The Tales series is one of the longest-running JRPG franchises out there, and over the years it's evolved gameplay systems while still retaining the core elements of the franchise. Tales of Arise looks to continue the darker tone set up with Tales of Berseria, while also making its own innovations to the franchise's formula.
Tales of Arise is developed by the dedicated Tales team at Bandai Namco, with veterans on the team who've been working on Tales since the very first game, Tales of Phantasia.
Perhaps the biggest change Tales of Arise brings, though, is being the first Tales game to be built on Unreal Engine 4, instead of using an in-house engine. Here's everything known about Tales of Arise so far.
Tales of Arise Release Date
Tales of Arise was announced at E3 2019 by Bandai Namco, and it's the first mainline Tales game since Tales of Berseria released in 2016. The title is planned for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC sometime in 2020. The announcement trailer only set 2020 as a release window, but looking at the past of the series, a smaller release window can be discerned.
Tales game generally release at the beginning of the year or near the end of summer, to avoid cramped seasons with heavy-hitters like Call of Duty. For example, Tales of Zestiria originally released in January 2015 in Japan, while Tales of Berseria released in August 2016 in Japan, then January 2017 in North America. With PS5 and Xbox Series X coming Holiday 2020, Bandai Namco will want to get Tales of Arise out before that, in order to attract players looking for something while they wait for new consoles. Because of this, Bandai Namco will likely eye a Summer or Fall release for Tales of Arise. The game was also rated in Korea in January 2020 which could signal its development is decently along.
Tales of Arise Story
Tales of Arise uses a story format that's appeared multiple times in the series before, dual worlds that are inexplicably tied to each other. There's the medieval world of Dahna, and the technologically advanced world of Rena. The technology and advancements of Rena have led to the world enslaving the people of Dahna, using them as slave labor.
The game revolves around two main characters from these differing worlds; Alphen is a young man from Dahna who wears an iron mask and has lost his memory as well as the ability to feel pain. Meanwhile, Shionne is a young girl from Rena who's cursed by "Thorns" that can cause intense pain to whoever she touches. The unlikely pair bands together to rebel against Rena, and change the injustices between the two worlds.
The character design of Tales of Arise is led by Minoru Iwamoto, who worked on party member designs in Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria. In an interview with Famitsu, via Abyssal Chronicles, the game's producer, Yusuke Tomizawa, talked about the rocky relationship between the two main characters.
The people of Rena discriminate against the people of Dahna, so the start of their relationship eventually leads to significant drama.
The main goal of the development team is to advance the Tales formula and make it more accessible to newcomers. Iwamoto also had more to say on this in the interview, stating,
There are many elements that make a Tales game, such as the action battles and the skits or chats. We composed each element while thinking exactly why they're so popular and how can we make them evolve somehow. The team is working to make it feel still as a Tales game, and we feel it important to communicate with our fans.
Tales of Arise Gameplay
Tales of Arise's combat looks to retain elements of the franchise's iconic Linear-Motion Battle System, while also making things more accessible to a new audience. While Bandai Namco has been tightlipped about the combat system, but Arise will try to make battles more dynamic than past games have. According to Iwamoto, they want players to feel like "Tales battles are refreshing," and provide quick intuitive options.
From early trailers, it looks like battles will flow seamlessly into the world instead of cutting to a separate battle area or scene, like most of the past games have done. Graphically Tales of Arise is a massive step forward for the series, and Bandai Namco has put an emphasis on making the world, and characters, seem more realistic and live-in.
In terms of other gameplay, fans should expect the usual JRPG fare of visiting towns and dungeons, intermixed with battling. The developer's goal this time is to strike a balance between "tradition vs evolution," so while it will still retain similar elements, Arise is going to be quite a departure for Tales.
Tales of Arise launches in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.