I just started playing Tales of series last week (starting with Tales of Symphonia for GC) my friend got me into it.
Tales of Series
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Steam Friend Code ---> 48796480
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Got mine today. arrived quicker than OP Musou did but custom charges :/
But damn. If people didn't buy this cus of the Tales Of name I could see the cover art putting loads of people off.
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I got it. One annoying thing is that voices aren't always synced properly though
It's a dub so yeah.
I got my Graces f platinum sometime last year but I got a really good deal on the English version so I couldn't pass it up. Got it today, and I was just comparing the cases and manuals and there's a huge difference. Technically I have the Asia region game but it's exactly the same as the Japanese one (including the manual) except for the rating classification logo.
Anyway I took some spectacularly crappy cell phone comparison shots because I was really astounded at the quality difference. Also you can't really tell from the pictures but the English section of the manual is 6 pages long (followed by another 6 pages in French). The Japanese manual is 57 pages long. All of which contains actual content, no fillers like warnings or any crap.
The covers are almost identical:
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The manual cover art and disc cover art were changed.
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Drastic difference between the inside covers…
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This is the very first page of the manual. One is a warning and a joke of a table of contents. One has a backstory and character profiles. Guess which is which! Hint: one is in Japanese
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Two manual pages covering roughly the same material. The full 57 pages of the Japanese manual go into more depth than most strategy guides would though.
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Manuals in english are pointless these days. They might aswell just bunk them online. Hell. Best yet. you know that installation they force you into? Or the downloading a patch? Why not put an option to read the manual then?
Gotta admit. Loving the Japanese version of the cover with a reversable one.
Ah who am I to complain anyways. I still don't think the UK will actually see this one released. Question however. Did the US get any other PS3 Tales Of games? Or just this one? I keep hearing about Vesperia on the PS3 but I only ever saw it on the 360
Oh hey, I do videos on figures and manga and stuff: https://www.youtube.com/thatmanhismerch
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Gotta admit. Loving the Japanese version of the cover with a reversable one.
Ah who am I to complain anyways. I still don't think the UK will actually see this one released. Question however. Did the US get any other PS3 Tales Of games? Or just this one? I keep hearing about Vesperia on the PS3 but I only ever saw it on the 360
I'm so stupid, I didn't even realize the cover was meant to be reversible XD.
Vesperia PS3 was not released outside of Japan. It came out first on Xbox360 and that was the multi-region version. I'm guessing the latest one (Tales of Xillia) will be localized due to its production value and scale. Sadly it's not a great game.
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Finished Tales of Graces F both stories in 3 weeks..great game.
I mostly played Co-op with a friend who owned the gameCant wait to see if any more tales gets announced for PS3..if this isnt the last one
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Game manuals have sucked in general recently. I remember when I would look forward to them to see the character art and whatnot that would be in them. I remember the manual for Super Mario World had an illustrated glossary of all the enemies in the game. And now we've reached the other end of the spectrum, where Metal Gear Solid 3D's manual consisted of only three pages.
I beat Tales of the Abyss last night. Sixty-one hours, good meaty length. I much enjoyed it, and if any other Tales games manage to make it onto the 3DS, original or port, I'll probably check it out.
~Stargazer~, ~Distance~ original stories.
3DS Friend Code: 2234-8294-8917
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I beat Tales of the Abyss last night. Sixty-one hours, good meaty length. I much enjoyed it, and if any other Tales games manage to make it onto the 3DS, original or port, I'll probably check it out.
Same here. Are there any other PS2 ones they cou-SYMPHONIA! Come on Namco. Just take the money already!
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That would be fun. But I would love to see Legendia get a port or remake. The game needs some love. Well I'm going to be playing more Graces when the other person that I'm playing with gets back tonight.
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Man, that's sad about the manual. It's true that the Japanese still cling hard to the tradition of an actual useful booklet filled with information. I can understand wanting to minimize costs by reproducing info on the disc (and it's true that Graces F has a pretty huge database of gameplay info in the menu) but at this point manuals in the West are pretty much nothing more than slips of paper that contain all the usual disclaimers about not covering you for having a seizure while playing video games.
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Yeah. I always liked the satirical manuals that would come with games. But that brings us to the big question. Does wanting bigger manuals make us tree killers? :ninja:
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That would be fun. But I would love to see Legendia get a port or remake. The game needs some love. Well I'm going to be playing more Graces when the other person that I'm playing with gets back tonight.
