Tales of Arise's Microtransactions Completely Break the Game

Tales of Arise features microtransactions and DLC packs that more or less play the whole game for you with how game-breaking they are.

[Teflon02]

That's every jrpg these days nothing new. As long as it's not needed I ignore it

[melons]

Just because something is the way it is, it doesn't mean it can't be better.

[Teflon02]

Really? Because it hasn't affected my game with the choice of ignoring it. This weird thing where people think having options is a bad thing needs to stop. You have your own mind. If you don't like it, do what I do and don't buy it. It won't change anything for you and you'll be happier for it. Instead of being bothered by things that won't affect you

[smashman98]

It can't really be better than completely optional.

This is where microtransactions are fantastic. Let them act as a fast pass for people who want the game to be easier and quicker without hindering those who'd rather play the game as intended.

[ElvisHuxley]

Spending money to cheat in a single player game seems silly to me, not sure why anyone would do it, but yeah, and long as they don't lock things behind DLC, I'm not bothered by it. Some games kind of incentivize the game around this, and that is a bridge too far as well, but I've never played a Jrpg that did this, and according to the reviews I've seen, this game doesn't do it either.

[Minimox16]

I agreed with smashman98 here, its optional and things like its optional, has a younger player in the pass i dont mind this MT because i can spend 1000 of hours to grind but now i cant' im lucky if can play 1-2 hours a day with work and family, and I love RPG, so this will only "help" to cut time if thats my choice and i can affort it and its not cutting anything from the game, if there is something that was left out of the base game then that will be a problem.

[antikbaka]

Games are made grindier for that purpose. It's not like you need it..but e.g. grind will take only 5 hours of your life, not 10, if you buy this boosters.

[Teflon02]

This is a repsonse I respect and agree with to an extent. I've definitely seen games with this issue. But all the JRPG's I've owned with this DLC situation all aren't grindy like that and I'd be more inclined to say they're actually less grindy overall than JRPG's of the past. Only thing I'd say some does cut back time on is end game content really alot of times. Like the Pom Bait in Legend of Heroes can raise you a level every fight. Or something but generally JRPGs are hard enough to sell, they don't require big grinds anymore. Atleast the non tactcal ones because I can't speak on the games I don't play

Now in western games, that's where I completely agree, it's been getting rough in those games. Alot have been becoming grind fests

[MadLad]

That's the point, really.
Who cares if you offer a buff to pass a lot of the grind in a singleplayer game?

But that mentality can easily lead to games being designed with grind in mind so you feel tempted to buy the boosts.

It has happened in the past.

[smashman98]

In general, this is true but arise doesn't feel that way. I'm only 15 hours in so I can't say for sure that won't change but so far the speed at which you level up feels faster than Symphonia. (My favorite tales game) Although this might be due to things like battles no longer having a victory screen and just being more fast-paced in general.

[TricksterArrow]

I don't remember any of that in FF7R, TBH.

[Atom666]

Don't give them any more bad ideas (although rumors have been that we might see MTXs added to 7R).

But breaking FF7R into multiple parts and even adding DLC to those parts on top of it?

Square isn't exactly making things any better for us rpg fans lately.

Let's not talk about FF15, either. $60 game + movie + animated series + 4(?) Dlcs = complete/ comprehensible story?

[Teflon02]

Because Final Fantasy is one of the rare few that don't. How about I give you a list of games that do
Legend's of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1-4 and any future releases
Tokyo Xanadu
Atelier titles
Omega Quintet
All the Neptunia games since Rebirth 1 atleast outside maybe 2ish games
Death End Request
TALES OF BERSERIA the damn game before it. I can keep going. My point is, it's not new. Just ignore it. Most don't even realize it's been in tales games already because people ignore it.

[MetroidFREAK21]

These publishers man...
Edit* changed devs to publishers. 😅

[Sephiroushin]

Its probably the publishers though!

[MetroidFREAK21]

Yeah, that's definitely what i meant to say lol

[Sephiroushin]

Yea sadly dev sometimes has to do many things they dont like just because the suits want it this or that way... its sad that outfits are now including skills so now they are not just cosmetics!

[SinisterKieran]

Just don’t buy them? Duh

[melons]

Infuriating way of thinking.

Others will buy them, even if you don't.

Then it will become more and more commonplace until it's in every game and game design itself is twisted to fit around this kind of DLC, to the point where every single release is piecemeal, the price you pay on day one just acting as your entry price.

When did we stop pushing back against this stuff? Sad.

[Sephiroushin]

Its a single player game it doesnt affect you if somebody buy or use them, on pc many people use trainers anyways ... At this point it wont change, Ill play normal way and on hard ....

Its not that we did stop, they just dont care because causals are more!

