Around last year, an anime titled Tales of Zestiria: Doushi no Yoake was released to promote an upcoming JRPG of the same name. Tales of Zestiria comes from a long line of games each with their unique characters, world and story setting. The only similarities they have with one another is the "Tales" part of the title. Aside from that, every Tales game has a similar feel when it comes to mechanics like exploration and combat. It's a tradition for Tales games to have an anime intro and Zestiria is no exception. Here is the opening for your viewing pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VJncoVWMZA
The English release also had the same intro but it was missing a vital part of the Japanese version, the vocals.
Images
The intro does seem a little misleading in terms of the anime. It's because the anime was just a one-shot episode to promote the game. It is however the same intro that is used if you happen to purchase and play the game itself. The intro is similar to most anime where you get a brief tease of what's to come as the story progresses. We have the main protagonist Sorey donning clothes similar to that of the fabled Shepherd, a legend that's said to save the world from evil. The animation is quite clean and modern though you detect that there is a sense of gloom in the color scheme to make things a bit more dramatic and serious.
Alongside Sorey is Mikleo who he considers family. Mikleo is a Seraph, a race considered as myth by many of the common folk as not everyone is able to encounter one. A dragon also appears in the video which is a major factor in the story and game and is especially noticeable in the logo.
From here on, we see different locations and different characters that Sorey and Mikleo will encounter throughout their adventure. All the main protagonists appear in the intro like Rose, Edna, Zaveid, Dezel and of course Alisha Diphda (who was featured in the anime). The intro also shows a bit about the fighting style and weapon preferences of each character. One of the most noticeable in the intro is the ability of Mikleo to merge and transform with the other characters, a feature also in-game.
Music
The music is an ode to classic rock－there's a simple but powerful rock beat to set introduce a somewhat grim and serious setting. The intro makes great use of background voices as well as the electric guitar and the organ. All this mixed with a strong drum beat plus great vocals really sets a good first impression for both the anime and the game. It is weird how the developers opted to remove the vocals in the English release. It's likely because there was no translated version made for the international release of the game.
Since Tales of Zestiria is relatively new, we won't be expecting anything new in terms of a new Tales Series. There has been an announcement that the Tales of Zestiria full anime adaptation is set to release in 2016. Anything is possible but it's best to see the episode for yourself and decide if it's enough to get you to buy the game or wait for the anime next year..
