Tales of Graces f

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 386 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 322 out of 386
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 386
  3. Negative: 29 out of 386
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  1. BasilZero
    Feb 2, 2021
    9
    Game: Tales of Graces F
    Genre: Action RPG
    Developer: Namco Tales Studios Publisher: Bandai Namco System: Playstation 3 (PS3) Year of Release: 2012 Length of Playthrough: 70 hours Total Score: 94/100 Value Score: 9.4/10 • Story: 9/10 • Characters: 9/10 • GamePlay: 10/10 • Graphics: 8/10 • Sound: 10/10 • Music: 9/10 • Length: 10/10 • Replay Value: 10/10 • Player Value:    Game: Tales of Graces F
    Genre: Action RPG
    Developer: Namco Tales Studios
    Publisher: Bandai Namco
    System: Playstation 3 (PS3)
    Year of Release: 2012
    Length of Playthrough: 70 hours

    Total Score: 94/100
    Value Score: 9.4/10

    • Story: 9/10
    • Characters: 9/10
    • GamePlay: 10/10
    • Graphics: 8/10
    • Sound: 10/10
    • Music: 9/10
    • Length: 10/10
    • Replay Value: 10/10
    • Player Value: 9/10

    Pros
    +Lineage and Legacies sequel story added to this version compared to original Wii version
    +Very lengthy base game (about 55 hours) and the extra story gives a decent amount of extra playthrough (15 hours)
    +Great cast and story with a ton of voice acting
    +Great combat system
    +New Game+ with a ton of replayability

    Cons
    -Not as visually appealing to other PS3 Tales series titles due to the original being a Wii game, assets and visuals not as good looking    … Expand
  2. Hellhammer
    Sep 4, 2020
    9
    Tales of Graces f was a shot in the dark for me as it happened to be rather cheap at the time. I expected little as my first Tales experience (Tales of Xillia) was rather underwhelming. To my surprise this quickly became one of my favourite games. The story is good, but what makes this work are the very endearing characters. They may be a little cliche, but they are just so hard not toTales of Graces f was a shot in the dark for me as it happened to be rather cheap at the time. I expected little as my first Tales experience (Tales of Xillia) was rather underwhelming. To my surprise this quickly became one of my favourite games. The story is good, but what makes this work are the very endearing characters. They may be a little cliche, but they are just so hard not to like. What truly made this game for me though was the combat system. It is hands down one of the best fighting systems I have experienced. It feels so fluid and fast paced, yet approachable. You dodge and weave around the enemy using many different moves while also having the option to switch characters. By the time I finished the game I was just not ready to stop fighting yet. I honestly hope this game sees some form of remastering at some point so that I can experience it in a more polished setting, because the game really deserves it. Did I mention that the music is also top notch? Because it is.… Expand
  3. ShunOugarden
    Sep 23, 2019
    8
    Good graphisms, scenario and play. Why only 8 ? too much invisibles boundaries on the road and not enough skins.
  4. CSickmann24
    Jan 10, 2019
    9
    I finished this game 3 times so far and i give it a 9. Only thing that stops me for giving a perfect score are the dungeons. Otherwise it is a great J-RPG!
  5. Empyrea
    Mar 10, 2018
    8
    This game has a good plot. Each character has its own personality. Graphics are a little better than in Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World. Soundtrack is quite good. Voices as always are really good. It took me 38 hours to beat the first game because after that you can access to the second part which took me 10 more hours. The final boss is damn diffucult but with the info that I gotThis game has a good plot. Each character has its own personality. Graphics are a little better than in Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World. Soundtrack is quite good. Voices as always are really good. It took me 38 hours to beat the first game because after that you can access to the second part which took me 10 more hours. The final boss is damn diffucult but with the info that I got in Internet I could beat him without leveling up my team. To sum up a good rpg. If you like rpg you must have it. If not the case you may prefer watch some gameplay before making a decision.… Expand
  6. raccoondaddy
    Apr 2, 2017
    8
    Tales of Graces F is yet another entry in the Tales RPG franchise. For those unaware of the gameplay, it is a blend of the standard RPG battle visuals with a combat system that plays like a beat em' up game.
    This blend keeps all of the traditional elements you would find in any RPG, like magic, special attacks and even summons and keeps the combat moving. In Graces', that gameplay    Tales of Graces F is yet another entry in the Tales RPG franchise. For those unaware of the gameplay, it is a blend of the standard RPG battle visuals with a combat system that plays like a beat em' up game.
    This blend keeps all of the traditional elements you would find in any RPG, like magic, special attacks and even summons and keeps the combat moving. In Graces', that gameplay remains the same. (Which is a good thing, at least for these games.)

