You guys will shoot me for this but I just wrote up a blog post on what the Tales series can do to perhaps change. Maybe not for the better but a change nonetheless. Tell me what yall think!
Why are your points counted like
1 > 2 > 3 > 2 > 1
?
I don't think this type of battle system would work without a separate "arena". Especially because, even with free run, Tales is still a very linear battle system. It would be a fundamental change to the mechanics that probably wouldn't be taken too well by fans.
I like the skits as they are. Tales isn't exactly big budget, so anything more flashy would mean there would be less. One thing I love about Tales is how they flesh out their characters through skits. Tales characters are relatively simple, but they're more developed than in a lot of other games thanks to all the skits. It would be nice if they weren't so arbitrarily placed though...
I can be engaged without choosing dialog options. I like cutscenes and just watching stuff. I don't need to endlessly be pressing buttons when I play games. Dialog wheel would make me sad - especially because it would be pointless (like in FFXIII-2).
Better sidequests would be the best improvement for me I think. The side quests in Tales currently just feel like busy work. But Tales isn't alone in that. The same could be said for the majority of JRPGs.
I don't have much else to say about the other points. It was fun to read.
I find myself disagreeing with almost all of the points as well as the general idea behind the blog post, something like changing battles to have no transition is such a small gripe i can't really bring myself to care either way but i do NOT want stuff to be more open world ala skyrim. Talk about a bland and boring world.
As for a more dynamic shopping experience I cant see much point in it if there aren't other players involved. Abyss kind of had a fluctuating economy with items going in and out of stock and it proved to be nothing more then annoying to me over the generic old ways.
The points on narrative is really something facing gaming in general not only tales games or jrpgs even, there will always be cliche's and tropes.
The thing about graces customization is kind of extra opiniony so i can't really say anything for or against it, but i'm not sure what you were getting at with the leveling feeling like all numbers thing. That is how rpgs have always been and pretty much how its intended to be.
For the last point i actually find skits and side quests more enjoyable and interesting in tales then the side stuff in your example of mass effect but once again that gets into hard to argue opinion territory.
Why are your points counted like
1 > 2 > 3 > 2 > 1
?
I don't think this type of battle system would work without a separate "arena". Especially because, even with free run, Tales is still a very linear battle system. It would be a fundamental change to the mechanics that probably wouldn't be taken too well by fans.
I like the skits as they are. Tales isn't exactly big budget, so anything more flashy would mean there would be less. One thing I love about Tales is how they flesh out their characters through skits. Tales characters are relatively simple, but they're more developed than in a lot of other games thanks to all the skits. It would be nice if they weren't so arbitrarily placed though...
I can be engaged without choosing dialog options. I like cutscenes and just watching stuff. I don't need to endlessly be pressing buttons when I play games. Dialog wheel would make me sad - especially because it would be pointless (like in FFXIII-2).
Better sidequests would be the best improvement for me I think. The side quests in Tales currently just feel like busy work. But Tales isn't alone in that. The same could be said for the majority of JRPGs.
I don't have much else to say about the other points. It was fun to read.
The numbers were an error. My bad. As for these changes, it's all preferences. I'm not saying that people will like them. In fact I know a lot of people would hate these changes because it would change what they're used to. Having said that, it would be refreshing to see changes.
I find myself disagreeing with almost all of the points as well as the general idea behind the blog post, something like changing battles to have no transition is such a small gripe i can't really bring myself to care either way but i do NOT want stuff to be more open world ala skyrim. Talk about a bland and boring world.
As for a more dynamic shopping experience I cant see much point in it if there aren't other players involved. Abyss kind of had a fluctuating economy with items going in and out of stock and it proved to be nothing more then annoying to me over the generic old ways.
The points on narrative is really something facing gaming in general not only tales games or jrpgs even, there will always be cliche's and tropes.
The thing about graces customization is kind of extra opiniony so i can't really say anything for or against it, but i'm not sure what you were getting at with the leveling feeling like all numbers thing. That is how rpgs have always been and pretty much how its intended to be.
For the last point i actually find skits and side quests more enjoyable and interesting in tales then the side stuff in your example of mass effect but once again that gets into hard to argue opinion territory.
Ah yeah sorry, I was posting in bed on my tv so i couldn't really see how squeezed together it was.
I think the constant attempts to reinvent the genre have been part of what have led to so many generic and forgettable jrpgs lately though and I feel that developers need to take a step back and really think about why people grew up loving these games.
