Having a Good Time With Cris Tales At E3 2019

While time travel is used all too often in the stories of video games, it seems to get much less use as a gameplay mechanic. Enter Cris Tales, an RPG by developer Modus that uses the passage of time as a weapon, solution, and debuff- all at once. The concept is novel, but the execution both in and out of battle is what really impressed me.

Cris Tales stars Crisbell, a young Time Mage who seeks to save the past, present, and future of the world from the villainous Empress. To do this, Crisbell, alongside her adorable frog-pal Matias and fellow mage Willhelm, must defeat powerful foes and make major decisions that could impact time itself. In our demo, we were shown two examples of how time-travel is used in Cris Tales; one in-battle, and one outside of it. Both examples were incredibly impressive.

“Being able to immediately see the results of your choices makes each decision feel a lot more personal, compared to seeing the results of your choices at the very end of a game.“

The battle was against the Volcano Sisters; two bosses who work together to form a massive impenetrable shield. No attacks could do any damage against them– that is until Willhelm used a Water spell to wet the shield. Crisbell then used her powers to send the shield forward in time, turning it into a rusty sheet of metal that could easily be penetrated by regular attacks. Another group of foes appeared shortly after, each of which was sent back to the past, where they become faster but less powerful, and to the future, where they become more weaker but wiser. These remarkably creative uses of time travel make me think that a lot of thought went into every turn-based battle in Cris Tales, which has me excited to learn the full extent of these unique mechanics.

Outside of battle, time travel takes on a bit of a heavier role. The example we were shown had Crisbell with one dose of medicine. She had to decide to give it either to the sick local apothecary, who makes different types of medicine for the town, or a mother with a young child and another on the way. My group picked the mother, and we were immediately shown the consequences of our actions. By peeking forward in time, we saw the mother with both her children, happy and healthy. We also saw the apothecary’s building, now run-down and owned by his next-of-kin.

Apparently, these choices will have an even bigger impact in the full game, locking you out of certain routes while opening others. It’s said that there’s a “True Ending” in Cris Tales, which you have to find through making these tough choices. Being able to immediately see the results of your choices makes each decision feel a lot more personal, compared to seeing the results of your choices at the very end of a game.

Cris Tales is currently set for a 2020 release on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. What I’ve seen of the game has me invested, so I’d recommend keeping an eye on this one as time goes on.