Very good Japano RPG

After 120 hours of gameplay and a complete cycle (ie Chapter 9) a review to Tales of Graces f. When the game is Japanese-RPG (JRPG) from publisher Namco. I already kannnte some Tales of games and therefore knew what I have to expect from the game.

Story:
The planet Ephinea is divided into three kingdoms (Windor, Strahta and Fendel). At the border disputes between the countries have to suffer above all the inhabitants of the adjoining principalities.
You begin the game in the childhood of Asbel and Hubert Lhant. Both Duke Children find on a flower meadow an unknown girl who suffers from memory loss. Shortly thereafter, they are bogged down due to a clash with the reigning Crown Prince of the Kingdom Windor in political intrigue and must fight for their lives (Prolog).
Then the story continues seven years later.
The story is quite predictable and linear. Also the typical JRPG Kitsch is abundant. Nevertheless, the story is told well and the characters grow a fast his heart. Straight from the epilogue (Kapietel 9) I am pleasantly surprised.

Graphics:
The game is held in the valley of- typical cel-shaded look. In addition, the major cutscenes are presented as Anime (12 sequences with a total of about 20 minutes). I like to look pretty good. Graphic fetishists are here but certainly not happy. Otherwise, the game runs quite smoothly. Wide landscapes in the background are often depicted as paintings, which certainly do not like any. The combat animations are well done and very intense colors.

Sound:
The game has an English language edition and German subtitles. English voice actor to make a solid good job. Unfortunately, it was missed with to grab the Japanese track on the disc. The soundtrack is consistent and always fit. I like especially the opener very well.

Control:
Here everything was done right and there is nothing to complain about. Also with respect to the camera nothing negative I noticed.

Battle System / Level System:
One always looks his opponent on the top card. When contact with this the battle screen is displayed. The combat system is action-oriented, highly dynamic and is super out of hand. Here, each character plays differently. It fight up to four characters simultaneously. Same controlling only one, the others will be taken over by the Ki. You can always decide for themselves about the strategy of all members and the Ki smoothly. The other three members of the fighting force can also be acquired by the other players, so 1-4 players.
After the end of the fight gald (currency of the game), experience points and skill points are awarded. The experience points you climb in the levels (max. Level 200). Here one does not affect the Group's development. By skill points called Title be increased. Here, certain bonuses such attack +5 be unlocked. Each character has at least 120 titles to free spins.

Equipment System / Crafting:
There are many pieces of equipment. This can be leveled individually and add effects. Therefore one must dualize as weapons with so-called shards. This is done in Eleth mixer. Materials and cullet be found by opponents after the fight and on the map. So many items can be produced and sold bringing profit. Various recipes are available and may be just in the fight a decisive advantage.

Gameplay / sidequests:
For me, the biggest selling point was the really good combat system. In addition, is very interesting for the mature Sammelwütige crafting. So I spent several hours in the farms of materials. Here my only gripe would be affixed. I know, it has always been in the valley of-series, but the Itembegrenzung to a maximum of 15 copies of the same type (in the first round) is really not my cup of tea.
In addition to the linear main story side quests (inquiries) can be met in the inns of the individual cities. Although these are initially quite banal delivery quests, only bring the skill points, but at a later date some questions are really well done and provide a lot of additional content and title to the individual characters.
If you can the exaggerated character representation of JRPGs abgewinnen something also comes the humor is not too short. Because there are quite a few in-game calls the group and after every fight different sayings be played depending on the composition of the fighting force.

Conclusion:
Tales of Graces f is a really good JRPG. The combat system is fresh and a lot of fun. For anyone who likes role-playing games or Japanese role-playing games, Tales of Graces is a very good option.