Amazon.com: Tales of Vesperia: Xbox 360: Video Games

62 Reviews

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (62 customer reviews)

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61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Finest Tales Game, August 28, 2008

By	Nite - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

Pros:

+Engrossing storyline, thanks to some well developed characters
+Fun, Addictive Battle system
+Very well written dialog with a good sense of humor
+Good voice acting
+A Fairly good soundtrack
+Good looking game

Cons:

-A lot of story exposition, some of it not even necessary
-Battling can sometimes rely on button mashing over skill

The Tales series has never been too big in America, but many of the games within the series are a blessing. Tales of Vesperia is a great outing that many fans of the series may enjoy. If this is the first time you've ever played a Tales game, then Tales of Vesperia is a good game to start with.

Tales of Vesperia takes place in a world where blastia, magical properties, are used to protect the denizens from monsters. There are also knights who help out and protect the citizens of the world. You play as Yuri, a man who left the knights mainly because he didn't like how the government treated the people. Obviously, there's something else a foot. Something more that this powerful empire is hiding and as Yuri and company you're going to find out what it is.

Tales of Vesperia may not have an original storyline, but it's told very well. Much of the dialog is very well written and sprinkled with its own fluffy humor. What really helps the story standout as being something much more than it is, however, is the cast of characters. They're very well developed and as you play you'll become really attached to them. Each also has their own distinct personality to help them along and they have their own charms about them. To help character development you can also watch skits, which are basically conversations among the party and they're completely optional. They really add to the characters by giving you a glimpse into just what they're thinking. If there was anything about Tales of Vesperia's story that is a little troubling, it would be that perhaps there's too much story in some areas. You'll run from one town to another only to backtrack to a previous town only to realize it was all done for story exposition and that you didn't really engage in a lot of battles. Yet, while there's a lot of exposition, there's still plenty of battling to be done.

The Tales games have largely been known for their battle systems. Once a battle begins you control one of four characters. You can all run around freely and land blows akin to a hack and slash game. You can also perform special techniques called Artes which will cost you tech points. It's all very simple stuff and feels very similar to the Star Ocean games. It can feel like a button mashing affair at times, and certainly the beginning stages of the game can be that way, but as you get further into the game it becomes less about hack and slash and more about strategy. Bosses in particular can be a challenge, especially if you want to get all the achievements. Some bosses require you to do certain things in order to get the achievement for them.

While you control one character the game's AI makes it a point to control the other three. Surprisingly, the AI does a very good job of keeping your characters alive and using items on allies who need them as well as healing. You can also set certain strategies and customize it up to help out. Even better than that, the game has multiplayer. Up to four players can play, although only the first player gets to control what happens in the field. For all it's worth, though, the battle system is superb.

Finally, there are abilities. Characters can equip weapons that will teach them certain abilities. If they use the weapon long enough they'll learn the ability and be able to use it whenever they want, provided they have the skill points required to equip it. There's nothing difficult about learning Tales of Vesperia's battle system. It's all relatively simple and easy to pick up on. So even if you've never played a Tales game before, the battle system is easy enough to learn that it shouldn't give you any trouble.

Graphics wise, Tales of Vesperia is gorgeous and runs very smoothly. Most of the dungeons you'll travel to also look nice. The enemies and bosses are very detailed and the load times are incredibly fast. The character designs are perhaps the best part as every character stands out as their own. Music wise, the game has a lot of memorable tunes that stand out. There are a few forgettable tunes but much of it really fills the situation. Much of the dialog in the game is spoken and the voice acting is very good.

If you're a fan of the Tales series, this is a great game to add to that collection. If you've never played a Tales game before and you're curious about the series, this is a good game to start with. With its easy learning curve and character driven story, most RPGers will find Tales of Vesperia to be a real treat.

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46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of all the Tales, September 8, 2008

By	Alexander K. Dixon - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

It's really a shame that game reviewers have started reviewing Japanese RPGs from the perspective of mainstream American gamers recently. Let's face it, most Americans don't like anime, and they don't like RPGs, so trying to tell them whether they'll like a game like this is pointless.

However, to any Japanese RPG fan who might actually play this game, it is unquestionably a 9 or a 10. It is the best Tales game ever, better even than the early Tales games from SNES and PS1, and better than Tales of Symphonia. It's miles beyond Tales of the Abyss for the PS2, which despite having decent gameplay, had characters that were the worst mutations of anime, who got really annoying and made parts of the game a chore. Tales of Vesperia, by contrast, focuses on the simple humanity of its characters, and always keeps their individual thoughts and desires in view. Not only does it stay true to its characters, following their adventures with humor and empathy, it's also conceptually the best cast any Tales game has had, for so many reasons.

