Tales of Vesperia

Tales of Vesperia

Exquisite artwork and a keen plot elevate this otherwise as-you’d-expect Japanese RPG from the master craftsmen at Namco.

We now have the full set of high-profile role playing games made in Japan for Xbox 360: Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean: The Last Hope and now Tales of Vesperia. This pretty much sums up the best of the JRPG genre until Final Fantasy XIII gets here… and that remains TBC.

Frankly, Xbox 360 guys, you’re spoiled in this area compared to the underserved PlayStation 3. If you own all of the above, you’ll almost certainly have received Tales of… in the post this week having pre-ordered months ago. If you’re more selective, be assured that Namco’s entry at least makes the top three.

Tales of Vesperia’s secret weapon is its charm, conjured by beautiful character design from manga artist Kosuke Fujishima ("Ah! My Goddess") setting the stage for polite off-the-wall dialogue. It is a pure JRPG experience with ‘next-generation’ sheen, nothing is overblown – as with the battle system in Star Ocean upon which the Square Enix game stands or falls. Initially the concern is that, even with the sumptuous visuals, the adventure could prove too vanilla. However the lead protagonists, notably the swordsman Yuri and his devotion to saving the innocent, soon get under your skin. We love the pipe-smoking dog!

The sum of Vesperia’s parts are arranged to carry a story across 50-70 hours of serenely challenging gameplay. Its combat system is easy to grasp, so becomes more of an exercise in admiring the oddball enemies and collecting data. Almost every new scene is introduced and closed by some light-humoured theatre to melt the stalwart JRPG fan’s sentimental heart. The world is huge, lush and detailed and each new location draws you deeper into the mystery as with any successful graphic novel or animated movie. There are times when Tales of Vesperia strikes you as a videogame alternative to watching a Studio Ghibli movie.

Lost Odyssey remains Xbox 360’s great epic; Star Ocean: The Last Hope the boldest in terms of challenging its audience to go beyond the comfort zone. Tales of Vesperia is the closest you’ll find to a benchmark JRPG for this generation.

4 out of 5