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Game Information​

Game Title: Tales of Arise

Platforms:

• PlayStation 5 (Sep 10, 2021)
• PC (Sep 10, 2021)
• Xbox Series X/S (Sep 10, 2021)
• Xbox One (Sep 10, 2021)
• PlayStation 4 (Sep 10, 2021)

Trailers:

• TALES OF ARISE - Free Demo Trailer
• TALES OF ARISE – Lifestyle Feature
• TALES OF ARISE – Official Opening Animation
• TALES OF ARISE – Summer Game Fest Trailer
• TALES OF ARISE – Release Date Trailer
• Tales of Arise - A Fateful Encounter | PS4, XB1, PC
• Tales of Arise - Announcement Trailer, Tales of Festival Edit
• Tales of Arise - E3 Announcement Trailer | PS4, X1, PC

Developer: Bandai Namco Studios

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 88 average - 100% recommended - 38 reviews

Critic Reviews​

3DNews - Алексей Лихачев - Russian - 9 / 10

A new page in the history of Tales. A huge jump in quality compared to a previous game, but still as engaging as ever.

---

ACG - Jeremy Penter -

"So far one of the best Tales games I have played with engaging combat, a diverse story that stretches across some unique territory, and a beautiful world."

---

Attack of the Fanboy - Adam Braunstein - 4.5 / 5 stars

For those who thirst for the epic JRPGS of old, Tales of Arise manages to live up to lofty expectations and then some.

---

Cultured Vultures - Ryan Stevens - 7.5 / 10

Dedicated fans of the genre will find exactly what they were looking for here. While its pacing doesn't treat players' time as well it could, Tales of Arise is an enjoyable, memorable action RPG.

---

Destructoid - Eric Van Allen - 8.5 / 10

Whether this is the big Tales breakthrough or not is a matter that history will decide. This is a Tales game that hits the right spots for me, puts a lot of love into its cast and its action, and somehow manages to strike a balance between the old and the new.

---

Digital Trends - De'Angelo Epps - 5 / 5 stars

Tales of Arise a great step toward the JRPG's evolution and a must-play for fans of the genre.

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Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury - 5 / 5 stars

Tales of Arise is magnificent. The writing is rich and evocative, and the developers took on a major creative challenge with the themes that they decided to tackle… and did a superb job.

---

Easy Allies - Michael Damiani - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Arise brings much needed changes for Bandai Namco's long-running RPG series with stunning new visuals, a refined combat system, and a somber narrative.

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Eurogamer - Hirun Cryer - Recommended

There are missteps and a few bumps along the way, but this soft reboot of a long-running series emerges a triumph.

---

Fextralife - Yuria - 8.6 / 10

Tales of Arise combines a stunning world told with a mix of anime, cutscenes and comic strip styled conversations. The combat is fun, flashy with customisable skills in hack 'n' slash style. While the combat can feel a little unnatural with the auto-targeting and airborne moves, once you get used to it, there are some fun fights ahead. If you don't like having to choose between ranged, casting, melee in games, you won't have to worry as Tales of Arise let's you swap in different characters as you wish, keeping combat fresh. With over 40 hours of main story, side quests and exploring , this Tales entry has plenty in terms of content.

---

Game Rant - Joshua Duckworth - 5 / 5 stars

Tales of Arise takes the franchise to new heights with an emotional story, unique characters, fun combat, and more defining features.

---

GameSpew - Richard Seagrave - 9 / 10

With Tales of Arise, I think the Tales series is finally ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heavy hitters of the JRPG genre – Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. This is a masterfully crafted adventure, and the best JRPG I’ve played in a very long time. Combining stunning visuals with a gripping story and the most exciting combat system found in a JRPG yet, this is a must-have for fans of the genre. Its standalone story makes this a great entry point for those looking to get into the Tales series, too. Put simply, Tales of Arise is outstanding.

---

GameSpot - Heidi Kemps - 7 / 10

Tales of Arise is a lengthy, beautiful RPG adventure, but has messy combat and uneven pacing on occasion.

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GamingTrend - David Flynn - 95 / 100

Tales of Arise is a huge leap forward for the series. Combat is incredibly fun and fluid, the story is fantastic despite a lackluster finale, and the characters are as charming as ever. It's not only one of the best Tales games, but one of the best the PS5 has to offer.