Would have to be a remake for my monies. The second half of that game redefined tedious. And it was a sad definition.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard.
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Would have to be a remake for my monies. The second half of that game redefined tedious. And it was a sad definition.
Yeah. The second haft was kind of bad, especial in the English version where they ran out of money couldn't voice the rest of the game. I like some of the character quest stories but They kind of ruin Grune's characters in her quest. The best parts are the story, characters, battle and music. The backtrack and the world map were the worst part of the game. It was the second worst map in Tales besides Inocence.
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Yeah. The second haft was kind of bad, especial in the English version where they ran out of money couldn't voice the rest of the game. I like some of the character quest stories but They kind of ruin Grune's characters in her quest. The best parts are the story, characters, battle and music. The backtrack and the world map were the worst part of the game. It was the second worst map in Tales besides Inocence.
Even the localization was a bit iffy. Shirley's voice was terrible.
But I agree that one of its worst faults was in ruining the best character with the second half (i.e. Grune).
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
Even the localization was a bit iffy. Shirley's voice was terrible.
But I agree that one of its worst faults was in ruining the best character with the second half (i.e. Grune).
I agree with both things. But I never had Shirley in party when I didn't need her. Plus Shirley is my least Favorite Tales of Character.
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Putting the finishing touches on a Tales of Graces F platinum run.
Brief thoughts: relatively weak plot and a battle system I don't especially like, plus a good deal more backtracking and less open than previous games in the series. Definitely had a "shinier version of Wii game" feel to it.
That said, still one of the better RPGs I've played this generation, mainly from lack of choices. Characters are typically good and well-voiced (even Cheria, who apparently has several mobs out for her head), systems work like they're supposed to (even though I don't especially prefer them to previous Tales games), and it's all the bright colors and melodrama that Final Fantasy abandoned years ago.
In terms of the Tales games I've played, Symphonia>Abyss>Graces>Legendia. Pretty big gaps between Symphonia and Abyss and between Graces and Legendia.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
So far thats the same ranking I give. Except Symphonia 2 instead of Legendia and Eternia last.
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My ranking would go;
Symphonia>Phantasia>Innocence>Abyss>Abyss>Destiny>LegendiaStill have Symphonia 2 laying here some where… Is it worth playing?
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I haven't finsih Graces F yet. But here's my ranking
Symphonia>Vesperia>Legendia>Innoucence>Abyss>Symphonia Dawn of the New world>Phantasia. -
How good is Vesperia? Is the battle system more Symphonia or Graces?
I've been considering finding a (very) cheap XBOX360 on Craigslist to try and work through the few exclusives I'm interested in, but Vesperia and Lost Odyssey/Blue Dragon are the only games I'm really especially curious about (though Alan Wake, Gears of War, and a few others would be on the list).
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It's good. It has more of a Symphonia/Abyss battle system. Really fun game to play.
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Replaying Graces after having left it for a while (and also having played Vesperia PS3 and Xillia), I have to say it's way better than I originally gave it credit for. When I got my platinum last time I had a long list of complaints: dualizing is terribly overcomplicated, they make it "too easy" to identify sidequests and where to go next, the music wasn't that strong, too much micro-managing with titles. And then nitpicks such as, when you purchase something at a shop it kicks you out of the current menu afterward instead of letting you browse more from where you were.
Thing is, yeah the music was probably better in Vesperia and previous titles too, and the battle system is really different. Takes ages to get used to and is kind of hard to master compared to games like Vesperia and Symphonia where you can exploit it pretty badly (especially free run on Vesperia). But coming back to it, the battle system is really interesting and dynamic. It's one of the better ones for sure. And after Xillia… well after Xillia, the music seems amazing and the lack of a world map less annoying. And the English voice acting is pretty damn spot-on. Pascal is amazing.
Anyway I'd rank the ones I've played like this: Symphonia > Vesperia PS3 > Graces f > > Xillia > > > > > > > > > > > Symphonia 2.
It's actually pretty close between my top 3.
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What's wrong with Xillia, if you don't mind me asking? I believe it got higher review scores in Japan (not necessarily a sign of quality), and I was looking forward to it making a North American debut much more than Graces.
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The characters are pretty weak and uncharismatic, the gameplay is shallower than Graces and doesn't make use of some of its better features, and even though it's more "open" in the environments, they're fairly bland and same-y. The graphics are nice though, at least for a Tales game.
