Tales of Arise

Total Playtime: 60 hours

Tales of Arise starts strong, immersing players in a beautifully crafted world with engaging combat and an intriguing premise. However, around the 40-hour mark, the game begins to lose its momentum. The story starts dragging, with repetitive plot beats and an overabundance of unnecessary dialogue that dilutes the emotional impact.

The final act feels predictable, and despite the buildup, the final battle lacks a sense of grandeur or unique mechanics to make it memorable. The conclusion, while serviceable, doesn’t provide the payoff one would expect from such an epic journey.

While the combat remains a highlight with its fast-paced action and strategic depth, the pacing issues and excessive filler content make the latter half of the game feel like a chore rather than a climax. For fans of the Tales series, Arise delivers in terms of aesthetics and gameplay, but narrative fatigue and an underwhelming ending may leave some players disappointed.

Final Verdict: 7/10 – A strong start with stellar combat and visuals, but a bloated second half and lackluster finale hold it back from being truly great.

An emotionally charged story, fun character dynamics, very quick and engaging battle system, and a super colourful and vibrant art style.

This review is from an adult's point of view

First of all: This is clearly meant for young teenagers

the story was AMAZING! Really great, immersive and compelling.

The downside: Character interactions... It was ok until I was halfway in the game. Then I couldn't stand them anymore, repeating everything they've been saying in the past 20 hours over and over...

Combat is like everyone says, kinda boring and very repetitive. Changed the difficulty halfway through just to get the story rolling.

40h felt too long to get to the end of this. So I can't really recommend it even though the story was great.

I will say, I enjoyed my time on this game but honestly prefer the previous formula of Tales games.

I won't dismiss this entry though as they obviously tried to innovate and it's worth a play through, but please don't continue with this style.

I liked the beginning of the game but then when it got to the halfway point it went downhill as the bosses became HP sponges and the variety of enemies were so little it felt like I was fighting the same thing over and over again. I wish I could like this game but I can't

I forgot to write a review for this game, so since I just finished the DLC and left a review, I'll do it here too.

Despite the fact that it was a stupid decision to remove the most iconic aspect of the Tales series, the coop aspect, Tales of Arise has managed to become my favorite of the franchise. The story and the characters kept me completely hooked throughout the entire playthrough, and I ended up 100%ing it in one go. One thing I especially liked from the story, compared to other Tales games, is that every thing you're doing in the story has a clear meaning or goal. In others, it feels like you get sidetrack after sidetrack on your way to the main goal. The best way I can put it is: in Tales of Arise, I always knew why I was at the place I was at and why was I doing that.

The combat is pretty different from all the previous games, but they already abandoned the classic system where you had basic attacks and artes that consumed SP a few games ago. I didn't like the systems they did after that, but in this one I think they did a great job. I has as much fun fighting enemies as I used to in older games.

Okay, this is by far the best RPG I have ever played. I've done Xenoblade 2 and a couple others, but this is just the best by a mile.

The story is amazing and has lots of unexpected (but well-built) plot twists, as well as a fair amount of actually morally good lessons, which is rare now. The combat is superb and flows nicely and only gets better as you unlock more and more artes to use.

The one thing I will say is that some characters, namely Law, have a tendency to swear. It is usually warranted for the situation (except for law) but it isn't that strong language, less so than the average Marvel movie.

Overall, 6/5 stars! I wish I could play it for the first time again.

Played this game first on ps4 (dropped it before the Lenegis part). So, I do have more hours on this game than my steam records mention. I tried it again on steam. I lasted 4-5 hours. A fairly interesting start that is marred by writers that clearly did NOT know how follow up on the great tone set by their own premise. This game is the definition of mid. And mid is not enough for me to spend 50-60 hours into.

TLDR: If you don't mind a story and characters that end up a generic, non-sensical and emotionless, you will probably enjoy the epic scope of this AAA JRPG with great visuals, music and a fairly fun combat system.

