Tales of Arise – Review

Our Rating: 9/10

Dahna, the world in Tales of Arise, was conquered 300 years ago by Rena, its neighboring planet. Since then, the people of Dahna have struggled under the oppression of their invaders and have been reduced to slaves.

Our main character will be Alphen, a masked man who has been stripped of his memories. He is unable to feel pain, and has been a slave for as long as he can remember. Shionne, on the other hand, is a fellow holster who is capable of inflicting pain on anyone who comes into contact with her. Is it fate or chance that the two meet?

The invaders require the people of Dahna to devote all of their energy to a selfish goal: the crown contest. The game is divided into five continents. Each of which is ruled by a king or queen with a specific mission; to win the competition and become sovereigns. The winner will be the kingdom that receives the most energy from the Dahna people.

Tales of Arise – The Common Goal

It’s no surprise that there’s an uprising in a world where people are stripped of their freedoms, treated as slaves, and forced to die for a despotic king or queen. This is where our protagonists enter the picture. He embarks on a quest to demolish all of the kingdom’s walls and overthrow the rulers.

We’ll meet more characters as the story progresses; including Rinwell, our young apprentice magician, and her small companion, who will not hesitate to use her arcane skills to free her people. Law is a martial arts expert who specializes in destroying any obstacle that stands in our way. Kisara, a king’s squire who will look after our group, and, finally, Dohalim, a powerful figure with his staff and a traumatic past.

Each of these characters is driven by different goals. However, they come together to form a team with the common goal of tearing down the barriers that divide people.

 Action and Frenzy

We’re dealing with a fantastic combat system that’s reminiscent of the one found in Xenoblade but in a more pure Final Fantasy VII Remake style. With many little lights all around us, it’s pure and hard action. Although there are many similarities between this installment and the others in the Tales of series, one notable difference is the combat system, which has improved dramatically.

We can have up to four characters fight alongside us during battles. We can switch between them both inside and outside the battle. What about the other characters in the story? They remain in reserve until their gauge fills up. At which point, we can use them to unleash their enhanced attack.

All characters have access to these empowered attacks, but their abilities differ. For example, if we use Kisara at the right time, it can protect us from a powerful blow. On the other hand, Dohalim can use its vines to catch an enemy who is constantly moving. While we are engaged in combat, all of these special abilities will be activated.

Skill Tree

When we break the nucleus of our enemies, they will fall. Then, we will be able to use a special attack with a partner (the one we want). This attack is the most powerful because it combines the strength of the two characters. The CP points must be remembered at all times. They are the most useful and can heal or even revive us. If we don’t consider them, we’ll almost certainly end up with a failure on our hands.

We can designate up to three different types of gear to the buttons on the remote. These arts will be unlocked as we progress through our skill tree. The skill tree will not be accessible with all arts unlocked right away; we will have to perform various actions to gain access to more. When we learn to fish, for instance, a new faction will open up, and we will be able to activate the arts that interest us the most with the AP we gain as we level up.

 A respite from our hard journey

Infinite dialogues will be presented in the form of vignettes throughout the game. We can unlock one of the many skits each time we discover something or something that happens in the game’s plot. This type of conversation isn’t new; it’s been seen before in games like Bravely Default II and Octopath Traveler. The story will be most fully developed and we will learn the most about all of the characters through these dialogues.

Dahna is a big open world to get lost in, and it’s full of secrets as soon as you start looking for them. We’ll travel across continents, opening chests, collecting minerals or food, and fighting monsters, as is typical of many JRPGs.

Various rest stops will be found along the way to soothe our desire to overthrow the ruling lords. We’ll be able to unlock them through secondary missions, and as a result of these missions, we’ll have a ranch where we can look after animals and obtain various foods. Along the way, we’ll meet some interesting characters in each city, including one who will teach us how to cook various dishes.

Food and Recipes

We will discover camping spots in various locations where we can spend the night. We can also have interesting conversations with the characters during these retreats to enhance our bond with them and to recall the various events that have occurred throughout the game in case we missed any details. But the cherry on top is that we can cook with the various recipes and foods that we come across. Each recipe has a group bonus and a duration time; each character has a few favorite recipes, and if we decide to have them cooked by their designated character, the duration time and incentives will be even better.

Final Thoughts

Tales of Arise is one of the best in the series and a must-have for the year 2021. We looked at the game with all of the DLCs that come with the Ultimate edition; if you go with this option, you should know that they make the game a lot easier to play. Also, it comes with a plethora of costumes and accessories for all of our characters, many of which are fantastic.

Tales of Arise features voices in both Japanese and English and many widely known expressions that will make you smile. As a game with so many aspects and a lot of visual load in terms of scenarios, there is popping, the textures take a long time to load, and the elements will occasionally appear in our path.

If you like the Tales of the saga, or if you’ve never played one before, Tales of Arise is ideal for you, regardless of how little it interests you because it’s a game with a long enough duration, a good story, a great soundtrack, and a lovely world to explore.