Tales Of Vesperia

8 Comments 6 Votes 287 Views 02/10/2009 Back to Reviews Tales of Vesperia

Tales of Vesperia - 9 / 10

Us PAL gamers have not seen much of the critically acclaimed Tales series. We have only had access to Tales Of Symphonia and the re-made Tales of Phantasia.
The Tales series is a massive hit in Japan which made it all the more surprising to find out that an exclusive Tales game for the 360 was being made. We have had to wait longer then the US and it began to seem as if we were not going to see this wonderful RPG on Australian shelves. Thankfully it did come out because it may be the best RPG on the Xbox360.

The story revolves around Yuri Lowell. Yuri is a known trouble maker in the capital of the empire Zaphias and when a blastia thief steals the core to the Aque blastia, a device that provides clean water to the people of the lower quarter. While investigating the theft of the core he meets Estellise, a mysterious girl looking for a friend of Yuri's. What starts out as a chase for a thief turns into a massive journey of self discovery with twists around every corner. The games story also revolves heavily around blastia. Blastia are devices which feature in many ways, using 'aer' to fuel them.

The characters in Tales Of Vesperia are very good. Yuri breaks the usual 'Do gooder' stereotype of hero. Estellise however is your typical indecisive heroine which is fairly disappointing considering the other characters have fairly unique personality's. Repede is the faithful dog of Yuri, who fights with a dagger AND HAS A PIPE. Karol is a young boy who is an expert on guilds, but is really just a young boy deep down. Rita is a genius mage that has an attitude that adds alot of humor to the game. Raven is an old man that has an insatiable hunger for women. Judith is a beautiful Kritiyan, a race that has been around since the discovery of blastia who is intelligent, but doesn't mind using her appearance to her advantage.

The battle system breaks the trend of typical turn based RPG's, and is more a 'brawler'. The style of combat has 4 party members against a group of enemy's with you in real time combat. The game starts of with you just hammering the attack button for a 4 hit combo but by the end of the game you'll be linking base artes into arcane artes into a powerful mystic arte. The 'skill' system is what makes this more of an RPG. Every weapon you equip typically has a skill attached. After a number of battles you will learn this skill and be able to use it without the weapon attached. These skill vary from increasing the STRENGTH stat by 10% to allowing you to link your special abilities together to allow for a massive combo. All battles except for boss fights and story required fights can be avoided, which is a massive plus for some players such as myself.

The sound in the Tales games have been known to be epic. There is not exception for Vesperia and the music is a treat to listen to.

A fairly big downside to the game however is the difficulty to players new to the series. The game seems overwhelming to those who have never played a tales game and one particular boss in the beginning is notorious for turning players of the game early. The difficulty can be changed at any point throughout the game, however there is a fairly big gap between 'Easy' and 'Normal' in the beginning of the game.

This game is meant to be played through at least twice. Throughout the game you will be awarded GRADE for your battles which can be exchanged post game for things like "10X Experience" or being able to watch all the skits featured in this game. However i easily recommend playing it twice. One playthrough to enjoy the story and another to get all the side quests and items that can be missed.

Overall Tales of Vesperia is an enthralling game that drags you deep down into the mystery of the blastia and the world. It is a worthy addition to any RPG fan's collection.

Kischasy 'Kurtis'

Review by: Kisschasy 1200Kudos 02/10/2009

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More Info on Tales of Vesperia

Game Profile: Tales of Vesperia

Australian Release: Out Now

Tales Of Vesperia Comments

Kudos: 20,180

Elraro

Nice review, Kischasy. I'm actually getting back in my JRPG phase right now and playing through Lost Odyssey...and so far I'm crazily hooked on it. Looks like I might get ToV too once I finish Lost Odyssey.

02/10/2009

Sydney

Kudos: 1,200

Kisschasy

Yeah, i really recommend it. I will warn you that it starts out a tad slow and may seem a bit childish. But if you preserve with it im sure you'll enjoy it.

02/10/2009

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 13,225

Kerosanak

Kischasy said: Yeah, i really recommend it. I will warn you that it starts out a tad slow and may seem a bit childish. But if you preserve with it im sure you'll enjoy it.

E.g. Eternal Sonata, too many people pass that game up because of the cover, strong RPG I think, this is on my list to pick up when I get my Xmas casual pay.

02/10/2009

I'm already kind of a big deal in New Vegas

Kudos: 81

McNiPl

I've been thinking about getting Tales of Vesperia for awhile a couple of my friends have it...2 and they both like it so i'll probably get it seems like a fun game

02/10/2009

Adelaide, South Australia

Kudos: 1,200

Kisschasy

It definetly is mate. Just remember that it may seem a bit difficult at first, but stick with it and you'll love it

02/10/2009

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 20,180

Elraro

Kerosanak said:
Kischasy said: Yeah, i really recommend it. I will warn you that it starts out a tad slow and may seem a bit childish. But if you preserve with it im sure you'll enjoy it.

E.g. Eternal Sonata, too many people pass that game up because of the cover, strong RPG I think, this is on my list to pick up when I get my Xmas casual pay.

I had Eternal Sonata but traded it in for Prototype before I could finish it. Very solid RPG but I just couldn't ring myself to play it with all my other games around. Voice acting is shocking, mind you...but the gameplay was really interesting.

02/10/2009

Sydney

Kudos: 1,200

Kisschasy

I actually got bored of the gameplay rather quickly with Eternal Sonata. All you needed to do was have Allegretto, Jazz and filler in your party and you were sweet.

02/10/2009

Melbourne, Victoria