Coliseum

Map of the Arena from Tales of Phantasia.

The Coliseum, sometimes called the Arena (闘技場, Tougijou^?), is a recurring feature in the Tales series. Cameo appearances of characters from other games in the series being able to be fought is one of the coliseum's trademark qualities, along with obtaining high-level equipment.

Description

Coliseums are a staple of the series, being featured in nearly all Original Titles to date. The involvement is usually secondary to the storyline, and the player can participate if they choose to do so. Coliseum participation is typically divided into at least two modes: single-competitor and team-competitor. Single-competitor mode has the player choose one character to fight all the battles, whereas team-competitor mode allows the player to select a team of characters to fight, such as is done with a normal battle party. In both modes, the competitors selected cannot be changed until after the competition is won or lost. In most cases, losing does not result in "Game Over". After completing a mode, a prize that can either be valuable or exclusive to the coliseum is won. These prizes sometimes include powerful weapons and armor.