The new installation of the Arise series: Tales of Arise, is such a pleasure to play. After over two decades of waiting for another impressive Tales installation, this seventeenth entry looks like the one. Bandai Namco Studios have made giant strides in the action role-playing genre, and it is available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. You find it all worth the wait when you overlook the over one-year delay and get into gameplay. This action role-playing runs on Unreal Engine 4. It follows two characters from opposing worlds on their journey to end an oppressive rule. 

VERY INTENTIONAL GAMEPLAY

Arise is set in an area between Dhana, a medieval world, and Rena, an advanced world. The advanced civilization had attacked Dhana and enslaved its population. A masked slave, Alphen, helps to rescue a Renan girl, Vymer, who is cursed with a spell that hurts anyone touching her. They go on a journey to put balance to the world, and we watch them get close and personal as they embark on this journey. This storyline exceeds that of Symphonia, and Alphen is charming, helpful, and a protector of his fellow slave, and other characters show great depth. They learn, grow and interact with one another in actual banter, skits, and side quests that show personality.

Tales of Arise follows the gameplay of previous games in the series with subtle alterations; it is one of the best installations in the series. It runs on the Linear Motion Battle System and is largely focused on evading, countering, and attacking. I was surprised that it did not feature a multiplayer mode, but its lack did not affect the quality of play. It seems like the team focused their energy on improving combat chemistry and the Boost Strike feature, which allowed multiple party members to perform some destructive attacks.

Tales of Arise really does a great job in the combat arenas. Combats are improved compared to previous games, which still take place in circular arenas, except for the boss battles, which hold in a larger, more elaborate one. Movements and attacks are more fluid; they remind you of other RPG games like Devil May Cry. Subtle additions like the slow-motion your feel when you time a perfect dodge and place you in the range of a counterattack where you deliver a devastating blow. It gives you the sensation that you are directing your anime. You get a finishing move called the Mystic Artes when you have successfully executed perfect dodges and filled up your meter.

INTRODUCING TEAM-BASED ACTION

Previous Tales games combined 2D and 3D movement during battles, but Arise uses a full 3D movement pattern that features intuitive movements. This team-based action ensures that the other three characters in your camp contribute to your success. You can finetune their actions by using THE Aartes feature. Unleashing the attack string kills smaller enemies outright and dals massive damages to bigger enemies and boss monsters. This is not a new feature, but it has been significantly improved. 

All six Characters in Tales of Arise have special skills that can come in handy during battle and turn the tides in your favor. Rinwell can steal an enemy’s ability to cast a spell and use it against him. He instead casts a spell on the creature and gives you a winning edge. Law’s abilities come in when you battle a shielded enemy. He can break through their shield and open up the enemy to damage. The kicker is that although you can only have dour characters with you in a single battle, you can still tap into the abilities of the other two. It is also incredibly simple to do in the heat of battle. Simply open up the menu and switch out one character for another. I think this interface improvement improves the seamless nature of the game and maintains the flow.

UNDERSTATED BUT STIMULATING GRAPHICS

Tales of Arise has a watercolor-type feel to its graphics which is quite distinct from previous games. You can easily get what the art direction is in this massive world filled with water bodies and incredible scenery. Using a free camera, which uses the Artes and special moves, makes moving battles easier. This feature included in the Berseria installation increases the feeling of fluidity of the world.

Although there were quite a number of flashy effects, I never got lost in the chaos, as I could still read what I was doing with my character. 

THE EXCITING SOUNDTRACK MATCHES THE GAMEPLAY

One of the great aspects of the Tales of Arise universe is the great music that accompanies it. The combination of classical and rock-inspired music during the battles goes so well with the battle scenes that it causes elevated excitement during combat. 

Tales of Arisecomes with a really impressive soundtrack and voice-over. However, the lip sync is sometimes off, with wrong timing and unmatched worlds. It seems like the characters were not expected to sync with English dubbing, or these were mere glitches. There were times when the characters also said a different words from the subtitles, which I guess are not major glitches.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Tales of Arise both feels like one of the Tales series and a brand-new game simultaneously with a great storyline and impressive combat. It combines the best ideas from previous game versions to form a solid new one. Playing this game made me cry out in excitement from time to time as I unlocked a new feature I didn’t know existed, which was cool. The game also has a gentle learning curve which makes it easy for new players who have never played previous Tales games—punctuated with great integration of thoughtful, interesting, and amusing short story events.

After almost 48 hours of exploring all the regions in this game, I can say that it was a pure delight, and I would recommend it as a great way to spend $59.99.