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Shin Hyakuji High School Tvtropes


The Book that is Hyakuji's Story has come to a close. However, there are still plenty of stories left to be told in the madcap Anime Universe it inhabits. As one book closes, so too does another open. Presented by veteran Hyakuji Staff Members, check out the next generation EVOLUTION of "Anything-Goes" Anime Roleplaying at Senki Academy


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Crow's review corner
Topic Started: Sep 25 2010, 12:37 AM (3,073 Views)
Crow Hiroshima
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Well I won't lie, combat is simple, but its always fun, certain enemies later in the game require you to take careful action against them, certain monsters have a resistance to magic like Orcs, you can still beat it with magic, its just going to be harder. Dragons are always fun to face, but overall the combat is simple, but with the way they did the skill tree's its more along the lines to see how badass you can become.
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Crow Hiroshima
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Been awhile, but I'm back with another one.

Asura's Wrath

You ever wondered what would happen if Hyakuji married Dragon Ball Z, and had an affair with Naruto? Well I'm here to tell you that the craziness that would ensue is exactly what Asura's Wrath is about, and I'm going to break it all down for you.

Asura's Wrath puts you in the shoes, of one of the great Demi-Gods Asura. The humans have advanced technology too fast, and like every other time that happens, they gave birth to creatures known as The Goma, a powerful race of monsters that are hell-bent on killing everything that moves. It doesn't take long for Asura to go from hero, to traitor of his people. And in the process loses everything that matters to him. And what would any Demi-god when put in his position do?...Damn right raise hell on those who wronged you, and do it with great flash, and flair.

Never have I played a game that gave me such confused feelings as Asura's Wrath. While not a game at its core it does manage to pull of basic elements that let it be called a game, and not a DVD. Asura's Wrath on its surface is nothing but an over-the-top anime. But that in no way is a bad thing. What Asura's wrath lack's in actual game play it more then makes up for that in action. While you will spend most of your time watching cut scenes with the occasional button press, which are used to just make sure your paying attention. The entire game feels a Hyakuji plot, from the enemies that range from Giant Buddha statues, to a boss that is larger then the Earth, Asura's Wrath never fails to make me stop and just gaze in amazement.

The game is broke down into 'season's' each one containing 6 episodes. And when I say episodes, that what I mean. From the credits that play at the start of every episode, to the "To be continued" tag that plays when you have finished said episode. The game plays like a "Hey ever wish you could play your favorite anime?" Style.

The art direction for this game is pulled off greatly, with a mix of CG, and shell-shaded graphics. The game doesn't stop looking amazing, all of the characters have great detail, and are able to show a large arrange of emotions, but at times it seems as if the game drew most of its idea's from Naruto, and that becomes greatly apparent when Asura achieves what looks to be a direct rip off of Nine-Tailed-Chakra-Naruto, but despite my sometimes "Really?!" Look on the game, they pull it off beautifully.

The music in this game is some of the best I've heard, and its because of the fact that the music conveys the emotion of what's happening on-screen, it helps to keep you engaged in what's going on.

Overall Asura's Wrath is an ok game that everyone should get to play at least once, but if you have a GameFly account I would greatly recommend using that, because dropping $60 on a 4 hour adventure seems a bit much. But believe me when I say this game is worth the time.

Concept: Let players 'BURST' with rage, and help Asura take revenge on the gods who crossed him, and make people say Kratos who?

Graphics: Beautiful, detailed characters, with great backgrounds and some unbelievable scenes= Epicness!!

Sound: A wonderful score that will make you feel the same rage, and sadness that our hero goes through.

Playabilty: Not the longest game out there, but is well worth a 2nd play through when its done. But maybe not a 3rd.

Final Score: 4/5
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Crow Hiroshima
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I have been looking forward to this one for quite some time. And I have to say I'm excited.

