Brandon F said:
That's the boss encounter from the demo. Yuri is using over limit which allows you to spam buttons and continuously deal damage and rack up your combo, but you can chain it with normal attacks, WS moves, and links. That demo part is about 5 or so hours into the game, and that's not even really one of the tougher boss battles I've seen yet.
The dungeons are really just Point A to Point B, and the puzzles are very light. Yeah, you can push blocks and light switches, but don't think it is anything like Zelda - they're more obstructions than part of a complex puzzle of anything. Though there are many chests you might miss that are a bit out of the way which hold good equipment.
The story is really on the light side for where I am at, but it is more more character driven at this point rather than focusing on an overarching plot (again, where I am at). The characters are very typical anime types, but there is never a time when any of them are too overly dramatic (ie, like Final Fantasy characters).
I am really digging the visuals and the locales. There are a few instances in the game where anime cutscenes transpire (and there obviously is going to be an OVA of this game like Symphonia and Phantasia had) and they're really well done. A great sequence was returning to a specific village you helped out earlier in a certain way and seeing the change of atmosphere in the entire town.
The English dub is fine, but I don't really like Estelle's VA. Yuri, Rita and Karol are pretty well done, though.
For some reason, I feel like the majority of my time is watching cutscenes and running around villages or the map. When in dungeons so far, they feel short, but there are quite a few of them so far, and after just finishing Final Fantasy XII two nights ago, I welcome the change of pace (Pharos Tower was ridiculous).
I like how with each new weapon you obtain, you can learn new skills and then retain those skills once you've mastered them, even when you change weapons. Also before entering a battle, I like that one item Yuri gets that allows him manipulate the start of battle conditions (having the advantage or disadvantage, basically).
Challenge on Normal is fair so far, with only two boss battles really giving me trouble (though to be fair, I played the demo and knew how to handle that boss, and he is unchanged in the final version).
Anyway, I think I've said enough. I'm definitely enjoying Vesperia much more than Dawn of the New World.
