Tales of Arise – a grand comeback for the Japanese role-playing game series

Negative

• The battles get messy easily
• The technical offers both high and low
• Some features are poorly explained

— –

A classic journey with a familiar theme

Tales of Arise revolves around two nearby planets: the technologically advanced Rena and the more medieval Dahna. Three hundred years before the Tales of Arise adventure begins, Dahna was invaded by her planetary neighbors, and the Dahners quickly got used to a life of slavery under tyrannical leaders. Slave labor, poverty, death and misery were commonplace, while the occupiers of Rena lived in luxury.

This is what the world looked like in most of Dahna’s regions. Until a mysterious slave with memory loss and a full-coverage iron mask, that is, the game’s main character, enters. Thanks to the threads of fate, he meets a captured woman from Rena, and several trips later they embark on a journey to free Dahna.

Characters with heart and meaning

On their journey, they are, not entirely unexpectedly, joined by a handful of other individuals who want and can help overthrow the ruling tyrants. However, the characters that join your group do not appear out of nowhere; before they become partners, we must be involved in the events that make them decide to follow.

During the course of the adventure, we also get, in time and out of time, a chance to get to know the characters, their drive and background even better through optional dialogue sequences. In this way, they become unusually alive and much more than the “healer”, the “fighter” and the “magician”.

It should be said, however, that although the dialogues between the characters are often interesting, they are well numerous and lengthy. Some dialogues also elicit the occasional pillow of shame. Then it is lucky that they are optional, although of course there are game-like benefits for those who take the time for the conversations.

Reach the big from the small

Something that, on the other hand, keeps the interest up all the way is the main plot, or the chapter-like parts it is divided into rather. As mentioned, Dahna consists of a number of regions where not only climate and environment separate them. Each area has its own history, often linked to racism, oppression and hatred. In one region, everything seems to be peace and joy between Dahner and Renans, while in another, it seems that Dahner has the upper hand. Or?

The history of each region is exciting to unravel, and it all gets even better when all the digital extras that fill cities and countryside actually react to what’s happening. Even if they only have a handful of predetermined lines, empathy is greatly improved by the fact that the inhabitants do not stand as zeroed sheep when the world around them changes dramatically.

But what catches us most is the environments. There are barren deserts, lush forests and snowy mountains. Whether we run through desolate fields or budding cities, the world feels credible and alive. The cities in particular give the illusion of a large, inviting and lively place, even though they really only consist of a number of streets and scenery. But it’s enough.

Follow the map for beautiful views

However, the illusion breaks some out in the fields. Although some expanses look magnificent, we seldom run through more than small fixed corridors. A map shows exactly how we can go and where the exits are, which consumes a lot of joy of discovery – but it also means that we do not get frustrated over unclear roads.

Another thing that detracts from the joy of discovery, but which also scales down any frustration, is the opportunity to easily travel quickly between previously visited places. In this way, we seldom have to worry about choosing the wrong path at a crossroads, or wasting a lot of time to get back to an area where a side mission is to be completed or a certain enemy is to be defeated.

Lightning and thunder, magical wonders

By the way, fighting enemies is something Tales of Arise does with gusto. It should be said that the battles can be overly messy when monsters and heroes run around and thunder away colorful attacks on the assembly line – but for the most part, it is a joy to mangle evil beasts.

When there are fights, the gang, like most other Japanese role-playing games, is teleported to a small arena. Once there, it is possible to run around freely and use a variety of more or less effective attacks on any target. Sometimes it can look like a pure action game, but to defeat stronger enemies, it is important to keep track of both attacks and the health meter.

It is usually possible to change character at any time in battle, all of which have unique strengths and weaknesses, which gives an extra scoop of variation. The characters the player does not control are taken care of by the computer, and fortunately it does a good job with both damage and that all the characters that went on slam. It is also possible to tailor the computer’s tactics in more detail, but this was not something we were able to deal with.

One step back, ten steps forward

Tales of Arise is simply doing the right thing, but it is when we start the series’ previous chapter, Tales of Berseria from 2016, that we realize how big steps Tales of Arise has taken. The basics are recognizable, but virtually all other parts have been greatly improved. The menus are more easy to navigate, the controls much smoother and the environments more lively.

That the game has taken such a giant leap is surprising, but at the same time the previous part was actually built for Playstation 3. And although the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X versions hardly push the new consoles, the high resolution and soft image update gives both the environments and the battles a clear lift.

The only thing that feels like a slip is how fragmented the story is. There are pre-rendered intermediate sequences, there are real-time intermediate sequences, there are comic boxes and there are lavish anime sequences. For the most part, it is spoken in whole sentences, but sometimes we have to settle for single words or strange grunts. As icing on the cake, clothes and weapons on the main characters also change depending on the type of intermediate sequence shown. It’s not really a big problem, but makes the whole thing strangely schizophrenic.

A must for the fans

But despite some flaws and sometimes swaying narration, Tales of Arise is a really nice experience that makes the fans happy. We get many hours of adventure in a beautiful and exciting world, where both main and side characters are etched in the memory. Add to that heart-pounding battles and technical roots that are no longer stuck in 2006, and it’s just to say that the Tales series has made a grand comeback.

Tales of Arise

Tested: September 2021
Genre: Role play
Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platform: Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One, pc
Tested on: Xbox Series X
Release: 10 september
Award: SEK 568 at Spelbutiken (Xbox, PS5)

– .