Tales of Captivating Exploration
Author of this post: Amy Jones | About Blog Authors »
Just when I believed my attention span was shot and I didn’t have it in me to commit to a role-playing game…. I picked up Tales of Vesperia on the Xbox 360. The core of the game maintains familiar Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) mechanics that are so well executed that is the soul cause of Xbox 360 sales skyrocketing in Japan. Given the relative difficulty the 360 has had selling next to its native competition in the Japanese market—this is an impressive feat.
Tales of Vesperia is the 10th title in the ‘Tales Series’ and is developed specifically by Namco Tales Studio. Every moment of Vesperia is filled with direction that makes you fell like you are watching a fast paced anime, which is refreshing next to the well-deserved stigma that JRPGs tend to drag on in the story department. The characters fit traditional stereotypes and the humor is on par with titles like Maison Ikkoku, Cowboy Bebop or Naruto. Tales of Vesperia does not break the mold of a JRPG but instead defines and enhances the genre to exceed expectations and maintains a solid feel and art direction for the entire world. Simply put: it raises the proverbial “bar” for a balanced and fun video game experience.
One way Tales of Vesperia perfects the genre is bringing back the good parts of role playing games that have predominantly gone MIA over the last few generations of games. Since Final Fantasy VII I have adored the over world map and it has gone missing in recent titles. Recent titles show a map and then plot the points to your next destination ala Indiana Jones which means no control to explore the world that surrounds you. It’s basically another linear experience forged out of convenience. Give me the ship, the airship, the submarine, whichever… I just want my open over world to explore and Tales delivers a huge and beautiful world for players to discover. The game remains on par with an intuitive menu system, great battle design, highly customizable characters and a predictable yet entertaining story. I particularly love the add-ons in the menu for plot synopsis and the battle book- the latter elaborates on the many ways you can defeat your enemies with different characters and how to achieve high-level combos and the ever-evolving tactical challenges that the game presents. In addition there are a plethora of settings, choices and options that it’s hard to believe there could be a fan that couldn’t find the right combination for their game play style.
Speaking of just the right combination… Tales of Vesperia really shines in the battle department. I grew tired of random battles and turn based battle systems a while back and luckily Tales provides entertaining and efficient alternatives. The game does load a battle screen but the blip of a load screen loses is regained within the battle itself. Highly engaging and dynamic, control defaults to the main characters actions with the rest of the team backing with automatic AI and once unlocked you can select to control any of your comrades within a 3D environment. There are always choices and different ways to play Tales according to your own personal taste. Replete with combos, finishing moves, decent AI and fantastic effects for both magic and physical actions the combat systems completely delivers on a satisfying experience. Utilizing the free run and camera modes empower the players to feel as though they are really in control of the battle and outcome- this makes traditional turn based combat look awkward in comparison. Additionally, as in other Tales games, there is a two-player mode that allows people to play in battle mode at the same time and this remains an entertaining alternative if you’re forced to share.
I have to say Tales of Vesperia is one of the most appropriately designed and balanced role-playing games to date. It’s a refreshing change, as games seem to have become overly worked and complex in art and interface in order to make a notch on the ‘notable game art tally.’ Don’t get me wrong—it is definitely entertaining to see creative solutions to design issues but all too often either art or design is compromised and the experience ultimately fails to come to fruition. The sad result is a game half-realized that you stop playing maybe after an hour of trying (you know what I am talking about). Luckily Tales is not of that stock and delivers smart design decisions and a stylized art that doesn’t actually overpower the other aspects of the game.
One of the best and natural decisions for Tales of Vesperia was to make it a cell shaded game. (much like Naruto, Okami, Viewtiful Joe, and Ultimate Spiderman) This is a trend we’re seeing more often in games based on animation and one that I welcome whole-heartedly. Cell shading is a fantastic way to bring people who love animation into those worlds and let them explore—not only the world itself—but also the art director’s vision for that realm. Needless to say, I believe it to be a sign that we are at the pinnacle of animation translating effectively into 3D game engines when Studio Ghibli is working on their first console title. It is now possible to emulate the animation artistically to the last letter while letting players have the control of the action—halleluiah. Tales looks as though you are genuinely playing an anime and the characters shine with outstanding voice acting in vignettes that makes the entire story and the character’s personalities come alive.
I strongly believe that art direction and stylings should be iconic for a franchise but also keep in mind all of the aspects that produce a well-balanced title. So much goes into crafting a fantasy realm’s look and feel that it would be easy to lose sight of what makes an overall satisfactory game experience. For instance in Tales you have traditional fantasy themes: magic, elves, monsters, magic, castles, airships, etc but these honored fantasy institutions are constructed uniquely and help to craft the feel of the fantasy. There’s a balance in their world that unifies art and function. From battle screen attack effects to the physical appearance of Ba’ul, the giant flying whale dragon, everything in Tales of Vesperia feels unique and captures the quintessential soul of a JRPG without over designing/art directing the entire experience.
As I said in the beginning I really wanted to write about Tales because when I picked it up I found myself really enjoying a RPG which hasn’t happened in a very long time. Tales of Vesperia offered me everything I loved about RPGs but without clumsy design, overworked art or forced linear path through a fantastic world that begs to be explored. I found myself as addicted to the story and entertained by the mechanics, as I once was when I discovered the genre as ten year old. I may not know all readers personally or vouch for different taste in video games but I can say:
If you like watching anime and find entertainment in the cliché of a line-up of archetypical characters, and/or you love animation and breathtaking artwork crafted around a recognizably themed yet perfectly stylized fantasy world—Tales of Vesperia is worth the purchase price.
