Review: Tales of Vesperia | Fantastic in Every Sense of the Word
There are many things we as people hold close. Whether it is an inanimate object, a bond with someone we genuinely care for and wish to protect, or even a memory that many but you have forgotten. For me, it’s the idea of human connections. So whenever I write or read a story, the bonds between people are what my mind focuses on the most. It is the very same with games, and that is why I love the game Tales of Vesperia.
I love playing story-driven games. I spent the past year playing through the Fire Emblem series, and before that, I played through the Kingdom Hearts series and Xenoblade series. The few games at the top spot with their characters were The World Ends With You and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Tales of Vesperia showed to me better than anything I’ve played before the importance of the idea of human connection and interaction. To me, that is why this game is super special.
Everything about this game worked from the opening cinematic to when the credits rolled — having fun characters like Yuri and Raven, to having characters grow like Rita and Karol, while also having a dog with a pipe in his mouth. With its action-based combat system, rocking soundtrack mixed with guitars and synths, and absolutely gorgeous scenery. I couldn’t get this game out of my mind for the two months it took me to play it. I cried at the end of it, it was that beautiful of an experience for me.
But before I dive into the strongest parts of the game, I need to talk about everything else. More importantly, for those that don’t know, I need to explain what the Tales of series is.
Tales of Tales of:
For those that don’t know, the Tales of series was developed and published by Namco before they merged and became Bandai Namco. The first game came out in 1995 for the Super Famicom with Tales of Phantasia. Phantasia only came out in Japan, though, as the first game we got here in the West was Tales of Destiny in 1997 on the PlayStation.
The series is considered one of the most important RPG series in Japan, with it selling over 25 million units worldwide. However, I never heard of this series until this past summer when I was looking for a game to play after beating Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. I kept seeing music for Tales of the Abyss and loved the game’s soundtrack, but I ended up playing a different Bandai Namco RPG, Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean.
After beating Baten Kaitos and discovering that Bandai Namco makes/produces RPGs’ (Even though I already played Dark Souls, that fact seriously blew my mind), I picked up Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube. Only a few hours in, I stopped. Not because it was terrible, but because it was somewhat bad… and because I discovered Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition on Xbox.
Tales of Vesperia itself was initially released in 2008 for only the Xbox 360 in Japan and North America, but an enhanced version was released a year later for the PlayStation 3 only in Japan. Then in January of 2019, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition was released for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
I played and will be talking about the definitive edition of the game. I will go into detail about specific moments in the story, so massive spoiler warning. To avoid giving that warning many times, play this game as blind as possible; it is fantastic the first time through. Without wasting any more time, and from the words of the main character, Yuri Lowell: “I don’t care what rock you crawled out from, bring it!”
That Burning Fighting Spirit:
You start by playing as anti-hero Yuri Lowell, a former member of the imperial knights who believe in doing things alone. One day, the blastia that controls the fountain for his housing quarter is stolen. Blastia are super essential and powerful orbs, powered by an element known as aer, that power society, so Yuir sets off to search for it as it’ll stop the lower quarter from flooding. After a run-in with two knights, he gets imprisoned. He breaks out and runs into fleeing princess Estilesse, whom he gives the nickname Estelle. Together, Yuri, Estelle, and Yuri’s faithful dog, Repeede, all leave the capital in search of their friend, Flynn Scifo, and the stolen blastia.
Honestly, it is a straightforward setup. You’re introduced to the world and characters well, and you’re given a taste of how playing the game feels. It is not a perfect start to a game as it can drag for a bit, but it’s a really damn good one.
Once you leave the capital, you’re open to the world of Terca Lumireis. Terca Lumireis is the over-world, where many enemies lay waiting to tear into you. You approach them, or what will happen 99% of the time, they approach you, and the battle begins.
The combat system is close to that of a fighting game. You have a basic two to three-hit combo, dependent on the character you’re controlling and can aim your hits for where the enemy is. If it’s high, hold the stick up and attack; if low, hold it down, etc., etc. Because three-hit combos in a 40+ hour Action JRPG would be boring, you have artes that you can use to chain attacks together.
Artes cost tech points, which is the equivalent of your MP gauge if you ever played a Final Fantasy before. They can be mapped to the analog sticks for quick usage in a combo or if you need to cast a spell, but if you’re a true sadist, you can open the menu and manually select them.
Does the combat system get redundant at times? Absolutely. Is it still fun? Yeah. Vesperia found a way to make the redundancy of an Action RPG actually fun. Being able to link together moves to form a flashy combo is awesome.
