Tales of Hearts (Japanese: テイルズオブハーツ, Hepburn: Teiruzu Obu Hātsu) is an action role-playing game released for the Nintendo DS in Japan and the PlayStation Vita worldwide.

The game follows main protagonist Kor Meteor after he discovers a woman named Kohaku Hearts and her brother Hisui near his home town.

For Hearts R, extra story scenes were created and the genre name was altered to Aratana kokoro to deau RPG (新たな心と出会うRPG, lit.

[6][10] Characters can employ special attacks called "Combination Blasters," Hearts' take on the series' staple Mystic Artes ("Hi-Ougis" in the Japanese version).

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 xeroms.

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.

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.

[Game 4] 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.

[Game 5] 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.

Though intended to quell violent thoughts in the population, Gardenia went berserk when activated and absorbed every Spiria on Minera, calcifying the planet.

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.

[Game 9] With Creed controlling Mysticete and xerom attacking people across the planet, the group, along with Peridot and Pyrox, manage to unite the disputing factions of the Maximus Empire.

In gathering the final component inside an active volcano, Incarose attacks them and the group are forced to leave Peridot and Pyrox to die.

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.

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.

[28] The game's characteristic genre name, a recurring feature of the series in Japan, was Kokoro to deau RPG (心と出会うRPG, lit.

[27] According to director Naoto Miyadera, 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.

[32] 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.

[38][39] 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.

[38][43] Naoi joined the team in early 2012, after finishing work on Tales of the Heroes: Twin Brave, and was the principal 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.[44] Naoki Yamanoto, the scenario writer for Hearts, returned to co-write the extra story content with Keishi Maeda.

[46][47] In the western release, it was replaced with an original track from the game, instead of an orchestrated instrumental version of the theme song used in some promotional DVDs.

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 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.

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.

[72][75] 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.

"[70][73] 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.

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".

[72][75] In contrast with the other reviewers, Fitch generally enjoyed the story, calling it one of the stronger casts and narratives of recent Tales titles.