Forum - View topicINTEREST: Tales of Arise Staff Explains Why The Game Is So Different From Other Tales of Games
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Super_M
Posts: 201 |
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Tales of Arise is my first Tales game. I had positive experience playing it and I'm almost sure I play future instalment of Tales series.
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13242 |
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As a long time Tales fan I did miss the 2D anime skit sprites, the game was phenomenal. Despite all the things they did different it still felt like a true Tales game.
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MFrontier
Posts: 14216 |
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I feel like the Final Product was pretty true to being a Tales Of game, but I also missed the 2D skits just because I actually enjoyed how they implemented them in past games and made more use of the animated designs.
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Tenebrae
Posts: 492 |
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I've played most of the Tales since Abyss (most of PS/PC releases) and didn't find anything to complain about in the changes that Arise made. I've always felt that in combat sequences any 2D enforcement was a relic of the past that diminished what the combat could be. (Though I seem to recall most/all of them allowed 3D movement if player so chose.)
Also noteworthy how they strove to preserve the 2D feel in skits by framing them in manga panels that opened one by one on screen. I felt it was an improvement over the "talking faces in boxes" of the old days as it let them pose and the characters, set camera angles and do group shots. Overall I think what Arise did should be the way forward. Though they need to learn to be bolder in snipping underdeveloped features. Like that farm, which I bet most just grinded because it had a Steam achievement attached. |
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5524 |
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That's actually surprising to hear, the games have been moving fuhrer away the classic Tales of template for a long time, Xillia removed the fixed camera angle, Zestiria opened up the world and had battles take place in the game world. Arise might have moved even further away, but it still seems to be following the same trajectory.
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StarDango
Posts: 103 |
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It may be nostalgia, but I prefer the 2D skits from past Tales games. Tales of Legendia and then eventually Graces and beyond made them better by actually incorporating full body art, rather than the “talking heads in a box.” Although that had a charm to it too.
In particular, I thought that Tales of Berseria did it best, with more full image cut-ins and creative use of the character’s avatars (eg. The skit with Eleanor where she’s monologuing to herself, all while the other characters are just silently watching her.) Although, I have to admit they used the skit format TOO MUCH, but that’s a whole other can of worms. I get what they’re trying to do with Arise’s 3D skits, but they just feel so…Stiff? Like the facial expressions and movements and especially the comic format didn’t really do it for me. I don’t know how to explain it. But it wasn’t enough to ruin my interest in the game. I liked it well enough. Edit: Tales of Legendia did the full-body character portraits in the skits long before Graces did. Can’t believe I forgot that, considering it’s one of my faves. Last edited by StarDango on Sat Dec 31, 2022 2:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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getumbuck
Posts: 198 |
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I think I hated this game. It just felt like a step in the wrong direction, IMO
Still it at least had a happy ending, something we hardly ever seen in the Tales series. |
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2094 |
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Hard disagree that they preserved the dialogue quality of the skits. Despite the other issue with the 3D having far less facial expression compared to the older skits and felt like it was only done to show off the optional costumes (which I use but never felt the need to see in skits), but the dialogue in skits in prior games often highlighted other fun aspects of the cast’s personalities or just simply had them engaging in shenanigans. In Arise, it’s mostly just them repeating plot stuff we already know, which isn’t shocking since the cast’s personalities feel so one note. I swear to god, before we even got through the first area where she joined us, it felt like Rinwell reminded me how much she hates Shionne in like 90% of her dialogue. I genuinely facepalmed when somebody on gamefaqs claimed Arise was a “subtle” use of the theme of discrimination. If subtle means brick to the face, then yeah sure…..
