Questions about warps and post-game...

So I think you guys already know that I really haven't taken the time to sit down and play a goddamn Tales game since Abyss came out. Zestiria has some surprisingly nice features, and I'm curious if this is the first Tales game to have them or not!

First off are the save points, I noticed early on that they change from purple orbs to those yellow beacons when you touch them, I read online that you can later teleport between them. THAT'S SUPER GOOD considering that I stopped playing Abyss because I got lost once you get the boat and I never found the critical path again (despite the fact that I think that game has a story summary feature, or was that Legendia?) Is this the first game in the series to have warps like this?

And secondly, I've heard that after beating the game you can just play the game however the hell you want, and presumably you can choose to start a New Game+ and use the Grade Shop whenever. Is this the first game to feature that? I remember other games just booting you to the Grade Shop screen after beating the final boss so you can start your New Game+ right away.

For teleporting, Graces' airship was just a list of locations that you could choose from when you bring up the map and Xillia you literally just brought up the map and said I want to go here, no explanation as to how they got there whatsoever and no cost. For Graces you got dropped at the entrance of any town/dungeon/field, for Xillia you got to choose which entrance you start from. Also, all Tales games from Symphonia on have summaries IIRC, though some are more personable than others (Legendia and Hearts are written like the characters take turns writing them out).

Grade shop has been starting a New Game + from the Opening Screen for a bit now (since Graces), but if you can use the grade shop whenever DURING New Game + that's a new feature, it's only ever been implemented in RM3.

Symphonia had plot summaries in the menu? Huh, don't remember that...

And what I meant was, I've heard that the game just doesn't end when you beat it (or maybe the clear file lets you continue from before the final boss?) apparently the only missable trophies in any playthrough are difficulty/no items or retries ones. That seems new because Tales games' trophies are all about milking playthroughs out of the audience, and in this game you can do it in just two playthroughs apparently.

So are you saying that from Graces onwards, the clear file lets you continue playing?

Yup, that's exactly it! Clear file puts you at the final save point, actually I think Hearts may have done it as well, so Hearts onward! They find other ways to milk playthroughs from you, like forced choice options where you need to see both options to get a trophy etc. (Symphonia Chronicles... or better example, Xillia 2 and Zestiria's bad ends though you can get those on a first playthrough by just using two save files, it would be hard to) Or ones where its just easier to get in two playthroughs than grinding in one, like trying to Max the Mixer in Graces.

Ex Dungeons have also been accessible from clear files (at least being present) now, definitely since Vesperia even though the clear file had to be separate since it was a mandatory new game plus, thank god, I never had the patience to do an entire other playthrough to do what should be fun post-game content.

Also, I might just be remembering wrong for Symphonia, definitely Abyss and Legendia had summaries though (and everything after that) I'm pretty sure Rebirth had them, but I can't know for sure because I would have ignored them not being able to read them LOL