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June 20th, 2008 @ 12:37
The Asian demo of Namco RPG Tales of Vesperia went up on Live today, so we thought we’d let you know how it plays. After the link.
The graphics instantly reminded us of Eternal Sonata: not just the cell-shading but the height, build and gait of the characters. However, unlike Eternal Sonata the environments were bland and lifeless. Although tri-Crescendo’s excellent JRPG was visually flat places, it was illuminated by bright colours and some of the best lighting we’ve seen on a modern day console. Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia on the other hand, lacks these qualities which makes for pretty unimpressive viewing.
The demo’s audio is region-specific so we had to endure the English dub. It’s horrible. After all these years of Japanese imports it’s an area that still needs tons of work. Hopefully the full game will allow Japanese language with English subtitles.
There are no cut-scenes as such in the demo, only in-game interactive movies which boil down to you having to press the ‘A’-button after each bubble of speech. This means on repeat playthroughs of the demo you have to sit through the opening sequence - or basically tap A repeatedly as we did - as the story elements can’t be skipped.
Other similarities to Eternal Sonata include the narrow pathways which the game funnels you through, guiding to player from a to b. Sometimes you’re given multiple paths to choose from, which end with random battles and loot.
Battles are triggered by simply running into monsters on the map. Some are avoidable, but we like a good fight and took ‘em all on. Yeah!
Combat is confusing initially, as we’re used to the turn-based stuff, but in Tales you only get to control one character. The game does allow you to adjust your allies’ battle formations and AI, but no direct control is given to the player.
One thing that draws us to JRPGs is the atmosphere. That doesn’t just mean graphics, but soundtrack as well. However, while Tales of Vesperia seems to have disappointed in the graphics department, it doesn’t try and make up for it in terms of musical score. The music is twee and lifeless; almost sounds as though it’s mono, in the background somehow. The accompaniment in the title screen does allude to something more but after you’ve pressed start the feeling quickly fades.
Tales of Vesperia is just one of a number of Microsoft JRPG exclusives we have to look forward to, and while we weren’t entirely put off by this very short (270Mb) taster, we’re hoping that future games such as Infinite Undiscovery display a much higher production value: we choose quality over quantity every time.
Disappointed.
By Mike Bowden
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June 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I’ll see if I can back these impressions up or mercilessly crush them real soon.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Oh. Balloon deflated!
It sounds very much like every other Tales game, mechanics-wise. Have you ever played one before, morriss?
June 20th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
No I haven’t if I’m honest. Hopefully we’ve described the gameplay adequately enough so that Tales fans can choose to ignore it.
However, visually not very impressive at all which is a shame as ES is still the best looking 360 game to date, imo. The lighting is stunning.
One thing worth noting about the dialogue though, is that the Eternal Sonata demo did the same - have console region specific dialogue in the demo - but in the full game you could select Japanese dialogue and English subs which improved the game ten-fold.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I really, really like the battles.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
We never said we didn’t!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Do us a royal wave, morriss! Go on!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
We don’t do royal waves, Blerk. It is beneath us we feel.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Likes
+ “Cutscene” character graphics
+ Battle system
+ Lighthearted feel
Dislikes
- Gameplay character graphics (muted)
- American voiceovers
Meh
* Music
* Environments
Generally… I really enjoy the battle mechanics. They’re confusing at first but it’s not unusual for JRPG demos given you’re being dumped into the game with a ton of skills that you would have usually had hours to become accustomed to.
I like the character graphics in the cutscenes but for some reason they don’t retain the same clarity in gameplay - switching to a more muted palette, perhaps to fit the environments. It’s hard for me to comment on the single environment in the demo given it’s a pretty standard forest area… very little to get excited about there. Paths were a little confusing to make out though which isn’t a good sign for the eventual full game. I don’t know if there’s a minimap option - I couldn’t see one.
Voiceovers are typical half arsed American fare. I know for a fact I’d end up playing this with subtitles and Japanese VO if I purchased the game. Even so, it was clear that they’ve put some effort into the personality of each character - which is encouraging.