I finally dropped the game after 30 hours, but upon hearing where the story went eventually, I couldn’t believe they legit went with, “hey guys, maybe we should feel kinda bad for the slave owners!” Bruh, BRUH. Oh, and when people make comparisons to Xenosaga Disc 2, oh yeah, that obviously inspires confidence… The battle system was good, but so is every Tales battle system. The world looked prettier, yet felt even more restricted in exploration even compared to the restrictive exploration of the last five entries. It was such a disappointment. And after Graces, Xillia 1 (2 was just a lazy cash grab), and Zesteria were good but such a downgrade compared to the series’ stronger days, Berseria was a massive improvement in story and characters that it ended up my 2nd favorite after Abyss (followed by Vesperia and Symphonia). I was hoping this was a good sign of things to come, and Arise looked promising, but then it came out and UGH. I mean, you’re already off on a bad foot when you go with the #1 JRPG character cliche of amnesia and it just went downhill from there. If they’re truly committed to using Arise as what future entries will be like, I’m worried to say the least. |
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30k11
Posts: 6 |
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Currently playing it at a glacial pace. So far none of the skits feel funny unlike the usual Tales of skits. Even Shionne's hearty appetite can't redeem her irritating personality.
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CrypticPurpose
 Posts: 341 |
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Nothing good ever comes from "streamlining" a classic series. It only ever ends up alienating the existing fanbase, and the number of new gamers it might or might not draw because of it never end up being sufficient to justify it. I've had a blank-check buying policy for any game in the Tales series for nearly 20 years, and Arise put an end to that. It takes years to build up that kind of customer loyalty, and they threw it all away for the shortsighted possibility their changes might draw some new customers they otherwise wouldn't have.
They should have spent more time discussing whether it would alienate their existing (and up until then, loyal) fanbase. Arise was the first Tales game I didn't finish, and I have essentially zero interest in revisiting it. It felt more like one of their cash-grab "sequels" (Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Tales of Xillia 2) than a proper entry. |
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Traptrix Lover
Posts: 111 |
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That would explain why it felt so different. Not a bad game, but not really the kind of style I've come to know and expect out of tales.
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L'Imperatore
 Posts: 941 |
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Seconded. I mostly enjoyed Arise despite its flaws (goodness, those typos! Come on, QC team!) and welcomed most changes... except the 3D skits. Those are good, but as the game progresses, I began to think, "How different are those to normal cutscenes other than being set in comic panels and replayable?" And then there's the lack of comedy. I think, as the characters design become more and more realistic, the harder it becomes to portray them in comical/zany situations. I wholeheartedly agree that Berseria (and Zestiria before it) did it best. (And there's also the music. Sorry, Sakuraba, I think your work here is quite weak. Only a few memorable tracks.)
Debatable. Fanbase comes and goes as priorities change. Those "loyal" teenagers who bought a game day 1 a decade ago might or might not even have an hour a day for it once they hit 30s and/or have jobs or become parents. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 14216 |
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Well, it's hard to argue that at least some of what they did was successful given how well the game ended up doing...although it'll be interesting to see what the next Tales game looks like.
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Unculturedman
Posts: 58 |
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So I’m not a major fan of this series and I’ve only beaten 3 games so far (Vesperia, Abyss and Symphonia) because those were the most discussed and acclaimed. And I loved the story and characters of Abyss, and enjoyed them in Symphonia but mostly enjoyed the gameplay. Vesperia I really didn’t care for. The story felt split and there was no solid concrete theme. I liked the plot until the last third when it became really generic and it felt like all themes were completely tossed aside for a generic god monster finale. I also didn’t care for the gameplay at all. Way too slow. Arise on the other hand, yeah it’s standard and I haven’t beaten it yet so I can’t fully comment on the story, but one thing I really thought was interesting about the world building is that at least up until the point I am now, every kingdom subjugates the people of Dana in different ways. The first kingdom emphasizes the futility of resistance, the fact that the Renans are just too powerful to engage with, and death is the only outcome if you try. In the second kingdom, they manipulate the people with a reward system, making them obsess over betraying their own people so that they can “get ahead” in some way, or gain some temporary benefit. In the third kingdom they legitimately convince the people that they have reached some type of peaceful coexistence with the renans, yet we still understand that they don’t have complete freedom, and later we find out it was all a lie just so they can use the people to create more of the resource they require through their food. It’s very interesting in my opinion. The characters haven’t been necessarily interesting, but I also like them well enough. I definitely think there are interesting aspects to the story and world beyond generic cliches. |
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bleachj0j
 Posts: 926 |
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While at first glance I understand it being in bad taste, in actual execution its not done that poorly. The story never says to abolish the guilt of the Renas for what they did and acknowledges that the twist doesn't change the systematic grief that will take a long time to undo. |
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