Tales of Vesperia

[Mr.Wednesday]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I have it, but I haven't opened it. Honestly don't know when I will since I need to finish Too Human, have school, have football, and I have an online dynasty.

I'm in the same boat also. I'm going to pick up ToV and Infinite Undiscovery next week. I don't know when I'm going to have time to play.

jfsolo, keep the impressions coming.

[jfsolo]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Played about 5 hours now. This game reminds me of a Super Nintendo RPG, and I mean that in a good way. Every location is uniquely designed, and looks great. You've got the cooking and/or synthesis aspects, where you can make your own food(heals and gives you stat boosts), healing aids, weapons, armor, accessories. These things can be created at a lower cost then just buying the stuff.

You can fight as much or as little as you want during your travels on the field map. If you want to avoid fighting, its like you're playing Madden and have to juke defenders in open space. If you aren't paying attention two or three groups of monsters might jump you at the same time, and then you have to fight a whole squad of creatures at once.

Things have been occurring in a linear fashion so far, but locating all the people and places you need to advance the story, does require a little effort.

I have no idea what the main storyline is yet, but it doesn't matter. The strongest part of the game is the personalities of the party characters, how they interact with each other, and with other non party NPC's. If you skip any of the skits then you will be missing a major portion of the game.

Yes, the most of the personalities do seem somewhat archetypal at first glance, but they are still interesting nonetheless.

Its just a flat out fun, old school, kind of RPG.

[WDOgF0reL1fe]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I picked it up today finally and am so happy I did.

Tales of Symphonia for the Cube was my favorite game of that system and loved it to death. So far (3 hours) this game doesnt dissapoint. Yuri I think is truly a badass and love the way his voice acting is.

While Linear in Scope, you can venture off to many different paths to find treasure chests, baddies, and new skits to hear.

So far so good

[Uhfan]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Thanks for the impressions guys.

I can't wait to pick this up tomm from gamestop, this will be my first next gen rpg and I am looking forward to it.

The last two Rpg's i played were- Valkyrie Profile 2 and Final Fantasy 12 for the Playstation 2. I just couldn't really get into either of them. Both of them were graphically pleasing and the stories were well developed. But all the characters seemed the same- aloof would be the best word to describe them. No matter how much you played, there was just no connection or feeling of emotion for the heros plight.

Thats why I am so glad when JFSOLO said that this game reminds him of a Super NES game. the Super NES was famous for rpgs- FInal Fantasy, Secret of Mana, and Chrono Trigger come to mind. Characters were all memorable in those games along with beautiful graphics and varied worlds. But like JFSOLO said, it was the characters that made those games- the story was nice but you just felt like you were stepping into the shoes of the character and you acutally cared about what happen to them.

[CRKnight13]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Thanks for the impressions guys.

I can't wait to pick this up tomm from gamestop, this will be my first next gen rpg and I am looking forward to it.

The last two Rpg's i played were- Valkyrie Profile 2 and Final Fantasy 12 for the Playstation 2. I just couldn't really get into either of them. Both of them were graphically pleasing and the stories were well developed. But all the characters seemed the same- aloof would be the best word to describe them. No matter how much you played, there was just no connection or feeling of emotion for the heros plight.

Thats why I am so glad when JFSOLO said that this game reminds him of a Super NES game. the Super NES was famous for rpgs- FInal Fantasy, Secret of Mana, and Chrono Trigger come to mind. Characters were all memorable in those games along with beautiful graphics and varied worlds. But like JFSOLO said, it was the characters that made those games- the story was nice but you just felt like you were stepping into the shoes of the character and you acutally cared about what happen to them.

after about 5 hours, i'm really loving this game. all the characters i've come across so far have their own little quirky personality, which really brings them to life. they are all extremely likable. the plot is still a little unclear, but i honestly don't care. the characters and the way they interact with each other reminds me of Lunar: Silver Story, which is one of my all time favorites. can't wait to get off work and continue playing.

[longshadow11]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Now you got me interested with the Lunar comparison. I was on the fence and am now leaning towards a purchase.

[CRKnight13]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Now you got me interested with the Lunar comparison. I was on the fence and am now leaning towards a purchase.

while the combat system is completely different, the characters, the humor, the music, and the dialog, are very reminiscent of Lunar. If you enjoyed Lunar, you'll really enjoy ToV.

[Mr.Wednesday]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I caved and picked this up yesterday. The game is awesome so far. I'm about 6 hours in now. It definitely has that old school Tales (Phantasia or Destiny) feel. Any fan of past tales games will love this game.