    As for the story, it's pretty good and for the most part that characters are likeable for a few exceptions, whom I won't name. But that is just my opinion and some may like them.

    Also, there is plenty of things to do and see in the game and the additional content added to this version wraps the story up fairly well, in the end.

    My major issue with the game was the pacing. For most of the first half, there seemed to be a whole lot of going back and forth to the same place, which felt more like doing errands than playing an RPG. Sure, I know this happens in almost all RPGs, but this game just did it TOO MUCH. Outside of the that it was good.

    Overall: Tales of Graces F is a great RPG, that has issues getting the story moving but ends up paying off in the end. The epilogue section wraps everything up pretty well and balances the tedious pace of the early narrative.    … Expand
  7. NexusTsunami
    Jan 22, 2017
    8
    Ich bin mit Tales of in die Riege der JRPG´ler eingestiegen. Dementsprechend musste sich Graces f beweisen. Und dies hat es. Wenn auch meines erachtens nicht so gut wie Tales of Vesperia ist es dennoch toll.

    Charaktertechnisch haben mir vorallem Cheria, Sophie und Pascal gefallen (mein Augenmerk liegt halt nunmal bei den Mädel´s :-)). Leider leitet dieses Spiel den Untergang der Open    Ich bin mit Tales of in die Riege der JRPG´ler eingestiegen. Dementsprechend musste sich Graces f beweisen. Und dies hat es. Wenn auch meines erachtens nicht so gut wie Tales of Vesperia ist es dennoch toll.

    Charaktertechnisch haben mir vorallem Cheria, Sophie und Pascal gefallen (mein Augenmerk liegt halt nunmal bei den Mädel´s :-)).

    Leider leitet dieses Spiel den Untergang der Open World in der Tales of Reihe ein... allerdings ist die "neue" Art der Oberwelt schöner gestaltet als es ein Tales of Xillia getan hat.

    Das Kampfsystem ist im Vergleich als andere Ableger ganz anders gestaltet. Dies macht es aber nur ungleich schlechter sondern ist, wenn auch wie gesagt anders, dennoch auf dem gleichen hohen Niveau wie seine Verwandten.

    Wie immer ist die der OST schön anzuhören und bietet einige Ohrwürmer.

