I think it is fun in Tales games, except at the beginning when you have no option other than to grind for a bit due to lack of equipment/spells.
But for instance in Symphonia's hard mode, pretty much every boss took me about 3 tries and I usually ended up with only myself alive and had just used all of my life bottles and gels, barely surviving.
Essentially, it just makes the battles more than button mashing in Tales games, you actually have to plan/defend.
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lol