Tales of Arise

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 139 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 139
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 139
  3. Negative: 15 out of 139
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  1. YannySp101
    Jan 7, 2023
    4
    I'm gonna be honest, I got my hands on this game last year, I played the first few hours and then I dropped it. I wanted to like the game but I couldn't get into it, so I decided to drop it.
    However, I pushed through the game recently, and well...
    The story follows a premise of taking down 5 Lords and it tackles interesting themes, but unfortunately, it feels consistently monotonous and    I'm gonna be honest, I got my hands on this game last year, I played the first few hours and then I dropped it. I wanted to like the game but I couldn't get into it, so I decided to drop it.
    However, I pushed through the game recently, and well...
    The story follows a premise of taking down 5 Lords and it tackles interesting themes, but unfortunately, it feels consistently monotonous and underwhelming. Once you take down the 5 Lords though, it all goes downhill from there; it becomes a jumbled mess of nonsensical, ridiculous plot points, exposition dumps, plot holes and a rushed ending. It gets quite bad!
    The characters aren't as bad as the story, but some of them are annoying and they make questionable decisions at times for no reason.
    The combat system is good at least, it's not deep enough but it's fun and it looks cool.
    Also, the art style is very good and the music is serviceable.
    With that being said, while the gameplay is fun, the experience is brought down by uninspired level design, poor enemy variety, damage spongey bosses that make the game hard to play through and absolutely terrible pacing; oh my god, the pacing in this game is painful at times! It's genuinely some of the worst pacing I've experienced in any videogame, ever. It always makes things more complicated and tedious than they should be, and it tries to extend the length of the game by throwing damage spongey enemies everywhere, unnecessary cutscenes with repeated dialogue every few minutes, and even entire filler dungeons!
    After the first 10 hours of the game, I was already feeling exhausted, seriously.

    Pros:
    + Enjoyable combat system
    + Great visuals
    + Decent music

    Cons:
    - Bad story
    - Dull level design
    - Enemy variety
    - Damage sponges
    - Awful pacing

    Narrative: 3/10
    Gameplay: 7/10
    Content: ?/10
    Characters: 4/10
    Music: 6/10
    Art Style: 8/10

    Final Rating: 4/10
    - Weak -
    I'm disappointed in Tales of Arise... I really am.
    I got into the game expecting it to be an exciting, intense Action JRPG, and I got a generic, boring and forgettable JRPG that I was longing for it to end.

    Do I recommend it?:
    No, there are much better RPGs out there.    … Expand
  2. MasterTiger4
    Aug 21, 2023
    10
    If you love JRPGs, if you love Anime like characters, if you love huge Worlds and compelling story telling with a lovable cast of characters. Then you've come to the right place.
    Tales of Arise is one of the best JRPGs and Best Looking JRPGs I've placed in years.
    I can't recommend this game enough.
  3. Killerpummkin
    Aug 10, 2023
    8
    With Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco is not only finally giving its assembly-line JRPG series an engine update, but the budget for the successful series seems to have been raised significantly. Even if the story, character and level design are still rather generic, the budget update is good for the series, as the game's many dialogues and cutscenes have been staged in a much more rousing andWith Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco is not only finally giving its assembly-line JRPG series an engine update, but the budget for the successful series seems to have been raised significantly. Even if the story, character and level design are still rather generic, the budget update is good for the series, as the game's many dialogues and cutscenes have been staged in a much more rousing and motivating way. In terms of combat, Tales of Arise still feels rather chaotic, but it offers a lot more tactical finesse than its predecessors, and therefore plays much more transparently. One thing Bandai Namco has always been good at is writing good dialogue within its own travelling party. Although its predecessor, Tales of Berseria, was a little more successful at orchestrating good situational comedy, Tales of Arise also relies heavily on the well-written, comic-style dialogues that arise during the course of the adventure. A stylistic element that has always given Bandai Namco's Conveyor Belt franchise its own touch.… Expand
  4. magnolia6
    Jun 27, 2023
    0
    A waste of money.

    AAA price tag. Story is just boring and bad. So many times I just want to get to fighting enemies, but there's non-necessary and meaningless dialogue every other 10 minutes. I just want to play the game. I don't care about the 20th cutscene within 30 minutes. Combat excited me at first, but after a few hours got tired of it. Nothing changed. No enemies seemed very    A waste of money.

    AAA price tag.
    Story is just boring and bad.
    So many times I just want to get to fighting enemies, but there's non-necessary and meaningless dialogue every other 10 minutes.
    I just want to play the game.
    I don't care about the 20th cutscene within 30 minutes.

