Overall, this is an impressive first title from a young indie studio. An enjoyable cast of characters with great designs combined with an incredibly solid battle system facilitate an engaging story full of twists and turns. It may not win any awards for pure originality, but we do stand on the shoulders of giants, and in this sense Cris Tales rises higher because of it.
Cris Tales is the first game from the Colombians studio Dreams Uncorporated, and it's rather impressive, with a deliciously retro feeling, a charming design mixing pastels, 2D and 3D, very pleasant for the eyes despite some optimization concerns, even on PS5, where DualSense is not very well supported. What makes Cris Tales original is not its classic scenario, but the powers of its protagonist, who can see both the past and the future at the same time. In game, it means a screen cut in three, and we can have fun moving the camera to observe the destiny and life of an NPC by running from left to right. In combat, it's quite exhilarating, since it will be necessary to mix temporal and elemental mechanics to overcome his enemies. Clearly, Cris Tales is a very humble and charming little game, and if this is your kind of game, you should look into its case.
I think this game is very interesting and fun. Although there are some annoying moments, these moments are quite typical for JRPGs. And I really liked the world of the game and the characters. Also the plot is not very outstanding. However, this is still the studio's first game. That's why I think this is a very good game
Top Rpg game since long time for me........ so wonderful ,with nice characters,sympathic humor and nice music. cant understand the metascore .. i love the game
Despite some technical limitations, Cris Tales is a JRPG capable of taking the best from tradition, innovating the genre with some interesting insights.
With its innovative concept and charming artistic direction, the first title from independent studio Dreams Uncorporated has enough to convince fans of traditional turn-based RPGs looking for a unique experience with a solid foundation. In addition, the accessibility of the title represents an excellent introduction for those who would like to embark on their first J-RPG. Ultimately, Cris Tales sins mainly by some technical details to be reworked.
Cris Tales has a top-notch art style and an eclectic cast of characters that all players will come to love. Pairing that with time manipulation mechanics and a beloved genre, Cris Tales could have been one of the better games to come out of 2021. Unfortunately, a lack of diverse enemy types, standard combat, and some questionable difficulty progression outweigh the highest highs, making Cris Tales feel too out of place alongside its cohorts.
With its graphics and its turn-based gameplay, Cris Tales is very attractive, especially since it is enhanced by an appreciable soundtrack with various tracks. The dubbing in VO is also of good quality, even if it sometimes tends to break the rhythm a bit. It's a pity that the animations are a bit stiff and that the software suffers from some lags during the fights. The latter, although pleasant, are also a bit too easy and frequent, giving a feeling of exaggerated repetitiveness. On the other hand, the title has a good lifespan. The presence of unmarked enemies and the recurrent loading can also be criticized. Nevertheless, even if we would have appreciated a more mature story, it is pleasant to follow and the gameplay playing with time works very well.
Maybe Cris Tales has an audience among very small children but in almost every case you’d be better off digging up an old copy of Chrono Trigger. That said, this is Dreams Uncorporated’s first game, and while I'd hardly call Cris Tales a good game, it shows considerable promise in visual flair if nothing else. I’ll be curious to see where they go from here.
Mas que notable aportación al Rol clásico por turnos, con ideas interesantes, con una duración mas que aceptable. El arte es precioso y la música sin ser perfecta cumple, puede que venga de un estudio modesto, pero, eso le da mas valor, no le resta. Quizás le pondría como punto negativo la poca variedad de misiones secundarias y su cuantía, pese a eso, es un gran juego, pero es un error desmerecer un juego por no ser un fifa o un death stranding
Very Good art style, for starters. All character designs and the setting does fit the bright and whimsical fashion associated with the Fantasy RPG genre which it is.
The story is basic, though with complicated concepts. It isn't very replayable, and more of a one-time usage before you know everything that occurs and needs to be done. Choices don't really matter instead of just for different text boxes, though in some one instance, during the Neva Tulira main boss fight, the strategy to keep the objective alive is creatively implemented and can be done in various ways.
The implementation of time powers are very creative, starting with visuals concerning the state of settings and characters, which can be grim in the future and the past. In combat, the usage of cause and effect for both going in the past and then the present and for the present to go to the future is implemented well and is the main point of most bosses. Kari Hudo for example can teleport to both sides of the stage and can be young or old, which vary power on her summoned monsters also, so you need to constantly turn on and off the time crystals. Brute force is usually not incentivized, such as with that one Guardian who is a glass container of particles, that can't be hit properly unless you rewind time to get the container back or something else.