It will be come really bad when games get so hard on normal that you either buy them, grind for hours or dont play them all together...

[Ninver]

When did we stop pushing back against this stuff?

When the millennials threw their swords down and gave up.

[Teflon02]

Why do you care how someone else chooses to play? That's the most immature thing ever. If there's people who would rather have the DLC to speed it up for them. Let them. Does that affect you? No. Stop worrying about others and worry about yourself. If you don't like it, it's a option you can skip. That's literally not a bad thing having options. It's if they force it on you then it's a issue

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

"Others will buy them, even if you don't"

Dude, it's a SINGLE player game, who gives a shit? Let others buy it, it's their choice. It has ZERO affect on you.

[Silly gameAr]

@Livinglegacy

Boy, gamers like you are what publishers are looking for now in days. "it's a single player game! it's not hurting anyone!"

Until pubs see how much money they're making on those MTs in single player games, and then it starts affecting all games. Do you guys really not see the long term affects attitudes like yours can have on gaming as a whole?

People complain about any little thing in gaming now in days, but this is a ok with gamers?

[drizzom]

@Livinglegacy

Its that kind of thinking that allowed so many garbage gatcha games to run rampant.

[VincentVanBro]

We pick our battles doofus. I've never been bothered by single-player game microtransactions as long as the game itself doesn't try to funnel you towards them with grinding or difficulty spikes. This outcry over a Tales game having microtransactions to skip ahead is hilarious. They've been doing this in Tales games for over a decade now. The end of the world has not, I repeat has NOT arrived lol

[NotoriousWhiz]

I'm glad someone brought up those gacha games. Guess how many of those games I've played? Zero.

Guess how many un played games I've got in my backlog? Dozens.

Seriously, there are so many varied options and types of games available, why are we complaining about one game having a feature we won't use? Buy it, don't use it, or skip the game completely if you want. Either way, there are tons of other games out there.

Complaining about people buying a game you don't like or supporting a feature you don't like seems pointless considering that we aren't hurting for games to play. And we have so many different options available.

[AFKghost]

way to confirm your intelligence... duh

[Kyizen]

This os a single player rpg. Who cares of someone wants to pay to cheese the game that is up to them

[antikbaka]

Next time they will put Gacha right in the game.

Those devs are slow, it's unbelievable how they haven't made a Genshin-like game yet. Especially based on Tales of... universe.

[Teflon02]

Did they not? I didn't try that tales mobile game but I always assume all mobile games are gacha.

[antikbaka]

all mobiles are gacha, true. I mean some classic PC/console solo-player game

[Teflon02]

Ahh I get what you mean now

[VincentVanBro]

Have you considered that they can do both? Because they are. There is a Tales game on mobile meant for microtransactions and also a Tales game on console that appeals to single-player gamers that want to pay once.

[antikbaka]

Genshin is more profitable then tales of.. mobile. Why do it separately if you can have one game available on pc AND mobile?

[plmkoh]

Click bait article. No it doesn't break the game.

[melons]

Yes, it does. Anything that helps you farm XP faster, earn a tonne of currency, revive allies, reduce shop prices, give you free levels and on and on and on breaks the balancing completely. You're pressing fast-forward!

[plmkoh]

Nah you don't speak for the Tales of franchise except for your own prejudices against video game industry trends. No need to project what you think you might understand.

These things have been in Tales of games for nearly a decade and no one really cares and even notices because it's fairly benign. The majority of Tales fans play these games for story and the world building, nothing what you said removes the core reason Tales of games exist.

Tales of games are also fairly low tier in difficulty in the genre, and I've been playing the series for 20 odd years if anything it's older games pre-DLC era that were more difficult. There is no evidence Tales of games have altered game design to be predatorial in selling DLC.

But I don't expect many people to understand this as they come storming in being triggered by headline.

[VincentVanBro]

Who cares. Ever heard of a Game Genie? It was a paid cheat that allowed you to do these same exact types of things. People have been cheating since video games were invented. Get over it and enjoy your own experience.

[antikbaka]

it means the game is intentonally grindy to make you buy these boosters.

[Da One]

False.

These dlcs have been in the past 7 tales games (vesperia, graces f, xillia 1/2, zesteria, hearts r, and berseria).

We’re going on 13 years of micro transactions in tales of games and not once has the games been designed to need these micro transaction.

I think micro transaction have left such a bad taste taste in peoples mouth. People automatically assume the worst (rightfully so), however in tales of Mtx are useless. The perks they provide are simply ripped from the grade shop (which are now replaced by artifacts in arise I believe).

Tess of games also have an easy mode so there’s no need to overall grind in these games if you don’t want to.

[-Hermit-]

This is true for western games, but not for JRPG's. These booster packs have been available in many JRPG's for years now and not once have I thought a JRPG that had them was overly grindy.

