Tales of Vesperia Catch-All
Saturday, August 30th, 2008 - 2:21pm
I am only about 2 hours in but I am really enjoying the game so far. The combat is really well paced and you can jump into and out of the combat very quickly. The voice acting is decent so far and the characters aren't too annoying. PLUS, there is a pipe smoking dog. You can't beat that.
Anyone else playing?
"That's because you were 10. Everyone likes Garfield when they're 10. When you're 10 you think a cat eating lasagna is genius." - Mumford
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I'm about 4 hours into the game. I'm liking it too.
The real-time combat almost feels like I'm playing a brawler so it keeps me engaged, and I enjoy it quite a bit. I also really enjoy JRPGs that have visible enemies on the play maps. It lets me control my game time a bit more and balance my exploration vs combat time.
The art and level design is clean and attractive. It does falter a bit with the skit portraits, but it's easy to forgive there. Speaking of the skits, I really like that mechanic for the extra story elements.
Special thumbs up for a main hero that isn't a whiney brat or an amnesiac.
I like Yuri.
XBL/PSN Tag: Sithcundman
I was really looking forward to this, but it seems to have vanished from UK release schedules. I had even pre-ordered from Play, which I don't usually bother with. Play had it listed for release last Friday, I pre-ordered on Tuesday, and when Friday came around, the release date had slid back to June of this year, mystifyingly. No info from play, so I cancelled the pre-order.
The biggest game chain in the country had nothing on the calenders for it, and my friend with the indy games shops can't get any firm info from his suppliers. I guess a US import is my only option.
Requires 2 non-replaceable LR41 button cell batteries for the monkey (included)
I would be playing my copy right now if it wasn't for Amazon and the stupid way they handle pre-orders. They NEVER ship on time and that's if you're lucky enough to get the item. My copy won't ship until Sept. 2. *sigh*
XBL / Art / Blog (09/20) / Buy! (10/07)
I'm about 6 hours in and am enjoying it. It's nothing new, different, or revolutionary, but the 2D cell graphics are pretty and I like the fighting system. Vesperia is solid.
Yet even then we ran like the wind,
whilst our laughter echoed under cerulean skies...
there was a thread somewhere saying that they were going to move to a "release day" delivery if you were a member of Prime.
They're pretty good with DVD preorders... surprised they suck with games.
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I couldn't find this anywhere, but the girlfriend came through while shopping, and now I'm about 6 hours in.
Haven't come across a truly irritating character with bad voice acting yet (the bane of JPRGs everywhere), although Karol toes the line sometimes... -That aside, this game is solid, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I've been enjoying it so far, although I think I'm out of my depth on the boss fight I'm currently in (third, I believe.) Suggestion: Make sure you use two saves--one for when you've got free access to the field, and one for when you're in dungeons. Where I am right now, I don't think I can "go back" to any shops, and because of that I might end up starting the game over (because I foolishly have only a single save file.)
†_† *_*
I'm really liking the game. Finished the first third by now, and... my only complaint is that the difficulty between trash fights and boss fights is wildly disproportionate. Furthermore, most of the boss fights are fairly gimmicky, with only one way to do them "right", that sometimes doesn't work so great.
I dislike the 15 item limit, and the grind mechanic for earning Gald. Seems like a big chunk of the money I scrounge up just ends up getting spent on replacing the food I used last time I went out farming.
A couple of hours in. Looks phenomenal (and I'm not a fan of the art style). My wife, who doesn't like video games, was willing to co-op with me. (Baldur's Gate and Tales Of Symphonia-- the only other Tales game I've played-- are the only long-term successful co-op experiences we've had thus far.)
The battle system is a little complex but I think that'll pass as I get used to it. For fun, put your main character on auto and see whether he fights better than you. (Final Fantasy XII's got nothing on the Tales series!)
I picked up the "Collector's Edition" which was handled poorly. It was hard to get information on, not widely available, and they had to put an insert in because they changed the bonus CD tracklist after the manuals were printed. The insert also includes a URL and a code to get a "surprise bonus," but the URL tells you they're still not sure what they're doing...
Still don't have the game, but I was browsing XBL last night for Castle Crashers and came across a bunch of free DLC for Tales of Vesperia. Be sure to check them out!