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The characters are pretty weak and uncharismatic, the gameplay is shallower than Graces and doesn't make use of some of its better features, and even though it's more "open" in the environments, they're fairly bland and same-y. The graphics are nice though, at least for a Tales game.
…well, poop. Guess I can live if it never gets localized. Thanks for the response.
On an earlier note, finished my Graces F platinum tonight. There comes a point in every game where you decide, "hey, I'm deep enough into this game that it could be fun to go for the platinum." Make very sure you research before you decide to do so with Tales of Graces F. The Inn Requests trophy took about 27x longer than I originally expected, and charging the Eleth Mixer to maximum was everything that's wrong with a trophy. I don't regret it quite as much as my decision to platinum FFXIII (DAMN YOU ADAMANTOISE), but it certainly was a grind at the end.
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Yeah my last trophy (last time around) was the Eleth Mixer. What you do is buy the +500 bonus after your first run, then on your second run (or keep repeating if you do many) get it to 9500, beat the game and get +500 again. The breakdown for max energy leveling (ie how much "experience" the pot needs to keep leveling) puts the highest tier at 9500-9999 where it's a pain. But basically you just put the double cooking book on, the energy increase one, and then cook I believe it was miso oden over and over at Lhant Hill. Best exp for that. And when your energy runs out you use the Turtlez Flute and refill.
Inn requests are annoying but it's actually not that hard to get the special weapons if you know what to dualize.
As for Xillia. It looks amazing and due to its production value I'm fairly sure they will localize it. But it's… boring. The world is empty and like Graces there is no overworld so you are traveling through regions of wilds. They all look the same. Over and over. It's so awful. Soulless. There are no sidequests. Okay there are a handful. 99% of them are "go to this area and defeat a random mob." That's not a quest. Where are the actual side stories? Minigames? I was overall unhappy with it. In the end it was playable but that's it to me.
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Yeah my last trophy (last time around) was the Eleth Mixer. What you do is buy the +500 bonus after your first run, then on your second run (or keep repeating if you do many) get it to 9500, beat the game and get +500 again. The breakdown for max energy leveling (ie how much "experience" the pot needs to keep leveling) puts the highest tier at 9500-9999 where it's a pain. But basically you just put the double cooking book on, the energy increase one, and then cook I believe it was miso oden over and over at Lhant Hill. Best exp for that. And when your energy runs out you use the Turtlez Flute and refill.
Did exactly this. Still sucked.
As for Xillia. It looks amazing and due to its production value I'm fairly sure they will localize it. But it's… boring. The world is empty and like Graces there is no overworld so you are traveling through regions of wilds. They all look the same. Over and over. It's so awful. Soulless. There are no sidequests. Okay there are a handful. 99% of t
I actually understand the decline of RPGs since PSX, since increased productions values on games overall–especially the prevalence of completely-voiced games now--has made it difficult to create RPGs in the old style with modern values.
But why in the world can't anyone do a good world map any more? Please save us, Ni No Kuni.
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Can I get some general impressions and thoughts about Tales of the Abyss? Not even necessarily in comparison to other Tales Of games, just more on its own merits as a good standalone JRPG. I've been craving one for my 3DS to better balance out the pick-up-and-play Marios and Icaruses and what-not that make up most of my library, and so far Abyss is looking like my best choice.
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For the most part I liked it. The combat and systems are pretty easy to get into for a Tales first-timer like me (though I can't imagine maining any of the mage characters), and there were plenty of side quests and extras to go after and discover.
My main complaints with the game was that most of the towns were pretty small and unmemorable, and during the last quarter of the game the pacing grinds to a halt. Most of it is just the party going from one town to the next and talking to people with only three new dungeons to visit, one being incredibly short. Just plot, plot, plot. Be prepared for a lot of backtracking in this game.
But despite that I did enjoy Tales of the Abyss quite a lot, and it's a good, meaty game that took me sixty hours to beat. If that's the kind of game you're looking for, I'd definitely recommend it.
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Can I get some general impressions and thoughts about Tales of the Abyss? Not even necessarily in comparison to other Tales Of games, just more on its own merits as a good standalone JRPG. I've been craving one for my 3DS to better balance out the pick-up-and-play Marios and Icaruses and what-not that make up most of my library, and so far Abyss is looking like my best choice.
