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[RPGCrazied]

Just kicked

Spoiler

poor Maxwell's ass, the real one!

I just got to Employis(spelling?) with 31 hours. About how much longer now?

I'm guessing Xillia 2 will be more on this

Spoiler

new world

, specially if I'm close to the end of the first game.

 

[Finalow]

So........ better than graces? Hope so...

it seems so. you don't need much to be a better game/tales of than graces f though.

 

[Hubb]

I dislike the mining and anything (in any game) that is "mash X". Beyond pointless.

it seems so. you don't need much to be a better game/tales of than graces f though.

The battle system was pretty good, not sure why graces gets the hate it does.

 

[FSLink]

The battle system was pretty good, not sure why graces gets the hate it does.

People hate or dislike the story and characters of Graces.

 

[Hubb]

People hate or dislike the story and characters of Graces.

That is fine, but the gameplay elements were great. Stating you don't need to do much to be a better game is a little harsh imo. The voice acting was good too from what I remember.

 

[Gintoki313]

So after reading through the thread for a while, I'm guessing I'm the only one who doesn't like Millia so far.

 

[FSLink]

That is fine, but the gameplay elements were great. Stating you don't need to do much to be a better game is a little harsh imo. The voice acting was good too from what I remember.

Oh yeah I agree, but for some reason people like to put more weight on story/characters in a game series that's heavily rooted in anime and anime tropes.

 

[Finalow]

The battle system was pretty good, not sure why graces gets the hate it does.

to be honest the battle system is the only good thing of that game. awful plot, awful characters and really awful ost.

 

[R_thanatos]

SHUT THE FUCK UP IVAR!

ah ah AH AH AH

I understand you , i really do ..
i felt the same way ...

Just kicked

Spoiler

poor Maxwell's ass, the real one!

I just got to Employis(spelling?) with 31 hours. About how much longer now?

I'm guessing Xillia 2 will be more on this

Spoiler

new world

, specially if I'm close to the end of the first game.

You guessed right.

Naw man, it's intentional. All the games are actually connected, but they're really subtle about it.

shyamalantwist.jpg

Never played tales of the world ?

Spoiler

All the tales of games are indeed connected.

 

[charlequin]

I said I would never buy costumes. I bought two. T_T

You literally ruined it for everyone else. -_-

 

[chickdigger802]

I dislike the mining and anything (in any game) that is "mash X". Beyond pointless.



The battle system was pretty good, not sure why graces gets the hate it does.

still have the issue of all tales games of party members not doing shit which makes boss fights above normal a pain.


Best tales combat though... but I can't think they are about '8/10' until they figure out how to make bosses less annoying.

 

[Liferebooted]

What's the max level for the shops anyways?

 

[Rpgmonkey]

What's the max level for the shops anyways?

100.

 

[chickdigger802]

damn it... still haven't encountered 3x weapon shop. shop still at lvl 14 :S

 

[Papercuts]

That is fine, but the gameplay elements were great. Stating you don't need to do much to be a better game is a little harsh imo. The voice acting was good too from what I remember.

I just personally found the game to look drab, the characters were all insufferable, the plot was mind numbing. The combat was fine was I didn't think it was exponentially better than ever other tales game even if I enjoyed it a lot. Still, the amount of time spent int actual combat vs. trekking the world, being in a cutscene or whatever in an RPG especially is a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Phenomic]

Random Question. Curious about how much I have left based on where I'm at.

What's the average level in which people tend to beat the game? (Without doing all the crazy side quests) Tales games are normally like 60-70 I'd assume this one is around the same? Or perhaps it's lower because of Xillia 2 being the direct sequel it is?

 

[SaintZ]

Well I played like 8 hours straight yesterday and I'm more or less spending that time today... my head and eyes hurt D:

I just beat

Spoiler

Presa and Wingul. UGH. Fuck them. Fuck the spell (?) that turned me against my party.

