Tales of Destiny 2

About

Tales of Destiny 2 is a sequel in the long-running Tales series that keeps its real-time action combat smooth and responsive. You play as Kyle, a teen eager to live up to his father’s legend, who gets dragged into a cosmic conflict involving a secretive religious group and time travel. Combat mixes quick melee and magic attacks with a stamina system that adds pacing, plus deep customization for gear and abilities. The story threads tie back to earlier games but stands on its own with personal stakes and a mix of earnest heroics and quirky supporting characters. The game’s art style is polarizing, characters have elongated limbs and flashy outfits that either charm or confuse. Still, some designs from the game rank among the series’ most beloved, showing up in later media. Full-body portraits in cutscenes and skits add a new layer of expressiveness, even if the writing leans into the earnest, sometimes awkward tone the series is known for. Released in 2002, it runs on PlayStation 2 and later PSP, with co-op multiplayer for a few battles. It has a small but dedicated fanbase, with some RPG communities citing it as one of the more memorable entries in the franchise.

Storyline

The story follows Kyle Dunamis, a young boy with dreams of becoming a great hero like his father Stahn, the hero of the first game. When Kyle sets off one day to the local ruins with his adopted brother Loni, hoping to land an enormous lens that will help to fund his mother Rutee's orphanage, he crosses paths with Reala, a mysterious girl who claims to be searching for a hero. Kyle's determination to prove himself the very same hero that Reala is searching for leads him into conflict with the seemingly benevolent Fortuna Sect, and sends him on a wild journey across time that brings him into contact with many prominent figures from the first game. The skits that the series is now well known for make a return as well, with characters represented in these sequences by full body portraits for the first time in the series. These portraits, along with the rest of the game's character art, are handled by Mutsumi Inomata, returning to the series after her work on Destiny and Eternia. Inomata's distinctive style, easily identifiable by her character's long, slender limbs and unconventional fashion, is not to all tastes, but several of the game's characters have enjoyed enduring popularity among series fans, ranking within official listings of the series' most popular characters, and making appearances across other media.