Tales of Arise: A Great Story Drowned Out by Social Commentary

The latest in the venerable series has something for everyone, wanted or not

The most recent addition to Bandai Namco’s acclaimed Tales Of franchise feels like that one friend whom we’ve known for so long that we’d feel guilty letting go of, yet sometimes can be a bit too much to converse with.

Considering that my PlayStation 5 has been used as a glorified piece of furniture for the past few months, I thought now might be a good time to give it a good workout.

So I went out looking for something new to play and as I was browsing store shelves (something that we’re now allowed to do again here in Australia, hooray for freedom!), my eye fell on Japanese publisher Bandai Namco’s two latest JRPGs: Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise.

Reviews for the latter were more favorable, plus it belonged to the popular series that I had long been keen to try out. It shares the same formula as my personal favorite franchise Final Fantasy: every new game has a completely different story, world, and characters, with just a few connecting themes and terminology.