Tales of the Tempest (Japanese: テイルズ オブ ザ テンペスト, Hepburn: Teiruzu Obu Za Tenpesuto) is an action role-playing game developed by Dimps and Namco Tales Studio, and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Nintendo DS exclusively in Japan.

The game makes use of the Tales series' recurring Linear Motion Battle System, customized so characters and actions can be controlled and determined using the DS touch screen, as well as incorporating multiplayer elements.

The game follows Caius Qualls, a Leymon (race of werewolf-like shape-shifters who are persecuted for previous disastrous abuse of their advanced technology) who also have a human blood.

Tempest was developed by Dimps, along with staff from Namco Tales Studio, including composer Motoi Sakuraba, designers Mutsumi Inomata and Daigo Okomura, and producer Makoto Yoshizumi.

Upon release, the game polarized Japanese and western critics, with Famitsu Weekly giving it a notably harsh review.

[4] The game's local multiplayer option is unlocked after a certain point in the single-player campaign after obtaining a special item.

[2][5] Tempest is set on the continent of Areulla, where humans live alongside a half-beast race called Leymons.

The Leymons once dominated Areulla, but they gained the ability to command a dangerous technology called Precepts, which was hoped would bring about coexistence between the races.

The experiment to bring about a unification of the races through the creation of the "Law of Life" entailed the forging of a gem called the Patient, which cost the lives of many Leymons.

The Law of Life appeared in an imperfect form, killing most of the Leymon population and plunging the entire continent into chaos before the gateway was closed.

In later years, the human authorities would rewrite the history into an interracial conflict known as the Beast War, further soiling the Leymon's image.

[9] Later, it was stated that the compression of features for Tempest and the staff's inexperience with the Nintendo DS caused multiple problems, including technical issues.

[12] One of the main ambitions for the story was to make it comparable with one of the home console Tales games despite the platform and development goals.

The state reason for the delays was that the team needed extra time to properly develop the gameplay functions, which were specially designed for the DS.

While it praised the battle system, which was stated to be more action-oriented than previous entries, multiple points came in for criticism, including poor companion AI, lack of content, and the limited multiplayer functionality.

[31] Dengeki DS Style praised the game's opening, but was mixed about the battle display and other aspects of gameplay.

[39] SoftBank Creative's magazine Gemaga also gave a mixed review, praising the opening song and battle system, but found that the condensing or removal of standard Tales gameplay elements made the game "unsatisfactory" when compared to its predecessors.

[34] Japanese magazine GAME SIDE, in a retrospective on the Tales series, cited the love story between Caius and Rubia as "pale", faulted the story's short length, and noted that the division of displays between screens during battle put undue pressure on the player.

While he did find the battle system difficult to handle and the overworld too large, the story, graphics and soundtrack received praise.

He called the game's low-budget look "[its] biggest problem", while also faulting the story, characters, lack of typical Tales features, and the design of the battle system.

[41] A two-part novel based on the game was published by Super Dash Bunko: the two volumes were titled Arashi no Shō (嵐の章, lit.

[41] The album included an audio drama written by Okimata, portraying events between Caius and Rubia during the ending.

[43] The "Triverse" connection between the three developed DS titles was established by Bandai Namdo producer Takashi Yota: first featuring in Innocence R, they were included in Tales of Hearts R after positive fan feedback.