The Tales of franchise is one of the most essential pillars of the JRPG genre. Final Fantasy may be its most defining property, and Dragon Quest has a history that none can rival, but they are far from the only series available to fans. Nintendo tends to nurture such offerings, providing hardware that allows for JRPGs to flourish.
Nintendo's September 2022 Direct confirmed that Tales of Symphonia will make its way to the Switch. It's one of the most critically acclaimed games in the series, and has found a home on a multitude of consoles as well as PC, but the portability of Nintendo's hardware makes this remaster all the more enticing. People may be curious about past titles, and there are still a handful that have yet to be ported to Switch that are more than deserving of a place in the eShop.
Tales of Arise
While Tales of Symphonia's Lloyd did not make it as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there is a pressing need for the newest entry in the franchise to be ported to Switch. Tales of Arise released in 2021 and quickly became one of the most revered installments yet. Boasting larger areas and a more refined battle system, Alphen and Shionne's story upheld the expectations of fans while pushing the franchise to new heights. Though the game is beautiful, its art style and flashy gameplay doesn't seem like it'd be too much for the Nintendo Switch to handle.
With Tales of Vesperia already on the system in its definitive edition form, there still needs to be more representation of the franchise overall once Tales of Symphonia Remastered releases. Tales of Arise has to be next, if anything to show how far the IP has come since the mid-2000s. It's recent enough to be entirely new to a large swathe of players, while also leaning on the principles that made the series great all those years ago. It might not need a "remaster" in the traditional sense, but a Switch-specific port would be appreciated.
Tales of Hearts
Few Tales games can boast the benefit of portability, but Tales of Hearts depends on it. Initially releasing in 2008 on the Nintendo DS, and later venturing onto the PlayStation Vita catalog in 2013 under the name Tales of Hearts R, the eleventh mainline entry in the series is overlooked because of the restrictions of the DS and the lackluster sales of Sony's handheld device.
Like Persona 4 Golden, Tales of Hearts R would do well if it jumped to the ever-popular Switch in pursuit of a larger audience. It's a game that deserves more attention, and is worthy of a playthrough before Tales of Symphonia arrives on Switch in early 2023.
Tales of Xillia and Xillia 2
With the pair releasing in the August 2013 and 2014, respectively, Tales of Xillia and its direct sequel were isolated on the PlayStation 3 when the PS4 was taking up headlines. As such, they were largely ignored by those outside of the Tales fandom. This is a shame, as their dueling protagonists are well-developed, and the story did enough to keep players guessing, making a sequel feel like a formality.
Tales of Xillia 2 is a worthy follow-up, taking advantage of the advancements that the first game made to help see the PlayStation 3 into the sunset. Both games were largely a victim of their release window. The lack of availability on hardware other than the PS3 is an issue, and a Switch port would shine a light on one of the most underappreciated modern duologies in the Namco-developed Tales of property.
Tales of Symphonia Remastered will release in early 2023 for Nintendo Switch.