text: tales of hearts tales of hearts ( japanese : , hepburn : teiruzu obu hātsu ) is a japanese role - playing game released for the nintendo ds in japan and the playstation vita worldwide . it is the eleventh main entry in the tales series , developed by namco tales studio and published by bandai namco games . the japan - exclusive ds version received two editions : the " anime edition , " featuring cutscenes by production i.g , and the " cg movie edition , " featuring cgi cutscenes created by shirogumi ltd . a remake of the game , tales of hearts r ( , teiruzu obu hātsu āru ) , was released on the vita in march 2013 and later released in western regions in november 2014 . hearts r was also ported to ios and released in japan in october 2013 although it was pulled from the app store on march 31 , 2016 , and therefore no longer available for download . hearts r was developed by 7th chord and includes staff from bandai namco studios . the game follows main protagonist kor meteor after he discovers a woman named kohaku hearts and her brother hisui near his home town . when kohaku is attacked by a mysterious antagonist named incarose and infected by a monster called a xerom , kor attempts to cure her using his soma , an ancient weapon designed to fight xerom . in the process , he ends up shattering kohaku 's spiria , the essence of her heart and emotions , and scattering the pieces across the world . together with hisui , kor sets off with kohaku on a quest to restore her spiria . its characteristic genre name , a concept used extensively in the tales series , is kokoro to deau rpg ( ? , lit . " a meeting between hearts rpg " ) . it represents the game 's central theme of people 's hearts uniting to overcome strife . for hearts r , extra story scenes were created and the genre name was altered to kokoro to deau rpg ( ? , lit . " a new meeting between hearts rpg " ) . hearts began production in the winter of 2006 , during the final development stages of the playstation 2 remake of tales of destiny . it was produced by hideo baba , the former brand manager for the series . though the third title on the ds , it was the first portable title to be developed by namco tales studio . the remake was mostly handled by different development staff , but the writer and character designer both returned to add new content . both versions of the game have received strong sales and highly positive reviews in japan , with the ds version selling 260 , 000 units by 2009 . reviews of the ds version have been positive overall , while western reviews of hearts r have been mixed to positive . gameplay like previous entries in the tales series , tales of hearts is an action role - playing game . the game is split into two main areas : the field map and battlefield arenas triggered upon encountering an enemy . the battle arenas are fully rendered and played out in 2d . characters are rendered outside pre - rendered cutscenes as 2d character sprites against 3d backgrounds . for the original nintendo ds version , the top screen shows the main visuals , while the bottom screen shows the navigation map and other functions . battles are triggered by running into enemy sprites rather than appearing as random encounters . as with previous titles , skits , extra conversations between characters , are available for the player to trigger . the battle system is a variant on the linear motion battle system ( lmbs ) from multiple tales titles : an action - based combat system similar to a fighting game : button commands instantly trigger various attacks and actions , and different attacks string together to form combos . the system used in hearts is called the " combination aerial lmbs " . up to three characters participate in battle , with one controlled by the player and the other two controlled via artificial intelligence . the two ai characters be assigned to perform different actions such as healing or attacking . the " combination " element refers to a special gauge that fills up and can be used to perform special attacks with party members not assigned in battle . a second " emotion " gauge determines how many moves a character can perform : the gauge fills while the character is blocking , and is depleted by performing actions . the lower the gauge is , the lower a character 's defenses are . characters can employ special attacks called " combination blasters , " hearts ' take on the series ' staple mystic artes ( " hi - " in the japanese version ) . defeated enemies drop items and materials that can be used to level up character abilities , with certain combinations of items yielding certain abilities and skills . once enough skills have been learned , a character 's weapon can be upgraded via three separate skill trees , with the abilities and power of the character changing according to the choice of skills beforehand . for the playstation vita remake , the gameplay takes place in 3d environments with fully rendered character models . along with including a fourth ai - controlled character in battle , hearts r uses a redesigned battle system titled the aerial chase linear motion battle system ( called " arc chase " in the japanese version ) . the " chase link " mechanic enables a character to follow