Mass Effect 3

Take Earth Back

That is the primary objective for commander Shepard as things kick off in the game. You play the role of Commander Shepard a space-marine in the future as he/she tries to prepare the galaxy for the comming of the Reapers, an ancient race of machine like creatures that destroy all advance life every 50,000 years, and if you couldn't guess, its that time of year again. But in a battle this big you can't do it alone, you will need the help of almost every species in the known universe to fight this threat. But it won't be easy, almost every race seems to be caught up in their own problems that they can't see the bigger picture, so its up to you to make them see reason.

With that said the game play's like a dream, the combat is greatly improved from the first two games. As the guns have more kick, and realism, and powers work even better then before. But to go along with all that Shepard moves a lot more smoothly then before. But with all of these improvements, the AI received a boost also. Enimes are smart, fast, and will work together to flank, and outperform you, making almost every fight turn into a pulse pounding, adrenaline pumping experience.

With the new improvements Bioware really listened to their fans as they added weapon customization to the game, allowing you to spec your weapons to the way you want to play, greatly improving your combat prowess, and with that said no longer do you have to use weapons based on classes, since every class can use every weapon. (Thanks Bioware! ^-^)

The characters are where this game truly shines, from old faces to new faces, the voice-acting is still top notch, and with this being the final game for these guys its sad to see them go, but believe me when I say they go out with a bang.

Now we come to the multiplayer, a nice but not truly needed aspect of the game. But with that said it is quite entertaining, and transfers well to the main story. You will find yourself creating a character from any of the main races, and teaming up with others in your desperate fight to help liberate key points from the Reapers and help the galaxy prepare for war. All in all not a bad experience, but it won't be grabbing people from their COD for too long.

All in all Mass Effect 3 is one of the greatest games I've ever played, and is a great close for the 'Shepard saga'. If you are a fan of this series, or just want to play a great game I greatly advise picking this one up.

Concept: Bring Shepards story to an end in a Galactic war that decideds the fate of everyone.

Graphics: While not the greatest, they are a major improvement over that past games, and the characters look amazing.

Sound: The voice acting never fails, pulling you into every moment, with music that matches.

Playability: A long game with between 40- maybe 50 hours of game play that will keep you busy for awhile, and is well worth a second go around when its done.

Final Score: 5/5
Edited by Crow Hiroshima, Mar 8 2012, 07:43 AM.
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Crow Hiroshima
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Just an update for those who read this. I was going to do a review of Street x Teken, but due to limitations beyond my control that won't be happening, and by the time I can get one up well that game would be a bargain. But since Hiro requested it I will be doing a review of White Knight Chronicles 1&2 (Its going to be one review since they are both the same game.) And also I'm going to be doing a review of Tales of the Abyss for 3DS so look forward to that too.

Also if anyone wants the review for Naruto Generations just let me know, wasn't sure if you guys wanted it or not.
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Crow Hiroshima
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At the request of our admin, I will be doing this review.

White Knight Chronicles 1&2

White Knight Chronicles (WKC from here on) is another game from the good people of Level 5. While most of their work I find to be not of my taste. WKC hits a sweet spot, pandering to my love of Mechs, and online play.

WKC puts you in the hands of Leonard, a young boy who like in most games, has a destiny that involves him saving the world. Leonard starts the game as a simple delivery man, but after an attack on his home Kingdom he is thrust into a journey that will span the world, and force him to do things he never thought possible.

But with all the battles that Leonard will see, he certainly would not be able to handle all of this alone. When your forced to fight monsters as big as buildings you need your own show of great force. And that's where Leonards trump card, The White Knight comes in. After summoning the Knight, Leonard finds himself controlling the giant as he uses it to face down enimes that would other-wise be almost unbeatable.

The combat system is a simple one, and what some would refer to as 'MMO-Styled'. It consist of a set of command lines, that you set up yourself, allowing you to use whatever attack, skill, or spell that you see fit, without having to search through a menu, which depending on your preference could be a god send, or just a mechanic that should have only been used in the games multiplayer. Battles play out at a fact pace, which forces you to remain aware of what's going on around you, due to the fact that if your not careful, that battle with a imp may have just attracted the attention of a giant in the background, making your current situation a dire one. The only complaint about the battle system is the scale at which the power of enimes grow from one area to the next, forcing you to grind at almost every new area.