I beat them on my first try but spent half of my Life Bottles lol. I'm level 35 so maybe I'm underleveled.

What the hell is

Spoiler

Presa wearing... and I thought Milla's default costume was hookerrific already. She reminded me of Alcyone from Magic Knight Rayearth. Wingul was serving some Sephirot realness after using his booster.

I'm doing some side quests before getting the Wyverns but I think I already missed one: a girl is asking for his for her Rappig in Mon Highlands. I scanned the whole place and didn't find anything and I can't return to Kanbalar D:. I'm still looking for a topknot and a Pink Elephant Tusk to demonstrate I'm a true (super) pinkist!

 

[Hubb]

I just personally found the game to look drab, the characters were all insufferable, the plot was mind numbing. The combat was fine was I didn't think it was exponentially better than ever other tales game even if I enjoyed it a lot. Still, the amount of time spent int actual combat vs. trekking the world, being in a cutscene or whatever in an RPG especially is a hard pill to swallow.

I hear ya, and everyone else in the thread. Wasn't my favorite tales by far, but I guess it didn't bother me as much as everyone else. It was such a long time between vesperia to graces (for me) that I probably was just happy to be playing a tales game.

 

[Holmes]

OH MY GOD FUCK YOU

Spoiler

MUZET

 

[Sallokin]

I hear ya, and everyone else in the thread. Wasn't my favorite tales by far, but I guess it didn't bother me as much as everyone else. It was such a long time between vesperia to graces (for me) that I probably was just happy to be playing a tales game.

I'm leaning towards this opinion as well. I'm only about 12 hours in but this isn't grabbing me like Vesperia (and to some extent Graces) did. I actually played Vesperia and Graces back to back so maybe those are still too fresh in my mind.

 

[Hubb]

I'm leaning towards this opinion as well. I'm only about 12 hours in but this isn't grabbing me like Vesperia (and to some extent Graces) did. I actually played Vesperia and Graces back to back so maybe those are still too fresh in my mind.

Think you got the wrong idea from me. I do really like Xillia, Graces just seemed to fill my tales void since it had been awhile since I played Vesperia.

 

[R_thanatos]

OH MY GOD FUCK YOU

Spoiler

MUZET

Are you on mila story ? if so you have legitimate reasons to be angry .

 

[Bladenic]

This may be the fastest paced game in the series, battle wise. Jude alone is mega fast but Milla and Leia are really fast too. Plus it may be my imagination but Elize and Rowen cast spells really quickly too.

Also, I honestly am loving boss fights. Weird I know, but after those super annoying ones in Chapter 1 and 2 they've been really fun. Yeah they have some annoying elements but I like it because they're challenging but not unfair.

Just kicked the hell out of

Spoiler

Volt

. It's pre-emptive payback since I know

Spoiler

hes gonna kick my ass again in Xillia 2.

 

[nintendoman58]

Damn at Jude's story. *Tales of Graces spoilers below

Spoiler

I just witnessed the "main female sacrificing herself" scene that was completely absent in Graces. She's obviously going to come back, but damn this game handles drama way better than Graces.

Good lord at this sudden change in character from Alvin. I wasn't expecting him to go full-on murder mode at that point. But I was wondering if one of the party members would end up as a boss fight sooner or later. Too bad he kicked my ass...

I don't know what the hell he's gonna do to earn the party's trust back, but seeing as it's a Tales cast, it's probably not going to be too hard.

 

[Rhapsody]

Damn at Jude's story. *Tales of Graces spoilers below

Spoiler

I just witnessed the "main female sacrificing herself" scene that was completely absent in Graces. She's obviously going to come back, but damn this game handles drama way better than Graces.

Good lord at this sudden change in character from Alvin. I wasn't expecting him to go full-on murder mode at that point. But I was wondering if one of the party members would end up as a boss fight sooner or later. Too bad he kicked my ass...

