Tales of Arise is the latest entry in the long-running Tales franchise and is arguably the most visually impressive and engrossing installment to date. Like most of its predecessors, it's full to the brim with content and features a long and exciting main story campaign that's more than befitting of its JRPG genre.
Tales of Arise Review
Tales of Arise takes the franchise to new heights with an emotional story, unique characters, fun combat, and more defining features.As well as the main story, there are plenty of other things to keep players busy in Tales of Arise. These include sub-quests, collectibles, and powerful monsters known as Gigant Zeugles, which, together, can easily take a player's total playtime up towards the 100-hour mark. To unlock all of the game's trophies and achievements, players will also need to find the best weapons and armor, as well as mastering the game's unique combat system.
Updated November 15, 2023, by Tom Bowen: It's fairly rare for a JRPG to receive substantial story DLC, particularly more than two years on from its initial release. For that reason alone, Beyond the Dawn's announcement came as something of a surprise to many players, albeit a welcome one. Though it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, the DLC expansion does provide players with a good excuse to return to Alphen and Shionne's new world and plenty more to stick around for a while once they get there. Game Rant's Tales of Arise walkthrough has been updated to cover some of the more pertinent parts of Beyond the Dawn, including information about trophies, new weapons and armor, and the expansion's 40 sub-quests.
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Getting Started in Tales of Arise
Though simple on the surface, combat in Tales of Arise can at times be fairly complex, particularly as the size of the party begins to grow and new skills and abilities are unlocked. The game does a pretty good job of explaining certain mechanics through short tutorial battles, but, in the heat of the moment, it can be very easy to miss a key piece of information.
Certain things are not quite as well explained, with players largely left to figure these things out for themselves. These guides are designed to cover all of the basics in Tales of Arise, as well as some of the things that the developers glossed over. They're therefore a great resource for those just getting started or anyone who wasn't paying enough attention when a key mechanic was first introduced.-
How-to Guides
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Tips & Tricks
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Tales of Arise Main Story Walkthrough
The bulk of Tales of Arise's main story takes place on Dahna, a small planet that has been ruled over and pillaged by neighboring Rena for hundreds of years prior to the beginning of the game. Players take control of a mysterious Dahnan man named Iron Mask, who, together with a small group of rebels and a couple of sympathetic Renans, sets out to bring an end to the Dahnans' plight.
When the game begins, Iron Mask has absolutely no memory of his past. As the party sets about defeating the five Renan Lords who rule over Dahna, however, the mystery surrounding his past is slowly chipped away; as too is the iron mask that covers his face. Their quest for freedom eventually leads the party into space, where it's revealed that not everything is quite as it seems.
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Sub-Quests in Tales of Arise
For those looking to take a break from Tales of Arise's exhausting main story, there are 70 sub-quests scattered throughout the game. These are identified on the map with a small envelope icon, with more becoming available as the main story progresses. Completing them all will unlock the Problem Solver trophy/achievement, while also providing some useful and unique rewards.
Above all else, completing sub-quests is a great way to earn Skill Points, which are required for learning new skills and Artes. Players can even unlock permanent stat boosts using SP, many of which will be essential for tackling some of the tougher end-game content in Tales of Arise. Completing certain sub-quests will also unlock new titles, which opens the door for yet more Artes and bonuses.
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Beyond the Dawn
Arriving some two years on from the game's initial release, Beyond the Dawn is a story-focused expansion for Tales of Arise. It provides players with the perfect excuse to return to the game's world, bringing with it around 20 hours of new content for players to sink their teeth into.
In addition to its new story content, Beyond the Dawn also introduces new weapons, armor, and achievements for players to track down and unlock. Although the expansion's story is quite linear, some of the side content and sub-quests can be a little tricky and thus neccesitate their own guides.
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Weapons, Armor & Accessories in Tales of Arise
There are 127 weapons in the base version of Tales of Arise, 103 of which will need to be crafted by players. The rest are the party's starting weapons or are tied to story and sub-quest progression. This means that players will need to track down an awful lot of crafting components during their playthrough, which, without a guide, can be incredibly time-consuming in and of itself.
It's often said that the key to a good defense is a good offense, and, while this is true to a certain extent in Tales of Arise, that's not to say that defense can be ignored. That's where armor, which is found in red chests or purchased from merchants and inns, comes into play. Choosing the right accessories can also be important, particularly when up against enemies that use elemental attacks or inflict status ailments.
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Weapons
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Crafting Components
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Accessories
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Gigant Zeugles in Tales of Arise
There are hundreds of different types of Zeugle in Tales of Arise, though none are quite as terrifying as the monstrous Gigant Zeugles. 20 of these colossal beasts can be found scattered throughout the game, each providing players with rare crafting components and an Astral Flower upon their demise. These flowers, in particular, are incredibly useful, as each one will increase the party's maximum CP by ten.
Many of the Gigant Zeugles can be found roaming around in the wild, while others are attached to certain sub-quests. Given their high levels though, it can often be worth coming back to them after leveling up the party a little more rather than wasting time and valuable healing items on a battle that cannot be won. The good news is, however, that all of the Gigant Zeugles have a weak point, which is usually indicated by an orange crystal somewhere on their body.
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Collectibles in Tales of Arise
As well as trophies and achievements, Tales of Arise features a ridiculous amount of other collectibles for players to track down. Finding them all isn't just a case of ticking off boxes though, with each collectible set providing useful and unique rewards that can make life considerably easier for players as they make their way towards the end of the game.
Initially, finding owls unlocks a wide array of cosmetic items, but the final six also reward players with artifacts. These strange relics of a long-forgotten past, which can also be found out in the world, each has a special effect attached to it including things like SP and EXP boosts. There are also 38 cooking recipes, which can be used to prepare meals at campsites and inns and provide limited-time stat boosts for the party.
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Tales of Arise is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.