The same notion applys to alot of genres for me this gen honestly and i'm sure the astronomical prices to develop games also play a part in the generic feeling of the games this gen for me at least.
Ah yeah sorry, I was posting in bed on my tv so i couldn't really see how squeezed together it was.
I think the constant attempts to reinvent the genre have been part of what have led to so many generic and forgettable jrpgs lately though and I feel that developers need to take a step back and really think about why people grew up loving these games.
The same notion applys to alot of genres for me this gen honestly and i'm sure the astronomical prices to develop games also play a part in the generic feeling of the games this gen for me at least.
I agree that the main concept of change that I was going for can be applied to other genres. However, for the sake of focus I chose to stick with a genre that I'm familiar/literate with.
I honestly don't believe no matter what training Hubert had that he should not have been able to defeat me though, when Asbel has gotten knight training.
The numbers were an error. My bad. As for these changes, it's all preferences. I'm not saying that people will like them. In fact I know a lot of people would hate these changes because it would change what they're used to. Having said that, it would be refreshing to see changes.
Oh I know it's all just an opinion piece. I don't mean to criticize or say they're bad or anything like that. I'm just trying to create some discussion.
Personally, a new cast in a new setting is kind of refreshing enough for me. But I play games mainly for story/characters. To be honest, I would probably enjoy a Tales with any gameplay changes as long as they continue to have such charming casts. I'm probably in the minority there though.
How do you envision the combat working without a separate arena? It's not just a matter of making the world bigger. The very core of the combat system would need to change. I like when games don't need to transition to a separate battle screen (like in Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy XII). I'm just not sure how it would work here while still keeping the core of all Tales systems. It would be great if there was some way to make it work, but I can't think of anything.
You say that you think it can work with the same combat system and that the thing is just smaller world/paths and stuff. But I think it goes further than that. Besides the Linear Battle System stuff, I'm not even sure how you can have combat with Tales pacing and four characters in an open field.
Oh I know it's all just an opinion piece. I don't mean to criticize or say they're bad or anything like that. I'm just trying to create some discussion.
Personally, a new cast in a new setting is kind of refreshing enough for me. But I play games mainly for story/characters. To be honest, I would probably enjoy a Tales with any gameplay changes as long as they continue to have such charming casts. I'm probably in the minority there though.
How do you envision the combat working without a separate arena? It's not just a matter of making the world bigger. The very core of the combat system would need to change. I like when games don't need to transition to a separate battle screen (like in Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy XII). I'm just not sure how it would work here while still keeping the core of all Tales systems. It would be great if there was some way to make it work, but I can't think of anything.
You say that you think it can work with the same combat system and that the thing is just smaller world/paths and stuff. But I think it goes further than that. Besides the Linear Battle System stuff, I'm not even sure how you can have combat with Tales pacing and four characters in an open field.
It can totally work. It just means combat would be done on the map. It would work something akin to the examples you mentioned. If you run into an enemy then you would immediately enter the battle. As for integrating the linear battle system, they would have to change how free run works entirely for that. To fully integrate some a 2 variable axis you have to make free run more... complementary to the current linear system.
I agree that the main concept of change that I was going for can be applied to other genres. However, for the sake of focus I chose to stick with a genre that I'm familiar/literate with.
I don't know, I guess i just feel that the tales series is one of the series that needs change the least of any jrpg series right now.
Sales are generally pretty good for the target audience, each game feels different from the one that came before while still feeling familiar to long time fans and even though the stories are widely considered the weakest point for games in the series each entry has still had a perfectly serviceable storyline for the type of game they are.
I'm a person that dislikes change in general though, be it in my games or life so it's entirely possible that most people don't feel the same way as I do.
Man... this game seriously need some kinda of sensible aggro system.
Just fought the boss at snow shroud ruins... Why the fuck can't I get aggro on this guy? Half the fight is me just wacking away at the boss while he's shooting missiles at my party >.>"
Ahhh Platinum actually seems possible now... Just about done with Zhonecage, just need that and inn requests then beat the game again and get all the 60s trophies and 9999 eleth mixer in NG+
So I finished the "main game", and yeah, I was not enthralled by the story. I expected it to be that way though and it doesn't bother me at all. To be honest though, I really liked each of the characters at any rate, just that they kinda got stuck in a meh story is all.
The gameplay systems man, are some of the best in any game i've played. So fricken addicting, and the battle system is just plain outstanding. I combo like a mofo, and just trying to complete chains through the extended artes even with just the A-tree is satisfying. It's a lot of fun when you can at the very minimum 60-combo enemies all the time.
