AC Weigh-In: September-October 2019

For the September-October 2019 edition of the AC Weigh-in, we talk about the Tokyo Game Show 2019 Tales of Arise Stage and Tales of Crestoria!

Apologies for missing a month, so we combined September and October together.

For this edition, we have:

a745 Head Admin, Site Designer, Founder	DimensionSlip Admin, News & Content Writer, Backend Support
Amy Content Writer	Caphi News Writer, Content Writer
Flamzeron News Writer	Returner7 Patron - Consul Praetor

Going first to the Tales of Arise Stage event during Tokyo Game Show 2019, what were your overall thoughts with the event in terms of content, length and presentation?

a745	Pretty much the same as everyone's opinions - they called it an Arise stage but the Arise content was practically less than 50% of the actual segment - we had more info on Crestoria and Asteria. The new trailer didn't really show as much aside from tease a new character which we barely got to know anything about.
DimensionSlip	I think the presentation was fascinating and enjoyable, as well as the behind the scenes look we had with regard to the seiyuu recordings, but the amount of new information presented was a little disappointing.
Amy	I wish there was more to it, but the game is still early enough in development that it makes sense.
Caphi	Less than hoped, more than expected. The "astral energy" part was funny if you were listening. Confirmation that Shionne is a healer is... well, it should answer any fears that Tomizawa's "reevaluating" is far from meaning they're turning every Tales tradition on its head.
Flamzeron	I unfortunately was unable to watch the presentation itself, but I was certainly happy to get another trailer for the game!
Returner7	I didn't expect much, it was definitely a Tales fan centered event, and it was pretty inoffensive overall. I was hoping to see more gameplay/game mechanics details for Arise, though what they showed of Crestoria has me mildly intrigued.

What do you think of the new character that was teased in the new short trailer? Is the character a boy or a girl?

a745	Please please please let it be a boy.
DimensionSlip	I think they're a girl, but if they're a boy, it wouldn't surprise me either. I want to know more about them, either way.
Amy	I don't really care about the character's gender, but I really hope they don't tease the gender too long or make misgendering them into a joke... In terms of the tiny amount of fighting we saw this character do in the trailer, they look pretty cool though!
Caphi	Tomizawa has referred to them as "her (?)." I have no assumptions, only :thinking:.
Flamzeron	We only saw a little but, so it's difficult to say, but they seem interesting. As for their gender, my first thought was female, but this question has made me, well, question myself. I suppose they could be a male. Maybe this is a new Laphicet-esque character?
Returner7	Definitely looks like a female to me, and I'll bet she's our Elize equivalent in Arise, or maybe an Arche equivalent?

How about the mascot-like character (owl) that was with the new character? Do you think this is the new mascot character we're expecting from Tales of Arise?

a745	To be honest, the owl looked creepy. Then again, personally, Tales hasn't exactly made cute mascots in a while.
	I think it's likely the new mascot character, and if it is, I highly approve of this decision!
Amy	Probably. It wouldn't make much sense to have such a cute mascot-sized character and then not have that be the official mascot character. Unless they're going for a they're going for two mascots like Symphonia...
Caphi	I just hope it doesn't talk.
Flamzeron	I didn't even notice it the first time around. It seems like a cute little birdie. Not much was shown with it, but it seems rather unsubstantial. I imagine it hangs around the new character a fair amount of the time. I doubt it'll talk, too. It probably just makes noises that everyone will notice and say something silly about.
Returner7	I think so, though I think the "owl" will be more more of a background character like Noishe and less plot relevant than Teepo/Bienfu/Mieu.

Tales of Arise introduces to us two main characters with characteristics that somehow hurt themselves but complement one another (Alphen's inability to feel and Shionne's curse). How do you think that these mechanics will be implemented into the game?

a745	I love love love this dynamic of theirs and I'm looking forward to how the game will implement this during actual gameplay. Perhaps have Alphen's HP gradually decreasing whenever he uses the sword from Shionne? And Shionne causes minimal damage to enemies whenever she gets in contact with them, making enemy AI explicitly avoid her? Hey, I can dream, can't I?
	I suppose Alphen gets some pretty spicy weapons as a result of that inability, and Shionne has to stick to magic or long-ranged weapons in order to get the job done. It would be interesting to see her outright touch someone to incapacitate them, though, but I'm not sure if they will segregate that mechanic from actual gameplay.
Amy	I don't know. Anyway I can think of to implement that wouldn't be good, so I'm interested to see what they come up with.
Caphi	I'm calling Alphen's fire sword as another shot at Consume Claw: an enhanced mode that drains his HP. And if I'm to double down on the Break Soul comparisons, Shionne's could be a risky attempt to touch an enemy.
Flamzeron	I actually just had an interesting thought regarding this. What if Shion's healing artes have a chance to actually cause damage to the party? It would make healing in the game more complicated and promote the idea of not having a healer at all, for those who don't want to take any risks. Though, I suppose this would also promote item spamming, which I usually do in the games.
Returner7	Looks to me like some variation of Xillia's linked artes system is back. Maybe linking with Shion or even bumping in to Shion in battle normally drains HP or causes status effects for other playable characters? Maybe Alphen never gets staggered but loses a tremendous amount of HP when hit?