    Kurzum: Ein gutes Tales of...    … Expand
  8. TalesRaven
    May 1, 2016
    8
    Absolutely wonderful game, despite its obvious drawbacks. A fast paced and complex battle system, a colourful cast of characters whose interactions are natural and funny, fun and innovative dualizing and title systems, and an endearing (but by no means perfect) storyline serve to make this game a very enjoyable experience to any JRPG fan. Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks - theAbsolutely wonderful game, despite its obvious drawbacks. A fast paced and complex battle system, a colourful cast of characters whose interactions are natural and funny, fun and innovative dualizing and title systems, and an endearing (but by no means perfect) storyline serve to make this game a very enjoyable experience to any JRPG fan. Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks - the combat takes a while to open up and cannot be fully explored without delving deep into the optional dualizing system, the story can move at a very slow pace at times and the OST is rather bland. The game is chock full of content, from the hundreds of different sidequests to the funny skits the characters have, filling up the dualizing book, side bosses, arena fights, finding new locations on the world map, extra dungeons and obtaining titles and costumes. Overall, the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and the game will give you joy every time you pop the disc in.… Expand
  9. miastalman
    Mar 24, 2016
    8
    Well that one is a bit archaic and ugly - it is a port from Wii. I liked that game, because it had really nice figthing system. If you played xillia or zestiria - their ones are too easy, here you have a bit of a challenge. Plot is ok, nothing special, environment is nothing extraordinary, just what you would expect from game like that. Overall I think it is good game, there are no actualWell that one is a bit archaic and ugly - it is a port from Wii. I liked that game, because it had really nice figthing system. If you played xillia or zestiria - their ones are too easy, here you have a bit of a challenge. Plot is ok, nothing special, environment is nothing extraordinary, just what you would expect from game like that. Overall I think it is good game, there are no actual drawbacks, just it is far to be perfect.… Expand
  10. Super_Cloud
    Jan 13, 2016
    8
    I really enjoyed the story of the game, the music were good, the character were great except for Cheria who kinda annoyed me sometime, i liked the battle at first but i quickly became annoyed by the stat system, like if your accuracy was too low you would do less damage, breaking the nova barrier all the time was extremely annoying and the boss near death were suddenly super powerful forI really enjoyed the story of the game, the music were good, the character were great except for Cheria who kinda annoyed me sometime, i liked the battle at first but i quickly became annoyed by the stat system, like if your accuracy was too low you would do less damage, breaking the nova barrier all the time was extremely annoying and the boss near death were suddenly super powerful for no reasons... other than that, the game was great.… Expand
  11. Klaww25
    Nov 25, 2015
    8
    This game is better than I expected and it is far better than vesperia in terms of story. The graphics may be subpar but the gameplay is great. The music is decent and there is some humor in it. The story may not be as mature as xillia but it is still very good.
  12. hugoboy
    Oct 5, 2015
    10
    I don't know if developers these days have become lazy, or just plain greedy. There are few games this gen (and last) that i can confidently call a complete game. And Tales of grace is definitely one of those utterly complete game. Definitely a must buy for any rpg fanatic.
  13. Qlonoa
    Aug 15, 2015
    9
    This game is one of my favourite JRPGS of all time . The characters have an incredible design and have their own personality. It's a very completed gameplay and battle system and there are hours and hours of post-game content. The story is Amazing.
  14. mupo0853
    Jun 28, 2015
    8
    In my opinion the story for starters is remarkable the story and character development shines brightly for the main character and support characters that you can tell the emotion swayed when something drastic happens or even simply going to the next town. the battles are engaging and fun to experiment with new arts and the soundtrack gets you pumped when in battle. the crafting system isIn my opinion the story for starters is remarkable the story and character development shines brightly for the main character and support characters that you can tell the emotion swayed when something drastic happens or even simply going to the next town. the battles are engaging and fun to experiment with new arts and the soundtrack gets you pumped when in battle. the crafting system is rewarding and adds a fun alchemy touch to the game play .Sadly it can get repetitive though as there aren't many artes and you may end up using the same strategy over and over. And the negative views dissapoint me. I can't give it a perfect rating because of the battle repetition and the lack of fast travel but I can't give it a horrible rating, it's too good of a game for that. I might add because they give this game a horrible rating because of the fact it's not like other tales, but maybe it should be able to explore and a 1 is overkill. If you want to make a review be realistic not butt hurt because it doesn't fill nostalgia.… Expand
  15. FantasyCritic71
    May 23, 2015
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Does Tales of Graces F suck? Is it the worst Tales game ever? Or is it just underrated? Lets find out.

    ~ The Story ~

    The story of Tales of Graces F revolves around friendship which is something that a few people might not like to delve into. The story for Graces F is not bad its just executed in a way that's not very appealing.

