Role-playing game Tales of arise will be the first part of the series to be released simultaneously around the world – American and European players will receive it at the same time as Japanese. On the territory of Russia, the novelty will be available with Russian subtitles…
Bandai Namco Entertainment today presented new screenshots, a trailer and details of various editions of Tales of Arise, and also announced versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S… A few days earlier, the Japanese correspondent for GameMAG.ru Alexey Ugava met with the producer Yusuke Tomizawa in Tokyo and recorded an exclusive interview about the creation of the highly anticipated JRPG.
Tomizawa also commented on Bandai Namco’s work with the Russian market and explained why some parts of Tales of never left Japan.
We would like to thank Bandai Namco and the Russian company SoftKlab for their help in organizing the interview.
First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to record this interview at such a difficult time. Historically, the Tales of series has been popular among JRPG fans in Russia. I would even say that it boasts a strong fan base that is very interested in learning more about the upcoming Tales of Arise.
It’s nice to hear that there are people in Russia who are waiting for our new game. I will try to answer all your questions.
Tales of Arise was announced at E3 2019. The first trailer immediately gave the impression that this is the most expensive part in the history of the series. What fundamental changes and innovations should fans expect?
Based on the 2019 trailer, it was really possible to add up an idea only of the picture. But in the near future we will start actively sharing details with the players. Let’s talk about the combat system, the history of the world and its inhabitants. It will be interesting for everyone – both old fans and newcomers.
We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that Tales of Arise will be the first completely new part of Tales of, which will be released simultaneously around the world.…
We previously launched Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition internationally, but this was a re-release.
The creation of Tales of Arise began in 2016, and the team immediately focused on a global start, which has never happened before in the history of the franchise.
Did you switch to Tales of Arise right after the release of Tales of Berseria?
Yes that’s right. Almost immediately after the release of the last game, we started working on ideas for Tales of Arise. First of all, the team focused on aspects that it was high time to improve in the series. Among these, for example, the cinematic component.
It is probably already possible to confirm that the game will be released on Xbox Series X | S and PlayStation 5.
Of course, there will be changes to the combat system that are unique to Tales of Arise. We created a completely new world and a deep storyline. The story turned out to be exciting. All this was prepared with an eye to the global market…
Changing and tweaking the various components, we have relied on the feedback from an international audience for five years since the start of production of Tales of Arise.
Interesting. It turns out that the word “Arise” from the name, which can indicate “rise”, “birth”, “take-off”, turned out to be symbolic for your team, which faced new challenges.
You could say that. Tales of Arise is a big challenge both for me personally and for all other team members. But despite all the difficulties, each employee is aware of his responsibility. The support of gamers who are patiently waiting for news on the game helps us a lot.
We are clearly guided by a new approach to development and promotion.
Since you mentioned a new approach, I would like to ask a question about the technical part. It is already known that the team switched to a new engine for themselves – Unreal Engine 4. This is the first engine change in the Tales of line in a long time. Have you encountered any difficulties in the process? Why did you choose Unreal Engine 4?
Until and including Tales of Berseria, we created games using our own toolbox, but this time, as I said, our goal was to improve many of the familiar aspects. One of the most important is the graphics.
After conducting a number of experiments and testing several technological solutions, including Unreal Engine 4, we came to the conclusion that it would simply not be possible to create Tales of Arise with the picture the team is targeting on our old engine.
After reviewing the benefits of Unreal Engine 4, we decided to switch to it.
But let me emphasize right away that it was very important for us to preserve the unique Tales of atmosphere in Tales of Arise, inherent in all games in the series, so we worked a lot on tuning the engine and the overall style of the world. The idea was to get a pretty picture, but not betray the legacy of the franchise.…
Many elements have been customized throughout the development cycle.
Unreal Engine 4 is often touted as a great engine for designing games with close to photorealistic environments, and your work is done in an anime style. Wasn’t it difficult to find the right balance between the two? So that the heroes do not stand out too much against the background of everything else and the world looks harmonious? Probably the designers had to work hard!
