Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition - Switch 2 Review
"It may be a largely by-the-numbers JRPG, but man, they're some good numbers."
The Tales of… series has been a mainstay of the action JRPG genre for a long time, even if it's less well known in the West. The latest main series entry, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn, originally released in 2021, has now arrived on Switch 2 in the form of Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition, bringing its massive world right into your hands. So how did it handle the switch? Let's find out.
The Good
As with many of the Tales of… series, this is a standalone story set in its own unique world. As is also usually the case, this story is as ‘JRPG-ish’ as all get-out, ticking off a number of tropes in quick order. Within 30 minutes we have met a young amnesiac man with a mysterious past who holds some kind of special power within him and an equally mysterious pink-haired girl with a magic laser rifle and her own strange abilities.
These are our heroes, Alphen and Shionne. Alphen, or ‘Iron Mask’ - Alphen spends the first part of the game trapped in an iron mask with no idea how it got there (obviously, it’s that sort of vibe). Anyway, Alphen is a Dahnan, one of a poor, enslaved and suppressed continent of people, conquered by the technologically advanced and magically powerful Renans, of whom Shionne is one, though decidedly not on their side. Alphen and Shionne must travel the regions of the continent, taking down the lord of each area, uncovering secrets, and recruiting a rag-tag bunch of party members along the way, each with their own story and motivations. As I said, standard, trope-y stuff - but that doesn’t make it any less epic or dramatic.
I have spent longer spelling out the drama and characters than I usually would, because this is where the game focuses its energy too. Complex themes and relationships are fully explored, with cutscenes and character moments lavished on the player at an alarming rate in a mix of styles - full anime scenes, in-engine action, and manga-style vignettes, all fully voice-acted and well-written. The deluxe edition for the Switch 2 also includes the ‘Beyond the Dawn’ expansion, a whole new (big) chapter for the post-game, giving new stories for favourite characters and fan service aplenty.
The gameplay, meanwhile, is the classic third-person action-adventure stuff - traverse semi-open map areas, fighting creatures and enemies on the way to the next story beat. Triggering combat enters a standalone battle arena, where you will directly control one character in attacking, using powers and moving, while your companions are largely AI-controlled with some special commands at your disposal. This iteration of Tales of…'s combat majors on timing your dodges and executing combos - it’s difficult to fully master but once you do, it is pleasantly deep and rewarding.
TL;DR
- Character-centric, epic storyline
- Challenging and involving battle system
- Beyond the dawn expansion gives even more content and value
The Bad
As is so often the case with this genre, Tales of Arise isn't here to convert you if you're a JRPG-non-believer. There are many instances of ‘cutscene, run for 5 seconds, next cutscene’, and complex mechanics are thrown at you with little hand-holding. An easy mode can make combat trivial but you’d be missing out on the core game.
Tales of Arise is a vast game, and converting it to handheld, even a powerful Switch 2, was always ambitious. While it mostly handles well, there will be the odd judder here and there when the battles or cutscenes are too chaotic. And when docked, the performance is fine but the downscaled textures do become a bit more apparent on the big screen.
TL;DR
- Very minor performance / graphical instances
- For genre fans only
Final Score: 8/10
It may be a largely by-the-numbers JRPG, but man, they're some good numbers. Simply converting it to Switch 2 is impressive enough, but maintaining the depth of character and gameplay means it is a must for genre fans who haven't experienced it already.
Thank you for checking out our Tales of Arise Switch review, thank you to Bandai Namco for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:
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