Thanks to the success of Tales of Arise, the Tales series is once again a big deal in the JRPG landscape. The franchise's latest entry has more than stood out in the crowd, even as competitors like Final Fantasy have gone action based. One franchise which many fans have over the years mentioned in the same breath as Tales is Atelier, a connection which is now becoming more concrete.
Both of the franchises are currently celebrating their 25th anniversaries, and they plan to do so with mutual DLC crossovers. Both Tales of Arise and the now releasing Atelier Sophie 2 will have DLC additions related to each other, allowing fans of one to get a glimpse of what the other has to offer, and absolutely delighting fans of both. Here's what each of the games is about and what fans can expect from the DLC.
Tales and Atelier Are Both Celebrating 25th Anniversaries
Getting its start on the Super Famicom with 1995's Tales of Phantasia, the Tales series is the premiere RPG franchise from entertainment giant Bandai Namco. Known for its anime-inspired art and action-based gameplay, the series has become iconic ever since the release of 2003's Tales of Symphonia. Since then, it's also gained popularity in the West, having already been massive in Japan. Though its popularity has cooled in recent years, the positive reception towards Tales of Arise has seen the series become bigger than ever.
Though 25th anniversary of Tales has technically passed, that's not the case for the Atelier series from Gust Corporation, which started with 1997's Atelier Marie. The long-running series combines dungeon-crawling RPG mechanics with running a shop, giving players quests to procure specific items. Though not as story-oriented as the Tales games, the Atelier franchise is an engaging set of JRPGs in its own right. The latest game is Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, which is now releasing in Japan. To commemorate Atelier's birthday, as well as that of Tales, the games' developers are providing gamers with DLC party favors.
What's In the Tales of Arise/Atelier Sophie 2 Crossover DLC?
Those who have Tales of Arise can download the Atelier Sophie 2 Collaboration Pack, which adds various hair clips (such as Sophie's Flower Hair Clip) to make the characters resemble heroines from the Gust game. Likewise, those picking up Atelier 2 Sophie have the option of downloading the Tales of Arise Collaboration Accessories Set, which includes items like Alphen's Iron Mask.
This is just some of the DLC already planned for Atelier Sophie 2, much of which will be released in phases starting on March 10. These DLC packs are mostly priced at 330 yen, which is slightly less than $3. Unfortunately, it hasn't been revealed if this DLC schedule is Japan exclusive or not, especially considering other countries are getting Atelier Sophie 2 a day later. The DLC packs, including the Tales of Arise items, seem to mainly be cosmetic in nature, but it's certainly exciting to see such a collaboration between two niche, but still beloved, JRPG franchises.