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Tales of Arise is a well-crafted JRPG, having a more mature approach towards anime tropes and setting that leads to an above-average game.

The "Tales" series was not mainstream, and no AAA production before Tales of Arise. Arguably, "Tales" is still not mainstream, but it is on its way to becoming a mainstream franchise in the west.
Not to imply that the Tales series is a low-budget JRGP. It has been very successful in Japan and continues to grow as a franchise. While nowhere near the size and success of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, it does pretty well for itself.
For Tales of Arise Bandai Namco finally scratched a relatively big budget together and stopped reusing assets on an aging engine. A successful endeavor such as Tales of Arise finally feels like a quality game that can stand up to those other major franchises.

Tales of Arise is downright beautiful to explore at times. This quality gets complemented by the good art direction and focuses on the basics.
Whenever a world gets too large, it can become a hassle to explore. Arise circumvents this by having created a linear, quality experience that captures the magic of games like Final Fantasy X:
Visually different biomes with clearly different esthetical styles that correspond to their respective population.
Admittedly, it lacks somewhat in variation and suffers from protagonist design syndrome (other characters are sidelined in terms of visual competence).
While exploring, an extremely competent orchestral soundtrack follows the player and always supports the atmosphere of the environment. Cohesion is something important and Tales of Arise creates cohesion by combining the visual and sound elements with the banter of the group which never cease to comment the current situation from every angel.
Despite that, I want to stress Arise does not reinvent the wheel. Every situation can be broken down into the following scenario:
1. Introducing the environment
2. Showcase the problem
3. Introduce a new “theme” which the heroes need to overcome
4. A dungeon with a final boss that tests their determination
While there is some decent variation, there is nothing that breaks the Heroes Journey.
If you are fine with some relatively predictable story lines, there is nothing to worry about, as they competently told. The “how” weighs more than “what” in Tales of Arise.

I want to stress that Arise favors “how” more than “what” which leads to the problem that most of the time Arise is not too surprising. But the execution of some scenes is downright terrific, and it can not be overstated how many Tales of Arise polished to such a degree that most JRPGs can not compete.
Another point that is somewhat problematic in JRPGs:
Their tropes suck.
Arise breaks with the classical issues like fan service and ridiculous dialogue.
Cringy dialogue is difficult to suffer through and while I have grown accustomed to anime tropes, it is a breath of fresh air to see something with the aesthetic which does not make my ears bleed. There is still some sense of grandiose and over the top moments, but they feel earned relative to their story progress. It is an epic after all and definitely feels like that.

If there is something that Tales of Arise struggles with, it is keeping the player engaged with its battle system. While all the possibly playable characters feel distinct and are fully developed, the main character of the game is so much stronger that I can not see the majority of players not using him.
This lack of gameplay variation combines with another problem:
An abysmally low amount of regular enemies. The game introduces mechanics to make enemies vulnerable and easier to finish off. Variation makes such an idea extremely cool, as it implies that the player has to find out these weaknesses and will be rewarded accordingly.
But Arise keeps throwing the same recolored enemies from the first area against you in the last area.
There are more different bosses (which are well done) than regular small-fry enemies. While the quality is good, it could imply that Tales of Arise got rushed in some regards or that budget ran out. Which then lead to cutting corners.
Nothing is a dealbreaker, and it is by far the best combat out of any Tales game I played (Symphonia and Berseria), but it is lackluster in comparison to everything else and starts to feel repetitive at some point.

Tales of Arise has risen (pun intended) to challenge the almighty JRPG gods and managed to secure a safe position. While there is definitely some room for improvement (as always), it turned out quite great. It is just a safe bet for a quality game which is relatively uncontroversial in most aspects.

