Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition Review

A beloved JRPG finally goes portable without losing its magic.

The Tales series is one of Bandai Namco’s longest-running JRPG franchises, starting with Tales of Phantasia in 1995. It included real-time battle techniques, an eclectic cast of characters, and an anime-style narrative that won the series ardent followers over the years. However, the series has often failed to break into the public like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, or Persona, while being immensely popular among JRPG fans.

Tales of Arise was a massive leap forward for the franchise when it arrived on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in 2021. Bandai Namco sought to modernize the series and appeal to new players without alienating long-time enthusiasts. The graphics got a lot better, the fighting improved, and the plot became more attractive to a wider audience, with the production team opting for Unreal Engine 4.

The result was one of the most popular games in the series' history, garnering positive reviews and introducing many new fans to it. Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is finally out for Nintendo Switch 2 after a few years. This package includes the main game and the Beyond the Dawn update, so you get the whole thing at once.

This is the first chance for Nintendo fans who never got to play the original to experience what many see as one of the best JRPGs of the last generation.

The port isn’t as technically good as the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or high-end PC versions, but it does a fantastic job of translating the complete tale to a handheld platform. The plot is separated between two worlds (Dana and Rena) on a globe. Three hundred years before the events of the game, the Renans attacked Dana and subjugated its people with their advanced technology.

After that, the Danans' freedom was taken away by the Lords of Renan, and they were enslaved while the Lords harnessed the planet's riches and natural energies to create money. The player takes on the role of Iron Mask, a strange Danan enslaved person who has lost his memories and is immune to pain.

But his life changes forever when he encounters Shionne, a Renan woman whose mysterious thorns inflict excruciating anguish onto anybody who comes into contact with her. They are on opposite sides of a horrible conflict, but they end up working together, and they become crucial actors in a resistance movement that seeks to rescue Dana.

Well, the first thing about Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is its pace. Many JRPGs take hours to get to the story and world-building before the journey even begins. Arise does not even squander a moment. Within the first several hours, players will already be fighting the opposition and battling the five Renan Lords that govern Dana’s territories.

The narrative does a superb job of mixing political concerns, personal hardships, and large-scale strife. As the voyage continues, the party expands to include more interesting characters, each with their own emotional baggage, aspirations, and personal arcs. Rinwell, Law, Kisara and Dohalim all undergo major growth and change throughout the game, and feel like a lot more than mere party members.

The relationship between Iron Mask and Shionne is one of the most interesting things in the game. In interesting ways, they strengthen one another. Shionne's thorns prevent anyone from getting near her, yet Iron Mask can touch her without getting wounded because he cannot feel pain. What starts as a potentially useful partnership becomes one of the most emotionally charged relationships yet to grace the Tales series.

The first half of Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is very good. It is full of tremendous surprises and unexpected revelations that make players perceive the world from a new perspective. There are several surprises along the way, and some plot twists that come out of nowhere and pack an emotional punch. Some players may find that the second half focuses a little too heavily on familiar JRPG clichés and cosmic-scale storytelling, but the plot remains engaging throughout.

Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition brings a new character, Nazamil, and a glimpse at what transpired after the main game.

It does take some information and locations from the main game, but fans of the characters and the universe will enjoy this add-on. Exploration, character progression, story-driven objectives, and real-time combat are all emphasized in the action RPG Tales of Arise. Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition doesn't have an open world, but it does contain vast zones linked by rapid travel and region transitions.

The experience includes seeing towns, resistance camps, dungeons, and untamed places scattered in various sections of Dana. Exploration is very straightforward compared to today's open-world RPGs. Optional encounters, side quests, fishing sites, hidden riches, and harvestable resources are available, but the main focus is on plot and combat, not free-form exploration.

Players explore each area, gather crafting materials, prepare meals at campsites, conduct side jobs, upgrade their equipment, and befriend the other members of their party. Campsites are crucial places for people to relax and converse, helping to develop the world and characters alike.

The skits, another of the series' most popular aspects, are also returned. You can find these optional talks scattered throughout the quest, providing hilarious conversations, dramatic moments and additional information about the characters. They help to bring the party to life, and make a huge difference in how the characters develop.

Character development is crucial with gear upgrades, weapon and accessory creation, and a large skill system. Players will gain Skill Points, which they can spend to unlock new Artes, passive benefits, stat enhancements, and fighting skills in their character skill trees.

Much also depends on how the party is run. Players can influence AI behavior by urging their buddies to heal first, save resources, attack hard, or focus on defensive strategies. These tactical decisions become increasingly useful during challenging encounters and boss bouts. Combat is definitely the biggest feature of Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition, and it’s one of the biggest modifications from the prior games.

Real-time combat runs smoothly, and players can maneuver across the battlefield with ease while using attacks, dodges, blocks, and special techniques.