The multiplayer is a nice addition to a game that felt like it should have been an MMO from the start. Online you will be asked to create your own town that other players can visit, while you guys prepare for the next quest you will go on. Quest are carried out by up to 6 people, each person with their own avatar and Knight (2nd game only), and these mission's aren't for the faint at heart. They require real teamwork, and party composition, so your advised to bring your best.

WKC is a pretty good game for the price, and it has plenty of content, both in the single player, and online to keep you busy, and if your a JRPG fan, its worth a look.

Concept: Pretty good RPG, but the story is nothing you haven't seen before. Think of it as Final Fantasy XII with mecha.

Graphics: While not horrible nothing other then the Knight will stand out to you.

Sound: The voice acting is decent, and the game has a nice score. Overall good music to listen to as your slaying monsters.

Playabilty: While some will look this game over I suggest that those of you who want to pass some time with a pretty good RPG, then pick this up.

Final Score: 3/5
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Cypriss
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nice review bro, you're number one.
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Crow Hiroshima
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Lol thanks cyp. Although if that was sarcasm, I look like an idiot. But if you don't mind I will say you meant that, gotta save my ego.

But anywho! Later on today, or tomorrow, expect me review of Tales of The Abyss, and HyperDimension Neptunia MK2. And sometime this week, my Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City review.
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Crow Hiroshima
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Hehe! I love this one.

Tales Of The Abyss

Man I have wanted to do this one since the game was announced, and since I never got a chance to play the PS2 original, this was a god send. I have been a fan of the Tales series since Symphonia, and while I haven't played all of them, I make an attempt to play them when I can.

The Tales series has always been known for the creative stories they tell, they are one of the few series that finds new ways to tell a story. While no story can be truly 'new' in todays world. They find a way to make things fun, and interesting.

In Abyss, you play the role of Luke, a young prince who is stricken with amnesia due to a failed kidnapping when he was younger. After being locked in the mansion since the incident Luke begins to grow restless with his life. But one day a training session is interrupted as a mysterious woman tries to kill his master. After a confusing (at first) start, the game, then pulls you out of the cold depths of its story, and slowly slides you back in. Luke will soon find out that there is more to his life then at first thought.

Game play in Abyss, is the same as almost any other. Using a unique side-scrolling battle system that makes combat frantic, but fun. In battle you mostly control Luke, but you are able to switch from character to character mid-battle if you please, which makes for some interesting combat if you know what your doing. Despite what some would call 'button mashing' combat, it has a fun battle system that never gets boring. The only downfall to the games battle system is that since the port it lost the mulitiplayer factor, but don't consider that a deal breaker.

Outside of combat you will fins yourself in towns, talking to people to gather information, and supplies, while the towns are BEAUTIFUL to look at, the world map, leaves a lot to be desired. As you traverse the map, monsters will spawn around you as if they are beamed down from space, but they are easily avoidable, although if your not careful you can find yourself turned around after a heated battle. Losing you bearings is quite easy in abyss, and with no dedicated map marker, you may sometimes spend time just looking for a town to rest in.

The Graphics have been improved since the ps2 game, and I would advise against using the 3D since it can make the character models look blurry, and jagged. But to be honest this game wasn't made to be played in 3D. And with the 3D off, the game looks gorgeous.

The voice acting in tales is actually pretty good for a JRPG, but when you have the cast for Durarara, Full Metal, and other anime's its kind of hard to not have great Voice acting. The one drawback would be that the Skits aren't fully voiced. (Why not?!?!)

This is one of the better ports that the 3DS has gotten (besides Zelda) and shows that maybe this system has what it takes to be as great as the handhelds that came before it. But all in all if you love the Tales series, or just JRPG's in general, then make sure to pick this one up, no one should miss out on this game.

Concept: Port over a classic from the tales series, and give us hope that the others may be ported too? Love it!

Graphics: Great to look at....until you turn on the 3D..

