Tales of Arise

[Scraper]

I just picked this up for the PS5. I'm not the biggest Tales series fan, but I have played a lot of them and I beat the last 2 releases (Berseria and Zesteria). I've only been able to put about 2 hours into Arise, but so far I am really liking it. First of all the graphics upgrade is substantial from the last 2 games. It runs on some version of Unreal 4 and it fits the traditional graphical style of the Tales series perfectly.

As for the combat I am liking it MUCH better than Berseria. They mapped special moves to the D pad and what's nice about that is that you can command other party members to use their power on the fly without having to swap to them. They also mapped a basic attack to the R1 button that does not use up your action points and a dodge button to R2. So overall I think it will lead to much more strategic fighting (Certainly more than Berseria had).

As for the story I am enjoying that too. It has a more serious tone than past Tales games since the main character starts out as a slave and almost everyone you meet early on is either a slave or a resistance fighter. I find this to be refreshing over the typical small town angsty teen that most RPGs start you out with.

So far everything just feels right about this game. I'll update more as I progress in the game.

[Scraper]

I'm about 5 hours in and I'm still really enjoying this game. I can say it is easily my favorite Tales game that I've played. The story so far has been interesting and the characters are all likable and fill nice roles within the story.

Also, I'll stand by my comments about the combat. At this point they're still adding elements to the combat system and so far all of them have been great and easy to understand how to use. The only gripe I have about the combat is that you're limited to equipping just 3 arts at a time, BUT it is easy to pause the game during combat and swap them out if you need different elemental attacks.

[Hamlet3145]

My copy should arrive (arise?) this week. Looking forward to it. Haven't played a JRPG in a loooong time.

[Torfish]

I feel I won a small lottery yesterday. I snagged a PS5 from Walmart's pre-black Friday sale, so I need a game when it arrives later in December. I remember playing a Tales game on the gamecube many years ago and loved it. At least, I think it was a Tales game.

I'll keep reading your impressions with interest.

[Scraper]

I feel I won a small lottery yesterday. I snagged a PS5 from Walmart's pre-black Friday sale, so I need a game when it arrives later in December. I remember playing a Tales game on the gamecube many years ago and loved it. At least, I think it was a Tales game.

I'll keep reading your impressions with interest.

If you played the FF7 Remake and liked it then you should like Tales of Arise. The combat is similar but not exactly the same. If you haven't played FF7 Remake then I highly recommend it.

[Skinypupy]

Against my better judgment (the last three Tales games have clunked for me) I picked this one up yesterday. Was in the mood for a JRPG fix, and have 3 weeks before I’ll jump into the new FF XIV xpac (it releases in two weeks, but I avoid launch week because it’s always a disaster).

Played the first hour last night and it seems pretty interesting. I already like the characters far better than Berseria. Still trying to wrap my head around the combat, which always feels button-mashy for the first little while.

[Scraper]

Against my better judgment (the last three Tales games have clunked for me) I picked this one up yesterday. Was in the mood for a JRPG fix, and have 3 weeks before I’ll jump into the new FF XIV xpac (it releases in two weeks, but I avoid launch week because it’s always a disaster).

Played the first hour last night and it seems pretty interesting. I already like the characters far better than Berseria. Still trying to wrap my head around the combat, which always feels button-mashy for the first little while.

The changes made to Arise's battle system definitely make it less of a button masher than Berseria and Zesteria. If you go into battles just hittting one button or just randomly hitting buttons then you aren't doing it right. I constantly change out the assigned artes depending on the fight and which element i need. Also, I'm about 15 hours in and they are still slowly introducing new figthing mechanics.

[Skinypupy]

The changes made to Arise's battle system definitely make it less of a button masher than Berseria and Zesteria. If you go into battles just hittting one button or just randomly hitting buttons then you aren't doing it right. I constantly change out the assigned artes depending on the fight and which element i need. Also, I'm about 15 hours in and they are still slowly introducing new figthing mechanics.

Agreed, this system is far, far better. I never could really wrap my head around either of the previous game’s systems. This one, for whatever reason, makes perfect sense and I’m getting the hang of using combos, mixing ground and aerial attacks, and using elements. It’s been way more fun and engaging than previous games.

I’m about 5 hours in, just beat the first big bad. Really enjoying it so far.

[Scraper]

Im 20 some hours in now and I stand by my early impressions. This is easily the best Tales game I've played and one of the better JRPGs I've played in the past couple of years. It's up there with FF7 remake and the Legend of Heroes series for me. I wouldn't rank it above them, but its up there.

And thankfully at around 18 hours in they added the ability to swap extra art powers in and out on the fly. Which really opens up the combat options.

[Skinypupy]

I'm about 12 hours in, and there has been a pretty significant increase in combat difficulty. I'm at the point (one that I get to in most Tales games, tbh) where there's a "flow" to combat that I'm having a hard time grasping. I get that I need to be mixing artes and regular attacks to extend combos, but can't really seem to find that rhythm that allows me to be consistent at it. The overall game is fun enough that I'll keep working at it, but it's getting a little frustrating.

