Tales of Arise was released on September 9, 2021, in Japan and September 10, 2021, for the rest of the world. It is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Developed and published by Bandai Namco Studios, this game is the newest in the long-running Tales of series. Arise was directed by Hirokazu Kagawa, the battle director of both Tales of Graces and Tales of Berseria, and it was produced by Yusuke Tomizawa.
Now, if you are a regular reader of this blog, then it is no surprise to you that I am a fan of Bandai's Tales series, and if you did not, now you know. The Tales games started all the way back in December of 1995 with a Super Famicom title called Tales of Phantasia. That marks most of 2021 as the 25th anniversary of the series. And what better way to celebrate such a rich history of beloved RPGs than to release what I believe is the best game in the series. But before I talk about the star of today's discussion, I'd like to take a quick look back at the franchise as a whole, specifically my own experiences with these games.