As you progress through the game, you will get more characters to play as and more artes to add to your move-set. As well as attacking, you can defend. By pressing and holding down a button, you will enter a guarding state where you can flick the stick away from the enemy to jump back.
For battles, you have a party of four, and they do what they want, but you can set it that the computer does what you want them to do. For example, if you wish for Estelle to focus only on healing and nothing else, you can do it. Instead of using a computer, you can get an item that allows you to switch between members at will, allowing you to have complete control of the party.
You could have a friend hook up a second controller and play the game alongside you. I don’t know how it works as I never did it, but you can play up to four-person local player, a concept I would’ve loved to try out.
Later you learn the Fatal Strike ability, where when you deplete one of three gauges, you hit the right trigger and instantly kill the enemy. Using a Fatal Strike after a long combo is super satisfying. There is also the Over Limit gauge. Going into an Over Limit allows you to become stronger and pull more powerful moves, but I’ll get into it more later.
The combat system may get redundant, but the music does not. Furnace of War and Burning Fighting Spirit are great battle songs that capture the feeling of battle and weirdly give me baseball vibes. The mix of guitar and synth with the background of percussion makes each battle feel important and intense. It really makes the mundane task of grinding better. You may have to grind once in the game, but enemy encounters and exp give out are pretty good, so only in extreme cases will you need to grind.
I love this combat system; it’s easy to pick up and fun to master. However, I think that covers everything for the combat system, so I might as well talk about the thing I loved most — the characters and story.
Bonds and Skits:
Whenever you’re wandering around, a button prompt may pop up in the lower corner with a title. These are called skits, and they tend to give some insight into what the characters are thinking at certain moments in the story or after a remarkable thing in battle.
These are usually either heartfelt, comedic, or both. The skits do make you stop in your tracks and watch them, which is completely ok with me, but they’re optional if you rather not watch them. My personal favorite is the one where you make sorbet in a frozen area, and everyone is regretting eating it. Yuri says it best with: “Eating sorbet…in a frigid cold field of snow… Th-th-this is not fun….”
You truly do see character growth through these. As the story progresses, you see interactions between one another that started off as alienating, blossom into them being thankful for each other. The best example of this is between Rita and Estelle.
Yuri, Estelle, Repeede, and youngster Karol are chasing after Rita Mordio, who Yuri assumes stole the blastia from his housing quarter. When you first meet her, she comes off as cold, not wanting others around her, and acting more mature and more intelligent than everyone. Her being smarter is sort of true as she is a researcher and has devoted her whole life to her studies. She views the quips of everyone as a foolish waste of time. The others view her as someone who just does not care about anyone. Estelle doesn’t see that in her.
Estelle is introduced as both ignorant and knowledgeable to the world outside of the imperial castle. For example, she doesn’t understand what a high five is, but can tell you the complete history of an old relic. However, Estelle is also very kind and always willing to do anything to help and protect others.
Rita first acts nasty towards Estelle for how kind and trusting of others she is. Meanwhile, we see Estelle constantly praising Rita for her knowledge of blastia and her magical abilities in combat, and we witness Estelle trying to establish a friendship with her. Although Rita likes to hide and deny it, she likes the compliments from Estelle. As a result, Rita grows to really like Estelle.
Later, when Estelle is in the slightest possibility of danger, Rita is the first one to put up a fight to protect her:
Rita:
“Stay close behind me, Estelle. My magic will protect you if they attack with the hoplon blastia.”
Estelle:
“But you’d be putting yourself in danger, Rita.”
Rita:
“We’re all in danger, so relax. Or maybe you don’t believe I can do it?”
Estelle:
“No no! I’m just worried about you.”
Rita:
“Well, I’m worried about you.”
Because of Estelle, Rita learns how to have empathy for someone. During the late portions of Act 2, Estelle learns that she is the reason the world may end. Due to circumstances we’ll cover later, she gets kidnapped and is being used by Imperial Commandant Alexei for his plan of restarting the world. Rita can’t help but feel emotional for Estelle, all while not understanding why she feels for her:
Rita:
“I’ll save Estelle next time, I swear it… I couldn’t stand seeing her hurt more than she already has been.”
Karol:
“Rita…”
Rita:
“It’s Estelle who’s suffering. So then, why do I hurt so much, too?”
Rita learns to love people, similar to how she loves her research. We see these two opposites of characters become close and form a very tight sister-like bond. It is a very emotional and beautiful relationship to watch blossom over the course of the game.
