Tales of Graces f Remastered Review – JRPG Greatness Refined

As a devoted fan, I’m blown away by Bandai Namco’s exceptional remastering of their Tales series! It’s not just a simple port; it’s a breathtaking transformation. The moment I fired up Tales of Graces f, I was taken aback by the array of customizable gameplay options that greeted me. To put it simply, this classic game has been showered with an impressive assortment of new convenience features. What truly took me by surprise is that the Grade Shop is immediately accessible from the outset of a fresh game – a feature I didn’t expect to see so early on in the gameplay!

At The Grade Shop, players have access to numerous mutators that modify gameplay in multiple ways, previously only accessible during new game plus. Ready for a quicker battle? Simply activate the double damage Grade and brace yourself for intense, swift fights requiring sharp reflexes. Many Grades fall under the category of handicaps: items such as discounted shop prices, doubled experience gains, increased drop rates, you catch my drift. Some hardcore gamers might frown at the idea that all Grades are immediately accessible from the start, but they always have the choice to disregard them if they desire a purist playthrough. Additionally, different Grade options can make the game noticeably more challenging, like trading all experience for money, as an example.

For the first time ever, The Grade Shop provides players with an extensive variety of modifiers, each capable of changing different aspects of the game, all accessible right from the beginning.

Absolutely, there’s a lot more to this update than just a free Grade Shop upfront. You can now choose whether to engage in enemy encounters or not, and cutscenes and skits can finally be skipped. There are also destination icons and event indicators for better navigation, regular battles come with a retry option, Japanese voices have been added for the western version, and there’s plenty more. And as expected, there’s been some graphical improvement, with colors and textures enhanced for high-definition and HDR displays.

Almost all the advanced options you see can be turned on or off, allowing for a tailored experience down to the smallest detail. If you prefer a classic vanilla gaming experience, you can choose to bypass the Grade Shop and deactivate all the new features for a challenging yet rewarding gameplay session. The hidden difficulty setting remains locked behind a successfully completed save file, ensuring that the original challenge still exists.

Initially, I pondered why I should immerse myself in a 15-year-old “Tales” game? Frankly, as a JRPG enthusiast, I had doubts about whether “Graces” would still be engaging after all these years. Admittedly, I hadn’t played “Graces” before and wasn’t sure what to anticipate. While I appreciated “Tales of Arise,” it didn’t quite capture the humorous dialogue and engaging plot structure that I cherished in “Symphonia.” I also enjoyed “Abyss” and to a lesser extent, “Vesperia,” but neither left me utterly amazed. To set the stage, I’m a fan of the series, but not one who is head-over-heels in love with it… until now. “Tales of Graces f” has completely transformed my perception of JRPGs and I’m struggling to find the words to express my newfound affection for it. My expectations were rather modest, yet they’ve been surpassed exponentially by my experience so far. Let’s proceed with the rest of the review.

For high-definition (HDR) and 4K screens, the colors and details are intensified. On the left, you see the original version from PlayStation 3, whereas the right side has been upgraded and remastered.

Following all this positive talk, you might be anticipating the game’s beginning to match the grandeur of ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ However, I must clarify that the initial hour of ‘Tales of Graces’ is gradual rather than swift, not in a detrimental way. The opening acts as a prologue, delving into the childhood experiences of the characters. It accurately portrays how children would behave within this game’s society. While I appreciate the game’s focus on its childhood chapter, it does linger a bit too long in certain scenes. Furthermore, the child voices may not be as appealing compared to their adult counterparts. Nevertheless, the tempo significantly improves post-introduction and maintains a steady pace thereon. I strongly encourage players to give the storyline a chance. The first hour might appear clichéd and somewhat uneventful, but the build-up and subsequent events are nothing short of extraordinary. I’m eager to discuss in more detail how effectively the characters are developed through the intricate plotline, but that’s for another time.

One method the game portrays its characters is by using fully-voiced dialogue scenes known as Skits. These Skits are a common element in the series, showcasing lively conversations among characters that span from deep confessions to lighthearted discussions about the local food of the region. They effectively develop the personalities of the party members and depict various relationship dynamics.

It’s great that there’s always a Skit event popping up in every town or field area, ensuring you don’t go more than 30 minutes without encountering a new one. The game Graces boasts some top-notch voice acting, with Laura Bailey and Cassandra Lee Morris lending their voices to your party members. However, my only complaint about Skits is that they sometimes auto-advance unexpectedly, causing me to miss dialogue occasionally. On the positive side, you can view all of the approximately 400 Skits if you’re willing to complete a somewhat hidden quest related to feeding a cat.

As a gamer, I’ve got to say, Skits really nail down the unique traits of my party members and beautifully portray their diverse relationships.

Here’s another thing I truly enjoy about this game: It offers a multitude of activities at any given moment, all of which are engaging and enjoyable. This game shares similarities with other Tales games as it allows you to control each party member during exploration and combat. However, what sets it apart is the additional commentary provided by various characters when examining environmental points of interest. When I’m not marveling at the unique reactions of the characters to Asbel’s messy desk or regional anomalies, I’m trying to solve each town’s exclusive treasure puzzle. These locked chests often require knowledge about the area’s lore to open. Some of them are quite clever, such as asking you to look up an NPC’s favorite monster and input its bestiary number into the chest lock.

There’s also a card game where you can face off against characters from the Tales series. As you explore, you collect cards featuring popular characters, and you can play a game of ‘guess the quote’ with non-player characters during your adventure. This is a fun extra for dedicated fans of the series, but it can be skipped by others. Regarding NPCs, they usually provide helpful tips and tutorials early on, although they mostly share regional lore and amusing stories. In every region and town you visit, there are numerous requests for Inn services, local discoveries, skits, and time-limited events. The game is filled with captivating content at every turn.