[VincentVanBro]

I'm literally playing Tales of Arise right now and the game is not intentionally grindy. These boosts are not new, they've been doing them in Tales games for over a decade.

[BlaqMagiq1]

For those that don't know, Tales games have been doing this for years. Unlike other games with MTs, the devs don't deliberately increase the grind to try to tempt you into buying them. Never bought a single one and played thru every Tales game just fine.

[GhostofHorizon]

Wait.. are you telling me they don't have people knocking your doors down and forcing you to buy optional perks and skins as they threaten your family member's lives?

[Teflon02]

You can tell who actually played tales or JRPGs in the past. JRPG grind has been lower than ever over the past few years that they implimented it too. Which is crazy. Every JRPG that has it that I've played (alot of them) didn't need it. It just makes life easier for the ones who suck and allow them to play casual unlike me who runs to find everything and every monster around a corner lol

[VincentVanBro]

exactly. It is for JRPG players that suck. The boosts always seem pathetic to me.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

I think the problem is you're paying a huge chunk of cash to have the publisher saying more money please.
Yeah you don't have to buy them and they are "optional" but they are in there because they want you to buy them.
It's tacky and it's a mobile game service put into a premium game.

Just gtfo with microtransactions in premium AAA games. It's a complete joke especially now they've bumped up the price for the new gen consoles. There are no excuses anymore.

[Tankbusta40]

If it makes you mad just wait a couple of months for these editions to be cheaper than the base game

[Vithar]

ugh dont buy them? for ALL the reviews NO ONE said that the game is bloated in order to push you to buy DLC.

[Kane22]

why are people acting surprised about this. damn near every tales of game has these kinds of dlc

[-Hermit-]

It's N4G, most of the users on here don't actually know much about anything even though they pretend that they do. They just look for things to be outraged by.

[Father__Merrin]

Things will be artificially over grindy to the point someone may opt for a fast track pack that's what the issue is.

My other problem is when fast tracks are advertised in game menus. It should be banned But they make massive profits of this type of transaction so its never going to stop

[-Hermit-]

Wrong. Don't confuse the tactics of western games companies and those from Japan. These things have been around for a long time in JRPG's now and not a single one of them has felt more grindy.

[CrimsonWing69]

are these permanent or a one-time use?

[Kane22]

permanent

[Teflon02]

As far as I'd assume based on the Legend of Heroes Deluxe Edition way of using. It's 1 time uses. So like in Berseria I think there's like 3 separate DLC's or so that can add 5 levels to your character. You can't buy 1 20 times to get max level. I think you can basically max at a 15 level boost or so. If that makes sense. Same with any other items

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Kind of a confusing question. But it's both, actually.

[CrimsonWing69]

sorry, I meant do you only have to purchase these once or are they the type of DLC where you can buy them multiple times. Like if it gives you an XP booster that you have forever or is it like a consumable that you purchase multiple times. Hopefully that makes sense.

@Teflon answered the question though.

[Metabeard]

The real reason gameshark no longer exists.

[drizzom]

Gone are the days.

I swear, the only reason air hasn't been monetized yet is because companies simply haven't figured out how to pull it off.

[SegaSaturn669]

I noticed this with Shin Megami tensei and fire emblem as well. The paid dlc will remove any challenge.

[agnosticgamer]

It's not like this is an online pay-to-win scheme. It is a single-player experience. Some players have more time on their hands than others. If you don't like them don't buy them. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be offered to players that don't have as much time on their hands as other players.

[antikbaka]

that's why there are difficulty settings and chance for devs not to make a grind-fest out of their game

[jznrpg]

Stupid to have these . I would never buy them because I like to play and beat the games myself without handicaps but the easy mode people might like this .

[VincentVanBro]

Who cares, the game is unaffected if you just ignore the very, very optional microtransactions

[Imortus_san]

That sucks but then again I have never use that crap in any game.

[RoseSapphire]

They don't. This is a nonsense article.

DLC of this sort have existed for JRPG and other titles for years now. Just don't buy them if you don't want to use them.

End of my TED Talk.

[SDuck]

Just don't buy it. I don't get why you're complaining about something optional being available to break the game experience. Only difference from OG cheats is that you buy these shit but you know what? You don't have to! Going by previous titles, the game will offer a pretty balanced experience so there's absolutely no need to pay attention to these DLC packs, let alone write articles about it

[KingofBandits]

So don't buy them? The game is far too great to skip out on because of some lame ass cash grab that can be ignored. People complain about this but I see TONS of people saying how great Genshin Impact is (yes different types of games) but Tales is a legit stand alone title where as the other is a CCP funded loot box that acts as a rip off of JRPG design.