Gonna do future arc next week or so. I was around level
Dude... he's like the baddy like less than 5 hours in (if you have half a brain, you'd realized it by hour 2 or 3). People that still hang out here are like on their 3rd playthrough ;P
Fuck japan. What is with japan and their love for cast... not dying?
And this might be the first game for me that preorder content spoiled the game. I'd be highly disappointed if the only reason
Richard
didn't die just to sell some more dlc costumes.
And I think I'm approaching the final dungeon... and so far:
story is D-
party cast members are C
Asbel is D
Battle System is B-
Boss Battle is F
Dungeon/world design is D
Game engine C
I have no clue how anyone can see this game as one of the best of the series.... =/
Dude... he's like the baddy like less than 5 hours in (if you have half a brain, you'd realized it by hour 2 or 3). People that still hang out here are like on their 3rd playthrough ;P
Fuck japan. What is with japan and their love for cast... not dying?
And this might be the first game for me that preorder content spoiled the game. I'd be highly disappointed if the only reason
Richard
didn't die just to sell some more dlc costumes.
And I think I'm approaching the final dungeon... and so far:
story is D-
party cast members are C
Asbel is D
Battle System is B-
Boss Battle is F
Dungeon/world design is D
Game engine C
I have no clue how anyone can see this game as one of the best of the series.... =/
I don't know what kind of expectations you have...but I never really played any of these games much before except for maybe 6-8 hours of Tales of Symphonia, and I'm enjoying this game more. I like the characters, but I agree the story itself is fairly straight forward and boring. I'm interested in learning what the deal is with Sophie. I just enjoy the interactions between all the characters (being fully voiced for most of it helps).
Call me crazy, but I don't know how you can rate battle system B- and call everything else so low. The battle system is fun, but I'm literally able to button mash my way through most of it, with occasional dodging.
Eh, people have differing opinions or tastes. And I didn't think a lot of people would enjoy this game prior to its English release, tbh, so it isn't really a surprise that some people just don't like it.
It's just like how I dislike certain games or certain series which seem to be well-liked. Er, though I won't readily admit to it, of course. Heh.
People that still hang out here are like on their 3rd playthrough ;P
At least you have that lovely Soul Eater tattoo to remember the good times.
kayos90 said:
You guys will shoot me for this but I just wrote up a blog post on what the Tales series can do to perhaps change. Maybe not for the better but a change nonetheless. Tell me what yall think!
Hmm... I'll save this for reading tomorrow, and will probably PM you about it. Seems interesting at least. I don't know if I agree with changing up the battle transitions since that may outright change the LMBS into something entirely (I don't think LMBS would work well within that particular construct, tbh). Besides, battles transition quickly already, so it doesn't feel like I'm waiting for something to load for a long time. Trying to wrap my head around how it would work in a free-roam sort of thing, but nothing's really coming up in my head right now.
Skimming through, and I agree with regards to your evaluation of titles/aliases. Moving onto Xillia and seeing titles essentially being treated as nothing but being something to grind towards to get grade was utterly disappointing. Graces handled it flawlessly, imo, and it was so fun to get bonus stats from them and level them up to get even more of that.
Just completed Zhonecage... 1.6 million exp for the boss fight on EASY; ridiculous!
Yeah, I wasn't going to take any chances with that fight and maybe lose the item that got me in there, no thanks.
Now I just need shards for the inn requests, and to level up stamps at a couple shops
edit: lol, oh, and Hubert still has 99 titles. No I don't think I'll let him back in my party, he'll get another title when he hits level 120
Oh, they've been coming in 20 level intervals so I just assumed... but that makes more sense. I guess I'll have to spam Rolling Thunderbolt while grinding my eleth pot or something... that will be fun
Sophie hasn't been in my party for a while either and she's like 4 levels ahead of everyone else now. She has some mad Bench Exp. But Hubert STILL hasn't caught up
Did you need to do an excessive amount of shard farming for the inn requests? If so, where did you go to obtain them?
I, for the most part, have been obtaining them along the way, but now that I am done everything except inn requests and still have some qualities I need to get I'm gonna have to go looking for shards. I know Zhonecage is supposed to be the best place to get them all... just hoping it's not going to take too long.
edit: anyone else annoyed that every trophy has the same trophy icon but just coloured differently for bronze/silver/gold/plat? I hate that
I will definitely have to do that. I should probably just clear out anything with a 4 letter quality. Do you have to dualize anything more than once to get the desired quality, or can they all be done in one step provided you have the right shard? That's how it has been so far, I hope that doesn't change
I will definitely have to do that. I should probably just clear out anything with a 4 letter quality. Do you have to dualize anything more than once to get the desired quality, or can they all be done in one step provided you have the right shard? That's how it has been so far, I hope that doesn't change
They can all be done by one shard. It's not necessary to dualize more than once. In fact I've only figured out that you can dualize more than once after finishing the inn requests!
