Tales of Arise will be released in a few weeks from now, so as a long-time Tales fan, I want to analyze and speculate possible plot points and details that could happen in the game since openings like to do that. This is all theoretical, so you’re free to contradict or not take in the words I write. Please note that this is just for entertainment purposes.
The first scene is Alphen and Shionne looking over the cliff. My assumption is that the opening will be played as soon as the beat the first boss and leave the slave mine they were in. Also, you can’t have a Tales opening without the protagonist looking over a cliff—it’s a Tales staple.
Next scene is Alphen in the middle of a fiery place. With the static shown, it seems to be a flashback of sorts. My assumption is that this was the moment before Alphen lost his memories and sense of feeling. He was traumatized over something and the person he saw was the source. The scene with his hands makes me think that he was once a mercenary or a knight; the latter depends if there are other knight factions other than the Elde Menancia troops, the one Kisara is a part of. Alphen’s memory loss will definitely be a huge plot point in the game.
The scene then transitions over to Shionne who looks distraught with how her powers have hurt someone. It seems that she had no idea that she had this power at first, hence her expression. Either that, or that was the moment she had touched someone for the first time in her life and it only led to harm. Her ability to give people she comes into contact with pain is definitely a plot point. The trailer did state she didn’t want this power; I assume it’s not hereditary.
Next scene is Shionne in the present distancing herself from others—a symbolism with how her power had affected her life negatively.
Next, we have Alphen looking at a group of Dahnans—most likely people that helped him rebel against their oppressors in the beginning of the game. I hope they’re nice people.
There’s a man approaching Dohalim. Given his appearance, it’s obvious he’s a knight serving Dohalim like Kisara. Maybe he’s related to Kisara, maybe he’s not; it’s obvious he’s her colleague, though. Dohalim is not looking towards him and seems to be deep in thought. I wonder what he is thinking about. Given the serene atmosphere, it seems that they are on friendly terms.
Now we have Kisara staring at a man with a black cat. Her expression seems like longing. The man seems either a friend that she’s in love with or a relative that she wants to reconnect with. I’d like to learn more about Kisara other than her background as a knight and her desire for peace and unity between the two races.
Next scene is Rinwell and Hootle…there’s nothing to speculate about them for now because they are best friends and I like this shot, so I have it here. I like how she pets him though; it reminds me of how I pet my dogs.
His name is Law and he broke the law, apparently; it’s also a meme that I made. Law’s anguish most likely stems from betrayal from someone from Snake Eyes or someone threw him to the wolves and he had to take the blame. I’m excited to see the circumstances that causes Law to join the party since he seems to be an antagonist first and then a protagonist; it’s also intriguing that he’s joining the party relatively quick—usually the ones that change sides are the last ones to join the party. It’d be interesting to see a change in that usual Tales trope.
The scene with the five elemental spheres caught my eye the most. Tales usually has 6 main elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Dark, and Light (and Electric and Ice there is a need for 8 elements). If the elements are important for the story, where did the sixth one go? Seeing how the red sphere gives Alphen a fire sword makes me wonder if Alphen will wield elemental swords in the future; imagine Alphen with a light saber. That’d be cool to see. Seeing the colors, it seems that the dark element is missing from the roster. The enemy most likely has it. The question is: who has it?
There are three antagonists shown. One is a woman with reddish orange hair and has a dragon she’s controlling. Seeing how Shionne and Dohalim are Renans with red hair (pink is tint of red, so she does count as a red head) makes me wonder why the important Renans all have reddish hair colors. Will this be mentioned in a skit? It doesn’t seem like she’s wielding a sword with the dark element.
The next man is a silver-haired man controlling electricity. His eyes aren’t glowing, so the electricity might not be astral artes. Perhaps, he’s a Dahnan siding with the Renans and using their technology for his own purposes.
Then there’s the man with the hood that seems to know Alphen. I’m going to call him Alphen’s Stalker for this portion. Mr. Stalker here has a sword that could be the missing dark element sphere. Darkness is an amorphous element that could be used in any way the creator wants. It could be a fuzz of black mist or smoking black fog. Seeing how the sword gives out a dark light speculates that he has the darkness sword, but I could also be overthinking. His relationship with Alphen is either his evil teammate from the past or Alphen's lost memories turned into human form--I hope it's the former.
And now we’re towards the end with the scenes of Alphen and Shionne looking at each other as flower petals scatter. The flower petals are pink, so they are most likely cherry blossoms, which could be a hint that their romance could be a bittersweet one despite the flowers being depicted in a serene matter. Cherry blossoms have a short life span so they are often associated with Japanese samurais who died a sacrificial death for the noble they serve. Alphen is a swordsman and Shionne seems like a noble woman, so the cherry blossoms could indicate that one of them could die. Cherry blossoms also represent renewal and optimism, hence why animes always have cherry blossoms at the start or end of a school year. Their symbolism can pertain to that. Anyways, Alphen and Shionne seem like they’d be a great pair, so I’d like to see a happy ending FOR ONCE! ENOUGH OF THESE BITTERSWEET ENDINGS, BAMCO!
Who do I think is the traitor from the analyzing the opening? I don't know and I don't really care about who's what at this point. Honestly, I'm tired of the traitor guessing game. Everyone can be traitors for all I care.
And that ends my speculation post for Arise’s story. It’s segmented because these do no tell the whole story and some might not even be mentioned in the actual plot and is just there for the coolness factor. I think every Tales game has a unique and intriguing story. As a writer and storyteller, I anticipate the story Arise holds in store for the fans all over the world.
Tales of Arise is the latest mothership title (new classification: original title) of the Tales of Series which was first announced during Microsoft’s Press Conference in E3 2019. The game was released for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC Digital via Steam on September 9, 2021 for Asia and Japan and September 10, 2021 for the rest of the world. The game features use of the Unreal Engine 4 and works on the theme of tradition versus evolution of the series.
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