This is the latest entry in the long going "Tales Of" series. Not amazing but not a bad game by any means.
Story: the story is a cute and pretty well thought out. The dialog is well written and there is plenty of it to read and listen to. I'm not going to give a story synopsis because its all over, no need to explain. For my personal taste its a bit too cliche (seen it before) and and so far is very easy going so the people looking for a deep more mature setting should look else were. The best part of it so far is the amount of background and time they put into each individual character, nothing 2-bit and snuck in wich is very nice.
Gameplay: If you have played these games before, your not in for any surprise. For me its a decent action orientated combat system. For me Ive seen it before so its less enjoyable, but to newcommers its simple to get used to and wont confuse you. With that said it feels kind of lacking, most battles and even the early on bosses just have you mashing the attack button and occasionally tossing in an art for flash, but later bosses have you more on your toes. The games is quite large and quite long, but the pacing is even enough to where grinding is not necessary. They do have puzzles but they are simple. There are some nice side quest like things to do, though most are just collections (don't expect the depth of sidesquests like the FF series though) Customization is done pretty well, though not intensely deep (probably considering its more action orientated) but enough to keep you interested along the way.
Graphics: probly one of the few cell shaded games i can stand. its smooth and vibrant wich fits the tone of the games story and characters. There is a few nice Anime style cutscenes, though i wish there were alot more, it did help change it up. The only issue here is the overmap, its quite dull looking, but one of few games were you actually travel on the overmap instead of clicking on a spot. The other drawback is the small character cuts that tell nice bits of story, but give you a few animation in blocks wich can be a turn off.
Overall its a pretty good action-JRPG. i would say pick this one up purely for the fact of its fun story and lengthy gameplay. Its not perfect or insanely deep like i would want, but will keep fans of the series very amused. If your a non-fan this is one of the first you should get, i had a hard time getting into the 2-D ones myself.
Pro: -cute,long story with fleshed out characters.
-one of the best looking cell shaded games.
-length playtime to hold over RPG fans til the next game
-actually has an overmap to travel on
-plenty of little extras to keep occupied with
Cons: -most fights can be button mashed.
-conversations in block feel uninspired
-not the prettiest overmap
-lighthearted cliche story might not suit everyone.
-some small parts may feel like filler for the story.