The game is full of characters who, despite being based off of obvious anime cliches (like the individualistic hero dressed in dark clothing, Yuri) really jump off the screen. Even the 99% pink princess is charming because she's realistically naive but also well educated, and it doesn't hurt that she isn't voiced by an annoyingly high voiced little twit. The best of these are characters you'll remember after you play the game, like the characters of a good fantasy novel.

The world of Vesperia is actually rather innovative as well, I thought, though I haven't seen this mentioned in any of the press reviews, all of which spend a good portion of their time stating the bloody obvious: (WARNING: this is a Japanese RPG, which means it is from Japan and is an RPG, and so on).

What makes the game world feel unique is that, instead of being a normally peaceful, ordered place that is threatened by some mad Machiavellian villain or organization*, Tales of Vesperia begins in a world in which humans are a minority, struggling for survival. Early in the game you are shown that the only reason humans are able to survive at all in the harsh environment is because of magical force fields created by artifacts called Blastia barriers that protect the cities of the world, barriers that people rarely leave (anyone else smell a recipe for adventure?)

I'll stop there, because I don't want to spoil any of the game. Let me just say in conclusion, to anyone who's still undecided about this game: I have never played a Tales game that I would rank anywhere near my favorite JRPGs. My favorite JRPGs are Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 7, Suikoden 2 and 5, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, the original Final Fantasy Tactics, Lunar, and the Grandia 3 combat system (though the game itself sucked after 5 hours). I've played a lot of JRPGs (too many...) and the above are the only ones that I've ever replayed. Tales of Vesperia is actually worth replaying. Every aspect of it is enjoyable, from the fast action combat to the beautiful graphics to the great characters and surprisingly great voice acting (no whiny main characters here!).

What's sad about the reviews this game has received is that you can tell most of the reviewers really enjoyed the game, and had almost nothing negative to say - they just felt that scoring it too high numerically would get them in trouble with the mainstream audience, and they may be right (I'm sure they know about that better than I do). What's a real shame is that as a result of all this, a game that is clearly the stand out in a long series (the Tales games have been around for years) is receiving a lower metascore than most of the previous games in the series! For example, Tales of Symphonia: 85. Tales of the Abyss: 80. Tales of Vesperia: 79. Sure, that's not a huge difference, but this is a game that should be scoring five points above Symphonia, not six points below! One last thing I didn't see mentioned in ANY of the reviews - and I obsessively read these things - the game has four player co-op! So if you like playing RPGs with a girlfriend, wife, sibling, or just some good friends, consider this review score an 11. Going from exploration to cut scenes to combat in this game is like going from a candy store to a game store to glorious paintball. Two thumbs up and all that, what what.

* (For those who play lots of JRPGs, this setting should sound familiar)

Pros:
Pretty much everything. See above. To me, the story is the most important part of an RPG, and the characters and how they interact with their world is the most important part of a good story. But the combat and graphics are also incredibly polished and probably better than any other RPG on the system.

Cons:
Every fourth cutscene or so isn't voiced, but because all the inter-party banter is voiced, the game still has more voice acting than a Final Fantasy game, and probably better voice acting too (and I love the Final Fantasy games).

I've heard the boss battles can be too easy if you control the mage character Rita for most of the game.

Oddly enough, the worst voice actor out of the main characters in the game seems to be the dog, Repede, whose bark lacks... um... conviction. That dog needs to stop smoking (and walking around with knives in his mouth).

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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Evolutionary step for the series, doesn't try anything new., October 17, 2008

By	Zeph Greenwell (Decatur, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars

The Japanese RPG genre has struggled to remain viable in today's video game market. With the poor showing as a possibility for any Japanese RPG in the western market, there is pressure on developers to change their formula in one way or another. Tales of Vesperia goes against the grain, in that it doesn't try to change anything. For fans this slight evolutionary step might be enough, but this game doesn't make any attempt to draw a new crowd.

Being on the 360, the game does move the series forward in obvious ways. The graphics, still cell shaded, are more detailed in just about every way. The game also takes good advantage of 5.1 sound if you have the system. The widescreen display does well for the battles and keeping all your characters in a viewable area. That said, these things are really all considered standard on any Xbox 360 game.

The rest of the game is pretty much like any one of its PS2 counterparts. That isn't to say it is bad. The characters and plot are all compelling and the real time tales battle system is still very fun. The downside is that the game still plays very slowly compared to other modern games. You still have the encounters where it loads a battle scene, and then when you win you still have a victory screen showing the results. That slows down the game considerably, but you can always avoid battles since the enemies are visible on screen. I also felt the story sequences could have been speed up a little. When the game is just starting you get a lot of story and it feels like it takes a while for it to pick up momentum.

All in all the game is exactly what fans expected. It doesn't have any surprise turn offs, but there really isn't much to set this game apart. If you're a fan of Japanese RPGs then I'm sure they will plenty to like. If historically you've avoided the genre, there isn't anything here that will change your mind. It is a good game, but its been done before.