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[My Arms Your Hearse]

I'm around 46 hours into the game, just got the airship.

Once you get the airship the game really opens up. I got waiter costumes for the girls at Dahngrest. You can get Karol and Raven waiter costumes too, which I'm going to do later today. Aside from getting those titles, a good reason for doing the good ol' Tales waitress mini game in ToV is that income. I went into Dahngrest with 50k. When I finished that mini game, I had 100k Gald and I only did 3 people. The characters have varying difficulty as well, so there's different set amounts of money. So far Rita's was the hardest, so during that I got at least 30k Gald, I'm guessing, I don't know. And it took only 10 minutes to do.

I like the waitress costumes in this game for the most part. Rita's main outfit is way better than waitress one so I changed it back. Her waitress outfit is some animu bullcrap with cat ears. I got her a Magatama necklace too. Looks badass. Estelle's main outfit is awful, because she's on some long journey and she's dressed like she's going on to a goddamn dinner with the president of the USA, so her waitress get up is pretty swell. Got her a pair of glasses to go with it. Judy's is pretty cool but I prefer her main costume, but I thought I could use a different change of pace. I wonder what Karol and Raven's costumes look like lol

Anyways, the game opens up. Noderpolica now allows you to enter into various competitions at the coliseum. There's a 30 man competition all the way up to 100 man. I tried out the 30 man, and won with 6 seconds to spare. It is SOOOO FUN. The coliseum is a good way to get some cash too. I got 6000+ Gald and it took just a few minutes. Flip it to easy and you can get yourself some major cash goin' in a few minutes I gather. Coliseum owns. 30 man is the first level and it was friggin hectic. I can't even imagine 100 Man. I must be really tough.

Right now I'm exploring the world again, town after town. I'm considering going through every dungeon up to this point again so I can get some more crafting materials. Now that I can go anywhere in the game synthesizing is way way way appealing.

Went to some dungeon where I skipped out on a Giganto monster earlier in the game. I kicked its ass. Awesome. Now I have to take out the other Giganto monsters.

So like, 46 hours into the game in less than a week and after today when I hang out with my friends and crap, by the time my session finishes I should be a good 50 hours in. The only game that I have done with in recent times is Suikoden V when me and a friend raced each other the first weekend it came out and both had 55+ hours clocked by the end of the weekend.

I think at this point I can now make a good comparison with Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and Mass Effect in terms of quality as they all took me 50-60 hours to complete and I'm in that range right now.

This is what I think: Tales of Vesperia kicks all their asses. Not only is it polished, it's just so much more...fun! I didn't even fully master the battle system until 40 hours in. It is really deep and has a lot of nuances. And I could STILL get better at it at this point. The story sometimes drifts around in typical Tales fashion, but for some reason I don't mind because the cast is so good. Even then, the story has its good moments. When it's good, it's REALLY good. So basically, if you need to get any rpg this gen up until, I don't know, FFXIII? SO4? Get Tales of Vesperia. Then again I haven't played Infinite Undiscovery so who knows. I know this sounds shocking because it's a fucking TALES game of all things, but I am not fucking with you. Honest.

Raven's waiter minigame is BRUTAL (last round has 8-9 people who want eight things each and change their mind on EVERY ITEM). In case you haven't done it yet, get some paper or a laptop. You WILL need it. You also make INSANE cash for your effort (I got like 400k from the last round, and I messed up one or two orders due to people talking in my house in the background).

As for the rest, total hyperbole you're probably going to regret in retrospect :lol Though I do think it's better than the three (BD, LO, ME) games you mentioned.

It is a good game though. I'm also happy to hear some controversies about IU have been cleared up. Planning to get it now as well.

 

[Jonnyram]

Well you've got to get the event first (in Capowa Trim - sorry if the sp. is off). You should be able to start it now, Himuro.

 

[Jonnyram]

I haven't started it yet either because I didn't know how to, but apparently all you have to do is use the rest items on the world map, the Repede will do his stuff. I have to check it though.

