It's in my opinion the perfect Tales game, and my personal favorite besides Arise, and symphonia (which is a bit dated now but still a damn good game). From the beginning hour you'll be pulled into a beautiful world with a very complex and loveable main character; And a excellent cast of party members. The combat system, the equipment, system, and the progression of artes are all so smooth and streamlined. You can really see the skills of each character grow as their character develops! Besides the main party though, the cast of Villains are also very unique! The story is just complelty enthralling overall, having a sense of immersion that will make you never want to put the controller down. 

The amazing music only adds to this immersivness. With a musical work that's arguably the best in the series. There's also PLENTY of fun sidequest, that aren't just fetch quest, or "Kill X amount of enemies". All of these sidequest are missable which helps incentivize you to fully explore, and enjoy the game. Also, NPCs wandering around the towns feel like real townspeople, and the locations you visit are all so vastly different; it's really like you're exploring a real world!

TLDR: I could go on for hours about how good this game is, and the first time I played I EASILY sunk 160 hours into the game, with pleasure. Please give this game a try if you haven't already, you won't regret it

Also, Repede THE best dog! And The intro song is a BANGER!!! "REACHIN OUT TO NO MANS LAND, TO TAKE A BREATH AND TAKE A CHANCE. I'D WALK 1000 MILES TO CHANGEEEE THE WORLDDD"