Tales of Graces F Remastered Review (MARegulus)
An odd entry to the Tales franchise that is both deeply flawed and considerably underrated.
Cons:
-World lore is weak. The interesting world design hints at so many greats ideas that must have been cut during production. The game does a terrible job making the player feel connected to the world or the stakes involved for anyone other than your party. Granted, it seems like every Tales game after Abyss has had this problem, but that doesn't mean graces should get a pass for it either.
-A handful of frustrating difficulty spikes. Luckily there are only a few, but it can be frustrating watching your allies go down to ranged 1-hit KOs over and over again because they're too dumb to dodge. You can abuse the unlimited GRADE shop upgrades afforded by the remaster to avoid all of this but then you also risk snapping the difficulty in two like a twig.
-Music is lacking. Most Tales have great soundtracks, but Graces is unfortunately one of the weakest in the series with low quality and low effort tunes throughout. At least the battle themes are great, which is fortunate because...
Pros:
-Best battle system in the series; easily. It doesn't fall prey to clunky controls, OP free run, or late-bloomer syndrome where it takes a while to really shine like the older games. It also doesn't fall prey overwrought mechanics that end up doing more harm than good like the newer games. It's a perfect balance between the two by being crisp, quick, and (mostly) balanced with a sensible and fun introduction with tons of room for depth given the variety of arts, characters, and titles--which can be used to guide character growth. The dodge mechanic is at its best here, providing an excellent feeling of risk vs. reward considering a perfect dodge can be followed up with a devastating combo while a whiff can mean YOU eat a nasty combo!
-One of the best cast of characters in the series. The story itself isn't bad, but it's unfortunately dragged down by the lore problem. The characters, on the other hand, are just so much fun. The two main protagonists, Asbel and Sophie, are particularly likable with their brother/sister dynamic that isn't afraid to lean into adorable anime tropes and thought-out character development in equal amounts. I absolutely appreciated the break from expected main protagonist romances that are in 90% of Tales games. Vesperia also broke from this trend, but I just didn't enjoy the Yuri/Estelle starry-eyed-princess-proceeds-to-have-zero-chemistry-with-an-anti-hero-douche anywhere near as much as the Asbel/Sophie emotionally-stunted-big-bro-bonds-with-an-emotionally-despondent-headpat-bait-stranger. Unfortunately, some characters don't get as much development as others, but I found I was OK with this because not every game needs to give every character filler arcs just because the typical JRPG rules say so. Sophie and Asbel are front and center here and it does the game a lot of good.
If likable characters and an excellent battle system are enough to carry a JRPG experience for you then absolutely check this one out. It'd likely be one of the best Tales games if they'd just ironed out the kinks but that doesn't stop it from being an overall enjoyable experience.