Cris Tales Review – A Beautiful But Unreliable Timepiece

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GAME INFO

Cris Tales

July 20, 2021

Platform PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Stadia
Publisher Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK Studio
Developer Games Mode

Cris Tales is a unique mix of ideas and influences. In my two previews of the game, I most often compared the game to Paper Mario, which is still appropriate, but the game also borrows from other 16- and 32-bit JRPGs like Chrono Trigger and Valkyrie Profile, classic Disney movies, Cartoon Network favorites, and the developers’ own Colombian culture and landmarks. On top of everything That, the game also carves its own path with innovative time manipulation mechanics that let you jump between past, present, and future at will.

So yes, Cris Tales is ambitious as hell, but has the game’s small development team taken on a little too much? Does time seem to disappear when you are playing or looking at the clock? Reserve a few minutes and check out our full review to find out…

Cris Tales casts players as Crisbell, a good-hearted orphan who discovers she’s actually a Time Mage when she crosses over Matias, a chipper-top-hat-wearing frog who knows a surprising amount about how this world works. It seems that the almighty Time Empress is once again planning to take over the world and Crisbell is the key to stopping her, so you embark on a heroic journey, gaining power and allies as you prepare for your final showdown. Of course things aren’t quite as they seem, as it wouldn’t be a true JRPG (or JRPG-esque) without a few reveals from the latest act. Crisbell seems to have some sort of connection to the Empress, many characters suffer from amnesia rather conveniently, and wait…where did a frog learn about all these things anyway? hmm.

As you might understand, Cris Tales leans a bit heavily on the JRPG tropics at times, but it still offers some of the really intriguing moments. You’ll visit a series of kingdoms throughout your journey, each with their own unique culture, concerns, and characters, and the game is at its best when attention is focused on them. Some of the places you’ll visit, like St. Clarity, where nobles live in a walled city that looks down on slums where people toil in mining a much sought-after magical dust, don’t seem like veiled references to Colombia’s history and struggles. Others, like Cinder Town, where different factions fight over what to do about a mysterious disease, will be recognizable to just about anyone who has experienced the past pandemic year.

Regardless of where the inspiration comes from, all four main regions you visit are worth exploring, if only to see how beautiful they are. Cris Tales takes some visual cues from anime and old-school Disney, but it also has a style all its own that quickly grew on me. Each area is bursting with unique details, many of which come directly from genuine Colombian landmarks such as the Las Lajas Shrine or the beautiful multicolored Caño Cristales river that gives the game its name. There is clearly a tremendous amount of love poured into every screen of this game.

To unravel the stories and side missions in each kingdom, you’ll need to regularly call on Crisbell’s Time Mage powers. Basically, as you explore cities and other key areas, you’ll find that the world is divided into three panels that move with you – the left part shows the past, the middle is the present, and the right part is the future. This is all seamless, so if you walk past an NPC for example, you might see them transition from a child, to an adult, to an old man as they move from one window to another. Crisbell can’t travel in time herself, but that pesky amphibian Matias can “time jump” back or forward in time to collect important items and information.

Crisbell’s time powers also come into play in different ways during combat. Cris Tales’ combat is based on a pretty standard turn-based basis – you can unleash physical attacks and MP consuming abilities, which are boosted if you tap a button at the right time, ala Paper Mario. In addition, Crisbell can use a Time Crystal to rewind time on the left side of the screen or forward on the right side. This primarily allows you to age or age enemies, which can have unpredictable results: one type of villain can decay and be easily defeated with age, while another can grow stronger. Usually there is a risk-reward element at play, as an enemy can lose HP if manipulated over time, but gain more powerful attacks, or vice versa.

Each of the six group members you’ll eventually get in Cris Tales offers its own exclusive set of moves and mechanics, which can interact with Crisbell’s time powers in clever ways. For example, in the beginning you’ll encounter a boss wielding a large impenetrable shield, but you can apply a ‘wet’ status effect to it with a water attack and then jump forward, making the shield rusty and brittle. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t push these kinds of interactions as hard as it could. You really don’t need to be that creative to win most fights, and in fact, a disappointing number of boss fights outright prohibit you from using your time powers, or at least you aren’t really rewarded for doing so. The rusty shield example is honestly about as complex as it gets. Outside of battle, most “puzzles” don’t involve much more than “Hey, there’s something we need in the past/future – send Matias to pick it up.”

Perhaps most surprising is the fact that time manipulation is not used at all when exploring Cris Tales’ dungeons. Granted, most dungeons have a unique mechanic or trick, ranging from simple things like adjustable platforms to more ambitious concepts like the late-game dungeon with both portals and the ability to defy gravity and run around on the ceiling. There are some nice ideas offered here, even if solving puzzles while dealing with random battles is kind of tedious, but I still can’t help but feel like an opportunity has been missed by no more time-traveling chicanes in the game. to include dungeons.

Overall, Cris Tales suffers from some minor issues that often annoy western JRPG tributes. Some group members are much more helpful than others and the challenge level is everywhere, with some dungeons and bosses being a real ordeal and others pushovers. Combat generally takes too long and enemy forces often combine in annoying ways. Missions are hard to follow unless you’ve made sure to remember the names of every character and place you come across. Oh, and yes, a number of bosses are preceded by cutscenes that cannot be skipped.

Despite these annoyances, I still enjoyed most of my time with Cris Tales. The game isn’t perfect, but it’s beautiful, serious, and delivers a steady stream of new ideas into the early hours. Unfortunately the game may last duurt to lots of inspiration from JRPGs, as it suffers from a problem that so many of them have – just don’t know when to call it a wrap. The game hits what feels like a logical, satisfying ending point around 8pm and then… it just carries on. There are no new regions or characters to introduce, and yet you will continue for hours, often revisiting dungeons and bosses you’ve defeated before. By the time I reached the game real the end of much of my enthusiasm had ebbed away. The charming story of the game’s first two acts gives way to murky twists in time, and the various choices you’ve made throughout the game don’t ultimately deliver in a particularly satisfying way. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of good stuff to recommend in Cris Tales, but you might wish you could turn back the clock in the last 10 hours of the game.

This review is based on a PC copy of Cris Tales provided by publisher Modus Games. You can grab a copy of the game with a small discount here.

7.5

Cris Tales is a beautiful, heartfelt and often creative adventure that provides an interesting glimpse into a culture not well represented in the game world. Unfortunately, it falls a little short of its great potential due to some mechanical and balance issues and a final handling that seriously exceeds its welcome. Cris Tales feels like a game that could have had a little more development time, but if you’re willing to forgive a few mistakes, your own time with the game won’t be wasted.

Pros

  • Story and characters draw you in
  • Unique Colombian flair is refreshing
  • Ingenious time mechanics
  • Stylish, detailed visuals
  • Nice music and voice acting

cons

  • Story drags on too long
  • Time mechanics not used enough
  • A large number of mechanical problems
  • Inconsistent Challenge

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