Taylor Bauer
Taylor BauerThe Tales franchise has many standouts in its library. The combat systems, stories, and worlds players experience have made this series a long-running favorite for JRPG fans. In Tales of Graces f Remastered, Bandai Namco brings the PS3 classic into the present-day gaming ecosystem with familiar JRPG quality-of-life improvements and upgraded graphics.
As a fan of any JRPG getting a fresh coat of paint, I’m particularly fond of this remaster because the battle system in Tales of Graces f Remastered is one of the best in the franchise. Here’s our review of Tales of Graces f Remastered for the Nintendo Switch. The game is also on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC via Steam.
Tales of Graces arrived in the West on the PS3 in 2012 but first appeared on the Wii in 2009 in Japan. From the get-go, a familiarity with the Tales franchise will tell you that two things are ahead in your journey. Firstly, the world and story will keep you guessing until the story’s conclusion. Secondly, the JRPG combat and gameplay will be some of the finest in the genre. The gameplay in Tales of Graces f Remastered is truly wonderful, but it is fair to say this isn’t my favorite story in the series. That said, the characters are memorable and plenty of themes around companionship and bravery are on display from the start.
Players begin as Asbel Lhant, a young boy who comes across Sophie, a young girl with no memory of who she is. As you, your brother, and a friend come face to face with a dangerous monster, Sophie sacrifices herself for you all and sets Asbel’s life on a different path. Flash-forward years later, and Asbel has carried that experience with him for life. What plays out is an adventure rooted in rewriting the past and ensuring the future isn’t determined by regret. While each character (including Asbel) is riddled with tropes, there’s enough to keep you invested in the party you’ll spend your time playing.
The combat is the real star here, allowing you to utilize skills in real-time while moving around a battle space. By maximizing an enemy’s weaknesses with chain attacks between your character and others in your party, there’s a good deal of strategy here that feels rewarding when you nail a plan of attack. Keeping an eye on your stamina so you’re not vulnerable to a counterattack is crucial. It’s highly reminiscent of Xenoblade Chronicles, where you’re sometimes just buying time to get your strength back and get back into the fight. It’s fast-paced, easy to pick up and learn quickly, and fun throughout the game.
Like many remastered JRPGs, some nice features allow you to make the experience a bit more streamlined. At the start of the experience, you can add enhancements to your experience. There are levels to these enhancements, including various amounts of XP multipliers to help you level up more quickly. You can turn them all on, as I tried out of curiosity, and blow through the story by avoiding enemy encounters, having huge HP and SP boosts, and similar boosts. You can add as many or as few as you’d like to your experience, allowing you the freedom to experience this game as you see fit.
There are Tales games I enjoyed more than Tales of Graces f Remastered, but I did come to love this game. The story is not in my top 3 for the franchise, nor is the combat my pinnacle for the series. Still, scratching a JRPG itch can be tough for me, especially when so many games have elements that make you feel like you’re working more than winding down. I’m happy to have spent time experiencing this game for the first time, even if others stuck with me more upon completion. Let us know in the comments if you plan to check out Tales of Graces f Remastered and whether or not it is your first time playing the game!
A Nintendo Switch review copy of Tales of Graces f Remastered was provided by Bandai Namco for this review.
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44 Tales of Graces f Remastered
$39.99
Pros
- Great Combat
- Enhancements to make your playthrough easier
- Fun Characters
- Solid Gameplay
Cons
- The story isn't as impactful as others
