Tales of Graces is the twelfth mothership game in the Tales Series, and was released in Japan for the Wii on December 10, 2009.Asbel Lhant, the eldest son of the Lhant feudal family, used to be a normal, cheerful kid who spent his days playing around and going on reckless adventures with his friends. That was until the day one of his friends sacrificed themselves to save his life, an event that robbed him of his innocence and awoke within him a strong desire to gain enough power to protect everyone around him, including everyone who would be under his rule.With this goal in mind he moves away from home, joining the military and working his way up through the ranks to become a dedicated and respected young knight. However, on the brink of his graduation he receives some devastating news: his father has died. Giving up his dream and quitting the military, Asbel returns home to take his father's place and finds not only a heavier burden of responsibility than he ever imagined, but that the friendships he once held so dear have shattered in his absence.Though the game was scored highly by critical publications, Graces was criticised by some for having a number of bugs, some of which made it impossible to continue playing the game. As the Wii does not allow easy patching, Namco Bandai announced a recall and free disc swap (via mail) to anyone who had already bought the game.An Updated Rerelease for the PS3 called Tales of Graces f was released in December 2010. The game includes the usual array of upgrades like new skits, scenes, abilities and Mystic Artes. By far the biggest addition is an epilogue story called "Lineage and Legacies", which features a script three-quarters the length of the original story's and adds Richard as a fully-playable character. The party also gains an Overlimit-like ability called "Accelerate Mode", which grants unique powers to each character and gives them access to a powerful Finishing Move.Tales of Graces F was released in North America in March 2012, with an European release confirmed for later in 2012.
This game provided examples of:
Abandoned Laboratory: Humanoid Research Laboratory. Also Eleth Research Laboratory in the Future arc.
All Your Powers Combined: Blue Earth, a secret Blast Caliber you can use against the final boss of Lineage to the Future. Hint: check your Tales Of Eternia FAQ.
Not really, she falls just as easily as anyone else when chased by a boss or multiple enemies, especially on harder difficulties. Regardless, it still prevents her from casting healing spell, which the real annoyance.
Artificial Stupidity: Cheria normally keeps her distance with healing artes. Sophie meanwhile will try to heal someone when she's within melee range of most enemies.
As You Know: Invokes the trope name in the Eleth Mixer tutorial.
Babies Ever After. Asbel and Cheria's, specifically. You see, Sophie, who is an existence that will outlive all of her friends, tells Cheria that she doesn't mind this and her dream is to live and enjoy life alongside Asbel and Cheria's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so forth.
Badass Adorable: Asbel in the prologue. He's definitely way more badass than any kid that age should be, to the point where he beats the crap out of Richard's former trainer when said trainer tried to assassinate him.
Sophie. She's small, cute, and the strongest member of your group until Asbel starts using Lambda's power.
Baleful Polymorph: In F, there is an NPC who gives Titles away that allow any playable character to transform into any of the other 6, allowing for teams of Four Sophies, Cheria's, etc. Provided you have created the Special Dolls for each character (6 of each doll so every character can get the titles.)
This is the main way of playing as Richard outside of Lineage and Legacies. Apparently the Developers thought of that too and give you one of his doll for free in the Final Dungeon.
Bloodless Carnage: Richard's Berserk Button gets pushed early in the game by a Mook, and he proceeds to throw him on the table and slash him about nineteen or so times. He then calmly walks away leaving the dead mook on the table...with no sign of injury.
Not to mention that after Richard is fatally wounded, Pascal comments about how much (non-existent) blood there was from the wound.
Body Surf: Lambda's modus operandi (that is, if Protos Heis didn't keep showing up to kill him).
Bonus Boss: Where to even start?! There's all the bosses of the Zhonecage, including the traditional Tales Series cameo battles, and the three legendary dragons you have to beat to unlock Floor 10. Then there's the final boss of the Zhonecage, Solomos. Beat him, and the Final Boss of the normal story gets a new name and a huge stat-boost. Rockgagan takes up half the screen, comes with a twenty-minute time limit, disables Blast Calibers and is generally so tough that most players use a cheap One-Hit Kill method. Tales of Graces f not only adds more bonus bosses (such as Poisson) but buffs the existing bonus bosses by doing things like, oh, giving Solomos a second Blast Caliber that he can use to counter any item usage if he's under 5% health.
Brick Joke: If Malik uses his Eternal Serenade Mystic Arte to finish off the Final Boss, he will say that it will be the final time he uses that technique. If you use it again in the PS3-exclusive epilogue, Sophie will call him out on it.
The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the Magic Carta minigame, the computer's cursor moves with near-instant speed and perfect accuracy whereas you are limited by a much slower cursor. On the "Hard" difficulty, the computer's reflexes are raised to inhuman levels and success becomes a Luck-Based Mission.
