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[Dark Schala]

I'd just give it a go if it wasn't for the fact that, apparently, you don't return until

Spoiler

the end of Chapter 3

. Just redoing it now (well, tomorrow) is just less painful in the long run. Unless someone is farther than me and can check, anyway. Really, though, it's all of like an hour to re-do so whatever :x

The only part that has me worried is I've seen some mention #60 as one of the "trickier" sub-quests; kind of odd if it's not time sensitive since it's really just "go to X" five times. If not for that, I'd probably have just kept going.

That and it's apparently a pretty good event so no way in hell am I going to pass that up!

Edit: Oh, by the way, Dark Bottles aren't unlocked at this point but you can dualize it with a component from the end of the

Spoiler

Seaside Caverns

. Though, you do find them in a chest along the way so you can just use the Mixer for them at this point, I suppose.

Still, an hour of all that grinding + boss fight makes me feel :/ Ah well.

Dark Bottles = Holy Water (or Water of Absolution is what they called it?) + Poisonous Weed (well, the thing you find in that dungeon), yep. Ahhh, it's been a while since I did the early game, so I assumed that Dark Bottles were always there in the beginning.

Subquest 60 didn't seem tricky, but it's really worth getting all the components for it, so better to be safe than sorry. I really liked the outcome of that in the JP version.

Yes that name's correct.

Also, thanks I gave her one of my H ranked ones out of curiosity to see what would happen but I haven't gone back for it yet.

Thanks. You could probably go back for it. But if you want her to polish something in the future and want to get it back faster, you can give her food.

No, no, that's more than enough. Just wanted to know a general idea and such for them and see how often I would need to spam them.

More boss complaining

Oh good.

As for that boss, it gets easier on subsequent playthroughs. Especially when you get used to around-stepping and timed countering. It really is difficult on the first playthrough, though.

 

[Yuterald]

I'm in the

Spoiler

Catacombs

as the kids and it's like the worst fucking music I've ever heard. It sounds like Motoi fell asleep on his keyboard. So fucking awful! From what I've heard, this quite possibly could be the worst Motoi I've ever heard in my life.

Game is still fun though. I love grinding out enemy soul orbs before moving on. Still playing on Hard and the combat is still good shit.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I had fun in the child arc, that ending, nice.

Well now I can use Asbel's vest dressed costume, pretty funny. (well not the grind to rank three to us, steep sp requirements)

 

[Spirit Icana]

I'm in the

Spoiler

Catacombs

as the kids and it's like the worst fucking music I've ever heard. It sounds like Motoi fell asleep on his keyboard. So fucking awful! From what I've heard, this quite possibly could be the worst Motoi I've ever heard in my life.

Game is still fun though. I love grinding out enemy soul orbs before moving on. Still playing on Hard and the combat is still good shit.

If your talking about inside that sancturary, I'm pretty sure that three note song your hearing is not Motoi Sakuraba, but the other guy who works on these Tales games too.

The cool cutscene music you'll hear soon and all the piano music I've heard so far is from Motoi Sakuraba so feast on that when you hear them.

That said, Motoi's orchestral synths, when it's him (ex: overworld theme), seems down-graded in this game. Probably to fit the songs in the original Wii disc, but boo. Actually, it always sounds down-graded in Tales games, but in this one especially. Oh well. I'm still enjoying his songs here, especially those lovely piano scores.

Oh, and I'm playing on hard also. I'm further ahead than you and it's been a blast so far. Some of the voice acting took some getting used to, but I think they're all finally growing on me now.

 

[Yuterald]

If your talking about inside that sancturary, I'm pretty sure that three note song your hearing is not Motoi Sakuraba, but the other guy who works on these Tales games too.

The cool cutscene music you'll hear soon and all the piano music I've heard so far is from Motoi Sakuraba so feast on that when you hear them.

That said, Motoi's orchestral synths, when it's him (ex: overworld theme), seems down-graded in this game. Probably to fit the songs in the original Wii disc, but boo. Actually, it always down-graded in Tales games, but in this especially. Oh well. I'm still enjoying his songs here, especially those lovely piano scores.

Oh, I totally forgot about the lackey composers. Still, it's god awful sounding. In general it's a very unimpressive OST so far.

Just completed the child arc. Pretty unexpected conclusion. Somewhat abrupt, but I think I'm going to dig the new direction. I like the sounds of what's going on with your bro in this game. I could see this getting more interesting.

