Tales of Graces f — Friendship is Magic

We’ve never seen a Tales game quite like Tales of Graces f on this side of the pond. Or a Japanese RPG similar to it, for that matter.

The west has missed out on the games from the Team Destiny side of the Tales Studio for far too long, mainly because their titles were always on the lower end of the budget spectrum. That’s excluding, of course, the original Tales of Destiny and Tales of Eternia on PSOne, because they were 2D titles on a console that Namco Bandai felt 2D was still appreciated by those outside of Japan. (And keep in mind that the latter was renamed Tales of Destiny II over here because the name “Eternia” was trademarked by Mattel.) Both the real Destiny 2 and Rebirth for PS2 took a pass on the west. The Team Destiny titles utilize gameplay systems in battle very differently from their Team Symphonia counterparts.

Having a good battle system is a big part of the equation, but it takes more than that to make a good RPG. Exposition and exploration are also important, something Tales games never excelled at, especially with the former. They all have numerous elements that need to mesh together to make a complete product, and ToGf manages to do that. Mostly.

The game starts you off in the slow-moving childhood arc, done purely for character development purposes. Your main hero is Asbel Lahnt, who starts off as an eleven-year-old brave-but-incredibly reckless kid who constantly gets into trouble, usually stringing his timid little brother, Hubert, along for the ride. He’s constantly chewed out by his father, but never listens to the scoldings. During one of his ventures outside, he comes across a mysterious girl who doesn’t know her name. The party decides to name her “Sophie,” after a flower that exists in the game’s world. Anyone who scoffs at kids in video games won’t find any solace here, but the handling of them isn’t too bad. The story quickly fast forwards to a time where the characters are adults, with Asbel becoming a knight. Unfortunately, he alienated himself from everyone when this happened, so he shouldn’t be expecting a good welcome home.

You guys believe me, right!?

The childhood arc was necessary to see how all the characters establish a bond of friendship, one they promise will stick with them throughout their lives. This is a very important theme throughout the game. The story overall is inoffensive and doesn’t do anything new, but it’s still enjoyable.

The characters are a mixed bag, though. Asbel certainly aspires to be an endearing guy, but he constantly doesn’t think about what he does or says in certain situation — just like he was when he was a child. His childhood friend, Cheria, had serious potential to be a good character, but the writers ceased developing her after 1/3 of the game. Sophie somehow manages to be a likeable character despite falling into a very common RPG trope. Hubert, Pascal and Malik are also nice to have around, the last one there being one a good deal of players will relate to. Though the “f” (“f” meaning “future”) arc — a new adventure taking place six months after the main game’s ending — was ostensibly inserted to sell the PS3 version of the game to anyone who purchased the Wii version, it also serves as Namco Bandai’s way of fixing some of the character development problems inherent in the main game.

Battles get a little chaotic, but you’ll adjust to it.

Tales games are always known for having great battle systems, and ToGf is no exception. Here we have the best battle system seen in a Tales game released outside of Japan. The Chain Capacity (CC) system allows for much more freedom and presents more options than the Technical Points (TP) system seen in Team Symphonia’s games. That’s because you’re given an unlimited amount of CC that constantly recharges in battle, rather than having to refill it with bonuses and items like MP with TP. It also uses the 3D space very well, which you’ll use to dodge enemy attacks and maneuver around them. More abilities will be unlocked as you play through the game further, the more damaging ones requiring more CP — whose minimum amount increases as you grab and tinker with new weapons and armor as you acquire more materials.

The battle system is shines because of the level of challenge the game offers. This is, quite effortlessly, the most difficult Tales game to release in the west. But it feels rewarding whenever you conquer a tough boss by utilizing all the strategies you’ve learned in random battles. But it can be a little frustrating when your AI-controlled companions either can’t quite keep up or make bad decisions that will get them KO’d. The option to change AI strategies in the middle of a heated battle is unfortunately missing here. This is the one and only element that’s a step back from the battle systems in the Team Symphonia games.

Pascal may be a little eccentric, but she means well.

ToGf unfortunately lacks any kind of overworld, leaving you to go from location to location via fields, somewhat similar to Final Fantasy X. That makes it faster to get around, but it also has the unfortunate side effect of making the world feel small. It doesn’t actually rob you of any necessary exploration, and it does a good job of letting you go back and forth to certain locations quickly. The dungeon design isn’t too bad overall, but some of them end up on either the “OK-but-rudimentary” or the “mind-bogglingly confusing” end of the spectrum. There are no maps for the dungeons, so you’ll either have to do your best to make it through some of them, or use a guide.

This game may be different from other Tales games in some ways, but it’s very typical in terms of its soundtrack. Motoi Sakuraba never brings his A-game to Tales soundtrack compositions, and for this game…well, he brought even less than he usually brings to the table. Granted, it’s not entirely his fault since Namco Bandai gives him very little time and resources, but it’s disappointing because we know he’s capable of better.  Assisting him is the always bland Shinji Tamura (under the alias “Hibiki Aoyama,” fooling no one), some whose tracks can get pretty grating. You’ll only find a handful of tracks you’ll want to listen to outside of the game, though the music is noticeably better in the “f” arc.

Don’t be surprised if you end up wishing the guy on the left was the protagonist.

8-4 has been handling the localizations for every Tales game localized since Symphonia. Their work on them has always been well done, and this game displays some of their best work. The main game already had plenty of text, with plenty of item names and dialogue from Tales’ trademark skits — fun, optional scenes created for party interaction purposes. When you add the “f” arc to that, you really see all the work they had to do. The voice acting is well done too, handled by the folks at Cup of Tea Productions. And similar to Vesperia and Dawn of the New World, everything has been voiced here.

Tales of Graces f may have a few problems, but don’t let that keep you from playing what’s overall a perfectly enjoyable JRPG, one that will very likely be one of the best released this year. Though fans of the genre are likely busy giving Xenoblade Chronicles, hopefully some of you can find the time to give this one a try too.