On the planet Dahna, reverence has always been given to Rena, the planet in the sky, as a land of the righteous and divine. Stories handed down for generations became truth and masked reality for the people of Dahna. For 300 years, Rena has ruled over Dahna, pillaging the planet of its resources and stripping people of their dignity and freedom.

Our tale begins with two people, born on different worlds, each looking to change their fate and create a new future. Featuring a new cast of characters, updated combat, and classic Tales of gameplay mechanics, experience the next chapter in the world-famous Tale of series, Tales of Arise.

The Tales series is possibly better than Final Fantasy for me, there I said it and I set the tone from the start in this review. Do not worry, I can say when a game is bad or not, but stop reading if you think this will be a bad game, aside from some quirky back and forths in the storyline, with some very dark times included, this is possibly the best of the Tales games I played so far.

I would like to start by saying as well that this is my favorite genre of all time and as an experienced RPG player, I can proudly say that I beat Story mode (easy mode) without a single game over. Not to say it is easy, far from even, there are some bits and pieces in the endgame that are feisty, to say the least. I just love how properly balanced this game is.

Despite the easy mode, I found great joy in the gameplay and its nifty battle system. In the end, I was dishing out major damage in no time, all because the game basically teaches you to be better and better. Breaking through defenses, raising yours to soften the blow from those nasty Zeugle beasts that just seem to get bigger and bigger as time progresses, not even mentioning how gorgeous they look.

Actually, I should mention that at least three times, this game is possibly one of the prettiest RPGs I have played in years and it currently stands right next to Dragon Quest 11 and the remake of Final Fantasy 7. Without going into too much detail, near a point in the game, Shionne is wearing this patch of feathers. Each feather is seemingly detailed. Upon closer inspection, they are not, but as the action unfolds, it all just matches.

Then there are the buildings, even those are just plain gorgeous. It is like when you are watching a brand new Star Trek episode and comparing it to one of the William Shatner era. The genre has come a long way and it is just plain stunning what they did. It does not stop there, even in plain conversations, the hairs of characters move slightly to the rhythm of the wind. I just loved it so much.

Another thing I really noticed is the storyline. I do not want to spoil, as this is my personal policy, but there are just so many things going on at times, tons of side missions or just focussing on the main storyline. It funnily reminds me of the good old days of pro wrestling, back when the WWE still had decent storylines instead of 2-week feuds. Then again, this is why I moved on to watch AEW. Story matters and it is here that this game is preventing itself from a perfect score.

The atmosphere did always keep me playing, but I have my personal reservations in regards to some decisions. I do not wish to spoil them, so I will quote a song that will make sense when you reach that point in the game: Lady in Red by Chris Deburgh. A great song and once you reach the part I mean, the lyrics will make sense!

What I also adored in this game, the new style of interaction that Bandai Namco has introduced lately. This was present in Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise follows the same comic book style narration. It allows for a lot of interludes and storylines to evolve. Maybe at one point, there was even an abundance of said interludes just to move the needle forward in the game.

Because I really wanted to share my experiences on a more personal level, we here at Gaming Boulevard have taken Tales of Arise as our second game for a full gameplay video on YouTube and like always, the videos will not be released all at once, but a few at a time, allowing everyone a fair chance to play the game, watch our videos and not get spoiled. Unless you like to get spoiled, then you just need a few days of patience and the final 16th video will be made available. As a personal request, do watch the closing credits to the end, they are just so gorgeous, they are a must-watch.

I love how the developers just poured so much pure love into this game. It just feels like everything about this game was made out of love for the genre and ranging from massive Zeugle fights to just plain fishing or spending some time trying your hands on the cooking mechanics… Tales of Arise is a near-perfect RPG!