[h1]Tales of Missed Content (if you don't pay close attention)[/h1]
[b]Note, that I'm heavily biased towards this series, as it always was one of my favourites[/b]
If you want to know what I think about Vesperia, I'd tell you that I bought Xbox 360 together with this game when it released in EU, JUST for this title (turned out, that I've played few more afterwards, but that's a bonus).
Then, of course I've played Definitive Edition on console back in 2019. Of course, heavy, but fragile figurine of Repede is sitting on my shelf. Of course, I always voted in Tales of... polls for Yuri, as the best main character (until Namco banned him, that is xD). And it was one of the first jRPGs where I switched to English VA (Troy Baker as Yuri is just too perfect to be missed).
In short, you can clearly see my feelings towards Tales of Vesperia. Tales of...used to be my fav jRPG series back in the day, and Vesperia holds a very high place in my rankings (3rd spot, to be precise). Now, why?
[h1]Unique protagonist for jRPG standards[/h1]
Yuri Lowell...everything was already said about you. Beloved Tales of...character. Not a perfect, shine knight as usual in jRPGs. Quite opposite, actually. Without going into spoiler territory, it is enough to say that Yuri have his own, maybe simplifed, but still - a moral compass. And he always follows it, no matter what. We have a saying "The end justifies the means", and this fits our protagonist well. Our lone wolf softens a little bit in the group (mainly, thanks to Estelle and partially to Patty) but never to a degree where he would throw out his twisted compass. Some of the lines he says in the game, are the most chilling and dark I've seen in jRPGs. It is more evident when you replay the game, knowing certain facts from the future events, while he is saying certain words. He kinda reminds me of Geralt (Witcher), of all people in a way.
Helping those in need, usually going into the trouble with law enforcement because of it (famous crime no.18 from the long list on his warrant - throwing out a knight to the river, who was collecting taxes from the poorest people).
His character is also in contrast with his best friend, Flynn, who balances "the dark" with his attitude and his moral compass and codex written in law. That is also the reason, why they're clashing with each other so often.
He is a bit of a lone wolf type, but what's interesting, it feels like he is the part of the Brave Vesperia, that cements the whole group (guild). But enough about Yuri. He is the best Tales of MC ever done, everyone knows that, and it irritates Namco Bandai to no end, and now Yuri is banned from all of their character popularity polls. I seriously doubt that we'll ever see such a character in any future title in the series...
[b]Other characters in the group?[/b]
Serviceable. Not the best group ever, but I like most of them, especially fiery Rita and ice-melter Patty. To my surprise, when I played the game for the first time back in the day, I also liked Raven (usually I do not like this specific archetype), but it's more because of his [spoiler]double life and conflicting nature[/spoiler]. Later in-game events led me to conclusion that he is just acting as a carefree playboy and he is actually not like that deep down. Although, scenes in Yumanju hot springs were a bit off to my taste [spoiler]dragging Karol, peeping through the hole AND commenting...[/spoiler]
I liked growing relations between Estelle and Rita, and I was always confused in the past about their nature.
And of course...best romance without romance. Estelle and Yuri - these two couldn't be any further away from each other, but still...they are helping each other to grow and learn through the journey. There's no cheesy lines, no confessions, just actions. Can't say much without spoiling the story, so I encourage you to play the game to better understand their connection.
And there's Judith and Repede - I call them "missed opportunities". Judith was a merely a fanservice there, while Repede being a good doggie, had almost no personality. Why, oh why writers didn't give him normal dialogues??? Why suddenly, when you're about to finish his sidequest (one of the longest and most annoying sidequest in the history of gaming), writers suddenly decided to give him normal lines and he speaks? It was a sudden shock and realisation to me - that it would be so much better if this was happening through entire game, not just within one quest. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Repede, but I think that there's missed potential here.
[b]Weak story?Oh well...it's yout typical Tales of...come on![/b]
I always treated this series as a comforting dish. Something easy to digest, to have plenty of fun with it. I never expected convoluted stories or plots like in other series (Xeno, Trails). I want to have fun, smile on my face, I want to like the characters and combat. If there's a good story - it's a bonus. Story of Vesperia starts strong, but gets weaker from a certain, important story point. If I didn't play any other Tales of..., I'd say that there's missed potential here too, but because I've played ALL OF THEM, I know their strenghts, weaknesses and style of writing in the series in general. And it's not half bad. Yes, it's predictable, yes we have clear goals to achieve. Is it bad? I wouldn't say that. It's good enough to keep me engaged. And because I'm fond of characters and their interactions in the skits - I'd say - I'm totally okay with it.
[h1]Other stuff, like battle system, graphics, music[/h1]
Battle system is sadly WORSE than in next mothership title (Graces), but at the time of the release it was the best, that Tales could possibly offer. Plethora of arts, skills, easy to pull Mystic Artes (although not as impressive as in later titles). You learn skills through your equipment and once it is learned, it stays and you can change your weapon. Important note - NEVER, I say NEVER sell your weapons. Always keep some spares for synthesis. That's a friendly advice.
Battles are fluid, but not every character is balanced well (playing as Judith is a bit of masochistic experience, and Repede's AI is still as stupid as it was back in 2008, he loves giving himself gels for some reason xd). Most of my time, I've played as Rita (easily the most OP character in the game, and THE MOST OP mage in the series) and Patty, because her playstyle was always a joy for me (funniest combos to pull).
Graphics and music. This is a game that originally was released in 2008. Also it was a first Tales of...game made in high definition. Have some respect and stop whining. I always loved artstyle of this generation of Tales games (Graces, Vesperia and Xillias). They are unique and I can easily say that they stood the test of time. To this day, they are my favourite entries in the whole series. Even tho, Mutsumi Inomata wasn't working on this game (rest in peace, she put her heart and soul into the series), I liked Fujishima work here and I stand by my opinion, that Vesperia is his magnum opus.
I only wish, that remastered version had better textures for 4K resolution, that's my only issue, graphics-wise.
Music. Motoi Sakuraba, everyone can go home now.
I'm still impressed how much work and effort this guy put into the series. He was working on Tales of Vesperia, Tales of Graces and Star Ocean 4 almost at the same time. And all of the soundtracks are great. "Fury sparks" is still one of my favourite tracks in the series. I will never get bored of that tune.
[b]Overall conclusion:
While not perfect, it is a very strong entry in the series. I'm willing to give it 8/10, but only if you can pay attention to missable content, which is almost half of the game itself. Game doesn't offer you pointers to quests or any QoL aspects in this regard. You have to actively travel, talk to NPCs and be careful with save files. Only then, you will unlock the full potential of Tales of Vesperia. [/b]
