We don't know the exact details behind this decision, but yeah, the built-in functions allowing you to take screenshots or record short clips with your Switch are disabled for this game. Right after launching the game, we were captivated by the incredibly beautiful intro animation, which really looks straight out of a high-quality anime. That's when we first tried to take a screenshot of the protagonists. Maybe screenshots are not available during the cutscenes, for whatever reason? Okay, now let's try again while exploring this mesmerizing place... uh-oh, blocked still?!

Of course, you could still capture images and video using third-party software, but that's not the point. If all other platforms are okay with it, why can't we just take some screenshots in the Switch version of Cris Tales? Maybe you have dozens of good reasons, but it still feels odd nonetheless.

Okay, but what is Cris Tales about, and is this indie title worth it? Starring a young girl living in an orphanage who happens to be a time mage, Cris Tales is a love letter to Japanese role-playing. The best part about Cris Tales—other than its lovely graphics—has to be its story and characters, really. It all starts when Crisbell meets a talking yellow frog with a top hat, and from there, you know everything could happen.

While Cris Tales makes an effort to let you know it's a fantastical adventure full of surreal characters and situations, it's hard to ignore how real some elements actually feel, like capitalism threatening a small town, for example. This has been happening for a long time, and exploitation is not a new premise in video games or other media. However, the fact that people from Latin America are behind it gives it all a fresh, new perspective. And still, Cris Tales is not even close to being a cheap excuse for propaganda. We're talking of a well-made role-playing game here, with a charming soundtrack, lovely character design, turn-based battles involving time travel as a new strategic layer, and more.

Sadly, Cris Tales suffers from the lack of some features that have become the new normal, like auto-saving. Also, it presents some of the worst aspects of any JRPG. Expect some grinding (lots of random encounters), unchallenging puzzles, and weirdly difficult battles followed by others that are too easy, for example.