    There's some things I liked about the story such as the big change from all the characters during the Child Arc. Hubert went from coward to badass in just 7 years Asbel went from rebel little kid to powerful & respectful swordsman. Alot of interesting things also occurred after the child arc such as Cheria being mean to Asbel, Asbel's father getting killed, Hubert kicking his brother out of his own kingdom, Richard slowly becoming insane these things were really good it made the story really interesting. My 3 favorite moments were 1. - Sophie extending her hand toward Richard only for him to say **** You" and hit her with a blast to her face. 2. - Richard laughing in the Anime Cutscene when he was building the cocoon Idk why? but that laugh sounded so epic and cool to me. 3. - Emeraude unveiling her true evil intentions and 4. - Richard & Lamda's Backstory of how both of them become sad & depressed people hating on the world.

    Overall the story got boring after Richard attacked Lhant and it became all about the bonds of friendship, friendship, friendship, friendship I am so tired of friendship.

    ~ The Gameplay ~

    The gameplay is the highpoint of this game and it does not disappoint I had a blast playing this game but that refers only to the combat. The Child Arc Gameplay was terrible it didn't get good until After.

    Dungeons - Alot of the dungeons in the game felt really samey its easy to get lost in them plus once your inside there's no map so good luck trying to find your way once your inside. I also did not like some of the puzzles in this game especially the ones inside the Amarcian Ruins & in the last dungeon The Ghardia Shaft they really suck.

    Fast Travel - Traveling is also a pain in the ass sometimes you'll have to travel all the way back to the start of a dungeon to get out this doesn't happen often because they give you shortcuts sometimes but still it really sucks. You won't be able to fast travel until near the end of the game, however you do have the option of traveling back & forth via Turtlez Transport & Ships but these only leave you in certain places going faraway can be hard sometimes. The game is very linear but you do have the freedom to break free from the story if you so chose.

    Combat - In this game you have the Titles System which grants you bonuses, ability upgrades, new abilities, stat increases and a large variety of skills. You can get titles by defeating certain enemies killing enemies in a certain way and etc. In this game you have A-Artes[Assault Artes] & B-Artes[Burst Artes] A-Artes are basically normal attacks which allow for the use of combos and B-Artes are like special attacks such as Demon Fang there's no MP so you can freely use these attacks as you please. However when the CC Meter[Chain Capacity] drops to 0 you'll have to wait for it to fill back up to perform actions again but it fills up pretty quickly so its not that big of a deal it can fill up even quicker if you block and dodge attacks with the quick step. There's also an Eleth Gauge Blue for you the Player & Red for the enemies when it fills up you can endlessly chain together combos without worry for CC and you can use your Mystic Artes with the L1 Button. When the Red one fills up the enemy gains the same abilities that you do when the blue one fills up so its a double edged sword.

    Alchemy & Dualizing - In this game you can fuse items, food & weapons together to create new ones and also upgrade weapons, its called Dualizing(I think) but I didn't go to in depth with it so I'm not very knowledgeable on that subject.

    ~ The Music ~

    Does the music suck like people say? Is it amazing? Or is it just moderate? Well in my opinion I say its moderate not that bad but not that great it could've been better but its not that bad.

    Town Themes - I love a few town themes such as Windor's Theme[Town of Dancing Wind] Barona's Theme[Majestic Grandeur], The Depths of Ruling Science & The Port Theme - To A Sea of Dancing Snow[Sounds like Symphonia]. I also like that one Forest theme - Beyond The Sunlit Tree's.

    Battle Themes - Some Battle Themes like Perplexed Sword, Mad Dance, Fodra's Battle Theme, Epic Release & The Final Boss Battle Themes were good as well.

    Voice Acting - People say its bad people say its good but I say its okay. The Voice Acting is not that great & not that bad.

    ~ Graphics ~

    Graphics are good for a ported Wii game to the PS3.