Also, I can't for the life of me get Alphen's Blazing Sword attacks to trigger. The tutorials say that holding down the Arte button is supposed to trigger the stronger Blazing Sword attack (at the expense of some HP), but it doesn't do anything. Holding down the button does his regular Arte, but nothing else. I know the Blazing Sword ability is unlocked (shows up in blue on the Arte description), but it never triggers. I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong.

[Scraper]

I'm about 12 hours in, and there has been a pretty significant increase in combat difficulty. I'm at the point (one that I get to in most Tales games, tbh) where there's a "flow" to combat that I'm having a hard time grasping. I get that I need to be mixing artes and regular attacks to extend combos, but can't really seem to find that rhythm that allows me to be consistent at it. The overall game is fun enough that I'll keep working at it, but it's getting a little frustrating.

Also, I can't for the life of me get Alphen's Blazing Sword attacks to trigger. The tutorials say that holding down the Arte button is supposed to trigger the stronger Blazing Sword attack (at the expense of some HP), but it doesn't do anything. Holding down the button does his regular Arte, but nothing else. I know the Blazing Sword ability is unlocked (shows up in blue on the Arte description), but it never triggers. I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong.

The Blazing Sword attacks are super powerful and there are a bunch of them. HOWEVER, each art has its own blazing sword attack attached to it and they aren't all unlocked at the beginning. You need to look at each arte in the menu, the name of the blazing sword attack attached to the arte will be at the top right. If it's yellowish gold then you have it unlocked. If it's grey then you can't use it yet. And yes all you need to do to use it is hold down the button of the arte and the blazing sword technique will activate after the art is done. My guess is you aren't holding the button long enough or you're trying to use a blazing attack that you don't have yet.

As for the difficulty, I haven't had to grind yet, but I do make sure to complete all of the side quests (that are on my level) and I explore every inch of the maps. So I've been at the right level for every story battle so far. Also, some of the larger enemies are much easier to defeat with your character in the air, a lot of them have ground based attacks that miss you if you're in the air. Being behind enemies is also mush safer.

[Skinypupy]

The Blazing Sword attacks are super powerful and there are a bunch of them. HOWEVER, each art has its own blazing sword attack attached to it and they aren't all unlocked at the beginning. You need to look at each arte in the menu, the name of the blazing sword attack attached to the arte will be at the top right. If it's yellowish gold then you have it unlocked. If it's grey then you can't use it yet. And yes all you need to do to use it is hold down the button of the arte and the blazing sword technique will activate after the art is done. My guess is you aren't holding the button long enough or you're trying to use a blazing attack that you don't have yet.

Thanks, that's helpful. Just checked, and a it looks like they're all showing up as blue in the arte description, but I do have one that is yellow (don't see any that are grey). All of my equipped artes are still blue, so I assume that means I haven't unlocked them yet and would explain why nothing was happening when I tried to use them.

What do you have to do to unlock them? Just use the arte a specific number of times? Is that what the star rating with the counter next to it means? I thought the star rating/counter unlocked a new arte, but maybe I'm misunderstanding that mechanic.

It's very poorly explained in-game.

[Scraper]

Some are unlocked through the skill upgrade points and I think some unlock on their own. But yeah it's poorly explained.

[Scraper]

I'm about 45 hours in now and very close to the end. I'm still really liking the game. The story and characters have been surprisingly good.

With out going into spoilers, what starts out as a story about one group enslaving another group changes and evolves in a way that makes total sense over the course of the game. By the end it actually has you somewhat rooting for the "bad guys". Each of the main characters also have their own backgrounds and storylines that are interesting and they each grow throughout the story as well. I can't wait to see how it ends. A walkthrough tells me I am at the last major area with the final boss battle coming up soon. (I didn't read the walkthrough, I just like to check to see how many chapters/areas there are)

I'm also really hoping they make a prequel, set at a time just before the bad guys invade the good guys world. Kind of like they did with Zesteria and Berseria.

[Scraper]

And finished at about the 55 hour mark. I didn't complete 100% of the side quests (Many of them are a much higher level than the final story mission) but I did finish up everything I could that was close to my group's level. Overall I really enjoyed the game start to finish. At the start of the game I would have never guessed where the story ultimately went. At the same time it wasn't an overly convoluted story like a lot of JRPG stories are. It leaves me anxiously waiting for the next Tales game.

[Skinypupy]

While the combat system was pretty fun, I didn't really find the story interesting at all. Gave up on it after about 15 hours.

I just really need to stop buying Tales games, since it's always the same experience for me. Kinda interesting for 15-20 hours, then meh.

[Scraper]

While the combat system was pretty fun, I didn't really find the story interesting at all. Gave up on it after about 15 hours.