 

[Jonnyram]

Rest items? Like the tents?

Yep yep.

 

[PseudoKirby]

anyone have any advice on the bullshit that is (boss battle at Mt temza)

Spoiler

Fighting nan and Tison?

 

[Papercuts]

anyone have any advice on the bullshit that is (boss battle at Mt temza)

Spoiler

Fighting nan and Tison?

Spoiler

This is literally the last thing I beat before I stopped playing, probably the hardest fight yet. Nan goes down moderatly quickly, but Tison is still super hard to fight. I'd atleast get Nan out of the picture and slowly work at it, make use of your overlimits, burst artes basically got me through that. I had Rita and Estelle set to keep distance and only use spells, and Judith was set to attack whoever I was, so we both attacked Nan. After that I just slowly worked at Tison, try to keep Estelle alive and far away from him, her resurrerection and nurse spells soften the blow quite a bit. His combos are god awful and demolish you though, he used a mystic arte and completly killed me, first time I ever saw that.

 

[kiryogi]

Spoiler

This is literally the last thing I beat before I stopped playing, probably the hardest fight yet. Nan goes down moderatly quickly, but Tison is still super hard to fight. I'd atleast get Nan out of the picture and slowly work at it, make use of your overlimits, burst artes basically got me through that. I had Rita and Estelle set to keep distance and only use spells, and Judith was set to attack whoever I was, so we both attacked Nan. After that I just slowly worked at Tison, try to keep Estelle alive and far away from him, her resurrerection and nurse spells soften the blow quite a bit. His combos are god awful and demolish you though, he used a mystic arte and completly killed me, first time I ever saw that.

Try doing the secret mission for that one D: Biggest risk is that you basically have to sit around and wait for the opportunity to do what you have to do. Toughest battles in Tales are usually the ones dealing with more than one enemy.

 

[Papercuts]

Yeah, I did that too...by complete luck. :lol

 

[kiryogi]

Yeah, I did that too...by complete luck. :lol

Spoiler

Did you do it to both of them?

 

[Papercuts]

Spoiler

Did you do it to both of them?

Spoiler

Yup. My relentless assault on Nan hit her right when she did that one move(which was the only time I saw her do it), and I got REALLY lucky when Rita's fireballs knocked down Tison when I rapidly backstepped away to not die.

 

[Jonnyram]

Toughest battles in Tales are usually the ones dealing with more than one enemy.

Just wait till you do the optional one, later on in the place you are now

 

[kiryogi]

Just wait till you do the optional one, later on in the place you are now

I'm absolutely looking forward to it. BTW though, how do you trigger it? When the game first released, folks were saying they were 2nd playthru only, but that's not the case.

 

[Jirotrom]

i really love the dialogue in this game...

 

[Jonnyram]

I'm absolutely looking forward to it. BTW though, how do you trigger it? When the game first released, folks were saying they were 2nd playthru only, but that's not the case.

Spoiler

Go to Ephmead, should be ok at the point you are at now, or once you beat that area, get the Kiltansas, take the Kiltansas to the area at the entrance of Temza, get the "Nostalgic Compact", then go to Capowa Trim (from 122 onwards). Once you've triggered the scene there, go back to Zaude and the room where you fought Yeager.

Also, you have a similar thing going on in the 100-man battle in the Coliseum, but on your own, it's kind of a nightmare :lol

 

[kiryogi]

Spoiler

Go to Ephmead, should be ok at the point you are at now, or once you beat that area, get the Kiltansas, take the Kiltansas to the area at the entrance of Temza, get the "Nostalgic Compact", then go to Capowa Trim (from 122 onwards). Once you've triggered the scene there, go back to Zaude and the room where you fought Yeager.

Also, you have a similar thing going on in the 100-man battle in the Coliseum, but on your own, it's kind of a nightmare :lol

Spoiler

Kiltansas? I wasn't able to find any compact when I was reexploring Temza with the new sorc ring. :/ Hrm. Nevermind, looked @ the jp wiki, the flower @ Efmead. Ok.

