Before you dive into Tales of Graces f Remastered, there are a handful of things you definitely ought to bear in mind – whether you’re a first-timer or a returning player – to get the most out of the game. Some of these are far less obvious than they might, ideally, have been. Others are more apparent, but easy to lose track of on such an epic adventure.
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We’ve gathered the stuff we found most important. Some of them may be common knowledge for veterans of Tales of Graces on Wii and PS3, but it’s been a dozen years since the “f” version, and more for the original.
Get Good Grades
New to Tales of Graces f Remastered is the chance to use the full Grade Shop on your very first playthrough. For those who aren’t in the know, the Tales series’ Grade Shops are essentially highly customizable gameplay tweaks for repeat playthroughs.
Ordinarily, the idea is to grind Grade Points throughout your first run. You’ll then use these at the start of subsequent files via New Game Plus. Bandai Namco has graciously allowed players to tap into thousands of Grade Points right from the jump.
Your options here are manifold. You can speed up EXP and SP growth, increase item drops, bump up your starter funds, and so much more. Here’s the thing: while you can disable (and re-enable) your picks at any point, you can’t add more Grade Shop rewards once you’ve begun playing.
Take time to read through the list. If something looks good to you, but you don’t want to tap into its favorable conditions from the get-go, disable it in the Options menu, and then turn it back on later.
Swing By Save Points
Saving your game on a routine basis is video games 101, but in Tales of Graces f, there’s another good reason to go near save points whenever you see them: limited-time skits will often pop up when you approach a save point in an area that’s currently relevant to the story.
Put more plainly, let’s say Asbel is heading out to North Lhant Road. Along the way to your destination, scour every save point; odds are solid that you will miss a skit if you don’t. Just keep this up throughout the game, and you’ll be golden.
A nice thing about the skits in Tales of Graces f is that their triggers will remain on-screen so long as you’re standing where you need to be. That’s not a tip so much as an expression of appreciation – don’t feel overly pressured to mash that button!
Feed Those Felines
In many settlements, you’ll find hungry cats. You can feed them fish, so long as you have any in your inventory. This stuff’s easy to come by, so no worries there. Not only should you feed the cats because it’s the right thing to do; you’ll also unlock a quest later that requires your feline patronage.
We won’t spoil the quest’s contents here, but feeding the cats as soon as you see them will save you from having to backtrack later in a game that is, well, already fairly backtrack-heavy to begin with.
Unholy Bottles
In the Tales series, Holy Bottles are a purchasable item that, when used, serve as a temporary repel against enemy encounters. By using one, you can avoid regular combat encounters altogether. Handy for when you’re in dire straits or you’re simply not feeling up to fighting.
In Tales of Graces f Remastered, there is now a toggle in the Options menu that lets you disable enemy counters at any time, which essentially renders Holy Bottles useless.
If you’re against utilizing this quality-of-life upgrade, you’ll still want a fresh stock, but otherwise, you will only ever need Holy Bottles for a handful of requests and recipes.
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Remap If Required
Tales of Graces f Remastered lets you remap your control inputs whenever you’d like. Many players might not find much use for this. On the other hand, I quickly realized that reassigning the block button to L1, and Mystic Artes to square, works far better for me.
Our point isn’t that you should follow my personal findings to a tee, but if battling feels awkward to you for any button-related reasons, always remember that you can experiment to your heart’s content.
Don’t Miss Discoveries
There are 85 discoveries to be found in Tales of Graces f, all of which are marked in your Discovery Book once you’ve done so. As with so many other things in Graces, you will gain new Titles when you have found a fair number.
Plus, there are Discovery-related skits, so all the more reason not to skip ’em.
While these aren’t missable, if you’re anything like us, you might end up skipping past them on occasion and needing to return at a later time. That’s because you will need to stand in set spots near the Discovery locations in order to trigger the prompts.
It should go without saying, but keep an eye out for anything that looks especially interesting in your travels; they’re often one of those 85 Discoveries. (Alternatively, you can hop over to our complete guide on Discoveries and never have to worry again.)
Mind The Hour
Another welcome change in Tales of Graces f Remastered is the inclusion of hourglass icons for limited-chance events. These pertain to scenes which have narrow windows of opportunity – if you progress the story any further, they’re gone forever.
It’s a common refrain among Tales fans that the games go overboard with this, so yes, this is extremely helpful. And, while the tutorial will tell you as much, we want to double down on this: never ignore these.
They really are blink-and-you’re-done bits of story and characterization; frankly, the in-game information doesn’t do justice to how true that is!
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