Contractual Boss Immunity: Averted with the final boss in F, where you can petrify them. Of course it doesn't last forever - the boss is still damn hard.
Though it is a very small chance, Rockgagong can be instantly killed by an arte with the "Chance of One-Hit Kill" property.
Cosplay: Cheria can get a costume based on one of South Korean pop artist BoA's stage outfits.
Mentioned when Sophie wants to kill Lambda by killing herself and sees nothing sad about this. Asbel stops her, explaining this trope and insisting there must be another way.
The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: By using New Game Plus and the Baleful Polymorph titles, you can use artes and characters that you shouldn't have at certain points of the game. Two characters are given new quotes for their Mystic Artes if used before the epilogue chapter "Lineage and Legacies", as certain events have not yet transpired: Asbel for his Lv.4 Mystic Arte, as he has not yet absorbed Lambda, and Richard for his Lv.2 to Lv.4 Mystic Artes, as his original quotes reference him being a king.
If Malik uses his Lv.3 Mystic Arte to finish off the Final Boss of the Main Story, he claims that it will be the final time he uses that technique. Of course, he can continue to use it in the epilogue chapter introduced in the Updated Rerelease, at which point Sophie calls him out on it (and he responds with stone-faced Blatant Lies).
Downloadable Content: As with Tales of Vesperia's PS3 port, new costumes are available for download.
Dynamic Loading: The game loads the battles before you actually get into them, so the transition between the overworld/dungeon and a battle is usually less than half a second. This is most noticeable when enemies respawn when using a Dark Bottle. Though the enemies respawn on the map almost instantly, you can't actually fight them until they're completely filled in.
Easy Mode Mockery: Playing through the game on Easy lets you progress through the story as normal, but you won't earn any bonus experience for your levels or your titles. There's also no trophy for completing the game on Easy.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Emeraude absorbs Lambda on purpose in order to try and control its power. This results in Lambda rejecting her body by making it explode from the inside out. A very good stress reliever after the lovely broken fight she puts up before this.
When you first see Richard in the adult arc, Notice several instances of Mismatched Eyes. You can also spot instances where Lambda takes control or drives him over the edge. Especially during his famous slashing rampage.
During one of the last skits of the Childhood arc, Hubert mentions that he won't always be around to correct Asbel. What happens later? He's sent off to Strahta.
If you go to the second floor of the inn in Gralesyde, you'll find a map. Look at it with Malik, and he'll note that none of Fendel's towns are on it.
Funny Background Event: The party just finished searching around Bathus Citadel, only to realise they can't find the material they need. They have a serious discussion about what to do next and—hey, whats Pascal doing running around in the background?
Gag Boobs: Pascal accuses Cheria of stuffing her bra. Cheria denies this.
Adding that to the fact that Cheria uses knives to fight, and that she briefly mentions "perfection and elegance" in her victory poses...doesn't this accusation reminds you of someone?
Game-Breaking Bug: The original Wii game basically implodes on itself on repeat playthroughs. As a result, it was recalled.
To put this in perspective: 'Tales of' games tend to have a few minor glitches here and there that can be avoided if you're aware of them, or actually required you to have a guide to replicate them; but never any really serious, unavoidable bugs to the point of causing the music in the game to loop a few seconds at high speed for the rest of the fight. It's so far the only game in the series to have had a recall (and hopefully the last).
Gang Up on the Human: For some reason, the enemies seem to enjoy going after whoever the player is controlling moreso than anyone else.
Ghost City: Telos Astue. An appropriate name, since telos means "end" in Ancient Greek.
Glass Cannon: Hubert. Pascal also might counts with her low HP, but her defense is much higher.
Cheria also qualifies; though her attack is low, she has the highest critical rate and stuns the best with her A-Artes.
Guide Dang It: Try finding some of those titles/sidequests without a guide.
To get Sophie's Lv.3 Mystic Arte, you have to give a bunch of plushies to an Ill Girl in Fendel. However, you have to Dualise three of them using "Cashable" ingredients, items that the game explicitly tells you that you can sell for a nice sum.
Good luck finding all of the skits; many of them are in places one would never think to go back to, or in random locations you would otherwise never visit again once you get halfway through the final dungeon.
Heroes Prefer Swords: Everyone you know is using guns, gun-sticks, swordgunsticks, gloves, gloveguns, magic, magic swords, magic atlatl-swords... but you just have to be the purist, don't you, Asbel?