an enemy after knocking it into the air and continue a combo attack . by selecting an ally at the right moment , the player character can perform a chase cross attack , while holding down the attack button activates a finishing move . multiple items found in chests scattered across the land can be used in battle ( such as curative items ) and for obstacles and objects in the field areas . multiple elements from the series , including cooking healing recipes , are included . random encounters with enemies on the field are also present . characters level up using soma build points ( sbp ) , with the " soma " being a character 's signature weapon and points causing the soma to evolve , granting new abilities . are assigned to character stat values called parameters , which strengthen different character stats . mystic artes from the original game are carried over , along with new ones . also added are union artes , special attacks unique to a particular character pairing . characters can be assigned special accessories called " combo commands " : activated by a specific set of button presses , the accessory grants a character full access to all their artes for a limited time . plot setting tales of hearts is set on the worlds of organica and minera ( known to organicans as the " white moon " ) , with the events of the story mostly taking place on organica . two millennia before the present day , minera was in a state of war with itself , and organica 's inhabitants were used by the minerans as a food source for organic weapons called . the were designed to attack spirias , the crystalline essence of a person 's emotions , and either destroyed them or infected them with an ailment known as despir . some minerans who sympathized with the organicans ' plight and wishes for peace provided them with weapons to fight off the xerom , called soma . in the present day , after minera was destroyed , the xerom continue to threaten the people of minera and the people who bear and fight the creatures are called . other remnants of the mineran civilization left on the planet include the airship fortress mysticete , mostly known to the organicans as the " forest of thorns " , and , machines with synthetic spirias who acted as guardians to important minerans . during the events of hearts , organica is under the united rule of the maximus empire , which waged a war against the world 's other factions eighteen years before in a conflict called the " unification war " . characters kor meteor a boy with a strong curiosity for the world , kor lives on an isolated island with his grandfather sydan . encountering kohaku and hisui and venturing beyond his town for the first time , his grandfather is killed by incarose . his attempt to save kohaku from an attack of despir unwittingly causes her spiria to shatter , prompting kor to join hisui and kohaku in an effort to restore her . by the end of the game he has developed romantic feelings for kohaku . his name is shing ( ・ , ) in the original japanese . his first name was based on the japanese words " shin " ( 心 ) and " gu " ( ) , which was intended to mean that he " is armed with a heart . " his surname was taken from the english word " meteorite " . kor is voiced by tetsuya . kohaku hearts ( ・ ハーツ , kohaku hātsu , hearts in japanese ) a girl who travels the world with her brother searching for a soma , guided on her quest by lithia . attacked by incarose and infected by a xerom , kor 's attempt to save her ends up shattering her spiria , rendering her virtually emotionless . during the course of the game , she develops romantic feelings for kor . kohaku 's first name is the japanese word for " amber " . her name is alternately translated as " amber hearts " . kohaku is voiced by marina inoue . hisui hearts ( ・ ハーツ , hisui hātsu ) kohaku 's older brother . because of the circumstances of their mother 's death , he is overprotective of his sister . he is initially distant and cold towards kor because of the latter 's actions with kohaku , but gradually comes around . hisui 's first name is the japanese word for " jade " . his name is alternately translated as " hearts " . hisui is voiced by masaya . ines lorenzen ( ・ , , innes lorenz in japanese ) a woman who is the manager and sole employee of the transport shop " wanderlust " . possessed of superhuman strength , she initially accompanies the group to help sell her wares . her surname is based on the mineral . ines is voiced by shizuka itō . beryl benito ( ・ , benito ) a girl who ran away from her village to become a court painter , she is easily conned due to her inexperience of the world and prone to be nihilistic . her name is directly drawn from both the eponymous gemstone and the mineral . beryl is voiced by saeko chiba . kunzite ( , ) a guardian knight hidden from the public by those currently using him , he is an ancient machine constructed with functions that mimic and understand human emotions , giving him the equivalent of a heart . he was created as 's guardian . his name is one of the names for spodumene . kunzite is voiced by . chalcedony akerman ( ・ , , in japanese ) the leader of the crystal knights , chalcedony has been a skilled swordsman from childhood , and is initially antagonistic