Tales of Graces - Out in Japan, while everyone else waits for the fans

Cao Cao

Cao Cao

CAGiversary!
In this title, a new RPG exclusively for the Wii, you play as Asbel Lhant from the Lhant Territory of Windol Country; Asbel apparently suffered a loss in his past that makes him inclined to obtain enough strength to protect those around him. The combat system is called the "Style Shift Linear Battle System," which as the name implies, lets you shift between Asbel's different sword styles in battle.

Trailers:
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
Trailer 3 @ TGS
Gameplay trailer @ TGS
Intro video

Detailed profile and some interview info from RPGMonkey (2):
Graces (interview with Baba)
-The game is a compilation of his work so far.
-Possibly the longest game in the series, his guess is 60-70 hours
-He was surprised at the battles.

The idea behind Style Shift seems to be that you can set skills of both styles to the A and B buttons, then switch between them accordingly in battle.
Click to expand...
Asbel Lhant - Eldest son of Aston, the Lord of the Lhant territory, which is located between the countries of Windol and Fendel. Became a knight due to his desire to protect everyone around him. Uses sheathed-sword and drawn-sword techniques.
Sophie - Asbel encountered her while he was fighting, and she has lost her memory, so Asbel gave her the name Sophie. Uses Martial Arts and Regeneration magic
Cheria Barnes - The granddaughter of Asbel's butler and a possible love interest. She specializes in throwing knives and Holy magic.
Hubert Ozwell - Asbel's serious younger brother. Uses a double-bladed sword, along with twin pistols.
Pascal - A young genius engineer who wields a Gun-Staff and Glyph magic.
Malik Caesars - Military instructor who uses a remote-controlled Boomerang-Blade, and Attack magic.
Richard - Prince of Windol and a childhood friend of Asbel. Uses a Rapier and magic.

Once again, RPGMonkey does a great job explaining the game's mechanics:
Styles

Asbel: Style A=Sheathed Sword, Style B=Drawn Sword
Sophie: Style A=Martial Arts, Style B=Magic
Cheria: Style A=Throwing Knives, Style B=Magic
Hubert: Style A=Twin Blade, Style B=Guns/Magic
Pascal: Style A=Staff/Rifle, Style B=Magic
Malik: Style A=Blade, Style B=Magic
Richard: Style A=Sword, Style B=Magic/Etc.

Style A is the flashy stuff. Style B has high power and rapid hits.

Every character has a certain amount of Style A artes, one for each slot. Asbel, Sophie, and Hubert have 13. Cheria, Malik, and Pascal have 10. Richard is still unknown. The artes in these slots are not interchangeable (that or it's something unlocked later). A CC 4 arte stays a CC 4 arte and can't be moved to CC 2.

Style A works differently, and it's actually quite similar to the "Base Arte->Arcane Arte" system. You have four tiers, based on CC consumption, which are CC 1, CC 2, CC 3, and CC 4. Like the classic system, Style A artes have a strict order in which they can be used. You use a CC 1 arte first, then a CC 2, then a CC 3, then a CC 4 arte. Should you have the CC left over to use another, you go back to CC 2 and start again from there.

There is only one CC 1 arte, and it applies to all four directions with the analog stick. but how the character uses the CC 1 arte changes depending on the direction/position you have the stick in. Basically, every character's CC 1 arte is Tales of Graces's version of the "normal attack", it's just in the form of an arte instead.

After the CC 1 arte, you go to CC 2, and you are able to use any of the four (or three) artes in that rank, provided you have enough CC. The same goes for CC 3, and CC 4.

Style B works more traditionally. You have the same four positions as Style A, except that you are free to add any arte you choose to these directions. Of course, this implies that you're getting a good deal more than just 10-13 artes to use. I assume this system works more the AR-LMBS of Hearts and Destiny, and style B artes can linked in any order and as many times as your CC will allow you to.

Critical Gauge

In Graces, you have something called a critical gauge. Unlike Tales of Destiny, your CC doesn't increase when you recharge it. Instead, it recharges to the same number, and to increase it you have to max out the critical gauge. You fill the critical gauge through attacking the enemy, evading attacks, and defending against attacks, but keep in mind that it also decreases by being hit. Once you max out the CC gauge, you gain one CC, and you also get a critical hit.

Like Tales of Destiny, each character has a minimum CC and a maximum CC. You start out a fight at minimum CC. For example, Asbel's CC is 8~11 (minimum~maximum). When the fight starts, he starts out at 8 CC. As he fights, he maxes out the CC gauge, until he reaches his maximum of 11 CC. Chances are that once he maxes out the gauge again at 11 CC, like in ToD, his CC will restart back to the minimum and you have to go through the process over again.

Arles Break/Rise

Arles Break/Rise are basically new concepts, designed so that some balance issues can be fixed, but also to give battles a little twist.