I’m not too discouraged… but if the rest of the game is designed like this forest section then I don’t think it’s going to be bowling us over with 10s. Morrississesses’s impressions seem pretty close to what I got from the game - Though I think I’m far more impressed by the battle system than he was!
Wait for reviews I reckon.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I wasn’t unimpressed by the Battle System, it’s jsut is was rather confusing. A tutorial would have been nice.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Yeah, certainly for the demo. It’s a tough call - you either put people in near the start with crappy skills and they say the battles are pathetic or you throw them in much later but risk confusing them.
They should have probably at least tried to give you an idea of what everything does.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
To be fair, they probably expected you to already know what to expect from the battle system. Most gamers in Japan will have already played at least one Tales game.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Eternal Sonata Demo did both: You had a chat with some character at the beginning who told you what everything did/how it worked, and when you triggered a battle you were pretty powerful.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Anyway, the point is, the battle-systemm didn’t mark it down as it were. It was the overall feel of the game: graphics, music, dialogue, characters.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
There’s a video of the demo up at Gamersyde now.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Blimey, I see what you mean about the voices and music. One of the tunes in there was drilling into my skull. Game looks fine, though.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I actually like it I’m a big jap fan so hopefully this
is good.
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:20 am
Basically all you’re doing is comparing this game to Eternal Sonata. This game is absolutely beautiful. As for it being “bland and lifeless” you can go fuck yourself. There’s a reason as to why this is the 10th game in the SERIES. Don’t go bashing a game in a series that you haven’t even played.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 am
That told you!
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
Innit!
*handbags*
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 am
Seriously though, the graphics look PS2, imo. Which is ok, I guess, if graphics only fill a function role for you, but I love ‘em, and I like my games detailed and shiny.
Blerk: get your mate to buy Eternal Sonata and compared the two. Very similar in look and style but ES gets its tadger out and waves it in Tales’ face.
Or something
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:16 am
I thought it looked all right in the video. I’ll download a hi-def version and have a better look.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Eternal Sonata HD video review for comparison.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:39 am
Actually, you’re probably right. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “PS2-level”, it’s certainly a bit flat and not quite as detailed as I expected it to be. The in-battle graphics appear a little sharper, almost as if they’ve applied a blur filter over the top of the overworld bits for some reason.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Really, don’t compare this game to Eternal Sonata. That alone is a game. “Tales of” is a series. A SERIES! It’s been around for almost 13 years and it’s still as popular as ever. Plus, it’s a demo. A FUCKING DEMO! The actual game isn’t out yet. Reviewing a game based on the demo is just…plain stupid. Hopefully this “review”* hasn’t changed anyone’s mind about getting a really good game. The voices are amazing. The graphics, simply beautiful. It’s the first Tales of game in HD. Besides, it was only what…10 minutes? You don’t deserve to play a Tales game.
*- this isn’t a review. it’s a comparison.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The voices are ‘amazing’? Are you deaf? They’re awful! And yes, I have played Tales games before, so I’m allowed to comment.
This isn’t a review, anyway - it’s a ‘first impressions’ of the demo. Don’t be a nutter.
And don’t make me defend morriss again - I feel dirty now.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
It isn’t a review. Read the words “DEMO IMPRESSIONS” which in simple English is an opinion about the demo: not the game, not the series.
Maybe you’re right, maybe Eternal Sonata should be compared to it and not the other way round. Still for me, the similarities were striking and needed to be mentioned.
Also, many XBox 360 owners would never have played a Tales games before as it wasn’t released on Xbox until now. Eternal Sonata has however, thus making it easier for people to grasp.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:32 am
No offense to you, Mike, but you obviously don’t know what features any Tales game contains nor does it sound like you went through much of the demo at all.
Of course it looks like Eternal Sonata, they both were made in the same style. Also, you said the environments were bland, but you did only go through one area, and most likely you didn’t get all the way to the ocean cutscene, which was positively beautiful. Either way the graphics are quite amazing, and I personally think that you have some sort of eye disease.
