatment—and a bundle would be ideal.

The Tales of series holds a special place in my heart, tied to powerful memories. I bought an Xbox 360 specifically for Tales of Vesperia, and my heart broke when my 60GB PlayStation 3 caused a bug in my Abyss PS2 game. I even owe my chance to write about games to Tales, through someone with a mutual love of the series. 

At the time of writing this, the Tales of Graces F Remaster hasn’t been released yet, so we don’t know the quality of this release. However, I hope Bandai Namco learned its lesson from the disappointing Symphonia remaster in 2023. I’m excited about the future of Tales and the prospect of re-experiencing this long-running franchise’s roots.

What are some Tales games you’d like to see get the remaster treatment? Sound off in the comments below!