Approx length: The Main Story arc of 'Recollection' takes around five hours in total, a little more if you also watch optional content like the short stories.
Where to find it: TimeFactor uploaded the whole main story to YouTube, while 'Recollection' starts here (recommended to skip the "Origin Regression" event if you're a newcomer). The official YouTube channel also has the story up, but it misses the non-main story parts (like short stories and events) and also removed audio voice, so the former is encouraged to be used instead*.
If you don't speak Japanese, this arc was also translated by FeatherSnek in her public Discord server. Here is the invite. There is no channel signaling people who enter, so feel free to just drop by and read through the translation channels (though if you do end up liking what you are reading, we would be very happy to chat about it!). The story channel is also up for questions (as well as Feather themselves, through Discord or social media like Twitter or Tumblr, if you're shy).
*The game ended its service after seven years this past summer, having finished the story, so don't worry about legality concerns with the videos being uploaded: BanNam is not making money of it anymore so they don't care.
What is it, in summary?:
If someone makes a copy of yourself, is that copy still "you"? How would you react if you saw someone who you loved but is supposed to be dead, or if that what was meant to kill you was no longer in effect? What if you were resurrected into the body of someone you detest, or if you were brought back but could do nothing but watch? What if you gave your memories up and turned yourself into a martyr to keep the world alive? How much would still be yourself? Would you even be alive?
And what if the only way to stop the world's destruction was to turn to other worlds and make copies from them instead? Would a Frankenstein-like world like that even deserve to exist? Could it ever be recognized as a true world and not as a mere lie?
Tir Na Nog, the world of Tales of the Rays, is built upon copying the contents of other worlds through a process called exoflection, then processing them and adapting them through another process called encoding. This provides the Aegis barrier with the very much needed chiral particles made from anima that it needs to be repaired and prevent the world from being erased.
Under these guidelines, the hero and heroine Ix and Mileena start using their powers as mirrists to exoflect worlds and save theirs. These exoflections end up making copies of its habitants as well, granting a different life and sometimes a second chance to the nexuses: many known faces that Tales fans will recognize from other games.
(And it's a very fic-friendly story for this reason! But this post is about the original story rather than the crossover aspect. I'm also focusing on the sequel so, after this brief introduction, let's move on)
“This is a tale about weaving memories. Your Tale – proof that even if everything is lost, the memories engraved in our hearts will never disappear.”
This is the first thing the narrator of 'Recollection' says.
'Recollection' is the formal arc-sequel to Tales of the Rays. Rather than continuing where things left of, because the main conflict was already resolved, the arc is set two hundred years into the future and features a whole new cast and story.
In it, Neo-Eidyia's kingdom is all what remains of the once prosperous world of Tir Na Nog and its habitants, and the Aegis now protects its capital, Idavoll. It's all due to the attacks of mysterious entities called Wraiths that suddenly appeared two hundred years prior, destroying everything else while people could do nothing but watch.
Only the Reaper Knights have the power to harm Wraiths, but they are vastly outnumbered. The situation is dire and, upon a discovery, the main party starts considering an idea. What if they used the Chronos pillar, which has the power of the spirit of time, to turn back on time and fix the problem of the Wraiths at its source? Of course, the possibility of going back in time causes them to be confronted with a question that soon divides them: changing the future means they could stop existing. Would you give up the past to save your future?
What do you love about it?:
If you have ever heard of the Tales of franchise, chances are that you did it by playing through either the classic Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Abyss. In which case, I have good news! The main scriptwriter behind those entries was also behind this game and, in my opinion, you can tell: there are a lot of similarities in themes and she has a very distinctive writing style.
'Recollection' is a very complete story. It's clear it was well planned and plotted from the start, without being cut short or dragged on for longer than it should, as it happens to many games in mobile format. Unlike the first arc of the main story of Tales of the Rays, which took its time to set up the world first, the plot in 'Recollection' is engaging from the very beginning and has a quick start--The introduction of this new cast involves them attacking the former protagonist of the game, and the scene leaves an intense impression.
Much like with the main story of Tales of the Rays, the characters in 'Recollection' are very nuanced. All of them have their personalities and motivations driving them forward, and they mash well with each other as a group, leading to a lot of different relationship dynamics. As someone who has played a lot of Tales of games, it was quite a surprise to find such quality writing in a mobile game of all places, one that had nothing to envy to many mainline entries. There are a lot of revelations and twists that you can't see coming or, if you do, the conclusion is also completely different.
