The story was great and the VA couldn't have been better but other than that I am not seeing the hype for ME.  The combat sucks IMO and there are a lot of technical issues.  It just seemed like it only got high scores because of its hype

I thought it'd get a little higher......

@Soriku: No, I didnt

Yeah the story is great but one thing that a lot of reviewers loved is the option to change the story and make decisions.  A lot of those decisions have effects on the game. I can replay the game again and have a total different experience and oh yeah I am sure the graphics were also a reason for the high scores.  Yeah it has technical issues but it doesn't really ruin the fun I have with it, games of those sizes always have technical issues.

Ah, but did you read the review, lol? Please, do me a favor, read it. Then tell me if the review is dissapointing or if it actually hyped you up for the game.

I certainly think IGN should have gave the game a higher review score, but the review text seems to be one of the more accurate descriptions of anything I've read lately. It is magnificant. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

...though I can't really blame you. As much as some of us hyped up Vesperia, Symphonia, and Abyss, you probably expected a 9/10. Look at it like 8.5 was the best possible score this game could have ever gotten, and it got an 8.2.

Very good scores. It would seem that the reviews have no real negative side to them. It's just not "the" JRPG, and they dock points for pedigree.

At any rate, this game is going to be bought by me VERY soon. I CANNOT wait to play this. I broke out Eternal Sonata (now that my X360 is back at my house for a day) just to prep for ToV.

I did read the review Zen. I think it will be a lot like Abyss, which isn't a bad thing at all. It is what the Tales fans want. I think points were also docked for the lack of innovation, but most of the changes they could make would upset fans. Much like Disgaea, gameplay hasn't changed much.

The review seems to indicate exactly how I thought it was going to be like. But the hype machine here is strong for this one.

Now exactly how much hype does ToV have?

also, they don't dock points for FPSs for not having innovation

I tend to agree Riachu. On these forums we have a lot of tales fanboys, but on the internet in general this isn't a hyped title. And, in lue of that fact, I wrote this yesterday, which you have probably already seen:

I, ZenfoldorVGI, believe and hope that Tales of Vesperia will recieve between a 75 and 85 percent rating on gamerankings. This won't mean the game sucks, but instead that it is not for everyone, and instead pleases jrpg fans, and in particular, the Tales of fanbase. Similar games that will always recieve these scores are the Phoenix Wright series, and the Disgaea series. The vast majority of people touting and looking forward to this game also realize that it won't be reviewed as a AAA title. When the scores are released, no one will be "owned" and no one will be dissapointed. This game is not the next Haze. Nobody on this forum believes ToV will get 90 percent, not even close. We're shooting for an 85, and such a score should be considered AAA for the series.

	Tales of Symphonia  Publisher: Namco Number of P/Reviews: 179	GameCube	85.7%

	Tales of the Abyss  Publisher: Namco Bandai Games America Number of P/Reviews: 46	PlayStation 2	79.1%

Both superb games, and fantastic examples of the jrpg genre, in the eyes of most Tales fans.

Now, if the game ends with a 74 or below, I'll probably still get it, but I think that would be a fair starting point for calling the game a flop. I still wouldn't be dissapointed. Not even a little. I really hope it ends up somewhere in the 80s. That would be a great day for me, and a victory for the game. - August 22, 2008

Now, I'm largely certain most tales fanboys would have agreed with my post before the first review came out, in which case the game actually performed on the upper end of the spectrum.

While you may consider the score low compared to the usual game, it's virtually impossible to imply that any tales fan is dissapointed in the game, after reading that review, or even seeing that score. Perhaps with the publication, yes, but again, we were already dissapointed with publications relationships with jrpgs for quite a while.

That was all I meant, lol, the game is exactly what we expected. Another entry in the tales series, and a particularly strong one. No one with reasonable expectations could have been dissapointed in that, and in fact, I believe most are excited. What would have dissapointed the majority of tales fans, is if the game was completely rearranged, modernized, and scored a 9/10 on IGN because of graphics and presentation.

I'm sure Edge will bring down the score quite a bit, knowing how they are with this genre. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 6/10 from them.

But yeah, for a niche jRPG (non-Final Fantasy), 85% is what I consider AAA status. Some games get excellent write-ups like this and then other games like Halo have tons of complaints in the write-up and get 10/10 on the score. I guess hype does factor in.