Sound: The voice acting is great, Anise's VA truly shines in this one.

Playabilty: A great game with good length, that will keep you busy in-between those console giants.

Final Score: 3.5/5
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Hiro_Tsukasa
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NICE DRIVE!
And because Crow wanted to do a double feature on the Tales Series, I step out from the land of budget/Indie games and into the big leagues! It's time for:

HIRO TSUKASA'S RPG THEATER

Tales of Graces F

Intro

The time has finally come, another entry has emerged in English for Namco's long-running Tales RPG series. Having not seen a new entry in the series for us that cannot read Japanese since 2008's Tales of Vesperia on the 360, while in Japan the series took a detour on the DS, this is a pretty big event. Still, the Tales series has been plagued in recent years with angry fans due to Namco's actions and derided as being the epitome of mediocrity among J-RPG's. Thus, the question becomes: Is Tales of Graces F the final nail in the coffin or a last minute gasp of air to survive?

Before talking about the game itself, it's interesting to learn a little about what has been going on for the Tales series. Vesperia had moderate success, and it was a personal selling point of the 360 for me, but became plagued with controversy when Namco announced an upgraded port for the PS3. This port not only added new characters, and made one popular character playable, but a good chunk of new costumes for characters and even additional plot content. To date, Namco has avoided localizing this game which caused a rather sore spot among fans who decried the 360 edition as the "Beta" version which they helped test for the finished product.

After this, as mentioned, things detoured to the DS with the 2008 release of Tales of Hearts in Japan. Like Tales of Innocence before it (which preceeded Vesperia and appeared on the DS), Namco didn't opt to localize the game based on its percieved profitability. Again, an issue drawing fan ire and in this reviewer's personal opinion a poor business move; most RPG fans think of the DS as the haven of J-RPG's this gen as it's become too expensive in most companies eyes to project games on HD consoles. In 2009, the Tales Team gambled on the Wii with the launch of Tales of Graces. Fans were wrapt with excitement wondering if we'd get a crack at this new entry.

As time passed on, this did not seem to be the case. Eventually, pulling the same shennanigans as before, Graces saw an upgraded re-release on the PS3 as Tales of Graces F at the end of 2010. This release improved the graphics to some degree, added new costumes, new plot content (including an Epilogue chapter that is 1/3 the content of the main game in length. This is where the F in the title comes from as it stands for Future.) and enabling players to control a certain character who was not always fully playable originally.

So here we are in 2012 and once again English fans of the Tales series have a chance at a new game. It's a little interested to chart what has been going on. Fans were letting their voice be heard to Bandai-Namco through social media over the Tales series. Interest in the new Tales of the Abyss port for the 3DS prompted the copy to do a re-print of the original PS2 game and see how it sold.

Fans bit and while it has been given the same low-print run style that other companies like Atlus make use of; Tales of the Abyss 3DS got released. Likewise, Bandai-Namco had an open question some time ago asking about the game people would most like to see localized. Graces F won and keeping to their word, we've got the game now.

A lot is riding on this. Since the current gen, English fans have missed out on quite a few games and many suspect the performance of Abyss 3DS and to a greater degree Graces F will dictate the future of the series in English. Japan already has the next game, Tales of Xillia, for the PS3. Many feel that its release beyond Japan rests solely on Graces F's performance. It's a tall order and perhaps even an impossible task.

And what would be the answer from Graces if it could speak for itself? I'm certain it would say that with the friendship of so many Tales fans anything was possible!

The Review

Tales of Graces takes place on a planet known as Efinea. The people of Efinea use a substance called eleth which is formed from giant crystal-like structures called valkines cryas which has allowed civilizations on the planet to flourish. On Efinea there are three kingdoms—Windor, Strahta, and Fendel—who are competing for dominance of the planet. Graces follows Asbel Lhant, the eldest son of Baron Aston who rules the small village Lhant under the dominion of Windor.