 

[Bladenic]

Having finally seen everyone's first MA I'd rank them as such:

Hubert > Cheria > Asbel > Malik > Sophie > Richard > Pascal

I'm really disappointed in the way Cheria's sounds though. In the Japanese version (I only played the demo but still) her VA sounded really excited and eager during the MA, here she sounds pretty dry, bored even. It's strange because I know Laura Bailey can do the peppy voice so it's weird she used the low sad tone for the MA. Oh well.

 

[ULTROS!]

It stands for: Gametrailers has bad reviews

Tales of Gametrailers: forgettable

 

[Astra]

Man, I love the skits in Tales games. Definitely where the characters charm shines through.

 

[Negator]

All right, just got the handkerchief and and about to turn it in. I guess that covers the missable inn quests?

 

[Edgeward]

This game is so awesome on an arcade stick, I can sidestep, backdash and combo way better now. The fact the game is fixed camera in the exploring is actually a plus for me because it allows me to use a stick.

And it's just so goddamn nice that the skits are fully voiced.

 

[Dark Schala]

This game is so awesome on an arcade stick, I can sidestep, backdash and combo way better now. The fact the game is fixed camera in the exploring is actually a plus for me because it allows me to use a stick.

I was actually wondering if using an arcade stick were possible. I don't have access to an arcade stick, but I wonder if comboing would be more fun should I ever use one.

If your talking about inside that sancturary, I'm pretty sure that three note song your hearing is not Motoi Sakuraba, but the other guy who works on these Tales games too.

Even though the album didn't have credits like that, I agree. That theme is downright horrible.

All right, just got the handkerchief and and about to turn it in. I guess that covers the missable inn quests?

Yep.

Having finally seen everyone's first MA I'd rank them as such:

Hubert > Cheria > Asbel > Malik > Sophie > Richard > Pascal

I'm really disappointed in the way Cheria's sounds though. In the Japanese version (I only played the demo but still) her VA sounded really excited and eager during the MA, here she sounds pretty dry, bored even. It's strange because I know Laura Bailey can do the peppy voice so it's weird she used the low sad tone for the MA. Oh well.

Really liked how Cheria's JP VA voiced her Blast Calibers. Haven't gotten English Cheria yet, but hearing that is a tad disappointing. As for her first BC, I like the SFX a lot.

And Hubert's is just damn amazing.

 

[Jeels]

No one is shocked by that Gametrailers review?

 

[Spirit Icana]

Even though the album didn't have credits like that, I agree. That theme is downright horrible.

Are you saying the album didn't list any credits to the songs, or are you saying I'm wrong and that awful song from the child arc was from Sakuraba? I'd be shocked if so. I'm listening to his samples for the upcoming Kid Icarus Uprising right now. No way. lol

 

[Hazu]

What exactly can you keep in a New Game Plus? I tried to search on Google but haven't found anything.

 

[burgerdog]

No one is shocked by that Gametrailers review?

No one really cares as it was most likely expected.

 

[Dark Schala]

No one is shocked by that Gametrailers review?

How they perceived the game was expected. With that said, what they said about the battle system was rather surprising and demonstrates that they barely explored it much on an average difficulty setting (though this is for a review and I guess the reviewer played it: a) as the average player would, and b) so he or she could get through the game quickly enough to put out a review). This is a game that might be to some people's tastes, but not for others.

Are you saying the album didn't list any credits to the songs, or are you saying I'm wrong and that awful song from the child arc was from Sakuraba? I'd be shocked if so. I'm listening to his samples for the upcoming Kid Icarus Uprising right now. No way. lol

First bit. Even when he's overworked, it doesn't seem like Sakuraba to compose that... thing.

What exactly can you keep in a New Game Plus? I tried to search on Google but haven't found anything.

Determined by what you choose in the Grade Shop (ex: books, titles, how many times you've used artes, Eleth Mixer Capacity, inherit stamps, inherit gald, etc.) You do not carry over equipment, levels, etc. But you can choose XP and damage multipliers to make NG+ go faster.

 

[Astra]

So, after 17 hours of playtime, I finally delved into Dualizing more earnestly. After taking a bit of time looking at possible combinations, even preliminary results show that there's some pretty useful stuff to be made, especially for enhancements. Something to keep in mind for Chaos runs.
Never bothered much with the Eleth Mixer until recently, either, but it's been very useful in obtaining items, especially when I only needed one more of any given item.

