Cris Tales Reviews
The exploration and interaction with the other characters are marvelous, and the game's visual style is nothing short of charming. At the same time, the game's combat system, with a lot of wasted time and too many random encounters, can make the experience less enjoying and Cris Tales would certainly benefit from fewer such instances and a more fluid combat.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Cris Tales is a mediocre JRPG-inspired indie that neither captures the strong characters nor the interwoven mechanics that make the genre so appealing.
Cris Tales is the JRPG you need to try next. It has something for everyone; the striking visuals are there to capture newbies, the active-ish turn-based combat can convert any turn-based skeptic, and the strong faithful mechanics are there to appease the fussiest hardcore JRPG connoisseurs. This game has enough charm to have you whispering “that’s cute” under your breath 8 hours in, and enough nostalgia to bring back memories of summer vacations 10 or 20 years ago.
I'm hoping that Modus will continue to support the Cris Tales with patches to address some of its technical issues. Decreasing load times might be too much to hope for on Switch, but game-breaking bugs are another story. I feel optimistic about it because Cris Tales is too good of a game to leave things like this. It puts new spins on some classic JRPG elements and creates an aesthetic all its own, telling tales that are universal and troublingly timely. Technical flaws aside, Cris Tales is a potent blend of the best of the JRPGs that inspired it and fresh ideas from a unique and personal perspective. Playing it is like discovering a fantastic SNES RPG from another timeline (with much more advanced graphics), serving as both a love letter to the past and an invitation to push forward, and it is likely to capture the imaginations of anyone who embarks on Crisbell's journey.
This poorly optimized version of an archaic RPG feels anything but timeless.
This is one of those titles where I feel a bit torn on where I land with it...
Cris Tales is a colourful RPG with a neat time travel mechanic that's used throughout the story as well as in battles. Although this sounds promising, it struggles to reach the heights of genre greats and its lack of fine-tuning often made me frustrated or bored.
Regardless of its issues, there’s no denying that Cris Tales fulfils the mission its developers set out to achieve, and with gusto: this truly is a gorgeous love letter to classic JRPGs. An epic story combined with a truly beautiful visual style will keep you hooked until the credits roll. With a small update here and there, Cris Tales has all the makings of a modern classic.
The lack of an autosave function is a curious omission, forcing you to save frequently lest you fall in battle and have to replay a particular segment. Fortunately, you can save anywhere on the overworld map and save spots in towns and dungeons are numerous. I'm excited to see how it all comes together, so please look forward to the full review posting soon, I suppose in a future slice of time.
I really hope the other platforms that Cris Tales has been released on have better performance, because those loading times alone take something special, and unfortunately undermine it. This is one of those rare times to me where technical issue really do mess with the experience, disrupting the carefully-structured panic and pulling players away from the breathtaking art. There's still a lot to love about Cris Tales, and the vision is beautiful and evocative. But we are in 2021 and battles in an JRPG shouldn't require a loading screen. No matter how beautiful and heartfelt they are.
Ultimately, Cris Tales ended up fixing few of the issues that I had with the game’s demo back in 2019, while also adding a few more thanks to the Switch port. I can’t imagine the currently average story getting much better at the end, and most of the ideas and gameplay mechanics presented at the start end up going nowhere. It’s a shame, as there was a lot of potential there — hopefully some of the more glaring technical issues can be fixed in a post-launch patch, at least.
Play Cris Tales, if you're looking for a beautiful turn-based role-playing game. The game has a relatively new idea and can be an even perfect title in its own style if it fixes minor problems.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Cris Tales isn't going to set your world on fire, but it proves to be good turn-based RPG comfort food. If you don't mind titles that drag a bit, this one is for you.
Cris Tales has a level of repetition that can annoy players a bit, but the story is intense and the amount of twists makes you extremely attached to everything and curious about what comes next. Furthermore, the graphics, as well as the battles and the adventure itself, match perfectly, making the journey of Crisbell and her friends a good option for lovers of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
You can feel that the team poured their heart and soul into the game making it a game that will convince everyone willing to try it, even if they usually do not like JRPGs. It has some issues and for some, the visuals might be too colorful or cheerful, but it is an adventure worth playing through.
Cris Tales is a good JRPG that is a twist on classic turn-based gameplay, as it includes the ability to influence time. It has a very interesting story and presents a magnificent visual aspect accompanied by a great soundtrack.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The incredible world-building found in Cris Tales is often overshadowed by lackluster combat, regardless of the unique time travel mechanics.
Cris Tales take inspiration from many RPG games that shaped players in Latin America. Despite its ups and downs, its a good and attractive is an adventure that will keep you entertained for hours. Thinking of it as an entry level RPG, Cris Tales goes as a solid recommendation; it's not something to write home about, but it is worth it and, without a doubt, it's one of the most interesting games created in Latin America.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Cris Tales may not be as feature heavy as the JRPG classics it takes inspiration from, but it oozes whimsical charm with a vibrant anime aesthetic and a likeable cast. The gameplay, while serviceable, may get stale towards the end, but Cris Tales is still a title I'd recommend taking a chance on.
Cris Tales is a must for fans of jRPG, which we get with all the inventory of the advantages and disadvantages of the genre. A specific, strange, sometimes tedious, but at the same time addictive and extremely original game showing that in the matter of turn-based clashes you can create something fresh.
Review in Polish | Read full review