Tales of Arise arrived in 2021 as one of the most ambitious games in the franchise, and in my opinion, it earned every bit of the hype it had. JRPGs have been getting their due more than ever in recent years, both through the community’s own outreach and through better localization in the West, and Tales, a historically respected series, chose this entry to swing for the fences. Major graphical improvements, a heavier story, pre-launch demos that delivered on every promise, and a finished product that lived up to all of it turned Tales of Arise into one of the most anticipated and best-received JRPGs of its year.
Now in 2026, the Nintendo Switch 2 version has collected the base Tales of Arise game, the Beyond the Dawn expansion, and the cosmetic bundles into the most complete version yet. The question worth asking is whether the port itself does justice to a game this good, and the short answer is mostly, with some caveats.
What Tales of Arise Plays Like
Tales of Arise is an action JRPG with a unique combat system built around charging an energy bar that lets the player use special artes that combo across characters to finish enemies with style and precision. The complexity of this battle system doesn’t quite reach the level of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but it goes as deep as you’re willing to dig, yielding combos in the hundreds. The game features six playable characters, with four staying on the field and two in reserves that can finish attacks or break enemy attack chains.
Each character also has a dense skill tree with new unlockable artes and stat boosts, and completing each ring of the tree gives a significant boost to a specific stat. Some rings require specific actions in combat or exploration to unlock. All characters are fully controllable, but the AI for those accompanying the player is excellent, as they can be summoned at any moment to use a special attack or even take over the controls outright.
Even so, the game offers countless challenges, so don’t count on simply rolling over enemies to advance the story — without the necessary grind, the player will have a hard time, especially against bosses, who have extremely potent finishing moves. The game makes it very clear that you need to grow as an individual to face the obstacles ahead, especially in the main dungeons, where enemies block doors, cut off paths, or even ambush the player to prevent advancing without proper training. I’d recommend using every tool the game gives you to avoid unnecessary frustration, since the game both offers and encourages them — through crafting equipment and armor and through side quests with generous rewards and recovery items.
A World Worth Exploring
Stepping away from combat, the most obvious point to comment on is exploration itself, which is one of the most refreshing things in a JRPG in recent years. The maps aren’t necessarily large, but they’re detailed and full of life. Despite the relative linearity, the game lets you explore freely until near the final act, when it temporarily closes off to focus on the story. Each kingdom has a different biome, from arid volcanic lands to frozen tundras and rainy swamps. Honestly, the game really doesn’t disappoint in how interesting the world it places you in can be. The cities, despite the context of social oppression, feel human. They don’t feel like simple waypoints on the map, especially thanks to the generous count of optional missions in each.
The optional content is more substantial than it gets credit for. The fishing system (inevitable in games of the genre) isn’t necessarily a particularly deep point, but it is definitely a fun minigame that can be revisited at various points of the game. Beyond that, at countless points on the map, there are campsites, where you can revisit story moments, have exclusive conversations with other characters that increase intimacy between the protagonist and the respective character, and, when resting to recover energy, you can cook with ingredients found throughout the game, preparing dishes for all characters that give temporary stat boosts. These can give even more if prepared with specific characters, and can unlock even more exclusive scenes.
A Heavy Story in a Bright World
Arise‘s story is by far one of the biggest highlights of the genre in recent years. Despite the colorful and vibrant world, the narrative is thematically heavy with themes of racism, slavery, and abuse. The protagonist himself starts off working ceaselessly as a slave, his head inside a helmet that prevents him from even knowing his own face. The game shows up close what living that unhappy reality is like, and by a twist of fate, allows Alphen to seek and fight for his freedom. It’s then that he begins to meet, one by one, his new friends and allies in the fight against oppression, beginning with Shionne, a beautiful young woman being held prisoner by a mysterious government external to the planet itself. This giant planet hanging in the sky is seen right from the opening of Arise, judging the protagonist at every moment.
Shionne is as strange as the protagonist. While Alphen feels no pain, everything Shionne touches is brutally injured by her “thorns”, a malevolent force that lives inside her and prevents her from having a normal life. With this bizarre connection, they make a pact to topple the oppressive governments and recover a magical artifact that can both heal her and free the people of Dahna, the planet they live on. Shionne hands Alphen a flaming sword that accompanies them during the journey and lets him, with immense astral force, take on the great lords, each with their own equally powerful astral weapon.
As mentioned earlier, the main party consists of six characters with a heavier reality than the last. There’s Law, tortured and manipulated his entire life; Rinwell, hunted for her magical powers; Kisara, commander of the forces of a peaceful country with a cruel past; and Dohalim, a lonely lord weighed down by immense guilt, each of them brings their own weight to the story and complements what’s already incredible. The character evolution here is unbelievable, especially highlighted by the “skits” unlocked throughout the storytelling of their day-to-day adventures together. It’s uncommon to find games that explore the relationships of their protagonists so deeply, but like other titles in recent years, Tales of Arise does this masterfully and surprisingly closes its story, leaving a tightness in your heart.
