Tales of Arise is a classic case of almost is never enough. It nails nearly every open-world JRPG staple; the gameplay, exploration, characters, music and presentation are all top-notch. It’s just a pity that the story wrestles with a litany of issues that keep this entry in the Tales of series from reaching legendary status.
Even though NEO The World Ends With You is a 50+ hour JRPG, a good 20-30% of the experience should’ve been trimmed out. Looking beyond that there’s a surprisingly deep combat system (mainly for bosses), wonderful characters and awesome music/art that newcomers and TWEWY veterans will no doubt enjoy.
Foreclosed is a classic case of style over substance, as the lacklustre gunplay and narrative leave much to be desired. The futuristic comic book presentation does look pretty decent, although it can’t mask the mediocre voice-acting, gameplay flaws and extraordinarily average story and characters.