In every place you travel to, whether it’s a region or a town, you will encounter numerous demands for Inns, local discoveries, skits, and time-bound activities.

The essence of this game, particularly captivating, is found in its exceptionally intricate combat system. This combat system, without a doubt, stands out as my preferred one across the series. At first glance, it may appear basic, but delve deeper and you’ll find a complexity that keeps unfolding even 50 hours into gameplay. Much of this depth is attributed to the extraordinary Title system. Titles grant passive advantages, new skills (or artes, as this game refers to them), and unique effects for each character. You can unlock Titles with every action you perform in the game. It’s similar to how The Elder Scrolls works, where actions lead to leveling up. If you frequently use Demon Fang, for instance, you’ll likely be rewarded with a Title associated with that arte.

To clarify, every participant in this game has numerous, and I’m not overstating this, hundreds of unique Titles. Some are related to a character’s story advancement, while others can be acquired by completing certain tasks or accumulating specific resources. With the addition of DLC content, we also receive Titles that correspond to costumes for each character. This is on top of the Title rewards you earn through progressing the main story. I think more RPG games should incorporate cosmetic items within a skill or ability tree as this game does with Titles. It’s incredibly gratifying and satisfying to unlock these, especially since it’s tied to the core gameplay experience.

In this game, titles confer various benefits passively, introduce fresh abilities or techniques known as ‘artes’, and grant unique effects to each character.

In my approach to assigning titles within the game Tales of Graces, I mainly focused on acquiring new arts. However, I soon discovered that enhancing existing arte attacks, accumulating passive buffs like critical chance, was significantly more beneficial. This is due to the genuine difficulty in combat within this game. Your movement is limited to a linear axis until you dodge, at which point you can momentarily move left or right of your target. Dodging perfectly is crucial given how forcefully bosses can attack. I also appreciate that weaknesses are highlighted in this game; if you use a strike instead of a slice on a slime-like creature, for instance, the damage will be minimal. Similarly, each arte or attack is tailored to a specific enemy type. The battle process starts by briefly displaying the category of each enemy and allows for easy assessment with a button press, making the weakness system user-friendly.

In non-player characters within this game function similarly to those in other Tales series titles. When you’re not directly controlling a character, their actions are determined by the commands you set up in the menus. I find the AI of these party members to be reliable, and making adjustments according to the situation usually increases my chances of winning. It’s worth noting that this game allows for 4-player local cooperative play during certain intense battles, which adds a lot of enjoyment. Regrettably, there is no online co-op option available, but given that the last few Tales games didn’t offer co-op at all, I can understand why.

“Each particular arte or attack is best suited for a unique enemy type.”

This game’s crafting system, known as Dualizing, offers additional layers of gameplay and personalization. Some players find Dualizing overly complex, but it’s an extra feature for tailoring your gaming experience. As the name implies, Dualizing enables you to merge various consumables, food, equipment, accessories, crafting materials, and more with each other. By using a shard to Dualize equipment, you can create upgraded versions of that item. Each shard confers unique bonuses, leading to intricate combinations. Similarly, it’s possible to blend tempered items to generate potent accessories.

In “Tales of Graces f”, there’s so much more depth to explore in terms of dualizing possibilities, and it’s clear that the numerous systems provide a vast array of content, ensuring countless hours of gameplay. I haven’t yet touched upon the amazing Eleth Mixer feature, which allows you to create items on the field. When equipped with Spellbooks, the Eleth Mixer offers even more gameplay impacts, such as converting duplicate enemy drops into usable energy.

I promised to continue with the story, and that’s exactly what I’ll do for a short while now. The heartwarming bond between Asbel and his companions seems genuine, making the pain of their separation and hostility towards each other later in the game even more intense. The friendship among the characters at the beginning appears natural, providing a strong foundation for the rest of the story. Initially, I found it disappointing that Sophie was revealed to be an amnesiac who never ages, but the plot successfully explores conventional themes with well-developed characters and intriguing political intrigue despite this. Ultimately, it’s the quality of the execution that truly sets Tales of Graces apart, as it masterfully employs familiar tropes with grace and skill.

The friendship among the characters at the beginning seems genuine and authentic, providing a strong foundation for the story that follows.

Players who aren’t fond of the game’s storyline might still be impressed by its subtle aesthetics. Scenes are given space to unfold naturally, with fitting pauses during crucial moments and background music seamlessly transitioning into intense combat scenes. The attention to detail in scene direction is evident, as demonstrated by the custom animation rigging for every character interaction (and there’s a lot of it). While the lip-syncing could use improvement and some character faces appear stiff at times, given that this game originally ran on Wii hardware, it’s still quite impressive. Tales of Graces stands out with its strong writing, effectively blending characters, themes, and plot to create a cohesive RPG experience that I won’t forget anytime soon.

The rhythm of all the game’s interconnected mechanisms, combined with its engaging storyline, is consistently brisk and dynamic. Rarely does the game feel slow or stuck, instead, it often seems like you’re making progress in your characters or advancing the plot. It’s a continuous process of growth and achievement with each move, much like the unceasing gameplay systems found in Star Ocean 2: Second Story R, reminiscent of those from years past.

Tales of Graces f Remastered is simply outstanding in every aspect. The narrative centers around well-developed characters and an engaging core gameplay mechanic, without necessarily pushing any boundaries. Although the plot and character types may be familiar, it’s the way the game utilizes these elements that makes it truly exceptional. Tales of Graces f is a true gem in the JRPG genre, oozing quality at every turn, and its remastered version makes it even more endearing.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

2025-01-15 20:11

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