I just really need to stop buying Tales games, since it's always the same experience for me. Kinda interesting for 15-20 hours, then meh.

You didn't even make it to the part where the actual big bad gets revealed. So at about 20 hours in you haven't even seen what the true story has to offer.

[coopasonic]

and if the story can't get you to that point, why bother continuing?

I have made it through one Tales game (can't remember if it was Zestiria or Berseria or how to spell them either), but I am far less concerned with story than Skiny. I am trying to talk myself out of picking up Arise. They look good, but JRPGs really just aren't my jam, no matter how many times I try.

[Skinypupy]

and if the story can't get you to that point, why bother continuing?

Yeah, that's where I'm at with it. I've played many games whose stories are slow burns, but this one is simply completely uninteresting to me.

The dynamic between the two leads constantly bitching at each other has absolutely grated on my nerves as well. I never want to hear either of them talk again...which doesn't bode well for staying engaged through the rest of the story.

[Scraper]

and if the story can't get you to that point, why bother continuing?

Yeah, that's where I'm at with it. I've played many games whose stories are slow burns, but this one is simply completely uninteresting to me.

The dynamic between the two leads constantly bitching at each other has absolutely grated on my nerves as well. I never want to hear either of them talk again...which doesn't bode well for staying engaged through the rest of the story.

I'm not even sure what you're talking about with the two leads. At the beginning Shionne is very standoffish with everyone simply because she was always used to being alone and not being able to count on anyone on account of her hurting everyone she touches. She is viewed as an outcast even among her own kind. Whereas Alphen was constantly trying to win her over and almost immediately started to care for her. How you view that as bitching at each other is beyond me. I thought the interplay between all of the characters and how they grow throughout the story was one of the game's strong points.

[Skinypupy]

Alphen: "How can you be so mean to everyone?!"

Shionne: "I only care about my mission, nothing else."

Alphen: "But you should care about people, and their feelings, and their fate!"

Shionne: "Well, I don't so quit bugging me about it"

Alphen: "OK, but I know you're a good person deep down. And I'll have a continual earnest internal monologue about how I'll keep trying to find ways for you to show you care!"

Shionne: "OK, but I'm going to keep being standoffish. And I'll have a continual earnest internal monologue about how conflicting it is to be a jerk to everyone while secretly caring about them!"

Repeat every 10-15 minutes for the first dozen hours.

[raydude]

Alphen: "How can you be so mean to everyone?!"

Shionne: "I only care about my mission, nothing else."

Alphen: "But you should care about people, and their feelings, and their fate!"

Shionne: "Well, I don't so quit bugging me about it"

Alphen: "OK, but I know you're a good person deep down. And I'll have a continual earnest internal monologue about how I'll keep trying to find ways for you to show you care!"

Shionne: "OK, but I'm going to keep being standoffish. And I'll have a continual earnest internal monologue about how conflicting it is to be a jerk to everyone while secretly caring about them!"

Repeat every 10-15 minutes for the first dozen hours.

Well, I was on the fence about this game but now I'm sold!
Seriously though it is on my wishlist. I didn't pull the trigger on it this previous sale because I am swamped at work and I can't afford a distraction. Well, other than playing a round or two of Enlisted at night!

[Skinypupy]

I do think it’s a good game, it’s just didn’t really click for me.

Which I kinda figured coming in, but wanted to give it a look anyways.

[YellowKing]

Finished this one last night.

I must admit, I was NOT feeling this game for the first 7-8 hours. I'm an old-school JRPG guy, so the shift from turn-based to action combat has always been a bit of a struggle for me. And this game's combat is decidedly more complex than say, FFXV. I was just mashing buttons, eking by, not really knowing what I was doing and not super-invested in the story.

I finally sat down and watched a few tutorial videos on YouTube which really helped me understand it a bit more, and at some point it clicked enough where I was winning battles confidently.

Now, even after close to 50 hours I won't pretent that I totally understood what I was doing exactly - I just knew enough "how" to beat bosses and ultimately win the game. I'm sure I was probably missing out on some key strategies and maneuvers that I had no clue about. But to the game's credit, it's incredibly well-balanced and never felt too easy nor too punishing.

Story-wise it suffers from the same incomprehensible tropes as many JRPGs, and as noted earlier in this thread there's an enormous amount of "just get a room already" between the two main characters. However, they never annoyed me like many JRPG characters do and by the end of the game I was quite attached to all of them.

Fun time and well worth the $30 or so I wound up getting it for. I would not have been disappointed paying full price.

[Dramatist]

This was on sale when I needed a new game a couple of weeks ago and I took a chance on it.

I’m pretty far in and I’m enjoying myself quite a bit. I don’t plan many jrpgs but I like the combat and the story so far.

I did tell my wife that the story has more drama than a Mexican soap opera, but it’s kind of endearing.

I also am a sucker for games with fishing mini games in them and I’m spending way too much time fishing.


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