The year 2008 saw the release of a rather beloved Japanese role-playing game, or JRPG, exclusively on the Xbox 360. This game was Tales of Vesperia, heralded for having a great cast of characters, fun gameplay and an excellent story. It quickly became a favorite among the niche Tales series of games. Just a year later, an extended re-release came to Japan on the Playstation 3, possessing plenty of new features and tweaks that almost invalidated the 360 version. Unfortunately, the PS3 version never saw release outside of Japan, until now. Released on every current platform, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, seeks to give players every bell and whistle.
The biggest part of any RPG is the storyline. In the land of Terca Lumireis, the people have relied upon an energy source known as “blastia.” It powers basic functions of everyday items, supplies people with ways to defend themselves and powers cities with energy barriers. These barriers ward off monsters that plague the world. The story follows Ex-imperial knight Yuri Lowell who lives in the lower quarter of the capital city. One day, the blastia that regulated the lower quarter’s water supply is stolen. After some investigating, Yuri meets a young noble lady named Estellise who’s looking for Yuri’s old friend and member of the knights, Flynn. The two set off in search of both him and the thief. Along the way, they meet a variety of other characters that join them on their adventure.
While the entire cast is great, the definite standout is the main character himself, Yuri. Shaking off the very typical “good-guy” personality, Yuri, is more of a loose cannon and somewhat of a vigilante. Part of the story consists of Yuri coming up with a way to change the corrupt ways of the government. It makes for a very likeable human and exciting lead.Tales as a series is very
different from most others of the same genre. It feels more like an RPG mixed with a fighting game. While there is a basic overworld traversal to get to towns strewn about the map, the player can set a lead character that they can control in battles. Each character has a set of basic and special attacks that can be strung together and the farther the player gets, the more
complex the combat. For example, Yuri is a full-on attacker who’s good at racking up damage and combos. Estellise is the designated healer who’s there to keep the group high in health. One of the nuances that come with the definitive edition that can’t be found in the original is the addition of two characters. One is returning, Flynn, but he wasn’t a permanent addition until now, as he was a part of the team very briefly in the original 360 version.
The whole new character, Patty, is exclusive to the definitive edition, and her inclusion added a whole other side to the story. There are a handful of notable flaws in the game. First off, the voice acting. It’s great alone, but there is one small issue with it. Yuri switches between two voice actors depending on the scenes. If it was a scene that was voiced in the 360 version, Troy Baker, his original voice actor speaks, but if it’s a new line not present in the original, then Grant George comes out instead. He does a decent job of mirroring Baker’s voice, but it’s still nonetheless noticeable.
The other issue has to do with the fact that this is a re-release of an older game. Framerate might be steady and the world might be sprawling, but in story scenes, the characters movements are usually very stiff. Especially for some intense moments, it could warrant a chuckle on occasion from how goofy it looks. With more than 40 hours of gameplay, this adventure and challenge is worth taking on.
