The Fantastic 87 Metacritic JRPG with a great story and super lovable characters (even compared to Persona 5)

There must be something in the water because JRPGs have exploded in popularity in recent years. Of course, we've had emerging genre leaders like Persona 5 Royal and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthbut other titles that are often overlooked can be just as epic, delightful, and mechanically complex, and they deserve their blooms as well. Tales of Arisea fairly popular action JRPG from 2021, still feels underrated, despite its various accolades and great reviews.

Tales of Arise is the seventeenth major version of the Fairy tales franchise, which started way back in 1995 with Tales of Phantasia. Like so many other older JRPG series (eg. Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest), Fairy tales has significantly evolved over time, with Arise is the franchise's most ambitious entry to date. It follows a group of characters from the rival planets Rena and Dahna, who have been at war with each other for centuries. The story is rooted in fictional political intrigue and social struggles, giving it a refreshing depth. This, along with its uniquely satisfying gameplay and massive, detailed world, does Tales of Arise a more than worthy adventure for fans of contemporary JRPGs.

Tales of Arise has one of the best JRPG roles of the decade

Tales of Arise's Main Party

Iron Worm/Alphen: A Dahnan amnesiac who starts the game working as a slave. He wears a mysterious mask and cannot feel pain.
Shion: A Renan woman cursed by the “thorns”, who teams up with Alphen to free Dahna from the five Renan lords.
Law: An alien and headstrong young Dahnan man who joined Renan law enforcement under duress.
Dohalim: A diplomatic Renan ruler on Dahna, Dohalim presides over Elde Menancia and strives for equality between Dahnan and Renan.
Rinwell: A Dahnan mage capable of casting Astral Arts, a discipline usually reserved for Renans.
Kisara: A highly skilled and respected soldier who works under Dohalim and shares his vision of equality and peace between Renans and Dahnans.

There is a lot more than that players will learn about these characters over the course of Tales of AriseThat's roughly 60 hours of gameplay, but they all share at least one common thread that's obvious from the start. In the world of AriseThe Renans are the oppressors, gathering resources and enslaving countless Dahnans to achieve their goals, which are often quite frivolous and self-serving. As such, there is clear tension between the two races, but Arises cast all have a foot in each camp, so to speak.

Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

For example, Law is the son of a notable Renan rebel and harbors anti-Renan sentiments, but works for the Renan police. Dohalim, on the other hand, is a Renan official working on behalf of the oppressed Dahnans. These complicated ethnic and social problems lead to a compelling group dynamic, one defined in equal parts conflict, understanding, and mutual growth. These kinds of complex, “odd couple” party compositions are a staple of JRPGs, and for good reason: they facilitate interesting and unexpected storytelling.

That helps Tales of Arises cast are individually quite likable. Their goals are all distinct and clearly defined, they all have well-thought-out backstories, and their relationships with each other are engaging and often unorthodox. Their differences in background, nationality and affiliation simply add additional texture to their interactions, which form a considerable part of Tales of Arises main campaign.

As before Fairy tales game, Tales of Arise features Skits, optional lower-stakes interactions between party members that can occur at various times during gameplay.

Tales of Arise has a fantastic world and even better combat

The Tales of Arise the map is divided into five large regions, each of which has its own special appeal. Yes, from the fire and brimstone of Calaglia to the verdant hills of Elde Menancia, Tales of Arises sprawling environments are consistently surprising, unique and immersive, ensuring you never quite know what to expect. Environments are mostly linear, although some will have valuable detours or alternate paths for players to take. In any case, the linear nature of Arise is a breath of fresh air in many ways, especially when more and more RPGs are taking the “bigger is better” approach.

The moment-to-moment gameplay is also fantastic. Like its predecessors, Tales of Arise features the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), which is basically a traditional 3D ARPG battle framework, but built around moving in straight vertical and horizontal lines across a battlefield. This makes battle in Arise feels strangely similar to 3D fighting games like Tekken and Soulcalibur. It's quite a unique style of battle design and gives battles a nice balance between fast action and long term tactics.

While the last few years have been great for JRPGs and video games in general, 2021 is often seen as a slowdown for the industry. There were definitely some bangers, like It takes two and the criminally underrated Returnbut the year pales in comparison to those that followed it. Maybe that's why so many players are overlooked Tales of Arise when it was launched; maybe it lumped it in with other, less impactful releases. But years later, it is clear that Arise is something quite special and deserves more time in the sun.