Tales of Arise had a lot going for it in 2021 — an exciting, likeable cast, an interesting protagonist, and a plot with potential. Depending on who you ask, the game mostly gels and showcases the series’ potential, with impressive under-the-hood work to make it viable for the future.
By and large, though, Arise is a divisive entry. It’s got great gameplay, but it also has sponge bosses, a slow prologue, and a rough backend. The middle, though, was really good, and it showed a lot of potential. Fans even today know that mechanically Arise is a treat, but it’s hard to say that the story nails what it wants to say.
The Switch 2 version is finally here, performs well on the hardware, and includes the base game alongside the expansion Beyond the Dawn, which serves as an epilogue to the main story.
Tales of Arise on the Switch 2 is finally here
In Tales of Arise, you play as Alphen, who lives on Dahna, a planet stripped of its natural resources and a planet held hostage by the nearby planet of Rena. Alphen must fight to save his people with the help of Shionne, a girl on the run from Rena. Together they will fight for their freedom. He’s also an amnesiac who embarks on recovering his memories.
The story itself is fine, beginning slowly, hitting a wicked stride, then fumbling the final third. However, strong performances and a likable cast make it more palatable. Mage Rinwell or Brawler Law have pretty cool backstories that culminate in satisfying ways. Meanwhile, you have Dohalim’s story, which focuses on systemic classism, while Kisara, a knight of the realm, struggles between duty and what’s right. The cast is overall likeable, and, in many ways, comparable to Yuri Lowell — showing that not every situation is black and white by offering nuance in how they see things.
Tales of Arise is for the combat sickos
Tales of sickos know what to expect from the series’ combat. It’s fast, frantic, and focused on creating opportunities to unleash devastating combos with your artes. You control one character in battle, though each character plays differently, but all have basic attacks alongside their dedicated artes. Either way, the most recent entry has a pretty engaging battle system that is a lot of fun to engage with.
The key thing I forgot about (it’s been some time since I’ve revisited the game) is that there’s a dependency on utilizing your entire party’s abilities to take down enemies. Bosses in particular are still unnecessarily spongy and take forever to defeat, but you can implement some impressive combos and chain together attacks with your team. Alpheen and Shionne are wicked to use in battle, and Rinwell is the staple magic user that I refuse to take out of my team. The fourth slot is effectively my wild card slot, where the rest of the party swaps in and out of it as the situation calls for them.
In battle, there “Boost Attack,” which can be performed in battle if you complete the required conditions. Each character has its own set of roles and effects, and you control a single character before unleashing a support attack and teaming up with others. Similarly, “Boost Strike” is a finisher move that will open once the enemy’s health hits a certain point, and it depends on the combination of party members and is considered to be different from Mystic Artes.
How Does The Switch 2 Port Hold Up
The Switch 2 port is a bit of a mixed bag, and it doesn’t hold up to other ports on the hardware like Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Cyberpunk 2077. The main issue is that the game struggles to maintain a consistent frame rate. Bandai Namco says it runs at 1080p and 30 fps, with cutscenes at 60 fps. Even playing in docked mode fails to match the consistency of the PS5/Xbox Series versions. I’d say it falls below those versions and sits closer to last-gen as a proper comparison.
Add in softer textures and a draw distance that’s not as strong as on current-gen hardware, and you don’t have the best first impression. It’s a shame there’s no dedicated 40 fps mode available because I find that’s genuinely the sweet spot for a lot of games to play and look good.
Overall, this port toes the line closer to the PlayStation 4 version. That alone is pretty disappointing, but ultimately, the trade-off is that you get a 100-hour RPG in your hands.
Your main journey could take you anywhere from 40 to 60 hours. After that, the Beyond the Dawn expansion becomes available, and it serves as a proper send-off for this world and these characters. It also introduces a few new faces, like Nazamil. The expansion reunites the main cast on a mission to help Nazamil, who’s half Renan and half Dahnan. She faces hate from both sides, as the relationship between the two races was a central problem in the base game.
The problem is, Nazamil isn’t a great character, and it’s hard to care for her plight when she’s so one-note. Events are forced on you at a pace that makes it nearly impossible to care for her and ultimately brings her down.
Ultimately, if you push through to the end, you are rewarded with some great scenes involving the entire party.
Verdict
Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition is finally on the Switch 2, but not without concessions. The current-gen ports are undoubtedly the best way to play Arise if you have access to them. For those in the Nintendo ecosystem, you’ll find better ports available. Really, though, this port is for those who missed out five years ago and now have a shiny new device that needs games, and frankly, that’s justifiable enough to me because overall, Tales of Arise is a good game, only undercut by a few odd choices.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: Switch 2
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Author: 360 Technology Group