Still quite a bit more of the game's depth to explore now, after the initial excitement of first getting into it.

 

[Yuterald]

Okay, never mind what I've said about this game so far. Just played the beginnings of adulthood and the battle system is like crazy fucking cool. The B-arts are so flip style, it's not even funny! I think there might be TOO MUCH going on with all these mechanics. I definitely get why people are flipping out over the battle system. The battle music got a little more rockin' too. I still don't like the track too much, but at least it sounds a little cooler now.

The Eleth thing is really neatl too. Do I understand this correctly, I don't need the ingredients to activate recipes during battle? As long as the Eleth jar is charged enough the recipe effect will activate when said conditions are met during battle?

Also, as long as I've registered an item/material in my book I have a chance to create it through the Eleth jar? That's pretty damn James Quall'in if its true. Oh, and I love how the world map keeps track of a bunch of stuff. Tales games have always listed shop supplies on the world map screen, but this one keeps tracks of enemies and other shit too.

One last thing, what are the treasure chest icons on the world map about? Does that mean I've found every chest in that specific area? Or do they symbolize the discoveries?

 

[Astra]

The Eleth thing is really neatl too. Do I understand this correctly, I don't need the ingredients to activate recipes during battle? As long as the Eleth jar is charged enough the recipe effect will activate when said conditions are met during battle?

Also, as long as I've registered an item/material in my book I have a chance to create it through the Eleth jar?

That's correct, to both questions.
Putting the Eleth Mixer to use a lot more now, myself. At first, I just stuck some recipes in it for use in battle, and some life bottles to be produced while walking around.

 

[Dark Schala]

Okay, never mind what I've said about this game so far. Just played the beginnings of adulthood and the battle system is like crazy fucking cool. The B-arts are so flip style, it's not even funny! I think there might be TOO MUCH going on with all these mechanics. I definitely get why people are flipping out over the battle system. The battle music got a little more rockin' too. I still don't like the track too much, but at least it sounds a little cooler now.

One last thing, what are the treasure chest icons on the world map about? Does that mean I've found every chest in that specific area? Or do they symbolize the discoveries?

Adult Arc is where it gets awesome. After you get a bunch of characters, try to experiment with them manually. A lot of them are fun to use.

Also, those chests on the world map symbolize discoveries.

 

[Why would you do that?]

This game, like all Tales games, is amazing. I've already renamed the game Tales of Insomnia...

I miss being able to go all out and wail on the enemies like in Team Symphonia games... and I definitely miss not being able to use heal artes on the field, but it's really fun.

The item mixer is cool, though. Once I understood how it worked, I started to really like making items from nothing. I'm also addicted to dualize.

I'm up to an important battle in a

Spoiler

castle throne room

(only a tiny spoiler that's standard RPG fare, but just in case, spoiler tags) and it's pretty, uh, long and sort of hard on moderate. Edit: Finally beat the boss, at the cost of all my items, including an elixir and all-divide...

 

[scy]

Still, an hour of all that grinding + boss fight makes me feel :/ Ah well.

I had hoped someone (/you) knew but I also figured that it would be one of those "Did it as early as I could just in case" things; I had already ran back to grab it on my back-up file so I could just pick up from there when I started playing today.

That said, it isn't marked as missable so ... maybe. I mean, I could always just test it so we know. Hm...

Dark Bottles = Holy Water (or Water of Absolution is what they called it?) + Poisonous Weed (well, the thing you find in that dungeon), yep. Ahhh, it's been a while since I did the early game, so I assumed that Dark Bottles were always there in the beginning.

While it would have been nice, I didn't really need more than two of them anyway. At least, as far as finishing up unlocking Chaos anyhow. On that note, 200-300 SP a fight feels good. I have no idea how people are leveling Titles on the easier difficulties.

I really liked the outcome of that in the JP version.

Which is basically why I'm going to go back for it! It's less "oh nos, missing an event" and more "oh nos, missing that event" lol

 

[RPGCrazied]

Another thing I don't get about the GT review is, they gave Dawn of the New World a 7.9. There is NO way that game is better than Graces F. That's pretty absurd.