Going to the next portion of the Stage event, highlighting Tales of Crestoria. The new gameplay video from the event showed Crestoria's turn-based battle system. What is your opinion on it as compared to the usual real-time battle system that Tales is known for, now that you've seen it in action?

a745	It actually looks OK and is reminiscent of the other mobile RPG games I've played. That said, it definitely doesn't feel like Tales aside from the attacks giving the "Tales" feel.
DimensionSlip	I think it's interesting, even if it doesn't feel super Tales-y.
Amy	Honestly, I think it looks pretty cool! Most of the mobile games have had pretty different battle systems from the traditional Tales style. Tales of Link was turn-based and was match-three style, so this actually seems closer to standard the Tales LMBS than what I'm used to on mobile, haha!
Caphi	Don't compare these. They're for entirely different purposes and people. If you play Crestoria for the characters, more power to you.
Flamzeron	It looks better than I was expecting, but I'm still not keen on it. The battle system kind of reminds me of something like Valkyrie Profile, but not exactly the same. As I've stated before, I'm not a fan of turn-based combat in games. As odd as it may sound, they just aren't my thing. That being said, I'm still going to at least try the game when it comes out.
Returner7	I actually think this is a better fit for a short burst gacha style mobile game genre. I felt that Rays required too much time investment and concentration for a short burst mobile game, and preferred Link for that reason.

With the whole roster of (at least the basic) Mystic Artes shown for the main characters, how do they look for you and which one is your favorite?

a745	They all look pretty, as usual and as expected from a Tales game. My personal favorite would be Misella's and Yuna's. There's are particularly pretty and... long.
	I really like Misella's MA a lot, though that might be my flower bias speaking. But everyone's MAs look fantastic, really. The amount of detail in the animations and models is astounding.
Amy	They look cool. Misella's is my favorite. I love the little flower!
Caphi	Orwin because he and Vicious have a kill pose and I like his better.
Flamzeron	They looked pretty cool. Makes the battle system look more like a regular Tales game. Orwin's was pretty cool with all the punches and the "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!" Of course, Reid's also looked great. I'll be sure to use him a lot when I play the game.
Returner7	They look pretty typical to me, I'm impressed at the console quality, for Tales, visuals though. Yuna has my favorite so far, because the whole ninja puppeteer theme is pretty unique.

Tales of Crestoria release date? Place your bets!! But seriously, when do you think are we getting this?

a745	Ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA DECEMBER 31, 2019 I swear I don't even give much thought to it anymore. Hopefully we'll get a release date on that stream on the 29th?
	I think we'll be getting it next year, unfortunately.
Amy	Ugh. At this point, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic about that supposed 2019 release date. December 31, 2019 maybe?
Caphi	Based on nothing at all, Q2 2020.
Flamzeron	Probably either December 2019 or early 2020. Or maybe we'll get lucky and it'll come out tomorrow. Totally.
Returner7	In NA?! I'm not optimistic, maybe November 2020? Definitely some time next month for JP though.

Any suggestions for next month, or anything that you want to respond to? Feel free to share them in the comments below~

Image Credits:

• Brilliant Cataclysm - Hisui & Edna skit faces.
• CamelieMimika - Eleanor skit faces.
• Elysia - Asbel skit faces.
• Liaoriao - Jade skit faces.
• Lyrrad - Reid, Leon, Farah & Yuri skit faces.
• Tales of Answers - Kongwai skit faces.

Tales of Arise

Tales of Arise is the latest mothership title (new classification: original title) of the Tales of Series which was first announced during Microsoft’s Press Conference in E3 2019. The game was released for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC Digital via Steam on September 9, 2021 for Asia and Japan and September 10, 2021 for the rest of the world. The game features use of the Unreal Engine 4 and works on the theme of tradition versus evolution of the series.

Info Page | News | Gallery | Official Website (US) | Official Website (JP)

Tales of Crestoria

Tales of Crestoria is an upcoming mobile title dedicated for smartphones that is an entirely new story and doesn’t focus on previous Tales of titles. The game features Kanata Hjuger, a young man branded as a Transgressor because of the crimeof “protecting someone important” to him. The game will be released for iOS and Android on 2020.

Info Page | News | Gallery | Official Website (JP) | Official Website (EN)