Namco has announced that they have already received more than 480,000 preorders for Tales of Eternia, their upcoming PlayStation RPG. The highly anticipated title is scheduled for release in Japan on November 30th, later this week.

Tales of Eternia marks the latest in the company's popular "Tales" series, preceded by Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Destiny. While it is not connected to the worlds or plots of the previous two games, this latest installment aims to continue the tradition of detailed characters and epic, involving stories set by its predecessors. This time, the tale focuses on the journies of Reed Herschel and Fara Elested, a young boy and girl who live in the village of Inferia. Their small, peaceful lives will be completely overturned as the story unfolds, involving them both in an adventure which will expand to affect the fate of the entire world.

Tales of Eternia appears to include only minor changes from earlier titles. One major difference, however, is the adoption of full 3D environments rather than the prerendered backdrops of previous games. With half a million preorders, the game has clearly sparked an interest and aroused excitement in fans, even prior to its release. No information is currently available regarding the game's possible North American release, although the impressive number of preorders certainly aids its chances.