Nothing in Tales of the Rays was ever what it looked like at first glance: it wasn't for what was seen during most of the first arc, and that applies to 'Recollection' as well: the Wraiths suddenly start taking the shape of people, the Death Star power that's used to combat them actually comes from the mysterious Baldr M., neither Kodama nor Elnath remember their pasts, and you soon realize there are too many missing puzzle pieces in this "Rainbow Night" when the Wraiths first appeared...
If you like fantasy worlds with elaborated worldbuilding, intriguing plots and entertaining characters, even if you are not familiar with Tales of the Rays or even Tales of yet, this might be for you!
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Genfic: character studies, canon divergences, what-ifs, post-canon continuations,... There's also a lot of ship potential too, though I am not going to ask for it myself.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:
'Recollection' is exactly that! Because it's set centuries into the future and the main cast is different, you can watch through 'Recollection' without being familiar with Tales of the Rays and even Tales of as a whole. It's true that the story rewards you for having read through the previous four arcs, just like those arcs also rewarded you for being familiar with the nexuses (Tales characters from other games), but it's also easy to jump in right into 'Recollection' without knowing of the main story: It’s self-contained enough and the original cast, as well as the crossover characters, don't have much of a role. There was also a dictionary in-game, and the narrator sometimes pauses to give a short explanation of story and terms.
Tales of does this sometimes: Tales of Phantasia is a distant sequel of Tales of Symphonia; Tales of Berseria is a distant prequel of Tales of Zestiria, etc. They are better experienced when you have played everything in the same universe, but it's not a requisite: even for direct sequels like Tales of Xillia and Tales of Xillia 2, the latter made the effort of giving you options in the main menu to explain the story and terms.
The main character suffers from discrimination due to being a Wastelander, people who have been pushed to migrate due to their countries being destroyed by Wraiths that now live in colonies near the capital. They carry the prejudice and superstitions, such as the perception that they take up on resources or the belief that their presence attracts Wraiths.
There is also violence, as the Wraiths mutilate, infect (phantom disease) and kill people, and part of the main cast also lost parts of their bodies on Wraith attacks, but neither of this is ever shown in a graphic manner on-screen.
Outside of mentioning that, I can't think of anything that merits a big warning.
Tales of the Rays Recollection
Official page (it looks to be heavily MTL'd, however).
(Game's Opening on YouTube)
Media: Mobile J-RPG.
Approx length: The Main Story arc of 'Recollection' takes around five hours in total, a little more if you also watch optional content like the short stories.
Where to find it: TimeFactor uploaded the whole main story to YouTube, while 'Recollection' starts here (recommended to skip the "Origin Regression" event if you're a newcomer). The official YouTube channel also has the story up, but it misses the non-main story parts (like short stories and events) and also removed audio voice, so the former is encouraged to be used instead*.
If you don't speak Japanese, this arc was also translated by FeatherSnek in her public Discord server. Here is the invite. There is no channel signaling people who enter, so feel free to just drop by and read through the translation channels (though if you do end up liking what you are reading, we would be very happy to chat about it!). The story channel is also up for questions (as well as Feather themselves, through Discord or social media like Twitter or Tumblr, if you're shy).
*The game ended its service after seven years this past summer, having finished the story, so don't worry about legality concerns with the videos being uploaded: BanNam is not making money of it anymore so they don't care.
What is it, in summary?:
If someone makes a copy of yourself, is that copy still "you"?
How would you react if you saw someone who you loved but is supposed to be dead, or if that what was meant to kill you was no longer in effect?
What if you were resurrected into the body of someone you detest, or if you were brought back but could do nothing but watch?
What if you gave your memories up and turned yourself into a martyr to keep the world alive? How much would still be yourself? Would you even be alive?
And what if the only way to stop the world's destruction was to turn to other worlds and make copies from them instead? Would a Frankenstein-like world like that even deserve to exist? Could it ever be recognized as a true world and not as a mere lie?
Tir Na Nog, the world of Tales of the Rays, is built upon copying the contents of other worlds through a process called exoflection, then processing them and adapting them through another process called encoding. This provides the Aegis barrier with the very much needed chiral particles made from anima that it needs to be repaired and prevent the world from being erased.
Under these guidelines, the hero and heroine Ix and Mileena start using their powers as mirrists to exoflect worlds and save theirs. These exoflections end up making copies of its habitants as well, granting a different life and sometimes a second chance to the nexuses: many known faces that Tales fans will recognize from other games.