Pros
- Great visual style!
- Fun combat with varied playstyles
- Good music and voice acting overall
- Classic JRPG experience

Cons
- Strong premise that is absolutely mishandled
- Characters lacking any character or sense about what is going right now, killing any pathos the story could have had
- Worst, unecessary, repetitive skits of the whole franchise
- Stitled dialogue (yes, basically same points as before, but it needs mention)
- HP sponge enemies that absolutely lack variety, making the fun combat not fun real quick. THIS was was sealed the deal for me in dropping the game. Why grind a game that's just not interesting enough.

This game has a great story and characters, although one might not realize it at first. Some of the boss battles can be quite difficult even on the easiest setting, so some grinding may be involved (although I did minimal grinding). There are lots of side quests and the character interactions are very entertaining. This game is fun, although the final dungeon is a bit of a chore to finish. I highly recommend this.

Tales of Arise is a solid JRPG experience that manages to deliver a strong story and engaging gameplay. The main story is definitely one of the highlights, deserving a 9/10 for its classic JRPG plot that incorporates a satisfying amount of romance. The first half of the story builds up really well, with strong character development and a clear sense of purpose. However, the second half feels somewhat empty, as if the narrative loses its momentum and direction. Fortunately, the ending manages to tie things together nicely, providing a satisfying conclusion that helps redeem some of the weaker middle sections.

The combat system sticks to the familiar formula of previous Tales games, but it’s enhanced by impressive visual effects and a more fluid feel. The flashy animations and smooth combo system make battles engaging, even if they don’t reinvent the wheel. The addition of Boost Attacks and the way each character’s combat style complements the others adds a layer of depth that keeps things fresh throughout the game. The combat is fast-paced and responsive, making both boss fights and regular encounters enjoyable.

Visually, the game is stunning. The world design is beautiful, with a variety of landscapes that feel vibrant and alive. From detailed cities to expansive natural environments, each location feels carefully crafted and immersive. The art direction and use of color create a unique atmosphere that makes exploring the world a pleasure. Despite the graphical beauty, the exploration itself could have used more depth, as the game’s world feels somewhat linear at times.

Side content is where the game falters a bit. The side quests are largely uninspired and not very rewarding, often boiling down to basic fetch quests or repetitive tasks with little narrative weight. It’s disappointing that the side stories don’t match the quality of the main plot, as they feel more like filler than meaningful content. The mini-games are decent, providing a bit of distraction from the main quest, but they don’t stand out as particularly memorable.

The characters are well-developed and likeable, with strong personality dynamics and meaningful interactions. However, the lack of free costume options feels like a missed opportunity for more customization and personal expression. Despite that, the overall experience remains strong thanks to the core cast’s chemistry and emotional growth. In the end, Tales of Arise delivers a well-rounded JRPG experience with a strong story and engaging combat, earning a solid 8.5/10.

con el poco tiempo que estoy jugando este juego. Me esta enganchando mas. Me recuerda el primero de toda la saga Tales of Phantasia.

Game so good, I am doing my second run through....

The major themes of Tales of Arise are on the mature side but they don't distract from the adorable side to it. Yes I am a Dahnan owl fan and a superfan of Hootle!

The characters are phenomenal and they all show excellent character development as the story progresses. I enjoy their banters during battles, at camps and while walking. The enemies are well designed and there is a Sephiroth 2.0....at least that's what I choose to call him.

Combat is engaging and not repetitive, which is good considering how many of them you will have. Soundtracks are well done and suit battles nicely.

I have two major criticisms though, 1) Gald is hard to obtain, 2) Ridiculous spikes in difficulty
There is hard that requires strategy and then there is annoying, that is all about random damage...

Overall, excellent JRPG. Solid 9/10 for me.

A beautiful, fun adventure. Great character dynamic and development among the party. Love the Tales games and their stories. This Tales game is standalone so no need to worry about the previous titles for context. Soundtrack is great and splendid art direction. The voice acting is great. I highly recommend it in japanese since the lip synching is for it and it feels more proper with jp voice acting.