They can all be done by one shard. It's not necessary to dualize more than once. In fact I've only figured out that you can dualize more than once after finishing the inn requests!
Ah, I think I have something like that amount left. A couple of them I can't even do yet because I need to get my stamp level up in shops. I have almost 2 million gald now so I don't think that's going to be a problem, though
I don't know what kind of expectations you have...but I never really played any of these games much before except for maybe 6-8 hours of Tales of Symphonia, and I'm enjoying this game more. I like the characters, but I agree the story itself is fairly straight forward and boring. I'm interested in learning what the deal is with Sophie. I just enjoy the interactions between all the characters (being fully voiced for most of it helps).
Call me crazy, but I don't know how you can rate battle system B- and call everything else so low. The battle system is fun, but I'm literally able to button mash my way through most of it, with occasional dodging.
Well... fun but shallow is pretty much Tales battle system. You can't really expect DMC. And the CC managing system is pretty cool imo. None of the other parts of the game are 'fun' though.
Meh, maybe my opinion of this will turnabout after I do the last dungeon and the future arc... but idk.
I finished reading though your post and my thoughts are
1- Obviously this would only work for a 3D title, and it would require the rest of your team to wander around with you FF12 style, which would be kind of cool. In such a system skits could happen in real time as you explore instead of in a psuedo skit dimension. The biggest issue with your idea is that the game would require a free rotating camera to be able to swing the camera to the traditional tales gameplay style (ToV/TotA) and I dunno if I trust NB to make a camera that would work well for that.
That being said I think you'll lose a lot of people on this point by saying "ala skyrim", maybe ala FF12 or .hack would have been an easier pill for some to swallow.
2- Sometimes complicating things just for the sake complicating them isn't a good thing. The shop system should really be a simple tool for acquiring new gear and restocking items before you go out to explore or fight monsters. Unless the main character and/or the plot revolve around his merchant business it wouldn't add much to the gameplay.
3- This one is really, really opinionated and would be hard to accurately judge. In my personal opinion, Tales of the Abyss had dramatic plot twist, well done character motivations, and the cast grew and changed far more subtly then in other Tales titles (minus Luke's 180 at a certain point). I also felt the cast really complimented each other well. We've also had Yuri as a main protagonist like the one you described, and while Yuri was the best I don't really want another Yuri.
The real point I think you are trying to make is to move away from tropes and create more unique characters and that I agree with, but at the same time I feel the Tales series has done this on instances, even if Graces f is horribly standard and a big offender of trope-itis.
4- I agree/disagree with this point, while I would like more customization for my characters, I don't really want them to bring back Graces f system. Even on my first run though I got enough SP through cooking, inn request, and battles to get everything to level 5 and have all skills/stat boosts. I'd love to see Tales more depth to how you customize characters, either though things like branching arte upgrades (kind of like ToS) or something like FF10/12's systems (having a grid where you explore and choose to spend points on either new artes, stats, or skills).
5- I would like more engaging side quest, but skits are fine as they are. ToS "choose your skit response" was something I never really enjoyed because it made Lloyd in cutscenes seem very different then he was in story cutscenes. Skits work as a means of fleshing out the plot or giving you humorous quips between the party, if we add a response wheel then we need to add it to general gameplay as well, and that kind of radical departure wouldn't fit well in the Tales universe.
Out of curiosity, is the core game engine any better in Xillia or Vesperia compare to this? I assume there are a ton of limitations between the different cutscene 'modes' for graces, which is why there are a lot of random loading mid cutscenes between the text bubble ones and the ones without text bubbles just to pick someone up or something.
That's not completely true. I've been lurking since the OT started, and I just beat the Future Arc today; I didn't play the main section on the game on any difficulty beyond Normal, so when I reached the second section and switched to Hard, I ended up having to grind for a lot of materials to get up to par. It wasn't so bad since I was doing it for materials rather than EXP; grinding for levels is one of my pet peeves, and I probably would have dropped the game altogether if I hadn't been leveled high enough to beat the final boss.
Combat. That's how I see it as one of the best in the series. I'm a combat buff, I guess.
