Info about Tales of ARISE:

Official game description:
Beyond the Dawn Edition
=======================
The Beyond the Dawn Edition includes:  
• Tales of ARISE  
• Additional scenario "Beyond the Dawn"  
• Additional costumes & items  
For 300 years, Rena has ruled over Dahna, pillaging the planet of its resources and stripping people of their dignity and freedom.  
Our tale begins with two people, born on different worlds, each looking to change their fate and create a new future.  
Featuring a diverse cast of characters, an intuitive and rewarding combat system, and a captivating story set in a lush world worth fighting for, Tales of Arise delivers a first-class JRPG experience.  
BEYOND THE DAWN  
After the battle for the fate of two worlds, Alphen and his party meet a young girl named Nazamil, who is the daughter of a Renan Lord and a Dahnan. Will the six be able to change the fate of the girl who will eventually fall under the curse of the mask? Explore the world again with party members who are bound together by a strong bond.  
Beyond the Dawn contents:  
\- Additional scenario "Beyond the Dawn"  
Satisfying storyline, new dungeons, and subquests that depict the new adventures of the party members.  
\- Special Data  
6 additional costumes, content featuring the hero and heroine, and more.  
\- Travel Support Pack  
Additional items (50,000 Gald, Level Up +5, CP +100, complete fishing gear).  
\- Silver Weapon Collection  
A set of new silver-colored variant weapons.  
\*Beyond the Dawn content will be available in-game after claiming it from the Unclaimed DLC List.  
\*Content included in this product can be purchased separately.  
\*A Premium Edition is also available. Please be careful not to purchase the same content twice.
Beyond the Dawn Premium Edition
===============================
Wield the Blazing Sword and join a mysterious, untouchable girl to fight your oppressors.  
The Beyond the Dawn Premium Edition includes:  
• Tales of ARISE  
• Additional scenario "Beyond the Dawn"  
• Classic Characters Costume & Arranged BGM Pack  
• Premium Travel Pack  
• Starter Pack  
• Premium Item/Premium Costume Packs  
• Additional Costumes & Items
About the Game
==============
**A world of nature drawn with the “Atmospheric Shader”**  
We are introducing a new graphics shader, inspired by anime and watercolor painting. Characters with attractive designs travel among backgrounds filled with beautiful and delicate visuals.  
**Explore a world that feels alive**  
Explore the world of Dahna, where a mix of unique, natural environments change in appearance based on the time of day. Climb over the rocky terrain, swim in rivers, gather around the campfire, cook food, head to the next town, defeat the master of an alien planet, and liberate the people!  
**Stylish action and battles**  
Through the new system “Boost Strike”, you can now chain combos of powerful attacks together with your party members. Chain Artes, Boost Attacks, and Boost Strike combos to take down your enemies!  
**Experience the story of the divided Renan and Dahnan people**  
The protagonists who will determine the fate of these two worlds are Alphen and Shionne. They will overcome hardships and grow together with their unique group of friends. Gorgeous animation by ufotable is inserted at key points in the story, adding more color to our protagonists’ journey.

Release date: Nov 8, 2023

Categories: JRPG, Character Progression, Story-driven Gameplay, Action RPG, Combat, Exploration, Character Customization, Side Quest System

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 85; verdict: Predatory Monetization; summary: The game has significant issues with its monetization practices, particularly concerning DLC. Players find the DLC overpriced and bundled in a way that forces them to buy unwanted items. The game design seems to intentionally create difficulty spikes that encourage purchasing DLC for advantages, which is seen as unethical. Intrusive advertisements for DLC within the game disrupt the gaming experience, and essential content is often locked behind paywalls. These practices are widely criticized as anti-consumer and predatory.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The game has several significant issues that impact the user experience. The most frequent complaints involve excessive dialogues and cutscenes, which users find redundant and tedious. Additionally, the game's difficulty balance on the Normal setting is seen as too challenging, making it less enjoyable. The navigation system is also criticized for being poor, requiring external guides to complete certain objectives. These issues collectively contribute to a frustrating and less enjoyable gaming experience.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game has a mixed reception on the Steam Deck. While many users report a positive experience with smooth performance and enjoyable gameplay, there are notable issues with stability, controller support, and UI text size. These issues can significantly impact the user experience, leading to a range of experiences from seamless to problematic.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Well-developed and likable characters (weight 0.95): The characters are charismatic, well-written, and have depth beyond the game's plot. They are engaging and grow as the story progresses, making them memorable and likable.
- Engaging and fun combat system (weight 0.9): The combat system is fluid, enjoyable, and offers a variety of ways to fight. It is intuitive, beginner-friendly, and becomes more satisfying as players progress and master the mechanics.
- Stunning graphics and art style (weight 0.8): The game features beautiful and visually stunning graphics, with detailed environments and character designs. The artistic style is highly praised, creating an immersive experience that stands out in the series.
- Compelling and well-developed story (weight 0.72): The story is engaging, well-written, and features surprising plot developments. It is memorable and enjoyable, with a strong narrative that keeps players invested.
- Excellent soundtrack and music (weight 0.28): The soundtrack is very good, with memorable songs that complement the game's atmosphere. The music enhances the overall experience and is highly praised by players.
- Good voice acting (weight 0.21): The voice acting, particularly in Japanese, is well done and enhances the character interactions and overall experience.
- Solid addition to the Tales series (weight 0.17): The game stands comfortably among the best Tales titles, with improvements from previous games. It offers a strong start with engaging combat and an intriguing premise.

