Tales of Arise

Tales of Arise[1] is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The seventeenth main entry in the Tales series, it was originally planned to release in 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game follows two people from the opposing worlds of Dahna and Rena.

Tales of Arise
Developer(s)Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
Producer(s)Yusuke Tomizawa
Artist(s)Minoru Iwamoto
SeriesTales
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Genre(s)Action role-playing

Developed by a team composed of both series veterans and newcomers, the aim was to revitalize the Tales series. Minoru Iwamoto, one of several artists who worked on Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria, returns as both character designer and art director. The game is built using Unreal Engine 4.

Overview

Like previous games in the series, Tales of Arise is an action role-playing game, although its gameplay has gone through unspecified alterations as part of its development goals while retaining the basic Tales battle system, dubbed the Linear Motion Battle System.[2][3] Arise takes place in a setting divided between the medieval world of Dahna and the advanced world of Rena. Rena's superior technological and magical advancement cause it to hold power over Dahna, taking its resources and treating its people as slaves. The protagonists are a man, Alphen (created by the player), native to Dahna, and a woman, Shionne, from Rena, who end up travelling together.[3]

Development

According to producer Yusuke Tomizawa, development of Arise began before the announcement of the Definitive Edition of Tales of Vesperia in 2018. Beginning development under the codename "Arise", the aim was to reevaluate and evolve the Tales franchise formula. The game's title derived from its codename as it best exemplified both the game's story themes and the team's wishes. While previous Tales games used a dedicated in-house engine, Arise was built using Unreal Engine 4, allowing much higher graphical quality compared to earlier entries. Character models and movement were also improved, with the team aiming at the same level of quality found in 3D films and television.[3] While the previous title Tales of Berseria had been a cross-generation title for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Arise was made exclusively for modern hardware.[2]

Arise is being developed by Bandai Namco Studios. The team included veterans going as far back as Tales of Phantasia, alongside newcomers who were passionate about the series. The art director and character designer was Minoru Iwamoto, who had worked on both Berseria and Tales of Zestiria. This was the first time the same person had filled both roles, and was part of Bandai Namco's move towards unifying the game's themes and artstyle. The world design went in a darker direction compared to earlier entries, both to further the series evolution and appeal to the Western market. Despite the overt focus on 3D graphics, 2D anime cutscenes are still planned as with previous entries.[3] Similar to the previous titles in the series, the anime sequences will be once again produced by Ufotable.[4]

Arise was revealed at E3 2019, although details of the game had leaked on the internet a few days before.[5][6][7] The game was originally planned to release in 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,[2] but was delayed to an unspecified date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9]

On December 15, 2020, the game's producer Yusuke Tomizawa revealed on the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu that while the team is aiming for a level of quality that can be accepted worldwide, the game will not neglect its Japanese fans, and that they are aiming to create a JRPG that both Japan and the world could be proud of, and also announced that the game has entered its final stages of development, and that the game's team is working hard to improve the quality.

References
  1. Japanese: テイルズ オブ アライズ, Hepburn: Teiruzu obu Araizu
  2. Khan, Imran (13 June 2019). "Tales Of Arise Is A Reinvention Of The Series, But Not Open World". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  3. 『Tales of ARISE （テイルズ オブ アライズ）』最速インタビュー。シリーズの継承と進化、ワケありな主人公とヒロインについて富澤Pに訊く【E3 2019】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. Romano, Sal (9 June 2019). "Tales of Arise announced for PS4, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. Wong, Alistair (7 June 2019). "Rumor: The Latest Tales Of Game May Have Been Leaked As "Tales of Arise" [Update]". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  6. Espineli, Matt (9 June 2019). "E3 2019: Microsoft Confirms Tales Of Arise With Debut Trailer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. Romano, Sal (17 June 2018). "Brand new Tales of series RPG in development for console". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  8. Young, Rory (25 June 2020). "Tales of Arise Delayed Out of 2020". Game Rant. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  9. McWhertor, Michael (25 June 2020). "Tales of Arise delayed beyond 2020". Polygon. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.