The only other Tales game I've actually played and enjoyed this much is Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut; a friend of mine was kind enough to lend it to me during my first playthrough of Graces F and I kind of dig it, although I had to look up a translation for that one. She lent me the original version as well - didn't really care for it.
I've played Symphonia (my first Tales game), Phantasia GBA, Eternia, Graces and DestinyC for myself, and watched playthroughs for the big hitters - Vesperia, Abyss, Phantasia PSX, Eternia and Xillia (I thought that last one wasn't coming over here, so I spoiled myself. Out of what I've played, I'd rank Graces top simply because I dislike TP. When I played the other games (excluding Destiny, haven't finished that one) I kept playing in spite of my opinion of the gameplay because I liked everything else about the games; I thought Symphonia was novel, and Phantasia and Eternia looked like old OVAs to me. But with Graces I don't have any significant complaints with the gameplay or the plot, and I enjoy the skits, so I prefer it overall.
And as for the more popular games, well, they do nothing for me -
Vigilante
Yuri, Luke's whole deal in the Abyss, all of Legendia, nada. Well, Anise made me consider child murder for the first time, but that's not exactly a positive thing. If it's one of those things where you have to play the games to fully enjoy them, I guess I could check them out, but I kind of doubt it. So between those two categories, I'd say that Graces F is my personal favorite.
Well, technically, I'm still on my first :x Hell, haven't even finished it yet (though, I think I'm at the end of future?) I did get sidetracked occasionally on trying to figure things out though.
Eh, people have differing opinions or tastes. And I didn't think a lot of people would enjoy this game prior to its English release, tbh, so it isn't really a surprise that some people just don't like it.
I'm actually a bit surprised at the amount of people disliking the combat. It's been a highlight for me and Chaos has been a blast (though, I kind of wish it was harder :x).
But preferences and all that and I went through it in another thread.
At least you have that lovely Soul Eater tattoo to remember the good times.
Out of curiosity, is the core game engine any better in Xillia or Vesperia compare to this? I assume there are a ton of limitations between the different cutscene 'modes' for graces, which is why there are a lot of random loading mid cutscenes between the text bubble ones and the ones without text bubbles just to pick someone up or something.
How was the plat to you overall? I'm still sticking to a 6-7.5 rating.
Eh, you have me on PSN anyway so you know where I'm at (I got everyone's 100 titles last night but I haven't finished Future Arc yet I beat the Rock Gagan since it's much easier with Accel Mode (though you can't spam Blast Calibers at it)).
Oh, they've been coming in 20 level intervals so I just assumed... but that makes more sense. I guess I'll have to spam Rolling Thunderbolt while grinding my eleth pot or something... that will be fun
tbh, I'd go for his A-Arte titles or Antidote Adept/Master or Healing Wind Adept/Master because his B-Arte titles take, like, 100 for the Adept and sometimes 800 for the Master.
Rolling Thunderbolt is 90 for Adept and 750 for Master.
Antidote is 50 for Adept and 320 for Master, iirc.
His A-Artes are usually like, 70-to-100 for Adept and 350-450 for Master. Hence I generally found that going for his A-Artes was less of a hassle.
I got his 10-30-50-100 hit titles no problem, though, because he's a combo machine.
I'm actually a bit surprised at the amount of people disliking the combat. It's been a highlight for me and Chaos has been a blast (though, I kind of wish it was harder :x).
But preferences and all that and I went through it in another thread.
I'm a little surprised too, but it's kind of unsurprising when you think about how everyone was exposed to a certain type of system for so long, and thus there are things in those games which you can freely do, but you can't always do in this game. Or some may be using the same methods that they used in previous games on lower difficulties and find that it works more than often (ie: spam the same artes over and over).
And yeah, playing on Chaos makes the battle system far better because you actually do play around with the intricacies of the battle system with regards to dodging, around-step timing, exploiting enemy weaknesses to build up CC better, etc. But you get to a point where it isn't that tough because you're so used to the system... And playing on easier difficulties is essentially a cakewalk for you since you don't need to take advantage of the system or enemy weaknesses.
I generally do switch up my B and A artes depending on the battle. As you know, in F-Arc on Chaos mode, using B and A artes for certain enemies (since some are weak against A and others against B) can make the difference while dealing with crowd control.
Remember the good times and get depressed at the same time! Multi-purpose!