Common complaints:
- Story is confusing and poorly written (weight 0.63): The story is criticized for being confusing, hard to follow, and poorly written. It starts well but becomes dull and suffers from common storytelling issues.
- Enemies are too resilient (weight 0.38): Enemies are often described as too tanky and having too much HP, making battles tedious and repetitive.
- Dialogue is repetitive and poorly written (weight 0.23): Dialogues are criticized for being repetitive, dry, and boring. The writing is often described as atrocious and poorly executed.
- Characters lack depth and personality (weight 0.21): Characters are often described as dull, bland, and lacking depth. Players feel no connection to the characters due to their lack of personality and chemistry.
- Side quests lack interest (weight 0.13): Side missions and quests are criticized for being boring, uninteresting, and monotonous, lacking depth and variety.
- Music is unmemorable (weight 0.12): The game's music and OST are described as forgettable, mediocre, and lacking memorable tracks.
- Voice acting and animations criticized (weight 0.09): The voice acting and animations are criticized for being subpar, with some characters having poorly written dialogue and phoned-in acting.

Gameplay feedback:
- Story-driven gameplay with cinematics (weight 0.32): The game is heavily story-driven, featuring in-engine cinematics and a complex storyline. The storytelling method includes comic book-style and hand-drawn anime-style cutscenes.
- Complex combat system (weight 0.31): The combat system is a blend of real-time and turn-based mechanics, with combo mechanics and various abilities. It includes ground and aerial techniques, as well as special moves that enhance the gameplay experience.
- Variety in visual and interactive content (weight 0.27): The game includes various types of cutscenes such as comic book-style, hand-drawn anime-style, and 3D cutscenes. It also features skits and character interactions that add depth to the narrative.
- Character and story progression (weight 0.24): The game features a robust progression system that includes character development and story progression. Players appreciate the quest-based progression that drives the narrative forward.
- Side quests and additional content (weight 0.12): The game includes side quests that mostly involve fetching items or defeating monsters. There is also additional content and DLC available for extended gameplay.
- Map design and exploration (weight 0.1): The game features a linear world design with map-based exploration. Players can navigate through different areas, although the design is somewhat linear.
- Music and sound design (weight 0.07): The game features a notable music and sound design that enhances the overall experience. The combat music is particularly appreciated by players.
- Different character playstyles (weight 0.07): The game offers different playstyles with various characters, allowing players to choose and experience different combat mechanics and abilities.
- Long gameplay hours (weight 0.07): Players report long gameplay hours, with some indicating they are only halfway through their first run after 50 hours of playtime.

Performance notes:
- Game is lightweight and stable (weight 0.21): The game is described as lightweight with no bugs or freezes, and it runs smoothly on various systems, including Intel onboard graphics.
- FPS drops in certain locations (weight 0.08): The game generally runs well but experiences significant FPS drops in specific areas, affecting even high-end PCs.
- Pop-in textures and LOD issues (weight 0.08): There are noticeable pop-in textures and Level of Detail (LOD) issues, which can detract from the visual experience.
- Draw distance and clipping issues (weight 0.07): There are problems with draw distance and graphical clipping, affecting the visual consistency of the game.
- Frequent screen darkening and loading issues (weight 0.05): Players report issues with the screen darkening unexpectedly and problems during loading sequences.
- Game crashes (weight 0.05): Players experience game crashes, which interrupt gameplay and can lead to progress loss.
- Crashes on Steam Deck (weight 0.05): The game frequently crashes when played on the Steam Deck, causing frustration among users of this platform.
- Poor optimization (weight 0.05): The game's optimization is criticized as poor, leading to various performance issues.
- Characters stutter their speech (weight 0.04): Characters in the game sometimes stutter during speech, which can be immersion-breaking.
- Doesn't launch on Windows 11 (weight 0.04): Some players report that the game does not launch on Windows 11.
- Graphics quality issues (weight 0.04): There are mixed reports on graphics quality, with some players experiencing issues.
- Steam Link loading issues (weight 0.04): The game opens another window that Steam Link does not recognize, causing it to get stuck on a loading page.
- Poor camera work (weight 0.04): The camera work in the game is criticized as being poor, affecting the gameplay experience.
- Save issues (weight 0.04): There are reports of problems with saving game progress, which can be frustrating for players.
- No ultrawide monitor support (weight 0.04): The game lacks support for ultrawide monitors, limiting the experience for users of such displays.