    Combat excited me at first, but after a few hours got tired of it. Nothing changed.
    No enemies seemed very different to each other and how I approach them. Only bosses were unique.

    All in all, I regret having bought this.    … Expand
  5. TianLong1
    Mar 31, 2023
    9
    If you like anime and RPG, you should definitely give it a try. The gameplay is amazing, with a lot of different moves to use and upgrade, the characters in your group are interesting and their interactions make up a lot for the story, especially the second half where I think the story is much weaker and less compelling.
  6. aaronnmp96
    Mar 24, 2023
    7
    It is a good game, but the performance is a bit bad, also the story is nothing special, for someone used to this saga it is a pretty bad point. The best thing about the game is the gameplay, here they have made a great improvement
  7. CitySpellsword
    Feb 18, 2023
    2
    The worst writing and most incoherent story of any Tales game. Combat is a chaotic, particle-effect mess. There's some good character base design, gorgeous visual moments, and strong voice acting, just implemented with zero cleverness or respect for the player's time or intelligence. Characters seem unique at first but end up bland and samey by the end. Add in microtransactions forThe worst writing and most incoherent story of any Tales game. Combat is a chaotic, particle-effect mess. There's some good character base design, gorgeous visual moments, and strong voice acting, just implemented with zero cleverness or respect for the player's time or intelligence. Characters seem unique at first but end up bland and samey by the end. Add in microtransactions for exp/money, and you have the last Tales game I'll play.… Expand
  8. smlvcfncst
    Feb 18, 2023
    8
    Despite not being perfect, this is a very good game I completely recommend.

    Artistically it is very pleasing. The (main) characters and environment design is made with care, resulting in a game very good looking. The OST is equally very well done and, even though it might not be as memorable as others, very successfully accompanies the situations presented. The gameplay is excellent.    Despite not being perfect, this is a very good game I completely recommend.

    Artistically it is very pleasing. The (main) characters and environment design is made with care, resulting in a game very good looking. The OST is equally very well done and, even though it might not be as memorable as others, very successfully accompanies the situations presented.

    The gameplay is excellent. It is as challenging as one wants (you can change the difficulty whenever you want, even before reloading a check point of a boss fight after defeat), it is varied, fast, and remains extremely fun and satisfying even after 50 hours playing. Also here the graphical quality of the game shines.

    The plot is rich and evolves at a good pace. Its (reasonable) complexity is treated appropriately and from a more adult perspective than one might expect. It might not be surprising, but it's not dull and predictible.

    The are however some flaws. The world doesn't feel alive, but rather a decoration you walk through, with completely boring, uninspired NPCs and side-quests. The game is way to verbose and things are often overexplained, to the point I ended up wanting to skip dialogues. Finally, THE BIGGEST FLAW (imho) of the game is not being cinematographical enough: it is a pity that most of the plot is presented through dialogues, not exploiting any of the tools that audiovisual art allows for, and despite some exceptions, even the cutscenes are nothing else than the protagonists talking while standing like statues here and there. If this game was more theatrical and less textual (so carrying out the story also through the audiovisual setting and the characters interpretations, not only through dialog) I would easily have considered giving it a 10.    … Expand
  9. chrisdan23
    Jan 25, 2023
    8
    Mit Tales of Arise gibt Bandai Namco ihrer Fließband JRPG Serie nicht nur endlich ein Engine Update, generell scheint das Budget für die erfolgreiche Serie deutlich angehoben worden zu sein. Die Production Values können so endlich mit der Konkurrenz wie Dragon Quest XI oder einem Ni No Kuni 2 mithalten. Auch wenn Story sowie Charakter- und Leveldesign wieder recht generisch ausfallen, dasMit Tales of Arise gibt Bandai Namco ihrer Fließband JRPG Serie nicht nur endlich ein Engine Update, generell scheint das Budget für die erfolgreiche Serie deutlich angehoben worden zu sein. Die Production Values können so endlich mit der Konkurrenz wie Dragon Quest XI oder einem Ni No Kuni 2 mithalten. Auch wenn Story sowie Charakter- und Leveldesign wieder recht generisch ausfallen, das Budget Update tut der Serie gut, da die vielen Dialoge und Cut Scenes des Spiels deutlich mitreißender und motivierender inszeniert wurden. Im Kampfgeschehen wirkt Tales of Arise zwar immer noch recht chaotisch, bietet aber deutlich mehr taktische Finesse, als seine Vorgänger und spielt sich so durchaus durchschaubarer. Was Bandai Namco seit jeher gelingt sind die guten Dialoge innerhalb der eigenen Reisegruppe zu schreiben. Wenngleich es dem Vorgänger Tales of Berseria einen Deut besser gelang gute Situationskomik zu inszenieren, lebt auch Tales of Arise wieder stark von den toll geschriebenen, comicartigen Dialogen, die sich im Laufe des Abenteuers ergeben. Ein Stilelement, das Bandai Namcos Fließband Franchise seit jeher eine eigene Note geben konnte.… Expand
  10. velacroix
    Jan 14, 2023
    9
    +The best combat experience in the franchise and challenges even the greats in the JRPG vein. More complex than Star Ocean and extremely rewarding mastery of the many, many mechanics.
    +Art direction and concepts for the characters, attire, and architecture range from good to exceptional (coming from Bandai, known publisher of tacky games, this is miraculous).
    +Character writing is    +The best combat experience in the franchise and challenges even the greats in the JRPG vein. More complex than Star Ocean and extremely rewarding mastery of the many, many mechanics.
    +Art direction and concepts for the characters, attire, and architecture range from good to exceptional (coming from Bandai, known publisher of tacky games, this is miraculous).
    +Character writing is layered and dialogue does not agitate or detract from the story, paralleling Yakuza 0 and FFIX in many regards. The characters will say precisely what they should instead of pandering to a younger demographic.