Ill Girl: Cheria starts off as this but she gets better. You can also run across one in Fendel and you are rewarded by giving her plushies to keep her company,
Improbable Weapon User: Half of the characters (Asbel, Sophie, Richard, and Cheria) all have pretty normal weapons. Then there are Malik and Pascal, who use a Boomerang Sword and some sort of hybrid between a rifle and a pole weapon, respectively. Not too improbable... Then there's Hubert, who uses a Darth Maul-style bladed weapon which can separate into a pair of handguns. But Wait There's More. For one of his Blast Calibers, the weapon's bladed form can apparently bend slightly in the middle, and he can then use it as a sort of energy-bow and go Quincy-style with a barrage of Frickin' Laser Beams.
Innocent Flower Girl: Sophie in that she's named after a flower and is associated with them, although personality-wise she averts pretty much everything else associated with this trope.
I Want Grandkids: Kerri to Asbel in "Lineage and Legacies". Justified, in order to continue the Lhant family line.
I Will Definitely Protect You: This game's main theme, to be more precisely Sophie's vow to protect Asbel and her other friends.
James Bondage: Frederick. Seems to run in the family.
Kleptomaniac Hero: A particularly bad case. At one point, you pass through a very poor town in Fendel. The houses are in terrible shape and you see two children (one of which is sick) picking up Cryas shards outside in the cold. The party feels bad for them and Sophie gives them some Cryas shards. Then you can rifle through their cupboards and steal their food.
Laughing Mad: Bryce. Apparently being defeated by some kids seven years ago had done so much for him.
Male Gaze: During one subevent in the F Arc, Malik and Victoria end up in their swimsuits. Victoria's suit is a very skimpy bikini, and the camera spends quite a bit of time focused on it.
JUST the end of the prologue? The WHOLE GAME is littered with moments of severe solemnity only to be followed by some silliness or a hilarious skit. One notable example is towards the end of the game where you're trying to retrieve something to save a failing humanoid whose only wish is to continue living. You're too late and she dies. Then when you try to exit, you're greeted with a skit where Pascal has Sophie use her photonic powers to snap Cheria's bra strap. Yea.
The latter reference is because in Tales Of Eternia, Meredy's "weapons" are whistles used to control Quickie, and later on Quickie can attack while she's casting
All of the new weapons in the Lineage and Legacies chapter are references to other Tales Series games.
An early skit in Lineage and Legacies has Asbel looking over prospective candidates for marriage. The two profiles he reads are "Anise Tatlin" and "Nanaly Fletcher".
Named After Somebody Famous: The Amarcians are all named after famous scientists and mathematicians (Pascal, Poisson, Fourier, Fermat, Gauss...).
Nintendo Hard: On any difficulty above simple, this game quickly becomes this. You have to more or less adapt to the new LMBS or die in most Tales Series games...and this is NO exception.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: When you meet her, Poisson is the nicest, cutest, bubbliest Obstructive Bureaucrat you'll ever meet. And in Fendel, she uses her powers of Obstructive Bureaucracy in the party's favor, completely blocking Chancellor Eigen's ability to act.
Official Couple: Asbel and Cheria after the end of the story.
Omnicidal Maniac: AbsolutelyAnnihilatedTrope. Lambda effectively spouts the same cliched garbage about how the world is full of pain and suffering and that the only way it can be fixed is by killing everything that lives on it. Asbel of all people is the one who points out how pathetic this plan is by highlighting how it solves nothing, doesn't do anything to fix the issues that people have and ultimately doesn't even benefit the one enacting it in the long-run. Talking the Monster to Death in such a fashion is exactly what allows Asbel to win Lambda over and let him see that Humans Are Special.
One-Winged Angel: Lambda usually appears as a black energy blob or in the form you first see him in shortly before the Time Skip. For the final battle, he turns into an Eldritch Abomination.
Our Dragons Are Different: There are the three elemental dragons you can fight located in each of the capital cities' Cryas, then there is Solomon, located in the Bonus Dungeon and is the strongest Bonus Boss in the game.
Parental Abandonment: Asbel's father dies after the prologue, Cheria was raised by her grandfather, Richard's father is killed by his uncle after the prologue, Sophie never had parents to begin with.
Precursors: The Amarcians. Subverted when it is revealed that not only is Pascal an Amarcian, but her people actually not only live in secret (Sorta) on the continent of Fendel, but help the people of Fendel. Subverted again since Pascal was actually searching for the Ancient Amarcians. The current Amarcians were not originally from Fendel, but emigrated over generations ago, leaving behind their old structures and technology which became lost to the ages. Subverted again when it is finally revealed that the Ancient Amarcians were originally refugees from the world of Fodra, and it was just a name for a particular research group, rather than a actual race/civilization.
