21)Tales of Vesperia (xbox360) Reviews

"Tales of Vesperia gives us exactly what this gen needed. A finally all around amazing game."

Tales Of Vesperia is the first mothership Tales game released on consoles this gen. It's a extremely good game. To be honest, I did not like it at first, but I gave it another try and my opinion greatly changed. Finally I have played a RPG this gen that is truly a fantastic game. Not just a good, or okay game. A amazing one finally.

Graphics:10/10:The Graphics are extremely good. Area designs are gorgeous. Character designs are well done, and the game is full of impressive attack/skill animations. Tales of Vesperia's final dungeon is one of the most coolest designed I've ever seen. Overall, there's not too much to say, but the Graphics are great. Next, onto the Gameplay the most important aspect of a game.

Gameplay:10/10:Tales Of Vesperia is like most tale games. You'll follow a pattern of going from town to dungeon. Very strictly so in Tales of Vesperia. Battles and exploration are done with a four man party. Like in Tales of Symphonia and Abyss you initiate battles by coming into contact with enemies on the field. From there, the battle begins. As you go through a transition from the field to the battle screen.

You'll notice this entry in the Tales series uses the same old battle system. The linear motion battle system. It doesn't add too many innovations, but it still remains a blast. If you don't know what the linear motion battle system is, then don't worry it's simple. Basically, in a battle your on a battlefield with your other three party members. You take control of the party leader. From there you can only run left/right as your stuck in a 2D plane. That is what the linear motion battle system is. Aside from moving left or right, you can attack, block or use a Arte(Skill). However, like Tales of the Abyss and Dawn of the New World, Vesperia uses the Free Run feature first introduced in Abyss. So, don't fear about being limited to a 2D plane completely.

This feature used by holding RT, allows you to run in any direction. However, the catch is you run a little slower and cannot use any Artes(Skills in TOV) or attack quickly. You can do one simple attack to stutter a enemy, but nothing more. It's main purpose is for dodging. While Free Run is not a feature new to the series, Burst and Mystic Artes are.

In Tales of Vesperia, Overlimits work a bit differently then previous entries. First off, you now have a gauge on the right-hand side of the battle screen. Once it's fully filled, you press the directional pad on the 360 controller to activate Overlimit. For those who don't know, Overlimit is kind of a special move. Your character has a aura that surrounds them when they use it. During this state, they cannot be stuttered and can do infinite amounts of combos or attacks. Another thing you can do in Overlimit is a Burst/Mystic arte.

At one point of the game, you'll learn a Burst or Mystic Arte. While your in the state of Overlimit if you use a certain type of Arte, known as a Arcane Arte and then hold the A button down, you'll perform a Burst Arte. Which is a extremely powerful attack that does a lot of damage, but consumes around half of your Overlimit gauge. Don't think your the only one with this fantastic advantage though, bosses can do overlimits too. To make things more challenging too, later in the game bosses can perform Mystic/Burst artes that do a extreme amount of damage. Another minor cool innovation that Tales of Vesperia brings to Overlimits, is you can do a beyond Level 1 Overlimit.

For example, at one point you gain the ability to exceed Overlimit level 1 and go into level 2. In order to activate level 2 Overlimit though, you must fill the Overlimit gauge once more to level 2 after reaching level 1. At level 2, you do another bonus attack with Burst/Mystic artes and it doesn't stop there. There's Overlimit level 3 and 4 which you can obtain through optional means. They give you even further advantages like Overlimit level 2 does. Aside from this innovation, there's nothing really else to the battle system. Yet, despite the minor innovations, the battle system is still as fun as ever. It also remains challenging too.

Most of the normal battles are easy, but just take a long time. However, around the middle point to the end, enemies do get harder and more aggressive. Despite normal battles being fairly easy though, bosses are not. The bosses found in Tales of Vesperia, probably make it the most difficult Tales of entry I've played yet. They have a decent amount of HP, do a lot of damage and take a lot more effort to stutter then most enemies. If you do not combo them consistently, and dodge their attacks then prepare to be in for a world of hurt. Especially later in the game, when bosses often go into overlimit/use Mystic and Burst Artes often. Don't fear though, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. In Tales of Vesperia, many bosses have a secret trick to them, that if you can get lucky and exploit, will give you a major advantage. For example, in one boss fight the boss charges up it's most powerful attack. During it's charging phase, you can run behind it and hit it enough times. If you succeed in doing so, the boss will become temporarily stunned. You also get a achievement for finding each of the tricks of every boss fight too. So, that will give you more motivation as well. Those who love innovation will be saying "Come on, that's it? All that's new in Tales of Vesperia? Rest of the Gameplay is the same?" For the most part yes, however customization has now been improved.

