Got it and started it yesterday
So incredibly fun, but not revolutionary as a Tales game or anything - it still pretty closely follows the Tales formula. But it's a really lovely game in many ways.
I actually opened the game and restarted it twice because I thought I kept missing progress
(since the game takes you right into a New Game, it doesn't go to the Title screen automatically like most games) - but as a matter of fact, the game has a sort of "cold opening", in that you play through the entire prologue,
then you get the actual opening sequence with progress playing. And I have to admit, it's really really epic!
I loved progress already, but seeing it accompanied with an amazing game (and hearing it every time I boot the game up now) has made me fall in love with it all over again.
I also bought the collector's edition, which was around $100... and I am
never paying that much for a game again
I rarely even buy them at retail price, but I felt the urge to show support for the Tales series and especially because they were bringing over Ayu with it. Seriously, I would've gotten the game eventually anyway, but adding Ayu (and then, for the first time in the series, deciding to retain that theme song in the Western release) really pushed me to preorder it.
All to say, there is an existing fraction of the fanbase that will be more incited to buy something if their favourite singer sings for it
Keep that in mind, namco!