    ~ Overall ~

    Does this game deserve the hate? Nope. Should it be praised as the best? Nope. Is it worth playing? Yes it is. Great Combat, A Moderate Story & Hilarious Skits is definitely worth playing this game    … Expand
  16. Friendzie
    Aug 25, 2014
    10
    The game grew on me tremendously. I mostly disliked the characters in the first 10 hours, but they develop quite a lot. Over the course of the game's 60+ hours, you'll be presented with 400 character skits that get more and more amusing as you go. There are some bad cliches and groan-worthy moments, but by the end it's mostly a very good experience. The battle system is one of the best ofThe game grew on me tremendously. I mostly disliked the characters in the first 10 hours, but they develop quite a lot. Over the course of the game's 60+ hours, you'll be presented with 400 character skits that get more and more amusing as you go. There are some bad cliches and groan-worthy moments, but by the end it's mostly a very good experience. The battle system is one of the best of all time, and the character stat development is in the hands of the player to a very large degree. Gaining levels from experience is, at best, a third of your potential growth. You'll have to discover new titles and develop weapons and armor through the crafting system to really get the most out of your team. The game features six difficulty levels to make sure you're always challenged, and an awesome "new game +" system where you're given points for how well you did in your last game, and you can use those to buy buffs that can even alter the rules of the game. For example, you can make it so that you and the monsters all do 10x more damage to each other. Again, the game just gets better as you go. The more time and effort you put into the game, the more you will find that you can get out of it.… Expand
  17. SenshiV
    Feb 3, 2014
    9
    The game is great, yes there are some things some people would not like, but it's no big deal at all. First, the game is not strictly 'linear', there are just some necessary blocks to avoid gamer to wander in places and then get lost, nothing wrong with that, i still felt pretty free to go around. I liked the voices too, my big complain is that the story is nice, but really focusing soThe game is great, yes there are some things some people would not like, but it's no big deal at all. First, the game is not strictly 'linear', there are just some necessary blocks to avoid gamer to wander in places and then get lost, nothing wrong with that, i still felt pretty free to go around. I liked the voices too, my big complain is that the story is nice, but really focusing so much on friendship...felt forced. At least everything develops well, is you get a little tired of battles you can simply put all your chars in automatic for a while even grind some exp this way, of course don't do this every time or you will miss titles. I felt the game was longer than it is, so much i wanted to finish it to play something else . Oh , even more story after beating the game in the extra section is very nice :).… Expand
  18. Mypsnewsuk
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This is my game of the year so far, one that I bought with out looking into beforehand, the game is near enough perfect, from its graphics, soundtrack, characters and story everything about it just amazed me. The game took me at least 60 hours to complete meaning you definitely get your money's worth
  19. ExCyReX
    Aug 24, 2013
    10
    Absolutely my favourite game so far, awesome storyline, great combat system, now i just finished playing tales of xillia, also beautifull can't wait for the next game.
  20. MisterNoodles
    Jul 26, 2013
    9
    This was my third Tales game and I would have to say it was my least favorite. It lacks the same character development the other ones have and it seems have taken a more serious route with this one. Which in terms has removed some of the funny cutscenes. Though to clear things up it's more the friendships of character that develops not the characters themselves. Plus the very first 2 orThis was my third Tales game and I would have to say it was my least favorite. It lacks the same character development the other ones have and it seems have taken a more serious route with this one. Which in terms has removed some of the funny cutscenes. Though to clear things up it's more the friendships of character that develops not the characters themselves. Plus the very first 2 or so hours kinda of suck and question if you really wanna keep playing, but trust me it picks up after that. The combat is heavily based around combos which is pretty cool. But they completely removed TP so you can basically spam artes, that is until your combo meter runs out and you have to defend. There is also a title system that I really didn't like all that much, but I got over it quickly. Overall it's a good game with a few problems. Worth buying or at least renting. 9/10… Expand
  21. ss4gaming
    Feb 9, 2013
    10
    I have no idea why some people are being negative to this game its absolutely amazing it has great graphics and i love the battle system its so much fun when you get used to it and the characters are so good. It also keeps that tales of charm and always has me laughing.
  22. xCaMeRz
    Jan 31, 2013
    8
    I've been looking at the written user reviews that people have posted for this game and I'm disgusted how people can call them self's fans of the series then give a game like tails of graces f a score of 5 and below. The truth is most people who give the game these low ratings simply mustn't have played the game I had since some even say that there's no world to roam around in and alsoI've been looking at the written user reviews that people have posted for this game and I'm disgusted how people can call them self's fans of the series then give a game like tails of graces f a score of 5 and below. The truth is most people who give the game these low ratings simply mustn't have played the game I had since some even say that there's no world to roam around in and also that monsters don't spawn unless you go into a town and back out into an area. Well just let me say that these are all lies, there's a massive world that ranges from forestry and sandy areas to places in the snowy mountains granted that it's not the best freedom since there's pathways you must follow but the worlds there and also in regards to the issue where people say you need to move from place to place for monsters to spawn, this is also not true and there's even items you can take that makes monsters spawn in even faster.