Combat is promising and overall decent. It does need polish and the ally ai also needs it as well if Bandai Namco decide to make more tales games with the action rpg playstyle. Would be nice if the 3D cutscenes were able to viewed at the campfire again, sadly only the skits and the anime cutscenes are the only ones that can be viewed again without needing to play the game another time. There is new game+ so you don't lose all your skills again.

(Plan on getting and playing the dlc eventually which the dlc takes place after the main game)

The message of learning how to forgive, understand, and move forward is greater than anything. <3
"It takes true power to forgive!"

i had 4 consecutive games got deleted even though it has cloud save, when i open my game it's NEW GAME. my save file nowhere to be found, was fun but can progress because of these problem.

Story and graphics are pretty great, but the combat system gets very repetitive in some points.

Gameplay is generally fun, but I couldn't stand the atrocious writing anymore.

HEY GUYS DID YOU KNOW SLAVERY IS BAD!! NO WAY!!

I've been a fan of the Tails of series since the SNES. This addition to the franchise was quite meh.
- Character designs are cool for the most part. They don't all look like children.
- There is tons of dialogue which isn't bad in and of itself and the characters are dynamic and grow throughout the story however, the conversations are EXCRUTIATINGLY repetitive.
- The story is quite generic and bland. The ending twists were quite nonsensical.
- The graphics are decent.
- Soundtrack is great and very on point for a Tales of game. If you like the music in the previous entries to the series, you will feel right at home here.
- The gameplay and fighting is probably the strong point of this game.
- Boss fights were disappointing, they had so much more potential.
- I don't think I've ever played a game with so many recycled enemies before. There are maybe 15-20 different creature types you fight throughout the game at most and they constantly keep reappearing in different colors and sizes. Even some of the bosses were reused. Extremely lazy.
- I'd give it a 5/10 at most. If you still want to get it wait for sale. It is definitely not worth full price.

ใช่ครับ ผมขอแนะนำในฐานะคนไทยคนหนึ่งที่เล่นเกมนี้จนจบ เป็นอีกหนึ่งภาคที่ทำทุกอย่างออกมาลงตัวมากๆ โดยเฉพาะArtes-Skillsที่นำหลายๆสกิลของภาคก่อนๆมาเอาให้หลอนหูกันอีกครั้ง ถึงตอนนี้ยังไม่เคลียร์ 100% แต่มีแผนว่าจะทำแน่ๆครับ
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ทังนี้สำหรับ beyond the dawn ผมขอผ่านอาจจะสปอยแต่ผมว่าเกมหลักมันจบดีแล้ว ดังนั้นBytDผมขอนับว่าเป็นแค่spin-off

this is a great pickup on sale. The final dungeon is abysmal but everything else is pretty solid. I quite liked the fishing mini game and the characters.

Power of friendship genre junk food, you should know what you're getting into by now.

I find that I'm terrible at writing genuinely good reviews, so here is a pro and con list of the game. These are all my opinion.

Pros:
- Beautiful art style and scenery. I found myself just taking in the views at times.
- Easy to use equipment system. You always know what the best gear for your team is.
- Engaging story. Just when you think something is going to happen, it takes an unexpected turn.
- Auto-battle. I found it a bit tedious to battle every enemy I came into contact with, but I was relieved to find the auto-battle feature.
- Great voice acting. I personally played this in English, and realized how many big names there were cast in this. They did such a fantastic job.
- Every form of dialogue you can think of. They have forms like regular cinematics, anime cinematics, tap-to-skip, comic style, and a few others.

Cons:
- Difficulty. I didn't play this game for the combat, however, if I would have, I'd have to say that I'd still need to put the difficulty on VERY EASY mode to be able to get through it.
- Annoying fast travel system. At some points in the game, you cannot fast travel anywhere which makes it hard to go back and forge equipment or forge for items.
- Not all members of your team can be on field at once. In total, you will have 6 members of your team. 2 of which you need to bench while you are in battle. The only way they will appear is if you use their ultimate.
- Limited manual mode. If you decide to play the battle modes manually, then you will only be able to use 3 abilities on the character you choose to play as. Each character has a lot of abilities you can choose to equip in your menu, but you only get to use 3 on the character you fight with.

great story. fights are repetitive sometimes but 100 PERCENT recommended

Immensely satisfied with the story and gameplay.
Definitely looking forward to the next title for this series

This game is extremely cheesy. The story is fine and the voice acting is good, but wow I can't help but laugh at half the cut scenes. It falls into every trope you would expect from a JRPG, and not it a good way.

