mrstickball said:
Tales of Vesperia is very well rounded - more so than any other JRPG on the 360. It doesn't have the storytelling of a thousand years' of dreams, or re-invents the wheel with combat (at least from a Tales perspective), but it does what a JRPG should do, flawlesslely. Graphically, the game is a dream on HDTV. Every time I turn it on my 50" HDTV, I feel like I'm watching a very good anime. On the technical side of the graphics, loading times are better than some JRPGs with the HDD installed - without installation (at max, load times are 3-4 seconds. After the 1st battle, they are all instantaneous. No frame drops). Musically, the game is great. It's not the best ever (I'm a sucker for Nobou Uematsu), but it's up there with Dragon Quest VIII, which I thought was very atmospheric. Story wise, the game is good, but not earth-shattering. What makes the story great is there's actual character development and progression. Characters' personalities change inside the game, and evolve into smarter people, while others flesh out their feelings of morality. Yuri and Karol are both on opposite ends of the spectru, but evolve in incredible ways. Yuri turns from being the steriotypical JRPG protagonist into a very mixed man in a wonderful way, while Karol, the steriotypical whiny youth is made fun of, derided, and beaten up until he comes a more tough, balanced youth character - a similar way that Kaneda (Akira) evolved from student to savior. Gameplay is great. I'm 30hrs into ToV, and from what I've seen, I've missed a ton of side quests and optional story-buidling activities, and I'm only halfway through the game. Battle system is deep, and I'm still learning how to make my combos better. Item creation is fun, and battles are never, ever a chore. Skill sets are varied, and each person brings a unique set of powers into the team, although everyone will have thier preferences (Yuri, Judith, Estelle and Rita are usually the best combo, but Repede is a good mix-in for some quick, insane combos). The game is probably the only JRPG this gen that's in my top-20 of all time. All in all, it's not trying to be the best JRPG ever, but it is among the best for most well-executed, as the game performs well beyond the flawed gems we've seen in virtually every other JRPG so far on the 360.
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A very good summary of the game MrStickBall. Tales of Vesperia is in my honest opinion is nearing the absolute pinnacle of what JRPG story-telling can be. What strikes me as the most amazing is the differences in perspective of Flynn and Yuri. Both of them achieve the same goals, yet their paths take them on different journey's and different means to that end. I've used this sentence to discribe it before, I'll do it again.
Two Friends, Two Worlds. Same Path.
Thoughout the story, they go though many changes and personal trials and its amazing to watch the outcome, almost satisfying.
The combat is enhanced from tales of abyss, its hard to notice but it's there. Its nothing new from a tale's perspective, additions have been made but its still the same LMBS as it was back in tales of phantasia, but with HD graphics it looks beautifully rendered and never boring. I can watch the same move 500 times over, (Destruction field 1982 times by last count) and not be bored.
I'll say this again, everyone who has a xbox 360 needs to buy this game. Even if they are not into JRPGs. This one not only is a great way to start off JRPGs, but it sets the bar high for those who are playing it as their first.
Why must JRPG female leads suck so bad?