---

Geek Culture - Jake Su - 9.3 / 10

A high point for the series, Tales of Arise arrive after a long break and stakes its claim as one of the best JRPGs in recent years.

---

Hardcore Gamer - Adam Beck - 4 / 5

Tales of Arise is the best Tales game in over a decade.

---

IGN Spain - David Oña - Spanish - 8 / 10

Tales of Arise comes to prove that the series still has a lot to say. At a time when fans of the genre are in for a treat, Bandai Namco has decided to join the party and offer us one of the best instalments of the franchise. A perfect entry into the franchise, with an interesting story, charismatic characters, beautiful artwork and a combat system that's as accessible as it is deep. It takes a while to get going, but when it does, it's hard to put the controller down before starting the next dungeon.

---

Metro GameCentral - GameCentral - 8 / 10

A successful attempt to modernise and broaden the appeal of the Tales series without completely abandoning its JRPG roots.

---

MondoXbox - Andrea Giuliani - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Arise succeeds in giving the series new lustre with a mature, interesting story full of twists, a technical aspect that is suited to the current generation and a dynamic, fast and spectacular combat system. There is still room for improvement, but if you are a fan of action-RPG it is a game not to be missed.

---

Noisy Pixel - Orpheus Joshua - 9 / 10

Tales of Arise is the grand adventure we’ve been waiting for, and more, for veteran players and new fans alike. Its addictive and satisfying combat design, breathtaking narrative, gorgeous presentation, and engaging cast make it the quintessential JRPG to play. The characters met in this entry add to the growing cast of memorable personalities this series has given us, solidifying it as a true Tales title.

---

One More Game - Ricki Buzon - Buy

After a drought of 5 years, Tales is Arise makes a stunning return and thoroughly sticks the landing. This latest entry in the series is a solid outing that we can't recommend enough and should prove to be a must-play for longtime fans and even newcomers to the series.

---

PCGamesN - Jason Coles - 9 / 10

Bandai Namco combines excellent writing, stunning anime visuals, and a deep, rewarding combat system to make one of the best JRPGs of the year.

---

PlayStation Universe - Timothy Nunes - 8.5 / 10

Bandai Namco created something special here. Fast-paced, accessible combat meets a well-constructed narrative told with beautiful visuals, wonderful voice work, and an impeccable soundtrack. Even with its odd issue here and there, nothing stands in the way of Tales of Arise succeeding on all levels.

---

Press Start - Steven Impson - 8 / 10

I came away from Tales of Arise with a new appreciation for the Tales series. I loved my time with the endearing cast of characters and the exciting, fast-paced story alongside the energetic and action-packed battles. Tales of Arise is an excellent action RPG, and a fantastic entry point into the series.

---

Prima Games - Lucas White - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Arise is full of heart and energy, and isn’t afraid to stumble along with its characters as it explores complicated subjects. It’s messy in a way that feels realistic, despite all the monsters, magic powers and ridiculous outfits.

---

Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 9 / 10

Tales of Arise went above and beyond our expectations.

---

RPG Fan - Izzy Parsons - 93 / 100

Tales of Arise is a tremendous step forward for a storied JRPG series and should be experienced by all fans of the genre.

---

RPG Site - Scott White - 9 / 10

After nearly half a decade, Tales of Arise was worth the wait as a shining new example of what the series future may hold.

---

Saudi Gamer - مشعل الصعب - Arabic - 8 / 10

Remarkable visual aesthetics and entertaining fighting system but slow in presenting the story, especially at the beginning of the game.

---

Screen Rant - Cody Gravelle - 4.5 / 5 stars

Tales of Arise accomplishes the rare feat of catering to its many fans while simultaneously making a compelling case for newcomers to give it a try, and it's a JRPG must-play that was more than worth the wait.

---

Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 9 / 10

Tales of Arise is an excellent JRPG that delivers just about everything you want from the genre: a rich story, intriguing characters, satisfying combat, and an endless amount of lore.

---

Siliconera - Jenni Lada - 9 / 10

In short, Tales of Arise feels satisfying. It’s gorgeous to look at and the battles fun to experience. Especially since you sometimes do get that “Ah ha!” moment when the right sort of Boost Attack or Strike comes up.

