Its the best Tales game I have played and the only one I platted.
Its not pay to win at all, its rather doable even on Hard. There are some spikes as with every Tales game, but generally you can still beat bosses if you're 10 levels lower. Especially on Normal, didn't even bother with Easy once.
As for money, its very easy to come by also. Lots of surplus mats and old equipment you can sell. Or fishing, which is rather fun, is a good source of income. Upgrading weapons was fair also, you'll always get the required mats for the latest weapons in the most recent areas. And with cooking the right bonuses you can really hoard.
Combat gets better also, I liked the light tactical layer. using Shionne boost for aerial enemies, or Rinwell to counter enemy spell charges. Its pretty cool.