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Tales of Graces ƒ |OT| Gracing the PS3 with the Best RPG Combat

M

Meccanical

Member
Bumping this OT because I recently borrowed it back from a friend and I have gotten pretty far.
The tag says "best RPG combat" and I find it hard to argue against that statement. It's really damn good.

I just beat Kurt, and it it me or was he absolute bullshit?

Ridiculous range, crazy powerful, will not stagger or stun for the life of him...he was pretty brutal.
 
L

Labadal

Member
Meccanical said:
Bumping this OT because I recently borrowed it back from a friend and I have gotten pretty far.
The tag says "best RPG combat" and I find it hard to argue against that statement. It's really damn good.

I just beat Kurt, and it it me or was he absolute bullshit?

Ridiculous range, crazy powerful, will not stagger or stun for the life of him...he was pretty brutal.
Click to expand...

I hated that fight, but I managed to (barely) beat it on my second try.

I don't have much of the game now. I've been playing on and off through the year, and I think I'm at the last chapter. Going to visit all places and see if there are side stuff to complete.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Meccanical said:
Bumping this OT because I recently borrowed it back from a friend and I have gotten pretty far.
The tag says "best RPG combat" and I find it hard to argue against that statement. It's really damn good.

I just beat
Kurt
, and it it me or was he absolute bullshit?

Ridiculous range, crazy powerful, will not stagger or stun for the life of him...he was pretty brutal.
Click to expand...
kayos and I spent hours debating the thread title, lol.

As for
Kurtz
, would you believe that he was much easier in the Wii version? They beefed up a few bosses in this version, and you'll probably be able to predict which ones.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Meccanical said:
I'm having second thoughts of doing a playthrough above normal now.

Pretty sure Kurt would bring me to my knees.
Click to expand...
If I can beat him on Chaos, you certainly can.

But in all seriousness, perhaps sticking to Normal / Moderate might be best for players who just want to get through the game. To take full advantage of the battle system, I'd advise going on Hard or Chaos. But that's just my personal take and I know others feel otherwise, just because some of the bosses in this game (and other Tales games) have asinine boss design and AI scripts.
 
S

Sagitario

Member
Dark Schala said:
If I can beat him on Chaos, you certainly can.

But in all seriousness, perhaps sticking to Normal / Moderate might be best for players who just want to get through the game. To take full advantage of the battle system, I'd advise going on Hard or Chaos. But that's just my personal take and I know others feel otherwise, just because some of the bosses in this game (and other Tales games) have asinine boss design and AI scripts.
Click to expand...

This is where a boss rush mode would be most welcome! [I guess the extra missions outside the main game kinda count]

I would love to fight some bosses again. DAT
Emeraude
battle theme!
 
K

kayos90

Tragic victim of fan death
I think Hard is the best way to experience the game to the fullest. I know there are people who really enjoy the challenge and insanity of the difficulty above it but Hard sets the perfect difficulty level so players utilize every single asset at their disposal while offering a challenge every now and then. Graces' combat is pretty much the pinnacle of what I consider to be awesome. It's sad because I love some of the costumes that didn't make it over.... Well... good thing I still have the KR version. lol.
 
M

Meccanical

Member
Sophie's a combat android? Wow how surprising. I sure didn't figure this out within the first second she appeared on screen. What a surprising development! And so original too! I sure haven't seen this done 5 billion times in anime/movies/manga! Where do they come up with this stuff! Amnesiac combat androids? Ground breaking work!

:V

Seriously though wasn't this done in like...two to five other Tales games?

I know, no one plays Tales games for the story, but still.
 
S

SaintZ

Member
Bumping this because I finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, general impressions:

Kurt
is a nasty, cheap whore. I had to use and All-Divide to beat him lol. Man these bosses are hard. The worse offenders are the one mentioned I mentioned and probably that freaking
boar monster
in the mountain. Everybody got KO'd but Asbel. I don't know how I made it. I want to defeat the
dragons too but I don't know if I can deal with them. I've only beaten the one in Barona.

I'm in the last dungeon of the main story but came out to complete all the stuff I can before reaching the end. I have some questions: Is it me or some of the quests disappear? I swear there was some stuff before that is not longer on the list. And I think I'm stuck with something... There's a quest asking for a Drill... and I had it but I left it with this guy in that cave near Velanik yet the quest is still there -_-

Also, this sidequest with
Child Lambda?
God, what's up with that and with his instant
KO attack
. It took me by surprise.

I still haven't found any individual costumes for Cheria (</3) or Malick except for the Swim Suits but I don't feel like going around looking for them around Strahta.