---

Sirus Gaming - Conrad Huang - 9.5 / 10

Tales of Arise is truly a masterpiece and is worthy of a game that celebrates 25 years of Tales games and that means a lot to many JRPG fans worldwide.

---

Spaziogames - Italian - 8.3 / 10

Tales of Arise is the best game in the series, with a brilliant combat system and a story with a lot of important themes tied to the atrocious consequences of post-colonialism.

---

Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 9 / 10

This title makes it clear that the folks at Bandai Namco have it in them to move with the times, without losing the essence of what a Tales game is.

---

TechRaptor - Robert Scarpinito - 9 / 10

Tales of Arise combines a wonderful combat loop with engaging party members to create an epic yet personal story.

---

The Games Machine - Gabriele Barducci - Italian - 8.6 / 10

Tales of Arise is a great game and a significant step forward from its predecessor, a wonderful mix of bright narrative and excellent gameplay.

---

Video Chums - Mary Billington - 9.2 / 10

Tales of Arise is a masterpiece with a deep story and endearing cast that will keep you hooked as you fight for freedom from tyrants. It's the best Tales yet!

---

Wccftech - Francesco De Meo - 9 / 10

With its engaging story, dark atmosphere, charming characters, and excellent combat, Tales of Arise provides an experience that feels both new and familiar at the same time, making for a game that both long-time fans and newcomers will enjoy.

---

WellPlayed - 9 / 10

Combining the best ideas of the past three generations of 3D action JRPGs, stripped of excess and micromanagement, Tales of Arise is one of the most tactile and frenetic action-narrative experiences to come out of Japan in recent memory.

---

Windows Central - Miles Dompier - Unscored

Tales of Arise sets a new gold standard for traditional action JRPGs. This stylized adventure's presentation and lavish production is a treat for anime fans and RPG enthusiasts, and it brings new life to the long-running Tales series.

---

Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8 / 10

Tales of Arise is a Tales game through and through. It's polished and consistently enjoyable, and it features an excellent combat system. The story and characters are not particularly ambitious or distinct, but they give you a fun world to explore for the 40+ hour runtime. In an era where "safe" JRPGs are uncommon, it's nice to have one that does exactly what it promises. It's not the best or worst of the series, but it is a darn fun Tales title that lives up to the franchise's name.

---

XGN.nl - Chris Boers - Dutch - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Arise delivers a fresh start with new heroes and a world that feels all too familiar. The story of an oppressed people living in a land divided into five parts, that need to be liberated isn't quite original, but Arise does offer a streamlined experience that can be highly tailored. Those that want to, can delve into the lore, while others can happily skip that entirely. The same applies to combat, which can be tailored to the player's desire, from (semi)automatic to manual and challenging.

 

[ethomaz]

Good scores... 88 on Meta with 31 reviews.

Tales of Arise Reviews

Challenge the Fate That Binds You On the planet Dahna, reverence has always been given to Rena, the planet in the sky, as a land of the righteous and divine. Stories handed down for generations became truth and masked reality for the people of Dahna. For 300 years, Rena has ruled over Dahna...

www.metacritic.com

 

[saintjules]

Karak with ACG review (still in progress)






Easy Allies Review






Gamespot Review






GamingBolt Review






HappyConsoleGamer Review






MrMattPlays Review

 

[TonyK]

For a game like this, that meta score is like a 95 for western AAAA games. Sure purchase for me, but after Lost Judgment (I'm with Tsushima now).

 

[Fake]

Not bad I must say.

 

[ssringo]

While Tales of Arise offers some paid cosmetic DLC--extra costumes and decorations, which don't change gameplay--it also offers “gameplay boosting” packages that grant bonuses like permanent EXP and SP boosts, massive shop discounts, reducing all crafting and cooking materials needed to 1, and so on.

Paid faceroll mode. Always nice to see. As is basically up to $40 of costumes (via deluxe edition or whatever).

Still...I'm there day 1 with my base game edition.

 

[hangdang69]

Better scores than I thought it'd be getting based on my feelings after playing the demo

 

[Kimahri]

Yeah... I can not agree with those scores, lol. Beautiful world, great gameplay. All of that is awesome, so yeah 8 or 9 of 10, sure.