    Anyways enough about other peoples reviews, I've decided to give this particular tails game an 8. Why you ask? Well firstly the game has an amazing and complex battle system that consists of spending cc points on either A arts 'Physical attacks' or B arts 'magical attacks' the more attacks you combine the more cc you'll need to chain them together. Your weapon your character currently has equipped determines the range off cc points your character can currently use during a battle and by consistently attacking your enemy and not getting hit you'll increase the amount of cc you can spend but also by getting attacked you can lose cc points. Guarding and dodging Is also vital in tails of graces f since guarding reduces the damage you take and causes you to regain your used up cc points quicker where as dodging can help you avoid attacks all together.

    During every battle there's one final bar on the left side of the screen that's split into two different sides and fills with blue for your team and red for the enemy. Once your bar has filled by chaining attacks and avoiding damage your hole team gains a short period of time where all attacks are free and can be consistently used for maximum damage. While your attacking during this phase you will also see a bar fill and a number continue to rise as you keep filling the bar by doing combinations of attacks. For each amount you currently have you can execute a special attack that does massive amounts of damage to your enemy.

    Now on the other hand if the enemy's bar is filled they will gain there own personal buffs for a while such as not being able to be interrupted and increased damage this system causes you to have to consistently swap your tactics as it can cause you to easily win from a currently loosing battle or vice versa.

    Finally once you finish each battle you'll be rewarded with XP which is used for levelling but also SP which ranks up your currently selected title. Yes I said title, throughout the game you'll unlock several titles from things like progressing through the game, buying and selling items, performing specific combos in battles the list goes on and on. The thing is these titles each have 5 ability's that once unlocked in stages by getting SP are yours forever so by consistently equipping and learning ability's from titles you can make your character your own and in my opinion is a great way to learn new ability's.

    Now that I've finally got the combat system out the way ill go onto talking about the characters and there progression throughout the game which in my opinion is really well done. Hopefully without spoiling anything all I can say is that your party starts out consisting of a children who all have there own personality's and traits ranging from bravery, constant paranoia and love for another that turn into fully grown knights and healers with a thrown in lively engineer that are willing to do anything to save there home.

    In regards to the story I would say that indeed it does start of fairly slow, but the reason for this is because it's mainly introducing your main characters and there personality's and once your into the 2nd and 3rd chapters it's changed completely.

    I wish I could talk more about the story but I really don't want to give away anything since there's to many spoilers all I can say is that it involves a king, a giant but friendly monster that's suffering from an infestation and a loyal knight that wants nothing but the best for his friends.

    Presentation wise the games quite solid. The menu's are vibrant, polished and easy to navigate and for a WII port the graphic's of the game are nicely done if only a little rough around the edges. The skits in the game are often and are constantly unlocked by achieving certain outcomes or by interacting with certain things so don't expect to see them all through out your first play through.    … Expand
  23. 5onic
    Jan 20, 2013
    10
    I'm not a fan of anime, I'm not a fan of JRPGs. However Tales of Graces pulls you in with its innovated battle system that is simply, fun. Me and my friends had a 4 player co op experience and it's unbelievably like no other gaming experiences. If you really want to just have fun this is the perfect game. The game play is just so amazing and brings ton of replay value.

