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Console: ps5, ps4; xbox one, xbox series X
Release: 10th September 2021
Pro's
- Looks incredible, especially on ps5
- Thriving world full of stunning environments
- Fast paced, frantic combat
Cons
- Story feels bloated and drags on unnecessarily
- Life bars are inconsistent and cause fights to drag
- Repetitive side quests get tedious
With an interesting looking cast of characters, a gorgeous, vibrant and colourful world, and fast paced, frantic combat- Tales of Arise certainly makes an impression.
This action/ adventure JRPG sees players join Alphen and Shionne, the male and female protagonists, on a globe trotting adventure taking them from gloomy caverns and Rocky mountain peaks, to shimmering castles and bustling cities.
I'm a newcomer to the Tales series. Despite knowing of it's existance and popularity, I've never felt drawn to any of the previous instalments. This one, however, grabbed my attention from the very first announcement trailer.
The scale of Arise is massive, right from the outset. It looks fantastic, and the world is vivid and memorable. Traversing each area fully is a joy to behold and you will instinctively find yourself searching every nook and cranny on the map.
The game is polished and visually impressive, with the anime style combining with the PlayStation 5's power to create some really stunning characters and environments.
RPG's usually rise and fall on their combat systems, and Arise is no different. It's approach to real time combat is frantic and engaging. You're able to melee attack; dodge, and cast several 'artes' as well as switch between characters on the fly. There's a heck of a lot going on during a battle, especially in the later parts of the game where you've got a full party and you can be battling 6 enemies at once in some cases. It makes for some thrilling gameplay.
The upgrade system is straightforward enough, and reminded me of the sphere grid system from Final Fantasy 10, allowing you to choose your own path in terms of the abilities you want your characters to learn.
The 6 characters handle and play differently, and being able to change between them as regularly as you like means you will be able to get a feel for who fits your play style best. Then you can simply stick with them if you don't want to keep switching.
There are a couple of difficulty spikes during the early to mid game, which I dont mind- difficult battles are part and parcel of RPG's- so it's to be expected. What i do have an issue with though, is when the Developers think that difficulty is specifically tied to an enemy's life bar. During several encounters that are not particularly hard, your toughest challenge will be wearing down the monumental life bars on display. It can be incredibly time consuming and borderline tedious. I would much prefer enemies who pose a greater threat but have a lower life bar. It just feels unbalanced and jarring.
There's a point in the story, around 20-25 hours in, where it seems to have reached a natural conclusion. The story has reached a crescendo, the character arcs have fully developed and the protagonists have overcome a worthy adversary. I was all set for the end credits to roll- but to my suprise, they didn't.
Instead, the story embarks on a bizarre final act- another 10 hours or so of content, with new locales and big villains to contend with, all of which seem extremely out of place. For me this damaged the experience and I found myself losing interest in the story as it became more and more far fetched and bizarre, before it finally reached it's underwhelming conclusion.
I know JRPG's are historically mammoth games. Here though, like a boxer continuing to fight long into his twilight years instead of retiring in his prime, the game really didn't know when to stop.
Arise also has plenty of side quests and activities for you to get involved in, as you would expect from a game of this magnitude. Aside from fishing and owl spotting though; these are made up purely of 'collect X items from killing monsters and bring them to me', and 'go here and kill this big monster'. The lack of variety in the side quests doesn't exactly drive you to want to complete them all. While some of these contain optional fights against powerful monsters, a lot of them fall victim to the bloated HP bar that I mentioned above- which takes away a lot of their appeal.
Summary: Overall, my experience with Arise was a positive one. Despite the points I've mentioned above, the 35 hours I spent with it were enjoyable for the most part. It did manage to scratch my JRPG itch while I patiently await the next Final Fantasy. But it just falls short of greatness thanks to a couple of frustrating decisions made by the Developers.
Verdict: 7.5/10
By @damoroso4
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