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The Tales of Vesperia |OT|

F

Firestorm

Member
evaq1s.png

Title: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Role Playing Game
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Players: Single Player game. 2 - 4 player co-op (battles only).
Developer: Namco Bandai (Tales Studio - Team Symphonia)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Release Date:
Xbox 360
- Japan: August 7th, 2008
- Asia (Japanese): August 14th, 2008
- North America: August 26th, 2008
- Asia (English): September 4th, 2008
- Europe and Australia: June 26th, 2009

PlayStation 3
- Japan: September 17th, 2009

Versions: Regular Edition, Special Edition (NA), and 360 Bundle (JP)
Demo: Available on Xbox Live Marketplace in all regions.
Available on PSN Store in Japan. Read this topic for instructions on making a Japanese PSN account.

[URL=http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=94507599965front.jpg][/URL]

Screenshots


Videos
Opening
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
Europe Launch Trailer
Town Footage
Field and Basic Battle Footage
Advanced Battle Footage

Gameplay
Outside the battle system this is a typical Japanese RPG. You visit towns to meet people and buy weapons then go to dungeons to heroically vanquish some foe before heading back to an inn which magically heal all wounds. What differentiates this game from others is its battle system.

There are no random battles. You will see all enemies on screen. When you bump into one, you will be taken into a battle screen. Battles are done completely in real time. You have a basic attack button and an "artes" (magic/skills) button. By combining basic attacks with different directions + the Artes button, you'll be able to rack up combos on the enemy. All while your AI controlled or human controlled (if you have friends playing) do the same thing with you.

There are various AI settings to tinker with so that your partners are always doing what you want them to. You can assign different AI patterns for different situations and save them for quick use as well. You also have skill points to manage to change how your character moves/attacks/dodges/etc.

You can play as any of the party members in the game. All of them have their unique fighting style. Watch the gameplay video for the combo system at work.

The two largest additions to the battle system are Burst Artes and Fatal Strikes. kiryogi explains:

Burst Arte - During overlimit, do an Arcane arte and hold down the Arte button, if there's any OL gauge left, you'll do a burst arte.

Fatal strike - These can be executed once you've drained the ppropriate fatal strike gauge. You can see these gauges as 3 colored arrows when you target an enemy with RB.To drain them, use attacks that correspond with the direction. Check out Arte descriptions to know what each one does. There will be a little colored arrow next to it's name. A good example for getting a feel for it is to spam Azure Edge over and over. First off, Azure Edge will deal green -> FS damage. So by doing this in repetition, you'll eventually drain the green -> gauge. Once you have, you can trigger the FS glyph be doing an arte that corresponds with that direction. Now with good timing, hit RT and you'll execute a fatal strike.

Advanced notes: Artes aren't the only thing that drain FS gauge, normal attacks do as well! Say you attack by holding forward for all 3 hits, that'll deal green -> FS gauge damage. While if you did low attacks, that'll deal V red FS gauge damage. And finally, any type of up/launching attack will deal blue ^ FS gauge damage. But the thing to remember is, you can only trigger the FS glyph with an arte.

Expert notes: On top of triggering fatal strikes, another big key is executing fatal strike chains. And how do you do this? When you trigger a FS glyph, don't trigger the FS, instead keep retriggering it with the same arte or an arte that corresponds with the glyph that was triggered. This will raise your FS chains, and thus also raise your grade. See how long you can keep this up before triggering the FS and finishing off the enemy.
Click to expand...

Check out the demo on Xbox Live, but be warned that it feels quite limited.

This is the first top tier (let's forget the spin-offs and concentrate on Tales Studio) jRPG franchise on a high definition console! Give it a try.

Spoiler-Free Secret Mission Guide
I made a spoiler-free Secret Mission guide by copy+pasting Xenogirl08's stickied topic on GameFAQs. I just spoiler-tagged the spoilers. I added some comments as well.

Secret Missions are optional objectives during boss battles. Each gives you an achievement (5 gamerpoints each). Doing all of them in one playthrough gets you a costume + title for Yuri.

Secret Mission 1 (
Zagi
):
"Defeat
Zagi
while protecting
Estellise
from
Zagi's
attacks." You'll get the achievement if you minimize the damage she takes.

Secret Misison 2 (
Goliath
):
"Downed
Goliath
by attacking its Achilles' heel while it charges X buster." Aim for the markings one the back of its right leg. When it crosses it's arms, it's charging for an attack, so slash at those marks as soon as he does this.

Secret Mission 3 (
Gattuso
):
"Use the Billybally plants to stun
Gattuso
." Self explanitory.

Secret Mission 4 (
Zagi 2
):
"
Lured Zagi
to the side of the ship and knocked him overboard." Wait for him to attack with his Cyclone Shot, Savage Flight, or Light Spear so you can move under him. While under him trigger the over limit so the burst will knock him over.

Secret Mission 5 (
Dreaded Giant
):
"Downed the
Dreaded Giant
when it reared back and left itself wide open." Wait for it to stand on its hind legs, at that moment run in and slash at them.