The Arles Break gauge, which is the red one, is filled by fighting. As you attack the enemy, the gauge fills and Arles Break activates when it's full. During Arles Break, the critical gauge will neither fill nor drop. This serves as a temporary delay from reaching maximum CC, but on the other hand, if you're at maximum CC already, it also serves as a method of keeping your character at maximum CC more easily.

Arles Rise, which is the blue gauge, is filled by doing combos with party members. Once the gauge is full, press the L button and Arles Rise activates. For a short time you appear to have infinite CC. Also, when it activates you have a gauge, which can probably be taken to certain levels, as it's only at "1" in the demo. This gauge is what allows you to use a Blast Calibur (fancy name for a Mystic Arte/Hi Ougi). Presumably you'll also be able to use a stronger BC in the final version at higher levels. This serves to fix the issue of pulling off these attacks being too easy and simple in Tales of Destiny (and several other Tales games for that matter).

Around Step

Around Step is used for dodging attacks. Characters are on a 360 degree plane around the targeted enemy in Tales of Graces, similar to 3D Zelda games with you lock onto an enemy.

If you properly evade or counterattack an enemy, you can recover some CC back. Keep in mind that you can also use Around Step inbetween linking attacks (we can call this a "cancel").
Click to expand...
 
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It's nice to see a mothership Tales title headed to Wii. Dawn of the New World was okay, but it never really felt like a true Tales title. This, on the other hand, has promise.

After a couple of rather disappointing RPG years for Wii, we're finally seeing some glimmers of hope -- Tales of Graces, FF:CC title that looks interesting, Arc Rise Fantasia, and the far-off hope of Dragon Quest X...
 
So is this going to be a solo adventure? I haven't seen anything that shows it's a party based battle system. Really interested in it, but hoping it's party based.
 
If its not party based that's too bad, that's what I always loved about the Tales games were that you could play it with 3 friends.
 
Someone at GameFAQs pointed out this slide that Namco-Bandai showed:

If you look closely on the right screenshot, you can see a humanoid character fighting a lizard monster while Asbel is fighting the flying monster.
 
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I might have to pull out my Wii for this one if this comes anywhere close to how amazing Vesperia is. I didn't really care too much for Symphonia 2, so we will have to see.
 
New Famitsu article is out, revealing a second playable character:
14726_428050_122_525lo.jpg

14733_428310_122_1100lo.jpg

As this 1Up translation says, Sophie is an amnesiac that Asbel finds and names. While Asbel is a strict melee fighter with sword attacks and artes, Sophie follows the Marta style by using martial arts for basic attacks and having a supply of healing artes. Hideo Baba also plugs the Style Shift system a bit, saying that it would increase the depth of characters and reduce the repetitiveness of battles.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']Does anyone else think 60-70 hours is too long?[/QUOTE]

I think this depends on how engaging the story is. If it keeps you up at night thinking about the world, characters and what you need to do next, then no. If it's a chore to grind through, then yes.
 
Hey, Vesperia took me 90 hours to beat. I don't know how long it took other people to beat, but I imagine I was 10-15 hours over the average time.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']Hey, Vesperia took me 90 hours to beat. I don't know how long it took other people to beat, but I imagine I was 10-15 hours over the average time.[/QUOTE]

My first playthrough took about 40 hours, doing most stuff. My second run took around 25 hours, doing everything. My third, the achievement speed run, is in mid-process because I loaned it out and never picked it back up but I think it won't last more than 17 if I ever get back to it.
 
I messed around a did a ton of skits, though. Like...every skit that popped up, I did. I also got every corner of the map, every big beast, and I decided to spend an extra 10 hours on just running the thing so I could get the 100 hours achievement. I also went for every Secret Mission (still don't have 23 yet) which was a major, major chore, especially 17. God I hate that one so much.

The last dungeon confused me so much. I think I missed about 2/3 of what was actually in there.
 
A shaky-cam video of the ToG trailer at the "Tales of" Festival was uploaded to Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtPnzDrp4Sc
Being a shaky-cam, the quality is low and the sound is difficult to hear, but there's a ton of gameplay footage in this trailer, showing some features.

- Party-based system is confirmed, as some scenes show Asbel and Sophie fighting together.
- A new character, a red-haired girl, is briefly shown in the trailer with Asbel and Sophie. It's likely that this is an as-of-yet-unnamed third party member.
- Style Shift is shown, along with what looks like some sort of countering system.
 
Sweet, I liked what I saw from that trailer. For those wanting to see the party battling, that starts around 1:44 of the video. Thanks for that video Cao Cao!
 
Thanks for the high quality video! Assuming a party based battle system, this is easily among my most anticipated games, on any system.
 
The new trailer looks great. I'm really looking forward to this game and I hope it doesn't take too long to come to the US after the Japanese release.

I really like the countering system in the trailer.
 
Good news everyone!
A scan from Weekly Shonen Jump has appeared, and it details two new characters. The first is Asbel's swordsman younger brother, Hubert Oswell. The second is the red-haired girl from the trailer, named Shiela Burns (or Barnes).
http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=88636
http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=88683
tales_of_graces.jpg
Hubert Oswell
Voice: Takahiro Mizushima
Asbel's younger brother of one year. He's a major in the army, and has a reasonable and serious personality. Magic swordsman.

