Tales of Graces EEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!~~~~~

[Pie]

Thank you guys for posting your impressions and experiences with the Tales series!~ I'm surprised and happy to see so much Tales fandom. =D

[Adol The Red]

Think I'm going to cave and buy it sooner than expected. I've been buying a lot of things since taxes and need to tone it down, but this check was bigger than expected... I don't consider myself a hardcore tales fan, but I certainly enjoyed Symphonia and Vesperia, and the half of Abyss I've played. After watching Alexx and his wife play it a bit, I think I'm on board. Well, I was probably gonna get it anyway. Now I'm just getting it sooner.

[Alexx]

*ahem* Sooo....After some important stuff in the game (I won't explain exactly where) we ran into a watermelon on the ground. Nothin' special. Just a watermelon. Sitting on the ground directly in our path. We picked it up. It said "You got the watermelon attachment! You can equip it in the status menu." Naturally, we did as we were told.

Apparently the watermelon attachment is a small watermelon that anyone can wear directly on top of thier heads - all at the same time, if you wish. Watermelons on heads. All the time. All serious moments are now friggin' hilarious. Every cut scene includes the watermelons.

I...I love this game.

[Adol The Red]

I put the watermelon on Pascel. Seemed appropriate. I didn't realize you could put it on everyone at the same time. This opens up new possibitlities.

Obviously I did buy it, and man was a great purchase. Having an awesome time with this so far.

[Farore]

So I was going to start playing Tales since we just picked up a copy today but while I was in my raid on WoW someone decided they were going to start playing Skyward Sword.

[Farore]

Played for a bit, and so far very fun!

Tiger Festival!

[Adol The Red]

Tiger Festival!

That's PERFECT!

[Pie]

Yay! Thanks for keeping this topic alive everyone! XD I'll live vicariously through you all. =x

So what do you all think of the dubbing/localization job and the characters? =D

[Farore]

So far the voices actually reminded me of some of the kids from Rugrats, but everyone is still a child right now so I'm sure that will change. The story and dialog so far seems well done, and quite funny at some points (Read: Tiger Festival). I'm already very attached to the characters, and was very, very sad the first time the party was split up. They all have their own quirks but seem like real people.

They have these text box things though, and they are just so worn out and over used! hah. Actually I really like the gameplay. As someone who has not played any previous Tales games on console (heck I still haven't even finished Abyss on my 3DS, which, random tangent, made the love taps comic even more hilarious) I think the game does a very good job of introducing mechanics. Rather than throwing everything at you it introduces things piece by piece in an easy to digest manner. The cut-scenes were very cute and I love the overall style and appearance of the game.

[Alexx]

So what do you all think of the dubbing/localization job and the characters? =D

The childhood section drew me in right away, but then when they went to the adult section (Teenage section? Maybe that's a better name) I felt kinda detached from them. In Vesperia they worked the battle quotes (stuff they say at the end of battles) in such a way that the characters said different things when they got to know each other. In Graces it seemed like BAM - they know each other in battle before they ever get to know each other in the story! It was a very minor thing, however, because you get to know them pretty quick. The turning point for me was an argument between Asbel and Cheria; I felt like it was pretty realistic when considering usual stuff like that. I won't go into details, but that sunk me right in.

Now I'm quite enjoying them and the little things about thier personalities are starting to show! I guess the best way to put it is that...well, it's Tales! I always start out kinda feeling like things are cliched, but then the little things start shining and I realize why I am always so enamored with Tales characters.

In terms of the dubbing: I'm enjoying it. Asbel seems a little plain, but that's not really the fault of the voice actor; I think that's just how Asbel is, honestly. The rest are vibrant and work well with thier characters, though Pascal REALLY stands out. Then again, when you're given freedom to be funny and crazy I think most voice actors come out strong.