Doogiemac on: Xbox Live | Steam | WoW | PSN
It never used to be that way. I've ordered from Amazon many times and never had a problem. Suddenly, they just started screwing up and never stopped. The same exact thing happened with the limited edition of Age of Conan and a few other new releases; they didn't ship until a week or two after the release date.
I wonder if that's the reason "release day" shipping was created. I like Super Saver Shipping and can wait a week for my package to arrive. I don't like waiting two weeks for my package to ship. Maybe they've changed Super Saver Shipping from 7-10 days in transit to 7-10 days before it ships. *shrug* My package shipped today so it looks like I'll be getting ToV this week. I'm happy.
Anyway, I'm glad to see this game is getting good reviews by you guys. I'll be sure to add my opinions when I get a chance.
XBL / Art / Blog (09/20) / Buy! (10/07)
How different is it from the demo?
We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all.
You can change the battle difficulty in the main party menu. I had to drop the difficulty from medium to easy for that one.
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The bosses in this are HARD. I had some serious trouble with the first boss. (Nutty f*cker.) I beat him on the first try, but it was hard. That's part of the reason I love Tales though. Evil. F8cking. Bosses.
St.Hillary wrote:
Commence your hatred, gentlemen.I actually started over, since my save point was kind of screwed. Forgot about the difficulty bit. However, I also wanted to go back because I've heard that you have to get all of the secret missions on one playthrough to unlock some costume or other, so I figured I might as well give that a shot. (I missed the secret mission on boss 2 last time through.)
The first boss was... significantly easier the second time through. More practice with the fight system, I guess.
†_† *_*
I just watched the review knowing nothing about the game. It's now on the top of my gamefly.
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It's an awesome game, Edwin. Even if you don't like JRPGs, I'm pretty sure you'd like this game. I think it's the best of the Tales series, so far.
St.Hillary wrote:
Commence your hatred, gentlemen.Really...! hmm, looks like I'll be putting Mercs 2 on hold and moving on to Tales.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
Hopefully picking this up tomorrow.
wordsmythe wrote:
The siren call of the JRPG. No .... no, GET BACK! Get thee behind me!
I really need that new Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion soon or I'm totally going to pick this up.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
Looks like it will be coming out in the UK ...eventually, according to the short article below. Having watched the review on Gametrailers, I'm interested. There is a free demo with this months OXM UK magazine apparently:
http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=5933
... herald of Piggledy 'Destroyer of Worlds'
Watching my friend play this game it seems like a fun, if run-of-the-mill, jRPG. The AI on bosses, however, is dumb as a rock. Several times I've had to take over one of the characters to avoid obvious boss stomps or just freaking HEAL instead of trying to attack. Seems like a bit more customization, or just a better AI, would be nice.
It is refreshing to see an RPG where if you pause after a stupid comment and mock it, the characters generally mock it for the same reasons.
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Remember, only by treating everyone with dignity and respect can we maintain the element of surprise for that inevitable day when we wipe our
The more I play it, the more I think it's really the best of the Tales games. The dialog is well written, with amazingly few moments of the douche-chills (Haven't run into one yet, about 10 hours in.) Even the voices are well done. The battle system is, while action oriented, not as punishing as Tales of Symphonia. Really, the only gripes I have fall in the battle system. I dunno how to change characters, and the boss battles are WAY outside of the difficulty curve. So I get killed protecting a caster, and I have to sit and watch and hope my party pulls it out.
Still, my favorite of the series, and I've played the lot. (Symphonia is a close second, though.)
The skit mechanic is probably one of the coolest plot-mechanics I've ever seen in any RPG. And they're a lot better done in Tales of Vesperia than they were in Tales of Symphonia.
Certis, I really think you'd be doing yourself a disservice by skipping this. It's far better than FFXII (So was Tales of Symphonia), and I like it better than Blue Dragon, and it moves much faster than Lost Odysee.
It's also incredibly refreshing to have a wiseass main character. (Shu is good as well, stubborn bastard. It also shows that I don't even remember the names of the Infinite undiscovery protagonist, or from Lost Odysee. The weak/whiny/brooding protagonist... well, it's a nice change. And I got tired of it after Cloud and Squall. Vaan was practically devoid of personality, and Zidane was a pretty nice change. Tidus... let's just not go there.)
