Tales of Graces f Review

I'm fairly new to the tales series, however it has quickly become one of my favorite. This being only my second game behind Vesperia,  "Tales of Graces f" was a game I was greatly anticipating from the time they announced its US release back in December. I made the gamble to pick it up over Mass Effect 3, and though I cant speak for Mass Effect 3 as a game yet, I am not disappointed in my decision.

Something I have noticed about the tales games is the emphasis on character development, and its really what makes them shine. This game is no different. The first chapter has us following the childhood shenanigans of our protagonist, Asbel, heir to the house of Lhant, and everything you would expect the spoiled child of royalty to be. As the prologue unravels, Asbel and his brother Hubert make some new friends, including a mysterious girl with amnesia, and the crown prince of a neighboring country. What ensues lays the groundwork for a story that's just as much about the bonds of friendship, as it is about saving the world. 

Graces features some exciting changes to the battle system that made it feel more engaging than what I remember in Vesperia. Each character has two sets of "artes", A-style artes, which were mostly physical attacks, and B-style, the magical attacks. As a player who typically likes to play defensively, I enjoyed the ability to sidestep and evade, which was a boon against some of the tougher enemies. Each action uses CC (Chain Capacity) points, which recharge fairly quickly on their own so things stay fast paced. 

Characters have a good amount of customization through the games title system, and dualizing.  Characters learn different "titles" when they reach milestones throughout the game. By equipping a title, a character can gain permanent stat increases, and learn new skills. Dualizing is the games crafting system, which allows you to enhance your weapons and armor, and make new items all together. Some of the item enhancements were fun to experiment with. (ex. absorb will heal you when you attack an enemy.)

Overall, Tales of Graces f helped me realize how disappointing some of the JRPG's I have played lately have been, and renews my hope that it is not a dying genre. Boasting a wonderful story, entertaining battle system, and beautiful graphics. Graces is a game I will very likely play through a second time, and will recommend it to anyone willing to sit through a game for 60-70 hours.