Reviews from

in the past


Un rpg con una mecanica inovadora del pasado,futuro y presente

Un juego con un apartado artístico precioso, una historia y planteamientos interesantes, y una ejecución desastrosa. Las peleas son larguísimas y aburridas, y por culpa de ellas, el juego se alarga muchísimo más de lo que debería. Si hubiesen cambiado un poco el combate y el juego hubiese durando 10 horas, habría mejorado muchísimo.

I'm all for supporting local industry, as it is very small in my country, and that's why I bought it, but sadly, this game ain't it. The story and dialogue are obnoxiously childish, and the novelty of the gameplay (the time travel mechanic) is very shallow in its execution. It would be the perfect game for the go on Switch, but those loading times are inexcusable, even more so considering there are random encounters, each with its own loading time. Hope they learned a lot from this and hope their next game will improve.

Ultimately: a huge letdown. First and foremost: the game is gorgeous, with beautiful vibrant colors and dynamic style. That is about where the good ends, as it was largely the reason I chose to pick it up. The issues lie in how unintuitive the game was; with a gimmick like time travel, battle were often cumbersome to complete, especially due to how long they could be, as well, it never felt like you did anything impactful.
The game just kinda meanders with characters you are not given reason to care about, a world you cannot care about, and gameplay that does not hook you. I eventually game it up soon after getting the fourth party member and noticing how much work would be used to make him competent and realized I did not have the care or patience to play it any longer.
As well, numerous tech issues, the game frequently crashed for me, as well, going in and out of battles took a century, which made me lament each time a random battle took place.
Perhaps there is a good game hidden past the very specific time which I quit, but I somehow doubt it; if I play as many hours as I did and remain annoyed throughout, it perhaps is not worth it.

Wasnt fully into the battle mechanics and the story didnt feel interesting enough


This game has a Time Travelling Toad

great video game that have beatifull story and great battle sytem that use time cleverly

Olha, eu vou ser sincero: se você quer jogar esse jogo pra ter a experiência típica de um JRPG, talvez você se decepcione.

Agora, se você for como eu, que não é tão fã do gênero mas vira e mexe joga alguns, talvez você tenha uma boa experiência.

O jogo é lindo, a soundtrack é muito boa e a dublagem foi uma adição crucial pra que eu gostasse tanto do jogo. Apesar de ter seus momentos de falha, acho q a dublagem é uma das melhores coisas de Cris Tales. A mecânica da protagonista é algo que eu nunca vi em nenhum outro jogo do gênero e devo dizer que é genial. Num geral, o jogo é uma delícia de se jogar, você sempre quer esticar mais 30 minutos de gameplay pra cumprir o próximo objetivo (por isso eu fiz 27 horas de jogo em 4 dias). Me divertiu bastante.

Mas eu preciso reclamar do final. Como alguém já mencionou em alguma review aqui, o final bom deveria ter sido muito mais impactante do que foi. As coisas aconteceram tão rápido e com tanta negligência dos personagens envolvidos que o jogador não consegue se emocionar com aquilo. Outra coisa que eu percebi também é que o painel mostrado quando você completa a DLC no final do jogo parece MUITO que não foi pensado pra casar com o resto da história. Contribuiu muito pra minha confusão com o final.

Não me entenda mal, eu GOSTO de finais misteriosos que me deixam pensando em teorias. Acontece que aquilo parece que foi costurado fora de ordem, e algumas coisas (sim, AQUELA coisa) simplesmente não fazem sentido com o que acabou de ser mostrado.

Pra finalizar, eu recomendo sim que você jogue Cris Tales. Ele pode não ser o que se propôs (uma homenagem a antigos JRPGs), mas apresenta ideias inovadoras, uma história responsiva as ações do jogador (em boa parte) e personagens profundos o suficiente pra serem memoráveis.

I really love this game. The visuals, the music, the concept and ideas, but I cannot deny its flaws.

First off, it was clearly designed as a next gen game. The PS4 version had load times of about 15 seconds. I can't even imagine how the Switch ran, but when I eventually got a PS5 and downloaded the PS5 version of the game, loadtimes were maybe 3 seconds. Same for my friend's gaming PC. I don't know what happened during development but that definitely left a stain on the game's reputation.

Regardless, I persisted. I fell in love with the game from a single trailer. I bought it digitally because I couldn't wait to play it. Then I bought a PS4 copy for my collection. Then bought the PS5 special edition used on Mercari. I love the visuals, I think splitting the screen between past, present, and future was an awesome idea that can only really be done in the medium of a video game. The combat was serviceable, but I wasn't a fan of the random encounters. They would have been tolerable if the loadtimes weren't awful. Also, I noticed the encounter rate wasn't consistent, which didn't help when there were 2 difficulty spikes during the relatively easy playthrough and suddenly I needed to grind.

