Quote from Tokiko;319549:
Vesperia sucks.
Phantasia all the way.
I'm not really a big fan of Vesperia why should I be a fan of this game?
Also I have a feeling that the American Voice acting will make the game unplayable.
Troll/10
Would read again.
Quote from TinyMo;320162:
Wow! This is great news! I love the tales series. As long as it allows couch co-op I'm happy. Well maybe. What in the world is this CC system? We loved Vesperia's battle system. It was the first one we played where you didn't have to run on a straight line. It was very nice. From what I could find on this CC system; it sounds a little limiting in the artes department. How does it work? Other than Vesperia I played Symphonia and Destiny 2. Is it like either of those? Now, ToD2 I played a VERY long time ago so I don't remember that one well.
Games that use the TP system are actually more limiting. Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss, and Vesperia were pretty much restricted to the normal attack > base > arcane formula. Vesperia was a slight exception in that overlimit let you chain anything you wanted together and perform incredibly long and varied combos, but that was only in overlimit. Otherwise, you had to get a bunch of skills before you were granted more freedom with your artes, and only a few of the characters got access to all of them.
Graces' system, like the other CC/EG systems that came before it, grants you more freedom the entire way through. Tatsu already summarized it a bit, but I'll go into more detail just in case it still doesn't sound up to par with Team Symphonia's usual.
Graces combines the traditional approach with the ToDR/ToH mechanic that allowed you to chain any arte together without regard to any tiers. There are no normal attacks. Instead, you get A-style and B-style artes. A-style artes are similar to normal attacks but also closely resemble the base > arcane system and are classified as CC1-4, depending on the amount of CC consumed. You always start an A combo with CC1 and move up the arte levels in order. After using a CC4 arte, if you have any CC remaining, you start again from CC2 and continue the cycle. Each character only gets one CC1 arte, but its execution changes depending on the direction you hold when pressing the A-arte button.
B-style artes are a little different. They're like traditional artes in that all your spells and other special attacks fall into this category, but there are no arte levels that define how you're allowed to chain them together. You can even spam them if you wish. B artes can go anywhere, even in the middle of an A chain, and at any time you can revert back to A style right from where you left off, provided you have the CC to do so. This means you get a LOT more freedom and combo variability already just by combining A and B styles. Also, fun fact: just as with Destiny Remake, following an A arte with a spell cuts the casting time of the spell, allowing strike and magic artes to flow more naturally.
It might be worth noting that aside from A- and B-style artes have different modes of execution, they also utilize different aspects of a character's fighting style. For instance, Asbel's A artes employ a sheathed sword fighting style, while his B artes use his drawn blade. Likewise, Hubert uses his dual blade in A style and guns in B style, sometimes in spell form.
Each character has a minimum and maximum amount of CC. Battles start with minimum CC, but you can recover up to the maximum by filling the critical gauge next to the character portrait. Fighting well (comboing, defending, not repeating moves) fills the critical gauge, granting you CC and a critical hit; fighting poorly (getting hit, idling) depletes the gauge. CC can also be recovered by successfully making use of the game's dodge mechanic, Around Step, which allows you to evade/counter in a circular path around the enemy.
In place of an overlimit system, there's an Arles gauge, divided into Arles Break (red, enemy) and Arles Rise (blue, party). Arles Break is activated when you fill the gauge by getting hit or attacking defending enemies. During this time, enemies can't be staggered. You can enter Arles Rise by filling the gauge through successful dodges/blocks and combos. Once activated, you and your party get unlimited CC and can use a Blast Caliber (similar to Mystic Artes, but generally faster in execution in the games in which they've been implemented) depending on the level of your BC gauge, which appears in place of the Arles meter during Arles Rise.
Here's another combo video to show you more of what you can do with this system:
[video=youtube;E4Dn5Dtu6J4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Dn5Dtu6J4[/video]
EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention. Graces f added Accel Mode, which boosts character power even further. Each character has an Accel gauge. Once it's filled, you can activate that character's Accel Mode, which is different for each character.
Asbel -
Accel Force - Summons a flame that revolves around him, damaging enemies and forcing downed enemies to stand
Sophie -
High Boost - Increased physical attack, base CC, and HP regeneration; also lets her dash through enemies to deal damage to them
Hubert -
Arrow Rain - Rains down continuous bursts of arrows to deal damage to and stun enemies in an area
Cheria -
Freeze Time - Stops time
Malik -
Grapple Dance - Rapidly kicks an enemy and ends with a punch; also grants damage immunity at the cost of mobility
Pascal -
Round Shield - Creates a circular barrier in which damage taken is decreased and allies can't be staggered
Richard -
High Spell - Halves casting time for all spells
Each character also gets a special BC for their Accel Mode.