I'm headed to Gamestop today to pick-up a copy, I've been hearing good things about this game.

I just bought it 2 weeks ago. I got sick of trying to find it cheaper. I played it for a bit and put it down. have yet to touch it again. just lost interest.

Well, it's not the most interesting game in the world 5 seconds in...like pretty much every game in existance...

all the gamestops near me have a copy

I was about to say that you might not be into RPGs, but then I noticed your signature. Now really, Tales of the Abyss is pretty good and being really only one of the first localised RPGs for the 3DS so far, I have to say it's better than a lot of the third party releases to begin with. The most recent titles we got here are all those Moshi monsters, trash pack garbagy games that are literally just ported DS games that play like flash games, thats why I decided to import TOTA because I can afford to spend a little extra to get a top notch game. Ok so you may not be a big Namco fan, neither am I but I've been holding out to get this ever since it came back into stock on our local importers website and I remember being excited at launch of the 3DS for this game but it never arrived here in NZ and Australia, even though it was advertised as coming. Bottom line, this thread is for those who ACTUALLY bought it and are enjoying it, so if you have anything else bad to say about it that isn't legitimently true (even though its a matter of opinion) then just post elsewhere.

Edit: So who has been playing TOTA recently? Just got my copy yesterday and i'm 8 hours into it already and i'm now in the south rugnica plains near the kaitsur border and my party is around level 16, does anyone recommend heavy grinding between towns? i'm just trying to level up in preparation for any boss battles or hard foes. Also does any one find it hard to get your character to use those fon circle moves? I find it rather difficult to get the timing right, since you really only have a few seconds to activate your move within that circle, I try not to bother too much, but it's fun to see Luke use powered up moves like Frigid blast occasionally.

You completely misinterpreted his post. He was replying to the comment above his (Red_Kinetic's comment). He was saying that just like pretty much every other game, you're not going to be hooked in 5 mins (suggesting that Red_Kinetic needs to try & put more time into it, before he gives up on it).

EDIT: as to your edit, it's been awhile since I've played it, so I can't remember what level I was at, at that point. Whatever the case, I only grinded 3 times throughout the game, and only once was it because I wasn't strong enough to beat a boss.

1st time: couldn't beat a boss (pretty early on, it sounds like you might be getting close to it), but I only needed to level up one or two levels before I beat it.

2nd time: Right after visiting Chasedonia (probably spelled that wrong, lol) for the first time (just to keep prepared).

3rd time: Right before the final boss (just a habit of mine).

Also, as for the Fonon Fields, it's not just you that has trouble getting to them. Every review I've read has stated that while they're a neat idea, they never stay around long enough to use strategically. From my experience with the game, I'd have to agree with that, although whether you use them or not doesn't really affect your chances of victory or defeat, so it's more or less if you're there in time, cool, if not, whatever (personally, I've gotten pretty good at chasing them down ).

Ok sorry, misunderstood my bad. Yeah I agree @RR529, Fonon Fields are terrible, but I've been getting them enough lately. I'm heavy into grinding, I tend to over do it because I love RPGs. Anyways, I know grades aren't particularly important to me, but how exactly do they help? I guess maybe triggering skits etc? oh btw, loving the skits, this game has tons of wit and self-awareness!

^As for grade, what you build up in your first playthrough is currency you use for buying perks on a second playthrough (start out with extra health, earn 10X more exp from battles, carry over gald to new playthrough, carry over map info, ect.).

Like the poster above, I don't bother much with the fonon fields, would try to catch the healing circles instead. For me, the order of targeting and attack moves are more important.

Does anyone know how to see an enemy's xp level right before or in battle? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question, I seem to be overlooking the indicator somewhere, so I've been grinding a bit more than usual to make up for the surprise strength.

I believe you can only do it if you use an item. It looks like an Magnifying glass.

Is it the one called Magic Lens? Lol, initially I'd thought it was an indicator toggled with a shortcut, or an equipment item with a passive ability, but when you said "item", that's when it clicked that it's a one-use item. It showed one monster's HP and stats (no level?), but the stats can't be toggled up again(?) without using another lens so it's not that useful.

Thanks though. Ah well, it's not a big deal, even to get kicked by an unexpectedly harder boss, with the multiple save slots. Just that it seemed like a common feature in RPGs so I thought I was missing some obvious setting.