Review – Tales of Graces f Remastered

I’ve made no secret of my fondness for Bandai Namco’s Tales of series. Like many Nintendo fans of the time, that came courtesy of the Gamecube’s Tales of Symphonia. Its cast of characters, subversive story, and active combat system endeared the franchise to fans in the West for the first time thanks to that gem. Since then there have been highs, lows, and lulls; yet for longtime friends there’s hope to re-engage with these beloved but largely overlooked games. 

The Tales of Remastered Project was announced as a large-scale initiative to revisit these games. It could be argued it started with 2019’s Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, but it’s only via Tales of Graces f Remastered did it take its formal name. 

Originally released on the Wii in 2009, western fans would first see Tales of Graces via a PlayStation 3 release in 2012. It’s that expanded adventure that makes its way now to modern consoles, sharing the story of a knight-in-training desperate to find his place in the world and the friends and family that shape his journey. That, and a fantastic take on the series’ trademark active battle system.  

 

 

Graces takes place in a largely medieval fantasy-like setting, though with further leaps in technology to the point sci-fi elements eventually work their way in. So, you know, a Tales games. Our main character is Asbel Lhant, the son of a lord who leaves home to enlist as a knight in search of higher purpose after a sudden tragedy. Though he’s naive and idealistic to a fault, he makes for a likable lead, particularly as he grows both as an individual and through bonds with the rest of the party. 

Tales of Graces tried something unique within the context of the series, starting off with a prologue where the bulk of its main cast are introduced as children. While there’s narrative value in this approach (which I’ll get to shortly), it does have some drawbacks. Namely, you’re playing as children. The intent may’ve been to have actions and lines be endearing in their innocence and simplicity, but that runs the risk of testing players’ patience while limiting the depths of its combat. That’s not even mentioning the questionable parenting on display from Asbel’s father, but then again I’m neither a parent nor the lord of a feudal citystate — who am I to judge? 

So yes, in proud RPG tradition you have to weather a multi-hour span spent on training wheels. Yet Tales of Graces ultimately manages to use this in greater service of its narrative. One of Asbel’s major flaws is his inability to understand that people move on, actions have lasting consequences, and you can’t solve larger problems with childhood ideals. It’s almost maddening how much this game positions “friendship” as a guiding principle for things like socio-political conflicts, and yet it works largely thanks to the earnestness of its cast as they soften up and embrace a common goal.

 

 

Your enjoyment of the game’s story will largely depend on that cast. The twists in Graces are a bit less pronounced than in other Tales of games and its world isn’t exactly the most unique or memorable. That leaves it up to its party to carry things, and thankfully they manage to do an admirable job as a whole. Some can occasionally feel like satellites to Asbel’s own journey or the mystery of Sophie’s identity, which are easily the most fleshed out and realized arcs. Yet I can’t imagine this journey without Hubert, Cheria, Malik, Pascal and Richard; even if their greatest strengths aren’t in service to the plot. 

As is the case with all Tales of systems, combat in Graces is in real time and much more action oriented than other titles. Comparisons to fighting games have been common, with your characters’ movesets growing over the course of the game until you’re pulling off massive stun-lock combos complete with cancels and supers. 

This being an over 15 year-old game, I had some concerns that it wouldn’t exactly hold up, particularly when compared to the contemporary likes of Final Fantasy XVI and Tales of Arise. It might not be as flashy as those, but Graces’ combat has plenty of depth to it still. Each character has a moveset that’s distinctly theirs but a unified structure. That is, everyone’s moveset can be divided into two halves (A-Artes and B-Artes) but what splits the two is based on the character. For Asbel, his A-Artes are strikes with his sword sheathed while his B-Artes are with sword drawn. Hubert on the other hand will shift his weapon from a single, large blade to two pistols depending on which moveset he’s on. Knowing when to use one vs the other and how to most efficiently switch between the two is what gives Graces so much variety on the battlefield, especially since all party members are fully playable.

 

 

Basing battlefield movement primarily on sidesteps is another stroke of genius. It rewards well-timed motions by refilling your Capacity Cores (functionally a bank of points that you spend to perform actions) and lets you rapidly approach and circle enemies. It certainly takes some time, but once the movements  and movesets are understood there’s an exceptional amount of depth to combat. 

Where this somewhat falters are in some of the boss fights, particularly ones where hordes of enemies outnumber your party. In these moments the tables are turned, with it all too easy for you to be stunlocked and no real way to get out of the situation beyond “kill them faster.” There are also occasionally fights where a boss will have elements (such as an area of effect that makes approaching them difficult) that can seem insurmountable. If you aren’t inclined to change things up, be it your character or your approach to combo routes, you’ll end up grinding away at these fights for longer than necessary.  

How you develop your characters is also a bit more engaging than other Tales of titles. Titles have been a staple of these games, and as you level these up independent from a given character you’ll unlock news moves and universal buffs. Regularly swapping and developing these can occasionally feel like extraneous upkeep, but ultimately it makes for a highly segmented means with which to develop your party. 

 

 

It’s worth noting that for this playthrough I took advantage of another Tales of standard: The Grade Shop. It’s effectively cheat codes you pay for with points earned via performance in the playthrough you completed to unlock it; but in Remastered you have full access from the beginning. As such I was gaining EXP at a hyper accelerated rate, removing a lot of the tedium and enhancing the rate with which I was unlocking new techniques. Having completed the game way back when on the PS3 I didn’t feel too bad about this choice, and even played at the normal rate I found its combat enjoyable and the steady stream of Title-related unlocks motivating. 

Other changes for Tales of Graces f Remastered are less impactful but just as appreciated. A not-so obtrusive waypoint has been added for main story objectives and time-sensitive side quests. If you’ve ever played a late 2000’s RPG, you’ll know that both of these are very welcome additions. An autosave has also been added, though it seemed to be somewhat infrequent when compared to something like Metaphor ReFantazio, which I’d say had a very generous autosave. 

You’ll also get a whole suite of content that was previously paid DLC, the majority of which are character costumes. These include the always welcome Tales of cameo costumes based on other titles in the series, as well as themes like school uniforms. You’ll also get extra skits (optional and often humorous conversations that largely give the characters expanded personalities) and various item sets to further defang the experience. 

 

 

It took some time to (re)grow on me, but ultimately I’ve loved revisiting Tales of Graces f. As the genre has grown there’s a certain lost charm. Stories may be more sophisticated, menus more stylish, and graphics boundary pushing these days but there’s absolutely still a place for early 2010’s anime RPG aesthetics. Line reads can be stilted and the writing can be dated but hearing these familiar voices pontificating on friendship and finding purpose takes me back in the best of ways. 

Ultimately, Graces represents a perfect snapshot of classic RPGs. Its likable cast and exceptional combat are the highpoints, and biased as I am for the series it has enough unique ideas and narrative beats to keep players invested. 

If you’ve never experienced the Tales of series, I’d say Graces makes for a solid introduction, with Vesperia the other title really worth considering on Switch. There’s no franchise quite like them, with decades of recurring elements constantly reinventing themselves with each entry. That steadfast hold on ideas like cooking and cameo battles, on traitors and titles, on artes and after-battle cutscenes; has given these games so much identity and it’s a sincere hope that more people experience them. 

 

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