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Tales of Graces f
PlayStation 3
Moe Money, Moe Problems
3.5/5 stars
I picked this up simply because our weekly game night amongst the MeltedJoystick staff (myself, Nick and Nelson) was in desperate need of a multiplayer game, and this fit the bill. Now, I now that the other two were less-than-impressed with this game, but, as I was the main player, I think I ultimately got more out of it and the elements that other people didn't like so much, didn't bother me as much and in the end this was a solid RPG, even if it didn't bring much new to the table.
Presentation: For the most part, I thought the design was pleasant. Yes, my review title is correct, there is a whole lot of moe here. I don't think it goes overboard, but it certainly drives plenty of the game. If you aren't a fan of the too cute Japanese style that is so popular these days (both in the look of the game and also the many in-game "skits" and end-battle quotes) you will probably not like this game. I, for one, don't have a problem with this style so much. The few actual animated end-chapter scenes are quite well done - the in-game cut-scenes are merely okay, not spectacular. The skits feature many static images that get old, as do many of the end-battle "win quotes" and jokes they put in. Luckily, you are free to skip most of these scenes, should you choose. The music has some stellar tracks, but others that are pretty terrible - in the end, that part of the game is a wash. The vocal talent, if you are at all familiar with anime, animation or other video games, features many go-to voice-over actors. Nothing spectacular, but they got the job done.
Story: I'll admit it, Tales of Graces f doesn't take many chances here. You can call it cliche or passe or whatever you want - there isn't a lot of originality despite their efforts. A group of friends, a mysterious stranger who supposedly sacrifices herself only to come back years later, a planet in peril, an evil force whose really not evil - just misunderstood - a world on the brink of civil war - people who are obviously in love but can't admit it - the grizzled veteran, the crazy scientist, the childhood friend/love interest, the reluctant hero - it's all here and mixed together! They can throw it all together, but what it boils down to is this is all something we've seen/read/played before and it easily the weakest point of this game. Even the DLC after portion of the story doesn't do much - it introduces another threat, deals with life and death questions and resolves, somewhat, the obvious relationships, but that's about it.
Gameplay: The game is a bit button-mashy when it comes to the battles, but overall I didn't have much issue with the gameplay. You have A artes and B artes to attack with - the A is your physical while B is magic based. Certain attacks have attributes that damage enemies (Nova, for instance, breaks down protective barriers some enemies put up) along with ones that target specific groups: fiends, birds, dragons and the like. While these battles can get repetitive, especially when you have to backtrack so much, it wasn't a deal-breaker for me.
The game does have an annoying tendency to keep you on track - there's not a lot of exploration here, you have a set path you much follow through most of the game and if you try to go somewhere else, your character pretty much say "Nah, can't do that" or some guard blocks your path, so you go where the game wants. Eventually, way too late in the game, you get your coveted air ship and can fly wherever, but it doesn't quite make up for the severe limitations placed early on.
The other big aspect of the game that both Nelson and Nick despised, but I really found interesting, was the dualizing. Each weapon and armor piece you have can be combined with shards to receive for defeating enemies. Each of these shards gives you a specific bonus: weapons give you physical attack, magic attack and accuracy while armor gives you physical defense, magic defense and evasion. Most shards also come with an additional benefit, whether it's a boost to health, additional defense against status ailments (stone, paralysis, poison, etc) or other status boost. Once your weapon or armor is "tempered" you can combine it with another "tempered" piece to create a gem that combines the best benefits of both. This crystal can be equipped to give you character said benefit, and you can combine these gems with each other to increase these benefits.
Dualizing doesn't stop there - you can combine food to create recipes that can aid you in battle (we didn't really get into this aspect of the game at all) or heal you outside of battle, dualize items - certain weapons and armor can be upgraded to even better equipment, mundane items you get from defeating creatures can be combined to sell for cash. A lot of these items also are required to complete requests. Each town has an inn, each inn has requests - completing these requests leads to you getting items and points that help you learn skills.
Skills are unlocked throughout the game by acquiring titles- using your attacks over and over in battle unlocks titles, the story unlocks certain titles, as does stuff like dualizing, accumulating monies, walking around, viewing skits, cooking recipes - doing just about anything can lead to unlocking more titles. Each titles has five skills you can unlock - some give you new attacks, other increase your stats and once you master a title, it gives you a bonus - from the ability to halve damage over a certain amount to being immune to certain status ailments. Too bad these master titles don't stack, you have to have it equipped in order for it to take effect.
This system is really made for people with mild OCD (which I totally admit is me) - so I didn't mind it so much, even if the peanut gallery didn't find it so hot.
Overall: A mixed bad to be sure, but I didn't find it nearly as repulsive as my fellow gamers. While the story was weak and things do tend to get repetitive, I think this is a solid RPG, even if it doesn't break any new ground. I will say that have actual humans controlling the extra characters is an advantage - I found the DLC chapter really upped the difficulty towards the end (especially the final boss) and having actual people who could think on their feet would have been a big help.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 2/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5
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