Cris Tales Reviews
As much as I love the aesthetics of Cris Tales, there are issues with the gameplay that affect the experience. Although fans of retro JRPGs will be able to overlook the constant random battles, lack of auto-save, and the monotonous grind, these aspects will deter gamers who are used to contemporary design elements. The clever use of the time mechanic allows you to be more tactical in your approach to fights; however, this is overshadowed by the sheer volume of encounters and repetitive enemy types. At its core, Cris Tales is a solid JRPG with an interesting twist; however, it sticks to the well-trodden paths of those that came before, creating a disparity between the gameplay and visuals.
Cris Tales is a gorgeous, heartfelt, and often creative adventure that provides an interesting peek at a culture not well-represented in the world of gaming. Sadly, it falls a bit short of its grand potential due to some mechanical and balance issues and a final act that badly overstays its welcome. Cris Tales feels like a game that would have benefitted from some more time in development, but if you're willing to forgive a few faults, your own time with the game won't be wasted.
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.
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.
You’ll steadily gain access to new characters throughout your adventure. Not only are they wonderfully entertaining during the story, but they also have unique abilities in battle that can really mix up how you fight. It keeps the game feeling fresh and interesting throughout the 30 or so hours that it takes to reach its conclusion.
The overal design choices and visual presentation of Cris Tales are one of its most strongers suits. The game looks like an animated film, and paired with lots of calm and relaxing tunes, you get a very cozy atmosphere that feels nice to get back to every single time.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Clearly, Cris Tales is a very humble and charming little game, and if it's your cam, you should look into its case. Good sensations guaranteed.
Review in French | Read full review
Cris Tales is a beautiful indie RPG that is held back by various issues, keeping it from being one of the greats. Incredible story, filled with exciting characters, areas and interesting time powers, makes it worth the play. However, held back by an uninteresting battle system that becomes stale and too easy, a horrible third act of the game slows it down to a crawl. You'll find something to love with Cris Tales if you can look over some of its flaws.
Cris Tales is one of the best independent games from Latin America. Without a doubt, one of the titles of 2021 that you cannot miss.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
That charming, throwaway exchange is just one of the many ways in which the game’s strong writing and character development help to mitigate the campaign’s tedious final hours. It feels like the video game equivalent of a shaggy-dog joke, and while its narrative is fascinating enough to compel you to backtrack not once, but twice, through areas and boss fights that you’ve long since mastered, it’s hard not to wish that Cris Tales had used a little time magic on itself and sped things along so we could have gotten to the good stuff sooner.
If you strip that away from Cris Tales, what you have left is a charming and serviceable RPG that is also packed with quite a few flaws and questionable design choices. Cris Tales is definitely worth a playthrough if you’re looking for something light-hearted and a little bit old-school. Just keep your expectations low when it comes to time-based gameplay.
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
In this regard, the work developed by the folks of Dreams Uncorporated,SYCK and Poppy Works focuses part of her personality on a precious appearance that makes her even more palatable in the eyes of other people. In the same way, it dazzles at how well it integrates temporary travel when it comes to fulfilling missions, but there are times when it seems to get stuck in the past, especially when we take up arms. In other words, sometimes, you need more than that to transcend time.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Cris Tales embraces the old model of JRPGs, making it feel like a well-worn experience for seasoned fans of the genre. All of the charm, whimsy, and innocence of Final Fantasy and The Legend Of Zelda ooze throughout the game’s setting and characters, but Crisbell’s time powers provide a fun new spin on the classic turn-based combat. Cris Tales isn’t that difficult either, making it a good choice for beginners looking to get into turn-based RPGs.
Cris Tales starts strong as a time travel RPG set in a beautiful world, but suffers from a misguided plot and combat woes
Add this in with an opening that is brutal, even more mechanics that get thrown away or ignored long term (why have the tent that heals your party cost 10,000 marbles, what Cris Tales uses for currency, when by the time you can afford it, you'd have no use for it?), spending most of your time talking to people in towns that are obvious padding and so much more. It's a shame Cris Tales simply can't live up to the charm of its art but there is no consistency on what it wants to be. Even the bosses go from a joke to making me feel like I am woefully under-leveled, back to Neptunia level in the span of 20 minutes and one level. For some the art might be enough, but if you want a good RPG, this isn't it.
The way characters move and express in combat never gets old, even as everything around it quickly does. I can see the massive amount of love and care put into one element of the game, which conveniently is the most visible one for observers. But once I pick up the controller, it becomes clear that level of detail is only surface deep.
Cris Tales isn’t going to blow anyone away, and probably won’t gain a huge following, but I still enjoyed most of my time with the game. There are enough positive points to balance out some of the glaring and more egregious issues present in the game. I particularly loved the art style, voice acting, and implementation of the time travel mechanics across combat, quests, and puzzles. Unfortunately, the constant presence of loading screens and the scripting issues make Cris Tales a flawed experience.
This love letter to classic JRPGs has a lot of heart & charm, but is a bit rough around the edges.
If you listen to Cris Tales talk, it sings with love for its influences. But sometimes, maybe we can love too many things. The game is remarkable on a variety of fronts, notably its look, its sound, and its love for Colombia. All of that works. But it feels the weight of its many influences. Eventually, when the developers throw so many things at the wall, it starts to get messy, with a story that tries to do too many things, combat that never fully lives up to its potential, and a bloated run time.