I don't know what the hell he's gonna do to earn the party's trust back, but seeing as it's a Tales cast, it's probably not going to be too hard.

lol I remember when I played and got there, I was going to take a break for the day. Then I decided maybe I'll watch the next cutscene...

I really regretted that and wanted to know what happened next lol

 

[demidar]

I can't believe the first boss is a loli :/

It's cool that I recognize Jude's forward attack as Bajiquan, that back shoulder slam is distinctive.

I kind of agree with Aeana that the shop leveling system takes some of the fun out of reaching a new town, but at the same time I like filling out bars >_>

Alvin is pretty cool so far.

 

[Sallokin]

Think you got the wrong idea from me. I do really like Xillia, Graces just seemed to fill my tales void since it had been awhile since I played Vesperia.

Yeah I think I misread your post. My bad.

 

[CelHalcyon]

So after reading through the thread for a while, I'm guessing I'm the only one who doesn't like Millia so far.

Nah, you're not alone. I feel like both her personality and voice acting basically amount to Tales of Lightning.

Maybe this changes further on, but I'm not seeing it yet. I'm still on Ch. 1.

 

[R_thanatos]

I can't believe the first boss is a loli :/

She is the best loli you could insert in a rpg.
NO offense , presea , anise and such .. but really ...this is the kind of stuff that is so much intresting

Anise also had that personality but that was behind the mask , here it's just better.

Nah, you're not alone. I feel like both her personality and voice acting basically amount to Tales of Lightning.

Maybe this changes further on, but I'm not seeing it yet. I'm still on Ch. 1.

That's quite an insult .. is the voice work that bad ? she is so awesome in japanese.

 

[Bladenic]

Nah, you're not alone. I feel like both her personality and voice acting basically amount to Tales of Lightning.

Maybe this changes further on, but I'm not seeing it yet. I'm still on Ch. 1.

Lightning wishes she was as awesome as Milla.

 

[Eusis]

damn it... still haven't encountered 3x weapon shop. shop still at lvl 14 :S

I encountered it once, is it only if two shops offer bonuses on the same item? At any rate unless I find a better use for them I think that's what I'll save my black feathers for, boosting shops that actively has a 3x multiplier.

I kind of agree with Aeana that the shop leveling system takes some of the fun out of reaching a new town, but at the same time I like filling out bars >_>

I feel like the system in Xillia is more at home in, say, a dungeon crawler (OH WAIT ETRIAN ODYSSEY DOES THIS and that's also why I keep expecting money) where you only have one town and want something more interesting than plot progression to expand stock, whereas plot progression IS most fitting for a more typically structured JRPG. Still, in Xillia I kind of enjoy exploring some of the wilderness to harvest supplies, so that's something I guess.

Lightning wishes she was as awesome as Milla.

Milla's a more interesting character than LIghtning thus far, though in the ranks of AAA games Lightning's not so bad.

Although Milla WOULD win the crown uncontested if she ever just punched Ivar like Lightning punched Snow.

 

[Why would you do that?]

I am playing Xillia (as Jude) and really enjoying it a lot. I just obtained the fifth character and saw a couple skits with the fifth character.

I actually miss a lot of things from Graces f.

One, I miss things like the Discoveries. Something small, but it was always something nice to look out for and provided interesting variety and skits to the game.

Two, the mixing items together via dualizing. In older Tales games, you could create and/or mix items in some way depending on the game, like dualizing, cooking, or using a Rune Bottle, and I really enjoyed that. In this game, you get a lot of raw materials, but their only purpose is item donation.

Three, the titles. In older Tales games, you could equip titles, maybe for a small stat boost. In Graces f, there were tons of titles, titles you could individually level up and would provide benefits. In Graces f, the so-called "titles" are really just items in an achievement list. At least the achievements have a purpose - they give you grade (probably for New Game+ perks).

However, I do enjoy some things from Xillia. I like the Link system, for instance, and everything that comes along with it like the Linked Artes.

