With close to a year now of portable fun with the Switch 2, I’ve tried my best to play all the wonderful games I can. There’s no console I prefer to play currently, be it for first party titles or ports of modern classics. From Resident Evil to Final Fantasy, all sorts of powerful home console games can now be enjoyed on the go by Nintendo fans. It’s delightful to see these available to those who prefer handheld gaming, and I’m always keen to see how a new addition holds up on Nintendo’s latest hardware. In 2021 Tales of Arise became a jewel in the crown of a beloved JRPG series, and it’s the latest game to arrive on the Switch 2.
There are plenty of reasons that Tales of Arise stole the hearts of many an RPG fan five years ago, including the fantastic story and characters. The world is split into two tribes, the oppressed Dahnan and the privileged Renan. Our hero wears an iron mask and can’t feel pain, and meets a woman who causes pain to all she touches. It’s one of the best Tales stories out there, with a great cast to back it up.
Really though what makes Tales of Arise a must play is the combat, which is action packed and never dull. The real time combat is what made this series stand out in a crowded genre back in the nineties and noughties, and Arise is the best of all of them. In early fights you have a standard attack which helps you build up to using various special attacks, but it only opens up further from here.
As you progress through the game you’ll recruit more and more characters to your party, and they all bring different skillsets. You can play as whoever you want in battle too, so if you’d rather sit back and shoot foes instead of getting up close and personal then that’s a totally valid option. The combat only gets better as the game progresses too, with skills that interrupt enemy abilities you can take advantage of – which feel amazing.
In between fights you’ll be exploring the gorgeous world of Tales of Arise. You’ll find yourself in a whole host of somewhat tropey but visually appealing biomes, with all the elemental themes and natural designs you’ve come to expect. There’s not a whole lot to check out that’s off the beaten path (or really in terms of side content at all) but that’s because the story is what Arise wants you to be focused on above all else.
The Switch 2 version of the game is the complete edition, which means it comes with the less exciting Beyond the Dawn expansion. I was pretty hard on this DLC back when it released, for basically adding nothing new in terms of enemies or combat elements. If you’re desperate to continue past the run time then it’ll give you some extra hours of entertainment, but even the new story elements are a bit slow going and unimpressive.
As a package I’m a big fan of everything that Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn Edition has to offer, but the performance did put me off a bit. The framerate of the game in handheld mode aims for 30fps, but dips pretty regularly. The frame pacing for me was pretty rough, and meant that I struggled to play longer sessions. Not exactly ideal for a lengthy JRPG.
While Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is undoubtedly a fantastic RPG, I wouldn’t recommend playing it on the Switch 2 unless you have no other way to play it. If this is the only option you have for it you’ll have a better time docked, and hopefully will still enjoy the adventure and combat that made everyone giddy five years ago.
