Of the many games that have hit the market in recent years selling themselves as an "indie love letter" to classic genres, Cris Tales is one of the more visually striking. The JRPG by SYCK and Dreams Incorporated, published by Modus Games, boasts hand-drawn 2D animations to accentuate its anime-inspired pop-up book fairy tale aesthetic. After delays, Cris Tales released on July 20, giving players the opportunity to try out its time-based mechanics too.
In Cris Tales, the lead character Crisbell uses her burgeoning powers as a Time Mage to see into the past, present, and future at once. This not only plays into its aesthetic, turning every frame into three paintings, it also lets players effect the world in and out of battle. The game's turn-based battle system undoubtedly benefits from the mechanic, and is one of the most appealing things about the overall package. However, Cris Tales sometimes buckles under the weight of its ambitions, and some aspects – like its random encounters – could take notes from other genre staples like Pokemon in a sequel.
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The gameplay in Cris Tales is split into three types of segments: Overworld traversal, in which Crisbell and her party move between major locations on a map ala classic Final Fantasy; exploring towns or other hubs, in which players are typically treated to the game's signature trisected visuals displaying the past, present, and future; and completing dungeons with fully present-day visuals that often appear in areas like forests or sewers. As players make their way through the dungeon segments looking for key story beats and chests, they are subject to random encounters.
Once players enter into a battle, the game's mechanics shine. Based on everyone's speed stats, a timeline displays who gets to act next, giving them the option to attack, defend, or support their allies. Enemies appear to the left or right of the party, can be attacked either way, and depending on this positioning Crisbell can use her powers to send them backward or forward in time. Depth comes from how both her partners and adversaries interact with these time periods. For example, the youthful-looking Time Mage Willhelm can afflict poison, and a poisoned enemy takes massive damage if Crisbell sends them into the future because it takes effect all at once. However an enemy can also move from the left-hand side to the right, potentially becoming an older and more powerful variant of themselves if they cross into the future.
It's easy to nitpick a mechanic that sometimes suggests Crisbell's future sight is just one possibility, but other times lets her team pull objects back and forth through time as though they're permanent fixtures. The combat potential of the idea more than outweighs any quibbles. That being said, a player is more likely to get taken out of Cris Tales' world because of how clunky its random encounters are handled in the first place. Sometimes the game will unceremoniously stop and cut to a white loading screen, which never really gets less jarring as the adventure continues.
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A number of "timeless JRPG" influences are listed by Cris Tales' creators, including Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Valkyrie Profile, and Bravely Default. While Pokemon games are somewhat in their own category as creature-collecting RPGs, old-school entries had iconic random encounter transitions that stuck with most audiences. Upon finding a Wild Pokemon in the tall grass, a small jingle would play that morphs into the battle theme as a player's screen flashed before cutting to black with some kind of wipe transition or pattern.
There's no reason to expect Cris Tales to copy this idea wholesale, and certainly flashing lights could be problematic for photosensitive players or those with epilepsy. But the idea of having a more distinct, clear transition into battles is valuable, as those bells and whistles ironically make it easier to acclimate to an in-game world than getting stopped and pulled into a loading screen.
Modern Pokemon games have moved away from this idea, with Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! and Pokemon Sword and Shield having encounters roam the overworld, letting players avoid them entirely if desired. A Cris Tales sequel could pull from this idea too, particularly if it leans into inspirations like Chrono Trigger that seamlessly turn overworld areas into battle arenas. With the amount of care that went into the game's stylish, Persona 5-esque combat menus, it would be great to see its random encounter transitions lean into the idea further.
Cris Tales is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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