 

[PseudoKirby]

Spoiler

This is literally the last thing I beat before I stopped playing, probably the hardest fight yet. Nan goes down moderatly quickly, but Tison is still super hard to fight. I'd atleast get Nan out of the picture and slowly work at it, make use of your overlimits, burst artes basically got me through that. I had Rita and Estelle set to keep distance and only use spells, and Judith was set to attack whoever I was, so we both attacked Nan. After that I just slowly worked at Tison, try to keep Estelle alive and far away from him, her resurrerection and nurse spells soften the blow quite a bit. His combos are god awful and demolish you though, he used a mystic arte and completly killed me, first time I ever saw that.

thanks, what level were you though?
I am level 38 and it was still hard with that configuration, (I always use estellise and Rita and Judith, so I tried switching rita for Karol, and bam much easier, Judith Helped Estellise NOT die, and me and karol just pounded on Nan till she was gone

although I knocked nan down (she looks so helpless and cute when it happens lolol) and I didnt get the secret mission? you need to do it to both!?!?!!!?

 

[kiryogi]

thanks, what level were you though?
I am level 38 and it was still hard with that configuration, (I always use estellise and Rita and Judith, so I tried switching rita for Karol, and bam much easier, Judith Helped Estellise NOT die, and me and karol just pounded on Nan till she was gone

although I nocked nan down (she looks so helpless and cute when it happens lolol) and I didnt get the secret mission? you need to do it to both!?!?!!!?

Bingo.

 

[LowParry]

I love me some Judith

 

[Blackjack]

I'm not fond of the English version, but the Japanese version, yes.

Nah, the Japanese version's horrible.

 

[LordK]

The Giganto in

Spoiler

Zaude

was such a push over. At that point I figured I was beefed up enough to beat the one in

Spoiler

Egoror (spelling...) Forest

and nearly got my ass handed to me.

I haven't beaten

Spoiler

Zaude

yet as I left the dungeon. Am I missing any other Gigantos at this point other than the ones at:

Spoiler

Sands of Kogorh
Mt. Temza
Egoror Forest
Zaude
I can't remember the name of the dungeon, but it's most likely the first time you see a Giganto. It's the dungeon where you're chasing Yeager(Regaey) all over the place with the bat boss.

Thanks!

 

[kiryogi]

Jonnyram:

Spoiler

Efmead seems unaccessible right now D: But its weird. one guide I'm looking at said it's doable right after Temza. Another says to start the events with the twins first in Torim. Makes me sad right now that I can't access Efmead...

Here's what the wiki says which confuses me on what i've been reading here and elsewhere:

* 1、カプワトリムで双子と遭遇。孤児院の話を聞く。
* 2、エフミドの丘（ノーム側付近）でイベント発生→「キルタンサス」の花を入手
* 3、テムザ山入り口付近でイベント発生→コンパクト入手
* 4、ザウデ不落宮でイエガーと戦った場所に行く
不落宮にて双子との戦闘あり。倒すとレイヴンの武器を入手。
また、双子のそれぞれから名前入りの剣が盗める。

 

[Jonnyram]

The guide I read did 2>3>1 and that's the order that worked for me.
Why can you not go into Ephmead though? There's two entrances, right?

 

[kiryogi]

The guide I read did 2>3>1 and that's the order that worked for me.
Why can you not go into Ephmead though? There's two entrances, right?

Spoiler

Checked both, it's currently covered in rocks. I hope this remedies later after Zaude or something... I'm guessing from its from the events with the Heracles earlier

 

[Jonnyram]

I haven't beaten

Spoiler

Zaude

yet as I left the dungeon. Am I missing any other Gigantos at this point other than the ones at:

Spoiler

Sands of Kogorh
Mt. Temza
Egoror Forest
Zaude
I can't remember the name of the dungeon, but it's most likely the first time you see a Giganto. It's the dungeon where you're chasing Yeager(Regaey) all over the place with the bat boss.

