An excellent leap for the Tales series on every level. Having played Abyss and Symphonia, I find that Arise has a very good balance of action and story. It doesn’t tire you out with pointless dialogue and cutscenes, but moves with the goal of character development and advancing the story. However, for those who don’t want to delve deep, the game gives the player the ability to completely prevent a large portion of the dialogue from starting. The characters are all excellent, the world is rich and varied (created in an watercolor style) with many landscapes and climates so there is no repetition. The plot keeps you interested throughout, while the combat system is accessible and relaxing without becoming boring, since the game does not require much grinding. Overall, an excellent game in handheld and docked mode and a good example of a JRPG for someone who wants to get into the genre and doesn’t know where to start. Four stars instead of 5 only because the environments in some places load while you are discovering them. It is by no means problematic, however for demanding players it may be a flaw.