Cris Tales Reviews

Cris Tales is ranked in the 56th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Gamefa
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jul 20, 2021

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

Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jul 20, 2021

A loving tribute to the past and present of Japanese role-players, with some impressively clever time travel powers and gorgeous artwork – although it's a shame about the random battles.

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8 / 10
Jul 20, 2021

Though it doesn't quite stick the landing, Cris Tales is an enjoyable turn-based RPG adventure with a lovable story about a found family bending time to save the world.

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2.5 / 5.0
Jul 20, 2021

I would avoid Cris Tales on the Switch until there’s been some patching done or you’ve tested it on another platform.

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6 / 10.0
Jul 20, 2021

Cris Tales has a lot of great ideas, and an incredible style, but none of it really coalesces into a game I want to play.

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6.4 / 10.0
Jul 20, 2021

This is one of those titles where I feel a bit torn on where I land with it...

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7 / 10.0
Jul 21, 2021

An attractive JPRG with a hugely innovative central time manipulation mechanic, it seems as though the developers behind the game fell head over heels in love with that element of Cris Tales design at the expense of crafting a world with memorable characters, motivations, places and events. That said, Cris Tales non-linear story and neat use of time manipulation will still hold a fair amount of allure for genre newbies and stalwarts alike.

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6 / 10.0
Jul 21, 2021

Cris Tales is a beautiful JRPG with some phenomenal innovations commonly associated with the genre. Unfortunately, it so rigidly sticks to its inspirations that it fails to elevate itself beyond just another bland JRPG.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jul 21, 2021

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.

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57 / 100
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales never manages to build its curious premise into an entertaining tool.

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8 / 10.0
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales sets a high bar when describing itself as a love letter to some of the best JRPGs of all time, but indie studio Dreams Uncorporated manages to exceed expectations by delivering a charming game with unique and challenging combat mechanics and a gorgeous artstyle. The characters are interesting, and the ability to peer into their past and future makes you care even more for them – especially the protagonist and its allies, which will travel alongside you during the game’s 20-30 hours of gameplay.

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8 / 10
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales offers up a satisfying take on classic JRPG tropes while sprinkling in some interesting new gameplay ideas and an incredible art style. Though some aspects of combat can be frustrating and the pacing can occasionally feel like it's wasting your time, we'd still give this one a recommendation to anyone looking for a cool new RPG for their Switch. Cris Tales does just enough to stick out from the pack and assert itself as a title worth adding to your library; JRPG aficionados should definitely give this one a shot.

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9 / 10
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales is an absolutely incredible homage to classic JRPGs, whilst taking care to modernise their core mechanics for modern audiences. The gorgeous visual style, superb voice acting, clever mechanics and emotive story-telling all combine together here to make an incredible title. Then, with the addition of comprehensive and innovative uses of time in all parts of the game, it becomes a near perfect experience. Cris Tales has arguably surpassed its JRPG inspirations and absolutely deserves your time (pun entirely intended).

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7 / 10
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales is a stunningly gorgeous indie, with art that’ll make your jaw drop. However many of its time mechanics are relatively skin deep, and it lacks the kind of depth its art inspires. It’s also not the epic it claims to be. It’s a love letter to classic RPGs, if within that same analogy those classics are the full novel.

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8.7 / 10.0
Jul 22, 2021

Cris Tales is a delightful adventure, which will not fail to satisfy players looking for a fairytale and well-structured experience.

Review in Italian | Read full review

INVEN
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jul 22, 2021

"Cris Tales" is too faithful follower to JRPG both in good and bad ways. It has beautiful visuals and unique game systems, but some parts such as long loading time and no auto save function need to be fixed.

Review in Korean | Read full review

God is a Geek
Lyle Carr
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Jul 23, 2021

Cris Tales is an incredible take on the JRPG with impressive time powers, but the loading times and framerate on Switch are disappointing.

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Jul 23, 2021

The battle system is very intuitive and keeps gameplay from becoming too repetitive. The few issues like the constant loading screens and lack of autosave may frustrate players as it's a very long game. However these aren't deal breakers as Cris Tales is a wonderfully crafted game that strives to give the player a unique experience.

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9 / 10.0
Jul 23, 2021

Cris Tales utilises traditional RPG mechanics but applies a wonderful time-manipulating twist across all facets of its design. The narrative, the combat, exploration – everything is based around altering time and it really makes for a brilliantly unique experience. It also just so happens to look beautiful too, which is always a plus. There are a few things that let it down, such as the unforgiving save system, the high encounter rate, and the loading times. Thankfully, these problems don’t stop Cris Tales from being an utterly engrossing RPG experience and one that I certainly look forward to re-visiting again in the future.

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8 / 10.0
Jul 23, 2021

While Cris Tales has some bumpy aspects in its combat and doesn't pull any punches, it remains a stellar RPG that pays tribute to great titles of the past while still building forward to make a modern hit in the present.

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