 

[kyubajin]

Hmm, came here to ask about the GT review but I see most of you disregard it as very uninformative. Having not played any of the previous games I was kinda curious about whether I should try this one, however the GT review really put me off. I guess I'll give it a try when it's cheap or something.

 

[jorgeton]

Hmm, came here to ask about the GT review but I see most of you disregard it as very uninformative. Having not played any of the previous games I was kinda curious about whether I should try this one, however the GT review really put me off. I guess I'll give it a try when it's cheap or something.

If you like JRPGs, you will like this game.

Also fuck that reviewer for the giant spoiler in the 2nd paragraph.

 

[BassForever]

Finally got the full party and then I got challenged by

Spoiler

Hubert in the desert skit, he seemed waaaay to easy, even on Chaos I was disappointed

 

[Misterhbk]

Hmm, came here to ask about the GT review but I see most of you disregard it as very uninformative. Having not played any of the previous games I was kinda curious about whether I should try this one, however the GT review really put me off. I guess I'll give it a try when it's cheap or something.

You can wait for the game to get cheap but my guess is Namco didn't put out a huge shipment. I could be wrong, but I see this game being really hard to find in the very near future.

 

[Bladenic]

I'm playing as Malik a lot now, though damn his defense must be really low because enemies do a shit ton of damage. Granted I'm in a new area (the desert) on Hard but still. Love his spells though.

 

[BassForever]

I'm playing as Malik a lot now, though damn his defense must be really low because enemies do a shit ton of damage. Granted I'm in a new area (the desert) on Hard but still. Love his spells though.

Malik has the lowest physical defense in the game, he is the mage character despite his build he's more Genis/Rita then Kratos/

Spoiler

Asch

 

[Neki]

can you guys properly play mage characters in tales games? I tried playing as Rita in ToV, but found it near impossible because I always seem to have aggro just because I'm the PC lol, maybe it's just me.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I think this and Eternia are the only ones where I actually enjoy playing and controlling the main, Asbel, in Abyss Guy was always better.

What are the best party compositions?

 

[Splash Wave]

Is anyone interested in my copy WITH the Gamestop-exclusive pre-order bonus? I could do 55 shipped--the game is neat, but there's no way in hell I'm ever going to have the time to play it.

[I'm GAF Gold: check the b/s/t thread]

 

[Disgaeamad]

can you guys properly play mage characters in tales games? I tried playing as Rita in ToV, but found it near impossible because I always seem to have aggro just because I'm the PC lol, maybe it's just me.

Yeah Rita isn't very accessible to play unless you've got her in constant overlimits spamming a bunch of spells and showing just how broken she can be. In Graces it's a lot easier because the mage characters have a bunch of great, non-spell A artes to just lay into the enemy, and then you can combo from those into B arte spells with much shorter casting times for mega damage.

 

[dakkumauji]

Always found Malik pretty hard to play as since the CPU loves chasing after you, his A-artes are pretty average, which makes it hard to chain into his spells without being interrupted.

Never had a problem playing as Cheria though, so maybe the enemies just love chasing Malik.

 

[Torraz]

can you guys properly play mage characters in tales games? I tried playing as Rita in ToV, but found it near impossible because I always seem to have aggro just because I'm the PC lol, maybe it's just me.

The only tales game I've ever consistently played a mage in was xillia. It seemed that enemies chase you a bit less (perhaps just my imagination) or rowen was simply very effective.

 

[pelicansurf]

Oh lol, I forgot GT likes to spoil things. I'll watch it, then, since I guess other people don't want to spoil themselves.

"Does the 'f' stand for "fantastic" or "forgettable" in Tales of Graces F?"

Edit: Yeah, don't watch this if you don't want to be spoiled. They spoil a bit in the story. Hell, they spoil a lot.

-They dislike the Childhood Arc to no surprise.
-Find the story predictable
-Personalities of the characters grow on you after a while since they chat about a lot of stuff throughout the journey
-Exploration is dictated by the story, find overworld small and restrictive
-Invisible walls, and text bubbles telling you not to go that way
-Dislikes the fetch quests and requests
-Don't care about the quests outside of the story arc
-Feels as though there's a lack of freedom
-Battle system isn't a huge departure from past games; battles in real time, with regular attacks being called A-Artes and B-artes.
-Feels like combat is chaotic and button-mashy
-Issue: difficulty starts off so low that it takes a while to get a grasp on the battle system, and battles are over in 10 seconds or less so you don't get a lot of time to experiment.
-seem fine with titles and dualization
-no mistake that this was a Wii game and there seemed like no effort to bring this up to "PS3 standards"
-lighting and textures are flat, animations are stiff and lip-synching is a joke.
-presentation are weak; dungeons are cut and paste; scenes fade to black showing lack of animations for some stuff
-dry voice acting of most characters outside of Pascal
-music is lacklustre

Story: 6.8
Design: 6.7
Gameplay: 7.8
Presentation 5.6

Overall: 6.7

Done editing.