Secret Mission 6 (
Gigalarva
):
"
Raven
used Serpent to set a trap for the Gigalarva[/spoiler] and prevented it from healing itself." Use once
Gigalarva
has less than 24,000 HP. [Firestorm: You have to use Serpent on the pond in the middle.]

Secret Mission 7 (
Barbos
):
"You took out the bridge supports, thus keeping
Barbos
from calling out more of his thugs."

Secret Mission 8 (
Zagi 3
):
"Let
Zagi
absorb too much energy, destroying his bodhi blastia." Simply stand back and don't attack, let him absorb aer till his blastia explodes.

Secret Mission 9 (
Pteropus
):
"You defeated the Leader Bat and prevented
Pteropus
from recombining." Basically target and defeat the Leader Bat first.

[Firestorm: Important: When you hit The Sands of Kogorh, exit right away and go back to Mantaic. Sleep at the inn until you receive "Mother's Memento" or you won't be able to do a later Secret Mission.]

Secret Mission 10 (
Outbreaker
):
"Destroyed the core and prevented magic from inverting day and night." Destroy the core, but you have to do it before you defeat
Outbreaker
. [Firestorm: Try Tractor Beam]

Secret Mission 11 (
Belius
):
"You lit up all the candlesticks and eliminated the illusions of
Belius.
" Use Yuri's Destruction Field arte to relight the four candles once the
Belius
double appears.

Secret Mission 12 (
Nan & Tison
):
"Timed your strikes between
Nan and Tison
's attacks to knock them down."
Tison and Nan
have a magic attack which causes their weapons and arms to get stuck in the ground. Wait for them to use this attack and hit them while they are stuck. Must down both.

Secret Mission 13 (
Schwann
):
"Downed
Schwann
by attacking when he was clutching his heart after his mystic arte." Guard against his mystic arte and run up and hit him while he's panting and such.

Secret Mission 14 (
Zagi 4
):
"Use Karol's Nice Recovery Smash arte to force
Zagi
to recover from poison." Self explanitory.

Secret Mission 15 (
Baitojoh
):
"Hit
Baitojoh
3 times during its Ice Edge attack and fighed it out of the water." Watch for
Baitojoh's
fin for the Ice Edge attack. When you see it, attack it. If you can hit it before Ice Edge is complete it gets hurled out of the water.

Secret Mission 16 (
Estellise
):
"Use the item, Mother's Memento,
on Estellise.
" Do this during
Part 2 of the battle

[Firestorm: Important: After this battle, head to
Phaeroh's Crag
and
enter the portal there to get to Yormgen. Go to the Sage's house and listen to his story
. Otherwise you will not be able to access the secret dungeon later in the game. You must do this before Secret Mission 18.]

Secret Mission 17 (
Yeager
):
"Make
Yeager's
heart explode by using
Raven's Rain arte.
" When
Yeager reveals the hermes blastia
in his heart during the second half of the battle, guard break him, then have
Raven use his Rain arte
. [Firestorm: This is the most bullshit SM in the game.]

Secret Mission 18 (
Alexei
):
"Downed
Alexei
by attacking him when he was tired after his mystic arte."

Secret Mission 19 (
Gusios
):
"Attacked
Gusios's
tail then downed him while he stood on his hind legs." Attack his tail. When it retracts,
Gusios
will stand on his hind legs and pound his chest. Use this opportunity to knock him down.

Secret Mission 20 (
Khroma Dragon
):
"Downed
Khroma
by timing your strikes between a certain group of her attacks." When
Khroma
uses her earthquake attack rush towards her while rocks fall from the cieling. Slash her after she slams the ground.

Secret Mission 21 (
Flynn
):
"Allow
Flynn
to use every arte he could, including his mystic arte." Stay back and don't attack, let
Flynn
use all of his arte's. Attack him once he uses his mystic arte, which will force him to use his healing artes. [Firestorm: He will use his Mystic Arte only once you use yours]

Secret Mission 22 (
Zagi 5
):
"Downed
Zagi
by attacking him between his Blastia Bane." Guard against Blastia Bane, then knock him down as he recovers. Simple.

Secret Mission 23 (
Duke
):
"Defeated
Duke
using a mystic arte." Do this during the
second battle.
 
S

Sagitario

Member
I expected a bigger OP ;) ...

I'm really hyped for this game, I'm finally getting a 360 because of it... [I'm just waiting for the September price drop]...
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Farore said:
I expected a bigger OP ;) ...

I'm really hyped for this game, I'm finally getting a 360 because of it... [I'm just waiting for the September price drop]...
Click to expand...
I don't know what else to say! It's all about the battle system and the rabbit hole goes so deep it could take pages! Not only that, I'd purposely kept myself away from some details of the game so as not to spoil myself.

I just don't know what to add for a single player game. I think after seeing the videos and battle system people should want to play it >=O!
 
J

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Nice simple and efficient OP Firestorm, just how I like it. :D

Imageshack is a not allowed though.
 
U

u_neek

Junior Member
I'm kinda glad it's not coming out in Europe 'till next year so I can focus on this year's other big RPGs.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Imageshack rule is for the frog. That only happens if you upload images there and hotlink directly to the source. If you use thumbnails, it is fine from my experience.