    +-The score is pleasant and adheres to the atmosphere of each area, because Motoi Sakuraba does this better than any composer I'm aware of. That said, there are no memorable masterpieces here that will make their way to playlists 5 years from now like some of his works with Fromsoft and CSP (also, personal take, the opening cinematic is terrible).
    +-The world state, its denizens, and general narrative are on rails and does not reflect something 'lived in' in most encounters. This limits all emotional investment to anything outside of the focal entourage, but does allow for a uniform experience.

    -Objectively, among the worst taboos for a single player rpg: p2w DLC items. If you have any respect for yourself, do not redeem or even consider their existence until post-game. Even unlocking skins will force permanent stats on your characters.    … Expand
  11. TK4EVA47
    Dec 19, 2022
    8
    I played Tales of Arise in 2021 and thought it was a great game that I liked.
    However, the gameplay and cosmetic microtransactions in this game are disgusting.
  12. Tommey
    Sep 27, 2022
    9
    Thoroughly loved Tales of Arise - colorful cast of characters, nice gameplay, plot, great music. The areas were absolutely beautiful with a decent variety of enemies to defeat. The sidequests and character skits were interesting, too.
  13. GamesXpert
    Aug 24, 2022
    10
    Masterpiece JRPG. Phenomal action/rpg gameplay. Stunning music, gorgeous story. Final Fantasy should learn from this. Recommend it 100%, a must play for all JRPG lovers
  14. mytoothbrush
    Jul 7, 2022
    6
    The game was in general enjoyable with pleasant graphics (even if I prefered the anime-like graphics of Vesperia to the 3D-like graphics of this one), decent story and cute characters.
    The quantity of skits interrupting the gameplay was tedious, considering they weren't even funny and they didn't really add anything to the story, but the gameplay overall was fun enough.
    I must say    The game was in general enjoyable with pleasant graphics (even if I prefered the anime-like graphics of Vesperia to the 3D-like graphics of this one), decent story and cute characters.
    The quantity of skits interrupting the gameplay was tedious, considering they weren't even funny and they didn't really add anything to the story, but the gameplay overall was fun enough.
    I must say though, there were times when I hated how the AI worked to control the other party members and grinding for experience was a little annoying and frustrating.
    I was also disappointed because the amount of content available seemed to be much less than other episodes of the series, and sometimes I had the impression some ideas (i.e. the fishing minigame and the campsite breaks in particular) in the game resembled contents from other games, so I felt like I wasn't really playing anything original.
    I give 6 because I think casual players can enjoy it, but it's very far from the level of other previous games like Vesperia and Berseria, and I feel like they didn't really put too much effort in this one.    … Expand
  15. Jofe
    Apr 30, 2022
    7
    Not bad, but with quite a few flaws. The combat system lacks depth. But above all, the game universe has no culture, no lore. It's really disappointing, you don't feel involved in the world of the game. And apart from a few uninteresting quests, there's no point in returning to the cities you've already visited. And the writing sometimes lacks finesse. Scenes between Rinwell and Law areNot bad, but with quite a few flaws. The combat system lacks depth. But above all, the game universe has no culture, no lore. It's really disappointing, you don't feel involved in the world of the game. And apart from a few uninteresting quests, there's no point in returning to the cities you've already visited. And the writing sometimes lacks finesse. Scenes between Rinwell and Law are ridiculous and not credible.… Expand
  16. Neia
    Apr 16, 2022
    10
    Sempre fui fã de tales mas cara que jogo fenomenal,nao consegui parar de jogar fiquei completamente viciado na gameplay e na história que venha o proximo
  17. morjito
    Apr 12, 2022
    6
    Better Tales game to date, while retaining elements that distinguish tales game from the rest of the JPRPG crop. How is it better? The graphics, game play and story combined provide an immersive gaming experience. How about the characters? The playable characters are ok, each one based on typical RPG stereotypes, and the game provides just enough backstory and exposure to show theBetter Tales game to date, while retaining elements that distinguish tales game from the rest of the JPRPG crop. How is it better? The graphics, game play and story combined provide an immersive gaming experience. How about the characters? The playable characters are ok, each one based on typical RPG stereotypes, and the game provides just enough backstory and exposure to show the motivation of each character. The battle system is typical of Tales games, a bit of chaos with all characters shouting out their special moves, which is kinda fun until you get more battles, then you just mute down the volume, hahaha! By the way, kudos to the english voice actors, the voice-overs were well executed that its convincing to switch from original japanese voice-overs, especially since the text fonts are rather small and the walls of text are a pain to read.