The game begins with a lengthy prologue of sorts known as the Childhood Arc. For roughly 3 hours of game time you'll follow 11 year old Asbel, his younger brother Hubert, close friend Cheria, Richard the current Prince of Windor who Asbel befriends, and the mysterious girl they name Sophie who quickly bonds with them all. During this time much of the foundation of the game's world is laid out and these core characters are defined while the game also takes advantage of the scenario to introduce various mechanics and tutorials for the combat.

At the end, a tragic (and spoileriffic) event occurs which separates this group as Asbel gives up his eventual birthright of leading the city his father rules to enlist at the Knight's Academy in the capital of Windor vowing to gain the strength to protect people. The meat of the game picks up seven years later as Asbel, now 18, has grown up and established himself as a fine knight. However, at the death of his father, he gives up his dream to become a knight and takes over his father's position of Lhant's baron. This one decision sets into motion a chaotic series of events that flesh out over time into the rest of the game.

The Childhood Arc was an interesting concept. I can't think of many, if any, other RPG's off the top of my head that opt for this sort of set-up. It was a nice way to make the game's tutorials more tolerable and also to get you interested with the characters. In my opinion, the greatest strength of the Tales series has always been the characters.

It was very interesting to see how they changed over the seven year gap and sometimes the results were shocking. The main game has a lot of political turmoil which was a welcome addition. One might even liken it to Code Geass which is perhaps fitting since the game sports payable DLC costumes based on Code Geass characters.

So the story is really great; to me. It might not appeal to everyone. It falls clearly in that realm of "Anime BS" and if you're an avid watcher of anime or a fan of the Tales series it is likely you won't find anything that blows your mind. Still, there is never anything wrong with taking the cliche and playing with it if the story you tell is enjoyable in the end. The characters really shine and though you might hate some of them for their choices after the seven year gap, you can't help but enjoy them all the same.

The best characters are the ones you still like even as you hate their actions and Graces pulls this off excellent. Admittedly, it was the first Tales game in a long time where I have a hard time thinking about a final party because so many stand out to me and I can't just nix some from consideration due to not enjoying them.

Granted, Asbel will never live up to nor be as three-dimensional as Yuri; the protagonist from Tales of Vesperia. However, it's important to remember that Yuri is a unanimous crowd pleaser and has quickly topped most official fan-polls regarding the series. It is a little unfair to fault Asbel when none of the previous Tales protagonists can surpass Yuri either.

The music is enjoyable. There are not many stand out tracks, but certainly nothing poorly made either. It was for the par as far as the Tales series goes. Voice acting was excellent. Some fans were upset at the lack of optional Japanese audio, but the dub cast has some truly great talent from the industry and you can tell everyone gave their 110% with delivering every single line. The Skits that Tales is so famous for are back and fully voiced again. Many of these are amazingly entertaining adding some enjoyable comedy or character depth ontop of the main plot.

The graphics are average. They kept with the anime-style cel-shaded look from Vesperia and this works great for the Tales series. Despite the upgrade, you can still tell you're playing a Wii game. There's no full expansive world map instead using walkable road areas to connect places and while the characters look great there is just no forgetting the system the game was originally intended for. If there had to be one area the game faults on it would be this. Though I grant to it the fact that it was a Wii game. Still, a new coat of paint on an already poor looking house won't hide much.

Gameplay is some oldhats for fans of the Tales series and some new surprises. The battle system is the same action-rpg style which feels more like a fighting game than a proper RPG as you run around an area in battle utilizing various weapon attacks, special techniques and spells to claim victory with a party of four. You're free to control any party member and can swap between them freely in battle.

With some friends you can even sync up some spare PS3 controllers and let them control party members 2-4 for some amazingly fun multiplayer action. The addition of a main menu accessible mode Trials of Graces even facilitates such a feature allowing you to partake in arena style fights for challenges which net you in-game rewards or can be used to grind up characters.

The main feature of the battle system is new, for English fans in any case. Graces makes use of the CC (Chain Capacity) system for combat replacing the use of TP with a brand new Style Shift feature to enrich things further. Sounds foreign? Well it should. The CC system was pioneered in the Tales of Destiny PS2 remake which remained Japanese-only. The Tales series is primarily worked on by two teams: Team Symphonia and Team Destiny (each one named for their flagship game). It's no surprise CC is making a return when you discover Team Destiny are the ones behind Graces.

