first off, i didnt qoute that i qouted earlier when you said that it was not a sequel at all, which means you did not do your research before posting in this thread. i have given examples such as ffx-2 that follow all of your reasons for a game being a gaiden but yet its considered a direct sequel why is that? the only thing you really cling to is hat the the new ToS game doesnt have a 2 next to it and i gave you aliens fas a reason that makes it not matter. please do not insult my intelligence when you are obviously lacking it as well.

language Claude, language. 1) I was being somewhat sarcastic, Ari said i was being ingnorant so i was sayin why dont you free me from that ignorance then. i thought you mister comprehension would ahve been albe to understand that

2) i was nto the one to bring final fantasy into the mix so why are you attacking me? Ari gave an example of  gaiden and i gave a example of a direct sequel that has similarities. Also i forgot that the tales series is so special that it does not follow the same guidlines that make otehr games gaiden.

On topic: i believe that tales of innocence will sell more becasue of the larger install base

1) You're a joke. A really bad joke. How the **** could I not do the research if I asserted that it WASN'T a direct sequel from the start and then backed it up? I've known about the game since the hour it was announced, and you're a clown to a say otherwise. The only who hasn't done their research is you, which is why you're still clinging to that one quote for dear life. YOU FAIL.

2) Final Fantasy IS NOT Tales. If you can't come to terms with this then you're worse off than I thought. You're trying to compare a direct story sequel in a series that had none prior, to a series that has main installments that have both been sequels and prequels to one another along with gaidens that canonically fit into established timelines in specific games. DOES. NOT. COMPUTE!

3) The only direct sequel in the series has a 2. The producers said this is not Symphonia 2. If the 2 did not mean anything, they wouldn't have wasted their time explaining why it doesn't have a 2. There's nothing to cling on to but denial for those who clearly don't know what they're talking about and have no familiarity with the series. Ratatosk Knight is not Symphonia 2. It's that simple.

1) I don't believe you're capable of sarcasm. This is just damage control.

2) Except Ari's example actually works. Dirge of Cerberus is a gaiden. Yes, it's after FFVII, but it's not a direct sequel. It's Vincent's story. You brought up FFX-2. It doesn't work in any shape or form. And yes, Tales IS special, because it's NOT Final Fantasy. I'm sorry your half-assed argument that all Tales games must = FF games doesn't work. It just doesn't. The producers of Tales aren't thinking "lol FFX-2," they're thinking TALES and what was previous established in this long running RPG franchise. Tales rules don't suddenly change because you're not familiar with them.

Now, I'm going to make a THIRD post to show exactly WHY FF =/= Tales and why Ratatosk Knight follows the gaiden formula.

ok Claude, im just going to end this now because all youa re donig is insulting me, i thought you would be a bigger man then that

http://wii.ign.com/articles/807/807048p1.html

Moving on to the Wii Tales of Symphonia Knights of Ratatoskr, the Spring 2008 (Japanese release) title is, as mentioned in our initial update, a direct sequel to the GameCube and PS2 Tales of Symphonia, painting a new story three years after the events of that game. While story details are scarce, Bandai Namco did announce that the game's main character would be named Emil, and the heroine Malta. Lloyd and other characters from the original will also appear in the game.

 I'm pretty sure that wraps it up but of course Ign could have "incredibly numb skulls" to, but continue if you want, but i'm done here

On Topic: if DQ9 sells well i am positive that ToI will sell better but, ToS: KoR will still sell well on wii regardless

The Book of Claude: Tales Edition

Chapter 1: Why Final Fantasy DOESN'T equal Tales

Let us start by using the first five MAIN installments of Final Fantasy and Tales.

Final Fantasy I -> Final Fantasy II -> Final Fantasy III ->  Final Fantasy IV ->  Final Fantasy V

What do these games have in common with each other? Not much. Just recurring themes like Chocobos, Moogles, Cid, Airships, battle system, the development team, etc. Final Fantasy games aren't related. They don't even acknowledge each other. Until recently, there hadn't been a Final Fantasy that took place in the same universe.