    On the downside, the game has nothing new to offer, and after you finish the game, there is no replay value. The gaming experience is also not memorable, compared to Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Persona games that leave some lasting memory of the experience. Also, the paid DLC's suck and are obviously placed as an easy cash grab by Bandai Namco, such as DLCs for items to boost experience and gald drops (currency) that would lessen the grinding for xp and resources. Terrible, its like the game is tailored so the players are tempted to pay for the DLC due to the minuscule amount of experience, gald and item drops from defeated monsters. And that Sword Art online collaboration DLC, players have to pay for a training bout vs Kirito and Asuna, seriously, Bandai Namco want players to pay for a frickin' training bout???

    Anyway, enough of the DLC rants, finished the game and got the platinum after around 60 hours of game play. Overall, Tales of Arise is an improved Tales game that is slightly above average, its playable with a pinch of patience, interesting enough to play from start to finish, but totally no replay value. If you want to play the game, just rent it, buy at discount or buy a used game, and yeah ignore the absurd DLCs.    … Expand
  18. KunioPL
    Feb 12, 2022
    10
    God storry and nice combat system. Game is chalanging On high dificulties. One if the Best jrpg last Times.
  19. MoniWhite
    Feb 7, 2022
    9
    Combat is kinda meh, maybe outright bad but the story and graphics are really good, totally hooked me
  20. Zaverok
    Feb 5, 2022
    10
    Quite possibly some of the most fun I've had in a game in awhile. Combat is pretty coll, lots of skills to choose from, good combat animations. I'd suggest playing on moderate difficulty or higher as everything else below is kinda to easy imo. The cutscene get to be a bit much, and the voice acting is not all that good tbf but I can overlook any. Alot of JRPGs have bad voice acting. TheQuite possibly some of the most fun I've had in a game in awhile. Combat is pretty coll, lots of skills to choose from, good combat animations. I'd suggest playing on moderate difficulty or higher as everything else below is kinda to easy imo. The cutscene get to be a bit much, and the voice acting is not all that good tbf but I can overlook any. Alot of JRPGs have bad voice acting. The story itself is pretty cool, Alphen's dialog kinda gets annoying tho lol. Out of all the characters dialogue, Alphen's is hands down the worst. I'm still going to give the game a 10 put of 10 and recommend people play it. Good game.… Expand
  21. HunterSeeker
    Jan 11, 2022
    3
    It's amazing how much more advanced graphics and gameplay has come in video games, yet storytelling still stays stagnant. The story of this game is extremely tropey. It tries to spice things up with deaths but fails to build any meaningful character development with any character that dies except for one. The combat in the game is quite solid and fluid. The different types of areas alsoIt's amazing how much more advanced graphics and gameplay has come in video games, yet storytelling still stays stagnant. The story of this game is extremely tropey. It tries to spice things up with deaths but fails to build any meaningful character development with any character that dies except for one. The combat in the game is quite solid and fluid. The different types of areas also add a nice variety. However, the story and characters are so vapid and forgettable.… Expand
  22. Phuz
    Dec 25, 2021
    0
    Another disappointment. A total **** show of a Tales game. Remember the destruction BotW did to Zelda, well this is the equivalent for Tales.

