With the game about to return to relevance, now is a good time to take stock of what exactly Tales of Arise is. Arise is an action-RPG in the same vein as the Tales games before it, placing a high value on player skill while also being accessible to people who just want to experience the story. Arise is adopting a new framing that makes it look more like a wide-open Devil May Cry, with the protagonists fighting monsters directly on the world map. So far, the most that’s known about the game is in regards to its two protagonists, Alphen and Shionne, and the planets Dahna and Rena on which the game takes place.

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A Tale of Two Planets

The beginning of Tales of Arise is said to take place on the planet Dahna, and above it floats the sparkling Rena. Dahna is rich in nature, but its technology and culture is equivalent to Earth’s medieval era. Rena, on the other hand, is a slightly futuristic place full of magic and technology. Renans have the natural ability to use Astral Arts, the latest form of the Tales of series’ Artes. These two planets share a fairly peaceful coexistence, with Dahna inhabitants showing reverence to those from Rena.

At least, that’s how the average modern citizen would tell it. The truth of the matter is that Dahna is being ruthlessly exploited by Rena occupation. 300 years prior to the events of the game, Rena’s military showed up on Dahna’s doorstep and steamrolled them. It’s a fairly standard story, but each new Tales of game has the potential to make a simple premise a hit. Ever since then, propaganda has been pumped out to keep the people of Dahna from realizing that their civilization and entire planet has been compromised. Slaves and resources are being taken freely by Renans, and Dahna’s populace is powerless to stop them — until now.

An Unlikely Duo

Enter the protagonists Alphen and Shionne. While having some trouble getting along at first, they are united in their goal of rebelling against Rena and righting the wrongs plaguing society. As was related back when Tales of Arise was revealed, Alphen is from Dahna, and he wears an iron mask. He’s lost his memory and the ability to feel pain, but he is certain that he’s a slave to Rena and will do everything possible to fix that. Meanwhile, Shionne is a girl from Rena who looks like a princess. She is opposed to Rena’s dominance for unknown reasons, and joins forces with Alphen to fulfill her goals. She is cursed with “Thorns” that cause people touching her incredible pain, but Alphen’s numbness means he’s an exception.

Alphen’s inability to feel pain also lets him wield a Fire Sword manifested by Astral energy. The sword is entirely on fire, so normally it would harm whoever touches it. Presumably, this special blade will manifest in Alphen’s combat Artes, and may also be tied to a mode that will drain his health similarly to Velvet’s Consuming Claw in Tales of Berseria. Shionne doesn’t need to worry so much about getting in harm’s way, as she will instead fire guns and Astral Arts at her enemies. Her main costume in promotional art even has some spare bullets strapped to her leg, which is a much different look from the average female Tales co-protagonist. It’s unclear if any other characters will join the main party, though it would be quite unusual if they didn’t.

There isn’t much else to say about the premise for Tales of Arise until more information is released. It was originally slated for a 2020 release, but was delayed in the middle of the year due to the game’s high ambitions and the pandemic. The game looks to be a very promising new entry in the Tales of series, refreshing the gameplay and visuals to an enormous degree. Whenever Bandai Namco next drops news for its upcoming game lineup, Tales of Arise should finally get its time to shine.

Tales of Arise is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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