That’s for sure! (laughs)
We tried to make the models of the heroes as harmonious as possible against the background of the environment and look as high quality as possible.
Previously, the characters and world designs in the Tales of series were created separately from each other. In fact, these were different design tasks. Illustrators brought their designs, which were then converted into virtual models.
In the case of Tales of Arise, a different approach is taken. Designer Minoru Iwamoto is the art director of the entire game and is personally deeply involved in the development of the characters, the world, and the relationships between all the characters.
Over the course of all five years, aspects of design may have changed in parallel with changes in overall course. We tried not to go too far into realism in order to maintain the style of Tales of…
Unreal Engine 4 is also suitable for implementing open worlds. Should we wait for an open world in Tales of Arise?
I’ll tell you right away: don’t expect an open world in this game. We create Tales of Arise with a focus on plot and drama around key characters…
Our team experimented with bringing Tales of to the open world during the testing phase of the engine, but in the end decided not to dwell on this idea, since the series nevertheless gained fame and became a favorite among fans due to its other qualities.
This, of course, does not mean that in Tales of Arise players will be led by the handle in a straight line from the beginning to the end of the story. There are large, spacious locations here, and we have prepared a large number of quests and side activities so that users who value freedom in games can spend time with interest between sessions of advancing the main story.
By the way, speaking of side activities, we have given up useless tasks. Now each quest is actually a part of the narrative that better reveals the characters…
We hope that this solution will appeal to both existing fans and those for whom Tales of Arise will be the first in the series.
In the previous parts, the relationship between the characters was demonstrated not only through plot cutscenes, but also through special dialogues – sketes. Have you forgotten about them in Tales of Arise?
At the moment, we have not yet demonstrated how this will be implemented in Tales of Arise. But fans shouldn’t worry – their number (sketes or their analogs, – GameMAG.ru) will not upset anyone.…
I can say that we have corrected this component, and now players will not need to wait for the dialogue to end in order to continue exploring the world or fighting enemies. This is a very important feature of Tales of, and has undergone improvements.
There were groups of players who wanted to listen to several sketes at once, having previously collected them.
We tried not to make these cuts too short or too long, choosing the balance for each moment of the development of the plot and events in the game world.
The Tales of Berseria universe was rather dark and stood out from the general background of the series. Arise’s debut trailer was also dark to us …
According to the trailer shown at E3 2019, Tales of Arise could actually seem even darker to many than Tales of Berseria.
As we said earlier, the main theme of the game was the relationship between the two planets. And I don’t want to be a spoiler here, but let me remind you that even in Tales of Berseria, dark places alternated with light ones – more characteristic of early Tales of. Here’s something similar to expect from Tales of Arise. But at a higher level of performance, and not only from the point of view of the picture… The level of relationship between the characters will also contrast depending on the location.
This is the second year we have been working in a pandemic, and these times can hardly be called bright for humanity. I am glad that we are not creating a fairy tale where everything is 100% positive. In this situation, Tales of Arise for us is also an opportunity to demonstrate how the world around us can change thanks to our efforts.
Each of our employees, despite all the difficulties, also gave the maximum and supported others.
I remember that after the dark debut trailer, you showed the light key art.
Yes, with the help of it we wanted to say that we have come up with a new spacious world, and to create a contrast between the two planets presented both in the key art and in the trailer. Although I suggested making the illustration very dark too (laughs).
Then Tales of Arise could be renamed Tales of God Eater (laughs)
Unfortunately, not everyone would like it (laughs).
But joking aside, now the approach with a dark trailer and light art seems to us very successful. It conveys the whole tone of traveling around the world of the game, where you will have to explore atmospheric locations that look different depending on the time of day, and gradually approach the denouement of a new setting.
Perhaps not everything that looks positive is good, and not all gloomy places are the embodiment of the evil motives of the peoples inhabiting them …
Can you talk about the Tales of Arise combat system? Each Tales of stood out for its unique combat with unique features.