    The forced encounters The uninspiring enemies The OST is bad, boring The story The characters The fetch quests The excessive loading screens Absolutely nothing likeable. I am getting towards halfway though Zestiria and I can't wait to go back to    Another disappointment. A total **** show of a Tales game. Remember the destruction BotW did to Zelda, well this is the equivalent for Tales.

    The forced encounters
    The uninspiring enemies
    The OST is bad, boring
    The story
    The characters
    The fetch quests
    The excessive loading screens

    Absolutely nothing likeable.

    I am getting towards halfway though Zestiria and I can't wait to go back to it. I have given Arise hours and hours now and not one of my hours with Arise has been as good as my worst hour with Zestiria. It has no charm, no mojo, it literally has nothing going for it.

    Really wishing I'd got Ys 9 instead now.

    Tales of Arise forces exploration as quests, then blocks your path with boring encounters. They really should have ditched the arena for battles and left the action to take place within the open world. It feels really dated, like Vesperia with a lick of paint but Vesperia was quite entertaining at times. Arise just feels bad. This game could have learnt a lot from Ys Origin on how to implement fun action.

    As I barely enjoyed any of this and it was an expensive game, as well as a present, I am pissed off. It has cost money, to waste my time. Hours of my time and now I need to drive to Cex to get rid. Not happy.

    Lowest possible score as this was the present I was most looking forward to. Gift ruined.    … Expand
  23. Bateybrian
    Dec 24, 2021
    10
    Best Tales game, and one of the best anime rpg's. I loved the story and character development.
  24. Trenton06si
    Nov 22, 2021
    10
    I haven’t enjoyed a jrpg this much in a long long time! I had no idea I was going to love this game as much as I have! The gameplay is top notch even better than FF7 remake. Story is very intriguing! Voice acting is superb! Can’t get enough of tales of arise!
  25. AlphaWorld05
    Nov 18, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Aunque lo haya hecho SAO project, es muy buen juego, lo malo es que las batallas está clonado de Scarlet Nexus lo que se traduce en un Beat' em up de PS3 o PS2. De todas formas es muy recomendable si eres de este tipo de juego, sobretodo el luchar contra Asuna y Kazuto que en nivel 99 lo hace muy interesante!… Expand
  26. TivooGames
    Nov 10, 2021
    9
    Dopo cinque anni dall’uscita di Tales of Berseria (e circa due dall’uscita di Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition) e con oltre sedici capitoli rilasciati in un’onorevole carriera di ben venticinque anni, la celeberrima saga “Tales Of” torna a farsi sentire con un nuovo e stravolgente capitolo: Tales Of Arise è il messia che i tanti appassionati stavano aspettando. Un titolo che è statoDopo cinque anni dall’uscita di Tales of Berseria (e circa due dall’uscita di Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition) e con oltre sedici capitoli rilasciati in un’onorevole carriera di ben venticinque anni, la celeberrima saga “Tales Of” torna a farsi sentire con un nuovo e stravolgente capitolo: Tales Of Arise è il messia che i tanti appassionati stavano aspettando. Un titolo che è stato capace di conquistare sia il mercato orientale che quello occidentale, offrendo una formula svecchiata, rinnovata, intuitiva e mozzafiato. Le arretratezze tecniche dei suoi predecessori fanno spazio ad uno stile più pulito, energico ed ispirato, e soprattutto ad un team molto più coeso che ha permesso di coadiuvare il tutto in un prodotto di tutto rispetto. Siamo probabilmente di fronte al capitolo meglio riuscito dei team Bandai, un punto di svolta necessario per rompere una tradizione segnata da continue riproduzioni di un genere, quello jrpg action, che non ha avuto il riscatto che meritava.
    Menzione d’onore al titolo è sicuramente l’enorme numero di attività presenti nella mappa. Sarà possibile dedicarsi alla pesca in modo tale da esplorare la cucina, ma ciò che rappresenta un punto di svolta per la saga è sicuramente la possibilità di saltare. L’esplorazione prende così un’altra piega, spostandosi su piani non solo orizzontali ma anche verticali, con la possibilità di esplorare luoghi altrimenti inaccessibili, offrendo al giocatore anche una leggera nota platform che in certi punti non dispiace per staccare dalla monotonia dell’avventura.