Each character has their own combat style, so it's fascinating to try new things and put together different teams. It's the Artes system that makes fighting function. Players can string these special moves into long combinations that allow them to dodge adversaries, exploit weaknesses, and unleash devastating assaults. Players are encouraged to mix up their attacks to stop them from employing the same methods over and over again, making the same Arte less useful every time you use it.

It makes Boost Attacks more challenging. During battle, you can ask every party member to undertake a certain set of actions to help fight different types of monsters or uncover their weak points. When used together, these skills can block deadly attacks and open up lethal combos. If you can dodge hits at the correct time, for a short period of time time slows down. This means good play is rewarded and counterattacks might happen. The fighting system is always telling players to pay attention and be engaged, not just mash buttons.

One of the most visually striking elements is the sheer amount of cinematic endings. The finishers of key bosses are frequently grand team-up attacks that mix gameplay and story into unforgettable ends. These sections make boss fights feel grand and spectacular in a way few other JRPGs can pull off.

There are puzzles, but they are still quite easy. Most dungeons use simple switch mechanisms, locked doors, interactions with the environment, and simple hurdles in navigating your way around. Puzzle-solving is not the purpose, which may disappoint those looking for a more complex dungeon design, but it helps keep the game moving quickly.

There are unpleasant aspects about fighting. Healing and support talents have a common CP system. That implies you'll have to use your resources more efficiently while traveling lengthy distances in dungeons. Players can be exposed if they run out of CP, so they have to plan their actions carefully and sometimes go backward.

Progress in Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition generally seems seamless, but some players could find themselves hitting occasional spikes in difficulty. You gain experience points by battling, completing side quests, fighting bosses, and doing other optional activities. Normal advancement is typically OK, but sometimes you feel like you don't earn enough experience, especially at harder levels.

Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is a nice product, featuring extra DLC, such as resource packs, extra difficulty settings, and level increases. If you’re not a fan of grinding, these tools can help you go forward faster and with less stress.

The easy levels allow players to focus on the tale more than anything else.

 Normal mode is a decent challenge. On the other hand, veterans who desire greater combat depth will love harder difficulties more since they make the game more demanding. All in all, the progression system does a wonderful job at preserving the right level of challenge and character development. That said, if players skip too many of the optional events, they may need to do a bit of “grinding” now and then.

Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is still one of the most gorgeous JRPGs to come out in recent years. Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition’s art direction blends anime-style character designs with beautiful settings that resemble real-life watercolor paintings. Landscapes vary from lava flows and freezing mountain ranges to lush woods and hot springs, giving each place its own distinctive character.

The character models are incredibly detailed, and the facial expressions are very expressive. The special effects in combat are really great. The visual presentation always adds more intensity to story moments and conflicts. Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition operates at 1080p in either docked or handheld mode on the Nintendo Switch 2.

The draw distance has been reduced, and there are occasional texture pop-ins, but overall the image quality is quite nice. Objects and NPCs may appear closer together than they would be on more capable systems, but the game’s great sense of art direction compensates for this. The main technical trade-off is performance.

The gameplay target is 30 frames per second, although many cutscenes and combat endings run at 60 FPS. This can sometimes cause frame rate variations that can feel a bit weird. There are also small frame dips and changes in frame speed, although they are rarely bad enough to ruin the experience.

The results are still good for a portable edition of such a high-graphic-standard game. The music features large orchestral compositions, poignant character themes, and fast-paced fight songs. Music plays a big role in setting the tone, whether players are exploring a new area, battling a challenging enemy, or seeing an emotional plot beat.

You can use voice acting in English and Japanese, and both are fantastic. The English Dub is quite good at bringing the characters to life, and the emotional moments feel authentic. Sound effects are also a key part of combat, and the environmental sound effects make you feel as if you're really in the world. The outstanding visual presentation and acoustic design make the whole experience much better.

That means Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is one of the best current JRPGs you can play, and the Beyond the Dawn Edition gives Nintendo Switch 2 players access to the entire game.

It's simple to see why the game was such a critical and financial success; it features a terrific plot, memorable characters, a fun fighting system, beautiful visual direction, and great music. The Switch 2 build is not the latest tech build.

It is not as good as the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC versions because it lacks a 60 FPS performance setting, sometimes has frame-rate issues, and has shorter draw distances. However, the trade-offs are usually reasonable, and being able to experience this massive adventure on a portable device is a major advantage.

Tales of ARISE - Beyond the Dawn Edition is a terrific game, easily clocking in over 50 hours with the Beyond the Dawn update. It’s ideal for long-time Tales fans and new players who seek a fast way to get into the series. It was released years ago, but it’s still a fantastic example of how to modernize an established JRPG series while staying faithful to its roots.