Cris Tales Reviews
Playing Cris Tales is like reading an especially lyrical Paulo Coelho novel, except every ten pages or so, someone slaps it out of your hands. Then you realise some pages are out of order, and you need to flick through the seemingly random pattern before you continue. Also, some pages are so smudged and coffee stained you can’t read them, and a few pages haven’t been translated at all. When Cris Tales works, it’s a wonderful experience, and there’s a great game in here somewhere, but it sabotages itself at every turn. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Dreams Uncorporated - but Cris Tales is a near miss that looks to the future, while clinging too hard to the past.
This is one of those titles where I feel a bit torn on where I land with it...
Beautiful and charming, but not worth everything it appeared to be. Adapting the lyrics of the popular song, this is how I see 'Cris Tales' after my unpleasant experience with a title in one of the genres I like the most. Merits for the beautiful art and care in giving voice to all the characters, as well as interesting uses of time and a script that is shaped by the player. The same Time that makes the heroine shine is very poorly used outside the game, with excessive loading screens, slow pace of combat and the infamous grinding, which make us lose even more of this valuable resource that rules our lives.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It means to be tribute to good old PlayStation RPG. But it is just ordinary game.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Overall, Cris Tales is a game that I can’t really recommend outright. For whatever reason it’s decently cheaper on the Switch, but with the amount of technical issues and gameplay mechanics that need refining, it would still be best to wait for a sale, or part of a package deal, before I could advise playing. I liked Cris Tales, I really did. It’s charming characters, great visuals, outstanding soundtrack, and engaging battle mechanics are all aspects I enjoyed. The poor implementations, long loading times, horrid timing windows, and occasional technical issues however really can’t be overlooked. I truly hope the developers take this as a learning opportunity to produce something more refined in the future, as I’ll be looking forward to it if the kinks can be ironed out.
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
In sum, we have a creative, solid and flawed game. The kind of game that makes a service like Xbox Game Pass sing.
Honestly, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed my time with Cris Tales. There are seeds of a fantastic game in here, but sadly none of them were able to fully blossom. I would really love to see a sequel where they expand upon what they’ve built already, because the idea of defeating your enemies using time magic along with other spells is wonderful. It lends itself to a lot of creative battles if explored in more depth.
CrisTales is a game with a lot to do and say, all while looking gorgeous, but it isn't without its flaws.
Cris Tales impresses for a number of aspects, such as its amazing hand-drawn look, its colorful scenes rich in small details, its expressive characters and the ambition of its mechanics. The final result, however, is far from ideal thanks to some problems — the result would be mostly positive if it weren't for performance issues and long loading times.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Cris Tales is a game that fans of the genre should check out themselves, as it tries to offer a different approach to the genre.
Cris Tales is definitely a praiseworthy effort from Colombian studios Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK, both of whom have crafted a JRPG adventure worth playing through from beginning to end. This game proves that even JRPGs can transcend their origin country, becoming a worthwhile and memorable experience, even with some of its issues.
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.
The incredible world-building found in Cris Tales is often overshadowed by lackluster combat, regardless of the unique time travel mechanics.
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.
Fans of classic JRPGs will find a lot to like about Cris Tales, and a high tolerance for random encounters will help. Casual gamers will have an easy time digesting this game, but those random encounters will quickly become a problem for those lacking the tenacity and patience.
For a game so favorably-regarded and closely-monitored in its build-up to release, it's hard to shake off the minor disappointment and frustrations that Cris Tales generates in its final form.
This love letter to classic JRPGs has a lot of heart & charm, but is a bit rough around the edges.
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.
While Cris Tales offers a stirring adventure — packed full of wit and character — numerous mechanical shortcomings frequently put the brakes on its excitable spirit. A victim of unfulfilled ambition, Cris Tales doesn’t quite deliver on its clever premise or its chrono-combat. There’s no denying the passion and talent of the developers, however, manifested in stunning visuals and a wonderful cast. Cris Tales will definitely ostracize some players, but those with a little patience may see past its flaws to embrace its heartfelt homage to gaming’s bygone era.