Indeed, each Tales of had its own special combat system, designed with an eye on the game world of the game.
In turn, Tales of Arise, as I said, from the very planning stage was prepared with an eye to a global audience. For example, we added more action to battles so that players constantly interact with the character they control, the environment and party members.…
Even in Tales of Arise, it will be necessary to more deliberately approach each battle, blocking or dodging opponents’ attacks in order to be able to deliver a more powerful attack and fill the special technique meter.
If you remember the habits of the enemies, then it will be even more interesting for you to calculate the bundles of evasions and attacks – this will make the battles more spectacular…
Sounds like a God Eater interview again? (laughs)
Tales of Arise can be played both as a usual JRPG, engaged in pumping and traditional preparation for battles to defeat strong enemies, and as a game where you can rely on your skill and try to defeat stronger opponents, even if your level and equipment are not pumped enough.
The specialist in charge of the combat system also paid a lot of attention to the joint attacks of the characters and strong techniques for two or more team members. But do not be afraid, everything will be revealed gradually – you will not be bombarded with too many tutorials at once.
I immediately remember Tales of Berseria, where there were a lot of tutorials. On the forums, people gave them separate discussions, and many still did not fully understand all the nuances of the combat system.
I myself find the combat system and its presentation in Tales of Berseria too overwhelmed for an untrained audience. In Tales of Arise, we have prepared the gradual involvement of players in battles. This will allow them to get a good grasp on one mechanic before moving on to the next.
The task is tough, but we are trying to ensure that as many customers as possible are fully familiar with Tales of Arise and can enjoy the battles. Hopefully players will be able to get a feel for the combat system and team action.
In the near future we will begin to talk about everything in more detail. There is not so long to wait.
Tales of has always had a lot of characters, but for Tales of Arise you’ve only introduced two so far …
Yes, so far we have shown only two characters, but a large number of party members with different fighting techniques that can make a complete mess on the screen – this is a distinctive feature of Tales of. And in Tales of Arise we’re not going to give it up. I can only advise fans to be patient a little more.
Does Tales of Arise have a class system?
There will be no specific class system in the game. The characters will, of course, receive a gradual development associated with the advancement of the story. We cannot reveal anything more about the combat system.
It took you five years to develop Tales of Arise. Surely over the years the team has developed different ideas that cannot be implemented in this game, but could be used in the sequels? Are you planning on turning Tales of Arise into a sub-series with sequel-prequel spin-offs?
You are right – it is impossible to fit all our ideas into just one game.
However, at the moment, there is nothing but the desire to develop the universe, so to begin with, we just want to complete Tales of Arise.
Many unrealized developments, most likely, can go to the next parts, where they will receive logical development.
If the audience likes our game, we may be able to work on the continuation or expansion of the universe through other formats such as manga, anime, audio dramas, and so on.
I don’t want everyone to forget about her characters two weeks after the release of Tales of Arise (laughs).
I ask the next question on my own behalf (laughs). You produced the remastered Tales of Vesperia. There was a character with a name like mine, who definitely cannot be called a positive hero. Should we expect playable antiheroes in Tales of Arise?
Personally, I really like these characters. Earlier, we repeatedly touched upon the topic “What is good and justice in reality?”, Trying to involve in the story not only the representatives of “good” and “evil”, but also those who are in the middle.
Most of the characters in Tales of Arise are still classified, so it’s too early to announce anything specific, but there is a big difference in the plot between the philosophies of the two planets. One may seem like absolute evil at first …
I will only say that the players will have to find their own truth throughout the story. Don’t jump to conclusions! (laughs)
Was the music for Tales of Arise written by the series’ permanent composer Motoi Sakuraba?
Yes! He is the main musician on the Tales of Arise team.
And since we are talking about the musical accompaniment, I think we can announce that the entire soundtrack for Tales of Arise was recorded by a live orchestra for the first time in the history of the series.…
In general, when I was appointed head of development, I was very surprised that this had never happened before.
