Published: May 22nd 2025, 5:31:41 pm
It’s no secret that Avatar: The Last Airbender games… aren’t very good. Licensed games have an underwhelming reputation at best, with only a few managing to defy expectations and become cult classics. Most… are only there to further entrench the brands of their franchises, and aren’t very good. They’re not made for the sake of introducing their franchises to new audiences, or translating what makes them great into another medium to let them shine in a whole new light. They’re there to print money for very little investment.
Sadly, Avatar games have largely fallen into this trap. Most are standard beat ‘em ups that follows traditional level structures, poorly rehashing plot beats from the show, and only being memorable for just… how shoddily they’re made. Ironically, the game that stands out the most to me would be the very first one, based on Book 1… in that it’s not actually retelling Book 1’s story.
No, this game does something none of its successors did: create an original story set between Books 1 and 2, and allow you to explore various locations from the show freely. It’s not quite open world, but the free exploration is something I’d come to expect from a world as sprawling as Avatar’s. It’s still not great, but I at least have more respect for it than any of the other Avatar games.
And it got me thinking - what kind of Avatar game do we want? My answer… an RPG where you get to freely explore the world. Perhaps it’d retell the story of the show, or tell an original story, but either way, I wanna follow the cast on globetrotting adventures, and there’s one other series of games that comes to mind which fits the bill: the Tales series.
Tales games are kinda the ugly, unloved stepsister of the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. They’re beloved, but incredibly niche, yet feature lovable, memorable casts in even their dullest entries. With real-time action combat, large casts of characters, skits which allow characters to interact outside of the plot, entire worlds to explore, and 40-hour stories that are basically playable animes, I think using this model as a basis for an Avatar game could capture the show’s magic perfectly.
Hell, Platinum Games made a Korra game, and while I personally don’t have interest in it, I do know it’s considered a cult classic within the fandom. Maybe we could all do some collective internet praying that maybe Namco Bandai ends up making one? Although the ever-present reality of licensed game hell would probably wind up killing it anyhow.
Still, I think it’d be fun pitching a dream Avatar game. And so today, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna explain what makes a Tales game a Tales game, and how the best elements of the series could be synthesized in order to create my ideal Avatar game - Avatar: Tales of the Last Airbender. Sidenote: if this crack dream somehow becomes real, I totally give permission for the use of that title cuz it slaps.
Beginning with Tales of Phantasia in 1995 (that’s Phantasia with a “Ph,” so Disney can’t sue us), the Tales franchise is an anthological JRPG video game series, meaning each game has its own cast, and tells its own story - provided it’s not a numbered sequel, of course.
Tales games are most notable for two features: their real-time, action-focused combat, and their diverse casts, used to tell largely character-driven stories. The combat’s self explanatory. Rather than using the traditional turn-based combat you’d find in other series, Tales games usually allow you to run around the battlefield and attack or defend in real time, to your button-mashing heart’s content.
The exact details change with each game. Tales has a few staples for their mainline entries, but it’s always trying new things to keep the battle systems fresh… for better or for worse. Newbies will probably be familiar with Tales of Arise, the most recent Tales game, and my arch-fucking-nemesis.
Traditionally, since moving into the 3D era, Tales games would have you in a fully 3D arena for battles, but you’d move along a 2D line towards your target, with a dedicated button you would hold down to free run. Tales of Berseria axed that for fully-free movement, and Arise fully went in, ditching the Linear Motion Battle System, or LMBS, the series had always relied upon. In truth, they only ditched it in name only, but for this, I’d prefer looking at some of the older entries, as I feel they had more robust combat systems.
Now you might ask why even keep the straight line approach in a 3D game. Full 3D movement seems a lot more intuitive. And I would agree, especially because that would mean also being able to control the camera with your right analog stick (I’m sorry, I’m a controller girlie, I’d rather eat my hands than play with a mouse and keyboard).
However, because most Tales games have battle arenas separate from field environments, they’re designed without any obtrusive walls or awkward angles for the camera to get caught on, so there’s never any need to actually control it, outside from minor adjustments you can make in your battle menu. Zestiria kinda ruined that by having battles take place directly in the field itself, which… gurl why? Why would anyone ever wanna fight this way?
