The main feature of Cris Tales is the magic of time available to the heroine. At first, Chrisbell can only look into the past and the future, but soon learns to directly influence the passage of time. Outside of battles, the screen is divided into three zones: the present in the center, the past on the left, and the future on the right. Thus, any object or character in the field of view can be viewed from three perspectives, if you choose the right camera angle. The whole game works around this feature, and it is implemented just fine. Every character, building or even bush on the way of Chrisbell is always a small story, told exclusively through visual imagery. We see how strangers grow old on the streets, how fortresses are built and decayed, how wheat fields somewhere in the distance are covered with a network of roads and factories. The authors diligently filled the world with many small details, which is why every location wants to be carefully studied three times. Here is a baby in a stroller squeezing a teddy bear – if we look into the past, we will see that the toy belonged to his mother. Three little girls turn into young women, and then into two sad old women. Or here’s a small town doomed to poverty in the future: among the closed shops and boarded up windows, it is easy to notice that the devastation did not touch the city temple, which over time only became larger and richer.
You can interact with the past and the future with the help of a talking frog, but it works too slowly and inconveniently
However, the future is not predetermined, so Chrisbell is trying with all his might to change the world for the better. Helping others on a regular basis leads to a butterfly effect of various scales: somewhere we saved the whole city from a flood, and somewhere we simply did not allow a street musician to become a criminal. Nevertheless, seeing with your own eyes how the decisions you make affect the world around you is incomparably more pleasant than just getting money or experience.
Naturally, the manipulation of time is not limited to this – Chrisbell’s abilities work in battle as well. During the battle, a group of heroes occupy the center of the screen, while enemies are located at the edges. And as you might guess, Chrisbell is able to send the left third of the battlefield into the past, and the right – straight into the future. This mechanic is no worse than the exploration of locations: the combat in Cris Tales turned out to be fascinating and full of nuances. Opponents who have fallen under the influence of Chrisbell are literally getting younger (or aging) before our eyes, and a young or old version of the enemy can be both weaker and stronger than the original one. In addition, the magic of party members also reacts to temporary paradoxes. For example, if you send a burning enemy into the future, then he will immediately receive all fire damage in one second, and you will not have to wait several turns until he finally burns out. In turn, if the enemy decides to strengthen himself with a positive effect, he can be thrown at the moment before receiving the buff – the main thing is that the young version does not turn out to be more dangerous than the current one.
Mage Wilhelm casts spells with the help of magical plants, whose effect is enhanced if allowed to grow over several turns. Well, or just move them in time
Infinite Tsukuyomi
In the first few hours of the game, finding new combinations of techniques and experimenting in combat is really interesting. But, unfortunately, Cris Tales is trying too hard to recreate the experience from the “very” classic JRPGs, and therefore, without a second thought, adopts genre conventions from them, which could be easily dispensed with.
This primarily applies to random battles. Exploring locations outside the settlements, the player constantly finds himself in random battles that happen here literally every ten to twenty seconds. There are no visual markers showing the presence of monsters, as well as the limit of battles for one location, there is no – the journey is constantly interrupted by sudden downloads and subsequent battle. At first, the random location and composition of enemies even works for variety, because the game generates unique, interesting battles for some time. But pretty soon situations and opponents begin to repeat themselves, and battles turn into a routine. It doesn’t help that new abilities and party members appear too slowly – experimenting with an arsenal of skills can easily captivate, but they simply cannot keep up with the frequency of battles.
To strengthen your (or block the enemy) attack, you need, just like in Paper mario, press the action key in time. But the right moment is too bad to read, and the punishment for a mistake can be very painful.
Because of this, exploration of locations, which was previously enjoyable, over time begins to feel like a punishment; even if you escape from every battle, the battle scene is still two annoying loading screens. At the same time, there is no logic in the algorithm of random battles, so you may well stumble upon a battle, say, immediately after a tough battle with the boss, or in the area in which you have recently fought.
But the overuse of random combat isn’t the only mechanic in Cris Tales that should be revisited. Leveling up characters and improving equipment is depressingly linear here: abilities are unlocked in a strict order, and new equipment almost always adds only plus points to damage. We are not even talking about any builds or options, although the design of some party members supposedly suggests alternative development paths. The brave young man Christopher is armed with swords and shields (and even knows how to conjure), and the wizard Wilhelm’s arsenal includes both attacking and supporting skills.
The side quests are also hopelessly outdated. Yes, it is pleasant to observe their influence on space and time, but to carry them out is sheer torture. Almost all optional quests boil down to “go and fetch”, and besides, they regularly force the player to return to the already passed places. Which, remember, are teeming with annoying random battles. This feeling of secondaryness is aggravated in the second half of the passage, when even the obligatory plot tasks begin to sin with self-repetition. Mirrored and repainted versions of already familiar dungeons, repeated battles with already defeated bosses – the road to the story’s denouement looks like an artificially stretched filler. Moreover, the filler is prohibitively long, because even one playthrough of Cris Tales will take from twenty to forty hours, and the game fizzles out, at best, already on the tenth.
The game has really memorable characters, but they have very little screen time.
The plot doesn’t quite justify such an impressive length of the game. If you managed to completely digest the plot about the chosen girl and the talking frog, then you can safely expect that the plot here … works. Even with the deliberate fabulousness of the narrative, Cris Tales still tells a story that ranges in quality from “good” to “normal.” And this applies to the whole narrative – characters, dialogues, plot moves. In the worst case, the game uses very hackneyed templates, which, to the credit of the creators, do not slide into completely outright stupidity. At its best, it dilutes the situation with several bright characters (especially successful, suddenly, villains) and rare interesting dialogues. As a result, the plot does not involve enough, but also does not repulse: as if you are watching a passing episode of a good series, you can get used to the characters, but you will forget them immediately after the end credits.
With stunning visuals and great time manipulation mechanics, there is much more to be expected from Cris Tales than what it has to offer. Alas, this is a trap – if the game exceeds expectations, then only the most modest ones, and even those not much. For a low-budget debut, the game was definitely a success: it’s not an ideal, but a beautiful fairy tale with a couple of great ideas, which may well captivate both a beginner and an experienced JRPG fan. But those who fell into the trap of inflated expectations and counted on new classics in the genre may remain disappointed.
Pleased
- there is everything that JRPGs love;
- excellent audiovisual range;
- everything related to temporary manipulations is done perfectly;
- the mood of a children’s fairy tale.
Upset
- there is everything that the JRPG is hated for;
- too frequent random battles;
- uneven complexity;
- protraction and self-repetition;
- inconvenient interface and management.
How we played
In what: the key is provided by the publisher.
On what: PC.
How many: 34 hours for one complete playthrough.
Achievement of the editorial office
Oldschool Taste
Spend all your nerves and resources on the battle with the boss, who will still win in the story.
About localization
Most of the text has been translated flawlessly, but the names of the statuses and enemy characteristics for some reason remained in English.
Verdict
Cris Tales clings too much to the past and, contrary to its own promises, is in no hurry to keep up with the times. Full of love and diligence, this beautiful fairy tale suffers from the inexperience of the authors and the conventions habitual for the genre.
