The latest entry in the long-runningTalesseries,Tales of Arisereleased last year to critical acclaim, even winning the Game Awards' Best RPG trophy. With some gameplay refinements and a host of compelling new characters,Tales of Arisequickly becamea JRPG fan-favorite, sitting comfortably alongside the otherTalesgames as well as other JRPG titans likeFire EmblemandXenoblade.
One ofTales of Arise’s most praised features is its engaging narrative, which weaves a mature story revolving around societal classes, isolation, and discrimination all while keeping the tone perfectly balanced and being light-hearted when it needs to be. At the heart ofTales of Arise’s narrative is its characters and factions, with the mysterious Helganquil being one of the most intriguing aspects of the game.
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The History of the Helganquil
Many years ago, the Helganquil were the first species to inhabitthe planet of Rena. At some stage in history, the Great Astral Spirit would form, and it began to consume the planet’s astral energy. As the Spirit of Rena’s power grew, it consumed more of the planet until finally, its people, the Helganquil, were absorbed.
Rather than kill these beings, the Great Astral Spirit of Rena chose to enslave them, taking over their minds and using them as guards. As time passed, the Helganquil’s numbers began to dwindle, and the species eventually faced possible extinction. In an attempt to increase their numbers, Dahnan Mages were taken and were brought to Lenegis, where they were genetically modified to become more like the Helganquil. These genetically modified beings were known as Renans.
Years later, some Helganquil would disguise themselves as “Red Women,” spying onthe Five Lordsduring the Crown Contest. The Red Women watched as these Five Lords harvested the astral energy from the planet’s Dahnan people and returned it to their own master cores.
Secretly, the Helganquil had hidden an all-powerful Dark master core on Lenegis, in the Forbidden Zone. Still being controlled by the Great Spirit of Rena, the Helganquil planned to take the astral energy ofthe Lords' master coresand combine them to give even more power to the Great Spirit.
With the Crown Contest coming to an end, and the five master cores being brought together in one place, a Red Woman steps forward and reveals herself to be Helganquil. Taking the five master cores, the Helganquil combines their power and fuses it with the Dark master core. This powerful fusion creates an ultimate core, known as a “Renas Alma.” Before anyone can stop her, the Helganquil escapes.
Some time later, the Helganquil on Lenegis fire a beam of light called “The Wedge,” indicating that the Spirit Channeling Ceremony is ready to take place. This ceremony will drainthe planet of Dahnaof all its astral energy, much like what happened to Rena years ago.
In an attempt to stop the Ceremony,Alphen and his partymake their way to Lenegis' Forbidden Zone. Once inside the Ceremony chamber, the party is ambushed by a multitude of Red Women, who all remove their disguises and reveal themselves to be Helganquil. Despite using their teleportation abilities to aid in battle, and throwing their chakrams with violent force, the Helganquil are eventually defeated by Alphen and his party - though not before one Helganquil attempts to blow up Alphen.
Before Alphen’s party can reach the Renas Alma, the ultimate core is teleported back to Rena, and the party are teleported to the farthest reaches of known space. It is here that the party stumbles upon Hevrekt-35, a Helganquil that has drifted so far from Rena that he is no longer being controlled by the Great Spirit. With the help of Hevrekt-35, Alphen and his party manages to destroy the Astral Spirit, giving the Helganquil their freedom back.
Tales of Ariseis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
