Japan Gaming Guide

TALES OF VESPERIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION REVIEW

Tales of Vesperia is an epic JRPG from Namco-Bandai. Originally released on the XBox 360, it was then expanded for the PS3 where it gained two extra playable characters along with new sidequests, items and abilities. More recently, a remastered version, the ‘definitive edition’, appeared on PC and consoles, giving players the chance to experience it again. That’s what we’re looking at today. It’s not the first time we’ve looked at it, we had a brief look at the original XBox 360 version demo many years ago.

A Long and Winding Road

Like many JRPGs, Tales of Vesperia is a sprawling tale that sees your band of heroes fighting for the existence of the world itself. But it is also a tale of friendship, with your team of loners and misfits gradually overcoming their personal demons as they try to figure out how to do the right thing in a confusing, morally ambiguous world.

There’s an environmental subtext to the story too, with humanity’s overuse of resources leaving the world imbalanced, causing an ever greater flood of monsters to besiege them.

Like most JRPGs, it is a long game. The story meanders, twists and turns, and you’d be forgiven for wondering exactly what is going on at certain points. The characters keep the game fun, however, and things do eventually gel.

The characters bond gradually through the game, and their interactions subtly change to reflect this. Some characters also have skills that complement each other, such as getting stat boosts when particular members are in the active team.

Aside from the story, there’s plenty to think about with side quests and various types of collectable to hunt down. There are costumes, titles, skills and combat moves to find, along with a monster book and item book to fill out.

The game doesn’t have a proper side quest tracker, and many of them are just a case of being in the right place at the right time. That means you’ll stumble across scenes hotch potch style as you revisit older areas. That makes keep of tracking things very tough, but does keep things interesting as you often get a surprise cutscene when heading back to a town, or resting at an inn.

There are all kinds of playable sub-games however, ranging from poker to snowboarding, to a kind of warehouse sokoban. A lot of the wider content is quite hard to stumble across on first playthrough. If you don’t consult a guide, you can easily miss a lot of what’s there. It doesn’t help that much of the additional content doesn’t become available until the endgame approaches.

That can make the game feel a lot more linear than it is. But once you start to figure out the various sidequests available to you, you’ll soon find yourself with far more to do than you have time for.

Finding everything is quite the task though, especially given the length of a single playthrough. It’s unlikely you’ll do everything without a guide, but you can carry quite a lot over from game to game. Tales games are designed for multiple playthroughs, and this is no exception. Most collectibles can be carried over. There’s plenty of replay value to be had working through the game again to get what you missed, and as you can carry powerful items through, your subsequent playthroughs get much quicker.

The Sights and Sounds of Terca Lumireis

Tales of Vesperia’s graphics are occasionally gorgeous, but do look a little flat sometimes. Character designs are great and there are a huge number of combat moves, many of which are spectacular, particularly the spells.

The remastered PC version allows you to play at 60 FPS, and has filters improving the game’s overall appeal. Unfortunately, it isn’t very well optimized, with microstutter appearing regularly to interrupt the game’s flow. It isn’t a deal breaker however.

Sound is pleasant enough. The music is mostly jaunty and pleasant but lacks the emotional punch of a good Final Fantasy, or the drama of Zelda. Character dialogue is excellent, and varied with the cast constantly bickering and bantering as they explore.

Stronger and Stronger

Combat is in real time with you taking control of one (or two, with a friend) of your team of four. You have a wide range of moves, which include basic attacks, artes and spells. Artes and spells use magic points, so these have to be managed.

You also learn new attacks as the game progresses. Some of these happen as you level up, some are taught during the story or in side quests. Others are learnt through skills, and these can be learned permanently if you do them repeatedly. In best RPG tradition once you get into the game you’ll be just as concerned with growing your abilities as you are about slaughtering the beasts in front of you.

You assign moves to controls yourself. Since the moveset evolves, and many of them are best in particular situations, you may find that you change them so fast, you never really know for sure which controls do what. Since you tend to gravitate towards using a few at a time you’ll probably end up with a set of favorites that you use a lot of the time, swapping others in and out as the situation demands.

You learn skills from weapons and characters will regularly learn these after battles, so much of your time is spent juggling weapons to ensure everyone is always learning something. When you face tougher monsters, you’ll want to prioritize your best gear over learning of course.

You have a limited amount of skill points to assign, and there’s plenty to choose from, ranging from various kinds of stat boosts to more subtle skills letting you chain different types of attack together. Learn to exploit these systems and you’ll be doing far more damage than would otherwise be possible, and will be much harder to knock down.

There are also special attacks, such as burst artes and mystic artes that become available later on. These use your limit gauge, which increases as you give and receive damage. Naturally, these are extra spectacular and best saved for tricky moments, or when you’re heavily outnumbered.

Your team members are very vocal during combat, and are a vital source of information. They’ll alert you to enemy weaknesses, status problems and poor health. There’s also a cooking system letting you make meals after each battle, giving various bonuses for the next fight if done successfully.

There’s a lot of depth in the combat system. With so many attacks and skills to think about, and them changing all the time, there’s plenty of room for experimentation. On standard difficulty, you’ll rarely die at the hands of standard enemies, though your magic points will tick down as your work your way between save points giving combat the attritional feel common to JRPGs.