I haven't used any guides so far but I might have to give in because that puzzle in the
(optional) desert dungeon
is VILE (you know which one). I don't have the patience to deal with that.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
SaintZ said:
Bumping this because I finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, general impressions:

Kurt
is a nasty, cheap whore. I had to use and All-Divide to beat him lol. Man these bosses are hard. The worse offenders are the one mentioned I mentioned and probably that freaking
boar monster
in the mountain. Everybody got KO'd but Asbel. I don't know how I made it. I want to defeat the
dragons too but I don't know if I can deal with them. I've only beaten the one in Barona.

I'm in the last dungeon of the main story but came out to complete all the stuff I can before reaching the end. I have some questions: Is it me or some of the quests disappear? I swear there was some stuff before that is not longer on the list. And I think I'm stuck with something... There's a quest asking for a Drill... and I had it but I left it with this guy in that cave near Velanik yet the quest is still there -_-

Also, this sidequest with
Child Lambda?
God, what's up with that and with his instant
KO attack
. It took me by surprise.

I still haven't found any individual costumes for Cheria (</3) or Malick except for the Swim Suits but I don't feel like going around looking for them around Strahta.

I haven't used any guides so far but I might have to give in because that puzzle in the
(optional) desert dungeon
is VILE (you know which one). I don't have the patience to deal with that.
Click to expand...

For the side quest you mentioned, don't attack the enemy. Just sit there and wait.

And there really aren't many costumes in the game, I think each chasacter gets 2 each. Maybe 3.
 
T

Tribes of Trusty

Member
Finally bought it, and I can say just one thing for now : holy shit at how fast the battles load. The first time I couldn't even believe it. I was like "Huh ? Is it my turn to play ?".

I'm a little disoriented with the battle system though, I'm way too used to 2D left/right movements or 3D movements in Tales Of series. I hope the combat will get as crazy as Vesperia though.
 
C

ChrisG683

Member
I just got this two days ago, about 10 hours into it.

Seems like a very solid game, and I like the new combat system, it's a nice change of pace. I think I ultimately still enjoy the more classical system, since this one seems like a button mash fest so far, hopefully it will get better.

Vesperia is my favorite game in the series so far, and my current comparisons are

-This game is very linear so far. It's not as bad as FFXIII, but the lack of a real overworld really rubs me the wrong way. At least the mini hub world doesn't lack detail like the Team Symphonia games.

-I like the "next objective" helper thing, it helps me when I space out and forget what to do.

-Texture and Geometry inconsistency is EVERYWHERE. You can definitely tell this is a ported Wii game. Some things look awesome like Vesperia, and some things just look absolutely pitiful.

-Towns are barren, I have no desire to explore them or stay in them.

-I like how fast battles load and I like the fluid combat, but there are SO many mechanics (both in and out of battle) in this game that it's a little overwhelming, even for a somewhat veteran JRPG player like myself

-Maybe it's cause I'm still early in the game, but there is absolutely 0 satisfication in combo'ing after 6 hours into the game, it's too easy. By repeatedly hitting the same button you can make a really fancy combo with no work involved. Smashing A-Artes with a few B-Artes mixed in seems to be the most productive thing for me. What was nice about previous games it that chaining combos was an art, and required practice and refinement. I don't even care about the new B-Artes I am learning so far.

-I always love the item systems in Tales games, and this is definitely one of the most unique ones, I'm enjoying learning it

-The voice acting is pretty solid and the characters are pretty good. Again, I don't know if anything will top the voices/characters from Vesperia, but this cast is pretty good so far.

-I like the art direction of the world, it has been very nice so far.

-The story is still just barely unfolding so no comment on it yet, but it doesn't seem as bad as Vesperia's.

-I love the Team Destiny styled skits, I wish the Team Symphonia games didn't use the lazy portrait style skits.

-Bosses seem frustrating and cheap. In most tales game, I look forward to boss fights because it's a target with a lot of HP that you can wail on, but you also have to be smart and watch your party (even if some were a little OP). However I don't know how to describe it, but they're just not fun in Graces.

-Music seems inconsistent, some is good some is bad. However the whole game's audio is 2 channel Stereo, this is one of my biggest complaints, the audio quality is dreadful.
 
D

Datschge

Member
ChrisG683 said:
-Maybe it's cause I'm still early in the game, but there is absolutely 0 satisfication in combo'ing after 6 hours into the game, it's too easy. By repeatedly hitting the same button you can make a really fancy combo with no work involved. Smashing A-Artes with a few B-Artes mixed in seems to be the most productive thing for me. What was nice about previous games it that chaining combos was an art, and required practice and refinement. I don't even care about the new B-Artes I am learning so far.
Click to expand...

If one thinks the current difficulty level is too button mashy and makes combos boring that's usually a hint to increase said difficulty level. At least that's what I'd suggest you to try. =)
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
Dark Schala said:
If I can beat him on Chaos, you certainly can.