    Sarà possibile, inoltre, scovare tutti i gufi presenti sulla mappa per ottenere simpatici accessori da indossare a piacimento. Ed anche in questo Tales of Arise sorprende il giocatore più affezionato.

    Sarà infatti possibile applicare skin alle armi ed ai vestiti, cambiando difatti l’aspetto generale del personaggio. Con l’acquisto di edizioni particolari sarà possibile indossare abiti studenteschi, abiti da samurai, o interessanti abiti pensati in crossover con Code Vein. La cura degli sviluppatori è possibile evincerla anche in queste piccole trovate estetiche, sicuramente non essenziali ma certamente ben gradite.
    La realizzazione tecnica di Tales of Arise è sicuramente il punto nevralgico dell’intera produzione, nonché quello più importante poiché segna un netto distacco dallo stile poco ispirato dei suoi predecessori. Con il sapiente utilizzo dell’Unreal Engine 4, finalmente un Tales Of offre un comparto grafico non solo più affascinante, ma anche al passo con i moderni jrpg più famosi. La tridimensionalità dell’esplorazione, l’abbandono del cel shading a favore di una cura estetica più performante e matura, l’abbandono di uno stile “chibi” decisamente di stampo nipponico e il conseguente avvicinamento alla cultura occidentale rendono Tales of Arise un titolo godibile pressoché da ogni utente appassionato. L’Atmosferic Shader utilizzato dagli sviluppatori ha permesso la realizzazione di numerosi paesaggi enormemente diversificati tra loro. Alle fiamme e al fuoco della prima area si sostituiscono i ghiacciai ed il gelo artico della seconda, e così via in un’esplorazione mai scontata, mai banale, e ricca di punti carichi di pathos e di forte emozione per il giocatore. Vi ritroverete catapultati su enormi burroni, rapiti dall’immensità scenografica del paesaggio: ecco in cosa Tales of Arise nasconde la sua forza più grande, quella di emozionare i giocatori come si fa dinnanzi un quadro. Sicuramente una formula vincente.

    I colori, i dettagli, la ricchezza del mobilio e di ogni singola pianta: tutti gli ambienti del titolo sono stati curati con profonda attenzione. Spesso in titoli del genere vi è il pericolo di trovare cloni della mappa con delle semplici e diverse texture, un riciclo continuo di mappe di gioco per facilitare la realizzazione del titolo stesso. Tale meccanica in Tales of Arise è stata accantonata in virtù di una cura senza precedenti, un manifesto d’amore del team di sviluppo ai giocatori.
    I modelli poligonali dei personaggi (sia giocanti che non) di Tales of Arise nascondono i sapienti concept art dell’autore di Vesperia, Berseria e Zestiria: parliamo di Minoru Iwamoto, maestro di altissimo livello. Ricchi di ombre e di fluidità espressive, i modelli sono sicuramente tra i migliori di tutta la saga.    … Expand
  27. CLAWS
    Oct 15, 2021
    1
    BUY TO DELETE -_- Exp from mobs is lowered x2 for ONE level difference. Is no gring here, PM of this project is ... worst game of the series
  28. judgementblade
    Oct 10, 2021
    7
    I got introduced to the Tales of... series with Symphonia and since then played most mainline games (and caught up on the games that were released before then). So in part I'm a bit biased but also BECAUSE I love it so much more critical. Now for the actual review (in short):

    + good graphic (which is most likely responsible for the high score) + technically mostly clean even on a    I got introduced to the Tales of... series with Symphonia and since then played most mainline games (and caught up on the games that were released before then). So in part I'm a bit biased but also BECAUSE I love it so much more critical. Now for the actual review (in short):

    + good graphic (which is most likely responsible for the high score)
    + technically mostly clean even on a standard PS4 (just some character model delay pop-ups in cities and occasional collision issues getting me stuck on air near objects)
    # mostly interesting characters
    - feels like the midgame was cut/lost/left out
    - - insulting amount of pallet-swaps for enemies

