Tales of Destiny

About

Tales of Destiny is a PlayStation-era RPG that swaps fast-paced action for strategic turn-based battles. You control the main hero in side-scrolling combat scenes that feel closer to a beat-em-up than a typical menu-driven fight. While your party members act on their own, you can pause anytime to tweak their tactics. The story follows Stahn Aileron, a farm boy who stows away on a skyship, only to find himself in a fight for survival after a mysterious sword with a personality joins his side. Exploration and dialogue drive the plot, with branching choices affecting your journey through a world split between skybound elites and surface-dwelling outcasts. The game’s combat system stands out for its hybrid approach, letting you mix timing-based attacks with traditional RPG commands. The narrative weaves in sci-fi elements like alien energy sources and a generational conflict between two human factions. Though it predates modern multiplayer RPGs, its co-op mode allows a friend to join in, sharing the screen as you tackle quests together. With a runtime of around 40 hours and a cult following, it’s a niche title that still holds up for fans of tactical RPGs with a distinct visual style.

Storyline

In the past, a comet crashed into the world, throwing dust clouds into the sky and shrouding the world in cold and darkness. At about the same time, the inhabitants, the Aethers, discovered a new form of energy from the meteorite's core, which they named Lens. Combining this with further research, the people were able to create cities in the sky and live in them. Unfortunately, only a select few were chosen, leaving the rest of the people to remain on the bleak surface of the planet. These people became known as the Erthers. The story of the game begins when country-boy-turned-adventurer Stahn Aileron, who seeks fame and adventure, sneaks aboard the flying ship Draconis as a stowaway. He is found out by the crew and forced to work as a deckhand, but when a large hostile force attacks the ship, the crew is overwhelmed and Stahn breaks free during the ensuing chaos. Looking for a usable weapon to fend off the attackers, he gains access to a storeroom and discovers a "junk" sword. However, the sword starts talking to him, calling itself Dymlos and claiming to be a sentient Swordian from the Aeth'er Wars. Armed with Dymlos, Stahn fights his way to an escape pod, which he uses to escape the rapidly descending ship before it crashes into the ground.