Review – Tales of Graces f Remastered

resurfaces as a polished treasure from the acclaimed series, bringing with it an irresistible mix of nostalgia with improvements focused on modernizing the game. This remastered version of a classic released in 2009 arrives with a series of improvements that will make veterans and newcomers smile when returning to this very unique world.

Bandai Namco went to great lengths to make this experience lighter and more accessible. In addition to the visual evolution, some improvements focused on quality were added for the new generation of players to enjoy a story that stands out among other titles in the Tales of series precisely because of its simpler and more captivating proposal.

Promises are never forgotten

Get ready to dive head first into a story about friendship and the strength needed to protect those we love. Cliche? Yes! And as if that weren’t enough, our heroes will also need to save the world. This is the basis for the journey of Asbel Lhant who, alongside his brother Hubert, and his many friends go from a childhood promise to the hurricane of a political plot between the three nations of Ephinea, threatening Lhant, the homeland of the our protagonist.

The plot unfolds years later, testing the bonds between the characters amidst political conflicts, causing the young heroes to be forced to confront not only the dangers that threaten their world, but also their own internal conflicts and responsibilities, all while try to honor the promise made years ago.

Far from being able to reinvent the narrative among so many much more interesting JRPGs, the plot is engaging enough to keep you engaged until the final credits. The way events permeate the characters serves as a thread that connects the past to the present and shapes the characters’ journey and the consequences in Ephinea.

Asbel, Hubert, Cheria, Richard and Sophie build the main core, but Pascal, Veigue and Malik, among many others, enhance the game even more, mainly because the main antagonist is worked as an antithesis to the narrative and does not necessarily be the standard villain. Interactions between the cast are natural and often fun, creating a group that is easy to grow fond of throughout the journey.

For those who didn’t have the opportunity to play the Wii or PS3 version, Bandai Namco added Lineage and Legacies, DLC with a story that takes place six months after the end of the original game, further extending the experience. As extra content, in addition to 80 DLCs with content for character customization, a digital art book is also part of this new edition, allowing you to learn even more about the world of Tales of Graces f Remastered.

As we are talking about a remaster, Tales of Graces f Remastered has received careful treatment. The visuals have been enhanced to meet modern standards while maintaining the original artistic charm. Performance has also been optimized, offering a smoother experience on current platforms, without any stuttering on the Nintendo Switch.

The soundtrack, highly praised since its original version, remains one of the highlights for offering music that manages to complement everything from the exciting combats to the dramatic moments, contributing to the immersion in the game. Not to mention the animated sequences, which shine with their anime style and are exciting because they are vibrant. It’s the kind of music you’ll want to listen to even after finishing the game, and now you can, thanks to the inclusion of the digital soundtrack.

Contained effort, but with important improvements

Within the franchise, Tales of Graces originally stood out for having brought a more fluid and dynamic combat system, considered by many fans as one of the best and which was carried over into subsequent games as part of the evolution in gameplay. After all, we are talking about a game that got a PS3 version from the original released for Wii, coming from a generation with gameplay choices that don’t necessarily match the current generation.

At first it may even be strange to move during battles, almost like controlling a tank inside an arena with an invisible grid. The fights, which have a certain freedom, are paced by more truncated movement for those who are used to large scenarios and controls in all directions. In Tales of Graces f Remastered, we have an alternating battle system that allows us to switch between Artes and Burst. This way, the player can choose the strength and range of the group’s attacks, the size of the attack and how far or close you need to be in relation to the enemy, without being limited to the “imaginary grid” and original combat.

Other improvements were added with a focus on facilitating gameplay in a generation that competes with agility. Now this is an RPG with a destination icon to aid navigation and automatic saving, even though it has the save option in the menu, in addition to being able to skip scenes, increase the speed of battles, retry when failing in combat, and the possibility of deactivating encounters with enemies, but this can be costly in more complex combats as the game progresses. After all, we are talking about a game with an increasing difficulty curve, which becomes complex as the characters evolve.

Although it doesn’t have the narrative complexity of more recent titles like Tales of Arise, Tales of Graces f Remastered offers a very interesting, more nostalgic experience that will warm your heart. With its technical improvements, easier combat system and captivating story, this JRPG offers hours of entertainment for those who want to revisit or discover this classic from the Tales of series for the first time.

It is worth remembering that this release is part of a project called Remastered Project, in which Bandai Namco began a journey to rescue the games in the Tales of series. However, we still don’t know which games will be remastered, but we can expect many surprises for the franchise’s 30th anniversary.