And as for artes, those rely on directional inputs from both analog sticks. Usually, you’d have one face button for blocking, one for your battle menu, one for basic attacks, and one for stronger attacks or spells called artes, with the directional buttons reserved for shortcuts or swapping party members.
With artes on only one button, emphasizing directional input on your analog sticks determines which arte you use. Immediately, that’s five artes you can map to your analog stick: one for keeping it still, one for tilting it up, one down, and two for left and right.
Some Tales games add to this, by altering your Artes by holding one of the shoulder buttons, or mapping to the right analog stick, allowing the use of up to 15 artes just on one button. That’s a lot of versatility, and a lot of mileage you’re getting out of just one button, freeing the other buttons up for other vital battle actions.
Some games change this up, like Berseria, where blocking is now a shoulder button, and all the face buttons are an arte, scattered into four distinct arte trees based on where they are in your combo. And yes, you can customize them, and I very much appreciate that, but again, I prefer the older systems. Personally, Tales of Xillia 1 and 2 are my favorites, and are the definitive versions of the LMBS system for me.
In Tales games, your special attacks and spells are referred to as artes (with an “e,” so you know we’re fancy). Basic attacks were free, albeit with a meter limiting your combos that operated on a cooldown system. Each game refers to it as something different; in Tales of Xillia, this would be the AC System.
Your artes, meanwhile, were much stronger, or were spells that you would cast, which would draw from your Tech Points, or TP. You could replenish TP through specific items, or by using basic attacks, encouraging you to switch up your tactics, and not just spam either option.
Certain games, such as Tales of Graces, Zestiria, Berseria, and Arise ditched the TP system, instead having all your attacks be artes, and having everything function like the combo-focused AC system. And personally, while it can be cathartic to have such a combo-focused approach, I tend to prefer the old TP systems. They never felt nearly as frantic or button-mashy to me, and this is coming from a Kingdom Hearts girlie who will happily button mash ‘til the end times.
As for the rest of gameplay, it’s pretty standard exploration of your environments. Older games featured the traditional overworld, with towns and dungeons represented on the map through field icons. But the more the games have tried veering into realism, the more they’ve had to sacrifice this for corridor-style field environments… to varying levels of success.
Now as for the emphasis on characters, that’s most prominent in what are called skits. During the game, you’ll get a little button in the corner, and when you press it, portraits of the characters appear onscreen. Traditionally, Tales games use a blend of 2D and 3D assets to help sell that anime aesthetic, and also to let the artwork speak when the 3D models just wouldn’t cut it.
These portraits will then let the characters have conversations about… literally anything. Sometimes they’ll talk about their current predicament and how it makes them feel. Other times, they’ll talk about what they should make for dinner, and who’s the worst cook who will give them all food poisoning. Sometimes it’s them gossipping about each other, sometimes it’s weird shenanigans about cleaning or having fun. Skits can be anything, so long as it’s the characters talking.
This helps to not only connect you with the cast, but also make them feel real. To help flesh them out as people in ways that the main story might not have the time to. And it’s these skits that help fans to identify with and remember their favorite casts. Oftentimes, these interactions alone will determine a person’s favorite Tales game, regardless of its gameplay or story. It adds to that feeling of going on an epic adventure with a ragtag bunch of friends who become your found family.
Now, everybody has their own favorite Tales game, but for me, I’d have to say my personal favorites are Berseria, Xillia, Abyss, and Vesperia, yes in that order from best to worst. And for that record, that’s Xillia 1 and 2, they must go together, always and forever.
I can understand hack-&-slash style gameplay for Avatar, given its fight scenes have been one of its major selling points. In Avatar, characters can manipulate one of the four elements through bending, with each bending style based on a real-life school of martial arts.
However, given the show also focuses on character and our big globetrotting adventure, I don’t think having linear levels with nothing but barren environments and enemies to punch would suffice. In an RPG setup, you’d be free to explore the world of Avatar, and after encountering an enemy on the field, you’d be taken to a separate arena designed around the environment you were already in.
Now for Avatar, while I do prefer the TP system of most Tales games, bending itself doesn’t seem like it’d lend itself well to separating basic attacks from artes, and I’m not exactly sure how casting spells would work since… ya know, Avatar characters don’t use spells. Maybe it could be a charge-up attack or healing move?
But maybe a system more akin to Graces could work, with an emphasis on combos and cooldowns. Either way, this fast-paced action could definitely translate into showing off each character’s bending style, or even for nonbenders, could emphasize their own fighting styles and weaponry.