Adding to what Crossword says, it's a little backtrack-heavy (a consistent issue in some Tales games), but the combat system is pretty darned satisfying. In terms of plot, the main character stays in douche mode longer than most RPGs, but most of the cast is likable by the end, and Jade is an all-time great Tales character.
Nothing special in terms of visuals or music, but that holds true for most in the series.
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Finally got myself a Vita and ordered Tales of Innocence R (normally I wouldn't have bothered since I already beat it on DS, but I want a solid RPG to play on this beast) and Little King's Story 2.
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Is it just me or is the regular game pretty easy for Graces and then the bosses like…INSANELY difficult? It's not as if you can easily grind either since enemies only respawn after so long it seems :/
Oh hey, I do videos on figures and manga and stuff: https://www.youtube.com/thatmanhismerch
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Is it just me or is the regular game pretty easy for Graces and then the bosses like…INSANELY difficult? It's not as if you can easily grind either since enemies only respawn after so long it seems :/
Not the case for all of them, but I agree. Big issue is that you have to manages deaths more frequently in boss battles, and the game doesn't do a great job with that. Too many times where you use a life bottle, only to see the character stand up and then get shredded before they could move.
Enemy Mystic Artes are also of the devil, though a well-timed hourglass can help with that.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
yeah I took on Kurt and seemed to go through Life Bottles like water.
Although aside from one (the boar thing) all of the bosses are signposted with a Save spot.
And did anyone bother changin up their party as the game went on? I Seem to have just put Sophie (Revive) and Cheria (Healing) all the time. And then usually using Malik. Seems no incentive to use Hugo at all.
Guess I might have to if I want trophies for the titles.
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There are some sections of the game where you're locked to a few characters towards the end, so you might want to give the rest a little play, but I rarely saw any reason to go outside of an Asbel/Sophie/Malik/Cheria roster.
Cheria was the only one I never pulled out of my party.
And if you do want all the trophies, yes, do be swapping out characters, and you should probably lock any ability after a character has earned the "[Name of Art] Master" title.
And one last edit: some people regard Kurt as the hardest boss in the game, so don't feel too bad on that one. I had more trouble with some of the last bosses.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
Since I already had a plat on this game, in English I've just been playing through it on Evil (well, as soon as I played enough battles on Hard to unlock it). Let me tell you if you think normal enemies are too easy, that will fix it for you. On Chaos it's nearly impossible without bonuses. Hell, I remember getting destroyed on Chaos by regular mobs even on 10x exp and 2x SP. Especially late in the game.
Kurt is like the first boss that properly lays down the ass-whooping if you've been avoiding configuring your party and their strategy, artes, etc.
Also in general I never put Cheria in my party unless I need additional healing (most bosses and certain mobs) or unless I'm taking out Sophie (which is not that often). I focus much more on damage dealing so depending on the situation I either go Asbel/Sophie/Malik/Hubert of Asbel/Sophie/Malik/Pascal, or in rarer cases Asbel/Sophie/Hubert/Pascal.
Hubert has low HP and his AI tends to die, A LOT, but the truth is he is a combo beast and he alone can lock down enemies and even bosses for extended periods of time. Plus his accel mode is amazing. But anyhow sometimes it makes a lot of sense to give Asbel to the AI and play as Hubert (if he was dying on his own) or Malik (if you're tired of micro-managing his artes).
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Yeah playing on higher difficulties is really fun. I unlocked all the way up to Chaos in my first playthrough when I found out you needed to fight a certain # of battles on higher difficulty levels for some of Hubert's? titles, and when you get to Chaos, you really need to be about 20 levels higher than you normally would in order to have regular enemy battles not be a battle for your life. But once you can handle them, the EXP/SP multipliers will help you stay highly leveled which is nice. Also, much better drops and shards. Although the bosses are way way harder because the stat multipliers mean that if it's three times harder than a normal enemy on regular, it will be nine times harder than the regular enemies on Chaos.
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Our team was Asbel/Hubert/Cheria/Sophie for mostly a good combo of Healing Circle and First Aid, but It ended up being on the ending Section of a team of Asbel/Richard/Sophie/Cheria due to the same plus Richards Sword deluge or Soul attack.
Such a great game
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I can't wait for what you have to say about Innocence R. Heard that it was really different from the DS version.