    I care more about    I'm not a fan of anime, I'm not a fan of JRPGs. However Tales of Graces pulls you in with its innovated battle system that is simply, fun. Me and my friends had a 4 player co op experience and it's unbelievably like no other gaming experiences. If you really want to just have fun this is the perfect game. The game play is just so amazing and brings ton of replay value.

    I care more about the gameplay than anything else, however I guess I should bring up the other points for those who are wondering.

    Game play - It's perfect experience especially up to 3 more buddies.
    Music/Sound - Decent enough to be a filler.
    Story - Decent enough, could be way better but the game play makes you not care as much.
    Replay Value - Is perfect. So many side quests, so much fun and so much more extra content that you won't get bored anytime soon.

    This game is simply a 10/10 for me. Game play is the most important focus for me and it's pretty much perfect. Story and all that jazz are extra and doesn't hurt the game play too much.

    P.S: Completed the game three times so far.    … Expand
  24. darkwraith
    Jan 16, 2013
    8
    The first Tales of Graces i have played and i think the first in the series available in europe.
    The Tales series is a well known franchaise in japanese rpgs. And is very popular with japanes players. The characters are likeable and the animation and graphics are high quality with an overall manga look too the drawing style. The story is one of knights and kings and politcal intrigue    The first Tales of Graces i have played and i think the first in the series available in europe.
    The Tales series is a well known franchaise in japanese rpgs. And is very popular with japanes players. The characters are likeable and the animation and graphics are high quality with an overall manga look too the drawing style. The story is one of knights and kings and politcal intrigue that is actually a more adult tale than it first appears following the main characters form childhood to adult the story spans thru the generations. the early hours of the game slowly introduce all the skills and things you can do within the game which helps as there is a lot of complex stuff in Tales. a pot to try out recipies that may or may not produce a new type of sword or armor, health potion ,or food, and ore gems that raise the defence and attack,elemental powers of youre arrmor and weapons. the battle system is simple to begin with then building up to excellent master strikes that look great. You also gain titles for how many monsters you kill or how often you use a certain weapon. Equiping these titles will also adjust and change various stats and moves that are available allowing you to grow youre favorite attack moves. Some reviewers said that you cant grind or level up your character but you can and mosters reapear almost instantly allowing you to fight them again or avoid them if you so wish. over-all Tales of Graces is a pleasant surprise and a nice way to introduce the series to europe. Recommended for Jrpg players and one of the few good ones available.    … Expand
  25. aaron5951
    Nov 27, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game. Wonderful battle system that feels fluid, fast-paced and full of new techs and skills waiting to be learned and upgraded. Graphics are pretty typical of JRPG standards---lots of bright, cheery places but also some darker more foreboding locations. I liked the story, even though it got off to a very slow start. There are many, many items to discover, items to craft (called dualizing in this game,) gems to forge, ingredients to cook, weapons and armor to make--and the list goes on. I also want to make note that this game does well on spacing of save points---you don't usually have to travel too far before you find one, and that eliminates some of the frustration of repetitive dying and/or losing items. However, I played the game on "Moderate" difficulty, and only died around 5 or 6 times through the whole course of the game (around 61 hours for completion of main storyline.)

    The characters do mention friendship a lot, but at its core, the game's plot and deeper meaning (if you want to call it deep) is that without friends, you can't fully realize your life's potential---and, really, friendship is what makes life so special. I especially liked Cheria, because even though she could be perceived as moody and whiney sometimes, she has a heart of gold. Other characters in the game have their own backstories and reasons for "Fighting the Good Fight," and all of these are fleshed out fairly well.

    This was the first game I've played in the Tales series, but after playing this one, I may have to go back and see what I've been missing in other titles. A definitive recommended purchase for any JRPG fan---the game will not disappoint!    … Expand
  26. SubStatus
    Nov 13, 2012
    8
    A must for jRPG fans who own a ps3. Considering the original was released for the wii I was expecting that there might be a lot of indications that would make it noticeable as a port. But I was proven wrong and actually one of the best games I've played.