Originally posted by author:

As of now, meme curators dominate Steam. So consider following me for reviews that actually cost me some time (and effort) to create. I don't think this will change much, but the majority of my readers are not followers. I am still going to pump my heart into these reviews.
https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/

[quote] [url=https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/]Check out my curator page for more awesome reviews[/url] [/quote] [h1]TL;DR[/h1] Tales of Arise is a well-crafted JRPG, having a more mature approach towards anime tropes and setting that leads to an above-average game. [h1]"Tales of" and JRGP Cuisine[/h1] The "Tales" series was not mainstream, and no AAA production before Tales of Arise. Arguably, "Tales" is still not mainstream, but it is on its way to becoming a mainstream franchise in the west. Not to imply that the Tales series is a low-budget JRGP. It has been very successful in Japan and continues to grow as a franchise. While nowhere near the size and success of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, it does pretty well for itself. For Tales of Arise Bandai Namco finally scratched a relatively big budget together and stopped reusing assets on an aging engine. A successful endeavor such as Tales of Arise finally feels like a quality game that can stand up to those other major franchises. [h1]Outstanding Basic Design[/h1] Tales of Arise is downright beautiful to explore at times. This quality gets complemented by the good art direction and focuses on the basics. Whenever a world gets too large, it can become a hassle to explore. Arise circumvents this by having created a linear, quality experience that captures the magic of games like Final Fantasy X: Visually different biomes with clearly different esthetical styles that correspond to their respective population. Admittedly, it lacks somewhat in variation and suffers from protagonist design syndrome (other characters are sidelined in terms of visual competence). While exploring, an extremely competent orchestral soundtrack follows the player and always supports the atmosphere of the environment. Cohesion is something important and Tales of Arise creates cohesion by combining the visual and sound elements with the banter of the group which never cease to comment the current situation from every angel. Despite that, I want to stress Arise does not reinvent the wheel. Every situation can be broken down into the following scenario: 1. Introducing the environment 2. Showcase the problem 3. Introduce a new “theme” which the heroes need to overcome 4. A dungeon with a final boss that tests their determination While there is some decent variation, there is nothing that breaks the Heroes Journey. If you are fine with some relatively predictable story lines, there is nothing to worry about, as they competently told. The “how” weighs more than “what” in Tales of Arise. [h1]A Somewhat Predictable Plot[/h1] I want to stress that Arise favors “how” more than “what” which leads to the problem that most of the time Arise is not too surprising. But the execution of some scenes is downright terrific, and it can not be overstated how many Tales of Arise polished to such a degree that most JRPGs can not compete. Another point that is somewhat problematic in JRPGs: Their tropes suck. Arise breaks with the classical issues like fan service and ridiculous dialogue. Cringy dialogue is difficult to suffer through and while I have grown accustomed to anime tropes, it is a breath of fresh air to see something with the aesthetic which does not make my ears bleed. There is still some sense of grandiose and over the top moments, but they feel earned relative to their story progress. It is an epic after all and definitely feels like that. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] If there is something that Tales of Arise struggles with, it is keeping the player engaged with its battle system. While all the possibly playable characters feel distinct and are fully developed, the main character of the game is so much stronger that I can not see the majority of players not using him. This lack of gameplay variation combines with another problem: An abysmally low amount of regular enemies. The game introduces mechanics to make enemies vulnerable and easier to finish off. Variation makes such an idea extremely cool, as it implies that the player has to find out these weaknesses and will be rewarded accordingly. But Arise keeps throwing the same recolored enemies from the first area against you in the last area. There are more different bosses (which are well done) than regular small-fry enemies. While the quality is good, it could imply that Tales of Arise got rushed in some regards or that budget ran out. Which then lead to cutting corners. Nothing is a dealbreaker, and it is by far the best combat out of any Tales game I played (Symphonia and Berseria), but it is lackluster in comparison to everything else and starts to feel repetitive at some point. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Tales of Arise has risen (pun intended) to challenge the almighty JRPG gods and managed to secure a safe position. While there is definitely some room for improvement (as always), it turned out quite great. It is just a safe bet for a quality game which is relatively uncontroversial in most aspects. [quote=author] As of now, meme curators dominate Steam. So consider following me for reviews that actually cost me some time (and effort) to create. I don't think this will change much, but the majority of my readers are not followers. I am still going to pump my heart into these reviews. https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/ [/quote]