towards the protagonists . originally a non - player character ( npc ) in hearts , he is included as a playable character in hearts r. chalcedony is voiced by hiroshi kamiya . gall gruner ( ・ , , in japanese ) a veteran somatic who joins kor 's group in the hope of destroying the . he became a master after his wife and daughter were killed by , and becomes attached to kohaku as she reminds him of his daughter . initially cold and distant , he begins to show a lighter side while traveling with the group . gall is voiced by hideo ishikawa . story note : aside from the addition of gall and chalcedony 's presence in the late section of the game , the plots of hearts and hearts r are the same . kor meteor , a young man living on a remote island with his grandfather sydan and being trained as a somatic , encounters kohaku and hisui hearts outside his village : they are fleeing from the female mechanoid incarose and are seeking a soma . after finding one on the island , the island is attacked by incarose and a group of xerom . during the conflict , sydan is fatally injured by incarose and kohaku is infected with despir . despite his inexperience , kor enters kohaku to destroy the infection . while there , he encounters a mineran called lithia , who has been using kohaku as a host . sensing a hostile presence inside kor during an angry outburst from him , lithia causes kohaku 's spiria to shatter : aside from one fragment , the pieces are scattered across the world . feeling responsible , kor chooses to go with hisui to restore kohaku 's spiria . during their quest , they are joined by somatic gall , ines , beryl , kunzite , and reluctantly chalcedony : through their early encounters with him , they become involved in a conflict between the maximus empire 's military and religious authorities . they are also opposed by silver , the head of a rebel militant group who wants to use mineran technology to topple the empire and create a new world order . they eventually arrive at the fortress mysticete , where they retrieve the final piece from silver and are forced to kill him when he fuses with a xerom . it is then revealed that kor holds the consciousness of creed graphite , a hostile mineran and incarose 's master , within him . creed and , within their respective hosts , briefly do battle , but the effort on lithia 's part breaks a seal containing their physical forms , allowing the two minerans to return to them . the group escape mysticete with lithia , who explains that in an effort to stop the warring on minera , creed , lithia and her sister fluora created gardenia , a xerom capable of remotely absorbing spirias . though intended to quell violent thoughts in the population , gardenia went berserk when activated and absorbed every spiria on minera , the planet . fluora used herself to seal gardenia away , and when creed attempted to free fluora , lithia interfered , causing both to be separated from their physical forms : since then , they have been living in hosts and battling each other for two millennia . creed , who still believes the minerans are alive within gardenia , intends to undo fluora 's work and rebuilding minera at the cost of organica and its people . in the aftermath , kohaku and kor find out how lithia and creed ended up inside them : eighteen years before , creed and lithia were respectively in the bodies of zirconia , then - ruler of the maximus empire , and iola hearts , kohaku 's mother . iola faced zirconia with a group of that included sydan and kor 's mother kardia , who was then carrying him . during their final battle , iola 's spiria was shattered , forcing lithia to transfer herself into the unborn kohaku 's spiria , and creed was forced to abandon his host , leaving zirconia emotionally scarred . creed attempted to possess kardia 's child , but with help from the unborn kor , she succeeded in sealing creed away with kor 's help at the cost of her spiria . though kor is initially disheartened by these revelations , kohaku helps bring him round . with creed controlling mysticete and xerom attacking people across the planet , the group , along with and , manage to unite the disputing factions of the maximus empire . with the world now united against the xerom , they set off to find the means of turning chalcedony 's wing - based soma into an airship for their use . in gathering the final component inside an active volcano , incarose attacks them and the group are forced to leave and to die . after this , lithia is shown to be dying , as her spiria is in a severely weakened condition , but she resolves to live until her mission is complete . during their first assault on mysticete , the group are repelled and end up on minera . finding their way to a transport tower that can take them to gardenia , they have a final confrontation with incarose , who is defeated and forced to provide the power for their journey at the cost of her life . reaching gardenia , the two are unable to prevent creed from freeing fluora and activating gardenia . gardenia instantly absorbs fluora , and creed fuses with it in an attempt to gain control over it . when he is defeated , kor and kohaku , together with his friends and the still - living mineran spirias , destroy