Tales of Symphonia was one of the most critically-acclaimed entries in the long-running Tales franchise following its initial release in 2004. The RPG following the journey of Lloyd, Colette, and friends to save the world has become a fan-favorite title, seeing numerous remasters on multiple consoles. While the game received a PC port in 2016, the last time the iconic adventure came to a new console was the release of Tales of Symphonia Chronicles on PS3 in 2014. Now, Tuesday's Nintendo Direct revealed the game would be coming to Nintendo Switch.
Bandai Namco officially revealed Tales of Symphonia Remastered as a remake of the classic Tales game during the Nintendo presentation. The short reveal trailer introduces fans to the world of Tales of Symphonia and the journey of the Chosen to ascend the Tower of Salvation and defeat the Desians. The trailer shows snippets of characters the players will meet throughout the story, including Zelos and Presea, as well as teasing the game's interconnected worlds. Bandai Namco's reveal trailer also gives a launch window for the Tales of Symphonia remaster, slated for early 2023.
The newest Tales remaster comes as the most recent in a string of high-profile remakes from the storied JRPG franchise. 2019 saw the release of Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, a remake of another fan-favorite JRPG originally released for the Xbox 360. Several other Tales games from the sixth and seventh console generations have also received enhanced remakes on newer platforms. Tales of the Abyss came to the 3DS during 2011 and 2012 and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World was re-released through the previously mentioned Tales of Symphonia Chronicles.
The Tales franchise has seen a major resurgence over recent years with the massive success of the franchise's newest entry, Tales of Arise. Arise smashed a Tales franchise record for concurrent player count on Steam shortly after its launch, boasting a higher peak concurrent player count than all other Tales games combined. The game saw success across multiple platforms following its release, selling over 1.5 million copies within a month and winning Best RPG at the 2021 Game Awards.
With Tales of Arise recently celebrating the one-year anniversary of its launch, many Tales fans have started to look towards the future of the franchise. Tales of Arise producer Yusuke Tomizawa previously confirmed there were no plans for a Tales of Arise sequel, while also revealing the game would not receive any story DLC. Fans of Tales will likely be waiting a while for a new Tales game with a four-year gap between 2017's Tales of Berseria and Tales of Arise. Tales of Symphonia Remastered looks to be a welcome return to a classic story for Tales fans next year.
Tales of Symphonia Remastered will release in early 2023 for Nintendo Switch.
