Tales of Arise

Tales of Arise 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 September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game follows two people from the opposing worlds of Dahna and Rena.

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.

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. 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, native to Dahna, and a girl, Shionne, from Rena, who end up travelling together.

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. While the previous title Tales of Berseria had been a cross-generation game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Arise was made exclusively for modern hardware. Tomizawa stated that while the team was aiming for a level of quality that can be enjoyed globally, the game will not neglect its Japanese fans.