gardenia , then escape as creed dies with gardenia . after learning that the minerans have a chance of being reborn , kunzite saves the dying lithia by sealing her inside his spiria and entering a comatose state . after this , the rest of the group return to kor 's home village , where kor and kohaku confirm their love for each other . development hearts began development in the winter of 2006 , while debugging was being performed on the playstation 2 remake of tales of destiny , though active development did not begin until spring the following year . the production was headed by hideo baba , producing his first original tales game , and the development team was made up of members from both " team symphonia " ( the team behind 3d entries in the series ) and " team destiny " ( responsible for 2d titles ) . multiple development assets were borrowed from the destiny remake for use in hearts . the earliest form of the game was as a ds remake of destiny . the game 's characteristic genre name , a recurring feature of the series in japan , was kokoro to deau rpg ( ? , lit . " a meeting between hearts rpg " ) , which represented the core theme of people 's hearts meeting and uniting to overcome difficulties in their lives . the characters were designed by regular tales series designer mutsumi inomata . inomata worked on the designs while she was also working on character designs for tales of innocence , and found it hard working on both titles at once . the characters ' names were inspired by various ores and gemstones . more conventional names were repeatedly suggested and rejected . despite being the third tales title on the nintendo ds after tales of the tempest and innocence , it was the first to be produced by namco tales studio , and thus it was an unusual experience for the development team . according to director naoto , one of the most difficult aspects was creating a suitable interface and fitting the game 's content on the limited hardware , which required a trial - and - error programming process . during the early phases , the team considered ways of using the ds touch screen during battles , but this was eventually scrapped and the final game made little to no use of the feature . production i.g created the anime cutscenes , while shirogumi ltd created cgi cutscenes for a separate edition of the game . the cgi cutscenes were worked on by a three - person team , including company director manabu : the three worked closely with the development team to make sure the cutscenes fit properly into the game , and that they did justice to inomata 's character designs despite the different animation style . one issue they had was lip - synching dialog to the cgi character models . the main reason behind the creation of cgi cutscenes was that the team wanted to try something new , attempting to sell two versions of the games . hearts was released as two separate game editions : the " anime edition " , featuring the cutscenes by production i.g , and " cg movie edition " , using the shirogumi cutscenes . after release , it was determined that the cgi cutscenes were less popular with fans . speaking to siliconera after the game 's release , baba said that it was the tales game he most wanted western players to try out , due to its story and technical achievements . hearts r hearts r was primarily developed by japan - based developer 7th chord , with staff from in - house development studio bandai namco studios helping with development . the game was a complete remake of hearts , featuring full voice acting for the main scenario , new playable characters , 3d graphics and over ten new anime cutscenes created by production i.g. in addition to the " anime edition " cutscenes already present . due to the poor reception of the " cg edition " by the fanbase , it was decided not to use cgi cutscenes again . it was given an altered genre name : kokoro to deau rpg ( ? , lit . " a new meeting between hearts rpg " ) . the staff of the game also had differences : hironori naoi replaced as director , while takashi ( also known under the alias " ryuji " ) and mika murakita produced the game in place of baba . inomata returned as character designer . the concept behind hearts r was to leave the base story and theme intact while building on and improving it , using the development of innocence r as a template . it was developed alongside innocence r , and many staff overlapped on the projects . naoi joined the team in early 2012 , after finishing work on tales of the heroes : twin brave , and was the principle developer for the new combat system . in the middle of development , the " chase link " system was added based on a similar gameplay mechanic from innocence r. naoki , the scenario writer for hearts , returned to co - write the extra story content with maeda . for the rebuilt battle system , the team were asked by baba to create a sense of speed when compared with the original . along with the gameplay and story additions , two new playable characters were introduced : chalcedony and new character gall gruner . chalcedony , originally an antagonist in hearts , was included in the playable cast to fully explore the character 's relationship with kor . gall was originally conceived as a woman , but at a suggestion from murakita for a mature leader figure for the group , gall was changed to a man . 