@Foolio:
It's really hard to explain and obviously is subjective. It takes Graces' CC system and integrates it with a more traditional TP system, such that your artes still consume TP but you have to plan your chains within the limitations of the remaining chain points you have. In theory it could be interesting but it felt artificial.
Also there's partner linking. You have 4 people out in the field and at any time you can have pairs of the characters linked, meaning they will focus on the same target, grant each other passive bonuses (like say, magic resistance) and can also do combo artes during overlimit or whatever they called it (I forgot). I just felt like micro-managing links was cumbersome and so was the chaining of combo artes. Because to use this system in any strategic manner you really do have to care about who is linked to who and frequently mix it up or unlink.
Essentially you end up playing this dodging game with enemies, many of which are designed to be really difficult to approach or stun, and you rely on building meter while keeping an eye on your TP and chain points simultaneously. It starts feeling tedious and there is a lack of creativity with monsters. There are a few different kinds of human enemies and then a few different kinds of monster enemies, and by "kinds" I mean that they behave similarly in combat, and other than bosses that's about it.
I have mixed feelings on the combination of the CC system and the TP system. It seems like they are doing everything to hold you back from being able to bust out a 100+ hit combo. Not that I'm looking for another Yuri Lowell, but that seems incredibly limiting. I do like the idea of partner linking, but is that needed? I can see it for the AI, but I almost always play my Tales games with a friend or 2. And because we play so much, we usually end up with some sort of "team" attack on our own. As for the whole "kinds of monsters" thing. That's just typical Tales for ya. A sad, unfortunate truth.
It seems like they were trying to make battles longer by stacking the deck against you.