Yeah, there's 9 altogether.

The ones you are missing are:

Spoiler

Outside the fortress Teidon (sp?)
In the field north east of the spa village
The first forest you go through - but you need to upgrade your sorceror ring for this, you can see it behind the save point area
An area you haven't been to yet, so I won't spoil it.

P.S. The area you can't remember the name of was probably Gados cave?

 

[Jonnyram]

Spoiler

Checked both, it's currently covered in rocks. I hope this remedies later after Zaude or something... I'm guessing from its from the events with the Heracles earlier

It's not marked as time-limited, so you should be ok ^^;;

 

[Aeana]

So basically, Yuri is

Spoiler

Batman

. I guess that's why so many people seem to like him so much. I find it to be annoying, personally. :\

On the other hand, despite her ridiculous outfit, I really like Judy a lot. I think she's my favorite character.

 

[kiryogi]

So basically, Yuri is

Spoiler

Batman

. I guess that's why so many people seem to like him so much. I find it to be annoying, personally. :\

On the other hand, despite her ridiculous outfit, I really like Judy a lot. I think she's my favorite character.

You can change her outfit later

Spoiler

and even get that dragon rider outfit she had. Story automatically gives it to you

She's also my personal fave out side of maining her, with Rita/Raven being a close 2nd.

Side note: It really does irritate me how the english Judy turned out D:

Jonnyram: well is Efmead accessible at the point you're at?

 

[Jonnyram]

Who did you pick for the

Spoiler

sneaking past the guards quest

? Because the costume Judith gets for that is :O

kiryogi: Not sure. I'll check when I get home.

 

[LordK]

Yeah, there's 9 altogether.

The ones you are missing are:

Spoiler

Outside the fortress Teidon (sp?)
In the field north east of the spa village
The first forest you go through - but you need to upgrade your sorceror ring for this, you can see it behind the save point area
An area you haven't been to yet, so I won't spoil it.

P.S. The area you can't remember the name of was probably Gados cave?

Awesome, thanks!

 

[kiryogi]

Who did you pick for the

Spoiler

sneaking past the guards quest

? Because the costume Judith gets for that is :O

kiryogi: Not sure. I'll check when I get home.

I went with Estelle in the end... So only one person can get it per playthru? Dammit! XD To be honest though. I left a save point there and redid it with each decision for all the lawlz. Oh Karole.

 

[kiryogi]

HOW DO YOU EVEN GET THAT COSTUME?

End game.

 

[PseudoKirby]

End game.

so no use of costumes till you beat the game?

 

[PseudoKirby]

Karol rocks because he's one of the few kids in an jrpg that isn't annoying as shit. He packs a good punch too, and he's an all around good character. He's a coward but he, like Usopp from One Piece, is a coward character DONE RIGHT. His relationship with Yuri is "cute" too.

in the demo karol seems extremely annoying, its weird that they picked that one area for a demo... cause karol isnt that annoying overall

 

[Aeana]

Jeez. I just barely beat

Spoiler

Belius

, but I did manage to get the secret mission (one of only a few in the game I've gotten so far... I think 4th or 5th). I'm pretty sure I only won because I was so upset about not having been able to save in so long that I was determined. I don't know what I would have done had I lost. :\ It was a fun fight, but I did really poorly.

 

[kiryogi]

so no use of costumes till you beat the game?

No that was referring to the costume we're talking about. The earliest you can get costumes is when you can fly. But I recommend preparing pencil and paper :lol

Aeana: I refought that boss like 4 times at least. Due to losses and DREs. I was not happy at all with redoing all those cutscenes/battles D:

 

[Jonnyram]

so no use of costumes till you beat the game?

No it's not the very end of the game. You can get it quite early in the third part.

 

[Jonnyram]

Yeah I can enter Ephmead at this point, no problem, and there was a new enemy there too... which is nice.