For what it's worth, I think it's pretty neat. I guess it's a little bittersweet that you got it on your hand, though. You have to look at it a lot. >.>
Pascal was my nightmare one. I don't even know why. Her Level 3 MA hits a decent number of times (like, 17?) and she has some multi-hit A-Artes and B-Artes ... but it was just so damn frustrating somehow. And then
Richard's was a nightmare mostly since he'd find a way to muck it up when I switched to him at ~80-ish hits. That and it was getting pretty hard to have enemies survive for 100 hits that didn't also troll my combos and drop at bizarre times (like, in the middle of an attack like Void Sword)
.
Or some may be using the same methods that they used in previous games on lower difficulties and find that it works more than often (ie: spam the same artes over and over).
Basically the same for the other games at lower difficulties, to be honest. Vesperia even dragged out the process of finally getting interesting combat mechanics :/
And yeah, playing on Chaos makes the battle system far better because you actually do play around with the intricacies of the battle system with regards to dodging, around-step timing, exploiting enemy weaknesses to build up CC better, etc. But you get to a point where it isn't that tough because you're so used to the system... And playing on easier difficulties is essentially a cakewalk for you since you don't need to take advantage of the system or enemy weaknesses.
Yup. Chaos is rewarding since it walks a fine line between "whee, I did that right!" and "oh shit how did everything go so wrong." It's quite funny to see a random encounter that is basically a joke all the time just randomly goes south because I get sloppy and decide to just beat on whatever I see first or let some spells get off that juggles someone into oblivion (oddly, never Cheria; find it weird vs all the other complaints when my Cheria is like 99% of the time the lone survivor of disasters).
It's not even like fights are that much longer at the higher HP counts. Then again, I haven't tried Normal or anything in awhile so maybe 20s-30s fights is too long for end game random encounters.
For what it's worth, I think it's pretty neat. I guess it's a little bittersweet that you got it on your hand, though. You have to look at it a lot. >.>
1) Book of Potential - Increases EXP earned from Food cooked.
2) Book of Satiation - Allows you to cook two food items in-battle.
3) Crab Fried Rice (/Grape Parfait later as I wanted the better Shards) - Activates In-Battle after 10 seconds.
4) Borscht - Activates In-Battle after landing a 30+ Hit Combo. It increases EXP gained so it's nice; there's better Mixer EXP options with some of the >20s Foods like Fried Manju though.
5) Miso Stew - Activates Post-Battle if Mixer Energy >50%
Optional:
Book of Growth - Gives EXP towards Mixer Energy just by setting it.
Book of Enthusiasm - Halves your stats but doubles EXP gain. Nice to have to allow for bigger combos for Borscht and Grape Parfait. Plus, might as well level faster while grinding, right? Stacks with Borscht!
And then just find a spot to grind a bit. The middle thousands aren't so bad since you'll get something like 10-15 Energy a fight with the proper setup. It's just a case of figuring out what food to use and then making sure to always utilize it.
Alternatively, just set food like Crab Fried Rice and Miso Stew (or Rice Omelette early game) and then just progress through the game normally and save doing the above for when you want to sit down and grind enemies for a bit.
If you're curious as to how it works:
0401 - 2000 Energy: 10 EXP per +1 Mixer Energy
2001 - 9000 Energy: 20 EXP per +1 Mixer Energy
9001 - 9999 Energy: 50 EXP per +1 Mixer Energy
EXP from food isn't directly correlated to the Energy it costs to make them, unfortunately. Crab Fried Rice (38 EXP) and Miso Soup (94 EXP) are pretty much the best options for EXP per Energy spent. Off-hand, I don't know what Borscht is for Mixer EXP :/ Fried Manju is 79 EXP, though, so it's a really good option for a second in-battle food if you have >20s long fights often. I just used Borscht since, meh, slightly slower Mixer growth is worth the EXP bonus.
I have my gripes with the graces battle system but I think I went over them in another thread. Needless to say graces isn't the clear cut winner for combat in the series that people tend to imply.
I have my gripes with the graces battle system but I think I went over them in another thread. Needless to say graces isn't the clear cut winner for combat in the series that people tend to imply.
Of the ones I have played I think i personally enjoyed vesperia the most.
It had the best use of free run thus far combined with battle areas big enough to not feel claustrophobic. I prefer TP over CC which brings alot of the japan only releases down a notch for me and abyss had far to many issues for me to rank it even above graces F.
I would say my ranking for recent games would be Vesperia then Graces F and then Abyss i guess. Haven't played xillia yet as i'm holding out hope for a localization.
edit: I forgot to mention that i generally disliked the around step system as i thought it made already small battle areas feel even smaller as well as generally made everything extremely easy in the game.
