3.5/5 ★ – sword_of_time's review of Tales of Arise.

A good addition to the Tales Of series, but still falls short of the glory of old. Graphics are a step up from the past, but being locked in this 3d anime style is clearly showing its age. Outside of cutscenes animations, the graphics are nothing to satisfy the eye. Comparing it to other jrpg games like Final Fantasy 7 remake, it just feels like it's missing something. The non-cutscene scripted moments in the same style look wooden, with the characters standing stuff straight with their arms floating at their sides, unnatural. The combat is good, but about halfway through, it goes stale. Most of the enemies are just reskinned copies in each area with the occasional new one tossed in. I can only fight so many dog enemies before getting bored. Plus, you unlock all of your moves halfway and nothing builds upon them. You figure out your best combo and just do that over and over. The pacing is great for a jrpg, and full of great plot points, except for the final area. Nothing gets the frustration going like a long area of just rehasing the same boss enemies I've already done dozens of time over and over. The characters are full of life and spunk, and it's nice to get out of the "teens saving the world" motif most other games had, with more adults and maturity. It's a good game with a few glaring flaws. Not game of the year caliber, nor does it hold up to Tales of Symphonia or the other great, but worth a try.