Tales of Arise Experience the early hours of Bandai Namco JRPG

tales of resurrection It made a lot more noise than we expected. However, if you analyze it with an eye to the past, then everything makes perfect sense: the first game in the series capable of making a real qualitative leap from a technical point of view, was welcomed by the historical fanbase as a kind of brand messiah, reasonably able to put it in the same Level like the most noble epics after years of belonging to a prestige JRPG For the big fans.

And it must be said, if a series is able to make this transition, it is anecdotal, given that – albeit with necessary ups and downs – it boasts many unforgettable titles in its ranks and has always been praised for its goodness. Calculated gameplay as well as the ability to see how to evolve from one chapter to the next.

However, it would be a mistake to focus all of the audience’s attention on graphics and mechanical developments. Still, the JRPG is a combination of many factors, and the narrative and game world are key to distinguishing a masterpiece from an excellent, “simple” title.

When they finally offered us the chance Experience the first few hours of Tales of Arise We accepted immediately, in order to get a better idea of ​​the narrative and characters. Here are our first impressions, after going through the entire introduction.

Plot already seen, but still epic

the narativo background The Tales of Arise is actually a strange dual victim: on the one hand Introduction It is interesting and has huge potential if managed well; On the other hand, it’s all about fairly common clichés, which can have original twists, but certainly indestructible in the few hours we play. However, at the base of this JRPG, there is an exciting conflict between peoples, with the planet of fat for decades now under the control of a powerful unicorn who came from another world with advanced technologies and the ability to use powerful magic called Artes.

You play as Alvin, a mysterious boy who has lost his memory and finds himself in forced labor in a labor camp in Balsword, a powerful and violent general from the Rhine. We have no idea how she got there; He only knows that he got there with an iron mask that he can’t take off in any way (but can be seen through, for some strange reason), and that he feels no pain.

Amnesia is a narrative tool that is abused for fatigue, but as mentioned, it can lead to really impressive developments if managed properly. It’s quite obvious that Alvin’s identity is one of the most important elements The plot of the gameAnd we’re really curious to understand how to introduce any fluctuations. In addition, the identity of the hero is also accompanied by the story of Shion: a mysterious girl who is able to inflict terrible pain (involuntarily) on anyone who touches her, suddenly enters Alvin’s life and begins an inevitable chain of events and inevitable disasters. lead him to escape from eternal slavery.

The two main characters, on the whole, seem to be well defined, and the dialogues between them are often funny and well managed; Interchanges between characters in the tales have always been a mainstay of the story, and it’s good to see them reappear here too, whether in classic form or with some additional scenes when camping. The introduction works from the point of view of the story, although there are no unusually horrific moments and you don’t find it more authentic than average. In general, Tales seems to be a JRPG eager to tell his world in detail, given the complexity of the conflict between Rhenish and Dahnani, and the desire to describe in detail many of the supporting actors (including villains). The introduction works from the point of view of the story, although there are no unusually horrific moments and you don’t find it more authentic than average. In general, Tales seems to be a JRPG eager to tell his world in detail, given the complexity of the conflict between Rhenish and Dahnani, and the desire to describe in detail many of the supporting actors (including villains).

quick game

Play NS combat system Instead, they don’t take it that lightly, since we’re faced with more crazy and amazing mechanics than in the past. However, progress in the early hours was gradual and well mixed, perhaps knowing that Arise could account for many of the first tales.

Obviously, the system is always built around the same foundations as the original system Linear motion battle system (So ​​named because movement in earlier tales was connected by imaginary lines between your character and enemies), but in Arise the movement is much freer and faster, with a system for targeting opponents similar to the modern action and close to the later chapters, and an increased focus on offensive and defensive maneuvers. Thus, normal combinations of strikes remained – even if the presence of accurate directional attacks seemed less common – with the goal of not only inflicting damage but also accumulating energy to use the aforementioned. art: spells or abilities with variable effects, usually of an elemental or localized nature.

However, the main innovations are three: a dodge capable of activating a deceleration in time and an instant counterattack if executed in time, the presence of weaknesses on the bodies of some enemies that can be targeted and Unique skills From each character greatly modifies the use in battle.

Let’s be clear, Arise may seem like a lot more title than it used to be, but the truth isn’t exactly the case: Basic hits often have limited effects on enemies and stronger ones don’t have much of an impact on reactions to attacks and stuns. Certain damage limits are rarely exceeded or their weaknesses broken. Indeed, at the highest difficulties, tactics remain one of the pillars of the battles, since accurate use of healing spells is key, while the best way to correctly use the skills of your comrades is to pause everything and choose the most useful. Arts for every situation.

Most of the time it’s better to simply change characters, because the character skills we talked about before are usually only usable in real time, and at the moment there doesn’t seem to be a way to activate them without the direct control of those involved. In the case of Alphen, we’re dealing with the ability to use powerful (but risky) fire attacks, slow to start and with damage returning, but really devastating when used correctly; Alternatively, Shionne has grenades that have additional effects if you detonate them in the air, and thus specialize in inflicting initial states as well as healing.

In the introduction we could not use other characters, but we tested their skills in general terms in the previous test and confirm that the variety is really great. only problem? L ‘user interface The rule does not seem to allow you to use more than three arts at once, so at the highest difficulties the pace of battles can slow down a lot due to the need to manually choose each action and reposition the heroes at best. However, nothing really spoils the gaming experience, and we think the mechanics will reach noticeable peaks in the advanced adventure. So, the aforementioned dribbling is added to a whole series of amazing combined attacks, which often speed up clashes with small enemies a lot, or are great for getting out of a problematic situation against bosses.

Technical sector

Thus, the narrative is promising and the gameplay seems more solid than ever, but there is still a need to forget Technical sector, because Tales of Arise is objectively the most advanced game in the series from this point of view, and you can see it from the first chapter. Of course, anime style shouldn’t make you think who knows what’s unusual drawing details, but it’s still nice to see the infinitely better care of the previous chapters in settings and animations, not to mention that the series’ typical style has been pushed to the limit with maps that are often too beautiful to look like a motion picture.

It’s too bad for a little pop in large spaces, which partially spoils the effect of the whole. Ah, there are many Deintermezzo scene The animations are great as well as the intro, even if we don’t know if they’re all animated by Ufotable or not. Another huge addition to the Bandai Namco game.