The ending was weird to say the least. It should have been so much more emotional than it actually was, but only one character really had an appropriate reaction. In fact, the BAD ending was actually so much more interesting and could be its own game.

This is my favorite indie game. It will always hold a special place in my heart, but I cannot recommend it to anyone who isn't playing on a next gen platform. I might replay it on PS5 someday to see if my love still holds up.

Interesting concepts and characters and gameplay, but still kinda wished I skipped this.

Lo venden como un JRPG, pero no le llega ni a los talones a la categoría. Su dinámica de manipular el tiempo en las batallas es novedosa, fácil de aprender, es lo destacable. En cuanto a su dificultad, no representa ningún tipo de complicación.

Got about an hour before I dropped it because the random encounters were SO BAD. Wanted to learn more about the characters and the story and the combat system was interesting but the balancing was terrible so that’s unfortunate. Maybe I’ll give it another shot someday.

there is something here, it just wasnt done well. the one thing that pissed me off most was how long it took to load before and after a random encounter.

A frustrating game which seems to have taken all the flaws of older JRPGs - slow speed, excessively difficult, slow and tedious random encounters - and decided they were not only not a problem, but Good, Actually. Even the walk speed is slow. Tedious. A shame because there is clearly potential here.

At the risk of sounding a bit condescending, it makes me a bit sad seeing all the people who drop or otherwise pass on CrisTales just because of some optimization issues. Yes, the loading screens are long and frankly excessive, but the game is by no means unplayable because of it, and they shouldn't stop you from playing such a charming and engaging RPG. For Pete's sake, every time I go to GameStop I see it on clearance for $10. At that price it's a steal!

CrisTales was a game that was vaguely on my radar around the time it came out back in 2021, but as Neo: The World Ends with You was releasing only a few weeks later, I didn't have the time to play it back then. I ended up getting it at the end of the year and finishing it early the next year, and I am so glad that I did.

As many have pointed out, the main draw of CrisTales is its presentation. Art direction isn't really something I pay that much attention to unless it's really unique, and CrisTales ranks among Cuphead and The World Ends with You in having one of the best art styles I've ever seen in a video game. To only mention the art style would be to only mention the obvious though, and presentation is so much more than just the obvious. For one, the game is fully voice-acted, which is incredibly impressive for an indie game with this much dialogue, and the voice acting itself is all pretty good too. The soundtrack is also great, really nailing its relaxing town themes and dramatic battle tracks.

Of course, a large part of an RPG's appeal is in its writing, and on this front CrisTales absolutely delivers. All the party members manage to shine individually and in their interactions with others (well, except for one spoiler character who is kind of lame, but five out of six ain't bad) with Zas in particular being peak party member. Even the NPCs are great: there were at least five NPCs where at varying points I thought, "Man, I wish they could join the party!" and I think that says a lot about the quality of the character writing. Similarly the story really got its hooks in me around the middle of the game, where the game starts setting up interesting plot threads and building up the lore. In that regard, the game's final hours were actually a bit disappointing, as lot of these great plot threads are resolved a bit too quickly in a rush to get to the end of the game to fully explore the implications they leave in their wake, but at the same time, I don't think a botched landing diminishes the quality of the setup, so I would still say that the story is one worth experiencing.

CrisTales is a game I desperately want some kind of follow-up to. As far as I can tell, this is the first game by this dev team, and beneath the flaws they clearly show a ton of potential. It doesn't have to be a direct sequel, but given the chance to make another RPG, if they retain the style that drew so many to the game while improving the performance and writing a more fleshed-out finale, I believe they could have a truly special game on their hands.

Most beautifully crafted opening animation I've ever seen, rivaling Katrielle and the Millionaires Conspiracy in how good it is. Starting the game now, i hope I'll disagree with everyone. This looks absolutely stunning. Turned the lights off, ambilights linked to my hue lights are lighting up the room with the most amazing colours. If this game is even half good I'm sure I'll love it. Full review below


Quite some loading screens, and they're white and bright as fuck. Lovely music, and all lines are voiced. Many triple A titles don't even do that. The game looks super polished, there's many ~2 bucks sale games that are astronomically less clean. The time mechanic is an original idea and fun in battles. At level 7 i have yet to encounter the supposed difficulty everyone complains about, maybe people don't know you can heal between fights using your skills? The most annoying part so far is the left joycon vibrating like an earthquake during attacks sometimes and nothing in the menu to turn it off or tone it down.

First boss fight took me 3 tries, below I'll add some hints. The pacing is a bit odd. I did not get to go to a city or heal up naturally (without using a tent) between the first and second boss. Just straight from dungeon to dungeon. Rounding corners in these dungeons is a bit clunky. Also, the weaknesses and strengths of enemies don't always make sense. The huge fish is immune to electricity? But takes normal water damage? Ok i guess. And why do some dungeons have an exit you can't enter back in through? I missed a sidequest and had to run through a dungeon 2 more times haha. Not a hassle though.

I did encounter a crash, didn't lose any progress luckily as i had just saved but these are rare to encounter on switch. I must say the gameplay is quite linear, do this, go there. I do really enjoy the movement though, the walking, the transport through the overworld. Enemy variations could be better, i wish a new area would mean all new enemies. Or at least enemies that make more sense. I guess slimes can be anywhere, but why is there a guard from two cities ago battling me at the lake? Why is he there? Why is he hostile at all? The 4th character comes pretty much out of nowhere, and by that point I had already made my magic boosted character immensely strong (139 magic attack). There was no reason to add him to the party. Let's see if I'll regret that.

Having to do the same dungeon again for a side mission seems unnecessary, especially if you have to grab the exact same objects as in the main missjon. Just leave it out then. A lot of people seem to complain about the random encounters. They're really not that plentiful, and not so bad. Also, before even meeting the 4th character you can buy an item (for 10k) that completely eliminates them when worn. I truly wonder whether the game has been updated for the Switch or something.

Lots of issues people have, e.g. the extreme difficulty, i do not encounter at all on Switch. The game is fun, I do think I've head enough though. I'm level 20, and i notice you still unlock things at level 38. That's too much for me, I maybe would've continued if it wasn't for one GLARING issue. My entire build hinges on a single character, who is temporarily replaced by another character who literally dropped from the sky and is dogshit. Therefor i can't blast through enemies anymore, it's been fun but i think I'm done, 10 days seems plenty.

Spoilers:

Audible Wow counter: 7
- Opening animation
- Entering the cathedral
- Reveal of the time mechanic
- Entering the walled city
- Seeing the "broken" mural
- First look at the mineral lakes
- Walking through the mineral lakes

Tip: do NOT use your first tent before the wolf fight
Tip first boss: Focus on a single arm only, plant a heal, use passes if the arm is down but the healer isn't there yet, get lucky and only have wilhelm grabbed (3/3 in my fight haha)

Big loadings, bad random fights, nice characters

They tried, bless their hearts.

It's really hard to take a giant dump on a game that you can tell people put their hearts and souls into, but this was a hot doo doo mess. The visuals are incredible and the voice cast is surprisingly stacked but the story is a nothingburger, the combat is disastrously unbalanced, the music is forgettable, the writing is basic and the game is filled with bugs. I had to repeat the colosseum six times because the game kept freezing.

I don't know why I kept playing but I did. Maybe in hopes of the game getting better? I don't know. It just sucks because I'm all for more western turn-based RPGs but this isn't it.

CrisTales es un JRPG que destila amor por los videojuegos, con un apartado artístico y sonoro que dan gusto.
La historia y el combate me han molado, pero en este último punto no se aprovecha tanto la cronomagia.
Muy recomendable, aunque paciencia con los tiempos de carga 🗡

a delightfull little rpg, very beautifull even

Visually gorgeous, with interesting combat mechanics and character designs. Pairing that up with a strong start, seriously thought I was about to have a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, I don't believe it has the same quality in other areas, such as its dungeon design or traveling system.

Kept on playing til the end due to the somewhat compelling narrative and I would love to see it adapted into a different medium someday, maybe as an animated series.

Like the popular girls back in high school, good looking but lacks any depth.

how can a game that looks so pretty be SO bad

really bittersweet game with lots to love about it but also some big noticable problems sadly that i dont see getting fixed :(


It's adorable- but the voice acting isn't great, the fighting kinda sucks ass, there's NO VSYNC, its choppy, and the optimization issues are ass. I really wanted to like this game but I just can't. It seems like a very nice tale that's unfortunately wrapped around a layer of broke ass game

While I feel like Cris Tales suffers from a lack of visual clarity during battle at times, the 3 menu options from a save point being in a different order depending on where you are for some reason and some ??? design decisions like tagged out party members getting no exp (especially when some sections require you to use/not use certain members) and some minor things like the occasional text not matching up with the voice actor, Cris Tales has a lot of charm to it. It’s a diamond in the rough, but if you can look past it’s blemishes, you will find an adorable diamond with a cyute story about working together and helping others to build a better future, plus time has cool combat implications.

Já não curti muito de começo pela mecânica de batalha, mas decidi continuar para ver se a história salvava e não, foi completamente desinteressante, é okay, mas nem chega a ser muito legal e não te cativa a continuar.

What is the point of your main mechanic being time jumping if it is entirely useless for the playthrough? Why are there so so many random encounters without a way to stop them, and why are the load times so slow? It just seems as though very little was properly considered when making this game, and it being my first JRPG may have been a mistake as it's left a sour taste in my mouth for the genre as a whole.