The combat is fun, but very arcade like. I haven't beaten the game yet, but I'm not really sure if I will. I just can't take the game seriously. I don't think it's a horrible game, but so far I'd give it a 6/10. Good enough to play if you have nothing else, but there are way better options out there.

One of my all time favorite games. I loved the story&lore and the graphics are amazing. 10/10

9/10

MAIN PROS
Easy review to be honest, great writing with good story progress. Amazing voice acting and combat mechanics, easy to grasp and progressively engaging. Also it's fun, an integral part of games most ambitious devs seem to forget.

MAIN CONS
Bit of a grind, also the story is linear.

Solid story and characters
Satisfying amount of content
Party members have alot to say to eachother

I like how the story has fantasy and sci-fi aspects

Owls pretty cute too

pretty great tales game if your'e in it for the story. great visuals and compelling story. the combat is fun but not as satisfying as other tales games but its not bad. towards the end of the game it gets extremely cut-scene heavy. After you defeat the volcano boss prepare for 2 hours of movies and cut scenes that trigger every 3 steps. i literally forgot the combat controls before i fought anything after that damn volcano fire golem it took so long to progress the story to lenegis. the game is still fun and would recommend. also check out nexus for some good mods easy to install.

I tried with this game. I tried. Story was boring and forced, combat felt pretty bad, and characters were NOT memorable. The little interactions between characters were cool at first, but then it was just ONE AFTER ANOTHER and they were so often that I just started ignoring them.

Wasn't for me but a lot of people seem to enjoy the game. If I was to do it over, I would have tried the demo first and I would have waited for a sale before purchasing.

Another good game from Tales series. I still prefer Tales of Berseria, but this one is also good and fun to play.

story dense.
battle gameplay.

that sums up the game. it's really good. simple.

Very fun game! The combat system is fun and rewarding. Dialing your preferred attacks is great. The art style is A+. This is one of the prettier JRPGs I have played in a while

I wanted to like this game. I music, graphics, and gameplay have improved from their predecessors. HOWEVER, the characters and writing are absolutely AWFUL! I can't stand it. No one has any personality, everyone over explains everything they think and feel. It insults my intelligence. There's nothing interesting about any of the dialogue, it's all so hollow. It's so cringe I tone out most of the time. I tried to enjoy this but I just can't. It's such a shame. 3 out of 10. Wouldn't recommend unless you don't mind having being talked to by the game like you're 5 years old.

Great game,the end was satisfactory even tho the last bosses was a bit tpp easy(no i wanst overlevel but i had all the top weapons). I like the story and the romance between the main characters, but the last 2 that join the party for me dont add anything(or at least i dindt care about then). Dindt do the post game and took around 70 h doing everything on base game.

Great game. Iike the way you can forge weapons and a great battle system.

this has been a great time, im playing on 2nd hardest difficulty and progressing fine without grinding. Runs very solid with zero bugs. Combat is tough and my input is required on my difficulty but never impossible with creature near my level. ""the level 45 boss at the start of game is going to spank you, just come back later.""
Death does not lose progress but has a minor effect. overall this game is very worth it with a rich story.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! Play Granblue Fantasy instead

When you start the game, you'll fight some random mob and the combat will feel amazing. The enemies can be staggered, you can throw them up and fight them in the air, the aerial attacks even have its own dedicated slot. You can do long combos, with your aerials, and you feel stylish. Then after attacking for a while, the boost strike meter will fill up, then you can use them for a burst of damage. It comes up pretty often, so you start to think you can use it in your attack rotation. Your party member will feel helpful. You can't cancel your animation, so it feels slower than previous Tales games, but you've played Monster Hunter so you know how to plan your attack.

