Overview:

To be honest, I can’t really explain Tales of Arise.  I think it’s an action RPG but you’re not really doing much action nor are you doing much role playing.  It’s more akin to a third person action game.  Either way, you control Alphen who is a masked man from a different country who has amnesia.  As you (he) progress through the story you assemble a group of compatriots of all nationalities and start to regain your identity.  Your interactions with the other characters are well flushed out and the combat is pretty straight forward.  There is so much shit happening on screen at once I really couldn’t comprehend what was going on.  I just let them do their thing and I have won every single time.  The story seems to be one of typical Japanese RPGs in that your amnesiac character is the only one who can put an end to the tyranny plaguing the land.

Visuals:

You know, at one time in my life, I would have seen the visuals of Tales and been in awe with how much it looked like a cartoon.  Now, though, it seems like all Japanese RPGs go for this “stylized” look.  The cel-shading looks good but it’s just a tired trope at this point.  The characters are all unique and I loved the way Alphen looked like when he had his full mask.  When it’s broken he just looks like your generic protagonist.  You can dress up the characters with a multitude of outfits that you find throughout the game (as well as buy them with real money).  So everyone’s experience should be different.  Some of the environments, mainly the cities, look amazing and are super detailed but they’re all just facades with one or two doors being open to you.  It isn’t an open world by any stretch.  Moreso, there are some open zones for you to go from one place to the next, so use your map.

Audio:

I typically play a Japanese RPG with Japanese voices just because I feel that makes me believe the story a lot more.  The voices seem good and don’t detract from the game.  I changed it to English voices some ways in and the game just seems sillier now.  There is so much talking going throughout the game that, like the combat, I can’t really tell what they’re saying as they overlap.  The sayings are also highly repetitious in each combat so get used to hearing the same thing.

Completion:

I’ve liberated two countries and am currently working on the third.  There has been some intrigue and I’ve lost some characters.  I am enjoying it as I go along minus the combat and all the talking.  I look forward to hopefully completing the game.