Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn Takes Place Before the Main Game’s Final Credits Scene; Alphen & Shionne Outfits Explained

The Japanese outlet Famitsu recently interviewed the producer of Tales of Arise, Yusuke Tomizawa, about what players can expect from the upcoming Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn DLC expansion.

NOTE: MAIN STORY SPOILERS FOR TALES OF ARISE ARE BELOW:

In one exchange, Tomizawa revealed that Beyond the Dawn will occur before the main game’s final credits scene, which makes quite a bit of sense in hindsight. In other words, it occurs before Alphen and Shionne get married.

Additionally, Alphen and Shionne are wearing their outfits from the first half of the game because the costumes they wore in the main game’s second half are ceremonial. Alphen also still seems to harbor guilt about his actions, particularly toward Rena.

You can view a translation of the relevant question and answer below via our team’s Ryuji:

Interviewer: …By the way, in the staff credits roll of [Arise], Alphen and Shionne have reached an ending, but what is depicted in Beyond the Dawn?

Tomizawa: The timeline of [Beyond the Dawn] is at the point between the last battle of the main story and before the last scene seen in the staff credits. In other words, it depicts the events that took place before Alphen and Shionne reached a happy ending.

[…]

Interviewer: If I may ask, [Alphen and Shionne are not wearing their second-half costumes]. Is there a reason for that?

Tomizawa: Their costumes were ceremonial attire, so they had their own reasons for wearing them. In fact, we have depicted that episode in the scenario as well. In the unified world, Alphen and his friends chose to wear familiar costumes instead of ceremonial attire. Of course, the game allows you to dress up freely, so you can dress up with that [second-half] costume, should you wish.

Interviewer: By now, Alphen is praised as a hero, but he’s still using the [first-half armor]?

Tomizawa: Alphen is wondering what kind of existence he will be accepted as in this world where Dahna and Rena have merged. From Dahna’s side, he is the one who saved the world, but from Rena’s side, he is the one who destroyed it.

You can view the full Famitsu interview here.

Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn is a story set one year after the ending of Tales of Arise. Alphen, Shionne, and the rest of the party meet a new character by the name of Nazamil, a misfortunate young girl who is the daughter of a Renan lord and a Dahnan slave. Players can anticipate over 20 hours of content, with new dungeons, costumes, sidequests, and boss battles.

Regarding carry-over boons, players will be rewarded various bonuses dependent on their achievement progress in the main game. But you will still be able to play Beyond the Dawn even if you haven’t yet beaten Tales of Arise, even though you’ll need the base game to even play this content in the first place. Characters will also start at predetermined levels in this expansion for balancing reasons.

• In case you missed it, check out our announcement coverage for the Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn expansion, comprising a new game bundle, trailer, party member costumes, and more.
• View Nazamil’s profile.

Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn will launch for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on November 9, 2023.