"arise" is being developed by bandai namco studios. the team included veterans going as far back as "tales of phantasia", alongside newcomers who were passionate about the series. the art director and character designer was minoru iwamoto, who had worked on both "berseria" and "tales of zestiria". this was the first time the same person had filled both roles, and was part of bandai namco's move towards unifying the game's themes and artstyle. the world design went in a darker direction compared to earlier entries, both to further the series evolution and appeal to the western market. despite the overt focus on 3d graphics, 2d anime cutscenes are still planned as with previous entries. similar to the previous titles in the series, the anime sequences will be once again produced by ufotable.