Namco Bandai has officially announced announced that Tales of Link is in development and will be released in Japan sometime this fall, meaning we can check off one of the many Tales titles that have been trademarked. This particular entry in the series will be produced by Okitomo Shiratori and Ryouji Oodate, directed by Hironori Naoi, and will feature character design by Daigo Okumura. The most noteworthy part of this announcement is that Tales of Link is being developed for smartphones, and will be a mobile title rather than a console one.
In the latest issue of Jump (which featured the announcement), a few of the game’s characters were revealed. In Tales of Link we’ll get to know Sara, the “rookie adventurer who left her village to pursue her goal”, and Rippi, a fairy who is on a mission to recover the “Seed of Calamity”. We can also expect Shiza, a skilled swordsman, and the goddess Leone. In addition, there’s a possibility we may see returning characters from previous games as well.
In addition to the initial announcement, a teaser site has also been launched for the game. The site confirms that the game will be available on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Android Marketplace this fall in Japan. It will be a free download but will feature transactions. The main text on the page proclaims “When calamity fell from heaven to earth, hope was born again.”
Beyond this, no other details are currently available, including whether or not the game will make it outside of Japan. However, since the game is coming out later this year, we’re likely to hear more soon. In the mean time, be sure to check out the teaser site! And remember that if this isn’t the Tales title you were looking for, the long list of trademarked names suggests that there are many many more to come.
