REVIEW: ‘Tales of Graces f Remastered’ Is A Delightful Experience (PS5)

The long-running Tales franchise has delivered excellent role-playing game experiences for 30 years. Developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, Tales of Graces f Remastered is a modern release of the Tales of Graces f game released worldwide in 2010.

Tales of Graces f Remastered follows the story of a young man named Asbel Lhant, the oldest son of Lord Aston Lhant. He is the next in line to rule the town of Lhant, but his relationship with his father is anything but good. He is a bit of a loose cannon who dreams of being a knight, regardless of what his family expects of him.

This leads him to a chance meeting with Sophie, a purple-haired girl with amnesia, who he is determined to help. Alongside his brother Hubert, childhood friend Cheria, and Prince Richard of Windor, the group’s journey starts with them all as children. Devastating events break Asbel, and he leaves his hometown behind to become a knight.

The introduction to Tales of Graces f Remastered is rather long but provides essential context for the story after the seven-year time skip.

It explains the game’s mechanics and introduces the main roster of characters and their motivations. Given this context from his childhood, Asbel’s quest to become a knight and do what’s right matters more.

After the time skip, a war occurs between the three central nations of Windor, Strahta, and Fendel. The gang is mostly reunited, where they learn that Richard’s father was killed by his uncle Cedric, who wants to see Richard dead so he can rule uncontested. As Asbel helps his friend reclaim his throne, he has to face the fact that his friend is no longer the person he remembers. He has to balance his friendship with his desire to do what’s right as he gets dragged into the continent-spanning conflict.

Tales of Graces f Remastered takes a fairly standard approach to RPG storytelling, introducing villains with dastardly motivations and whimsical plot points to emphasize how much of a fantasy story this is. Where it really excels, however, is in the individual characters. The core group is so deep, and Asbel’s desire to be a leading example as a knight is always at the forefront of every challenge they face.

Sophie’s quest to learn about her true identity matters because of small character moments that, while they don’t take up much time, add much-needed context to flesh out her character. Asbel’s relationship with his brother is also vital, and there are plenty of moments in Tales of Graces f Remastered where this feels like a genuine sibling relationship. Despite their years apart and occasional bickering, they are united by that familial bond.

But the most remarkable character journey is Richard’s. He starts as a young prince who is gradually drawn into serious situations. His choices along the way dramatically change the way other characters view him, but since his friends never give up on him, it allows for him to be redeemed. The relationship between Abel and Richard is the driving force behind the entire story. Despite relatively repetitive story beats in other parts of the story, their story is fascinating, giving Tales of Graces f Remastered its emotional impact.

Regarding gameplay, Tales of Graces f Remastered is a tried-and-true action RPG.

Combat is real-time, and players can use various skills known as “Artes” that they unlock throughout the game. New Artes are unlocked by leveling up the different titles, essentially classes, throughout the game. There are not many to choose from at first, but along the way, there are so many new titles and skills to unlock that open up the players’ options. There is no “right” answer regarding choosing which skills to assign to different characters, allowing for player freedom.

The best mechanic in Tales of Graces f Remastered is the Dualize system. Certain items, or “Dualized,” can be combined into more powerful versions that grant specific stat boosts. You can give your sword extra burn damage or craft your armor to provide even more health points. There are plenty of meals to craft, too, that provide all sorts of stat boosts both in and outside combat. There are so many options to discover, and I found myself still finding new additions, even at the end of Tales of Graces f Remastered.

A nice quality-of-life feature in Tales of Graces f Remastered is that combat can be as complex or simple as you’d like. Players can take complete manual control over which skills to use, use a semi-auto system that takes some player input while using the CPU to determine some of it, or go fully automatic and let the battles play out for themselves. This makes the combat more approachable for new players while allowing more veteran players to challenge themselves.

Tales of Graces f Remastered also allows players to use the Grade Shop before their first playthrough.

This shop offers various settings, such as additional HP, extra experience points, or even more challenging ones, like allowing players and enemies to hit harder. These options further enhance the experience and allow players to customize how they want to experience the story.

Despite these quality-of-life changes, Tales of Graces f Remastered still falters in a few ways. Including a quest marker is excellent but incredibly minimal, and the world map is useless. The camera can’t be adjusted while walking around, which was a constant frustration throughout the game. The menus also show their age, and they can be confusing to navigate at first.

Those frustrations are relatively minor, but it is important to note that Tales of Graces f Remastered does show its age. The visual design, for example, is enjoyable, but details are sorely lacking in some areas. Still, the stylized approach helps it hold up decently well. The sharpness of the images on the screen helps showcase the environments, even if they aren’t the best-looking ones today.

Tales of Graces f Remastered is a great way to experience a fantastic journey about friendship and staying true to yourself. It shows its age at times but is still a great RPG experience worth exploring.

Tales of Graces f Remastered releases on January 17th on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.