User:PresN/Tales

The Tales series, known in Japan as the Tales of series (「テイルズ オブ」シリーズ), is a franchise of fantasy Japanese role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Games (formerly Namco), and developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco. First begun in 1995 with the development and release of Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom, the series currently spans fifteen main titles, multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of manga series, anime series, and audio dramas.

While entries in the series generally stand independent of each other with different characters and stories, they are commonly linked by their gameplay, themes and high fantasy settings. Most of the main Tales games have been localized for North America and Europe, although almost all of the spinoff titles have not been released abroad. While generally seen as a niche series in English speaking regions, Tales is considered a high-profile property in Japan, just behind other series such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. As of December 2013, the series has sold 16 million units worldwide.

Video games
In 2007, series producer Makoto Yoshizumi defined two classes of Tales games, "Mothership Titles" and "Escort Titles". "Mothership" essentially means "Main series", where as "Escort" essentially means "Spinoff". The games are also frequently given what is called a "Characteristic Genre Name", which is a short subtitle or phrase that outlines the game's overall theme. There are also terms that are used in remakes or ports of games: "R" stands for "remake" or "re-imagination" (as in Hearts R), while "F" in Graces F stands for "future", in reference to the game's extra story content.