 

[Papercuts]

I'm not a huge fan of the store system for the same reason of enjoying going to a new town and upgrading, but...eh. I atleast see what they were attempting, even if it's hilarious when you see a random peddler in the field stocked with every single item the multiple town shops all have in one bag. Though I guess it makes about as much sense as discovering a random small town near the endgame having THE GODSLAYER 9000 for sale when the capitol city has a shitty dull blade.

 

[Eusis]

I am playing Xillia (as Jude) and really enjoying it a lot. I just obtained the fifth character and saw a couple skits with the fifth character.

Man, I really am behind everyone else here. I MIGHT get the fifth character soon (though it sure took awhile after the fourth character's introduction to get them), but it sounds like everyone else is nearly at the end or something. But then I'm not QUITE as motivated to blitz through as, say, SMTIV, but even then I'd ignore it for awhile than just play huge chunks of it.

 

[CelHalcyon]

That's quite an insult .. is the voice work that bad ? she is so awesome in japanese.

It is completely emotionless. To make it worse, the voice tracks are heavily compressed, so it just sounds so...off.

I love the game, I love all the other characters more than I thought I would, but I just can't get into Milla.

 

[Freezasaurus]

I am playing Xillia (as Jude) and really enjoying it a lot. I just obtained the fifth character and saw a couple skits with the fifth character.

I actually miss a lot of things from Graces f.

Do you know what I miss from the old school Tales games? Wonder Chef!!!!

Not really, but it does make me wonder what ever happened to him. Anyway, I think the improvements in Xillia far outweigh anything from Graces f that didn't make the cut this time.

 

[Bladenic]

It is completely emotionless. To make it worse, the voice tracks are heavily compressed, so it just sounds so...off.

I love the game, I love all the other characters more than I thought I would, but I just can't get into Milla.

It's meant to be that way. She was the same way in the JP version. She shows more emotion as the game goes on. The audio mixing/quality is shitty though, yes. Strangely it seems to only be that way for her, the other characters sound fine.

 

[CelHalcyon]

It's meant to be that way. She was the same way in the JP version. She shows more emotion as the game goes on. The audio mixing/quality is shitty though, yes. Strangely it seems to only be that way for her, the other characters sound fine.

Thank god for that, I was worried I'd have to put up with dozens of more hours of that.

Man, I really am behind everyone else here. I MIGHT get the fifth character soon (though it sure took awhile after the fourth character's introduction to get them), but it sounds like everyone else is nearly at the end or something. But then I'm not QUITE as motivated to blitz through as, say, SMTIV, but even then I'd ignore it for awhile than just play huge chunks of it.

I haven't got that character yet either. I hate work, but if it weren't for that, I wouldn't be buying games so I guess I just have to make do with what time I have. I'd rather spend all waking hours blazing through this massive backlog, though.

 

[R_thanatos]

It is completely emotionless. To make it worse, the voice tracks are heavily compressed, so it just sounds so...off.

I love the game, I love all the other characters more than I thought I would, but I just can't get into Milla.

First .that has nothing to do with lightning

Second , considering her situation and background , it's so expected. it's obvious she is NOT an human and thus she will get more & more emotions as you play.

 

[Rhapsody]

There are still some odd sounding lines from English Milla. Namely the scenes where she's supposed to show emotion when things are getting dangerous. I don't mind her voice acting everywhere else though since that's how she should sound.

 

[chickdigger802]

fucking graces.

We spend 30 hrs of the game doing shit to save the world then all of a sudden

Spoiler

I have to sacrifice myself!

Asbel: what? oh shit, change of mind!

 

[demidar]

She is the best loli you could insert in a rpg.
NO offense , presea , anise and such .. but really ...this is the kind of stuff that is so much intresting

Anise also had that personality but that was behind the mask , here it's just better.

Well I'm still pretty early in so that might change, but I liked Presea.