But the story. The story. The characters. The tropes. Oh my god the tropes.

Remember skits? How they used to be fun? No more, they're just long, boring dialogues about nonsensical shit that has no relevance to anything. E V E R Y T H I N G needs to be discussed in its own skit. Don't believe me?

There are 320 skits in the game. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY.

And the shortest ones are maybe a minute, many are longer. So we're talking way over five hours of moronic people praising each other and discussing... fishing.

Fuck. This. Game.

(save yourselves. Play the game, by all means, but skip the skits. I couldn't. Reviewing and all, but the moment you get bored. Skip em. All of em. There's never anything you need to hear.)

 

[Fake]

Danjin44

 

[H-I-M]

Sometimes you got to lose (Zestiria, mediocre Berseria) to win again.

 

[[Sigma]]

Highest selling Tales game is on the way.

 

[reksveks]

I shouldnt have Pre-ordered but nice to know i did for a good game based on meta. I should enjoy this I think. It might be my remote play game.

 

[TheMan]

My main issue with this series, goibng back to symphonia, is that it feels kind of like B-grade stuff. Like all the systems are in place, the graphics are nice, but there was something about movement and animations that I've never liked that I've had difficulty articulating. I think it might be a lack of weight, lack of oomph with hits and reactions to hits? I dunno, I just hope this one is better

 

[Tg89]

Haven't played a Tales since Vesperia, might have to jump in on this.

 

[Dynasty8]

Yeah... I can not agree with those scores, lol. Beautiful world, great gameplay. All of that is awesome, so yeah 8 or 9 of 10, sure.

But the story. The story. The characters. The tropes. Oh my god the tropes.

Remember skits? How they used to be fun? No more, they're just long, boring dialogues about nonsensical shit that has no relevance to anything. E V E R Y T H I N G needs to be discussed in its own skit. Don't believe me?

There are 320 skits in the game. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY.

And the shortest ones are maybe a minute, many are longer. So we're talking way over five hours of moronic people praising each other and discussing... fishing.

Fuck. This. Game.

(save yourselves. Play the game, by all means, but skip the skits. I couldn't. Reviewing and all, but the moment you get bored. Skip em. All of em. There's never anything you need to hear.)

Yeah, the skits have always been something I've skipped in previous installments. As long as they are optional and you can skip them, I am ok with that. Of course I would have preferred them to be better quality, but there aren't many JRPG's that ever do a decent job with that.

 

[reksveks]

Yeah... I can not agree with those scores, lol. Beautiful world, great gameplay. All of that is awesome, so yeah 8 or 9 of 10, sure.

But the story. The story. The characters. The tropes. Oh my god the tropes.

I think the tropes are sadly a part of Jrpgs, just like Genre films. My brain just typically accepts them.

 

[Kimahri]

I think the tropes are sadly a part of Jrpgs, just like Genre films. My brain just typically accepts them.

I used to, but it's just getting worse. They're getting stupider and stupider and the characters in these are always exactly the same. I'm just so tirdd of it. I have replayed a ton of older games the past few years, and it has really hit me just how much better the stories used to be back then. Stories, characters, and thr amount of stupid tropes was far less.

I miss it. I'm so tired of these endless conversations. I mean endless. It never ends. And they're never interesting. Like... Who writes this? Do they actually sit there and enjoy their work? Are they proud of it? Have they never read an actual book? Had a real conversation? I'm just baffled by it all, lol.

 

[TheTony316]

Strong reviews. Can't wait.

 

[KàIRóS]

Holy, that was much higher than what I was expecting, at this rate it really will be a battle to the death between SMTV and ToArise for that RPG of the year award.

 

[TheTony316]

Holy, that was much higher than what I was expecting, at this rate it really will be a battle to the death between SMTV and ToArise for that RPG of the year award.

Same, i was expecting mid 70's like most Tales games. Looks like Baba (Main producer) leaving the series was a good thing, lol. Maybe this is the big breakout game for the franchise.

 

[splattered]

Wow nice scores!

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[Dynasty8]

I used to, but it's just getting worse. They're getting stupider and stupider and the characters in these are always exactly the same. I'm just so tirdd of it. I have replayed a ton of older games the past few years, and it has really hit me just how much better the stories used to be back then. Stories, characters, and thr amount of stupid tropes was far less.

