Tales of Graces impressiosn through to "The Point of No Return"
Massive spoilers follow
One thing that Tales games always do well is how the characters are written, and the relationships that bind them. Graces is absolutely no exception with some really hilarious, and often touching, interactions. There’s a lot of basic anime/rpg/Tales tropes being played with here, but subverted and changed up just enough to give each character a unique “splash”, if you will.
Asbel is the ShounenHotBloodedLead!Guy, but he’s incredibly thoughtful and worries a lot. Despite his considering himself “not very intelligent” he’s actually not particularly dumb or anything, often coming up with good ideas and even showing some political know-how. At this point, I think I can say Asbel is currently my favorite Tales lead. Lloyd and Luke are both great characters, but Asbel is like a nice blend between them. He’s got the “genius sword-fighter”, “clueless about romance” and “never give up” traits of Lloyd, but the “internal guilt/angst” of Luke and manages to mix them up into a believeable package. Asbel isn’t always gung-ho, nor is he always a ball of woobie. I like that he pushes himself on, even when he thinks maybe he’s being the childish one in hoping to protect everyone, especially in regards to Richard.
Sophie has come a long way from the beginning. While originally I expected something of a Presea expy, Sophie is charming in her own way. First off, she is wildly funny with some truly great scenes. Comedically she works with pretty much all the other characters to create some truly memorable jokes. Her true nature as a KOS-MOS ex-warrior isn’t a huge surprise, but is handled with a finesse. I love Sophie’s internal dilemma, and her trying to find her place in the world. Like Colette, Sophie tends to be a bit of a martyr and even believes it’s the “reason she was born”. Her friendship with the others is pretty great, and I especially love her mutual friendship with Asbel. It’s not very common to find a male/female relationship in games where the two have a lot of solo-scenes that aren’t romantic in nature. She’s the heart of the “family” the team makes, and she really grows on you.
Also, she’s a “sexy kitty”. LOL Forever.
Cheria is my favorite lady in the game, though I enjoy them all. I know she’s not terribly popular, but while she does seem like a stereotypical love interest tsundere at first glance, in true Tales fashion she is shown to be much more. For one, her relationship with Asbel does not completely define her. She is interested in doing relief work and helping others. She has a great “big sis/mother” relationship with Sophie that borders on subtexty at times, and she’s a great comedic foil to the other more “zany” characters. I like that, at this point in the game, her feelings for Asbel are pretty much the Not!Secret of the group, with only Asbel clueless/ignoring them. She’s really just a nice, decent human being.
Then there’s Pascal. Wow. Pascal is one of the funniest characters ever. Her dialogue is always great, and she has a ridiculous amount of plot relevance. Even though her gameplay can be a bit odd in nature, I love taking Pascal with me to see what she’s going to say next. She always makes me laugh.
Malik is a great take on the “Older Mentor/Body Guard” type. But unlike characters like Auron or Kratos, Malik isn’t afraid to get in on the fun. He’s not terribly serious, and he’s kind of a troll. He constantly tells Sophie hilarious things, and he’s more of a “buddy” than anything else to the others. Seeing the “cold aloof mentor” character type just chilling with the others is actually pretty unique, in a franchise where the mentor is usually hiding a Big Secret and is often kind of an ass. But Malik supports the others in everything they attempt to do, and even supports Asbel’s attempts to keep both Sophie and Richard alive in the coming battle, when other characters of his type would be more cynical. Perhaps it’s to show the “Power Of Friendship” or even the more positive nature of the game’s characters, but it’s refreshing. Malik is also kind of an odd-duck when it comes to combat, but he’s fun to use. Some of his higher level spells are amazing.
Hubert is one of my favorites. When he looks at the chest full of edible cat-things in the Katz village and is like “Eeek!!” I nearly died. Hubert has a great character arc, and seeing him warm up to the others is full of the feels. I kind of think he may be heading towards Pascal in a romantic manner, but it’s hard to say for sure. Not only is Hubert awesome, but he’s the most fun character to play as in battle as well.
The others are cool too. Lady Kerri is a cool take on a lonely woman, and I actually teared up at two scenes involving her: One where Hubert finally calls her ‘Mother’, and the other where she gives the boys Aston’s diary. Just…all the tears. Bailey is also pretty cool, though I half-expected him to be all dead and stuff. Fourier is kind of a bitch, but I can’t help but hear Aigis everytime she speaks. Poisson makes me laugh, because every time someone says her name I start thinking about that song from The Little Mermaid “Poisson, poisson, how I love the poisson…”.
Emurade was a very cool character, that I kind of expect everyone hates. Aside from a cool design, and great VA work from the always amazing Tara Platt, I found her to be very sinister and mysterious. Her boss fight was also pretty tough, with her incessant teleportation. I hope we gain more insight to her- Why was she asleep for so long? Who exactly was she? There’s a lot of questions that need answering. I liked her though. In some ways, I felt she was kind of sympathetic. Her whole world was pretty much decimated, so I can understand how she might fall into a bit of madness and want to resurrect her planet. Thinking she could control Lambda though…not her brightest move.
Richard is still my favorite male in the game, even if he’s one of the most mysterious. Not sure why he tried to take Lambda back into his body, but I’m sure he has good reasons.