For a similar example, the characters in Slayers, to my understanding, have been featured in some of the mobile Tales games, with their spells and attacks being translated into the Tales arte system. And it LOOKS SO COOL. Seeing Lina Inverse’s Dragon Slave as a Mystic Arte? Thank you, Cepheid.
And speaking of which, each character has a Mystic Arte: their most powerful move which is shown in a cinematic. Sometimes they have two, one being far stronger, but I’d love seeing the Avatar characters using Mystic Artes, and seeing how it shows off their strongest bending techniques.
Now, as for exploration, I’d be most excited at the chance to freely explore the world of Avatar. I don’t need massive, open-world environments where every building is overly detailed, but I’d love being able to visit all the different towns and cities.
And rather than the hallway-setup of fields, I’d much prefer the overworld approach of older Tales games. Imagine with me literally flying on Appa across the overworld. Of course, that begs the question of preventing you from accessing places you shouldn’t by that part of the story, since most JRPGs avoid this by only giving your air travel by endgame.
My response would be two options: one being having obstacles on the world map that restrict you from going to certain areas. Say a fleet of Fire Navy ships keeping you out of the Fire Nation, or storms that keep Appa away from certain regions. The other option? Letting you go, but immediately having you get your ass kicked by enemies or monsters 30 levels or higher than you.
For dungeon design, I’m not exactly sure how field navigation would work here. Tales games are usually pretty limited when you’re out of battle, using contextual prompts to have you interact with the environment. That goes for puzzles, too, with you lighting lanterns or breaking boulders. Something a bit more… sophisticated would be nice, but I don’t need it to be a full-on platformer.
The most important part, for me, is being able to explore the world of Avatar, and making it truly feel like a world rather than a series of lifeless levels. Imagine losing Appa in the Si Wong Desert, and having to actually go across the map on foot to get to safety. Getting to explore the different rings of Ba Sing Se, the dark depths of the swamp, or the fortress city of Omashu.
Now, this is what I’d love to see - using skits to let the characters quip and bond during their journey. Avatar already does a great job in making the characters actually feel like a found family, but I think skits would allow them even more freedom to just… ramble about things the show couldn’t manage in 20-minute episodes.
Say, if Aang and Sokka wound up debating the pros and cons of vegetarianism, with Katara being forced to break the tie. Or the characters wondering what Appa and Momo really think of all of them. Even skits about the characters sharing fun or embarrassing stories from their childhoods, you could have these idiots talk about literally anything for hours upon hours, like it’s an audio fanfiction come to life.
Tales has really made me come to love things that would be considered excessive fluff in most other media, because it helps to strengthen the most important part of any story: the characters. Specifically, I think having some skits to let Zuko further bond with Team Avatar would really help, considering he’s actually part of the team for a very small sliver of the actual show.
Now as for the story, it could be an original story set after the show. Though I’d also be down for a retelling of the main show. Since Tales games are… 500 years long, I could easily see the game covering Books 1, 2, and 3, maybe dividing them into separate acts. So long as it gives us the chance to spend more time with the characters and explore the world, I’m down.
Though it would be cool seeing moments from the show recreated as boss fights or puzzles. And if it’s an episode not considered as important to the plot, maybe it could be a sidequest during your journey, rewarding those familiar with the show.
And of course… New Game Plus. Because Tales has some of the best New Game Plus features for losers like me who wanna experience the game over and over… and over. In most Tales games, you’re rewarded for your performance in battle with Grade, which you can use in the Grade Shop for extra perks and rewards in your New Game Plus.
Things like carrying over fashion items and attachments from your previous save, or double, sometimes even up to six-times experience, for those who wanna feel like a god. And that can especially help for those who hate themselves and play on the hardest difficulties, and brave the treacherous bonus dungeons. What would a bonus Avatar dungeon look like? I’m not sure. Perhaps a forbidden part of the spirit world? A place from one of the comics? Your guess is as good as mine, but it’d be fun.
So… yeah. That’s my dream Avatar game. It shall never come to pass, I know, but I can enjoy it within the dark recesses of my heart. What about y’all? Do you have an idea as to what kind of Avatar game you’d like to see? Yell about it in the comments. Get in fights over your ideas in the comments. Do engagement.