My first true experience with the Tales series did not disappoint at all. Tales Of Arise was a wonderful story filled with dualities, dark themes and topics, but dressed and polished in one of the most gorgeous JRPGs to date. An easy contender for GOTY.
I really tried to hold off on getting Arise as much as possible. In fact, I wasn’t even going to get it until it was on a deep sale. Reason being is that my experience with the Tales franchise is almost 0. I briefly played Berseria years back (less than 15 hours in so for a Tales game I barely finished the Tutorial!), but fell out of the game as I picked up others and it plunged into the Abyss of the Backlog. Thanks to constant bombardment of excitement from my fellow gamers on Instagram, I caved, and went for it. So glad I made that call.
It wouldn’t be a JRPG without some sort of love interests intertwined in this web of conflict and deception, and Alphen and Shionne are so masterfully done you feel like you are the wingman whenever they finally break down each other’s barriers and discover each others true selves. While their tense relationship is a part of the story, the true takeaway from it is how these two different people have grown to understand one another, and once those barriers are down, they realize how much they actually have in common. Each duo has a dynamic that gets fleshed out towards the end, and the group as a whole is a small example of the world they are striving to build a future for; a world where people aren’t discriminated due to their Astral aptitude, race, magical affinities, social standing, or ruled unfairly and unjustly.
Combat was a thrill! I really cannot stress how excellent it is when combat mechanics are so crisp and concise that after time even I, Tales amateur, was able to feel like an Artes Master. You can’t just sit idle in here and mash buttons. There is a clearly emphasis on timing, whether it be parties, dodges, and performing Boost Strikes at the right time. Dohalim can root an enemy down, while Law will stun armored foes, allowing you to make quick work of them. The genius part is being able to utilize the Boost Strikes even if the character is not in your current party, so you can play with the crew you like and still reap the benefits of the backup when you need it. Oh yes Kisara, swoop in and save me with your nice, perfectly contoured…shield. Plenty of Artes and abilities can be learned as you gain Titles, which unlock as you complete story quests or fulfill a certain requirement. As you master combat, it just becomes so fluid and second nature. I occasionally played as other characters, but Alphen just became almost poetic with how easy it was to string combos, dodge, parry, and weave tapestries of death with how balanced he was with the sword. Let me collect myself and let’s get down to the juicy stuff.
So, banging opening theme aside, Arise starts out dark. Slavery, oppression, the marginalized vs the elite. It’s clear I’ve stepped into a world that after 300 years of subjugation, they have given up hope. As the nameless hero, Iron Mask, I find myself unwittingly embroiled in a story that is out of this world. Literally. But for all the right reasons though! The game has been out for a month, so bear in mind the review here will contain…
SPOILERS ahead.
The world of Dahna has been taken over by the technologically superior Renan invaders stationed on the artificial moon called Lenegis. Each region of Dahna has been broken down essentially by element, with a Lord at the helm. Lords are highly competitive, and upon selection are chosen to participate in what’s called the Crown Contest. This event is what determines who the ruler of the Renan people, the Sovereign, is. Each Lord is in possession of a Master Core, in which they absorb Astral energy of that particular element. Calaglia, for example, is a scorched and flame-ridden region, and Lord Balseph embodies the Fire Master Core.
While initially, the slave labor is thought to be used for mining resources from the planet (metals, etc), upon some revelations later it is determined that the actual resource being gathered is the Astral energy from the Dahnan people themselves. Woah. As if a life of servitude wasn’t enough, the energy that is their very essence is being collected to empower the Lord for what seems like a #$%^ measuring contest. However, Arise has plenty of “wut just happened” moments, so even this is not quite what it seems. Another revelation takes place in Elde Menancia, where it is discovered that a fruit is being given to the Dahnans there which heightens the output of Astral energy, exponentially increasing the rate at which it is harvested. The downside is that it essentially vaporizes the person into nothingness, a silver, featureless liquid.
I mentioned duality earlier and there’s good reason for it. Throughout the game you see two sides of the coin, there’s the marginalized and the superior. Dahnans enslaved by Renans. The Light Astral Energy of Dahna and the Dark Astral Energy possessed by the people of Rena. Dahna is a slave out of necessity. After going on the grandeur sci-fi escapade to Lenegis so much is finally revealed and it’s just Funkmaster Flex bomb drop after bomb drop. Everything has been a lie, all fabricated to bring back the planet Rena, which is basically an empty husk. To do so, they need to basically absorb and merge with Dahna, which would cause certain annihilation. Renans aren’t even truly Renans, they are Dahnans that have been altered, and the Sovereign is another farce. Nothing persists on the surface of Rena, so the people on Lenegis have been blindly following a shadow operation attempting to revive a dead planet by manipulating the Renans, who in turn enslave the Dahnans. All the while everyone is ignorant to the truth, that basically they are being enslaved by their own people, and with each truth that the game sheds, it hits a little bit harder. So many have fought and died for lies, and so many Renans have exerted superiority that is nothing but a lie as well.
Let’s get down to my problems with the game. I, like many I’ve discussed Arise with, found the 2nd half a bit disjointed and almost a bit rushed. I feel like there were some big things dropped and the character reactions didn’t quite match the event. The revelation with the true nature of Renans was huge, and the most we could say is “I guess they got it bad too huh?”. It just felt like ignorance was an acceptable excuse for centuries of atrocity. Post-game was relatively small, there were some extra dungeons which featured characters and dialogue referencing older games, so I was pretty clueless, but they were nice challenges. One of the biggest let downs was the lack of a photo mode. You don’t make a beautiful game and then not let me take 14gb worth of carefully manicured photos, thank you very much. The final offender was the constant DLC push. For a single player game, it was always in your face every time you went to camp. Sure the camp menu was a bit sparse, but it was supposed to be a way to unwind from the journey, not a way to push me to buy a swimsuit package and see Dohalim in a Speedo. It just felt disingenuous. I don’t mind buying DLCs and supporting great games, but I don’t need to be handheld to do it like a clueless child.
-Game Info- Tales Of Arise Genre: ARPG/JRPG Developer: Bandai Namco Publisher: Bandai Namco Release Date: 9/9/2021 Platforms: PS4/PS5, XB1/XBS S|X, PC -GamerDad Info- Completed On: 9/23/2021 Played On: PS5 Time Played: ~70 Hours Rating: 9/10
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