Tons of info from NP that I'm snagging from GAF:
- Planned as a spin-off, later decided to expand the scale and make it a direct story sequel
- Project started summer of 06, before Wii was known to be the "casual" system.
- Nintendo specifically asked them to gear the game for a hardcore audience
- Monster system implemented to make the game more enjoyable for casual audience without watering down the full Tales experience; catering to hardcore Tales fans first and foremost - no changes made after the "casual" perception of the Wii became apparent.
- Light use of the Wii remote, activating shortcuts without watering down the Tales experience: pointing at what you want to shoot with the Sorcerer's Ring; click and drag the world map and select destination with the pointer.
- Might be looking at adding more motion-control features to the NA release (no comment)
- Monster capturing system intended to be strategic (certain monsters are more useful in certain situations) and a collect-a-thon. Difficult to collect all monsters the first time through the game, though.
- Monsters recruitment is determined by the element of the battlefield compared to the element of the monster, and influenced by the monster from your party you use to sway them.
- Affection system present in the monster attraction aspect, no story changes as there were with the original game. Optional side quests available.
- Cooking system returns, but now the Wonder Chef teaches you recipies for monster food, which will change your monster parameters or aid their evolution.
- Whenever Emil and friends find a new spirit, Lloyd is there trying to stop them...
- Of the 8 surviving characters, all are playable at some point in the game - Zelos in, Kratos out (but he's the narrator of the intro). Emil and Marta are the only permanent human characters, the rest of the party of 4 is made up of monsters and guest appearances.
- About half of the locations and dungeons are rehashed from the original game (though quite a bit different due to changes in the world).
- 11 hours of voiced event scenes and character skits. Event scenes feature realistically proportioned characters, cinematic camera angles and motion-captured character animation. "Prospects looking good for fully voiced skits and perhaps even actual theme-song vocals in the game's North American version."