If a mod says otherwise, I'll find a new host. It's just imageshack is so easy with thumbnails!
 
J

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Firestorm said:
Imageshack rule is for the frog. That only happens if you upload images there and hotlink directly to the source. If you use thumbnails, it is fine from my experience.

If a mod says otherwise, I'll find a new host. It's just imageshack is so easy with thumbnails!
Click to expand...
So is imagevenue or xs.to.
 
O

Olaeh

Member
Damn, I keep bouncing back and forth between this and IU... They both look so good but I can't decide which to buy first. My backlog will be monstrous come this winter.

Oh, and nice OP.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Added the two new videos into the first post. Think those six videos combine to give a good picture of how the game looks.
Lost Fragment said:
360 price drop plz :(
Click to expand...
The 20GB sorta did. Two of my friends jumped in when that happened so they could get in on Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, and Star Ocean IV.

If rumours are true, there will be a real price drop in September.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Buying the LE day one and I don't even have a 360 yet.

Symphonia and Abyss were just that awesome. All signs point to Vesperia being just as awesome.
 
J

Jijidasu

Member
I just went downstairs to my 'local' game store and picked up the JP bundle. Haven't got it set up yet but I have a feeling this will turn out a good purchase.

IMG_1397.jpg


Impressions on the game later.
 
L

Lagunamov

Member
Autumn Thread said:
I just went downstairs to my 'local' game store and picked up the JP bundle. Haven't got it set up yet but I have a feeling this will turn out a good purchase.

IMG_1397.jpg


Impressions on the game later.
Click to expand...
I hate u :lol
 
M

Monkaii

Member
Autumn Thread said:
I just went downstairs to my 'local' game store and picked up the JP bundle. Haven't got it set up yet but I have a feeling this will turn out a good purchase.

IMG_1397.jpg


Impressions on the game later.
Click to expand...

I love u :lol

-edit- can I have it now? D:
 
S

Scenester

Member
Symphonia was garbage but I'll be getting this as I'll play any jrpg on 360.

Pity its 2009 for PAL though, same thing happened with Eternal Sonata.

Hopefully Infinite Undiscovery still comes out next month here
 
V

Vorador

Banned
CurseoftheGods said:
Do Tales games usually have good stories? I am thinking of picking this up as my first Tales game. The battle system sounds awesome.
Click to expand...

No.

But they're fun and the history usually doesn't get in the way.
 
B

BitchTits

Member
The Innocent X said:
Word on the street is that the US version is region free.
Click to expand...
I sure do hope so. If not, then the Asian version (if it has English subtitles).

How does the battle system compare to Eternal Sonata? It seems kind of similar, being real-time and all.

The demo was a little disappointing, but so were the demos for Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata, both excellent full games.
 
D

Delio

Member
Autumn Thread said:
I just went downstairs to my 'local' game store and picked up the JP bundle. Haven't got it set up yet but I have a feeling this will turn out a good purchase.

IMG_1397.jpg


Impressions on the game later.
Click to expand...

Dang how i love that box. Wish they could do the bundle here as well ah well cant wait for impressions.
 
S

sankao

Member
Any details on the world itself ?
Eternal Sonata appeared very limiting in one's movements (corridors and all) at least judging from the demo and various reactions, which made me lose interest.
Is this one closer to, say, Blue Dragon ?
 
F

flipping_heck

Member
Autumn Thread said:
I just went downstairs to my 'local' game store and picked up the JP bundle. Haven't got it set up yet but I have a feeling this will turn out a good purchase.

IMG_1397.jpg


Impressions on the game later.
Click to expand...

Awesome, hows the reaction so far from the public if you dont mind me asking?

I heard that 360s are being sold out and the pre-orders are very high for this game.

In any case, I REALLY want this game, so tempted to get a 360 just for this!!
 
I

itxaka

Defeatist
flipping_heck said:
Awesome, hows the reaction so far from the public if you dont mind me asking?

I heard that 360s are being sold out and the pre-orders are very high for this game.

In any case, I REALLY want this game, so tempted to get a 360 just for this!!
Click to expand...

I want to know this as well, i can't believe there were queues for a 360 game in japan :lol

It's in english? Free region?
 
F

Fortinbras

Member
The Japanese version is in Japanese only. There isn't any confirmation about the region lock. An ebay seller claims the English Asian version is going to be region free. Gamehubs.com on the other hand says it's going to be region locked.

We'll have to wait and see.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
Fortinbras said:
The Japanese version is in Japanese only. There isn't any confirmation about the region lock. An ebay seller claims the English Asian version is going to be region free. Gamehubs.com on the other hand says it's going to be region locked.

We'll have to wait and see.
Click to expand...

Gamewho?

In their site Vesperia is not even listed. Did you pm them or something?

EDIT: Just read the other thread, i see.
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Unfortunately, I will not be able to play this game until winter break. Luckily it'll probably be like $20 by then! :lol :lol

:(
 
F

FrankT

Member
u_neek said:
Any first week predictions?

I'd say about 100k
Click to expand...


Should be pretty decent. PC World article last night said there was a crowd of 200 at one store in Tokyo and another pic from the MC thread with 100 at another location.
 
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