Cris Tales Deserves To Be Massive

Time will tell

Cris Tales comes from a Colombian team and is a perfect example of how to recreate the feeling of older games and make them fresh again. I got to watch an hour or so of footage of it last week as one of the devs talked through it all, and I’m stunned by it. The session was set just after the demo (which you should go and play) and had Crisbell and her friends journeying to Saint Clarity, a big city with some serious class issues.

The world is beautiful and the art style makes it even more so with clean visuals and a really crisps cartoon look to it. On top of that, the voice acting was excellent, the story looked really interesting, and the characters all seemed really intriguing too. As you can simultaneously see the past, present, and future, you always have a good idea of exactly what your actions are affecting. It means that as you delve into the past you can change things, and it’s a power fantasy that not only shows that your actions matter, but that they matter immediately.

It affects the combat too. If you pour water on a metallic enemy and jump forwards in time then they’ll rust, or you can poison them and deal all of that damage at once, or make enemies younger and weaker by going to the past. It’s a great system, and one that is matched with a Paper Mario style turn-based combat style that means you get to be a little more involved than normal.

Oh, the music is beautiful too, and every little sidequest seems to matter greatly. It’s just a really interesting looking RPG with nods to plenty of classic games as well. Cris tales is definitely one to keep an eye on.