    The combat system in this iteration in my opinion is the best one out of all the Tale's games so far to be released in English. You    A must for jRPG fans who own a ps3. Considering the original was released for the wii I was expecting that there might be a lot of indications that would make it noticeable as a port. But I was proven wrong and actually one of the best games I've played.

    The combat system in this iteration in my opinion is the best one out of all the Tale's games so far to be released in English.

    You may find however that in some parts that the dialogue can start to become forced and even sometimes so repetitive that its almost intolerable. But if you stick with it the game is a rewarding experience.    … Expand
  27. jirren
    Nov 1, 2012
    10
    I am fairly biased with the Tales series, however this game is one of the best, the only downfall is that the difficulty dramatically changes and becomes extreme towards the end even if you are level 65. The story is good, characters and voice acting are fun just like it should be in a Tales game.
  28. houjo2000
    Oct 13, 2012
    10
    Not as good as Tales of Vesperia or Symphonia. That said, still one of the best RPGs of the past decade. Great combat system, graphics, etc... all the stuff you expect from a Tales game- if you liked other Tales games you'll like this one. Most off putting thing I'd say is how they shove the theme of friendship in your face like a children's anime, the game feeling much more childlike thanNot as good as Tales of Vesperia or Symphonia. That said, still one of the best RPGs of the past decade. Great combat system, graphics, etc... all the stuff you expect from a Tales game- if you liked other Tales games you'll like this one. Most off putting thing I'd say is how they shove the theme of friendship in your face like a children's anime, the game feeling much more childlike than the darker Vesperia.

    But, due to certain parts of it I can't say it's completely aimed at little kids.

    Asbel is one of the blandest Tales main characters I've seen- but Cheria grew on me, and Pascal is now one of my all time favourite characters.

    If you like RPGs, this is a great choice if you have a ps3.    … Expand
  29. maddrops
    Jul 31, 2012
    10
    This game was very fun and exciting. The characters were well written and they even added a little humor to the dialogue which was pretty cool. I would recommend this game too much any type of gamer as it wasn't too hard to play even if you're not an rpg year wasn't too difficult to learn how to play this game.
  30. Irohma
    Jul 16, 2012
    8
    Namco was sure to show that Tales of Graces was not originally made for PS3. The graphics are not on par with Tales of Vesperia and other current-gen consoles, but at least are artistically beautiful. The game overall is a great RPG, but lacking when compared to bigger and more powerful Tales games like Eternia, Vesperia, Abyss, and Destiny. The battle system suffered the biggest change inNamco was sure to show that Tales of Graces was not originally made for PS3. The graphics are not on par with Tales of Vesperia and other current-gen consoles, but at least are artistically beautiful. The game overall is a great RPG, but lacking when compared to bigger and more powerful Tales games like Eternia, Vesperia, Abyss, and Destiny. The battle system suffered the biggest change in the franchise that I know of, and it brought good (like the use of CC, even more non-stop action) things that will surely remain in the following games of the franchise. The true problem here is the size of the game. The story is short, without the typical depth in the sidequests that is common to Tales games, the characters are far too childish, their problems and concerns border the stupid, and overall you lack nice plot twists and a engrossing cast like in previous Tales games. It's still very worth to play for Tales fans, but I'd recommend Tales of Vesperia a lot more for the current gen of consoles.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PS3 Game of 2012
24
#24 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
13
#13 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 55
  3. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. Eurogamer Portugal
    Nov 6, 2012
    90
    Tales of Graces f is a tale of magic and fantasy with a touch of political and social intrigue easily recommended to anyone who loves this specific genre.
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  2. Gamer.no
    Oct 27, 2012
    70
    The characters are dreadful and the story is not much more than passable, but the combat system and character building is the best yet for the series. If you don't mind annoying characters, you'll have a blast.
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  3. Hyper Magazine
    Oct 8, 2012
    80
    Putting the mysterious "f" back in "freakin' su-weet." [Nov 2012, p.77]
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