Shelia Burns
Voice: Shiho Karawagi
The granddaughter of the butler working for Asbel. She holds faint feelings for him, and is at an age where she isn't very obedient/honest. Uses healing magic.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='scarhawk']Anyone know the US release timeframe?[/QUOTE]

US release hasnt been announced yet
 
Really hoping this comes to US. I'm still hoping for a US release of Rebirth. Or hell, any of the various PSP ports of the series.
 
[quote name='Zmonkay']Really hoping this comes to US. I'm still hoping for a US release of Rebirth. Or hell, any of the various PSP ports of the series.[/QUOTE]
Since this is one of the main games I would guess a US release is pretty much assured.
 
[quote name='Kaijufan']Since this is one of the main games I would guess a US release is pretty much assured.[/QUOTE]

Rebirth and Destiny were main games too.
 
[quote name='62t']Rebirth and Destiny were main games too.[/QUOTE]

I really can't see them not bringing this over. The Wii has very few RPGs, and ToS sold great on the Gamecube (DotNW for Wii sold similar to what it did in Japan IIRC).
 
[quote name='62t']Rebirth and Destiny were main games too.[/QUOTE]
A quick search shows that both of those had 2D graphics for the battle system and SCEA rejected most games with 2D graphics.
 
[quote name='Kaijufan']A quick search shows that both of those had 2D graphics for the battle system and SCEA rejected most games with 2D graphics.[/QUOTE]

Not any more 2D than Tales of Legendia
 
[quote name='62t']Not any more 2D than Tales of Legendia[/QUOTE]
After watching some Youtube videos, but it appears Legendia has 3D graphics on a 2D battle field, and both Rebirth and Destiny had actual 2D sprites for graphics.

Until the very end of the PS2s lifespan Sony was rejecting all but a few games that used 2D sprites (I know the Square Enix Mana game was an exception, I imagine mostly because it's Square Enix). Eventually they ended that policy (and games like Odin's Sphere came out) but I imagine at that point Namco didn't care anymore.

It's also possible Namco didn't think the US audience would be interested in 2D games. I know they haven't brought over the DS Tales games, which I believe are also 2D. I know Tales of Phantasia came out in the US, but Nintendo published it, not Namco.
 
NISA and Atlus both released 2D games that got approved early on.

Tales of Innocences for DS is actually 3D. In fact the battle system is same as Abyss/Tales of the World.

The main reason is due to the poor sales of the series. Aside from Sympthonia series none of the other games did that well. They don't have the resources to bring every game over.
 
Some more info in Jump/Fami this week. True-gaming.net has the high quality scans up:
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825098_0f1f2e7249_b.jpg
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825102_e94fa972f2_b.jpg
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825104_95f19845c5_b.jpg

Notable info(Source 1, Source 2):
- Another new character revealed: Richard, Prince of Windol and Asbel's childhood friend. He attacks with a rapier and magic.
- DS Connectivity: A minigame is available for download to the DS, "Turtlemen Merchants." You apparently go through random dungeons, and the items you earn can be transferred to Tales of Graces.
 
[quote name='twztid13']thatll SUCK if this isnt brought over. sounds amazing.[/QUOTE]
If they brought Dawn of the New World over, I don't think they'll take too long with Graces.
 
[quote name='Cao Cao']Some more info in Jump/Fami this week. True-gaming.net has the high quality scans up:
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825098_0f1f2e7249_b.jpg
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825102_e94fa972f2_b.jpg
http://www.true-gaming.net/tgupload/images2/3930825104_95f19845c5_b.jpg

Notable info(Source 1, Source 2):
- Another new character revealed: Richard, Prince of Windol and Asbel's childhood friend. He attacks with a rapier and magic.
- DS Connectivity: A minigame is available for download to the DS, "Turtlemen Merchants." You apparently go through random dungeons, and the items you earn can be transferred to Tales of Graces.[/QUOTE]

Ok, so apparently I'll have to buy a DS now, as I am very interested in this. This game just keeps getting better and better. :hot:
 
This was officially given a December release date in Japan, and Korean Songstress BoA will perform the vocals for the game's main theme. Also announced was a pre-order campaign that includes a postcard at the time of the pre-order as well as an undisclosed bonus picked up when the game is released.
 
That 2nd video is all kinds of awesome. I seriously can't explain how much I want this game. They really need to announce this as having an NA release. :drool:
 
Is it wrong that I'd want to sell my sister in the hopes of playing it right this instant?


Anyways, I'm glad to see some of the more unique character designs make it into the party, similar to what we saw in Eternia. That second trailer though had me drooling the moment 3:55 happened. I wonder if it's an actual fight or some move/summong animation you can't really do anything during. Hope it's an actual fight.

If this turns out anything like Symphonia 2, I will have to baw myself to sleep for many a forte night.
 
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