Tales of Arise Review

With Tales of Arise, developer and publisher Bandai Namco set out to revitalize the franchise. To do so, it brought back veteran figures from 1998’s Tales of Phantasia and introduced a darker story while keeping everything that made the franchise great. In the task of reviving the Tales of Arise franchise, Bandai Namco has succeeded. Tales of Arise is set in a conflict between two planets—Dahna and Rena—as the former attempts to break free from the oppressive slavery created by the latter. It brings together many characters who call one of these two planets, each of which complements the other. The main character, Alphen, is a Dahnan man with no past who can’t feel pain, while Shionne is a Renan woman who inflicts pain on anyone she touches. They include Law and Rinwell, the former a “brawns over brains” character style and the latter the exact opposite, as well as former Renan Lord Dohalim and his former Dahnan Guard Kisara. Together, many stories and party engagement skits invite conflict and resolution, despair and hope, pain and love, and freedom and oppression. In general, Tales of Arise is a story told in pairs, and each presents a different element of that story. Combining the high fantasy typical of the franchise with darker, sci-fi elements, Tales of Arise’s story is well told from start to finish. Classic skits of the Tales franchise have also been added, with a total of 320 for players to find and trigger in-game. They help a lot in defining the characters, their journey, and their story. Of course, its story is only one layer. Tales of Arise’s combat doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel when it comes to JRPG combat, but it’s the absolute pinnacle of it. Battling up to four characters at once with two serving as support, players are able to string together combos, use devastating art attacks, team up for powerful Boost Strikes, and deliver of devastating Mystic Arte attacks. For the most part, players will spend their time as Alphen with another layer thrown on top of it all: Flaming Edge. Players can unlock various Flaming Edge attacks throughout the game, which Alphen uses in combat when holding down the Artes button to power up and deliver a brutal follow-up strike. The Flaming Edge attack requires Alphen to sacrifice HP, and the more sacrificed, the more damage is done. It’s a constant battle between managing HP and dealing tons of damage, with Flaming Edge strike being a complementary option to the more difficult to execute Mystic Artes. Items, Astral Artes, and more are necessary to survive, and all of these elements add a layer of strategy to the game. It should be noted that fighting Tales of Arise’s bosses usually boils down to a war of attrition, where players must deal enough damage to defeat the enemy in order to defeat them before their supplies run out. If they tire of a brand of combat, players can change it up by switching to other characters or simply running from most combat situations. At its worst, it can feel like simple button mashing for combos; at its best, it’s a fun, intense combination of item management and frenetic combat. RELATED: Tales of Arise Releases Gorgeous Opening Animation Video Monsters, brought over from Rena and known as Zeugles, serve as the main enemies players will face. Some sections of the game will bring more soldiers, but players will mostly encounter animals. The best part is that they include everything from lowly animals and bugs to astral energy concentrations. Players will certainly face similar enemy designs throughout the game, but there’s enough variety—156 enemy types, to be exact—that combat is designed for their different tactics. in mind. For example, the aforementioned Boost Strikes can be used to deal raw damage, but if they are timed correctly, they can trap fast animals, stop charges, knock out enemies in heaven, and so on. The combat, enemy design, world lore, and more all come together to make the story and its combat come together as if they served as their own pair like Alphen and Shionne. Tales of Arise is also a technical marvel, perhaps a result of the game’s delay and extended development time. While players will encounter a ton of loading screens, they are usually over before players even read the tips screen. It’s one of the smoothest games released so far this year, considering how difficult some games were when they were first released., and it shines through in every element of the game. No matter how heavily a game is recommended, there’s always a flaw or two. Tales of Arise’s side-quests fall on the generic end: defeat this swarm of Zeugles, find these materials, pick up these items to learn a certain recipe, or defeat the giant Zeugle which makes a particular area difficult. However, since these are often done on the go, players don’t have to search far and wide to complete these sidequests, and instead can complete them as they progress through the main story. The dialogue, especially what happens during combat, can be awkward and repetitive. Although Alphen and Shionne’s relationship starts out as enemies, they soon become close, but it can be slightly weakened when Alphen expresses surprise at her when he heals her—even during the final boss sequence. What’s important, however, is that none of its flaws detract from the Tales of Arise experience or hurt it in any way. Indeed, Tales of Arise is a game designed for long-term fans of the Tales franchise and those who have never picked up a franchise entry before, where story, combat, and various features come together to deliver a high quality and highly detailed JRPG. All of that makes it not only one of the best JRPGs on the market today, but one of the best games hands-down. Tales of Arise was released on September 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The PS5 code was provided to Today Technology for the purposes of this review. MORE: Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology should not be Forgotten