Namco-Bandai would never just get rid of the plot, even if it a demo and the only thing you really want to do is fight. Welcome to JRPGs.
Also, I can see that if you’ve been accustomed to turn-based RPGs, how a Tales game could be confusing. However, you do get to control more than one character if you switch them with the controlled one in the menu, and later on in the game you usually get an item that lets you switch mid-battle (But you wouldn’t know that so I’m not going to beat on you for it).
As for music, quite a few people can agree that Sakuraba is getting dull. But again, you did only listen to a few songs throughout the demo, so there’s not enough to really put it down. But then again, this is just a first impression so I’m fine with that.
I don’t get the quality over quantity comment either. How exactly does it show quantity?
http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/tales-of-vesperia/preview/give-jrpgs-a-chance/a-2008062592848435091/g-20080227101627662014
Here’s another review by people who have actually played through some of the game.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:33 am
It’s just an opinion. It isn’t ‘wrong’. I also completed the demo twice before writing that.
If you think the graphics were great you’re mad. They were very bland and lifeless and the palette wasn’t exactly rich.
I’ve also played quite a few JRPGs thanks but you can continue to to put yourself across like you’re the old wise master talking to the uneducated pupil. It’s cute.
“Quality over quantity” - read the paragraph again is all can say. You’re the only person who didn’t understand it.
Have fun with Tales btw. Hope you enjoy it. I look forward to playing the full game when it comes out in Europe.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:03 am
First of all, I never said you were wrong (well, except for the ‘eye disease’ comment, but that was intended as a joke). You have your opinions, I have mine. Whether or not you debate my points or I debate yours doesn’t matter.
But what I find very hypocritical is how you denounce your points as opinions, yet when I refuted your comment on the graphics, you’re saying that I’m mad.
Another thing, I would never try to make it sound like I was better than you. Even though I have played more Tales games than you, which would incidentally give me more experience with the series, I never once tried to make it sound like I was some kind of master of JRPGs. I really was only trying to tell you that you could switch the controllable member, and how it’d be ridiculous to throw away the dialogue even for a demo.
I’m sad that I don’t have any finishing comment to put here to make the other paragraphs sound not so aggressive.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Regarding all the complaints about the acting…I really can’t change any opinions, but I will say that the actors are as good as it gets when it comes to animation, and you won’t get anything better by switching to a Japanese track except a nice reassurance that you have no idea whether or not the actors suck.
I’m also going to say that I personally enjoy the graphical style; Eternal Sonata was bright and had some nice sights but all the jagged models and clipping was absurdly distracting. Vesperia is nice in that it’s super-smooth and polished; not quite as colourful, but the scope is there. It feels more like an anime in motion, where-as I found that Eternal Sonata was the more PS2-like experience with the rough edges.
I’ve got one major gripe though; for ease you’re comparing the game to turn-based titles where you control your main character and several others as each turn allows you…Then you go and say that Tales of Vesperia only permits control of one character. That may be true in a single-player real-time sense, but you can access the menu at any time to issue commands such as direct spell and item usage or AI changes as you mentioned (not unlike a turn-based game) and if you really want more control, you can turn on another controller and set the corresponding position’s party member to Manual control, so you can have control over multiple characters in real-time (although you’ll need some buddies to play with you!)
July 14th, 2008 at 7:51 am
The hilarious thing is, is that I actually liked the demo. I was just a bit disappointed by a few elements of it and thought I’d point that out.
And I know about how to “control” different players, I was just talking about it in a traditional turn-based JRPG sense. But hey, I don’t want to spoil the Tales Party going on here.
You guys are great!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Who’s next in the “tear a strip off morriss” queue? Roll up! Roll up! Plenty of tomatoes left!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Hi
July 14th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I’ve got tomatoes, eggs, water balloons, and bricks. Which do you fancy?
July 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Sticks and stones, innit