I am a big Tales Of fan so I was excited for a brand new Tales game when Tales Of Arise was announced. I have played all the Tales games and have enjoyed them all with a couple personal favorites being Symphonia and Vesperia. When I started Tales Of Arise, I was blown away by how great it was right from the start. It felt like new life had been breathed into the Tales series. The accessibility for the game is great ranging from being able to adjust the difficulty setting, to being able to adjust the size of the subtitles.
The story for Arise sets up the events for the worlds of Rena and Dahna explaining that the Renans invaded Dahna and conquered the Dahnan people and enslaved them 300 years ago and the Renans have been in control ever since. This is where we are introduced to Alphen a Dahnan slave in an iron mask who has no memories of his past and can't feel pain. Alphen is charming, kind, and helpful going out of his way to be a protector to his fellow slaves. This initial introduction gives you a feel for the game controls, how the mini map works, and how to track quests. It's fairly straightforward and easy to follow.
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| Meeting Alphen for the first time. |
After a certain point at the start of the story Alphen meets Shionne a Renan woman who can't be physically touched because of magic thorns that erupt from her body and attack making the person feel like they're being struck by lightning repeatedly. Alphen and Shionne share the lead role and it was quite interesting to see how they went from working together out of necessity to becoming close friends over time. This is where Arise really takes off as Alphen and Shionne explore the world of Dahna, seeing different cities, meeting people who become allies, and understanding that each person has things that they're going through and trying to navigate it to grow and be better. Exploring the world in Arise was incredible because no two areas were alike. Each place had its own beauty and style which really made me appreciate the wonderful art work in Arise.
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| Alphen admires a snowy vista. |
I loved all of the characters in Arise. Each one brought a unique perspective throughout the story because of their experiences and strive towards learning how to cope with the painful things and working together to move forward to build a better world while holding onto hope. Throughout the story Arise touches upon the horrors of war, the inhumanity of slavery, and recognizing one's own privilege and how to address it and learn what they can do to help. Those seem like such heavy topics for a JRPG like Arise, but it is done in a mindful and thought provoking manner that raises valid points and allows each of the characters to explore this organically in their various conversations and skit conversations during their journey.
The combat in Arise is fantastic and the small changes that were made are subtle, but really make the combat shine and still feel like a Tales game. Party members can now link with each other and do combo attacks on enemies. Each character has their own specific skill that is mapped to the d-pad and can be used to counterattack enemy actions. For example, Kisara has an ability that blocks an enemy charging and stops them in their tracks or Law has an ability that can punch through a shielded enemy so the team can unleash a ton of damage on them. The arte and mystic artes abilities are still there and you can adjust them and change them out to what you like. Level grinding doesn't feel like a chore simply because the combat is so much fun.
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| Taking down enemies is fun in Arise. |
The main story isn't the only thing to do of course. What would a Tales game be without cooking? Each character can take turns cooking at camp or an inn before resting. This also allows everyone a chance to talk to each other and bond. Alphen can choose a person to hang out with and this strengthens his friendships with each person unlocking new artes for them. There are side quests to do ranging from fighting challenging monsters to finding certain items for people. There is also a collectable quest in the form of adorable owls. As you travel through Dahna, each area has owls that you really have to search for because some are hidden very well. This unlocks some really nice rewards with fun outfits for everyone as well as some recipes for cooking. The one side thing that really got my attention was the fishing mini game. Yes, you can fish in Tales Of Arise and it is such a good time. I became obsessed with catching every single type of fish there was in all of Dahna in order to unlock better fishing rods, lures, rewards, and bragging rights. There are boss fish that are quite challenging, but I enjoyed myself with all of it. Catching a boss fish in the game felt great and you get some cool extra skits with Kisara who does all the fishing in the game.
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| Showing off our boss fish catch! |
Arise is a big game and with me doing absolutely everything I could find in the game, I clocked in about 75 hours by the time I was finished. There is a new game plus which allows you to start the game over with all your levels, items, and artes unlocked. The story is beautifully told and I loved each character because they felt real and I cared about all their stories. The writing is so well done it made me care about all of them. Their are moments of humor that had me laughing and even the side quests themselves brought an extra layer to the story and for some of the characters added more depth to their personal stories. With combat that feels fresh and a story that has so many incredible surprises, Tales Of Arise is an amazing adventure that is absolutely worth your time.
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| A spectacular view. |
*Tales Of Arise is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
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