Rita isn’t the only character who changes, far from it. Karol learns how to become firm, brave, and a leader. He even creates a guild that the group is a part of called Brave Vesperia. Estelle learns to make decisions on her own without worrying about others. And pirate child Patty learns to accept her grandfather’s past actions, or rather, her own actions from the past.
Raven goes through an exciting ark. We meet him very early on when he frees Yuri out of prison, and he comes off as a funny and perverted old man through both skits involving him and story moments.
Judith:
“Well? What do you think?
Karol:
“Whooooaa…”
Raven:
“And just what are you starin’ at…?”
Karol:
“Uh… I was just thinking that if Judith was a waitress somewhere, I’d go there every single day!”
Raven:
“Ah, Karol, taken by the charms of an older woman… ‘Course, I’d do the same thing!”
Judith:
“Heh heh. Thanks guys. I wonder if I should show a little more, you know…?”
Raven:
“Oh yes! Oh god, yes!”
Karol:
“Judith, I think that’s enough… I can’t stand seeing Raven like this for much longer…”
After Raven kidnaps Estelle and gives her to Alexei, we learn that he was Captain Schwann of the Knights. Not Raven, the perverted comedic relief.
The part that stung a lot about his character was that he genuinely wanted to die. Being one of the only survivors of the great war, he lost many friends and himself. Alexei knew he wanted death and used it to his advantage in his plans. However, due to Schwann’s men, Leblanc and Tweedle A and Tweedle B, and Brave Vesperia’s care for him, he finds a purpose and a want to live again.
Each character is individually unique, and all follow a beautiful story of growth and change. The skits mainly allow characters to express themselves and their thoughts about one another. Alongside cutscenes, skits show the results of their development. It is truly a fantastic thing to watch unfold.
There is one ever-so-significant growth and interaction between two characters. It leads to what is single handily the best moment in the whole game. I will cover that later though. So instead, I will get critical for a moment as I list off things I liked and didn’t like.
Things I liked and didn’t:
For starters, I loved the music. The battle themes were all great, particularly Indomitable Spirit and Staunch Opponent. The over-world pieces were cool as well. The Act 1 theme, Carefree Journey, and the Act 3 theme, Determination of the Savior, all suit the act’s tone. I was not a fan of the flying theme, boat theme, nor Act 2 theme, March of Brave Vesperia. Something about them didn’t hit me as well as the other two mentioned.
The themes for areas were all great. Hearing upbeat songs such as Radiant Life Fostering Light and Youthful Days in big bright regions allowed them to shine more. Having more atmospheric songs such as Towards the Mirage and Catastrophic Downpour allowed the scenery of those areas to stick in my mind more. When walking into the town of Dahngrest for the first time, and you hear Oath of the Union, it hits differently after specific story beats. The way this one song captured the many different emotions you feel for all the times you go to Dahgrest is impressive. It is also the best area theme.
Finally, there are the tracks that play during events. Tragic Resolution encapsulates the story’s darker and more sorrowful moments very well, which is a stark contrast to Wrath of the Mage, which plays during very comedic moments, like whenever Rita scolds Raven. Both songs are able to achieve what they set out to do.
Looking away from music, something that slowly grew on me was that you can only hold 15 of a consumable item. At first, it bothered me since I was constantly using healing items, Apple Gels to be more specific, in battles, but as I learned the combat system and mechanics better… well, I still used them a lot. It just grew less irritating.
What is both cool and annoying is the Over Limit. Early on, it’s one of those things that sounds cool as it grants you a new option for combat until you realize bosses can use them, and they will at the most inconvenient of times. While in an Over Limit, you can attack more, take less damage, and use a Burst Arte. You start with a level 1 Over Limit, but you can eventually raise it to level 4 utilizing synthesis.
At a level 3 Over Limit, you can use special moves called Mystic Artes only if you have the skill equipped. At seemingly random, bosses will burst into an Over Limit, lock you in a devastating combo, and activate their Mystic Arte before you can even react. They do this. Multiple! TIMES! If this happens even once, you may be dead.
Granted, you can do this as well. One of the elements I praised Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 for is that the enemy has just about every tool you have at their disposal. Overpowering your characters with multiple aces up their sleeves is not always a good idea. Allowing the enemy to pull out the same get out of combo jail-free card as you adds challenge to the experience and consideration behind each action.
Alexei was the worse example of this. Once he got about to half health, he started breaking into Over Limits, spamming his heal move, then launching straight into Mystic Arte, where it was up to chance if I lived. But that’s what made the fight fun.