's design was based on a picture of wearing sunglasses . the narrative connection to innocence r was initially unplanned , but positive fan reception prompted the team to add it in . audio heart 's soundtrack was composed by veteran tales composer motoi sakuraba , hiroshi tamura and shinji tamura ( as hibiki aoyama ) . the official soundtrack album , tales of hearts original soundtrack , was published by bmg japan on two compact discs on december 10 , 2008 . in addition to the original soundtrack , a special disc of selected arranged tracks titled tales of hearts cg movie edition visual & original soundtrack dvd was released alongside the " cg movie edition " of the game . reviews of the soundtrack have been mixed . rpgfan 's patrick gann both called it the best soundtrack of the three ds tales games and a weaker soundtrack than the console - based tales games . max nevill of game - ost was also mixed , feeling that the album was too much like previous tales scores by sakuraba . some tracks did please him , but he noted that some might not find them to their taste . the music featured in hearts r was re - arranged and added to by kazuhiro nakamura and sakuraba . the game 's theme song , " eien no ashita " ( , " eternal tomorrow " ) , was written and performed by japanese rock band deen , who had previously performed the theme song for the original version of destiny . the single reached 6th place in the oricon charts during its first week of release and remained in the charts for eight weeks . both gann and nevill praised the song and the multiple versions found in the soundtrack : nevill called it " a charismatic and emotional rock ballad " , while gann referred to it as " a great opening single " . release in order to compete against square enix 's playstation portable exclusive dissidia final fantasy , which was releasing on the same day as hearts , the company heavily promoted the game at several events and offered multiple pre - order bonuses for buyers . the original version of hearts has not been released in the west , and a fan translation for this version was released in 2009 . hearts r came as both a standard edition and a special edition titled " linked edition " , which included a vita and accessories themed after the game . first print copies of hearts r gave access to a special downloadable game called tales of hearts r : infinite evolve . rendered in the same graphic style as hearts , it is a game separate from the main story with an exponentially increasing difficulty level . at release , dlc outfits for the characters were created themed around " idol " , " school " , " maid " and " butler " . another set was based around protagonists from previous tales games . hearts r was also ported to and released on ios mobile devices in october 2013 exclusively in japan . vita version speculation about the existence of hearts r started back in early 2012 . the game was first teased during the credits of innocence r , with both a post - credits message saying " to be continued to next re - imagination " , and artwork in certain dungeons featuring scenes and characters from both hearts and tempest . this caused speculation as to whether the next remake was tempest , hearts or both . hearts r was officially announced in weekly shōnen jump in october 2012 . the localization of the title was originally unplanned , but during heavy promotion of the tales series in europe and north america alongside the domestic release of innocence r and hearts r , there were multiple requests from the western fanbase to bring the titles west : as hearts r was the most recent title , it was chosen for localization . the localization was officially announced in april 2014 . unlike previous localizations , the game remained with japanese voice acting , but with subtitles in multiple languages . this decision was influenced both by limited space on the vita cartridge and fan requests for the original japanese voice track . the north american physical release was exclusive to video game retail line gamestop . it also received a digital release on playstation store . for its european release , a special day - one " soma linked edition " was created : it featured three costumes from tales of vesperia . the edition also included a code to enter a competition for five autographed japanese collector 's editions of hearts r , which would include a special congratulatory video from baba and a personalized case featuring the winner 's name . pre - order downloadable content in the form of character costumes was also created . the costume dlc was also made available in north america from selected stores . the stores also had a limited digital release of the game alongside the physical release . hearts r is compatible with the playstation tv . media adaptations hearts r received a manga adaptation of the same name . the manga was eventually collected into a single volume and released under the title tales of hearts r comic anthology ( テイルズ オブ ハーツ r コミックアンソロジー , teiruzu obu hātsu r komikku ansorojī ) on 25 june 2013 . an official strategy guide , tales of hearts r official complete guide ( テイルズ オブ , teiruzu obu hātsu r kōshiki konpurīto gaido ) , was released on 14 march 2013 . five audio dramas based on hearts were produced after the release of the official soundtrack , released under the general name of tales of hearts drama cd ( テイルズ オブ ハーツ , teiruzu obu hātsu dorama cd ) . reception nintendo ds bandai namco had high expectations for hearts , preparing shipments of 400 , 000 units , based on previous high sales they had for innocence . during its week of release , hearts reached fourth place in famitsu 's sales charts and fifth place in dengeki 's . it sold 137 , 000 units in its week of release , more than innocence in a similar period : the " anime edition " accounted for 122 , 000 units , while the " cg movie " edition sold 15 , 000 . according to famitsu , hearts sold a slightly higher 140 , 000 units in its first week . by the end of the year , both versions of the game together had sold 176 , 526 units , placing # 72 in famitsu 's list of 2008 's 100 best - selling titles . as of 2009 , the game has sold 260 , 000 units . famitsu gave the game 33 / 40 points from four reviewers . they praised the battles as being " plain fun " , there being " a ton of volume to the story " and both the anime and cg cutscenes . their main criticism was that there was little difference between the two versions besides the cutscenes . japanese gaming site game watch impress was greatly positive about most aspects , saying it would fully satisfy fans of the series despite some elements falling below expectations for the series . andrew barker of rpgfan , reviewing an imported version of the " anime edition " of hearts , was highly positive : he praised the story for straying from the normal course of a tales narrative , called the graphics " outstanding " , the music " excellent " , and was generally positive about the battle system and graphic presentation . it was also awarded the site 's " editor 's choice " award . playstation vita hearts r also did well commercially in japan , selling 55 , 258 copies in its first week , outselling previous vita tales title innocence r. the title sold 75 , 049 units by june that year , ranking among japan 's fifty top - selling games of that year . famitsu ranked hearts r a little higher than the original , giving it 34 / 40 : they cited the battles as being " more exciting " than in hearts , and generally praised the additions to the story . they also praised the graphical overhaul , calling it " a true tales at the core . " dengeki playstation also praised the game , with the four reviewers giving it scores of 80 , 85 , 90 and 93 . praise went to the fully voiced main scenario , the new playable characters and aspects of the battle system . the main criticisms were " flat " graphics and other elements of the battle system such as the lack of character support and companion ai . western reviews of the title have been mixed to positive : review aggregate sites gamerankings and metacritic gave it scores of 76 . 77 % and 77 / 100 based on 22 and 23 critic reviews respectively . the gameplay was a general point of praise . rpgfan 's john mccarroll said that its various elements " tie together to provide a cohesive battle experience that 's quite enjoyable " despite him finding it inferior to tales of graces , and destructoid 's kyle macgregor said that the experience " can be quite fun " . hardcore gamer 's adam beck said that the combat " works perfectly on the handheld system " , while kimberley wallace of game informer said that the pace and various features " help keep [ the battles ] exciting . " andrew fitch of electronic gaming monthly was more mixed about the gameplay , citing the combat as a less smooth experience compared to previous tales titles and being annoyed at the reintroduction of random encounters , a feature not present in the original hearts . the story received a generally mixed response . beck found the characters to be a mixed assortment , being particularly unimpressed with kohaku 's condition through most of the game and stating that her awkward romance with kor " almost feels forced " . wallace referred to the storyline as " cheesy and campy " , stating that it didn 't impress her despite it not being taken very seriously . mccarrol was unimpressed by the story or the cast , while macgregor cited the story as " a slow - burn " , though commenting that the cast succeeded in seeming like real people rather than character archetypes . in contrast with the other reviewers , fitch generally enjoyed the story , calling it one of the stronger casts and narratives of recent tales titles . the localization received some criticism over discrepancies between the english text and japanese dialogue , with fitch describing it as " written with an ultimately canceled english dub in mind " , and mccarrol citing the renaming of some characters despite the presence of the original japanese as a downside . macgregor , while not minding the setup , was concerned that the lack of an english option would cause controversy . todd ciolek of anime news network listed the game as the second most overlooked title from 2014 , stating that its release mediums and close proximity to the release of tales of xillia 2 hampered its notability .