Forgot password?  |  Register  |    
User Name:     Password:    
Blog - Staff Blog   

Not a BaD Decade - Tales of Graces f


On 02/01/2020 at 10:30 AM by Matt Snee

See More From This User »

tales

A lot of people have been doing "Best of the Decade" lists across the web and Pixlbit, and I've wanted to do my own. But I have a lot on my mind these days, so it's hard to wrap my brain around ten years of games. What I've decided to do instead is to blog about the few games I managed to finish in the past ten years. It was a great decade for games, but I was seriously unproductive with them; I mostly dabbled in games the past ten years, and saw very few to completion. 

I dream of rectifying this in the future, but my attention span is so small these days, and like I said, I have a lot on my mind. But I have put a stop to endlessly buying games and starting new ones lately... mostly I've been focusing on Dragon Quest 11. When I think of starting something else or buying a new game, I hesitate because I want to play DQ. 

*

Tales of Graces f was released in Japan in 2010 and the West in 2011. Praised in some ways, it was also criticized for playing it too safe - it kind of straddles the line between older games like Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Vesperia and Tales games as we know them now. But, I enjoyed it, and surprisingly finished it, though not the postgame stuff that was included in the "f" (which stands for future) release. 

If you've played a Tales game, it's mostly like the rest, with a complex, sprawling story and tight Action RPG combat with humor and drama comingling. One of the most lackluster aspects of it though (and common to most criticism) is its lame soundtrack, for a series that mostly has good music. I remember I played it with the sound turned off and unrelated music playing on my stereo. 

It's a good game, not great, and mostly forgettable. Of all the great games released in the past decade, I spent forty hours to complete something not really worth it. What drove me to finish it though was that I was reviewing it for a game site run by a friend (the names of the site and the friend I can no longer remember). 

But I do have some nice memories of the game and the characters. As far as Tales games though, one can do much better. 


 

Comments

Cary Woodham

02/02/2020 at 09:19 AM

I liked Tales of Graces f.  I felt it focused more on good battles and gameplay, which some of the more modern Tales games are lacking in.  Which is why I haven't played a new one since Zestiria.  One reason why Graces wasn't up to people's expectations is that it's actually a port of the Wii version that was only released in Japan.

I don't think any Tales game has that great music.  I mean, it's not bad, just not memorable.  But there is one exception.  My favorite Tales game, Tales of Legendia, has an awesome soundtrack because it was all composed by Go Shiina, my favorite video game musician.  I know I've talked about him a lot before.  If you want to listen to some really unique game music, listen to some of Go Shiina's tracks from Legendia or Mr. Driller: Drill Land.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/02/2020 at 10:03 AM

yeah, you're right, Tales music is usually pretty lackluster. But I remember Graces being especially bland. 

I didn't like Zestiria very much either. But I'd like to play Berseria, I heard that was good. 

SanAndreas

02/02/2020 at 02:45 PM

Tales music does have some really good tracks here and there. Fighting of the Spirit (the battle theme for summon spirits) is a legit awesome battle theme. Symphonia had quite a few good tracks honestly. 

mothman

02/02/2020 at 02:42 PM

I enjoyed Tales of Graces f and like you I finished the main game but not the postgame. I started the postgame and then burned out.

I think I have all the Tales games starting with Symphonia but I keep starting them and never finish.

Vesperia I've played about 80% of and I really should finish it.

I bought Zestiria, Xillia 1 and 2 and Berseria but I haven't even touched them

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/04/2020 at 08:04 AM

I have to finish Vesperia too. Bought it for the Switch of course. 

SanAndreas

02/02/2020 at 02:49 PM

I got Graces when it came out. It wasn't as good as Vesperia, but it wasn't bad either. I did want to support the series because it had been a few years since Vesperia and a lot of games had been skipped int he meantime. 

It was the transition between old-style Tales and modern Tales (the last release before it, Hearts, was an older style Tales with a world map). It definitely was lower budget compared to Vesperia, but I notice that the Team Destiny games tended to be a little skimpier and lower-budget than the Team Symphonia games.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/04/2020 at 08:04 AM

Yeah, it's not bad. I enjoyed it. 

KnightDriver

02/03/2020 at 04:35 PM

I've just dabbled in the Tales games. I might have even owned Graces f too at one point. I still have Symphonia at least. So I'll try that sometime. 

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/04/2020 at 08:05 AM

Vesperia is my favorite. 

daftman

02/04/2020 at 12:47 AM

I have digital copies of Graces f and Xilia but they're so far down the totem pole of RPGs I have, I'll probably never play them.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/04/2020 at 08:05 AM

yeah, I got games like that too. 

goaztecs

02/06/2020 at 12:39 PM

Having never played any of the games in this series I always found it odd that folks like critics will complain about how X game leans too much one way or another instead of how good the content is. If you like the series give it a spin and if it isn't your cup of tea move on. 

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/06/2020 at 12:50 PM

I liked this game, and I like the series. But some entries are better than others. 

Log in to your PixlBit account in the bar above or join the site to leave a comment.