Even though I hate how much he could use it, and believe me, he used it; I still enjoyed the fight. You’ll eventually get a skill where you’ll automatically go into a certain Over Limit if you get a high enough of a combo. Then, if done correctly, you can use your Burst and Mystic Arte twice in a row to annihilate the enemy. I bring this up because even though the enemy can destroy the party, you can kill them in return. There is a sense of parallel in it that makes it something I hate, but something I can still appreciate at the same time.
(Alright, that’s enough about Over Limits. I just spent a whole page on them. They’re not that interesting).
All of the voice acting (except for the replacement voice of Yuri for certain optional scenes) was great. The VA work was able to bring each character and moment to life. In addition, it helped elevate the emotions that were prevalent in the scene.
I loved the voices of Yuri and Raven, who Troy Baker and Joe J. Thomas voiced. The two absolutely nailed the tone the writers were going for. Having Raven being whiny or overjoyed was always a treat to hear, and having Yuri drop sarcastic bombshells at the best moments with no remorse helped me love these characters more and more.
Another thing I liked was the banter between characters. I really liked it a lot.
Rita:
“Yormgen and Mantaic are totally different.
It’s much cooler here. Maybe it’s the ocean…”
Patty:
“It’s always nice by the ocean.
Aye, it’s simply beautiful.”
Raven:
“But it seems boring. I wonder what the folks here do for fun.”
Judith:
“I kind of like it. This kind of calm, quiet village suits me. I can’t stand loud people.”
Yuri:
“Ohhhh. That’s gotta hurt, old man.”
Raven:
“She was talking about the town, not about me!”
Judith:
“Hmm, maybe…”
Raven:
“D-do you really hate me that much?”
I like them a lot. Like, a lot. I was laughing out loud at some of these. All of the voice actors in Vesperia were amazing at portraying their characters. Especially in amusing scenes. You really do need to hear these lines said in order to fully enjoy them.
Raven:
So, what possessed you to bring old Raven along?
Yuri:
Huh? I just figured you’d come in handy, I guess.
Raven:
Y’know, you just ain’t too bright. It’s the perfect chance for some alone time with the ladies!
Raven:
What’s the fun in havin’ two guys here?!
Raven:
“Aaah! I’m scaaared! Help!”
Raven:
“Never fear, kitten, daddy’s right here.”
Raven:
That’s the way these things are supposed to go down.
Yuri:
If we run into any trouble, I’m using you to save my own skin, got it?
Raven:
Huh? So that’s how I come in handy? A decoy?
Tales of Vesperia is chock full of excellent writing. I already mentioned my love for the characters, and I will detail two characters that I haven’t gone into yet after this section. However, there is something in the writing that works.
It is like your favorite book; something sticks with you. For me, my favorite book is The Great Gatsby. The feelings I felt while reading, and the strong sense of determination and newly founded hope that the book put into me, have stuck with me ever so firmly. I can not for the life of me go and tell even my good friends why The Great Gatsby has put those feelings inside me. But that is the same thing I am running into with Vesperia.
Tales of Vesperia, like Gatsby and Thracia before it, have caused a change in my understanding of the world and others. However, there is something prevalent in the writing of these characters that makes me smile, makes me sad, or makes me angry alongside them.
I will admit, I did not care for Patty all too much throughout the game. But near the end, after seeing everything she has gone through, and she can finally say goodbye to her old crew. I nearly cried when she began to cry whilst proclaiming that she would not cry for her crew.
As dumb as it sounds, Tales of Vesperia helped me feel emotions. There were moments where I stood up and shouted in anger. When the Don sacrifices himself for the sake of the Union, I was filled with utter despair that the characters also felt. When the characters reunite with Raven after he was thought to be dead, I was happy to see them all punch him and accept him back after what he did to them.
Every emotion I felt due to Vesperia was genuine. I cared so much for these characters. What they had to do and how they felt was important to me. So what I am trying to say is this: I genuinely loved all of the writing in Tales of Vesperia because of how it made me feel towards the characters and the emotions that arose from the characters.
I think now is an excellent time to go and talk about my favorite moment in the whole game; the Yuri and Flynn fight near the end of the game. The game builds up to it the entire time, and the payoff is absolutely incredible. I f***ing loved this fight!
Fury Sparks:
First, I will give some background on Flynn and Yuri. Flynn Scifo is an Imperial Knight and is good friends with Yuri. He believes in justice and wants to bring justice to the people lawfully. Throughout the game, we see him climb the ranks of a knight, turning into a true hero. Flynn Scifo sounds like the game’s main protagonist, but instead, the main protagonist is the anti-hero Yuri Lowell.
Yuri often comes off as sarcastic, especially in the face of danger, but is truly a genuine person. He, too, believes in justice and wants to do what he feels is right. Whether that is legal or not.