Prolonged Prologue: Nothing that could reasonably be called the main plot starts until roughly the end of chapter 2 and start of chapter 3 — Chapter 1 is more obviously a prologue, being a fairly lengthy sequence featuring several of the main characters as children, but even the bulk of chapter 2 is devoted to setting the scene again after the Time Skip. Most of what you earn in the prologue doesn't carry over to the main story, either. Thankfully, repeat playthroughs give you the option of skipping the prologue entirely for a measly 10 GRADE.
It's implied the chancellor of Fendel becomes one; however President Paradine plays more of a role.
Red Mage: Cheria. Her spell repertoire covers healing, team buffing and offense. Her melee abilities are tricky to master, but offer a very good balance of range and mobility because she can move directly after attacking (as opposed to other ranged characters who have a significant delay).
Pascal and Hubert. Pascal is able to deal damage with her weapons, buff allies, deal damage with melee-range spells, and even gets a healing spell. Hubert meanwhile deals damage with his weapons, learns some magic (including a healing spell) and deals ranged damage with his guns.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Asbel and Hubert, although the lines can get really blurry at times.
Running Gag: As usual, there's a number of running gags through the victory scenes. The most notable is Asbel attempting to lead a cheer of "Together, we will never lose!", only to have it ruined every single time.
Say My Name: "ASBEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Sealed Evil in a Can: The entire world of Ephinea is actually one big seal for Lambda in hopes of preventing him from escaping and finding another world. Subverted when its revealed that Lambda actually sealed himself away, wanting to be left alone. Played true when Lambda contracted Richard and slowly gain controlled of more and more of his psyche.
Shipper on Deck: A lot of characters of Asbel/Cheria. Which makes is all the more annoying when you consider...
Shout Out: An entire page of these both to earlier Tales games and other Namco Bandai works could be dedicated to these, but for now:
Asbel references Lupin III in one of his victory quotes. ("Once again, I have cut a worthless object.")
In the arena's upper lobby (where you sign up and run into a Turtlez merchant), you learn that something is a secret to everyone.
During the hide and seek sidequest at Wallbridge, there are kids dressed as Anise, Presea, Katz, and possibly Patty.
It's mentioned in a skit that Hubert got the inspiration for his dualblade weapon style from a comic book series he loved as a kid called Troll Caliber. "Strahtan military secrets" indeed.
Squishy Wizard: Cheria is your classic example. Malik is interesting in that he has the worst physical defense, but incredibly high HP. Pascal is mostly an aversion, boasting a superb defensive score that complements her melee spellcasting, but having fairly low HP.
Stance System: Every playable character switches between two different sets of artes: "A"-type and "B"-type. For example, Hubert uses melee attacks for his A-artes and ranged attacks for his B-artes.
Asbel has a more traditional stance system, switching between having his sword sheathed (A-artes) and drawn (B-artes). The act of drawing his sword temporarily increases his defences, while sheathing it restores some HP.
Super Team: The Terma Ten are trying really hard to personificate this trope, but then you find out WHO makes up the team. Frederic (Cheria's grandpa), Cedric 2.0, Emeraude 2.0, Dark Turtlez, Peepit?, Amber Hearts, Fourier, Reala, Gentle Eel, and Solomus himself.
Those Two Guys: In Lineage and Legacies, Malik and Richard have taken on a highly conspiratorial bent with each other (at least in the skits).
Timed Mission: The Rockgagong battle is this. You have 20 minutes to beat him or else you instantly die.
Trailers Always Spoil: The TGS Trailer has spoiled that Cornell was killed and betrayed by his own and not to mention even some part of the ending scene
Irritatingly, a spoiler can be found on the first page of the game's instruction manual. It features artwork with Asbel drawn with the plot relevant Mismatched Eyes.
Not as relevant, but if you got the Pre-Order bonus pack for Tales of Graces f, it came with a Theme for the PS3's XMB, featuring character portraits. Interestingly has the same spoiler - Asbel's Mismatched Eyes. Probably more of an Interface Spoiler.
Violation of Common Sense: If you want to perform Blue Earth, you have to hold the buttons to get the Maxwell extension artes. Problem? They're done on you, and they all total so much damage if you screw up, you'll have a game over by Aquarius Sphere, the second one. To be fair, this is an easter-egg.
Pascal sounds like this on paper. All of her spells are centred on herself, which means her spells (with casting times!) are all melee attacks, while her standard attacks are ranged.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: The major theme of Lineage and Legacies in f. Sophie is an immortal (of the ageless variety), and worries about what will happen when everyone else dies and she keeps on living. She eventually comes to terms with it after swearing to continue Asbel's dream of preserving Lhant, helping Asbel's children, grandchildren, and so on.
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