Then you start fighting the bosses. You can't stagger him, so you don't have time to build up long combos. You can't throw him, so all your aerials are useless. You star to notice that the boost strike meter isn't filling up. The enemy will telegraph a big attack, and as a player you can read it and anticipate it. But your party AI can't. They will use their attacks with the longest animation, got animation locked while the enemy is doing their big attacks, and got one-shotted. The other party member will try to revive the dead party member, but the healing points are shared between all the party members, so you'll run out healing points during battle. And its not even your fault, and you can't do anything about it.

At some point, you might find the tactics menu. It seems powerful, feels like the gambit system from FF12 and Unicorn Overlord. You start tweaking it, and you then find the "do nothing" tactic. It sound useless, until you try it and you notice that your party members now have superhuman reflex and perfectly dodge all of the attacks. Then you can concentrate on killing the boss without needing to take care your party members.

If you still decides to continue playing this game, at some point near the ending, all the overworld enemies turns into minibosses with all the boss related issue. And now you're frustrated, and you can't even return the game because its already outside the return window. Oops

Was a struggle to complete this game during the later chapters, when the amount of grind and cringe anime style story telling , virtue signaling and philosophies becomes unbearable through countless cutscenes, which is a shame because the first half of the game is really quite good

I cannot finish the game. the characters and story are just horrible. It is insanely predictable and somehow manages to make no sense. It sucks because they made so many good choices combat wise and graphically to move the series forward, but yeah I just absolutely cannot stand this games and writing.

I dunno what I expected going into this game, but it to this day one of the most exhausting, grating and draining video game experience I've ever had. There are nuggets of good in here - I liked a few of the characters and the story had decent weight to it - but you'd never even realize with your ears ringing from all the constant battle chirps your party repeat. It also doesn't help that it's padding all the way down, I swear this game ends 3 times and there are entire classic Mario and Sonic levels you could finish before beating some of the end game enemy encounters. This game feels like a parody of JRPGS, and lives up to every bad stereotype people associate with the genre.

Good for a JRPG on sale, they milked the whales a bit too much for its actual value imo and sadly games that do that get a bad mark from me. You can spend the entire game pretty much spamming reigning slash or whatever. on sale

Overall a fairly standard "Tales of" game, not much new in the way of mechanics. up until the mid point in the game its not super difficult but once you hit that point the difficulty goes up drasticly so be pre aired for a serious spike. if you were just spamming basic attacks by the mid point that will stop working for you.

Great story, a little bit repetitive at the start (going to a new city, defeat the city leader, repeat). The story start getting interesting in the middle. The gameplay is great with okay-ish graphic. Not enough end-game content.

Tales of Arise has a beautiful world. The combat is fun. You can play as whatever character you want and its viable. Overall this game is a definite play. The only problems I found was the pacing. I got burned out a couple of times and had to really push through to finish the game. It is worth it to push through till the end.

its a great game i love the tales games this one has a great story

A great / satisfying ending is worth a lot in an RPG. This is what I want in games. That alone puts this game high on my rankings.

This game and Tales of Berseria are my two favorites! Great story, vast open & interesting world, dialogue is well done, good replay value, post main game DLC content is great. I highly recommend!

My first experience with a Tales series game. Great story and characters. Interesting combat. Pleasing anime-like presentation. No complaints, well worth the money and time investment.

This is my second playthrough (originally played on XBOX). If you are a fan of the "Tales of" series you will absolutely love it IMO and you can find it on sale alot these days if I remember rite. Visually is the best looking game to date from the series, gameplay is super buttery on PC (A+) and you don't need a beast of a PC to play it if your still running a potatoe. I have a 7600x paired with a 3070 TI and I'm getting 120 on the busier maps and in dungeons almost 240. Don't miss out on this one!

Now my type of game, way to many tropes and way to anime. Maybe I'm just to old but I cant stand this type of story anymore. Graphics look decent and combat is sup-par. Overall a waste of money in my opinion. Might come back to this some day to see what more this game has to offer.

good jrpg so far, cheesy cute anime cringe but tolerable cus the rest is awesome lol