Originally launching on July 16, 2020, Tales of Crestoria is a free-to-play mobile game for IOS and Android devices. Developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, this game is a gacha game that is a part of Bandai Namco’s own Tales of series of RPGs. The best way to describe the gameplay is a mix between a visual novel and classic turn-based combat. As a self-proclaimed “RPG Written in Blood and Betrayal,” Tales of Crestoria brings together characters from the series’ 25-year history for players to collect and train while enjoying a new original story. The story of the game stars its own new cast characters and is primarily presented as a visual novel. Between each of the cutscenes, the player must clear battles with their own team of characters that may or may not be the same ones featured in the story. In short, while the cutscene will show the characters in battle, the battle the player plays that represents that conflict will most likely not be featuring the actual characters from the story. This is common for most gacha games. However, despite the disconnect between the story and the actual gameplay, the appealing original characters and intriguing setting come together to create an amazing narrative.
The story of Tales of Crestoria is presented in a third-person omniscient point of view. The player does not technically play as any of the characters in the game but is more of an observer who watches the story unfold. While the player primarily follows the main characters throughout their adventure, they are able to see every character’s thoughts. The player is also privy to cutscenes and side stories where the protagonists are not present. These elements combined create a lot of dramatic ironies as the story unfolds. This outside perspective grants the player access to more knowledge than the heroes have and allows for much more character analysis than if they were trapped in a singular character’s viewpoint. Having access to the context of what causes every character to do what they do also fits in well with one of the game’s central themes; should we judge people based just on what we see.
The world of Tales of Crestoria takes place in a fantasy world where all people are required to carry around objects known as vision orbs. These vision orbs have the ability to record and transmit events witnessed by the holder. The recordings are shown to the public via structures called Vision Centrals, which are usually located in churches or town squares. Primarily, this process is used when someone witnesses a crime. When the footage of the crime is shown to the public and the citizens watching pray to determine whether the person being judged is innocent or guilty. If the accused is determined to be guilty, they are branded with a “stain” and a being called an enforcer is dispatched to hunt down the criminal and pass the sentence. As far as most people know the “transgressors” as they are called, simply vanish from the world and can no longer do any harm. However, they are actually brutally killed. Even children can be sentenced this way if enough people pray for it. For the majority of people, this is just the way the world works. Very few, if any, people see any problem with this tradition.
The protagonist of the story is a young man named Kanata Hjuger. As the son of a respected village leader, Kanata too believes wholeheartedly in the justice of the vision orbs. His main characteristic is his desire to protect the weak, but he is rarely taken seriously by the people around him due to his obvious naivete. Kanata’s worldview gets shaken very early on in the story when he discovers that his father Cody uses the orphanage he runs for human trafficking. Specifically, he was going to sell off an orphan girl named Misella who Kanata clearly has feelings for. When he learns of this, Kanata, enraged, murders his father. This act is recorded by Cody’s subordinates and is transmitted to vision central. Kanata is then judged to be guilty by the people and goes on the run from the enforcers. After being rescued by a man named Vicious, Kanata resolves to live with his sin and help people with his own justice. However, this new justice is born from the same underlying naivete as before. Kanata has this problem where he tends to see things as black and white, right or wrong. His “resolve” to live with his sin is just used as an excuse to justify to himself that he did nothing wrong. As the story unfolds, he is forced to stop running away and confront the consequences of his actions. Thanks to the people around him he eventually learns what it means to truly own his sin and not let it own him. Like most well-written characters, what makes Kanata appealing is how he changes throughout the story. While initially feeling like an ignorant kid, Kanata develops into a likable hero.
The heroine of the story, Misella is also a very appealing character. She comes off as a cold person to others around, but, in reality, she cares very deeply for Kanata. Devoid of self-doubt, some of the actions she takes are very extreme. Kanata is the most important person in the world to her, so if it involves his safety, she will not hesitate to kill people for him. In fact, Misella becomes a transgressor alongside Kanata because she burned down the orphanage so he could escape. She is so overprotective of him that she emotionlessly stabbed Vicious in the heart while he was sleeping because she thought he was a bad influence on Kanata. However, despite all the violence, the most dangerous thing she does is convince herself that Kanata is perfect. In the beginning, she ignored his flaws and enabled him to carry out his ignorance-fueled quest for justice. Only by accepting his flaws is she able to accept her own and grow alongside him. On a lighter note, her stone-faced expressions and how quickly she turns to violence brings the story some comedic relief when the party bickers among themselves.
As the most mysterious party member, Vicious has a lot going on. Known as the “Great Transgressor,” Vicious is feared throughout the world. To those who don’t know him, he is the most dangerous man alive who is guilty of more than a thousand murders and countless other crimes. However, to the other characters in the party, he is a lazy and thickheaded alcoholic who never takes anything seriously. While his personality is very devil-may-care, he still manages to carry his own strong sense of values. Specifically, he believes that people should live their lives as they want and not let anyone else control their destiny. He despises people who do not take action, such as when he tried to kill Kanata for giving up on life and accepting his judgment. He is also very powerful, with the strength to fight off countless enforcers and survive being stabbed in the heart like it was nothing. Not much is known about his past other than rumors. One mystery is that Vicious has the power to turn someone’s sin into a “blood sin.” This changes the brand on their body and allows them to summon a weapon from their blood. He does this by stabbing a transgressor with a black light and asking, “do you wanna own your sin, or you wanna let it own you?” Kanata and Misella are the first people to successfully summon blood sins. It is through Vicious’s guidance that Kanata is able to survive and see the world for what it really is. While he acts very immature and cold-hearted, Vicious is ultimately the adult of the group. No matter how ruthless he appears in battle he has been known to show mercy from time to time. Vicious is also the only main character that the player has not heard the inner thoughts of. This makes his actions the most unpredictable and keeps the player wondering what crazy stunt he will pull next.
The atmosphere of Tales of Crestoria is definitely on the darker side compared to other games in the series. Many variables contribute to this other than just the plot. For example, the lighting of many of the environments in the game use very muted colors, specifically warm colors like red. These colors cast a curtain over many cutscenes that should be happy and make them feel sad and or even false. As if any joy in this world is just covering up something else. This style of lighting over this setting creates an overall melancholic mood. It's not gritty and dark like other games with similar themes, instead, it stands out by making the player feel more bittersweet than angry or sad.
Overall, Tales of Crestoria is a fantastic game with a rich narrative. However, the way that the story is viewed almost completely separate from the gameplay could make some people wonder why it isn’t just a book. In the end, the main thing crippling this game is the fact that it is a mobile game. If Bandai took the plot of this game and created a traditional Tales of game centered around it, then Crestoria could potentially be one of the best games in the series. The visual novel story would be replaced with fully 3d cutscenes and the battles would feel more urgent if the player-controlled the characters involved in the narrative. The game could still differentiate itself from the rest of the series by being turn-based as opposed to action, but the scope of the battles would need to be increased to fit what is described in the cutscenes better. But, despite all the things it could have been, and the fact that it is a gacha game, the incredible cast of characters, unique atmosphere, and captivating story make it worth the time of anyone looking for a good tale.
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