The Tales series has grown into a beloved franchise for North American audiences, but in the land of the rising sun, the Tales series is a cornerstone of its genre where the series continues to thrive within this crowded market. Appearing in Japan in 1995, the first installment of the series, Tales of Phantasia, was released on the Super Famicom. While Tales of Phantasia would eventually be released in North America for the Game Boy Advance, other amazing Tales games were never able to cross the Pacific to North America.

One of the first Tales games to never make it abroad was Tales of Destiny 2. This release was the first Tales game to debut on the PlayStation 2 system and its story centered on Kyle Dunamis, son of the prequel's protagonist, and his journey to restore history to it's pervious state. Forces in his world were attempting to resurrect the goddess Fortuna and, knowing the destruction that Fortuna would bring, Kyle Dunamis sets out to stop her return.

Another Tales classic that missed the boat is Tales of Rebirth. This was the second Tales game released for the PlayStation 2 system. The story of Tales of Rebirth follows the adventures of Veigue Lungberg as he seeks to discover the world beyond his hometown of Sulz. Tales of Rebirth took the previously utilized Linear Motion Battle System and added 3 different planes for the characters to exist on. This addition created a deeper and more strategic combat system that continues to evolve to this day.

On the portable side of the Tales universe, Tales of Innocence was a landmark addition to the series. Tales of Innocence was the debut of the Tales game on the Nintendo DS and displayed the DS's ability to create a fully-fledged Tales game on par with its console brethren. Tales of Innocence includes the advance Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System and allows for fully 3-D movement and combat on a portable device.

Outside of the central Tales games, the series has also spun off into a successful side-series known as Tales of the World. Games that fall under Tales of the World are side-stories or "Gaidens" that complement the core stories in the Tales universe and often contain cameos by characters from the Tales games. Tales of the World games include the popular Narikiri Dungeoun series, Summoner's Lineage, and Radiant Mythology series. Sadly, only the Radiant Mythology series has graced the shores of America.

With the release of Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox360, the demand for more Tales games continues to grow and the future for the series looks extremely bright. While the final destinies of past Tales games may be unknown, the promise for newer and grander Tales game is crystal clear.