Remember the ability system from Final Fantasy IX? Well, Tales of Vesperia's is just like that. Each weapon you find comes with a few skills or skill. You have a meter next to them. It shows the progress of how learning the skill is coming along. While the weapon is equipped, you automatically equip the skill at no SP cost. However, if you take the weapon off, you no longer have the skill. In order to keep the skill, you must use the weapon and win battles until you learn the skills contained in your equipped weapon. From there, you must use SP(Skill Points) to equip the Skill. Skill Points are gained by gaining levels. This adds a lot of customization to the game and offers for many interesting combinations. Which makes battling just a bit more unique and adds a lot more variety. People may be also wondering at this point what about Sidequests? Also, the length too what about it as well?

Tales of Vesperia is filled with a extreme amount of them. Some expand further on character development, others are the optional dungeons to give players more of a challenge etc. Unfortunately, most of the really interesting Sidequests are main game. To not miss them too, a guide is just about required. As far as costumes go, there weren't too many from what I experienced. However, I only really took the time to do two minor Sidequests over the course of Tales of Vesperia. So, i cannot comment too much on them. Aside from the fact, that I can confirm there are a ton of them. Even only doing two minor Sidequests though, Tales of Vesperia ultimately took me around 46 hours to complete. That's quite a good length that will really give you your money's worth. Not to mention, as with every Tales game there's great replay value. Mostly thanks to the wonderful Grade shop feature.

After each playthrough, players can access the Grade shop upon choosing the option EX New Game.(New Game + in simplified words). Upon winning battles in the Tales games, your not just awarded EXP/Gald(currency), but grade too. Assuming your on Normal or higher difficulty though. Grade is accumulated based on how well you performed during the battle. Killing enemies faster etc. Scores you a higher grade from battles. Once you pick EX New Game you can access the Grade shop before starting another playthrough. The Grade shop allows you to use grade to purchase many awesome things for your next playthrough. Such as 2x EXP, 10x EXP, 2x Gald, 2x Grade, carry over time from previous file or collection data, 1/2 EXP for players wanting to challenge themselves, increased starting HP/TP, carry over Titles etc. There's just a load of different options to choose from, and each of them can make your next playthrough different in many ways. All-together, I give the Gameplay of Tales of Vesperia a 10/10. Not that many innovations, but the innovations that are there are great. Game still remains a lot of fun and will last a pretty good amount of time. With the Gameplay covered, it's onto the Storyline.

Storyline:9.6/10:Like the Gameplay and Graphics, Tales of Vesperia's Storyline does not disappoint. Similar to previous entries, Vesperia takes a generic sterotypical cast of characters and develops them fantastically. To begin with, Yuri the protagonist is not really a generic protagonist for once. He's not much of a typical hero, and rather is more of a anti-hero archtype. Instead of being a extremely determined protagonist who has a extreme amount of integrity, he is in some ways a criminal who doesn't always have integrity. Also, he's very laid-back and not always willing to charge straight into things. Quite level-headed and approaches a situation smartly. As for the rest of the characters, they are extremely sterotypical. However, they are executed well and developed extremely nicely over the Storyline. What may have seemed like a generic sterotypical character at first, may turn into someone far more deeper and interesting then that. While so far the Storyline seems just about perfect, it has some weak areas.

The weak areas being main plot, and antagonists. Tales of Vesperia's main plot won't really win any awards. Basically, it begins with a blastia core being stolen in the lower quarter of Zaphias where the protagonist Yuri Lowell lives. From there, Yuri meets other allies and they all form a group to combine their efforts in what turns into a quest to save the entire world. Another weak aspect, is the antagonists. Most of them are just generic evil guys who are evil well for the sake of being evil. Vesperia tries to develop them, but doesn't do a good job for the most part. As for the final antagonist though, he gets developed decently. Plus, for once he's a antagonist with a good motivation for once. Aside from these two flaws, the last one would be that the writing could be improved at a few certain parts. Despite those minor flaws, the Storyline is absolutely fantastic. If you want even more character developmen, the Sidequests offer plenty of more development for the characters too. Storyline receives a 10/10. Last is the Music, what I personally consider the second most important aspect of a game.

Music:8.4/10:Tales of Vesperia is a above average soundtrack overall. It's town/dungeon songs are the strong point and are done extremely well. However, the battle songs are pretty much average and the boss song is nothing special. On the positive side, the final boss song is great though. As for the Voice Acting, it's done fantastically by a talented cast of well known anime voice actors etc. I'd give the Music a 8.4/10. Pretty good music, and a excellent voice acting cast.

Overall:10/10:Tales of Vesperia is a nearly perfect experience. It's Gameplay is a lot of fun and has a pretty nice length. Plus, a healthy dose of Sidequests to do. Last, to kick it off the Gameplay has great replay value due to New Game +. Graphics are extremely nice, and probably the best cel-shaded Graphics I've seen yet. Music is above average. Most of the songs are really good, but battle/boss songs are average. Final boss song is great. Voice acting is extremely well done and will not disappoint. Done by a talented well known cast of voice actors. Overall, Tales of Vesperia is by far the best RPG I've played this gen. If your nearly giving up hope on the genre this gen and need a truly amazing game that stand out from the crowd, give Tales of Vesperia a try. It will not disappoint.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/08, Updated 04/09/09

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