    review (long):
    I would call this game alright but missing something to be as enjoyable as for more recent examples like Tales of Berseria and Dragon Quest XI. I would say I only have two major gripes with it but for that all the more. Generally I'd rate it alright and not doing too much wrong but what it does wrong, it screws up enormously. One thing that REALLY rubbed me wrong was the insulting amount of pallet swaps among enemies. It's like you only have 10 or 12 standard enemy types that get recycled every new region you visit with a pallet swap. The elite/boss monster are a bit more diverse but even then they get recycled 2 or 3 times.
    Another issue I had was that the game felt like it was missing the mid-game. You basically rush from your first assigned string of story missions to the endgame when you think, now is when the game really starts off. They advertise two planets linked and made me think they get treated almost equally much but they didn't. I have the suspicion that for one reason or another they gave up on doing part of the game and without spoiling much, many people playing it and who played some JRPGs before will notice that point. It's where you expect the second act twist to kick in. Instead of becoming the mid-game I thought, it turned out to be early post-game content. This also links to a minor gripe i have, the party having it's moments but ultimately feel like they not as close and well thought out as the game wants me to believe.
    It's a bit hard to put into words but I think two of the six playable characters (not consider spoilers since the opening movie literally shows them) got the short straw in that department and at least one of those would have likely had a major role in what seems to be the missing mid-game from what the game hints to in other places.
    Another minor gripe to me is the party AI. While you can customize some actions it feels like the AI still prioritizes aggression even when the team is dying. They seem to have difficulties to ascertain weaknesses in their attacks and you can't even tell them to specifically aim for them which causes unnecessary grieve in some battles. It is also insane how some enemies dish out when they should be around your characters level.
    Another problem was the money. I mean sure, wild monster shouldn't drop any money, at best some sparkly trinkets or gems that they just like but human enemies should drop some amount every time. Sure you get spoils to sell but compared to the costs for supplies and crafting and the value and amount of things you get to sell, it's imbalanced. Most RPGs have the issue that the later the game, the more useless money you have, here we have the opposite extreme you never get enough without hours of grinding and I did have a discount perk that came with the Collectors Edition.
    Since I did have some perks with the Collectors Edition I used for almost all the game that might otherwise be behind a paywall I can't really say for difficulty but even with them, I got into trouble a few times during the playing. There was a bit of a jump in enemy levels from 30-35 in one area to 40-45 afterwards and then 50-55 for the next area which is endgame (60 for final boss, on normal mind you) it further feeds my suspicion there was some mid-game cut and bad balancing to mask it.
    That about sums it up what I think of the game. While the last game I remember for outrageous palette-swaps on enemies was Tales of Vesperia (which is rather old comparingly), it's still good to remember for other things too but I suspect, I will remember Tales of Arise mostly for it's absurd amount of palette-swaps and not much else. Now to put in perspective for more recent Tales of... games, I really like Tales of Xillia 1+2. Tales of Zesteria was pretty bad as a Tales of..., I really did love Tales of Berseria so I guess Tales of Arise comes in closer to the Zestiria side of things and makes me hope that the next Tales of... will be just as baffling to me as Berseria was. But I still wouldn't say I regret paying 70 bucks for the physical copy of the game alone. It just wasn't as good as I hoped it will be.

    With that, see you and have a good time playing.    … Expand
  29. ItsTamo
    Oct 7, 2021
    8
    Cons:
    - Frame drop issues (probably cuz it's base PS4, but still.)
    - Devs should stop forcing victims to "forgive" everything. That's just not how things work. The whole story revolves around the theme of forgiveness and coexistence and I found how they delivered the message very unsettling. If they are dealing with colonialism in stories, they should've been a lot more sensitive. -    Cons:
    - Frame drop issues (probably cuz it's base PS4, but still.)
    - Devs should stop forcing victims to "forgive" everything. That's just not how things work. The whole story revolves around the theme of forgiveness and coexistence and I found how they delivered the message very unsettling. If they are dealing with colonialism in stories, they should've been a lot more sensitive.
    - Very, very disappointing ending. I was literally laughing out loud during the cutscenes since the whole ending sequence seemed really ridiculous and rushed and made no sense. Alphen was trying to be serious but I buy none of that lol.
    - Characters are straight out flat. Alphen had great backstories but was one of the worst protagonist I've seen in a video game. He's so static and absurdly obsessed with being the 'Mr. Nice Guy'. Toward the end, the whole journey is lead by his obsession to save his love interest and this is done terribly. All the other characters except for Rinwell and maybe Dohalim were poorly written as well. They just lack in any interesting character arch. The character designs are so great but their arches are such missed potentials.
    - lack of monster variant. they mainly play with the colour palette change.
    - Microtransaction seems really bad. I didn't buy any of the DLCs but I could see where BN was going at.
    - Soundtracks were bland. The most memorable ones were actually the returning tracks, like the field boss themes.
    - Character inflation in battles is seriously off. Kisara and Law ended up being mostly useless throughout the whole campaign. Alphen's the main character, Shionne's a must since she's the healer, Rinwell is a magic-user who can beat monsters of 20+ levels all by herself, and Dohalim is a secondary healer and necessary since Alphen can't heal himself and Shionne and Rinwell are very fragile.
    - Field monster health was unnecessarily high and I just don't quite get why... The Devs just don't bother to add any interesting skills or patterns in higher variants of the monsters, but instead just add a tonne of health.
    - UI/UX was oddly uncomfortable. You can't access the map from the menu and you can't access the quest menu from the map. I was consistently irritated by this toward the end.