So what is Chain Capacity? It's a count that is used to make all your attacks. It builds up by guarding or not attacking and spent in rising cost as you chain various attacks together in more elaborate combos. The combat includes a dodging/side-step system that is very easy to use and the game encourages this feature by rewarding you with bonus CC for dodging at the right time. Every character now possesses two combat styles: A-Artes and B-Artes.

A-Artes are essentially basic attacks which can be chained together as combos with rising costs. B-Artes are what you might call Magic and Techniques in old games. These are powerful special moves or even Healing Artes that can turn the tide of battle. As long as you have the CC to support it you can combo seamlessly from A-Artes to B-Artes and even back again. Mystic Artes (Hi-Ougi) are back in again and every bit as flashy and impressive as they always are.

It might sound daunting and it is initially, but the game walks you through things clearly and before you know it you'll be racking up combos and dodging swiftly to play the system's strength. Free Run is back in the game, but plays a much smaller role. In Vesperia, Free Run made many fights trivial as Yuri could abuse it to tie up an enemy while ranged party members destroyed it with no contest. In Graces, Free Run drains CC and once you hit 0 your speed drops dramatically.

This is all because the game wants you to make use of the Dodging system (which again, rewards your effort with a fast boost to CC). And yes, with CC replacing TP it does mean you can spam healing spells non-stop in battle; as long as you keep the CC to work it out. As a trade off, healing Artes no longer work outside of battle so items matter a bit more. Although, there's a new feature that offsets this which we will cover later.

Overall, I find this to be a huge improvement. Battles have so much more depth to them and it feels truly rewarding when you find the right flow and keep the pressure up on bosses pulling off large combos and dodging around attacks. Fights feel much more involved and like your actions make a bigger difference on the outcome. Gone are the days of spamming one attack or abusing Free-Run. In Graces you work for many of your victories and it's never felt more rewarding.

After this, I'm not sure if I could enjoy going back to the previous Tales battle system; at least as much. Its impact with vary with each person and some have even been downright upset with the battle system's changes. Still, if you take the time to learn its mechanics I think you'll be in for a rewarding treat that never gets old as you work through the 40-60 hour story.

The enjoyable Titles return this time as their own system. To some degree they replace learning passive skills and moves from weapons that was used in Vesperia. Each Title grants a passive bonus when equipped and comes with five ranks. While equipped, SP earned in battles is applied to the Titles and rank them up. Each rank unlocks permanent passive bonuses (like boosting HP or resistance to certain enemy types) as well as teaching characters new A-Artes and B-Artes.

Later in the game some Titles even unlock the special costumes you get for each character. I found this system to be enjoyable and with a huge number of titles to unlock and master per character there's some personal customization for each party member; as far as the order you go in gaining what passive abilities. There is also a Side-Quest "Request" system through Inns in the game where certain characters will be requesting items that you'll need to scavenge or synth which reward SP as an extra mean of mastering titles.

Speaking of synthesizing, it makes a return as Dualizing. By mixing two things together, at the service offered by Turtlez which appear in most towns and littered throughout the world, you can create new things. This allows creating rarer materials needed for important things, cooking dishes, forging weapons and even upgrading weapons and armor. It's a nice distraction and can be a fun diversion to the main game. There's a pretty deep weapon customization system allowing you to fuse various Shards earned in battle to boost stats of a weapon (applying traditional and rising +1, +2, etc. to the weapon) and add passive abilities. These weapons then need to be tempered by use in battle to unlock the use of the ability. It only gets better.

Taking two tempered +1 weapons you can dualize them to recieve a Gem that can be equipped on any character as an accessory holding the passive abilities from both weapons. Best of all? That +1 and the stat bumps it gave stick on the weapons allowing you to temper them with a new Shard and make it +2 and so forth on and on. With time and devotion your customized weapons can quickly outstrip those sold in stores.