Actually, now that I think about it, the protagonists from the Tales series are some of my favorites. Lloyd is pretty cool, and the otherwise generic heroes from the rest of the series always had some pretty cool character twists and flaws. Stahn's propensity to fight first, think later was pretty cool. (Tales of Destiny)
St.Hillary wrote:
Commence your hatred, gentlemen.I have not played the game yet, so I might be way off on giving tips but considering that Tales series have been more or less consistent with the way they play, it might be worth a shot.
You can flag/set active character in the main menu where it lists all the party members (I recommend doing this before Boss Battles because you will need to change active skills(?).) That said, I tried having AI fight some Boss Battles and so far that was met with little to no success. Although, granted, I did try to have them take on the Sword Dancer's fights.
If the boss is picking on the casters, move them further down on the formation grid and set them to evade and cast from distance(... I don't recall how exactly it's called but it should set the AI to move away from active battle.) Also during the Boss Battles, dedicate one character to heal, set them to watch health to 50% and use all of the SP. That should keep you going during the fight.
Also, if you get killed, open an inventory screen and tell one of the other party members to use revive item. There technically no reason for you to stay out of the battle, unless you have no items.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
I'm playing this co-op with my wife... which is very unusual, she's not a gamer, but somehow I roped her into this like Tales of Symphonia. (She'll occasionally, rarely, play Viva Pinata or Harvest Moon herself.)
Those of you having trouble with the AI or difficulty with bosses: remember that you can change the difficulty to Easy, and also set different "tactics" for each character. You can also shortcut certain character behaviors to your right stick (so that, say, tapping the right stick down directs Estelle to heal). I would say that a possible "shortcoming" of the game is that you aren't eased into its complexities with much tutorial, and even reading the instructions can be hard to follow; you have to make an effort to really master the battle system. (Although level grinding is always an option, too.)
Anybody just starting out should also know that among the ability to buy powerups on XBox Live, you can also get a couple of freebie "skill packs" for Yuri and Estelle, as well as some freebie gels, IIRC. Starting the game with some of the basic skills made things a little easier and more interesting.
Balthier was the main character of Final Fantasy XII. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Since we bring up the FF12 comparison, it is interesting to note that you can turn all characters on "Auto" for battles, simply tweaking their tactics and occasionally giving direction. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine you could do that, sit right outside a town, and read a book while your characters grind up for you (with occasional manual intervention to pop into town and hit an inn).
It works... but AI by it self takes way too much time for simple fights. Based on other Tales games, an average fight last just under 30 sec. AI can drag out a fight for like 3 min.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
On the strategies screen, you can set character AI. I have one set for bosses, and I just use the conserve TP strategy for everything else.
As for battle-to change characters during fights, I think you need so synthesize an item to do that. It's not difficult-I had the required stuff just by playing through the game.
I'm 35 hours in, and there's a TON of story to go-I think there's a sidequest related to just about every major boss/event in the game, and I've been trying to find them all. I might have to wait for a 100% completion guide before I actually try my second playthrough...
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I went and bought the UK Official Xbox Mag for the Tales of Vesperia demo.
My initial impressions are very positive. I'm a sucker for a great artwork style and Vesperia looks like a gorgeous anime film. The party members seem to be full of character. The magazine gave no clue as to how the combat system works so I was lost in the bewildering menus. Button mashing worked for me until I hit a mini boss and then my party was dead in seconds.
... herald of Piggledy 'Destroyer of Worlds'
how similar is the demo to the full game? I was a little lost in the full game and just button mashed my way through the battles and didn't really get a sucked in feeling.
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I agree for the most part. I think all of the games you mention (haven't played Blue Dragon) were good in their own right, but so far Tales of Vesperia puts them to shame on pacing an having a quick, engaging battle system. I played about three hours last night and I have to say, it went down pretty smooth. Will I have the wherewithal to finish it? Maybe. Games like this usually bog down for me about 80% of the way through when it feels like the story takes a backseat to the raw gameplay of walking around and killing things.
What helps in this case is having the option to run around encounters, the battle system being fast and fun and the dungeons tending to be short and fairly linear. I do like to explore, but the Lost Odyssey style random encounters are a bummer because I'm being forced to fight when my actual goal in the moment is exploration.
I also can't say enough good things about the interface. It's really intuitive.
I assume you mean how much is the full game like the demo? I came out of the demo feeling pretty much like you did. The full game ramps you up more naturally and explains the nuance of combos and magical attacks much better. This really isn't a button masher when you're doing it right.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium