I've gone on record saying I quite enjoy Tales of Arise. It definitely has its issues, don't get me wrong, I get why it's not the most beloved game in the series. I hate the bosses, the skit system has been ruined, the pacing in the back half of the game is not very good, the AI was blehhhh, but in spite of all of that I enjoyed the game a lot. I loved the cast, the combat was super satisfying outside of bosses, the overworld and content was vast and investing, and I even thought the story was pretty good. However, what I think both haters and fans can agree on, is that after the credits rolled, we were done with Arise. It made some interesting steps forward and we wanted to see where the series would go from here. Of all the Tales games, this had to be one with the least potential for a continuation.
Which is why I remember seeing "Beyond the Dawn" trademarked and getting worried.
Was this a sequel? No, it can't be a sequel, what would they even do? An anime? A pachinko machine? It was certainly a... Weird thing to see announced. But, being the massive Tales fan I am, I had faith that Bandai Namco wouldn't do something unreasonable. Turns out this was a DLC taking place after the story, sort of like Tales of Graces' "F Arc." I became cautiously optimistic, while the arc had its flaws Graces' F arc had a lot of great aspects going for it and I think made the game stronger overall. Promising 20 hours of content, a ton of new stuff, and a wholely new story, I was curious to see what Bamco was cooking.
The first thing that made me worried was the pricetag. Thirty dollars. That's pretty freaking hefty for a DLC, isn't it? But hey, it's pretty long at least, I guess it sooorta makes sense. Then I was hearing from others that the game's length was... Actually more like 10 hours. Hell, someone I know claimed to beat it in less than 5. I'm not taking the price into account with this review, but I beat this campaign in around 10 hours, and for the actual amount of interesting new content this price is a complete scam, especially considering what this is advertising. I imagine you're only getting 20 with all the sidequests while going as slow as possible. Not cool Bamco. Not cool.
But whatever, I had borrowed a PS4 for this, I had set aside time for it, I was gonna play this campaign. And... I was kinda bored? Beyond the Dawn's structure is the first thing that kills it for me. All the overworld areas are reused. This makes sense, the whole world was pretty much explored (which is another reason this DLC didn't need to exist), but it makes every moment you're not in a dungeon just... Walking from cutscene to cutscene. Tales of Xillia 2 reused overworld areas as well but there were like. Goals. And places to travel to. Here it's just... Empty space with no whimsey in the slightest.
And the cutscenes themselves? I mean they're fine I guess. The story of Beyond the Dawn is not very special in my eyes. Most of it is focused around this new kid Nazamil with Dahnan and Renan blood and how she had an awful upbringing that effects her life now, and like. I don't know she's fine. I didn't really get attached to her, they spent a bit trying to make me feel bad for her and then suddenly I'm supposed to think of her like she's my best friend. I feel like I've seen the themes and story of Nazamil done with characters in the series like Phi or Artorious or... I don't know, point is she just didn't really feel that inspired or special. Other factors in the story are lesser focuses. They reference the current race relations of the world which is interesting but it doesn't go much further than "racism sucks." It's nice seeing the other characters a year later and how they're doing though, even if they don't have much to do. Shionne and Alphen are the highlight here, being as cute as ever, and I'll admit I genuinely really liked what they do with Alphen. Being seen as a hero and someone who ruined the world at the same time and how that's taken a toll on people. It was neat! The skits were also an improvement I think, much shorter and featuring more enjoyable interactions. I'll admit that there were some genuinely effective and well-written scenes throughout the campaign, but nothing felt especially impressive. It just leads to a really mediocre undercooked story.
When you're not wandering around you'll end up doing the grand total of 3 new dungeons. Their layouts are typical Arise stuff (outside of the last one) meaning that they're neat and all but not really that interesting in layout. The problem comes in the battles. I mentioned the F arc earlier, which has many dope gameplay differences. New artes, an expanded version of a character you didn't (normally) get to play much, and an entirely new character! Beyond the Dawn has nothing new. No, seriously. The game plays pretty much identically, warts and all! Okay the AI seemed better, they died to dumb dodgable things less at least, but that could just be me. But the utter lack of things for Beyond the Dawn to claim as new makes this feel more like an overpriced sidequest, emphasis on overpriced because jesus christ $30 for nothing new in gameplay is some sad crap. I like Arise's combat, but I didn't get anything out of Beyond the Dawn that I couldn't have gotten out of the original with a way better structure. Hell, some things are taken away from you, having to unlock artes and such you already had in the campaign. What a bizarre decision to force in some level of progression since they didn't want to add anything new. I was at least hoping for Bamco to maybe go back on their boss design at least, but nope, still a bunch of stupid beefcakes that the game refuses to let you combo. What a disappointment.
But whatever, even with all of that I still would have written off this DLC as whatever, an overpriced disappointment. You know a sort of "well if you really love Arise there's more to do in it, a bunch of sidequests I didn't touch too." But no, they decided to drop one of the worst final dungeons in the series on me at the end too. Not only does it pull from the Tales design idea I was glad died of making the final dungeon a drawn-out gauntlet that will overstay its welcome and then offer you two more hours of content, something that instantly makes your dungeon tedious and horrible, it has you refight an almost identical boss THREE TIMES. It took me at least 12 minutes each time, and no it wasn't fun the first time either. It felt like a freaking punchline by the third time, where it was now throwing two giant unstunnable monsters at me at the same time! Great, now I have to manage dodging three strong enemies that I can not combo all at the same time! It felt like a freaking romhack, but whatever, one terrible version of a boss and a few bad ones throughout an overly long dungeon isn't the worst thing ever. It made me say I disliked the DLC, but I still had a grand finale to go through at least. Maybe Beyond the Dawn could pull through?
It's the worst boss fight in the entire franchise.
Now I can't be 100% sure on that, I haven't played the JP games or the spinoffs, and some come really close so I could change my mind later, but god what a DUMPSTERFIRE of a boss. Unlike some bosses in the basegame, this wasn't extremely frustrating with obnoxious mechanics, it's just the purest form of an Arise boss. Way too much health, some annoying abilities, and of course you can't combo it. But when I say way too much health, I mean WAYYYY too much health. It legit took me over FORTY MINUTES to take this dude down. I was playing well too, I never felt my chance of winning threatened once. The boss even has an ability to recover health if you don't take out their clones fast enough, which SUCKS because instead of being a threat my thought process was "oh god I don't wanna play this terrible boss any longer." But whatever, after so freaking long I finally beat the dude... AND THEN THERE WAS A SECOND PHASE. THAT ALSO TOOK FORTY MINUTES!!!! It has even MORE health, WHY?? Why is a significant portion of your DLC campaign ONE BOSS FIGHT, it took me over a tenth of my playtime!! Possibly even more! This phase was more threatening at least but god it just has such annoying attacks and does not. Freaking. END!
I was only half paying attention when the final cutscene played. I think I gathered what happened but I didn't care, I was so utterly worn out from that terrible endgame. This is a low for the series, and unlike other lows I can't make an excuse for it. This DLC flat-out sucks. The fact they're charging THIRTY DOLLARS for this game, a price tag you could use to buy some of the greatest games ever created around this holiday season is a punch to the gut of all Tales fans. Hopefully wherever the series goes from here takes no notes from this DLC. What a waste of time and money.
Which is why I remember seeing "Beyond the Dawn" trademarked and getting worried.
Was this a sequel? No, it can't be a sequel, what would they even do? An anime? A pachinko machine? It was certainly a... Weird thing to see announced. But, being the massive Tales fan I am, I had faith that Bandai Namco wouldn't do something unreasonable. Turns out this was a DLC taking place after the story, sort of like Tales of Graces' "F Arc." I became cautiously optimistic, while the arc had its flaws Graces' F arc had a lot of great aspects going for it and I think made the game stronger overall. Promising 20 hours of content, a ton of new stuff, and a wholely new story, I was curious to see what Bamco was cooking.
The first thing that made me worried was the pricetag. Thirty dollars. That's pretty freaking hefty for a DLC, isn't it? But hey, it's pretty long at least, I guess it sooorta makes sense. Then I was hearing from others that the game's length was... Actually more like 10 hours. Hell, someone I know claimed to beat it in less than 5. I'm not taking the price into account with this review, but I beat this campaign in around 10 hours, and for the actual amount of interesting new content this price is a complete scam, especially considering what this is advertising. I imagine you're only getting 20 with all the sidequests while going as slow as possible. Not cool Bamco. Not cool.
But whatever, I had borrowed a PS4 for this, I had set aside time for it, I was gonna play this campaign. And... I was kinda bored? Beyond the Dawn's structure is the first thing that kills it for me. All the overworld areas are reused. This makes sense, the whole world was pretty much explored (which is another reason this DLC didn't need to exist), but it makes every moment you're not in a dungeon just... Walking from cutscene to cutscene. Tales of Xillia 2 reused overworld areas as well but there were like. Goals. And places to travel to. Here it's just... Empty space with no whimsey in the slightest.
And the cutscenes themselves? I mean they're fine I guess. The story of Beyond the Dawn is not very special in my eyes. Most of it is focused around this new kid Nazamil with Dahnan and Renan blood and how she had an awful upbringing that effects her life now, and like. I don't know she's fine. I didn't really get attached to her, they spent a bit trying to make me feel bad for her and then suddenly I'm supposed to think of her like she's my best friend. I feel like I've seen the themes and story of Nazamil done with characters in the series like Phi or Artorious or... I don't know, point is she just didn't really feel that inspired or special. Other factors in the story are lesser focuses. They reference the current race relations of the world which is interesting but it doesn't go much further than "racism sucks." It's nice seeing the other characters a year later and how they're doing though, even if they don't have much to do. Shionne and Alphen are the highlight here, being as cute as ever, and I'll admit I genuinely really liked what they do with Alphen. Being seen as a hero and someone who ruined the world at the same time and how that's taken a toll on people. It was neat! The skits were also an improvement I think, much shorter and featuring more enjoyable interactions. I'll admit that there were some genuinely effective and well-written scenes throughout the campaign, but nothing felt especially impressive. It just leads to a really mediocre undercooked story.
When you're not wandering around you'll end up doing the grand total of 3 new dungeons. Their layouts are typical Arise stuff (outside of the last one) meaning that they're neat and all but not really that interesting in layout. The problem comes in the battles. I mentioned the F arc earlier, which has many dope gameplay differences. New artes, an expanded version of a character you didn't (normally) get to play much, and an entirely new character! Beyond the Dawn has nothing new. No, seriously. The game plays pretty much identically, warts and all! Okay the AI seemed better, they died to dumb dodgable things less at least, but that could just be me. But the utter lack of things for Beyond the Dawn to claim as new makes this feel more like an overpriced sidequest, emphasis on overpriced because jesus christ $30 for nothing new in gameplay is some sad crap. I like Arise's combat, but I didn't get anything out of Beyond the Dawn that I couldn't have gotten out of the original with a way better structure. Hell, some things are taken away from you, having to unlock artes and such you already had in the campaign. What a bizarre decision to force in some level of progression since they didn't want to add anything new. I was at least hoping for Bamco to maybe go back on their boss design at least, but nope, still a bunch of stupid beefcakes that the game refuses to let you combo. What a disappointment.
But whatever, even with all of that I still would have written off this DLC as whatever, an overpriced disappointment. You know a sort of "well if you really love Arise there's more to do in it, a bunch of sidequests I didn't touch too." But no, they decided to drop one of the worst final dungeons in the series on me at the end too. Not only does it pull from the Tales design idea I was glad died of making the final dungeon a drawn-out gauntlet that will overstay its welcome and then offer you two more hours of content, something that instantly makes your dungeon tedious and horrible, it has you refight an almost identical boss THREE TIMES. It took me at least 12 minutes each time, and no it wasn't fun the first time either. It felt like a freaking punchline by the third time, where it was now throwing two giant unstunnable monsters at me at the same time! Great, now I have to manage dodging three strong enemies that I can not combo all at the same time! It felt like a freaking romhack, but whatever, one terrible version of a boss and a few bad ones throughout an overly long dungeon isn't the worst thing ever. It made me say I disliked the DLC, but I still had a grand finale to go through at least. Maybe Beyond the Dawn could pull through?
It's the worst boss fight in the entire franchise.
Now I can't be 100% sure on that, I haven't played the JP games or the spinoffs, and some come really close so I could change my mind later, but god what a DUMPSTERFIRE of a boss. Unlike some bosses in the basegame, this wasn't extremely frustrating with obnoxious mechanics, it's just the purest form of an Arise boss. Way too much health, some annoying abilities, and of course you can't combo it. But when I say way too much health, I mean WAYYYY too much health. It legit took me over FORTY MINUTES to take this dude down. I was playing well too, I never felt my chance of winning threatened once. The boss even has an ability to recover health if you don't take out their clones fast enough, which SUCKS because instead of being a threat my thought process was "oh god I don't wanna play this terrible boss any longer." But whatever, after so freaking long I finally beat the dude... AND THEN THERE WAS A SECOND PHASE. THAT ALSO TOOK FORTY MINUTES!!!! It has even MORE health, WHY?? Why is a significant portion of your DLC campaign ONE BOSS FIGHT, it took me over a tenth of my playtime!! Possibly even more! This phase was more threatening at least but god it just has such annoying attacks and does not. Freaking. END!
I was only half paying attention when the final cutscene played. I think I gathered what happened but I didn't care, I was so utterly worn out from that terrible endgame. This is a low for the series, and unlike other lows I can't make an excuse for it. This DLC flat-out sucks. The fact they're charging THIRTY DOLLARS for this game, a price tag you could use to buy some of the greatest games ever created around this holiday season is a punch to the gut of all Tales fans. Hopefully wherever the series goes from here takes no notes from this DLC. What a waste of time and money.
Magnifique lettre d'adieu à un de mes JRPG récents favori quel plaisir
First, the DLC is possibly meant for people who want to see more of the characters (and who loved them) and see them develop more
But if you want new stuff, then the DLC is not for you and you’ll feel unsatisfied
But if you want new stuff, then the DLC is not for you and you’ll feel unsatisfied
this game is so garbage man, 2 YEARS and this is what they cooked up like there's just no way too little, too late
I thoroughly enjoyed base ToA, With a satisfying story and a memorable cast. I was surprised to see what this DLC had to offer as it is a sequel of sorts. I was excited to see more party banter and potential relationships develop among the party members.
Was this DLC necessary? No, no it was not. For $40 I didn't expect a full gameplay overhaul, but I wanted to see if for such a price, they'd have capitalized on delving more into the characters and their individual stories.
I wasn't expecting a grand new story considering the conflict was pretty much solved in base ToA. So this new addition of character Nazamil was not as important as I'd hoped.
To no one's surprise, this is mostly filler DLC with mostly teasing and whatnot. Though character interactions are still great and fun with their moments, and the music was still fantastic, I felt as though there was close to little thought put into writing this expansion.
There really isn't much new story as opposed to more side quests to fill time. I did do most of them, and I completed this DLC in about 13-15 hours. This seems like a fair time frame for DLC, but taking all the side quests away, it'll amount to maybe 6 to 7 hours of main story.
I was even more disappointed that I spent all that time invested in the EX quest and watching the setup unfold, excited for the payoff, just for it to be another quick tease at the end without any fulfillment. I would've been fine paying $40 in all honestly if they went all the way with that.
Overall, watch this DLC on youtube or something, or wait for a sale. Don't spend $40 on this. Trust me, you're not missing out.
Was this DLC necessary? No, no it was not. For $40 I didn't expect a full gameplay overhaul, but I wanted to see if for such a price, they'd have capitalized on delving more into the characters and their individual stories.
I wasn't expecting a grand new story considering the conflict was pretty much solved in base ToA. So this new addition of character Nazamil was not as important as I'd hoped.
To no one's surprise, this is mostly filler DLC with mostly teasing and whatnot. Though character interactions are still great and fun with their moments, and the music was still fantastic, I felt as though there was close to little thought put into writing this expansion.
There really isn't much new story as opposed to more side quests to fill time. I did do most of them, and I completed this DLC in about 13-15 hours. This seems like a fair time frame for DLC, but taking all the side quests away, it'll amount to maybe 6 to 7 hours of main story.
I was even more disappointed that I spent all that time invested in the EX quest and watching the setup unfold, excited for the payoff, just for it to be another quick tease at the end without any fulfillment. I would've been fine paying $40 in all honestly if they went all the way with that.
Overall, watch this DLC on youtube or something, or wait for a sale. Don't spend $40 on this. Trust me, you're not missing out.
I love Tales of Arise, but this DLC consists almost entirely of recycled content and is way too overpriced.
Actually fun and has a ton of great character interactions. As someone who was disappointed majorly by the last part of the game due to health sponge enemies galore, this DLC actually isn't like that. 90% of enemies are staggerable, quick, and fun fights. Bosses arent of course but none go on for too long this time.
The main story of it is a bit dumb though, and doesnt have enough time to tell its story properly in the first place. But the side content is fun and cute! Especially the silly wedding prep quest.
Overall, as someone who was disappointed in the 2nd half of the game... I don't get the hate for this DLC! It played to the games strengths in terms of gameplay for 20 hours and that's all I could ask for.
The main story of it is a bit dumb though, and doesnt have enough time to tell its story properly in the first place. But the side content is fun and cute! Especially the silly wedding prep quest.
Overall, as someone who was disappointed in the 2nd half of the game... I don't get the hate for this DLC! It played to the games strengths in terms of gameplay for 20 hours and that's all I could ask for.
This review contains spoilers
Not saying this DLC was necessary but it does give a nice ending to the game as a whole.
Nazamil is an interesting character but her whole story of being ostracized is very sad.
Also SHIONNE X ALPHEN WEDDING LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!
Nazamil is an interesting character but her whole story of being ostracized is very sad.
Also SHIONNE X ALPHEN WEDDING LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!
The Reviews are in!
0/10 - IGN
-45/100 - Shacknews
lol- Apple
3- CGMagazine
1 - HardDrive
P/5 - Android
2/5 - GamesRadar+
1.5/5 - McDonald’s
1/5 - Guardian
3 - CNN
-9.0X/10 - OnlyFans
Metacritic: -100
0/10 - IGN
-45/100 - Shacknews
lol- Apple
3- CGMagazine
1 - HardDrive
P/5 - Android
2/5 - GamesRadar+
1.5/5 - McDonald’s
1/5 - Guardian
3 - CNN
-9.0X/10 - OnlyFans
Metacritic: -100
First, this was only like 10-13 hours of content, not 20. This was just like 3 new dungeons, and another small part of the story. The Story was kind of meh, maybe one or two cool things, bosses are lack luster. Definitely not worth $30