(And it's a very fic-friendly story for this reason! But this post is about the original story rather than the crossover aspect. I'm also focusing on the sequel so, after this brief introduction, let's move on)
“This is a tale about weaving memories. Your Tale – proof that even if everything is lost, the memories engraved in our hearts will never disappear.”
This is the first thing the narrator of 'Recollection' says.
'Recollection' is the formal arc-sequel to Tales of the Rays. Rather than continuing where things left of, because the main conflict was already resolved, the arc is set two hundred years into the future and features a whole new cast and story.
In it, Neo-Eidyia's kingdom is all what remains of the once prosperous world of Tir Na Nog and its habitants, and the Aegis now protects its capital, Idavoll. It's all due to the attacks of mysterious entities called Wraiths that suddenly appeared two hundred years prior, destroying everything else while people could do nothing but watch.
Only the Reaper Knights have the power to harm Wraiths, but they are vastly outnumbered. The situation is dire and, upon a discovery, the main party starts considering an idea. What if they used the Chronos pillar, which has the power of the spirit of time, to turn back on time and fix the problem of the Wraiths at its source? Of course, the possibility of going back in time causes them to be confronted with a question that soon divides them: changing the future means they could stop existing. Would you give up the past to save your future?
What do you love about it?:
If you have ever heard of the Tales of franchise, chances are that you did it by playing through either the classic Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Abyss. In which case, I have good news! The main scriptwriter behind those entries was also behind this game and, in my opinion, you can tell: there are a lot of similarities in themes and she has a very distinctive writing style.
'Recollection' is a very complete story. It's clear it was well planned and plotted from the start, without being cut short or dragged on for longer than it should, as it happens to many games in mobile format. Unlike the first arc of the main story of Tales of the Rays, which took its time to set up the world first, the plot in 'Recollection' is engaging from the very beginning and has a quick start--The introduction of this new cast involves them attacking the former protagonist of the game, and the scene leaves an intense impression.
Much like with the main story of Tales of the Rays, the characters in 'Recollection' are very nuanced. All of them have their personalities and motivations driving them forward, and they mash well with each other as a group, leading to a lot of different relationship dynamics. As someone who has played a lot of Tales of games, it was quite a surprise to find such quality writing in a mobile game of all places, one that had nothing to envy to many mainline entries. There are a lot of revelations and twists that you can't see coming or, if you do, the conclusion is also completely different.
Nothing in Tales of the Rays was ever what it looked like at first glance: it wasn't for what was seen during most of the first arc, and that applies to 'Recollection' as well: the Wraiths suddenly start taking the shape of people, the Death Star power that's used to combat them actually comes from the mysterious Baldr M., neither Kodama nor Elnath remember their pasts, and you soon realize there are too many missing puzzle pieces in this "Rainbow Night" when the Wraiths first appeared...
If you like fantasy worlds with elaborated worldbuilding, intriguing plots and entertaining characters, even if you are not familiar with Tales of the Rays or even Tales of yet, this might be for you!
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Genfic: character studies, canon divergences, what-ifs, post-canon continuations,... There's also a lot of ship potential too, though I am not going to ask for it myself.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:
'Recollection' is exactly that! Because it's set centuries into the future and the main cast is different, you can watch through 'Recollection' without being familiar with Tales of the Rays and even Tales of as a whole. It's true that the story rewards you for having read through the previous four arcs, just like those arcs also rewarded you for being familiar with the nexuses (Tales characters from other games), but it's also easy to jump in right into 'Recollection' without knowing of the main story: It’s self-contained enough and the original cast, as well as the crossover characters, don't have much of a role. There was also a dictionary in-game, and the narrator sometimes pauses to give a short explanation of story and terms.
Tales of does this sometimes: Tales of Phantasia is a distant sequel of Tales of Symphonia; Tales of Berseria is a distant prequel of Tales of Zestiria, etc. They are better experienced when you have played everything in the same universe, but it's not a requisite: even for direct sequels like Tales of Xillia and Tales of Xillia 2, the latter made the effort of giving you options in the main menu to explain the story and terms.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
The main character suffers from discrimination due to being a Wastelander, people who have been pushed to migrate due to their countries being destroyed by Wraiths that now live in colonies near the capital. They carry the prejudice and superstitions, such as the perception that they take up on resources or the belief that their presence attracts Wraiths.
There is also violence, as the Wraiths mutilate, infect (phantom disease) and kill people, and part of the main cast also lost parts of their bodies on Wraith attacks, but neither of this is ever shown in a graphic manner on-screen.
Outside of mentioning that, I can't think of anything that merits a big warning.