Tales of Arise remains, in my opinion, the best game in the series by far. It features gorgeous visuals, really solid voice acting, and fantastic combat. The story it tells is interesting and the cast of characters you meet and control are excellent as well. It’s just a really good action RPG, and if you’re OK with the very blatant exposition and anime-infused feel, you’re going to have a great time playing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DieuFACD-s
So it’s very good news that it is now available on the Nintendo Switch 2 in the form of the Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn edition, which is included in the somewhat controversial DLC, but which has the most important aspect that you can now take it with you into the wild. It’s actually already played pretty well on Steam Deck, so it’s not really new, but it is new to the much larger audience that’s accumulating on Switch 2.
Now, you might not really want to take it outside with you – I mean, we’re right in the middle of a heatwave in the UK, so it’s both way too hot and way too bright outside, and the first boss is a fire boss – but you could just snuggle up on the sofa instead. It’s pretty fitting that the first area of Tales of Arise has the fire boss at the end, so at least I was able to feel immersed while checking it all out.
The main point of all this is to tell you how it works on Switch 2 and, to cut to the chase, it works great. It looks amazing and it’s very smooth to play. This almost seems like the right place for this too, as I’m sure I’m not the only one in the Tales series who is GameCube coded in my head. It’s just one of those things that seems to belong alongside Skies of Arcadia and Baten Kaitos.
If you’ve been waiting to play this game and a portable version was what you really wanted, then you’ll love it. You get all the melodrama, all the edginess, and all the classic amnesiac protagonist in the palm of your hands, and it looks resplendent on a big TV screen, too. The magic of switching between the two always brings a big smile to my inner child, and God knows he needs it.
There are still plenty of absurd things to do in this game as well. In addition to each character feeling different to play, you have many, many side quests, a big old main quest, and the DLC to complete as well. Not to mention the challenge bosses scattered all over the world, or the different difficulties you can attempt if you want too.
You also get some freebies for purchasing this version, including weapons to help you get through the slower-paced early sections, a few outfits, and an unreasonably large amount of fishing kit. Seriously, you’d think this is the main part of the game if you didn’t know better. This is a really good port of an incredibly enjoyable action RPG, and it feels really at home on Switch 2, so if you’re in the mood for it, then treat yourself, because you deserve it. You deserve ice cream too.