I miss it. I'm so tired of these endless conversations. I mean endless. It never ends. And they're never interesting. Like... Who writes this? Do they actually sit there and enjoy their work? Are they proud of it? Have they never read an actual book? Had a real conversation? I'm just baffled by it all, lol.

You're not wrong.

It blows my mind too and it is becoming harder to ignore nowadays. I do wish more JRPGs would just go rated M...it won't solve the issue, but maybe we'll see less shitty writing.... Maybe not...

 

[Mossybrew]

I couldn't get more than ten minutes into the demo. The combat with its cacophony of annoying characters constantly saying shit, is there an option to shut these fuckers up? Plus that whole things these games do of transporting you to a separate arena for every battle, it's jarring and weird and I don't like it. But I guess a lot of folks are into this kinda thing.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I used to, but it's just getting worse. They're getting stupider and stupider and the characters in these are always exactly the same. I'm just so tirdd of it. I have replayed a ton of older games the past few years, and it has really hit me just how much better the stories used to be back then. Stories, characters, and thr amount of stupid tropes was far less.

I miss it. I'm so tired of these endless conversations. I mean endless. It never ends. And they're never interesting. Like... Who writes this? Do they actually sit there and enjoy their work? Are they proud of it? Have they never read an actual book? Had a real conversation? I'm just baffled by it all, lol.

Aww damn, reading the review snippets talk about the themes and stuff made me think maybe this game might be well done, but reading this just brings me back to reality. Oh well.

I'm with you though. I think too many things are created to live up to expectations of the genre or audience these days, and not to represent the independent creative process and thoughts and feelings of its creator. So much superficial story and dialog, it's very rare to actually get invested in characters or anything that is going on. Just because a game says I should care and assumes I will care about something or someone doesn't mean I actually will care - it needs to MAKE me care.

 

[Kimahri]

You're not wrong.

It blows my mind too and it is becoming harder to ignore nowadays. I do wish more JRPGs would just go rated M...it won't solve the issue, but maybe we'll see less shitty writing.... Maybe not...

Nothing will happen unless people start giving them more negative feedback on it. I'm shocked reviewers aren't tearing them a new one over this shit. I did. Praised everything but tore the story apart, because it deserves to be.

And the fans need to tear em a new one as well. Being a fan of a series doesn't mean you have to love everything from it. The devs need to learn that this shit is, well, shit.

 

[Bryank75]

Reviews look amazing...I'll pick it up soon enough. Very excited to play.... my backlog is insane though.

 

[Kimahri]

Aww damn, reading the review snippets talk about the themes and stuff made me think maybe this game might be well done, but reading this just brings me back to reality. Oh well.

I'm with you though. I think too many things are created to live up to expectations of the genre or audience these days, and not to represent the independent creative process and thoughts and feelings of its creator. So much superficial story and dialog, it's very rare to actually get invested in characters or anything that is going on. Just because a game says I should care and assumes I will care about something or someone doesn't mean I actually will care - it needs to MAKE me care.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there. We're just expected to want to know everything these characters think about.

 

[Danjin44]

I'm HYPED and ready get my hands on the game.

 

[CGiRanger]

I used to, but it's just getting worse. They're getting stupider and stupider and the characters in these are always exactly the same. I'm just so tirdd of it. I have replayed a ton of older games the past few years, and it has really hit me just how much better the stories used to be back then. Stories, characters, and thr amount of stupid tropes was far less.

I miss it. I'm so tired of these endless conversations. I mean endless. It never ends. And they're never interesting. Like... Who writes this? Do they actually sit there and enjoy their work? Are they proud of it? Have they never read an actual book? Had a real conversation? I'm just baffled by it all, lol.

You made me remember that Tales skits have actually been bad for a while now. They used to be short and fun back in the Symphonia days. But now, they got so exponentially long-winded and dull with Zestiria and Berseria. Honestly Zestiria's skits were just "kill me now" type of dialogue and conversation to begin with since that game's story itself was a trainwreck. So not entirely surprised that Arise didn't get better, and especially that they changed the vehicle for the skits to no longer just be portraits (which was the intent to keep the skits short to begin with)

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Tired of these games and don't trust these reviews. No in game costumes no buy.