Now, for Tales.

Tales of Phantasia -> Tales of Destiny -> Tales of Eternia -> Tales of Destiny 2 -> Tales of Symphonia 

Pay attention. The two in bold are important.

Tales, like many RPG series, creates new worlds, characters, and storylines between most main installments. Keyword: Most.

Tales of Destiny 2 is a DIRECT SEQUEL to Tales of Destiny and is the 4th installment in the main series. Tales of Symphonia is a PREQUEL to Phantasia and the 5th installment. So where does Ratatosk Knight fit in? It doesn't because it's a gaiden, and I'll explain later on.

Final Fantasy X-2 may be a direct sequel to FFX, but notice that it isn't called Final Fantasy XI. Final Fantasy continues to create new universes and characters per main installment, while Tales has no qualms with revisiting certain universes in its main installments. Therefore, Final Fantasy =/= Tales.

End Chapter.

Chapter 2: Tales Gaidens and How they Work

For the purpose of the chapter and for better understanding, I'm going to narrow this selection down to one other gaiden besides Ratatosk Knight - Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon. ToP:ND is the first Tales gaiden ever created and as such, was the first to establish the formula that Tales gaidens have followed to date.

First I'll list features found in Tales gaidens, then apply them to Narikiri Dungeon and then Ratatosk Knight.

Tales Gaidens

1. Takes place after a main game
2. Introduces two new characters: One male, One female
3. Features the return of the cast in side character roles
4. Features new experimental concepts around the core Tales gameplay. These features generally never make it into the main series.
5. Story-wise, explores aspects of the main game's plot that aren't mentioned or covered in detail

Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon

1. Takes place 100 years after Tales of Phantasia
2. Dio (Male), Mel (Female)
3. Phantasia cast (Cless, Chester, Mint, Klarth, Arche, Suzu) returns. They are not playable.
4. Randomized dungeons and using clothing to class change (hence the title, Narikiri Dungeon)
5. The game focuses on the Mel and Dio's redemption of their past lives on Derris-Kharlan, which is relevant to Phantasia (and Symphonia, to an extent). 

Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk Knight (or Knight of Ratatosk, whatever it's called until there's a confirmed US name)

1. Takes place 2 years after Tales of Symphonia
2. Emil (Male), Marta (female)
3. Symphonia cast returns. Whether they're playable or not hasn't been announced, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're not.
4. Monster breeding, and most likely more features not yet announced.
5. ??? - Not enough known about the plot yet, but judging by the subtitle (Ratatosk), it's going to have something to do with Yggdrasil...or at least the Yggdrasil Tree. Either way, the plot is going to be A LOT more relevant to Emil and Marta than to any of the Symphonia cast.
6. *** - It has a point and click map. Now, I don't consider this a deciding factor by any means, but I haven't played a Tales gaiden that DIDN'T have a point and click map, and the main games don't.

I could have listed more points, but there's still a lot that isn't know about ToS:RK just yet. On the other hand, the fact that what little was announced about it places it so neatly in the Tales gaiden mold says enough on its own. Not all Tales gaidens follow the guide perfectly. Some diverge ever so slightly, but for the most part, if you can apply these rules to a Tales game, then you know it's a gaiden...though that's usually made clear when the game is announced.

I hope I enlightened some people about what a Tales gaiden is. It's really not that important, since I'm picking the game up on Day One, but it simply isn't Symphonia 2...which means that an ACTUAL Symphonia 2 can and probably will be made in the near future.

End Chapter.

When Matt of IGN revealed RK in their podcast he said NOT to get excited because it wasn't a direct sequel. The producers only backed this up by saying it wasn't Symphonia 2. Thanks for making my point though, especially with the IGN screw up since the game is 2 years afterwards and not 3. It wasn't my intention to be insulting but seriously, you haven't aded anything since you started complaining about what I said like some kind of smartass, so it's about time you accept the truth and STFU.