This is the first game to be released since Namco-Bandai announced that the Nintendo DS was the new "home" console for the main titles in the series. It was also developed in-house, unlike Tales of the Tempest, which was developed by an outside developer (Dimps), at least in the sense that Namco-Bandai oversaw the project while it was being developed by Alfa System.
This game was made to be just like the game that were released on the home consoles, which means series staples such as voiced skits & Hi-Ougi cut-ins were included. The gam was also very graphically impressive, considering the restrictions of the Nintendo DS graphically (in a 3D-space). The game's battle system was a mix of the FR-LMBS from Tales of the Abyss and the AR-LMBS from Tales of Destiny (PS2), which created the DS-LMBS system.
A few changes were made to the series formula, though. After beating an enemy, instead of automatically being given the Gald, you now have to "collect" the Gald the enemy drops, as an example. The game also included a new "Guild" system, which works in a similar fashion to the system present in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology.
This was the first game in the series on the Nintendo DS. It was outsourced to an outside developer, Dimps, which caused the game to have numerous issues with the fans --- Team Symphonia at one time even had to come in and help the new team out before the game was released, which caused almost a half-year delay from the original release date.
The first issue the fans had was the fact that the normal anime cutscene that plays in the intro to every Tales game was comprised of a few scenes of hair moving, but included in-game scenes for the rest. Many fans considered this to be an injustice to the series. When a monster is killed in battle, it had a long death animation, which some felt "broke" up the fast flow of battle that the series is known for. The game could also be completed in 10-15 hours normally, when a normal game in the series usually takes 20-25 hours on average on their first try. A lack of end-game bonuses like a Grade Shop were also missing. Plus, Skits, a staple in the series, needed Gald to be unlocked.
Not everything was bad about the game, however. The battles used a battle system similar to Tales of Rebirth (both in the three-line system and assigning attacks to certain directions), and also had impressive 3D graphics (even if the World Map was very sparse) for the time it was released.