First Impressions: Tales Of Arise Demo

I would count myself as a relatively long time fan of the ‘Tales Of’ series. That said, it is not a statement I would make without a series of addendums. These are games which demonstrate a wide spectrum of the traits typically associated with JRPG’s, showcasing both the best and worst faculties of the genre, sometimes simultaneously. 

It was with great interest that I witnessed the reveal of Tales of Arise in 2019. Even with a brief, early initial trailer, it was clear that this was a step forward for the franchise. The intention seemed to be to progress the series to the next level in addition to satiating the expectations of the existing fan base, aided in no small part by an obvious increase in development resources. 

So, to the present day, and with the titles release in September right around the corner, Bandai Namco have been kind enough to offer players across all formats a fairly meaty demo. I downloaded this with haste, eager to get hands on with the series for the first time since Tales of Berseria half a decade ago. What follows are my initial impressions and takeaways. Note that this is based solely on the publicly available demo, not a full and final version of the game, on Xbox Series X. 

The first impression is a positive one. Despite following the development of the game and seeing a multitude of trailers and high quality screenshots, I was still taken aback by the visual presentation, particularly given the Tales of series has been wildly inconsistent in this respect. The game offers up a beautiful, painterly art style. Character models are highly detailed, and wisps of smoke bounce off distant mountains teasing a sense of adventure and high fantasy that so many titles attempt but rarely capture. The game defaults to the performance mode, providing a super smooth 60fps and excellent image quality at what I assume is a dynamic resolution. The ‘quality’ mode is disappointing by comparison, any increase in visual fidelity being relatively imperceptible due to the obvious and immediate effect on the framerate. I will revisit this in the full release, but it seems highly likely that the default mode will provide a gorgeous and fluid representation of this world and will be the overwhelming preference. 

I do feel that it would be nice to have the option to pull the camera back a little. The zoom is fairly significant and at times it was difficult to fully appreciate the aesthetic as a result. In a way, it is a victim of its own success in this regard, the beauty of the environment creating a desire to see more of it than is at times possible.  

The music feels immediately appropriate to the wider sense of grandeur. There is a full orchestral score and its beauty fits perfectly with the visual colour. After many years of making do with serviceable but uninspiring presentations, it is a treat to see the Tales series begin to harness some of the innate wonderment of its genre. Rays of sunlight cause crystal clear water to sparkle, foliage hangs and sways in the breeze as birds flutter overhead, spires ascend from cities in the distance. There is more than a shade of both Dragon Quest XI and Xenoblade Chronicles here, whilst still being unmistakeably Tales, and it has me excited to engage with this world further. 

Tales is well known for its ‘skits’, brief and usually optional narrative interludes delivered in a picture-in-picture format. It is a feature which has always worked well, allowing the player to peel back additional layers of context to the relationships between party members as and when it is appropriate. These have become far more dynamic, appearing more akin to windows from a comic book, and now feel like fully formed scenes which feel like a connected part of the narrative in a way they have sometimes failed to in the past. The change is subtle and yet impactful. 

Combat has long been a defining pillar of the series, offering unique, fast paced action encompassing strikes and special moves or ‘artes’. The combat here will feel familiar to series veterans albeit at a quicker pace, whilst perhaps being a little overwhelming for newcomers. That said, this is a demo representing a period of the game when much of the initial set up, explanation and tutorial content will have already been delivered, and hopefully the combat systems wider nuance will be explained to the player in a measured fashion. Combat is fun and frantic, with a multitude of visual flurries matching the striking presentation elsewhere. There is, at times, a feeling of a lack of weight and connection to the strikes which in turn makes chipping away at an enemies health feel slightly less satisfying than it perhaps should, although this may be something easily rectified using more advanced weapons and techniques.  

Post-fight statistics are delivered over the top of the game following battle as opposed to being contained to their own screen like in past iterations. This is a nice touch which increases the fluidity of the gameplay, indicative of the care and attention that has been given to every aspect of the presentation. 

I came away from the demo feeling enthused and excited about the game’s potential. As ever with JRPG’s, a great deal will depend on the content and delivery of the story, as well as the complexity of the characters and relationships between them. In the brief interactions we witness here the characters seem to have unique personalities and are well voiced (I played with Japanese VO, although the option for English is also present), but this is an area where I would naturally have to withhold judgment. 

This is a demo I would not only encourage Tales fans to download and try, but fans of JRPG’s in general. There is a sense that the game will successfully capture the essence of what has made the genre much loved and potentially grow the Tales franchise as a result. 

Tales of Arise releases worldwide on September 9th 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S consoles.