About to fight the last boss of the main arc, I think it's safe to say this is the best Tales of... game I've played. I have to admit that I only played 3 tales games before this one, Tales of Destiny (enjoyed back then), Tales of Symphonia (didn't like) and Tales of the Abyss (hated it).
Sure storywise the game is nothing special, but it's no offensive either like other jrpgs. The cast is actually likeable, and the skits while not being that memorable help to develop the cast. What I did like about the skits is how they were presented, with full body artwork for the characters. The english voice acting is really really good, and I'm glad that for once all the skits are voiced giving the game a much better presentation, I believe Vesperia did this too which is great and I hope the trend of full english voiced skits continues.
Now the gameplay is where this game really shines. Graces' battle system is simply amazing. The basics are that you move back and forth on a line depending on the enemy you are targetting and this is basic for any Tales, but the addition of quick-stepping is just a much better mechanic than free run. Quick-stepping can not only be used to traverse a battlefield but it can also help you dodge enemy attacks, it works a lot like SO4's blindside mechanic except that it's much better, you don't have to hold down a button and then wait for a crosshair to appear like in SO4 instead simply holding down the block button and moving the left stick in any direction is enough. This is the first Tales games I've played that has the CC mechanic, and honestly I can't go back to TP. CC (Which stand for Chain Capacity) means you can go all out in battles because CC gets restore after each battle, at first it seems a bit limiting but later on you get enough CC to pull off some really impressive combos. It's a shame Xilia goes back to TP because CC makes the TP mechanic look dated in comparison.
Artes in Graces are divided in two categories: A-artes which are usually quicker attacks and B-artes these artes are slower but more powerful. Switching between the two categories is not only useful in battles but it also looks fucking cool. Asbel's A-artes for instance are attacks that are done with the sword sheathed while his B-artes are attacks done with his sword drawn out. Switching between the 2 categories like I said earlier is not just aesthetic mechanic for battles, it's also extremely useful because each enemy has a set of weaknesses that if you hit successfully not only is your damage multiplied by a insane amount but your CC also gets restored allowing you to keep chaining moves for longer combos.
The skill progression system is also genius, the Titles a tales series staple is how you develop your characters. These titles are usually achievements gained during battles, but a lot of those are also plot-related. Each title has 5 skills 2 are stat boosting skills while the other 3 upgrade your existing skills or Artes and sometimes maybe even learn a new arte. Equipping a title also give you a passive effect thats only avaible while you have that specific title equipped.
I could go on and on, but I don't want to make a huge post which will probably not even be read but in summary Tales of Graces f feels like the ultimate tales in terms of gameplay. Apparently it was the last Team Destiny game as both teams (Symphonia and Destiny) got merged, if so then damn... they went out with a bang.
Oh yeahhh!!!
Sure storywise the game is nothing special, but it's no offensive either like other jrpgs. The cast is actually likeable, and the skits while not being that memorable help to develop the cast. What I did like about the skits is how they were presented, with full body artwork for the characters. The english voice acting is really really good, and I'm glad that for once all the skits are voiced giving the game a much better presentation, I believe Vesperia did this too which is great and I hope the trend of full english voiced skits continues.
Now the gameplay is where this game really shines. Graces' battle system is simply amazing. The basics are that you move back and forth on a line depending on the enemy you are targetting and this is basic for any Tales, but the addition of quick-stepping is just a much better mechanic than free run. Quick-stepping can not only be used to traverse a battlefield but it can also help you dodge enemy attacks, it works a lot like SO4's blindside mechanic except that it's much better, you don't have to hold down a button and then wait for a crosshair to appear like in SO4 instead simply holding down the block button and moving the left stick in any direction is enough. This is the first Tales games I've played that has the CC mechanic, and honestly I can't go back to TP. CC (Which stand for Chain Capacity) means you can go all out in battles because CC gets restore after each battle, at first it seems a bit limiting but later on you get enough CC to pull off some really impressive combos. It's a shame Xilia goes back to TP because CC makes the TP mechanic look dated in comparison.
Artes in Graces are divided in two categories: A-artes which are usually quicker attacks and B-artes these artes are slower but more powerful. Switching between the two categories is not only useful in battles but it also looks fucking cool. Asbel's A-artes for instance are attacks that are done with the sword sheathed while his B-artes are attacks done with his sword drawn out. Switching between the 2 categories like I said earlier is not just aesthetic mechanic for battles, it's also extremely useful because each enemy has a set of weaknesses that if you hit successfully not only is your damage multiplied by a insane amount but your CC also gets restored allowing you to keep chaining moves for longer combos.
The skill progression system is also genius, the Titles a tales series staple is how you develop your characters. These titles are usually achievements gained during battles, but a lot of those are also plot-related. Each title has 5 skills 2 are stat boosting skills while the other 3 upgrade your existing skills or Artes and sometimes maybe even learn a new arte. Equipping a title also give you a passive effect thats only avaible while you have that specific title equipped.
I could go on and on, but I don't want to make a huge post which will probably not even be read but in summary Tales of Graces f feels like the ultimate tales in terms of gameplay. Apparently it was the last Team Destiny game as both teams (Symphonia and Destiny) got merged, if so then damn... they went out with a bang.
Oh yeahhh!!!
