Tales of a Missed Opportunity: Bandai Namco's Remaster Strategy Has Me Scratching My Head
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Jeff ponders Bandai Namco's latest Tales remaster choice, questioning why an already accessible title like Berseria is getting the treatment over beloved classics that are truly lost to time, despite acknowledging the difficulties of remastering old games.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're excitedly cooking up a magical potion, you follow all the steps, but then you accidentally use the wrong eye of newt, and suddenly you've got a slightly less useful, but still technically functional, newt? That's kinda how I'm feeling about Bandai Namco's latest move with their *Tales* series remasters.
Fresh off the heels of *Tales of Xillia Remastered* hitting our modern consoles, Bandai Namco has dropped another bombshell. As reported by Polygon's Paulo Kawanishi, they've announced that *Tales of Berseria Remastered* is set to land on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 27, 2026. Now, don't get me wrong, Berseria is a cracking game – dark, gritty, a proper revenge tale with Velvet Crowe kicking all kinds of therion arse. It even sits as a prequel to *Tales of Zestiria*, which is a neat little connection.
But here's where my wizard hat starts to itch a bit. Bandai Namco has this whole 'Tales of Series - Remastered Project' going on for the series' 30th anniversary, and it's meant to bring classic games to a new generation with some sweet quality-of-life upgrades. And fair play, the first two titles in this initiative, *Tales of Graces F Remastered* and *Tales of Xillia Remastered*, were absolute genius picks. Why? Because, mate, unless you had an old PlayStation 3 (or a Wii for *Graces*), those games were basically locked away in the digital equivalent of a forgotten dusty old chest. Giving them a fresh lick of paint and making them accessible again? That's what this project *should* be all about.
Then comes *Berseria*. Now, as much as I adore Velvet and her journey, *Berseria* isn't exactly a hidden gem from a forgotten era. It launched on PS3 in Japan in 2016, then got a PS4 version later that year, and hit PC in 2017. You can still snap it up on Steam during a sale, or just boot up the PS4 version on your PS5 and have a grand old time. It’s accessible, it’s modern enough, and frankly, it wasn’t screaming for a full remaster treatment before a bunch of its older siblings. It feels a bit like polishing a perfectly good, recently used broomstick when you've got a whole shed full of antique, broken-down flying contraptions that could *really* use some love.
Considering the *Tales* series has been going strong since 1995 with *Tales of Phantasia* on the Super Famicom, there’s a treasure trove of games that are genuinely hard to play nowadays, and would benefit massively from Bandai Namco's time, energy, and coin. Top of that list, without a shadow of a doubt, is *Tales of the Abyss*. Seriously, if you ask any self-respecting JRPG fan for their 'best Tales games' list, Luke fon Fabre’s epic adventure will be right up there, probably fighting for the top spot. But to play it? You need a Nintendo 3DS or a PlayStation 2. We're talking about hardware that's become a collector's item for some, or just plain tricky to connect to a modern TV for others. That's a true 'lost to time' classic if ever there was one.
And what about giving some proper historical context for newer players? Imagine a full-blown remaster of *Tales of Phantasia*, the one that started it all. That would be a proper homage to the series' roots, letting a whole new audience see where the magic began. Other publishers, like Square Enix with their *Dragon Quest* series, are doing similar things, showing off their heritage. It's not just about nostalgia; it's about preserving gaming history.
Now, I'm not entirely naive. I know that bringing old games back isn't as simple as waving a magic wand. As Polygon's article points out, Yusuke Tomizawa, the *Tales* IP's general producer, explained at Tokyo Game Show 2025 that finding and analysing the original data for these old games is a monumental task. "It's a bit embarrassing," he apparently said, "but since there were multiple different development studios working on the series over the years, we have to find the original data first. And when we do find it, it can be full of gaps, which takes months of analysis to deal with." Lost code, scattered assets... it's a developer's nightmare. We've heard similar tales of woe, like the original *Final Fantasy Tactics* code being lost to the ether.
So, while I totally get the technical hurdles and the sheer effort involved, it still begs the question: if you're going to put in all that wizardry, why not focus it on the titles that *truly* need it? The ones that are practically impossible to play today, rather than giving a shiny new coat of paint to a game that's already looking pretty spiffy and readily available. It’s like discovering an ancient, forgotten scroll with incredible power, and deciding to use it to slightly enhance your favourite spell, instead of translating the other scrolls that could unleash entirely new dimensions. A brilliant project, sure, but a slight misdirection of magic, perhaps?
Here's hoping the next announcement sees Bandai Namco digging deeper into the archives for a real lost treasure. Because *that's* the magic we're all waiting for.
Tags: JRPG, TalesOf, BandaiNamco, GameRemaster, GamingIndustry
Original article: Polygon