Tales of Graces f

Tales of Graces f begins with two young brothers, Asbel and Hubert, who find a mysterious girl while exploring a place called Lhant Hill. After some discussion with this girl, it becomes clear she has no recollection of who she is or where she is from. She cannot remember any other important details that would help identify her. With this in mind, eleven-year-old Asbel decides that it is too dangerous to leave her by herself and takes the mysterious girl back to his hometown to request the help of the townsfolk in identifying her. After no one in town is able to identify her or give him information that helps, Asbel decides to take personal responsibility for her. He names her Sophie, after the Sopheria flowers that grow in the field they found her in. Asbel and Sophie, along with their other friends, begin an epic journey in the making.

Everything about the world and environment in Tales of Graces f screams “wow!” The story, the characters, the world itself is exactly what a player expects from an RPG. The game’s ability to draw the player into this epic world was a bit slow, but if the player is willing to tough it out, the reward is well worth it. The flow of the story is well structured and fast-paced. A player will feel led by their nose through a large portion of it. Despite the story being fast-paced, its transitions were smooth and the game kept your attention. The world itself is completely original. The characters are well-rounded, each with their own distinct personality that evolves into something completely likeable or detestable. The monsters of the game are unique. However, they give you the feeling that you have walked into a toddler’s nightmare. Hitting toys that squeaked and fighting what looked like rubber ducks just doesn’t seem to mesh well in a game that has serious elements in it.

The graphics in Tales of Graces f are an absolute compliment to the created world. The inhabitants, characters and monsters alike, are rendered with explicit detail. Despite the monsters that came straight out of a daycare-gone-wrong, the graphics of the world’s inhabitants are of great quality. These graphics are evident almost everywhere in the game: in conversation cut-scenes, anime-style scenes, through abilities in actual combat, and across the overland environment. The environment does get a little bit repetitive, though; the over-world, even in different areas, shares a lot of the same landscape features.

The unique gameplay elements offered by Tales of Graces f take very little time to learn. There are several to be introduced. The “arte” system, which is the game’s skill system, allows you to customize your characters’ skills, even to the point of deciding which combination of buttons activates a particular skill. The “titles” system gives your characters a label appropriate to them, as written by the developers, or based on how the player has been playing that specific character. For example, if you use the First Aid skill often, the “First Aid Adept” title will come up, strengthening the use of that skill. The final gameplay element that I will point out is the mixer. The mixer is a magic bottle that will create items that are useful, as long as it is charged with Eleth, the game’s energy source. The items the mixer creates each have their own condition on how or when they will be created. Some will be made simply by walking around, others when certain conditions are met in battle. These three quick-to-learn elements make Tales of Graces f a unique and fun game to play.

With a highly unique world, complemented by great graphics, Tales of Graces f sets the stage for a great game. Add in unique and easy-to-learn game mechanics with the ability to fully customize the way they work, and you have created an amazing RPG. Tales of Graces f will not disappoint any RPG fan, and with the anime-style cut-scenes and graphics, it is bound to please anime fans as well. Blending all of these elements together creates an entertaining RPG in which a player can enjoy the characters that evolve and the events that unfold.