At the end of Act 1, Ragou, an evil councilman, was convicted of many terrible crimes, including forcing harsh taxes upon people, and those who couldn’t pay the taxes got killed by monsters residing underground. Thanks to Yuri and Flynn, he was caught and convicted, but due to his power of being a councilman, he reduced his own sentence. During the night of Flynn’s promotion, Yuri confronts Ragou on a bridge and kills him in the moonlight.
Later on, the party finds out that Captain Cumore is lying to people, saying they will become nobles, forcing them into labor camps to build a town. Once that is stopped, he goes to a different city and sends townsfolk and his knights on a suicide mission to go into the desert and hunt down the beast known as Phaeroh.
As the party rests, waiting for Flynn to come and end Cumore’s reign of terror, Raven makes an off-hand comment saying, “…the only cure for stupidity is death.” That line triggers something inside Yuri to go and kill Cumore. He goes and finds Cumore, chasing him to the edge of a cliff, where Cumore goes and falls into quicksand. As Cumore begs for his life, Yuri stands there as he watches the sand eat him up just for Yuri to find out that Flynn witnessed the whole thing.
In a conversation between the two, Flynn argues that it isn’t Yuri’s right to punish the unjust; it is the law’s. If the laws fail, it is their job to fix the laws. Unlike Yuri, Flynn’s ideology is why he remained in the knights. Flynn genuinely believes he can bring criminals to justice.
Not that it needs to be stated, but Yuri most certainly disagrees. Yuri witnessed the law fail to lock up Ragou, so he had to deliver a punishment deemed fit for his crimes. With Cumore, Yuri didn’t want to see the same thing that happened to Ragou. He didn’t want to see a villain walk in daylight.
Things get very heated that Flynn and Yuri nearly draw their swords. However, Sodia, a knight of Flynn’s, distracts Flynn, which Yuri uses to exit the scene. When Yuri and Flynn meet next, tension is still fierce as they have to work together to save Estelle after Raven’s traitorous episode.
With all of this tension built up, Yuri nearly dying due to Sodia stabbing him, and humanity about to end, the two decided to settle their problems the only way they know how: A duel.
Flynn:
But…! …Forget it. I can’t explain. I’ll just yell at you again.
Yuri:
Heh heh. In that case… <Draws Sword> Try it like this.
Flynn:
Yuri…!
Yuri:
You’re not going to beat me in an argument. But you know what you can beat me in… This.
Flynn:
Yeah… You’re right. Just like always. Everything I feel is in this sword!
Yuri:
…Good. Come on!
What is single-handedly the best scene is the duel between Yuri and Flynn. The game tries to show the importance of human connections. as Fury Sparks plays and the two banter show how close of a bond the two have. This fight perfectly encapsulates our emotions towards those we are close with and how our opinion of them stays true.
We may still love someone even if they do something wrong. As seen with Raven, even though he kidnapped Estelle and practically doomed the world, the others still cared for him. Likewise, even though Yuri went and committed crimes, Flynn still considers him a friend despite the differences in ideals.
This fight isn’t a duel to the death, but rather two friends blowing off some much-needed steam before the final battle. A beautiful moment that shows the importance of having a good companion in our lives. The very exact message of Tales of Vesperia.
Ring a Bell:
I could go on and on about Tales of Vesperia. I seriously could. But I am on my 15th page, so let us end it here. I could talk about the tremendous final battle and ending, discuss the fun post-game with the multitude of dungeons you can do, or gush over what is easily the best thing in this game: Repede Snowboarding (I had way too fun of a time with Repede Snowboarding).
If I kept talking, why would you want to play the game? Honestly, I can never do this beautiful game justice. I am sorry. I totally understand if I killed any if at all interest in this game for you, but I genuinely believe you should just hop into it and begin playing. Vesperia is a one-of-a-kind game that will make you feel.
From Raven’s perverted antics, Estelle’s ignorance about the world, Rita’s bitterness, and Yuri’s blunt demeanor, you will be laughing your way through this game from start to end. Fighting an enemy about five levels higher than you while listening to Staunch Opponent will keep you energized and excited. Pulling it off and winning the fight will cause you to smile and pump your fist. Getting involved with the characters and their growth throughout the journey will surely make you feel for some of them and maybe help you learn something about yourself.
Whether it is the combat system, characters, music, story, or everything, you will indubitably find something to love in this game. I love this game, and if you try it, I sincerely hope you love it as well. Easily, Tales of Vesperia is my favorite video game of all time, and I am very thankful I took the jump and played it.