I feel like the system in Xillia is more at home in, say, a dungeon crawler (OH WAIT ETRIAN ODYSSEY DOES THIS and that's also why I keep expecting money) where you only have one town and want something more interesting than plot progression to expand stock, whereas plot progression IS most fitting for a more typically structured JRPG. Still, in Xillia I kind of enjoy exploring some of the wilderness to harvest supplies, so that's something I guess.

Oh yeah that totally makes sense in a dungeon crawler to give a single (or few) town some depth. I do like harvesting stuff but man, the fields sure are empty. So far, I would prefer an overworld over this linear progression of rooms, mainly because the implied scale of an overworld is large, but technically and effort-wise is smaller than these fields and traversing it is easier.

 

[CelHalcyon]

First .that has nothing to do with lightning

Second , considering her situation and background , it's so expected. it's obvious she is NOT an human and thus she will get more & more emotions as you play.

The thing I had attributed to Lightning most was her emotionless way of speaking. The other thing I compared her to Milla on was her unwavering commitment to her mission, usually at the expense of others.

But the biggest problem with her voice, truthfully, isn't the lack of emotion, but the stilted way of speaking. It's hard to explain; I've never been good with words. But maybe that's intentional too. However, in an otherwise fantastic cast of characters, she's easily the least likeable as of yet.

 

[FSLink]

There are still some odd sounding lines from English Milla. Namely the scenes where she's supposed to show emotion when things are getting dangerous. I don't mind her voice acting everywhere else though since that's how she should sound.

Yeah, the voice actor for Milla just can't act in emotional scenes, but considering she's supposed to sound emotionless (especially in skits where it's used for comedic effect), she's not too bad.

 

[PKrockin]

Isn't Milla... supposed to sound emotionless? Isn't that the point, her not being human and all?

In hindsight, with an ocean of titles and 5 stars plus mastery level to earn each, Graces's title system was a little unnecessarily deep. I've never liked auto-leveling and Xillia lets me direct the growth of my characters without stopping every other battle to set another title. May be just me though.

 

[Bladenic]

I wonder how Milla's VA will handle (big Xillia 2 spoiler)

Spoiler

Alt Milla

.

 

[Rhapsody]

Isn't Milla... supposed to sound emotionless? Isn't that the point, her not being human and all?

The scenes where she's fighting in cutscenes or running to rescue her friends in the Japanese version sounded fine.
They just sound a little odd in the English version is all for those scenes.

 

[FSLink]

Isn't Milla... supposed to sound emotionless? Isn't that the point, her not being human and all?

In hindsight, with an ocean of titles and 5 stars plus mastery level to earn each, Graces's title system was a little unnecessarily deep. I've never liked auto-leveling and Xillia lets me direct the growth of my characters without stopping every other battle to set another title. May be just me though.

I liked Xillia's system too until I realized like others that it doesn't offer much choice at all. All it does is let you prioritize skills or artes first, you end up getting everything in the end anyway. Vesperia's weapon system and Graces title system were much more interesting...

 

[Videoneon]

fucking graces.

We spend 30 hrs of the game doing shit to save the world then all of a sudden

Spoiler

I have to sacrifice myself!

Asbel: what? oh shit, change of mind!

I don't know if it that's so much as THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Spoiler

I BELIEVE IN YOU LAMBDA

That game is so friendship. Too bad everyone else who isn't Richard or Sophie falls by the wayside after certain points for each character.

Dammit. I really feel like, looking at some of the basic plot developments in Graces (Hubert booting you out of Lhant, Cheria's reticence towards Asbel) the story could've been told so much better. Things had to fundamentally change though, like not abruptly axing Cheria's role, Richard maybe...not existing, and that ending...I don't think it can be redeemed lol

Still my favorite Tales game so far =3 Love me them systems

 

[Freezasaurus]

I don't know if it that's so much as THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Spoiler

I BELIEVE IN YOU LAMBDA

That game is so friendship. Too bad everyone else who isn't Richard or Sophie falls by the wayside after certain points for each character.

Now I remember what it was I disliked about Graces. Everything that wasn't the gameplay.