Spoiler

Anybody want to guess what was in Rita's drawer next to her bed.

[Uhfan]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Tales of Vesperia is a really solid game.

I am about 8 hours in and this game is just very well balanced in general. As others have said the characters in this game all have unique personalities and the interactions between the characters are really well done. There are really no game flaws in this game, as hard as it is to be believed. The only thing that I can think of is maybe a more grownup story like those RPGs on the PS2. But the story itself is intriguing and enough to make you wonder whats around the corner. Also, the game could use a bit of a higher difficulty setting to add some challenge, although the boss challenges make you sweat at times if you don't have the best equipment or not at the right level.

A few positives:

1. Graphics are really nice. Character animations are beautifully done and varied. The world itself has a bunch of varied environments so it doesn't seem like you are visiting the same place twice (ala Mass Effect)

2. Voice acting is top notch. Lots of voice acting in this game, none of the characters have an irritating sounding voice.

3. Humor. The characters really interact well with each other and play off it to the fullest. This is such a rare thing to find in a videogame now a days.

4. Auto A.I. play. Can just set your characters to auto battle. So you don't have to play every single fight and you can just let your character A.I. handle things. Great for leveling up. During auto A.I. the camera switches to action Cam mode so you can see a lot of the other animations of your other party members instead of it just focusing on you, nice touch.

5. No loading at all. I know this is to be expected but it sure is nice to have.

6. Constantly acquiring new skills and leveling up. Makes leveling up actually fun.

7. Auto exp. Even if you don't have certain characters activated, they still gain exp. So you don't have to be constantly switching back between the party members to keep them at the same level. Makes the game a lot easier to manage since most people have jobs or school and don't have as much time as they used to when they were kids.

8. Last thing, fighting is fun for once. Can do all sort of combos, would have been cool if they had link attacks were two or three characters can combine their moves into one special attack. Battles are hectic, even against normal enemies when their is a large group attack on you.

Overall: Great RPG. It is like a Super NES rpg with next gen graphics. The game is flat out fun to play and the story moves at a rapid pace. I wonder why it only got an 8.1 at IGN, gonna read the review after this, this should be atleast an 8.7 for being so well executed and not having any game killers like Madden 09.

[Cyros]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I think there is a harder mode, but it may not be unlocked till you beat the game.

[Defel]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I'm about 15 hours in and I would have to say this is one of the best JRPGs I've ever played. I'm not a big Tales fan, either. ToS was really good, but I didn't play any of the others for more than 10 hours or so.

I agree that the game has no flaws. I would just add that the pacing is just perfect. JRPGs tend to get repetitive, but my characters keep getting new attacks and skills and new gameplay elements are still being added. I'm sure it will taper off at some point. However, right now, this is the gold standard of JRPGs when it comes to pacing as I can't recall seeing it done any better.

[CRKnight13]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I'm about 15 hours in and I would have to say this is one of the best JRPGs I've ever played. I'm not a big Tales fan, either. ToS was really good, but I didn't play any of the others for more than 10 hours or so.

I agree that the game has no flaws. I would just add that the pacing is just perfect. JRPGs tend to get repetitive, but my characters keep getting new attacks and skills and new gameplay elements are still being added. I'm sure it will taper off at some point. However, right now, this is the gold standard of JRPGs when it comes to pacing as I can't recall seeing it done any better.

i'm about 26 hours in and it hasn't tapered off one bit. the story and characters have maintained my interest throughout. although the humor remains, there is a surprisingly dark tone that is now evident (you'll understand once you see a specific event involving one of the characters occur).

I also agree that this one of the best JRPGs that I've played in a long while.

I haven't become this attached to characters in a game since FFX.

[trobinson97]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Reading through these impressions have definitely gotten me interested again. I am going to check it out.

[Cyros]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

Reading through these impressions have definitely gotten me interested again. I am going to check it out.

I knew you couldn't stay away.

[faster]

Re: Tales of Vesperia

I enjoy RPGs... they are my favorite genre by far. However, I prefer when they give you some freedom and are extremely linear. That being said, some of the best RPGs ever have been linear.

Is this Tales good enough to overcome that? Should I give it a go anyway?

EDIT: see, this is why you read the entire thread before you post. im a moron.... looks like it is linear but branches out and give you freedom as well. excellent! i'm picking this one up!!!!!!!!!!