But in all seriousness, perhaps sticking to Normal / Moderate might be best for players who just want to get through the game. To take full advantage of the battle system, I'd advise going on Hard or Chaos. But that's just my personal take and I know others feel otherwise, just because some of the bosses in this game (and other Tales games) have asinine boss design and AI scripts.
Click to expand...

I came away from the game feeling like you have to take less advantage of full battle system and focus on doing big damage real fast. Also felt like luck had a big role to play in some of my victories (in that, I not sure I could repeat them easily).
 
C

ChrisG683

Member
Datschge said:
If one thinks the current difficulty level is too button mashy and makes combos boring that's usually a hint to increase said difficulty level. At least that's what I'd suggest you to try. =)
Click to expand...

Yeah I might have to do that, though I might have to tone it down for the bosses haha
 
S

Sagitario

Member
kisaya said:
This is currently ruining my life right now

I only have apple gels.

:(
Click to expand...

I hated that part too. I don't know what they were thinking... it's just so annoying and random.
You could always try to lower the difficulty setting to easy [for the bridge] so you don't have to worry about HP or Apple Gels.
 
S

-Stranger-

Junior Member
Had this sitting on my shelf for awhile now.
I suppose i should finish Vesperia before jumping in...
Only 10 hours in on Vesperia though, i play my RPG's so slowly these days.
 
K

Kisaya

Member
Sagitario said:
Don't worry, when this thread was really active, everybody was asking for advice, so it's all good :)

How are you liking the game?
Click to expand...

A lot better than I expected! Thought I was going to be dreading it, especially with that terrible childhood arc. I don't really like any of the characters, but future arc really made me warm up to some of them. x]

If only they could put up the PS3 port of ToV on PSN :'(
 
S

Sagitario

Member
kisaya said:
A lot better than I expected! Thought I was going to be dreading it, especially with that terrible childhood arc. I don't really like any of the characters, but future arc really made me warm up to some of them. x]

If only they could put up the PS3 port of ToV on PSN :'(
Click to expand...

Yeah, I enjoyed the ƒ arc a lot and it had some great additions.
As hated as some of the characters/story are, the main arc finale was the definition of non-ending. I kinda wonder how Wii only owners in Japan felt about it. I am glad I had the chance to play the extra chapter.


BTW, ToV is totally worth a X360. That game is the reason I got mine, I even bought the disc before the console.
Vesperia is such an excellent game, I should replay it soon.
 
N

Netto-kun

Member
Well, this is...interesting.

Tales of Graces f gets a digital release next week

This is Hideo Baba, producer of the Tales of franchise. I&#8217;d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our fans in Europe. It&#8217;s been an absolute pleasure attending various overseas events and interacting with so many of you. I really feel like we&#8217;ve been able to sustain our franchise for 15 years because of such a loyal fanbase. I cannot thank you enough.

I&#8217;m happy to announce that we&#8217;ll be digitally distributing Tales of Graces f on the PlayStation Network next week. It will be released in Europe on 27th March. I strongly urge anyone unfamiliar to the series to give it a shot. An epic adventure of unimaginable proportions awaits you!

We will have two versions of the game available next week; the Standard Edition (&#8364;44.99/£36.99) and Knight Edition (&#8364;59.99/£48.99). The Tales of Graces f: Knight Edition will come bundled with more than 10 DLC items to help new adventurers on their quest, including increased stats, health and currency.
Click to expand...

Edit: Next Tuesday for the US.

Standard Edition: $34.99
Knight Edition: $54.99
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
OK, so I just finished the game finally and I'm a little confused.

So after the closign credits, is shows
a baby Asbel with an mother that looks like Sophie

How is that possible if she is not human? Did I miss something, I know in the closing scenes she talked about being an adult, but.....

Also, what happened to Cheria's
Love for Asbel?
Why didn't they follow that story line more? Is there multiple ending to the game? I really feel like I'm missing something here....


Also, is a NG+ worth it? does it change the game at all? What caries over from the original playthrough?
 
X

X05

Upside, inside out he's livin la vida loca, He'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca
Got the game last year not far from its release, but the childhood part bored me to tears and ended up dropping it.

I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago, and having just finished Chapter 4, I must say I'm really enjoying it now. Still don't care much for the story
(although I do wonder, since most of the artwork I have seen shows Asbel with a purple eye and Richard as an adult has a red one, if he'll have the counterpart or a transfer of whatever evil possessed Richard)
, the battle system and dualizing are keeping me really entertained.
Also like the titles system, neat idea to gain new skills and whatnot.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Could someone clear something up for me about Artes please?
I just got B-Arts, so if I want to use a B-Arte, I must first press O, then press a direction on the Right stick to do the assigned special attack right?
Is it possible to chain after doing Asbel's Lighting attack that breaks Nova shields?
 
