Tales of the World: Tactics Union
Gameplay. The game plays in the same vein as most tactical role-playing games, such as "Final Fantasy Tactics", where the player moves a party of characters across a grid to fight an opposing party. The game is controlled entirely through touch screen input. Prior to starting a battle, characters are customized with different equipment and skills, the latter of which consume "mystic point" when used in battle, but replenish over time. As battles progress, different characters develop "favoribility ratings" for other characters, which can either lead to status bonuses, characters attacking together when  near one another, or revealing special conversations. Story. Like all of the games in the "Tales of the World" sub-series, the game features crossover appearances of characters from other games in the main series of "Tales" games. However, the game features an original story, featured in a new land named "Revaila", and two new characters, named "Terun" and "Nahato". Development. The game was formally announced by Bandai Namco Games in May 2012, for release on July 2, 2012 release. While being announced as a free-to-play game, it supports in-game purchases for things such as equipment or  moves, and requires a paid monthly subscription to the KDDI’s Smartpass program. Downloadable content was made available in the weeks after the game's initial release, including an extra level, "Trembling Grove", and additional characters from "Tales of Innocence" and "Tales of Vesperia". The game was developed to be simple, for casual players not familiar with games of the genre.