A grand tale retold.
What They Say:
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tales of Vesperia and the return of this fan-favorite with the Definitive Edition!
A power struggle begins in a civilization dependent on an ancient technology, the blastia, and the Empire that controls it. The fates of two friends traveling separate paths intertwine in an epic adventure that threatens the existence of all.
Dive into the Definitive version of this game with updated full HD graphics, brand-new music tracks, exciting mini-games, bosses, and a collection of unreleased costume DLC!
Two more playable characters join the fray!
• Patty Fleur, a cheerful and tough young pirate girl in search of treasure, adventure… and her forgotten memories.
• Flynn Scifo, Yuri’s best friend and an Imperial Knight, now joins the rest on their journey!
The Review:
Tales of Vesperia is one Tales game that I missed last generation when it came out so, needless to say, I was excited to check it out after becoming a quick fan of the series. This version of the game is roughly the same as before but with full HD graphics, DLC, and two new playable characters.
Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition follows Yuri and his gang of members as they go on a seemingly simple journey that turns into so much more. Along the way, the group meets several characters that join their party from the always ridiculous young Karol to the smart and temperamental scholar Rita to the two new playable characters Patty and Flynn.
Overall, the party that you play as in Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition is pretty varied. The unfortunate thing is I never came to really like any of the party members including protagonist Yuri. The English voice acting is actually pretty good even with some voice changes (Japanese is available, too!) but, for some reason, even after dozens of hours, I never felt as connected to the characters as I did with other Tales games.
This extended to the story as well. It’s pretty bare bones for the most part, starting out extremely simple and then, of course, expanding to saving the world in some way. It never did feel interesting enough to care. However, while this may seem overly negative, that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy myself with the JRPG.
For one, Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition is extremely hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud many times. While I don’t really like the characters, it doesn’t seem like they really like each other either. This leads to constant gags and funny interactions that are only highlighted by the strong dialogue writing.
It also helps that cities play a big role in the story. Each city is shielded by a blastia and this translates to you visiting new cities pretty frequently. I’m a big fan of interesting city designs in JRPG’s and Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition does not disappoint in this regard. From the natural village with a tree at its center to the freedom-focused industrial city, there is a lot of fantastic variety in design and concept.
This makes exploration perhaps my favorite part of Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition. Even the many dungeons you visit are varied and interesting to explore. The dungeons gradually become more complex and puzzle-like in design as time goes on, creating a natural flow to the game. Even when I got to the later parts, the difficulty and time spent there still felt just right.
However, the combat did take some getting used to. It is the same classic hack-and-slash feel that you would expect from a Tales game but it is noticeably simplistic and weighty. While you do unlock more features as the game goes on, each battle still felt roughly like the same rinse and repeat procedure by the end of the game. It also took a good bit of time to adjust to the somewhat slower attacks that Yuri and the gang have. But it still remains an enjoyable experience.
In Summary:
Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition is great for players who have never checked it out before (especially on the go on Switch) and for those who have already beat it. The added addition of two new playable characters and much more is well worth playing through a second time. For players who are new to this game, this is definitely the definitive version to play. While it does take time to adjust to the speed of the combat and the story isn’t the most interesting, it is a beautiful and varied world to explore with tons of hilarious writing to keep you entertained for hours on end.
Grade: C+
Released By: Bandai Namco
Developer: Bandai Namco
MSRP: $49.99
Release Date: January 10, 2019
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, Steam
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