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I wish I could tell you by now! I ordered it on March 31st and they still haven't shipped my order.
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Danm. I hope it gets to you soon. I still have to finish Graces F but the other I'm playing with is kind of hard to get to play a hold of. And they don't want me to countine without them.
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Finished to the credits of Graces today. Damn that last dungeon took forever to go through (about 5 hours or so) still got the post game stuff to do. Question. What carries over to New Game + ?
Anywho. Loved the game, easily the second best JRPG on the PS3 (Only Nier I enjoyed more) kinda disappointed how dull it got in the third quarter of the game, simply going back to explored places and then Telos. Loved how a lot of those side bosses in the last dungeon were named after other Tales Of Games.
! only at the end of the game did I realise the box-art and manual art are both based on the post-game story. lol
Oh hey, I do videos on figures and manga and stuff: https://www.youtube.com/thatmanhismerch
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Finished to the credits of Graces today. Damn that last dungeon took forever to go through (about 5 hours or so) still got the post game stuff to do. Question. What carries over to New Game + ?
Anywho. Loved the game, easily the second best JRPG on the PS3 (Only Nier I enjoyed more) kinda disappointed how dull it got in the third quarter of the game, simply going back to explored places and then Telos. Loved how a lot of those side bosses in the last dungeon were named after other Tales Of Games.
! only at the end of the game did I realise the box-art and manual art are both based on the post-game story. lol
New Game+ runs on traditional Tales Grade-Shop principles. Can carry over Titles, Skills (expensive), Skill Use Counts, Stamps, Cards, Gald, Battle Items, Eleth Mixer, and a few other options. The only thing I remember not being able to carry over that was disappointing was equipment.
Then the usual 2x/5x XP bonuses (stackable), Double and Triple SP, etc.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
Got myself Tales of the Abyss 3DS last week as expected, and am now a decent chunk into the game. Having a pretty good time with it so far, especially the quasi-fighter-game battle system.
! Man, Luke is kind of a douchebag.
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Very weird experience with Tales of Vesperia. From a story/production value standpoint, I probably liked it as much as any game in the series not titled Symphonia. But I got incredibly bored with the structure and gameplay by the midpoint of the game and lost most of my interest in finishing the game.
In general, though, think Yuri is one of the best characters in the series. Fascinating to have a JRPG character whose main characteristics are self-confidence, determination, and the ability to make the hard decisions. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is below Tales levels.
Also, think Vesperia made me appreciate Graces more. The interface, the shortcut buttons to lead you to the next objective, the combat system, everything just flowed much more smoothly.
So, update:
Games: Symphonia>Abyss>Vesperia=Graces>Legendia
Lead Characters: Yuri>Lloyd>Asbel>Luke>Senel
Support Characters (one per game): Jade>Pascal>Grune>Zelos>Raven -
Finally, I will receive my copy of Innocence R on Monday….....24 days after I ordered it!
Also, getting platinum in Pirate Warriors means I can now return my attention to my second playthrough of Graces F.
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Just beat the final final boss of the game. Damn after all of that I just couldn't beat her on normal mode and had to chicken out and set the difficulty to easy to beat them. Which kinda annoyed me. More so due to it being cheap and being able to OHKO with their special attack. I just hope the trophies stack once I go through later on.
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Sadly they don't. I barely managed to beat her on Evil but I didn't get Hard or Second. But that's just a matter of reloading right before the boss, setting it to an easier difficulty, and trying again.
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Ah that sucks. But like you said, do it on the harder difficulties.
Started my 2nd playthrough. Probably shoulda skipped the Kid arc but meh. Skipping most of the story scenes and rushing through it now. It's pretty hilarious to max your first title before reaching Lhant.
Oh hey, I do videos on figures and manga and stuff: https://www.youtube.com/thatmanhismerch
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Ah that sucks. But like you said, do it on the harder difficulties.
Started my 2nd playthrough. Probably shoulda skipped the Kid arc but meh. Skipping most of the story scenes and rushing through it now. It's pretty hilarious to max your first title before reaching Lhant.
Yeah, that's probably why my second playthrough of Graces was pretty much my favorite extra runthrough of an RPG ever; bonuses make it much easier to feel overpowered on lower difficulty levels or at least competent on higher difficulty levels.
Third playthrough–also known as the THAT DAMNED ELETH MIXER TROPHY playthrough--wasn't as much fun.