    Pros:
    - Art Direction is gorgeous!!! The environment and the character graphics were so pretty. Honestly this is one of the most gorgeous art I've seen in a video game.
    - Combat is very cool. Fast-paced and engaging, and the cutscenes for the skills were also cool.
    - Battle camera was very, very, good. I've played Vesperia, Symphonia and Zestria and none of those had good cameras, it seems like I made some good improvements over the years.
    - I wasn't too in for the chain battle system at first, but quickly got very fun. It compliments the fast-paced combats very well.
    - Fishing is weirdly fun...
    - I loved the references to the previous Tales games. Rinwell and Shionne's casts were straight out from Vesperia and that was a really cool touch.
    - First half of the game was very engaging and interesting.

    I have more cons than pros but this game was fun enough. The first half of the game was seriously great. It got dragged down by its terrible writing and rushed and non-sensical story toward the end. I'd give it 9.2 if it wasn't for the story but story really brought the score down for me. The ending was really mediocre and I didn't feel anything as I took out the disc from my console...

    Overall fun experience. I wouldn't greatly recommend but still recommend regardless.    … Expand
  30. Risax
    Oct 3, 2021
    7
    Although I'm not the most hardcore "Tales of..." fan, I've definitely played a few games and Tales of Arise got on my radar because it certainly *looks* great. I imagine that's one of the reasons it's one of the more popular games in the series in recent memories.

    At first, the game had me hooked. I liked the mystery of Iron Mask (aka Alphen) and the fact that Shionne wasn't your    Although I'm not the most hardcore "Tales of..." fan, I've definitely played a few games and Tales of Arise got on my radar because it certainly *looks* great. I imagine that's one of the reasons it's one of the more popular games in the series in recent memories.

    At first, the game had me hooked. I liked the mystery of Iron Mask (aka Alphen) and the fact that Shionne wasn't your typical "Aww, your poor baby let me heal you!" type healer. Combat felt good, I liked the special moves every character had to down certain enemies as well as the risk/reward of the Blazing Sword.

    Unfortunately, as the game progressed combat began to feel more like a slog with enemies become big ol' damage sponges, drawing out most boss fights and making me feel very "meh" about the thing.

    As for the story, despite the game being somewhere between 40 to 60 hours long depending how much time you spend grinding or doing side-content, it still felt...rushed?

    Most of the Lords felt underdeveloped and more like mustache-twirling villains than any actual characters, although a late-game side-quests attempts to go "no, no, they were actual *people* you know?" but by that point it felt far too late. One party member even completes his quest for revenge in the same section of the game that he joins, and for the rest of it they're delegated to comic relief it feels like.

    Admittedly, the second half of the game has some crazy and interesting twists but even then it doesn't feel all that rewarding? I don't know, maybe I was already feeling pretty burned out with the game at that point. I also miss the 2D version of the skits, but that's a personal preference.

    Overall, Tales of Arise is an average/above average JRPG that I'd recommend if it's on sale but not as a full-price buy.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PS4 Game of 2021
14
#14 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. GRYOnline.pl
    Apr 15, 2022
    85
    Despite some issues, Tales of Arise is a fantastic game, especially for fans of the genre. Fortunately, it is also accessible to newcomers to the genre, because it has everything: a cool story, great characters, a charming world, and really good gameplay.
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  2. LaPS4
    Oct 27, 2021
    86
    Tales of Arise comes the most ambitious JRPG of the next-gen consoles, offering a great adventure with an excellent combat system and a soundtrack that will remain on the heart of fans of the saga for a long time.
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  3. BaziCenter
    Sep 25, 2021
    90
    Tales of Arise feels like new blood in the Tales series veins, as it gathers all the qualities of the previous games, puts them together and takes them to the next level.
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