 

[PseudoKirby]

The appeal of Yuri is every other japanese rpg lead tends to be a weakling who is dismissive and emotional. Even the adult types. Yuri, however, is a man through and through. He has it all figured out. He does not need any pampering or babysitting, he does not need to know his place in the world, he does not need to go on some growing up story because he's already far more grown up. And he takes out enemies that usually get away in jrpgs and anime, that most boneheaded, idiotic leads, would just spare because they are dumb.

Every thing Yuri says is real talk. He does not give a shit about your emotions.

Likewise, Judy seems pretty similar to me, who's the second best character in the main cast personally. But I like all the characters.

Estelle, as far as CUTE ANIMU LOLI PRINCESSES is by far the least annoying. Usually these princesses are stupid too. And clumsy. Not Estelle! No, this girl has wits about her! And her battle conversations are LOL and charming. She's no Dagger from Final Fantasy IX but she's the next best thing. My only problem with her is that she doesn't know what she wants to do in life. She needs to buckle down and stfu. Also, why is her hair PINK? It should be black or brown.

Rita is a lesbian who is sexually satisfied from Blastia. All she ever thinks about is BLASTIA and her relationship with Estelle is amusing. She's a great character and she pwns people left and right.

Judith does not CARE what you think! She will tell you the truth, like to Estelle, or she will kick ass without your consort! Her melee is omg as well!

Repede rocks BECAUSE HE DOESN'T TALK. I can't be the only one who *hates* talking animals in jrpgs, can I?

Karol rocks because he's one of the few kids in an jrpg that isn't annoying as shit. He packs a good punch too, and he's an all around good character. He's a coward but he, like Usopp from One Piece, is a coward character DONE RIGHT. His relationship with Yuri is "cute" too.

Raven rocks because he's a playah, a man's man. A snarky bastard who's always going to be sarcastic and awesome no matter the circumstances.

On top of all this, NOT ONCE in this game so far has anyone been kidnapped. Holy shit, what a miracle.

Best Tales cast!

Spoiler

damn you, why did you have to go and jinx it

 

[kiryogi]

I did it finally! No DRE! Looks like if I let my system warm up, and cache, it's a little happier :lol anyway 150 points get. Time to sidequest more!

Story note:

Spoiler

WTF. Why did Sodia stab Yuri?! Was she on Alexei's side all along?!

 

[LordK]

The appeal of Yuri is every other japanese rpg lead tends to be a weakling who is dismissive and emotional. Even the adult types. Yuri, however, is a man through and through. He has it all figured out. He does not need any pampering or babysitting, he does not need to know his place in the world, he does not need to go on some growing up story because he's already far more grown up. And he takes out enemies that usually get away in jrpgs and anime, that most boneheaded, idiotic leads, would just spare because they are dumb.

Every thing Yuri says is real talk. He does not give a shit about your emotions.

Likewise, Judy seems pretty similar to me, who's the second best character in the main cast personally. But I like all the characters.

Estelle, as far as CUTE ANIMU LOLI PRINCESSES is by far the least annoying. Usually these princesses are stupid too. And clumsy. Not Estelle! No, this girl has wits about her! And her battle conversations are LOL and charming. She's no Dagger from Final Fantasy IX but she's the next best thing. My only problem with her is that she doesn't know what she wants to do in life. She needs to buckle down and stfu. Also, why is her hair PINK? It should be black or brown.

Rita is a lesbian who is sexually satisfied from Blastia. All she ever thinks about is BLASTIA and her relationship with Estelle is amusing. She's a great character and she pwns people left and right.

Judith does not CARE what you think! She will tell you the truth, like to Estelle, or she will kick ass without your consort! Her melee is omg as well!

Repede rocks BECAUSE HE DOESN'T TALK. I can't be the only one who *hates* talking animals in jrpgs, can I?

Karol rocks because he's one of the few kids in an jrpg that isn't annoying as shit. He packs a good punch too, and he's an all around good character. He's a coward but he, like Usopp from One Piece, is a coward character DONE RIGHT. His relationship with Yuri is "cute" too.