Art, Animation, and a Killer Soundtrack
The artistic work in Tales of Arise is extremely praiseworthy. Graphics and lighting were unbelievably well optimized for the PlayStation 4 at original launch, with frame rates nearing 60 on PS4. At no moment did the game’s visuals disappoint, especially in its cutscenes, which contain absurd motion capture for the anime visual style. Each biome is unique, and the character designs are magnificent. It’s also impossible not to comment on the scenes animated by Ufotable (both for openings and for key moments of the game), which make the game even more special. The soundtrack is highly satisfying, with the two openings and the closing (by Ayaka and Kankaku Piero) deserving every accolade for their presentation.
As the only real negative for the base game, I’d point to the last two dungeons, which are, for the most part, extremely repetitive, creatively poor, and unnecessarily long (this last point especially for the final dungeon). The impression the game gives is that they were placed only to extend the last section and justify the hours of dialogue before the final boss, which, on their own, aren’t a problem, but ended up too concentrated in a single moment. A better distribution could indeed have been done in that final stretch. The same complaint carries into Beyond the Dawn, where the DLC has its own version of the problem in its closing hours.
Beyond the Dawn Is a Smaller, More Intimate Return
Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn presents a more focused narrative compared to the main game, but that’s exactly what to expect from a DLC. It isn’t about eclipsing the grandeur of the original story; on the contrary, it’s about enriching the already vibrant Tales universe. For fans who fell in love with the world of Tales of Arise the first time around, this DLC is a perfect opportunity to dive back in. It beautifully expands the lore, offering insights and adding depth to the universe I came to love. It feels like a sincere epilogue, a chance to linger a little longer in a world that is as rich as it is fascinating.
The Beyond the Dawn expansion brings players back to the captivating world of Tales of Arise. After the tumultuous battle for the fate of two worlds, Alphen and his party meet Nazamil, the young daughter of a Renan Lord and a Dahnan. Her story is a crucial addition, raising a fundamental question: can the six heroes change the destiny of a girl fated to fall under the curse of the mask? The expansion is a substantial addition to the game. It includes a complete, satisfying narrative, full of new dungeons and subquests that delve into the adventures of the party members. The DLC also offers special goodies, including six additional costumes, weapons, and content centered on the hero and heroine. The package provides additional items and complete fishing equipment, enhancing the gameplay experience.
Beyond the Dawn stands out for its commitment to the series’ lore. It isn’t just a gameplay extension or a simple additional story. It’s a thoughtful expansion that respects the depth and complexity of the original narrative. The addition of new characters and subplots feels natural, blending perfectly with the elements I already knew and loved. Although some may point out that this DLC’s scope is smaller compared to the main game, that’s exactly what makes it charming. It offers a more intimate story, focusing on nuanced character interactions and deepening my understanding of the world’s dynamics. It’s a celebration of what made the original game great that still introduces new elements to keep the experience engaging.
How the Switch 2 Port Holds Up
The Switch 2 version of Tales of Arise runs at 1080p both docked and handheld, targets 30fps for gameplay, and pushes event scenes up to 60fps. This is plenty playable, but five years after the original was hitting near-60 on PS4 in some scenes, capping the new hardware’s version of a frantic action JRPG at 30 feels more like a budget call than a hardware one. The lack of any selectable graphics or performance mode underlines it. Combat itself stays readable and responsive, which is the most important thing for a game built around combo strings, but the cap of 30 FPS is the cap.
Handheld is where the port flatters itself most. The 1080p screen pulls the cel-shaded art together cleanly, the Ufotable cutscenes look gorgeous at native resolution, and the 30fps target stops registering after the first hour or two. Docked is where the trade-offs sharpen, as the image softens, pop-in becomes more visible as buildings and NPCs materialize during traversal, and the port reveals itself as a series of small compromises on a larger display.
Is It Worth It?
If you’re someone picking up Tales of Arise for the first time, especially if portability is a draw, the Switch 2 version is still an easy recommendation. If you already finished it on PS5 or PC, the port doesn’t justify a re-buy on technical grounds, but the bundled Beyond the Dawn content does if you skipped the DLC the first time. I can’t say this is the most striking the game has ever looked, but it’s a complete package that still holds up in 2026.
Tales of Arise is one of the video games that can be called art. Everything here is well orchestrated, from soundtrack to visual style to its story and very enjoyable gameplay, and finishing it leaves the kind of tightness in the heart that wishes for more. Beyond the Dawn extends that feeling without trying to eclipse it. Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition is the most complete way to experience both. It isn’t the most technically polished version of the package, but if you’ve been waiting for portable access — or if you missed Arise the first time around — this is the easiest door into one of the strongest JRPGs of its generation.
Disclaimer: Bandai Namco provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition for review purposes.
