Tales of Arise
A party brought together by a divided world
Tales of Arise follows Alphen and Shionne as they challenge the relationship between Dahna and Rena. Rena has controlled Dahna for three centuries, taking its resources and depriving its people of freedom. Alphen is a Dahnan with an iron mask and missing memories; Shionne is a Renan whose curse makes physical contact painful. Their unusual partnership puts two people from opposing worlds on the same journey.
Companions bring different perspectives and different ways to fight. Alphen specializes in sword attacks at close range, while Shionne uses guns and bombs from farther away. Rinwell relies on astral Artes, and Law fights with his fists and feet. Kisara's hammer and shield offer a sturdier approach, while Dohalim combines rod attacks with astral abilities. Learning those strengths gives the party a practical identity as well as a place in the story.
Battles connect normal attacks, Artes, Boost Attacks, and coordinated Boost Strikes. A well-timed Boost Attack can keep a sequence going and restore the Artes Gauge, allowing you to continue using special moves. Building a longer hit sequence makes a Boost Strike easier to trigger. Ground and aerial attacks, evasions, and each character's support ability create choices about how to maintain pressure without ignoring an enemy's response.
Some large opponents have glowing cores that can be targeted and broken to bring them down. Elemental strengths and weaknesses also affect your damage, giving you a reason to adapt the party's approach. These details reward paying attention to the encounter instead of simply repeating the same attack string from fight to fight.
Between battles, Dahna offers changing landscapes, towns, rocky terrain to climb, and rivers to swim through. Camping, cooking, and conversations make space for the companions to interact outside a fight. The Atmospheric Shader gives the scenery an anime and watercolor-inspired appearance, while ufotable animation accompanies important story scenes. Those quieter moments help connect the wider struggle to the people traveling through it.
The original Xbox release includes Xbox One and Xbox Series versions through the Cross-Generation Double Pack, and physical play requires a compatible disc drive. Tales of Arise does not use Smart Delivery. Moving a save from Xbox One to Xbox Series uses the game's manual upload/download feature, requires an updated game and internet access, and must use the same account.