V

Videoneon

Member
Tizoc said:
Could someone clear something up for me about Artes please?
I just got B-Arts, so if I want to use a B-Arte, I must first press O, then press a direction on the Right stick to do the assigned special attack right?
Is it possible to chain after doing Asbel's Lighting attack that breaks Nova shields?
Click to expand...

IIRC, say you're Asbel. By default in battle you start in A arte mode, so first you need to press O to unsheathe your sword (which is its own attack with Nova properties) and after that you can immediately connect to whatever artes you have assigned. I'm sure it should be able to combo as long as you have the CC for it.
 
W

WeaponKnight

Member
You can equip up to 8 B-artes for each character. Four on direction + circle (or neutral circle), and four more on the right stick. Then, simply press the buttons for the arte you equipped.
Asbel is a special case, because you can only use his B-artes when his sword is drawn out. Push O or tilt the right stick to draw, then go to town. X puts the sword back in. For the other characters, you can use B-artes any time.

Notice that you'll get a free heal after you put the sword back it. The more B-artes you use, more healing.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Ah I get it now:
X is A-Artes
O is B-Artes

If I want to use B-Artes, press O then Dir.+O, but if I do O, then press X, I revert back to A-Artes with the sword sheathed.
 
P

PKrockin

Member
Right.

Beware that pressing X with your sword drawn near an enemy will make Asbel sheathe his sword with a very slow spinning attack. Most B-artes won't keep enemies in hitstun long enough to let you continue your combo with that spinning attack, so if you're not sure just backstep to get a bit of distance between you and the target and press X to sheathe quickly and safely.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
So Pascal just joined my party.
Hubert being a dick just made me wish this game had the Paragon/Renegade actions from Mass Effect XD
I'm actually liking Pascal as I thought I'd hate her, but I think the voices being in English helped in that, I might've disliked her if the game had JPN voices.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Help please:
I'm at wallbridge and must flip the North switch. I manage to find a switch but the game tells me I can't use it now; what must I do first? Find an item, defeat all soldiers?
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Tizoc said:
I'm actually liking Pascal as I thought I'd hate her, but I think the voices being in English helped in that, I might've disliked her if the game had JPN voices.
Click to expand...
Her Japanese voice is actually really cute.

Tizoc said:
Help please:
I'm at wallbridge and must flip the North switch. I manage to find a switch but the game tells me I can't use it now; what must I do first? Find an item, defeat all soldiers?
Click to expand...
Wallbridge was a pain in the ass all three times I've been through the game. Haha. This should help a little:

5JshaY6.jpg
Click to expand...

You started in Tower D on the lower left-hand side. Go up, and grab a treasure in Tower C. Climb the ladder up two floors. Exit the tower to the north (or go south for a skit and then go north). In Tower B now, go down the ladder two floors and pull the lever, which raises the north bridge. Now go through the north door to Tower A. You'll find the Barrel Discovery and a skit.

Go back to Tower B. Go up the ladder two floors. Then go back to Tower A after climbing the ladder for a treasure. Climb the ladder after getting the treasure. Exit Tower A, and go to Tower E now on the upper right-hand side. You will get the Book of Talent here. Exit Tower E and go south to Tower F now. Take the ladder in Tower F down to another floor. You should find a Turtlez and a chest here. Now climb the ladder again all the way up and now exit the Tower to the South.

You should be on a path that leads to Tower G and Tower I. Go into the center Tower I for a cutscene. After, go into Tower G. In Tower G, climb all the way down to the bottom. Pull the lever here and exit South to Tower H. You will find a treasure in Tower H. Go back to Tower G and climb up a floor to exit south on the next floor. It should have a save point outside. Or close to where you are.

Cross the path to Tower D. Pull the lever here. Prepare for a boss fight for when you exit Tower D.

You know, you could always just PM me or talk about it in the other thread because I'll help you there the fastest anyway as that's the first thread I check every day. :p
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Thanks mate, I'll use this guide when I go back to finish it~
Apologies for asking in the other thread, but at the time ToG was the one game I was playing XO.
 
P

Proven

Member
Wallbridge wasn't that bad the first time I went through it, but by then I figured I had an affinity for Tales dungeon design.
 
S

Sagitario

Member
I used that Wallbridge image to get it done quickly.
Graces really had annoying and boring/bad dungeons (I think I actually might prefer Legendia's
YQC3h7c.gif
), but the battle system made it worth it.
 
V

Videoneon

Member
When it came to Wallbridge, I just said screw it and fumbled around. It's too difficult to perceive the logic of the design on your first playthrough with no prior knowledge, so I wasn't interested in really figuring out the dungeon and just pulled the levers so I get could the hell out.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Just defeated Cedric.
Does the CP value go beyond 9? That's the maximum I've been able to accumulate as Asbel so far in every battle.
Anyone have a snapshot of Richard's smug face at the end of the coronation cutscene?
 
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