If you love Tales and RPGs, then be sure to add this to your collection.
"Tales of Graces f" places you in the role of Asbel Lhant, who you meet as a child. He is rebellious and headstrong, but like any typical JRPG hero, has a strong sense of adventure and justice. Upon meeting a strange amnesiac girl, who he names Sophie, the two begin to bond. The prologue, which is around 5-8 hours, will introduce you to majority of the characters and flesh out their friendship bonds, which is what this game is all about. Fast forward to 7 years, the cast is all grown up and reunited in order to solve a greater conflict that puts their world in danger. Story wise, "Tales of Graces f" has a simple, if somewhat cliché storyline with all the archetypes found in your common anime and other JRPGs. The difference here is that Namco tells the story in such a way that it keeps you wanting to know what'll happen next. You really get a feel for each of the characters and soon develop a bond with each of them. Since this game is all about friendship and bonds, it's great how Namco nailed both.
Gameplay in "Tales of Graces f" retains many of the same elements from earlier titles in the series. The battle system allows for free roaming, albeit, it is a bit constricted. What I mean is that, while you can roam around the battlefield, characters are confined to an invisible 360 degree axis. Battling in this game is all about guarding, dodging, and countering. The most interesting aspect of the battle system is the A-Artes and B-Artes system. A-Artes are faster striking arts that combo for damage. B-Artes function similarly to A-Artes, but are slower and usually require a change. Each character has a different set of A and B-Artes and a different play style. The battle system is deep and rewarding and very fun to play with. You can always change the difficulty of the enemies in the menu, so difficulty is never an issue.
Outside of battle, exploration is big within the world of "Tales of Graces f." Players can Dualize, which is combining and enhance items, which become addictive, especially the cooking portion. Skits are also present, many which are humorous. Skits, for those who don't are, are short dialogue pieces that give deeper insight to the characters as they journey.
Remember the additional content I mentioned earlier.? "Tales of Graces f" has plenty of it. The main piece is the Future Arc, or Lineage & Legacies, which provides and additional 10 hours of gameplay after the original story! There's also new additional scenes in the original story, new game secrets, new character costumes, and new Blast Calibers. The game also benefits from improved HD graphics. While the graphics look improved, it's not that much of a notable difference. However, the animation is entertaining to watch, especially with many of the Mystic Artes and the anime cutscenes are especially entertaining to watch. It feels as though you're playing an anime the entire time.
Overall, being this was my first Tales purchase, I was pleasantly surprised. "Tales of Graces f" is a great game for the series due to it's story, characters, and gameplay. If you love the series, or love RPGs of the J persuasion, then there is no excuse NOT to pick up this solid title.