I actually agree with 80% of what they say; it's all true, except I still like the game. What does that say about me!?

 

[wingz]

Just started playing, only 2.5 hours in. This is my second tales game after Vesperia. So far it's pretty good. I can't wait to be done with the childhood arc though. I am really liking the combat though.

Is there any badass characters like Yuri, in Graces f?

 

[MechaX]

Pascal's play-style kinda baffles me. Not only is she a squishy mage-character that has to be in melee range for her attacks to work, her A Artes don't seem to be all that damaging or a single hit from another character can mess up her entire chain (knocking the enemy too far back most often). And her A artes comboed into her B artes only work some of the time due to the severe pushback a lot of her characters have.

I have been controlling her myself because I have heard a lot on how her AI sucks no matter what you do.

 

[Rarutos]

Pascal's play-style kinda baffles me. Not only is she a squishy mage-character that has to be in melee range for her attacks to work, her A Artes don't seem to be all that damaging or a single hit from another character can mess up her entire chain (knocking the enemy too far back most often). And her A artes comboed into her B artes only work some of the time due to the severe pushback a lot of her characters have.

I have been controlling her myself because I have heard a lot on how her AI sucks no matter what you do.

Well, Pascal is a weird character in general, so it would make sense that her playstyle is weird too! That's kind of how I like it anyway, it's different!

I haven't had too many problems with Pascal's AI myself, though.

 

[ULTROS!]

Sidequest help:

Spoiler

where can i find the trade permit for the guy at the port in Strahne?

 

[Dark Schala]

I have been controlling her myself because I have heard a lot on how her AI sucks no matter what you do.

I usually turn off the skills she likes to spam for no reason. I do like manually controlling her. You get used to it.

I actually agree with 80% of what they say; it's all true, except I still like the game. What does that say about me!?

Nothing. A lot of what they said was true. Except the battle system bits, imo.

I'm playing as Malik a lot now, though damn his defense must be really low because enemies do a shit ton of damage. Granted I'm in a new area (the desert) on Hard but still. Love his spells though.

Malik, like Rowen in Xillia for example, is a glass cannon. He hits hard, but he has the lowest defense out of everyone.

Hmm, came here to ask about the GT review but I see most of you disregard it as very uninformative. Having not played any of the previous games I was kinda curious about whether I should try this one, however the GT review really put me off. I guess I'll give it a try when it's cheap or something.

There's a demo on JPSN if you want to try it out.

I had hoped someone (/you) knew but I also figured that it would be one of those "Did it as early as I could just in case" things; I had already ran back to grab it on my back-up file so I could just pick up from there when I started playing today.

That said, it isn't marked as missable so ... maybe. I mean, I could always just test it so we know. Hm...

While it would have been nice, I didn't really need more than two of them anyway. At least, as far as finishing up unlocking Chaos anyhow. On that note, 200-300 SP a fight feels good. I have no idea how people are leveling Titles on the easier difficulties.

Which is basically why I'm going to go back for it! It's less "oh nos, missing an event" and more "oh nos, missing that event" lol

I'm so sorry I don't know. :/ It was never marked as missable, and I'd assumed that since it isn't missable, you could pick up the books any time.

People probably bought the SP bonus from PSN. A lot of the bonuses on PSN are actually things you could purchase from the grade shop on NG+. But yeah, wanna level your titles fast? Go on a higher difficulty and get bonuses during battle.

 

[ULTROS!]

Weird, I thought Hubert was stronger than Malik overall.

 

[scy]

I'm so sorry I don't know. :/ It was never marked as missable, and I'd assumed that since it isn't missable, you could pick up the books any time.

Haha, it's not a big deal :x Just figured if anyone knew here, it'd be you.

I think I'll just bite the bullet, as it were, and check so we can at least be certain. Whatever, one chapter to replay isn't a big deal in the event that it doesn't work out. Might be worth figuring it out if nothing else.

