9. Tales of Graces Review

(From Left to Right: Asbel, Sophie, Cheria, Hubert, Malik, Richard, Pascal.)

In this installment I will be talking about the story of a video game called Tales of Graces. In this review I won't be talking about the video game itself, but more-so the story in the video game that resembles an anime quite well. Tales of Graces has a better story than many anime I have witnessed. Tales of Graces was drawn in an anime style making it seem like an actual anime itself; this is because it is a style of video game called JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game.) It is a common occurrence for this kind of game to take on anime-like features. The game-play makes the experience of viewing Tales of Graces much more appealing, but I think my readers will find the story just as good.

Tales of Graces take place on a planet known as Ephinea. On Ephinea, there is no electricity to power things, but rather a magical substance known as Eleth is the main life-source of the residents on Ephenea. Eleth powers electricity, makes food, items, medicine, and adds elemental properties to weaponry. So... Eleth is pretty important is what I'm saying.

The story begins seven years before the real plot begins. Tales of Graces has an incredibly long story-line and for me to describe to you the first two hours of it would still leave you confused; for your convenience, I will summarize Tales of Graces with key plot points

From Left to Right: Young Hubert, Young Asbel, Young Cheria.

• Asbel Lhant is a seventeen year old boy who is a knight in-training. He is next in line to be the lord of Lhant, a small country inside the Windor kingdom.
• During Asbel's childhood, he met two people that would change his life forever; a strange, young girl by the name of Sophie who has lost her memories; and Richard, the prince of the Windor kingdom, and heir to its throne.
• Asbel decides one day to show Richard and Sophie the hill he likes to go to. When the three arrive at the hill, they are ambushed by Richard's sword instructor, Bryce; Bryce wishes to kill the prince so that he can poison the king and have a better shot at taking the throne.
• Thanks to the combined efforts of Asbel, and Sophie: Bryce is slain and Richard is safe. This causes Richard to feel a strong debt towards Asbel, which stays through the coming years.
• Later on... Asbel goes to Barona, Windor's capital, to meet up with the young prince. Asbel asks Richard if he can go inside the Windor castle. Richard responds with the idea that although they can not go into the castle, there is a secret passage through the church that goes to the castle.
• Asbel takes Sophie, Hubert (his brother) and Cheria (Asbel's friend) to go to the castle as well. The secret passage to the castle is long and filled with monsters; but our group manages to defeat the monsters up until a certain point. The group (Asbel, Cheria, Hubert, Richard, and Sophie) encounters a deranged looking creature that appears much stronger than the creatures the group has faced thus far. It defeats everybody except Sophie. It is at this time that Sophie reveals that she is able to use laser attacks and puts everything she has into obliterating the terrible beast. Asbel blacks out before he can witness the outcome of the battle.

• 2 months pass by...

• Asbel awakens in his bedroom with his father at the bedside. Asbel is informed by his father that he was brought back to Lhant by Barona's guards. When Asbel inquires about Sophie, his father tells him that she died protecting him. Asbel had made a past promise that he would always protect Sophie because she had no memory of her past and no knowledge of where her family is. Asbel feels that he has failed, and that he is not worthy of being the lord of Lhant. Finally Asbel is informed that Hubert has been adopted by the Oswell family of the country Strahta. This means that Asbel will likely not see his brother again.
• Asbel's emotions take a toll from his friend dying and his brother being taken away from him. In his rage; Asbel decides to leave Lhant and become a knight of the Windor kingdom like he always dreamed. He leaves a letter to his friend Cheria and takes off to Barona for the next seven years.
  
  

• Seven years later...

• Asbel has nearly completed his knight training when he encounters his old friend Cheria roaming the streets of Barona. Cheria tells Asbel that he is urgently needed back at Lhant; the Fendel kingdom is trying to take over Lhant. Hearing this information, Asbel takes off to Lhant without delay.

Tales of Graces only gets more emotionally impacting from there as you play on through the story. Hubert becomes a very well read young man, and a certain person makes a reappearance. From personal experience I can tell you that Tales of Graces is an incredible series and if it were made as an actual anime, it would make an incredible amount of money. The voice acting is exceptional, the music is just as terrific, and it will be a memorable experience for anyone who knows the whole story (like myself.) If you are a fan of RPG video games you will absolutely adore Tales of Graces. As for any surveyors of anime who stay to television... I suggest you just watch a walk-through of the game.

I hope this review encouraged you to check out Tales of Graces and hopefully you will take a look into it. Until next time... I am

The Anime Analyzer

Signing off...