Tales of Arise is a very significant project, and the series itself is 25 years old. It was especially important for us to take the musical accompaniment to a new level, although it cost a lot of money.… Everyone is happy with the end result, especially Sakuraba-san!
Bandai Namco was one of the first major Japanese publishers to begin translating almost all of their games into Russian, both relatively small and large-scale. Gamers from Russia are very grateful to you for this. As far as I understand, localizations have helped to boost sales in the region?
I cannot give exact numbers, but the decision to transfer most of the company’s games is related to the international development strategy.
The main platform in Russia is PC – Steam store… And it just so happened that our strategy for localizing games came into force at the same time as the desire to release major games on consoles and PCs right away.
Without a PC, the idea of translating for console gamers alone was very risky.… However, the low costs of porting games to PC and the large PC market gave us a chance to grow our fan base in Russia. So we decided to translate everything into Russian too.
If not for Steam, most likely, even now, many games would hardly have been released in Russian. Honestly, I can’t imagine how the Russians played Tales of before – in English or in general Japanese?
You are very lucky, because there are still languages in the world into which no one dares to translate their games… We constantly monitor the quality of translations and try to raise the level with each new release.
Two years ago, you released a remaster of Tales of Vesperia, which was translated into Russian, which helped many Russian gamers to touch this game for the first time. You’ve been asked for a long time to update Tales of Rebirth and Tales of Destiny 2. Any plans?
If we talk about the first games in the series, there was a difficult situation with localizations … Some Tales of did not even come out in English, as there was a risk that they would not pay off.
We have nothing to announce from the remakes or remasters yet, since all the energy goes to Tales of Arise. But if there are such projects in the future, they will most likely be translated into languages in which they have not been published before.
В целом мы думаем над наследием франшизы Tales of, особенно на фоне новостей о закрытии цифровых магазинов PS3 и PS Vita – доступ к некоторым играм теперь под вопросом даже в родной для них Японии.
С другой стороны, хоть наследие и важно, нам хочется продолжать развивать серию в первую очередь посредством создания абсолютно новых игр – это приоритет…
Для вас Tales of Arise – первый большой проект в серии. Что оказалось самым сложным в работе?
Тяжело сказать… Слишком много всего (смеется). Весь процесс сопровождался трудностями. На этот вопрос я бы целый час наверное мог отвечать (смеется).
Но если выделить что-то одно – это сочетание визуальной составляющей со сценами сражений. Нам приходилось очень много раз возвращаться и переделывать разные моменты, в том числе затрагивающие сюжет.
Я не программист, поэтому только могу объяснить сотрудникам, что и как я хочу увидеть в определенный момент игры. И хорошо, если результата получается добиться с первых попыток. Иногда приходится адаптировать сюжет и сцены отдельно.
“Наследие” и “Развитие” – два больших концепта Tales of Arise, и было очень важно правильно сбалансировать их.
Что бы вы хотели сказать игрокам из России?
В первую очередь мне приятно, что даже в России есть фанаты нашей серии. Для нас было важно создать игру, способную понравиться фанатам и привлечь новичков.
Если бы не ситуация в мире, я бы сам хотел побывать у вас в стране и пообщаться с игроками. К большой радости, мы живем во время, когда можно общаться, находясь в разных частях света. Я сам иногда посещаю разные форумы, чтобы почитать, о чем пишут пользователи. Возможно, даже попытаюсь почитать GameMAG при помощи переводчика Google…
Для меня очень важно общаться с комьюнити через такие интервью, как мы записываем сегодня, так и напрямую через социальные сети. Надеюсь, вам понравится Tales of Arise и вы тоже почувствуете, что пять лет разработки ушли на создание продукта очень высокого качества – способного дарить радость на протяжении многих вечеров!
Read also: Good news: Nintendo has no plans to raise prices for physical copies of games in Russia…
