Tales of the World: Material Dungeon

Tales of the World: Material Dungeon
Information
Game Systems	Mobile Phone (NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i)
Developers	Namco Tales Studio
Publishers	Bandai Namco Games
Producers	Tsutomu Goda
Directors	Tsutomu Goda
Scenario Writers	•Tsutomu Goda •Akiko Yonemochi
Character Designers	Yuu Shiina
Composers	Motoi Sakuraba
Japanese Releases	January 31, 2008

Tales of the World: Material Dungeon (テイルズ オブ ザ ワールド マテリアルダンジョン, Teiruzu obu za Waarudo: Materiarudanjon^?) is the fourth standalone mobile title, the eight game in the Tales of the World subseries and the seventeenth mainline title overall. It was released on January 31, 2008 in Japan only for mobile cellphones (NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i). Unlike the previous mobile titles that were similar to the Tales title on consoles, Material Dungeon is a full blown dungeon crawler featuring gameplay closer to the Narikiri Dungeon subseries. Like Tales of Commons and Tales of Wahrheit before, the character designs were done by You Shiina. The characteristic genre of the game is "Outfit Change RPG" (着せ替えＲＰＧ, Kisekae RPG^?).

Story

Setting

Arke Village, the protagonists's hometown

In Tales of the World: Material Dungeon, the planet is maintained by four elements called the Roots, which are responsible for the origin of everything that makes up the world. These Roots are sealed inside pendants themselves kept in the Sanctuary of the Guardian Deity, a sacred temple dedicated to the goddess Aither located near Arke Village.

One night, two twins, Rio and Rene, sneak off inside the temple to see the enshrined Guardian Deity when they are attacked by a monster. The two retreats, seeking refuge, they notice the pendants containing the four elements. They then accidentally release the seals, sending the four Roots all around the world. Following this critical turn of events, the siblings, alongside Klotho, a mysterious creature sent to them by the goddess Aither herself, waste no time in setting off to get the pieces back to repair their mistakes and prevent a catastrophe from destroying the world.

Characters

Rio

Rene

Klotho

• Rene (レーネ^?): Rio's twin sister. A cheerful and straightforward girl from Arke Village, she has lived alone with her twin brother Rio since childhood, as their parents were absent from an early age. One night, while sneaking into the Sanctuary of the Guardian Deity, she accidentally breaks the seal of the Pendant of Roots, unleashing a potential disaster upon the continent. To prevent catastrophe, she embarks on a journey to gather the four Elemental Roots.
• Rio (リオ^?): Rene's twin brother known for his calm and composed nature. He often acts as a voice of reason, balancing out Rene’s impulsiveness. Though he joins Rene’s journey out of concern for her, he also sees it as a chance to finally repay her for always looking after him, as he has always struggled with speaking to others.
• Klotho (クロト, Kuroto^?): A mysterious creature summoned by Aitel to accompany Rene and Rio on their journey, it possesses the unique ability to weave Roots elements. While capable of speaking human language, it only does so when alone with Rene, Rio, and Ati. Stubborn and often speaking more than necessary, it has a somewhat endearing personality but becomes noticeably nervous around Ati. It affectionately calls Rene "Ree" and Rio "Rii", staying by their side throughout their adventure.

Other Characters

Ati

Aither

• Ati (アティ^?): A young girl living in Arke Village, she has a gentle and calm personality. Even when she sees Klotho speaking human language, she is unfazed. She has known Rene and Rio since childhood and treats them like family.
• Aither (アイテル, Aiteru^?): The guardian deity enshrined in the Sanctuary of the Guardian Deity in Arke Village, tasked with watching over the world. When Rene and her Rio offered to gather the Roots elements, she entrusted them with Klotho and the pendant. A statue of her stands in the central plaza of Arke Village.

Gameplay

Battle System

Gameplay

Rather than using the gameplay loop introduced byTales of Breaker and used in the following two entries, Tales of the World: Material Dungeon is a dungeon crawler with elements from the Narikiri Dungeon games. The protagonists, Rio and Rene, have the abilities to dress up into several costumes.

Costume System

Promotional Artwork

Taking cues from the preceding Tales of the World titles, Tales of the World: Material Dungeon's gameplay revolves around its costume system. Accompanying the two protagonists is the power to dress in different costumes, each corresponding to a different job, giving them special abilities and techniques. The player can only control one sibling at a time, but they can be switched whenever, allowing the two to have different characteristics, giving rise to new strategies.

Costumes are categorized by classes such as Swordsman and Martial Artist. Finding new pieces of Root allows for more costumes, which can be crafted with the required amount of Root as well as Grades that are reached. Elemental attributes can also be added when embedding with Spirit Stones. Amongst those exists the Legend categories which are legacy outfits based on previous characters such as Mika from Tales of Breaker, Seiun from Tales of Commons or Kalulu from Tales of Wahrheit. A Gilgamesh costume, from the Tower of Druaga series, was also included as a limited DLC.

Version History

Game Title	System	Catalog Number	Release Date	Region
Tales of the World: Material Dungeon テイルズ オブ ザ ワールド マテリアルダンジョン	NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i	-	January 31, 2008	Japan

Gallery

Promotional Artwork

Promotional Artwork

Gameplay

Skit

Concept Art

Skit Faces

Concept Art

Skit Faces

External Links

• [JP] Tales of Mobile (Official Site)
• [JP] Tales Channel (Tales Series Official Website)