Did I mention I still ship Richard/Asbel? It’s kind of hard not to.
One thing that Tales games always do well is how the characters are written, and the relationships that bind them. Graces is absolutely no exception with some really hilarious, and often touching, interactions. There’s a lot of basic anime/rpg/Tales tropes being played with here, but subverted and changed up just enough to give each character a unique “splash”, if you will.
Asbel is the ShounenHotBloodedLead!Guy, but he’s incredibly thoughtful and worries a lot. Despite his considering himself “not very intelligent” he’s actually not particularly dumb or anything, often coming up with good ideas and even showing some political know-how. At this point, I think I can say Asbel is currently my favorite Tales lead. Lloyd and Luke are both great characters, but Asbel is like a nice blend between them. He’s got the “genius sword-fighter”, “clueless about romance” and “never give up” traits of Lloyd, but the “internal guilt/angst” of Luke and manages to mix them up into a believeable package. Asbel isn’t always gung-ho, nor is he always a ball of woobie. I like that he pushes himself on, even when he thinks maybe he’s being the childish one in hoping to protect everyone, especially in regards to Richard.
Sophie has come a long way from the beginning. While originally I expected something of a Presea expy, Sophie is charming in her own way. First off, she is wildly funny with some truly great scenes. Comedically she works with pretty much all the other characters to create some truly memorable jokes. Her true nature as a KOS-MOS ex-warrior isn’t a huge surprise, but is handled with a finesse. I love Sophie’s internal dilemma, and her trying to find her place in the world. Like Colette, Sophie tends to be a bit of a martyr and even believes it’s the “reason she was born”. Her friendship with the others is pretty great, and I especially love her mutual friendship with Asbel. It’s not very common to find a male/female relationship in games where the two have a lot of solo-scenes that aren’t romantic in nature. She’s the heart of the “family” the team makes, and she really grows on you.
Also, she’s a “sexy kitty”. LOL Forever.
Cheria is my favorite lady in the game, though I enjoy them all. I know she’s not terribly popular, but while she does seem like a stereotypical love interest tsundere at first glance, in true Tales fashion she is shown to be much more. For one, her relationship with Asbel does not completely define her. She is interested in doing relief work and helping others. She has a great “big sis/mother” relationship with Sophie that borders on subtexty at times, and she’s a great comedic foil to the other more “zany” characters. I like that, at this point in the game, her feelings for Asbel are pretty much the Not!Secret of the group, with only Asbel clueless/ignoring them. She’s really just a nice, decent human being.
Then there’s Pascal. Wow. Pascal is one of the funniest characters ever. Her dialogue is always great, and she has a ridiculous amount of plot relevance. Even though her gameplay can be a bit odd in nature, I love taking Pascal with me to see what she’s going to say next. She always makes me laugh.
Malik is a great take on the “Older Mentor/Body Guard” type. But unlike characters like Auron or Kratos, Malik isn’t afraid to get in on the fun. He’s not terribly serious, and he’s kind of a troll. He constantly tells Sophie hilarious things, and he’s more of a “buddy” than anything else to the others. Seeing the “cold aloof mentor” character type just chilling with the others is actually pretty unique, in a franchise where the mentor is usually hiding a Big Secret and is often kind of an ass. But Malik supports the others in everything they attempt to do, and even supports Asbel’s attempts to keep both Sophie and Richard alive in the coming battle, when other characters of his type would be more cynical. Perhaps it’s to show the “Power Of Friendship” or even the more positive nature of the game’s characters, but it’s refreshing. Malik is also kind of an odd-duck when it comes to combat, but he’s fun to use. Some of his higher level spells are amazing.
Hubert is one of my favorites. When he looks at the chest full of edible cat-things in the Katz village and is like “Eeek!!” I nearly died. Hubert has a great character arc, and seeing him warm up to the others is full of the feels. I kind of think he may be heading towards Pascal in a romantic manner, but it’s hard to say for sure. Not only is Hubert awesome, but he’s the most fun character to play as in battle as well.
The others are cool too. Lady Kerri is a cool take on a lonely woman, and I actually teared up at two scenes involving her: One where Hubert finally calls her ‘Mother’, and the other where she gives the boys Aston’s diary. Just…all the tears. Bailey is also pretty cool, though I half-expected him to be all dead and stuff. Fourier is kind of a bitch, but I can’t help but hear Aigis everytime she speaks. Poisson makes me laugh, because every time someone says her name I start thinking about that song from The Little Mermaid “Poisson, poisson, how I love the poisson…”.
Emurade was a very cool character, that I kind of expect everyone hates. Aside from a cool design, and great VA work from the always amazing Tara Platt, I found her to be very sinister and mysterious. Her boss fight was also pretty tough, with her incessant teleportation. I hope we gain more insight to her- Why was she asleep for so long? Who exactly was she? There’s a lot of questions that need answering. I liked her though. In some ways, I felt she was kind of sympathetic. Her whole world was pretty much decimated, so I can understand how she might fall into a bit of madness and want to resurrect her planet. Thinking she could control Lambda though…not her brightest move.
Richard is still my favorite male in the game, even if he’s one of the most mysterious. Not sure why he tried to take Lambda back into his body, but I’m sure he has good reasons.
Did I mention I still ship Richard/Asbel? It’s kind of hard not to.