 

[KàIRóS]

Tired of these games and don't trust these reviews. No in game costumes no buy.

There are in game costumes, they are just not as pretty as the DLC costumes, this is one of them:

 

[Danjin44]

There are in game costumes, they are just not as pretty as the DLC costumes, this is one of them:

Luffy!!?

 

[Captain Toad]

Tired of these games and don't trust these reviews. No in game costumes no buy.

Costumes? Seriously? That's the hill you want to die on? I never use those even if the games gives them all to me for free.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I used to, but it's just getting worse. They're getting stupider and stupider and the characters in these are always exactly the same. I'm just so tirdd of it. I have replayed a ton of older games the past few years, and it has really hit me just how much better the stories used to be back then. Stories, characters, and thr amount of stupid tropes was far less.

I miss it. I'm so tired of these endless conversations. I mean endless. It never ends. And they're never interesting. Like... Who writes this? Do they actually sit there and enjoy their work? Are they proud of it? Have they never read an actual book? Had a real conversation? I'm just baffled by it all, lol.

Yeah this is a problem with the genre and I don’t remember it being this bad in the past. Characters will just yap on and on as if the writers are being paid by the word. Every conversation is like 2x as long as it needs to be and it’s mostly just characters stating and re-stating obvious things.

Like, you’ll push a button and some stairs appear. Then the party will break out into conversation “what was that noise, did you hear something?” “I don’t remember these stairs being here before.” “Maybe we should see where they lead.” On and on and on, just to point out some shit that you just saw with your own eyes.

Tales games are the worst in this regard because every single line of dialog is designed to reinforce whatever trope the character got pigeon holed into. There’s no subtlety or nuance to it. Just them beating you over the head to make absolutely sure you don’t have to use your brain or read between the lines at all.

Also I think it’s made worse with voice acting. Bad writing is a lot easier to ignore when it’s not voice acted. Plus they always have these awkward pauses between each line so they flow nothing like an actual conversation.

(BTW 13 Sentinels actually lets you adjust the pause between lines. Setting it to 0 makes it sound soooo much better. It’s like they realized those pauses sound stupid but apparently someone thought it was important to keep them for god knows what reason.)

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Nice. Looking forward to it.

 

[Bkdk]

This and wrath of the righteous makes this september one of the best rpg months in a long time.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Costumes? Seriously? That's the hill you want to die on? I never use those even if the games gives them all to me for free.

I'm not dying on any hill for a Tales game dude. 10 years ago when we barely got them I was shilling for them. They're all the same shit and the quality has slowly declined with every game since Vesperia.

Character designs for this game aren't good also outside of the dark skin dude.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Tales of Arise

300 years of tyranny. A mysterious mask. Lost pain and memories. Wield the Blazing Sword and join a mysterious, untouchable girl to fight your oppressors.

www.wingamestore.com

$47 here with promo code PCGAMES5OFF

 

[Valonquar]

Can't wait to play! I need something to fill the time til Endwalker. I'm at the point I'm FISHING ffs, I need something else!

 

[Kimahri]

Yeah this is a problem with the genre and I don’t remember it being this bad in the past. Characters will just yap on and on as if the writers are being paid by the word. Every conversation is like 2x as long as it needs to be and it’s mostly just characters stating and re-stating obvious things.

Like, you’ll push a button and some stairs appear. Then the party will break out into conversation “what was that noise, did you hear something?” “I don’t remember these stairs being here before.” “Maybe we should see where they lead.” On and on and on, just to point out some shit that you just saw with your own eyes.

Tales games are the worst in this regard because every single line of dialog is designed to reinforce whatever trope the character got pigeon holed into. There’s no subtlety or nuance to it. Just them beating you over the head to make absolutely sure you don’t have to use your brain or read between the lines at all.

Also I think it’s made worse with voice acting. Bad writing is a lot easier to ignore when it’s not voice acted. Plus they always have these awkward pauses between each line so they flow nothing like an actual conversation.

(BTW 13 Sentinels actually lets you adjust the pause between lines. Setting it to 0 makes it sound soooo much better. It’s like they realized those pauses sound stupid but apparently someone thought it was important to keep them for god knows what reason.)

