Tales and side quests worth doing
Facts checked 2026-10-28
Tales are the side quests, and their outcomes feed the eight endings. The trophy list names the chains to prioritise: Flesh Lily, Apprentice Healer, A Healer's Mercy, Quick Hand's Requests and Heart of the Banyan.
Tales are Phantom Blade Zero's side quests, and they are the ending system in disguise. Each Tale has more than one outcome, those outcomes accumulate, and the accumulation decides which of the eight endings you reach.
They are also where the game hides its best weapons, accessories and story. Skipping them is not a shortcut; it is a different, thinner game.
How Tales work
A Tale starts with an NPC in a region, runs for a few steps, and ends with a resolution that depends on what you did. Some are short conversations, some are multi-region chains, and a few are gated behind traversal tools you find later.
The trophy list names several chains directly, which makes it a decent index of the ones worth prioritising:
| Chain | Trophy | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Flesh Lily / Apprentice Healer / A Healer's Mercy | The Healer's Legacy | Three-part chain tied to the Flesh Sculptor's circle |
| Quick Hand's Requests | Lost and Found | Repeatable request line; completion trophy |
| Heart of the Banyan | Even Trees Know Sorrow | One of the longer single Tales |
| Secrets of the Baishan Sect | The Last of Baishan | Faction story with a sect outcome |
| The Journey Home | Together Till the End | Character-resolution Tale |
| Young Master Lan | A Wanderer's Honor | Early-region chain with a moral fork |
| A Severed Mindseal | Spectral Blade | Tied to the Memory Flower thread |
| Secrets at the Heart of the Lake | Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake | Meigu Lake set piece |
| Bloodline Awakening | Phantom and Blade | Story-critical chain |
The order that avoids backtracking
- Do each region's Tales before the main story moves on. The story can close quests off; regions do not close.
- Finish chains you have started. A half-finished Tale usually resolves to the default outcome, which is the one you did not want.
- Take the traversal-gated ones last within a region. If a door will not open, it is a later tool, not a bug.
- Check the trophy list at the end of each region to see which chains are still open.
Why the outcomes matter
The endings are decided by Tale resolutions, not by a final choice. That means the "best" outcome is not always the one that feels kindest in the moment: several chains reward following a character's request over protecting them from it.
This page deliberately does not list which outcome leads where. The endings page explains the structure; the choices are yours to make with the information the game gives you.
Tales and the trophy list
Eleven trophies are quest completions. If you are chasing the platinum, the Tales are not optional content — they are two-thirds of the list. The trophy page maps each one.
FAQ
Are Tales missable?
Yes. Advancing the main story past a region can close specific quests, which is why the advice is to finish regional Tales before moving on.
Do Tales give weapons?
Some do, and several give accessories or materials. The boss drops are separate; see the boss list.
Can I do Tales after the story?
Some, not all. The regions stay open, but quest states resolve with the story, so late cleanup is unreliable.
How many Tales are there?
S-GAME has not published a count. The trophy list names nine chains directly, and there are more without trophies.
