Cris Tales plays like a classic RPG with some fun ideas
1Paper mario but with time mages!
First things first, I absolutely adore this aesthetic. It's really unique and I don't see many games that look like it.
At its core, Cris tales plays like a paper mario game, a turn based RPG with some quick time events to do bonus damage or parry attacks. However, its key gimmick adds a lot of flavor to an otherwise classic concept.
Crisbell can manipulate time both in battle and in the overworld. In battle, she can push enemies on the left side of the screen into the past, and enemies on the right side into the future. Every enemy in the game has 3 different ages, ranging from young to old. For a lot of these enemies, their stats vary wildly based on their age, and Crisbell's can push enemies between ages by using this time mechanic. Early game wolf enemies, for example, lose almost half of their attack when they're young compared to normal or old. As such, this game relies heavily on knowledge of which ages enemies are more dangerous at, and using Crisbell's abilities to nerf them hard. RNG plays a bit of a factor here since Crisbell cant push enemies to the left into the future, or enemies on the right into the past, meaning that getting wolf enemies on the right side of the screen presents some real danger.
The time mechanic also defines most of the game's party synergies. Enemies with a metal component can be hit with a water attack, and then aged forward to inflict rust, while poisoned enemies can be pushed into the future to burst all of the poison dot ticks into a single hit. It's a really clever mechanic and I look forward to seeing how it plays out in the late game.
In the overworld, the time mechanic manifests as a visually interesting view of an area's past, present, and future, with the ability to move between the three to gain enemies or solve puzzles. A touch I especially appreciate is the way the future view changes as you complete various quests, to demonstrate the impact your playthrough has on the story.
I do have a few gripes with this game though. The UI's UX feels a little jank, you dont get a ton of audio feedback when perusing the menus, which is a little disorienting. It's a minor gripe, but still. Also the early game party composition is a little off. The game effectively gives you 2 healers and 1 damage dealer in the early game. Christopher is the only character who can really function independently of his party members. Crisbell spends a lot of her turns manipulating time and healing, and not a whole lot else, while Willhelm is basically useless without support from Crisbell manipulating time. As a result, your party basically lives and dies by Christopher for much of the early game, which is an awkward position to be in. Also I hear the Switch version has some gnarly load times, so that might be something to keep i mind.
All in all tho, Cris Tales leaves a strong first impression with some clever mechanics and a visual style that I absolutely adore.
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