Tales of Graces F

[GrimHouten]

is the other way around, I already unlocked "Evil" by playing a lot of battles in Hard I guess(I started the game in Hard and around the part, when you fight Malik, I unlocked it) so I think I will need to play a lot in Evil to unlock Chaos.
or maybe finish the game or the future arc, I dont know(In ToDR you had to finish the game 2 times to unlock it)

[Miyosaka]

I wasn't excited about this game at all, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how good it is. I had heard that the story was terrible, but it's actually not bad at all. Simple and fairly done before, but paced well. The character designs are still a bit too pastel / shuojo, but I enjoy the characters for how charming and developed they are. The battle system is great.

[Nim]

I'm now on chapter 3. Story isn't terrible or a masterpiece. It is cerviceable. The characters aren't great, but I have come to like them more thanks to the skits. The battle system is great and fast. It's my first Tales game that uses the CC system, and I hope we see more of those in the west. Sometimes I stay at a dungeon and grind titles, not because I need to grind, it's simply fun fighting and unlocking new titles.
Dualizing felt like a chore at first, but I now find myself dualizing stuff for 30+ minutes when I visit some stores. I also like the eleth mixer idea. If I need an item for an inn request and no enemies in the area drop that item, I can put it in the mixer and it might create it for me.

[EmeraldSuzaku]

I'm now in Chapter 4. It's very much a Tales game, and I find that I'm going through slowly because I keep running around checking everything between new areas. I unlocked Evil battle difficulty and kicked it over to that. If the SP was rolling before, it's a flood now. I had to turn things down to moderate for the last couple of boss fights of Chapter 3, though. Those were rough.

[lolwhoops]

So I started this up today and out of curiosity I looked up what DLC is available for it and it turns out there's ways to actually beef up your characters for money. The idea seems ridiculous to me, but at the same time I can see the appeal of double item drops or faster sp gain. Has anyone tried any of it? Also there's a few free ones too, so I got them just because.

[TheAnimeMan]

So I started this up today and out of curiosity I looked up what DLC is available for it and it turns out there's ways to actually beef up your characters for money. The idea seems ridiculous to me, but at the same time I can see the appeal of double item drops or faster sp gain. Has anyone tried any of it? Also there's a few free ones too, so I got them just because.

Actually Tales is not the first game to do this. Hyperdimension Neptunia, Record of Agarest War, and Cross Edge all do the stat thing already.

[Nim]

Actually Tales is not the first game to do this. Hyperdimension Neptunia, Record of Agarest War, and Cross Edge all do the stat thing already.

This is also usual in various sports games and whatnot.

[Quin]

It's also not the first Tales game, as Vesperia PS3 had similar options on the Japanese PSN.

[TheAnimeMan]

It's also not the first Tales game, as Vesperia PS3 had similar options on the Japanese PSN.

and the 360 had some options, but not as many as the JPN one.

[bain_nick]

Found an American version down here in New Zealand. Going to play it on my Australian PS3 when I get back.

[flamethrower]

Switching between characters in battle seems rather clumsy. What am I doing wrong?

1) Do you always start battles controlling Asbel? How do you change who you start as?
2) Changing characters mid-battle: When I press the D-pad left to control Sophie, it shows "2P" in that slot (and doesn't change to controlling her). I'm playing alone. How do I change to Sophie?
3) If I switch to someone else, Asbel will just sit there and look dumb. Is there a way I can switch him to auto and the other character to semi-auto when I switch control?

[TheAnimeMan]

Switch the person you want to play as into the palyer one slot on the menu screen. Generally in tales games you don't switch characters. If you want them to perform certain arts you select it via the menu otherwise you leave it alone. It's alot like Star Ocean in that respect.

[LordKaiser]

What I haven't figured out is how I steal in this game.

[TheAnimeMan]

What I haven't figured out is how I steal in this game.

Stealing is done automatically after you learn certain titles and upgrade them for certain abilities. Sophie gets the most attacks that will steal when they are used however Asbel gets one as well. The title system is the main basis of the game. I've gotten over 100 titles on three characters and am no where NEAR finishing those characters titles. I've completed a lot of them (after sinking nearly 100 hours or more) into the game of actual play time. But thats how you steal certain titles will upgrade certain attacks to be able to steal when they are used.

[Zbornak]

What setting are your characters set to in the menu? I have Asbel on "Manual" and the rest on "Auto", and switching characters works like it's supposed to. When I change characters with the D-pad, I gain full control over the new character and the old one changes to AI control. As for the "2P" thing, do you have a second controller hooked up?

[Nim]

Switching between characters in battle seems rather clumsy. What am I doing wrong?

1) Do you always start battles controlling Asbel? How do you change who you start as?
2) Changing characters mid-battle: When I press the D-pad left to control Sophie, it shows "2P" in that slot (and doesn't change to controlling her). I'm playing alone. How do I change to Sophie?
3) If I switch to someone else, Asbel will just sit there and look dumb. Is there a way I can switch him to auto and the other character to semi-auto when I switch control?

Make sure that your uncontrolled characters are in auto mode. You do this in the Artes menu. You have at least two characters set to semi auto or manual. What you just described happened to me too in a few battles. After you do this, you should be able to switch characters mid battle without any problems and your previously controlled character will act on her/his own.

[EmeraldSuzaku]

You can change who you start as by putting them in the top spot in the menu. The order the characters are listed in the menu screen correspond to P1 through P4, from top to bottom. You always start off controlling P1. So if you always want to start as, say, Sophie, just slap her in the top spot in the menu.

EDIT: Or I could have just read up the topic farther, as TheAnimeMan already covered this.

[TheAnimeMan]

You can change who you start as by putting them in the top spot in the menu. The order the characters are listed in the menu screen correspond to P1 through P4, from top to bottom. You always start off controlling P1. So if you always want to start as, say, Sophie, just slap her in the top spot in the menu.

EDIT: Or I could have just read up the topic farther, as TheAnimeMan already covered this.

No worries mate, Re-enforcement is always good some times.

[Scar]

Man, am I glad that Hubert is another close range fighter, because Asbel's character annoys me.

Also, Hubert's fighting style is hella fun! Close and distant games galore~

Oh, and he is kinda frail, so I have been toying around with a lot of different titles to try and beef his HP and defense up so he can take some hits. My GF plays as Asbel, and she seems to enjoy his fighting style enough. He fights well enough, but I just can't stand his downer mood.

~

The game overall is a blast. I seem to feel this way for every new Tales game, but I just keep falling in love with the series over and over again. The CC artes were interesting and a little strange to get used to, but now it feels as if every new Tales game should use this same format. Right now I am currently in Fendel about to go to the Valkines with everyone. Back tracking has been a hassle, but I imagine I will get some method of fast travel soon enough. Can't say I have many complaints about this game right now.

Every since Suikoden stopped making new (you know what I mean) titles, I feel as though the Tales series has been the best JRPG to come state-side.

[bain_nick]

It took me about 6 hours to reach adulthood, but i like to take my time with my RPG's. Work up and such (It's actually been VERY hard to not just sit down and grind away at those titles. And then I get more, and the want to grind comes back...)

I don't mind Asbel's downer mood. It's certainly not the worst Downer mood out there. He still has hope even when he feels like he can't do anything.
Anywho, this watermellon is making me giggle far too easily, so i think I might just unequip it.