Stories of Get up – PlayStation 4

For the game itself, I’m loving it so far. I truly believe both old and new fans of the Tales series will find lots to love in this title. Arise gives a (some might argue, including myself) much needed facelift, while keeping the charm of the lovable characters and engaging stories that kept most of us “old timers” coming back repeatedly to these stories. I’d recommend the game in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a good jrpg to play. It’s been kind of a dry spell for games lately, so it’s good to see Tales come back with a vengeance.

The Unreal engine gives Arise a very nice upgrade to graphics, and the stylized shaders (they look almost painterly to me) make things look great. There’s been several points upon entering a new area where I just stop and look at the scenery, and there aren’t too many games where I do that. The character models are also very nice. They’re expressive, and look great in the 3D cutscenes (Tales also includes 2d cutscenes for the “game changer” moments of the game, and they always look great too). I do wish localization did a bit better with lip sync of the 3D models, but understand the work that would’ve gone into it, and it isn’t too bad. Subtitles have some grammatical issues occasionally, but I’m guessing that’ll be patched out later.

Compared to other Tales games, so far they’ve seemed to cut down on the missable quests and rewards, which I am definitely grateful for (compared to other Tales games where if you don’t sleep at an Inn unprompted at a specific point in the game, you’ll miss an entire quest line). New quests are marked on the map for you, rather than have you track down the one random NPC in town. Much appreciated.

While some players have complained about the DLC seeming “pay to win,” I haven’t found the option a necessity to beat the game. Yes, money is tighter at the beginning, but it isn’t impossible (I was still able to keep everyone’s gear updated with minimal grinding), but your money situation is improved as you go on, especially when you’ve unlocked the fishing feature (which I found rather enjoyable for a minigame). They do advertise the DLC in the camp menu, but it isn’t overbearing and I didn’t find it a bother.

I do wish there were more unique costumes for free, as you seem to get mostly recolors of the same outfits in the vanilla game. They’ve kept customization with adding accessories to your characters, which some people will enjoy.

The story is good. I’d say the first half of the game has a bit better pacing and elements to the plot, but it doesn’t mean the last half is all that bad. Overall, I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good jrpg.

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Side note, just because I had so many issues with the pre-order. Keeping my rating of the game itself as 5 stars, because I think it deserves it. But I did want to say that the pre-order experience ordering through Amazon was an absolute mess. As many other have stated, there was an issue with pre-order bonuses that never came for many (if not all) customers on release day along with the game. This issue was only with Amazon customers (not other retailers), and customer service was scattered and lost about the issue. It took more than a week and a ton of hoops for me to jump through in order to resolve (sending screenshot proof of the promotion existing, having to return the game for another copy, even though the code was digital and returning it did nothing). Next time I’ll likely be going through another retailer.

Tales of Arise is by far the best entry in the series and one of the best JRPGs of the generation.

I have been playing videogames for decades and RPGs are without a doubt my favorite genre. I’m not one of those people who think every game they play is the greatest thing ever, nor am I one of those jaded cynics who refuse to enjoy anything. So believe me when I say that Tales of Arise is absolutely phenomenal.

The Tales series has been a beloved, albeit niche, JPRG series for decades. I have heard it been said that the series as a whole can be described overall as “mid”. I have played my fair share of tales titles and before Tales of Arise, I would have agreed. For every good thing the games did, they stumbled in other critical areas. Though not for lack of ambition or lack of trying, which I truly respect from developers. Some critics of the Tales series have described it as a “budget Final Fantasy”. Believe me, they cant say that about Tales of Arise.

~Graphics and Art Direction~

Namco really took a financial risk with Tales of Arise and my goodness did it pay off! Compared to previous titles, Tales of Arise takes a huge step forward into a more “realistic”, high budget art style (while staying true to its anime roots). Graphically, it’s nothing like the previous (with all due respect) Tales titles. The art direction and environments are truly beautiful. The game’s world is divided into different elemental zones, each with their unique flair, and they all look fantastic in their own way. I often found myself stopping and taking screenshots of the different environments

The main cast looks amazing and well designed. The weapons for each character had a lot of detail put into them and I really appreciate things like that. The monster variety is nice, and they all look and move wonderfully. There are a lot of palette swaps though. Overall the new style of the series has really made it stand out and shot the series into the top tiers of RPGs, in my opinion.

~Story~
*NO SPOILERS*

Tales of Arise, much like its predecessors, has an ambitious, world-shaking storyline. In fact, the overall story is much in the same “style” as previous titles. So what makes it better? It seems that this time, between the characters, the pacing, plot, and all the other ingredients that go into making a spectacular story, they captured lightning in a bottle. It just works so well in a way that previous storylines in Tales games didn’t. To put it in other words, imagine the same dish cooked by an amateur chef vs a master chef.

The main cast of the game is extremely likeable, though some characters, particularly, the female co-main, Shionne might rub people the wrong way for a while due to her icy manner (and that’s putting it lightly, she’s initially worse than Velvet). Also, there is a lot of racism in this game. Think of Wakka with the Albeds in Final Fantasy X. I personally found it hilarious, especially when characters of opposing races start smack-talking each other in the middle of combat. Trust me when I say Shionne gets better and so does everyone else in the cast. They all progress and develop throughout the game, so give them a chance.

The cast are all well written without falling into boring anime tropes. Alphen, the main character, is one of the best Tales protagonists ever. Finally a JPRG lead that is 1) a grown man and not a teenager, 2) Has a romantic interest while not being a damn simp (looking at you, Jude) and 3) has an actual personality (*cough*Asbel*cough*).

Another note, the game is long, but the plot moves along briskly, with new twists and turns, new environments, a story that never slows down, and never feels like a chore. I don’t know if it’s pure writing talent, luck, or a little of both, but they NAILED IT with the story in this game. MUCH better than Berseria or Vesperia. Trust me!

~Gameplay~

Tales of Arise takes the Action JRPG combat of the Tales Series to the next level and is soundly the absolute best in the series. The combat is fast paced and challenging, make no mistake. If you play this game on at least normal (I cleared 100% on moderate, which is harder than normal) you can expect a challenge. On moderate, the game starts to demand serious skill. On hard, even more so. I think this may be one of the toughest JRPGs in terms of average difficulty. However, the combat is fair, fast, and so gorgeous and that you will want to “git gud”, as the kids like to say. (There are easier difficulties as well for games journalists and other assorted individuals with little self respect.)

The side quests in this game were never tedious or boring, unlike in FF15 (remember the frogs? What the hell were they thinking!?). They were fun, unique, sometimes funny, always rewarding. One minor complaint I can say about the side quests is that there are a few that become available way too early in terms of level. For these, you’ll have to progress more before you can tackle them and I cant help but wonder if the devs would have been better off just introducing them a bit later in the story.

I want to give a special mention to the boost attacks, which are basically unique super moves between 2 party members. They are fast, furious, and spectacular. I never got tired of using all of them in the 100 hours I put in this game. They make the combat in this game so flashy and fun. You have no idea how cool they are until you try it. Finishing off a tough boss with an over-the-top explosion of magic and steel gives you a satisfaction you wont encounter in most other JRPGs.

~Miscellaneous Notes ~

The music in this game is good, but not amazing. Some people really liked it, but for me, while I recognize it as good quality and appropriate to the story and setting, it did not catch my attention.

All Tales series have an anime opening which I really like. It serves to get you hyped up for the game. Tales of Arise has TWO (2) openings. The initial one and a 2nd one which unlocks later in the story. Think of it like an anime’s season 2 opening. The animation for both is fantastic, by far the best in the series. However, I do think the opener music itself is not top tier compared to other entries in the series like Graces, Xillia 1-2, or Berseria. (Arise runs circles around these games in everything else besides music though) This is an incredibly minor and pedantic complaint that I just had to mention to try and say something “negative” about the game. When I’m stooping to this level to find something bad about it that says a lot about how good it is.

One of the unique aspects of Tales games, and one which I think more JRPGs should adopt, are the skits. Tales of Arise has about 320 of them. In my initial playthrough, with no guides or anything, after I finished everything, I got 317/320 which is more than I expected. The campfire system allows you to view skits you may have not activated (but met the requirements for). As for the skits themselves, they have the usual great banter between party members that the series is known for. I will say that while Arise has its fair share of hilarious skits, there do seem much more serious/somber/info-dump ones as well. However, given how messed up the Tales of Arise world is, that is understandable. Nevertheless, this is one of the best aspects of the Tales series and Arise does not slouch in this area!

The fishing mini game, which is near ubiquitous in JRPGS at this point, is one of the better games I’ve come across.

Tales of Arise is a JPRG through and through. If you’re not in the mood for a long, story-driven, investment, then hold off on this game until you are. This is a title you really have to invest time and effort into to appreciate. Rushing through this game would be a huge waste. Make sure you go into this experience with the right mindset!

This is honestly one of the best JRPGs of the generation and is immediately in my Top 10 JRPGs of all time. I made it my 100th platinum trophy, I wanted it to be something special, and I’m glad it was this game. It’s that good.

Finally, last but definitely not least:

I love Kisara and her great, big….heart.

great game