Recommendations:
- Not recommended for purchase (weight 0.19): Multiple reviewers explicitly state that they do not recommend buying the game, even at a discount.
- Recommended for specific fan groups (weight 0.16): The game is recommended for fans of anime, grinding, action RPGs, real-time combat, character development, and the Tales series.
- Recommended for RPG fans (weight 0.11): The game is recommended for those who enjoy RPGs and are looking for a recent title with substantial content.
- Other game recommendations (weight 0.11): Reviewers recommend other games such as Tales of Arise, the Atelier series, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest over this game.
- Recommended for adventure and characters (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for those who enjoy good adventures with great characters and gameplay.
- Conditional recommendation for JRPG fans (weight 0.08): The game is recommended with reservations for fans of JRPGs and story-driven games, but it has a tiring final stretch.
- Buy base game on sale (weight 0.08): Reviewers suggest purchasing only the base game and preferably during a sale.
- Purchase during sale if storyline unimportant (weight 0.07): The game is recommended for purchase during a sale if the storyline is not a significant factor for the player.
- Future game development hopes (weight 0.07): Reviewers express hope for more games like this in the future and remasters/remakes of specific titles.
- Alternative game suggestions (weight 0.07): Reviewers suggest playing other games like '碧蓝幻想R' or trying the demo for new players in the genre.
- Risk of game-locking issues (weight 0.05): There is a risk of getting locked out and being unable to finish the game.
- Not recommended due to incompleteness (weight 0.04): The game is not recommended due to an incomplete experience.
- Purchase at significant discount (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for purchase at a 75% discount or for free.
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.04): The game is considered worth buying at a 60% or more discount.
- Language recommendation (weight 0.04): The game is highly recommended in Japanese.

Other player notes:
- Initial engagement crucial (weight 0.05): The game needs to capture the player's interest within the first hour, otherwise, it is unlikely to engage them later.
- Lack of compelling development (weight 0.05): Players express skepticism about significant plot twists or character development occurring later in the game if they haven't experienced it early on.
- Time valuation over money (weight 0.05): Players feel that their time has become more valuable than money, implying that the game needs to respect their time investment.
- Suitable for young players (weight 0.04): The game is considered appropriate and playable for elementary school children around the ages of 9 to 10.
- Questioning delayed gratification (weight 0.04): The idea that players need to persist until they reach the enjoyable part of the game is seen as a fallacy and a coping mechanism.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.3): Players expressed disappointment primarily due to the game's story and character development, which many found lacking in depth and chemistry. Additionally, the gameplay mechanics, including combat and progression systems, were criticized for being tedious and outdated. The game's failure to meet expectations set by marketing materials and previous installments in the series also contributed to this sentiment.
- Frustration (weight 0.27): Frustration stemmed from various technical issues such as game crashes, graphical problems, and poor controls. Players also reported repetitive combat, excessive grinding, and poorly written dialogues. The game's linear and boring gameplay, along with anti-consumer practices like predatory DLC and unskippable cutscenes, further exacerbated this frustration.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Joy was expressed by players who enjoyed the game's graphics, story, and character interactions. The combat system and overall gameplay experience were also highlighted as positive aspects. Players appreciated the adventure and character development, which contributed to their overall positive experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment was derived from the game's graphics, gameplay, and specific character designs. The overall quality and engaging nature of the game were also noted as sources of enjoyment.
- Anger (weight 0.03): Anger was primarily caused by the game's combat system, camera mechanics, and lack of customization options. Players also expressed anger over the game's poor quality and lack of value for money, as well as contradictory character behaviors and unrealistic themes.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom was a result of the game's repetitive and unoriginal nature. Players found the combat system to be unremarkable and the overall gameplay too boring to finish.
- Excitement (weight 0.02): Excitement was generated by the game's increasingly spectacular fights and the initial experience with its story. Players were excited about the potential and expectations for the second half of the game.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.02): Players found enjoyment in the game's combat mechanics, particularly the flashy and powerful flame sword technique. The division of ground and aerial techniques also added to the fun and excitement.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia was felt by long-time fans of the series who have fond memories of past games. Players who grew up with the series expressed a desire to relive their childhood experiences.
- Disgust (weight 0.02): Disgust was caused by uncomfortable eye movement in movie scenes and poorly crafted, clichéd storylines. Disturbing storyline elements and forced romantic subplots also contributed to this emotion.
- Disappointment (weight 0.02): Players expressed disappointment with the game's plot logic, character development, and combat system. The game's monetization and late-game areas were also sources of disappointment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.02): Players expressed liking for specific character traits and designs, such as the charm and abilities of certain characters. These elements resonated positively with the players.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.01): Dissatisfaction was caused by issues such as enemies being too hard and combat effects obscuring the screen. These problems led to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness was evoked by emotional moments in the game and comparisons to other games in the series. Players felt a sense of melancholy and longing.
- Affection (weight 0.01): Players expressed affection for the game's combat, world design, music, and character interactions. These elements were particularly enjoyable and well-received.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players felt a sense of nostalgia, reminiscent of listening to similar music in their childhood. This emotion was tied to fond memories of the past.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Players expressed anticipation for the game's future content and characters. The expectation of more volume and excitement contributed to this feeling.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Players were impressed by the game's quality and the realization of how great the Tales series can be. This admiration was a result of the game's overall excellence.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Players expressed gratitude towards the developers for delivering a wonderful story and world. This appreciation was directed at the creators for their efforts and achievements.}