The characters are somewhat tropey but used effectively, and the problem of their introduction comes to the amount of story left in the game, such is the case for Kari Hudo, who captures Monster spirits something to use later and permanently in battle, enhanced by ageing them up or down with time magic. But this unfortunately incentivizes investing in a late-game character basically catching all the possible monsters you could, which is effective if grinding in other places besides the ruins in the main story, which you are incentivized to explore.
Are not very replayable, in this case. Most are for story purposes and not required to go back to unless for grinding or severely missing a side quest. It also does the problem of killing off another party member, which is a recent trope in previous RPGs, but prevents party variety if you really like that one character. My petty grievance was that I did not complete his character, as I think he unlocked everything he needed at level 40 or more.
In writing, there's nothing revolutionary, but they work. Crisbell, though basic, is a convincing, selfless, soft-spoken heroine. Christopher is a bit bland, Wilhelm is sassy and wise, JKR-721 is a static robot person, Kari Hudo was interesting when she was an adult, but somewhat less when literally infantilized. Zas is generically vibrant and expressive, but I find her to be my favourite character either way. The antagonists are mostly note, but the conflict they bring is what's interesting. Cinder's antagonist and conflict involves the recurring right-hand antagonists and brings nuance and understanding to the plight of their people, as well as try to make them 2-sided. Neva Tulira's conspiracy was interesting and introduced minor elements of refugee discrimination and how influence can corrupt some people, which is present in the side-quests. Enzo's corruption was basic, but had elements of seriousness on what he does to gain power and maintain it, which is made even more clear when introducing basically a poorly-cared-for lower neighbourhood on the path of being flooded and neglected even more, with the somewhat aesthetically bourgeoisie city remaining high.
Characters have their niches to fill as party members. 2 are set-up/support characters, (Wilhelm and Adri), physical damage dealer (JKR-721), Magic Man (Christopher), Random (Zas, my favourite to use), Kari Hudo is a sort of summoner, and Crisbell is basically the healer/mega support. They all work out, and with the limited equipment you can use, you use them in a limited amount of ways. Crisbell unfortunately being an OP healer means that you have to suffer various patterns when fighting hard bosses, where they hit you with a big move, and Crisbell usually heals. Sure, you can reverse time a few turns ago, but the pattern remains, and since the bosses hit hard, you need to stack your team with heals, such as Zas, who is very beneficial and is "balanced" in the idea that random can benefit little or benefit a lot.
Bosses are reused, despite some model changes, as with trying to get to the ruins, but they challenge by hitting hard and leaving less room to figure out how to deal with them.
The music is very good, despite it shortness. My favorites include both Ruins of Cinder and Neva Tulira, The Magician's Prestige, Time Empress Waltz, and more.
Concerning the main Antagonist, the twist was way too late, but impactful as it expands on the tiny lore there is concerning the previous civilization that inhabited the current setting. (SPOILER: THE FROG WAS AN EDGY GENOCIDE GUY WHAT)
It felt like an attempt to be complicated, but it's still simple in the end.
I liked that everything is voiced and the voice acting is good and the art style is beautiful.
The story is ok.
The time mechanics makes the game interesting seeing how the town and people look in the past, present and future but still it lacks real depth as your choices are tied to whether you find and complete all the quests in each area. And you end up choosing from 3 choices with the third only being available from completing all quests. The combat is ok.
What I disliked most is that to get the best ending you have to complete all quests and it is very easy to miss quests. But not too much of a problem I just watched the best ending on You tube as I missed 1 quest that was time sensitive and don't want to play through again.
I liked the game though the end had a bit too much back tracking and too much recycled content fighting bosses you've already fought.
It's an ok JRPG. I enjoyed playing it and never felt bored.
Don't know why the devs think exploring maps has to be punishing. Random mobs encounters are fine moderately, but this is just too much and wears you out for getting a chest or two, and just feels bad not being able to flee 5 times in a row. The encounter transition is also not very good, just a white loading screen with no music change until loading completes ruins the immersion.
Artificially stretched with pointless twists and turns. Clumsy and underused core mechanics. QTE in 2021? Please... And all this, at a crazy price. Buy Death's Door.
SummaryCris Tales is a gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs with a new perspective. Peer into the past, act in the present, and watch as your choices dynamically change the future -- all on one screen as you play! Join the newly awakened Time Mage Crisbell and her fantastical companions on their journey across a dark, fairytale world fa...