Finally, some last odds and ends. Since you dualize dishes one might think the fan favorite Cooking is gone but this also returns as the Eleth Mixer. This device, which you gain early on, takes Eleth and uses it to cook food or even make copies of items and materials. The Mixer has multiple slots where you can set a cooking recipe you've made or an item. Everything works on a % chance of being made.

For example, maybe an Appel Gel can be mixed at a 56% chance while walking around. That means as you explore when the Mixer checks you'll have coin toss odds at it making you a new Apple Gel for free. The food you cook mostly comes up in battle and have preset conditions like activating when the party is below 60% health or other factors. This helps with the healing in battle and also patching things up at victory. The Mixer has to be re-filled by paying for it through Turtlez or other stores and while exploring you can also find contains of Eleth that can be used to recharge it as well.

It's an interesting feature and smart players can get a lot of mileage out of it. I spent the early game toting around one Life Bottle from a treasure chest. I wanted more, but early on the sole reviving item is a bit expensive. As soon as I got the Eleth Mixer, I tossed the Life Bottle in (and as a note, you could still use the item anyways; you don't lose them for putting them in the Mixer) and though it was a low % chance I ignored it and played on.

Some hours later I had a full stack of Life Bottles for free aside from the trivial price of recharging the Mixer. Got a material you need for forging multiple new weapons but can't find any more of it? Drop it in the Mixer and let it make you copies. This doesn't begin to scratch some of the other little side-features. For example, you can collect Cartia Cards (which feature Tales heroes from past games) and eventually use them to play a card-based mini-game.

Graces F is brimming with little features and extra-bits that enrich the gameplay and it feels like a long time since seeing a console JPRG with this much going on ontop of its story. The game features a lot of DLC, but it falls entirely into two categories. The first are essentially paying to make the game easier such as getting extra levels or a perma-boost to your CC limits; entirely unneeded and for anyone that's played past games or RPG's in general it is unneeded. The second are purely cosmetic as you can buy new Titles which unlock downloadable costumes. These hit all over the place and include some anime shout-outs with a pack of Code Geass costumes and even a Hatsune Miku outfit for Sophie. With luck, Bandai-Namco will see that they'll make it over to US shores as well.

Only time will tell whether Tales of Graces F will be the savior for the Tales Series overseas or a somber farewell. However, with its deep combat, enjoyable story with amazing characters and a myriad of fun extra features it is a must-own for any Tales fan. If you've enjoyed previous entries in the Tales series it is probably still worth checking out as well. In fact, pretty much any JRPG Fan (especially one fond of the console experience) should give this one a look.

Pros
+Deep and enjoyable combat
+Likeable characters
+Title system adds depth and customization to the party
+Many enjoyable side-features from the Eleth Mixer/Dualizing to Cartia Cards
+Well written and well voice acted dub
+Engrossing story that will likely last you 40-60 hours plus
+When you buy the game, you've bought the full game; DLC is purely for personal enjoyment or cosmetic changes

Cons
-The new combat system can be confusing and off-putting for some
-Despite a small bump, the graphics still clearly signify a game designed for the Wii
-The soundtrack has no stand out or breathtaking tracks
-The Anime stylized plot and its focus on the "Power of Friendship" can come off hokey, cliche or childish to some

Link: http://www.namco.com/console/tales-of-graces-f
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Crow Hiroshima
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And there you have it! Damn i love when Hiro does a review. Lets hope we see more Tales games here in America....and maybe Final Fantasy versus XIII? Jusy saying....its been almost 7 years.
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Crow Hiroshima
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Figured i would drop this here for the KH fans....cap..lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gt1MMcf7fE
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Crow Hiroshima
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While i dont want to admit it, the chances of us getting this game are slim. But all hope isn't lost yet, since Sega is pretty good about sending the Phantasy Star games to the US, besides its FTP oh and Hiro its got customized mechs.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/03/30-1/video-phantasy-star-online-2-closed-beta-features
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