Raven rocks because he's a playah, a man's man. A snarky bastard who's always going to be sarcastic and awesome no matter the circumstances.

On top of all this, NOT ONCE in this game so far has anyone been kidnapped. Holy shit, what a miracle.

Best Tales cast!

Spoiler

=*(

I did it finally! No DRE! Looks like if I let my system warm up, and cache, it's a little happier :lol anyway 150 points get. Time to sidequest more!

Story note:

Spoiler

WTF. Why did Sodia stab Yuri?! Was she on Alexei's side all along?!

Spoiler

Well, more often than not, she threatens to cut your balls off when you see her because you're corrupting her man, Flynn. I was very WTF at the moment. And it wasn't because Yuri got stabbed or that Yuri went plunging into the ocean. I was WTF at who the hell did Sodia think she was? She's not important enough in this game to stab me. Raven, Estelle, Repede... anyone but this worthless sidekick character!

It'd be like if you're watching Heroes one evening. Sylar breaks into Claire's house and Claire's brother kills him. Forget that it's possible. Her brother isn't important enough to play any role in inflicting damage upon a main character!

 

[Kandrick]

I would like to thank Namco for not releasing Tales of Vesperia in PAL territories, this way, i can just go out and buy IU and take my time with it and enjoy it! And maybe i'll buy Tales sometime in summer 2009 when its finally released.

 

[LordK]

What?

You will see. :lol

 

[Junpei Heat]

Best Tales cast!

Real talk.

I don't like playing on hard so much,enemies appear to have seemlingly endless HP. I just hope there aren't any or many achievements attached to Hard mode.

 

[PseudoKirby]

You will see. :lol

yea along with big twist rollercoster ride

 

[john tv]

Neat. Japanese save data is compatible with the US version. Now I don't need to start over!

 

[Princess Skittles]

I finished off the desert bosses last night (the giga monster was telling me to come back in 10 levels but I don't play like that, he had to go down then and there) and the secret mission for the actual boss was a pain in the ass, I killed first with mad skill and never even saw the orb, so I basically had to run around a guard until he showed it.

I'm SO in love with Fatal Strikes.

Also, I can't remember if other games did it (I know Destiny 2 did) but getting a different victory music for getting like 8 grade on a normal battle is kind of rewarding. If I can keep this pace up I think I might have enough grade to almost FORCE me to play it a second time (and achievements, sigh).

 

[Aeana]

Neat. Japanese save data is compatible with the US version. Now I don't need to start over!

8-4 handled the game, right? You guys did a really great job. I haven't played everything 8-4 has worked on, but I think this is far and away their best work of what I have played.

 

[Egg Shen]

Best Tales cast!

I'm also thinking this and can't wait to see what other twists there are. The demo really didn't do the game any favors for me, I was ready to wait on it afterwards in lieu of IU and even the Force Unleashed, but the full version has really delivered a great Tales experience so far. All the characters are great so far, especially Yuri. Having to play a pragmatic character who is simply doing what they feel to be the right thing without getting preachy/whiny about it or having to resort to asshole-mode is pretty refreshing.

Karol rocks because he's one of the few kids in an jrpg that isn't annoying as shit. He packs a good punch too, and he's an all around good character. He's a coward but he, like Usopp from One Piece, is a coward character DONE RIGHT. His relationship with Yuri is "cute" too.

He also looks like a miniature Lloyd, but I agree...great anime kid character who plays off of his 'cowardice' but without feeling the need to whine about this as part of a pity party. He's also clutch in combat, too, which is a plus.

Loving the game.

 

[Jonnyram]

Just spent a few hours killing those damned superstars for synth items. Got about 10 of each. Hope it's enough!

 

[AndresON777]

I'm having a blast with the game and I love the characters, there is genuinely a lot of humour. I'm 12 hours in and once I beat the wolf, after lots of grinding and like 25 tries, the game got a little easier and more entertaining---I'm sure it'll get harder soon though. Also it's like playing an anime movie I love the graphics and art style.