Tales of Arise

“Tales of Arise a great step toward the JRPG's evolution and a must-play for fans of the genre.”

Tales of Arise combines a wonderful combat loop with engaging party members to create an epic yet personal story.

Tales of Arise heralds a brilliant new dawn for the series and is one of the best RPGs of the last generation.

With Tales of Arise, I think the Tales series is finally ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heavy hitters of the JRPG genre – Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. This is a masterfully crafted adventure, and the best JRPG I’ve played in a very long time. Combining stunning visuals with a gripping story and the most exciting combat system found in a JRPG yet, this is a must-have for fans of the genre. Its standalone story makes this a great entry point for those looking to get into the Tales series, too. Put simply, Tales of Arise is outstanding.

Since Scarlet Nexus I’ve been itching for another mature skewing, darker JRPG story to sink my teeth into. I’ve always been a fan of the Tales series and all signs pointed toward Tales of Arise hitting everything on my checklist. Older characters that align closer to my age demographic. A story that explores the grey areas of war, slavery, and revenge. All of this wrapped up in that familiar Tales packaging I’ve loved for the past twenty something plus years.

Tales of Arise is a great JRPG and the new Beyond the Dawn expansion continues the story in an enjoyable way, especially on Steam Deck.

It takes a little time to warm up to Tales of Arise's main characters (ironic, when two of them wield the powers of hell itself), but once you're over that hump, you're left with a charming JRPG powered by a battle system that never slows down.

Bandai Namco’s latest blockbuster is a solid action RPG that just...never...ends...

For those who thirst for the epic JRPGS of old, Tales of Arise manages to live up to lofty expectations and then some.

Tales of Arise is the best Tales game in over a decade. It’s the advancement the series has needed for quite some time now, such as the far more explorative dungeon designs (as small as they are) and the switch to the Unreal Engine. On top of that, the majority of the cast of characters are compelling enough to keep your attention locked on the story, and the combat reinvigorates the tried and true formula into something special. With that said, there are still plenty of nagging issues. Alphen as a protagonist is dry and makes illogical decisions, there are plenty of JRPG tropes used in frustr...

Longtime fans will be satisfied with this entry after the five-year wait since the last mainline game even though Tales of Arise doesn't feel like it strays too far away from the standard series formula.

A successful attempt to modernise and broaden the appeal of the Tales series without completely abandoning its JRPG roots.