You hit on so many points, but the bolded especially resonates with me. I recently played 12 minutes, and the contrast with Arise is jusy immense. There you have skilled actors who act off of each other, in Arise you have voice actors who read lines from a script. 13 minutes was so unusually believable in its acting. Makes mosy games sound like a joke.

And the localizayion efforts are equally guilty. When will they realize you need to rewrite into a form that makes sense for the spoken language. I'm so tired of hearing "a certain...", "the fact is", "i didn't realize there was a..." etc etc about inane things where a normal person would just go "oh, look"

The lanhuage is so unnatural. Nobody speaks like this. Maybe in Japan they do, but not in english, so try, okay? Just try!

 

[Synless]

Tales games are a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m excited for the first real advancement in the series since… Vesperia/Beseria imo.

 

[Elios83]

I enjoyed the demo, great graphics and fun combat system.
But unfortunately the writing seems aimed at teenagers and everything is super stereotyped so at full price I think I'm passing.
But I'm happy for the scores.

 

[Evil Calvin]

You're not wrong.

It blows my mind too and it is becoming harder to ignore nowadays. I do wish more JRPGs would just go rated M...it won't solve the issue, but maybe we'll see less shitty writing.... Maybe not...

Rated "M"? Oh great...the same ol' tropes yet with nudie underage-looking girls with high squeaky voices.......joy

 

[TheFawz]

Tales of Arise

300 years of tyranny. A mysterious mask. Lost pain and memories. Wield the Blazing Sword and join a mysterious, untouchable girl to fight your oppressors.

www.wingamestore.com

$47 here with promo code PCGAMES5OFF

When I add the game to the cart it doesn't let me add that promo code as it says "Coupons not allowed on this product."

 

[Danjin44]

I do wish more JRPGs would just go rated M

We are getting one this year.

 

[saintjules]

 

[Amiga]

Good scores... 88 on Meta with 31 reviews.

Tales of Arise Reviews

Challenge the Fate That Binds You On the planet Dahna, reverence has always been given to Rena, the planet in the sky, as a land of the righteous and divine. Stories handed down for generations became truth and masked reality for the people of Dahna. For 300 years, Rena has ruled over Dahna...

www.metacritic.com

Highest rated Tales so far:

78 - TALES OF DESTINY 2
86 - TALES OF SYMPHONIA
68 - TALES OF SYMPHONIA: DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD
78 - TALES OF THE ABYSS
79 - TALES OF VESPERIA
78 - TALES OF XILLIA
71 - TALES OF XILLIA 2
79 - TALES OF BERSERIA

only Tales since SYMPHONIA on GC to beat the sub 80 score curse.

congrats Namco, hope this reflects on sales and brings in more Tales fans. good time for the franchise to be on almost every platform.

 

[Sub_Level]

I did not expect it to rate that highly. Wow.

 

[Dynasty8]

Rated "M"? Oh great...the same ol' tropes yet with nudie underage-looking girls with high squeaky voices.......joy

LOL... Definitely not what I was implying. Which is why I also said "Maybe Not". If anything, that shit is much more cringe. I only wish for more serious tones and less treating the player like they're stupid.

Nothing will happen unless people start giving them more negative feedback on it. I'm shocked reviewers aren't tearing them a new one over this shit. I did. Praised everything but tore the story apart, because it deserves to be.

And the fans need to tear em a new one as well. Being a fan of a series doesn't mean you have to love everything from it. The devs need to learn that this shit is, well, shit.

I'm still going to give the game a try since I haven't played a good JRPG in a while. But we'll see, the game's story might surprise me, but I HIGHLY doubt it.

I don't watch much anime, not a big fan... No offense to those that do, but the dialogue/writing has always made me roll my eyes. Even the "high rated" and beloved ones, just too much overly emotional angry teens, unnecessary screaming, melodrama, and tropes like everyone mentioned... But the one series on Netflix that I watched recently due to several recommendations... it blew my mind on how good it was and gave me hope that maybe these long running JRPGs can learn something from... Castlevania on Netflix... Great writing, dialogue, story, and characters with a mature tone. They fucking nailed it nd it was very entertaining.