Developer Bandai Namco has announced a remaster of Tales of Graces f to celebrate the series’ 30th anniversary. This may seem a bit of a strange choice given some of the other titles they could be remastering for the event, but it’s actually perfect in some ways.
A Brief History of the Franchise
Tales of Phantasia was released in 1995 on the Super Famicom (SNES in the West). It featured a real-time battle system that took place on a linear 2D plane like popular fighting games of the time. It was a hit, spawning a long series of spinoff titles. Discounting the three games that were released only for handheld consoles as some fans don’t consider them part of the mainline series, in all there are sixteen games, putting the franchise in the company of other storied JRPGs.
Although the series had maintained niche popularity, Tales of Symphonia is the first title that saw more widespread success. It was the franchise’s first foray into 3D, and the 3D real-time battles were incredibly innovative for the genre at the time. The game still bore many of the trappings (and pitfalls) of its predecessors, but it was a huge leap forward over previous entries, comparable to the achievements of Final Fantasy VII. With success came bigger budgets and greater risks, leading up to where the series is now.
Why Tales of Graces f is a Good Choice
While it might not be everyone’s favorite title in the series, Tales of Graces f is not only a good choice but potentially the best choice. When it was first released, Tales of Graces f was a little controversial. Fans had polarizing opinions, but those who gave it a chance were pleasantly surprised, and there are a variety of reasons for all of this.
The Story as a Metaphor
Tales of Graces f opens with a lengthy prologue in which the main characters are children. During this, they fight monsters using nothing more than sticks, and the tone is suitably light. Some people were put off by this, but fans of the Tales of Games have come to expect a dark twist, and Tales of Graces f delivered. Without spoiling the events in the game, we jump forward several years and nothing is the way the idealistic youths of the prologue had expected it to be.
The setup for the story of Tales of Graces f can be interpreted as a metaphor for how fans have grown with the series. We all started as idealistic kids, and even though we did our best, life doubtlessly threw us some curveballs. Things probably didn’t turn out exactly how we thought they would. Similarly, there are some darker themes in the last couple of Tales of games. In a way, Tales of Graces f bridges the dichotomy of childhood and adulthood and works to reconcile their differences.
Core Systems of the Franchise
The battle system of Tales of Graces f feels a little strange at first because it is a significant departure from what came before. Characters are no longer limited by TP, and instead use the rapidly-regenerating Action Points to cast spells and form combos. Because it’s so different, it was difficult for many people to grasp, but it really led to faster-paced, more dynamic fights. Since then, the AP system has become fairly standard for the series, and fans have learned to enjoy how quick and customizable it is.
Synthesis takes a front seat in Tales of Graces f. Although it’s a series staple, its importance is really highlighted in this title. Most of the player’s gear improvements will actually come from utilizing the synthesis system.
Keep Them Coming
A couple of years ago, there was a remaster of Tales of Symphonia, which had a mixed reception due to poor performance and the bizarre choice to not use the most content-complete version of the game. Prior to that, Tales of Vesperia had received a definitive edition, and now Tales of Graces f is being remastered. This could indicate that there is a significant interest in continuing to remaster the older titles in the series. Although the remaining PS3 titles are probably next, given Tales of the Abyss had a 3DS port and Tales of Legendia was pretty unpopular, hopefully they will in short order release updated versions of the early games.
The Tales of Graces f remaster is due out in Japan next year to coincide with the 30th Tales Anniversary. Since the translation has already been done, fans can probably expect a short turnaround on the Western release.
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