I guess everyone that far (e.g., chapter 3+) has been more diligent in their side quests than I was :x

People probably bought the SP bonus from PSN. A lot of the bonuses on PSN are actually things you could purchase from the grade shop on NG+. But yeah, wanna level your titles fast? Go on a higher difficulty and get bonuses during battle.

My first fight on Chaos got me something like 430 SP or something. After settling with Evil's ~100s, that was quite the (well worth) jump. Trash fights didn't actually get much harder though, just my combos get longer

 

[Dark Schala]

Sidequest help:

Spoiler

where can i find the trade permit for the guy at the port in Strahne?

IIRC, you

Spoiler

trigger a conversation with Asbel's mom. Go to Baronia Castle and turn right down the corridor and talk to an official. You'll get the trade licence, and then hand it into the Oul Raye Inn.

I think I'll just bite the bullet, as it were, and check so we can at least be certain. Whatever, one chapter to replay isn't a big deal in the event that it doesn't work out. Might be worth figuring it out if nothing else.

I guess everyone that far (e.g., chapter 3+) has been more diligent in their side quests than I was :x

It's nice that you're biting the bullet and figuring this stuff out, though. I hope it isn't missable.

My first fight on Chaos got me something like 430 SP or something. After settling with Evil's ~100s, that was quite the (well worth) jump. Trash fights didn't actually get much harder though, just my combos get longer

And it's much easier to increase your combo amount. That's why it's easier to learn how to link combos and time your comboing with your party members' combos (ex: hit, then recover CC if you didn't get a bonus while knocking enemies around whenever your other party members hit and then dive back in). When I hit Chaos, the game started throwing lots of titles at me for a while, lol.

 

[scy]

It's nice that you're biting the bullet and figuring this stuff out, though. I hope it isn't missable.

I just need to remember to not grindan too much during the chapter in the event that it is missable. Now that would suck, lol.

And it's much easier to increase your combo amount. That's why it's easier to learn how to link combos and time your comboing with your party members' combos (ex: hit, then recover CC if you didn't get a bonus while knocking enemies around whenever your other party members hit and then dive back in). When I hit Chaos, the game started throwing lots of titles at me for a while, lol.

That was basically the biggest lesson I got from the

Spoiler

Queen Slime

fight. Stop trying to mash in hits to get the kill in faster. Time things better to keep the chain going to make the fight go smoother.

Not that the last ~2000 HP wasn't "CIRCLE CIRCLE CIRCLE OH GOD DIE FASTER." But still...

 

[Verelios]

Ah yes. Once you get to the last 1500 HP, all reason seems to evaporate. That's how I died against the

Spoiler

son of a bitch wolf, on chaos

. I thought I could just wing it, but nope. Sidestepped, was hit, tried to backstep, was followed, killed, and then my party was basically 1 plus me, so yeah. Shit was not fun. Shows me not to get impatient though.

 

[Bladenic]

Malik has the lowest physical defense in the game, he is the mage character despite his build he's more Genis/Rita then Kratos/

Spoiler

Asch

Lower than Cheria or Pascal? Damn. Well at least his HP is high. I had to switch to Asbel though because of the aggro. Hate the fact that enemies automatically seem to go after you if you're the lead. Oh well, my party of Asbel, Sophie, Malik, and Cheria wreck shit. I put Pascal in a few times in Cheria's place too but the extra healing is too good.

Pascal is a powerhouse though. Even her physical artes do a ton of damage. And her spells are crazy strong. She's the definition of a double-edged sword.

 

[Mattakuevan]

So, is Hubert as insanely good as he seems? I can't quite tell but he seems like he might be more effective than Asbel overall. I could be wrong, but Hubert seems like a beast.

 

[burgerdog]

I couldn't be more lost in Wallbridge if I tried. Where is the north bridge control mechanism?

 

[dakkumauji]

So, is Hubert as insanely good as he seems? I can't quite tell but he seems like he might be more effective than Asbel overall. I could be wrong, but Hubert seems like a beast.

He's pretty well rounded. Good for attacking, has spells, and has quick healing spells. I do think he's a jack of all trades, but a master of none, since he lacks any really strong spells or more stronger healing spells than what he starts with.

Still good when I end up using him in a party of three CPU healers and me mashing against something on the higher difficulties.