In a recent Bandai Namco media preview, Tales of Series General Producer Yusuke Tomizawa and Tales of Graces f Remastered Producer Yuki Ishikawa provided an in-depth look at the upcoming Tales of Graces f Remaster, sharing their vision for bringing the 15-year-old classic to modern platforms while preserving its cherished features.

Remaster Over Remake: A Strategic Choice

The decision to remaster Tales of Graces f instead of pursuing a full remake was carefully considered. General Producer Tomizawa explained the rationale: “We wanted to quickly as well as accurately port these games to the modern platforms.” This approach prioritized accessibility over extensive reconstruction, with Tomizawa noting that a remake or graphic overhaul “would take quite a long time.” The choice of Tales of Graces f was particularly strategic, as Tomizawa elaborated: “Out of all the Tales series, Tales of Graces f is the optimal pick to ensure that the quality will be maintained from a graphics standpoint.”

The decision was also influenced by the game’s strong character development and combat systems. “We acknowledge that the Tales series is known for character development, and combat. When we’re thinking of all the options to choose from, Tales of Graces f had the most appealing points with character and combat,” Tomizawa added. The decision was further reinforced by fan demand, particularly following a 10th anniversary event in Japan where “there’s a lot of participants requesting a remaster version of the game.”

Enhanced Accessibility and Quality of Life Features

The remaster introduces numerous features designed to improve the gaming experience for both newcomers and veterans. Producer Ishikawa detailed these additions: “There are two new functionalities that cater to new users or are still unfamiliar with the original game.” These include comprehensive guidance systems and early access to the Grade Shop. “Compared to the original game, Grade Shop was only open after the second part of the story, whereas now it is already open from the earlier part of the game,” Ishikawa explained.

The team has implemented flexible difficulty options, allowing players to “toggle off or on, or whether they want to use it to gain experience points in twice or even five times the amount.” Regarding the implementation process, Ishikawa noted: “From a development standpoint, for example, even like the adding encounter option on and off, we had to obviously think about all possible option settings, features at the beginning stage of the development.” These modifications were carefully balanced to maintain game integrity while providing players with more control over their experience. “It’s up to the players to choose whether they want to use it or not necessarily,” Ishikawa emphasized.

Global Content Parity

A major focus of the remaster has been ensuring content equality across all regions. “In today’s world the game can be enjoyed equally by everyone around the world at the same time,” Ishikawa emphasized. This includes the integration of previously Japan-exclusive content, with Ishikawa noting: “We’re collaborating with Bandai Namco Groups subsidiaries across the world so these can be enjoyed by all the players around the world.”

The addition of subtitles to after-battle conversations was a direct response to player feedback, as Ishikawa explained: “There’s a lot of interesting conversations that are happening from an audio sense, but they didn’t really understand what these characters are talking about.” The team also expanded language support, with Ishikawa adding: “We’ve intentionally decided to add multiple languages across the world such as European languages as well, so that they can actually make sure that the after battle scene can be enjoyed by players around the world as well.”

Combat System and Gameplay Preservation

The remaster maintains the series’ acclaimed combat system while enhancing its accessibility. Ishikawa detailed the system’s depth: “In Tales of Graces f, you can consecutively press the button to achieve complex attacks or even residual attacks. And then combining that with also the direction of the joysticks has allowed players to really seamlessly perform smooth actions that also feels satisfying.” The combat system stands out for its fluidity and strategic depth, featuring “action like avoiding the opponent’s attack that works flawlessly but also ensuring that your team also recovers a bit and opens up a window for counter attack.”

Comparing it to other games, Ishikawa explained: “In some other games the combat can have about three simple actions. So you just press the button without any combination. Then you have like let’s say a more difficult combination of attacks that can get more complex as you have more buttons to fiddle around with.” The team was committed to preserving this distinctive combat experience while making it more accessible to new players.

Technical Considerations and Modern Platform Adaptation

The porting process presented unique challenges, particularly regarding language optimization and platform compatibility. “Previous games were built during Namco days, so Namco’s original gaming engine as well. And just because you report that doesn’t mean that your job is over as a development, you need to optimize, you need to test regularly,” Ishikawa revealed. The team focused heavily on PC adaptation, with Ishikawa noting: “One of the key points is adaptability to PCs as well… we made sure that the FPS is maintained at 120, making sure that the game can also be controlled by using mouse and keyboard as well.”

The team faced particular challenges with UI elements, such as adjusting speech bubbles for different languages: “When it comes to other languages, you may need to extend the speech bubble, which causes the speech bubble to be covering the entire face or the area around the characters.” Some features from the original couldn’t make the transition, with Ishikawa explaining: “Some of the costumes or outfits available because of collaboration with the other companies… was based on a contract and now 15 years later that is no longer the case.”

Future of the Tales Series

This remaster represents a significant step toward the series’ 30th anniversary celebrations. Tomizawa shared the broader vision: “Tales of Graces f being launched for the 30th anniversary is to indicate that there’ll be more frequent creation of remasters of these games.” While specific titles weren’t confirmed, Ishikawa expressed enthusiasm for potential future remasters: “As for the other Tales of series, I personally love Abyss, but there are many other amazing works as well. For example Legendia, Phantasia, Eternia, and Xillia.”

The team views this release as a foundation for future remasters, with Tomizawa noting they’re “positioning Tales Graces f as the starting point to start doing that from our development side.” The remaster represents both a technical achievement and a labor of love for the development team. Ishikawa shared a personal connection to the project: “Back then, when the original game was released was in 2009. I was actually a high school student and being one of those core fans… And then now after many years, now I’m able to contribute and develop this game and serve the fans all over the world.”

Closing with a message to fans, Ishikawa expressed: “We always appreciate this question not just as a developer, but also as core fans of the Tales series. We always appreciate people around the world playing this game. There’s never enough things that they can give, and we always appreciate the true support from the core fans around the world.”