Does Tales of Arise Have Multiplayer or A Co Op Battle System

DualShockers

By Iyane Agossah

Published Sep 10, 2021

New details on the gameplay and battle system of Tales of Arise revealed there is no multiplayer co-op mode, triggering some fan backlash.

Bandai Namco finally revealed a release date and new playable characters for Tales of Arise, after the game went through production issues and an indefinite delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic - several battle system details were shared in a gameplay video, however many fans realized the absence of a multiplayer co-op feature.

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Why Tales of Arise has no multiplayer?

Producer Yusuke Tomizawa explained they wished to make Tales of Arise a standalone experience where a single player enjoys the drama and story. Moreover, there are no plans to add multiplayer. To compensate for this, Tomizawa stated Tales of Arise has a bigger focus on the characters' cooperation during battles.

Furthermore, in the details revealed by Famitsu, translated by yours truly, producer Tomizawa further elaborated on these character cooperation features:

One of the brand new battle systems in Tales of Arise is the Boost Strike feature. Producer Tomizawa stated Boost Strikes are ultimate attacks performed by multiple characters, with the same destructive power as Mystic Artes from past games, and can only be activated when certain conditions are met. Different character combinations trigger different Boost Strikes.

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Why are the fans angry multiplayer was cut?

Multiplayer co-op in Tales of games is definitely not used by all the fanbase. However, it's a distinctive feature of the Tales of series. Making it one of the few JRPG series ever where you can enjoy the battle system with your friends. I personally remember finding it particularly useful in some games like Tales of Symphonia, where the AI controlled party members could take very frustrating actions.

Except for a handful of Tales of games, most notably those released on portable consoles, nearly every Tales of Series game had a multiplayer co-op mode usable during battles. Most of the time up to four players. Tales of Berseria, the game released before Arise, also had this feature.

Overall, many fans, myself included, feel like Tales of Arise, while striving to elevate the series, might be too much of a departure from its roots with the lack of multiplayer. Though at the very least, Skits were confirmed and will still be a thing in Tales of Arise.

Tales of Arise is available on PS4, PS5, PC via Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

It's confirmed, no multiplayer will be added through DLC (September 10, 2021 update)

Tales of Arise has now been released, and with that, it's fully confirmed now. Anyone can see the game has no multiplayer and IGN's interview was spot-on. Moreover, since then, producer Yusuke Tomizawa also confirmed in a Q&A we translated that there will be no DLC.

In other words, don't expect Tales of Arise to add a multiplayer mode through downloadable content or a future update. Be sure to make your voice heard through the right channels by contacting, politely, Bandai Namco and Yusuke Tomizawa on Twitter. This will give them an incentive to bring back multiplayer in future entries.