Bosses are an exception, particularly the rare giga-monsters dotted around the world. These beasts give the game a bit of extra post-game interest, demanding the most from your team. Beyond these guys there are a few nasty surprises hidden away, but I’ll leave you to discover those yourself.

That’s Our Guild

The characterization in the game is great, and the cast all have their own interesting character arcs and side stories, with the banter between them evolving as you play.

Skits are unlocked as you move around the world and these provide a welcome interlude to combat. Many of them are attached to milestones or achievements, such as the first time you use a special attack in combat, or when a character cooks a particular dish.

The post combat dialogue also shines. It’s mostly throwaway lines and brief skits, but they evolve subtly, providing a further element of character growth alongside your stats and skills. For example, Rita, the game’s nerdy one, won’t want to participate in anything at first, but will eventually open up and join in enthusiastically with everyone else.

A Standout Tales Game

Tales of Vesperia is a long, epic adventure that still stands up well today. It meanders a little, but will suck you in, and its combat and late game challenges will keep you playing long after the credits roll.

Its broad cast of characters also shines, making the whole experience more enjoyable. Their trials and tribulations lend a human side that contrasts with the grandiose main storyline. You’ll watch your gang evolve into a finely honed fighting unit, capable of saving the world, and delivering a few snappy one liners while they do so.

Tales of Vesperia FAQ:

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Series: Tales
Release Date: August 7th 2008 (XBox 360), January 11th 2019 (Definitive Edition)
Platforms: XBox 360/One/Series X/S, PS3/4/5, PC, Switch, PS4,
Where to Buy: Steam, Amazon, Console Stores, Play Asia
Goods: Try this Tales site.
Standard Price: $49.99 on Steam
Estimated Sale Price: $9.99
Alternatives: Tales of Arise, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest
Length: 70 Hours. How long to beat says 45 but that’s optimistic in our opinion.

Dark Souls 3 is the third entry in From Software’s brutal action RPG series. After its iconic debut, many felt the second entry dipped a little, but the final game is a stonking return to form. Let’s take a closer look in this Dark Souls 3 review.

Essentially a hack and slash ’em up with RPG underpinnings, Dark Souls 3 sees you fighting your way from place to place through a strange and forbidding world.

You pick a character from a number of preset classes and then slowly grow your stats as you level up. The game is more flexible than its predecessors. Being a jack of all trades is more achievable, even if not ideal.

Different play styles are possible, with magic users having a very different experience to out and out brawlers. The game rewards multiple play-throughs and is full of secrets.

Famously, Dark Souls is a difficult series, but one that pulls players up with it and demands they play at its level. Baddies that would be grunts in most other games demand concentration and precision.

There is little margin for error. This is a game where you need to ruthlessly exploit the mechanics to eke every advantage you can over the obstacles in your way.

Indeed, to progress through the normal game you’ll need to know the lie of the land more thoroughly than in perhaps any other game.

Even the earliest enemies will take advantage of any flaw in your defenses and leave you reeling. You soon learn not to stop blocking for any reason, until you figure out that that cripples your stamina recovery, so start doing it more sparingly.

The challenge is brutal, but the sense of achievement when downing a boss is a fist-pump moment not many games can do. Getting stuck can be demoralizing, but you can always pull in a friend, via the co-op system if you really can’t make progress. Trying to do the game without assistance though, takes the game to another level of challenge.

The sound complements the game perfectly. The gentle whistle as you absorb the souls of a fallen enemy is an understated, if creepy celebration of each victory. Play with headphones and the bloodied gurgles of the fallen make the game all the more unsettling.

The dialogue, giving you snippets of vague advice and drips of plot, is also outstanding. Delivered in a strange, rhythmic monotone, the words of bosses and shopkeepers will linger long in your memory, partly because its so hard to be sure what they mean.

Many of the characters have a backhanded jibe at you or a contemptuous cackle that hints at the precariousness of your position in the game’s world.

The original Dark Souls was a curious beast graphically. Appearing in a period when Japanese games were behind the curve technically, it had the look of a game that wasn’t really pushing the boat out, while actually being quite advanced in the way it delivered its seamless world.

Artistically of course, it had quality in spades. The third entry is a much more impressive game on the surface, though its world isn’t as interconnected. It can be magnificent at times however, not least in its architecture. Like the characters and enemies, buildings seem to be there for a reason and have their own history. Many will be familiar from the other games, but have often changed over the years. You’ll also notice that statues resemble familiar characters, if you pay attention.

Enemy design is detailed and meticulous. The various beasts all fit in with their environments and the attention to detail is great. You get the feeling From have thought long and hard about everything – what the creatures are doing there, where they come from. It all ads up to a curious sense of believability about them and the strange world they inhabit.

The bosses are where the bulk of the challenge lies and are where you’ll mostly get stuck. The first Dark Souls had more of a balance between the open sections and the boss fights, but here the bosses are the most serious challenges you’ll face, by far.

The game is full of hidden things to find, some more obscure than others. There are hidden walls and items in hard to reach places. Problems that seem insurmountable can often be solved with a switch of loadout or a dexterous maneuver.

The online messaging system comes in to play here. You can leave messages that appear in other player’s worlds. You build messages from a limited vocabulary, so can’t give things away entirely but there is plenty of scope for assistance and creativity. Messages are hugely helpful, but may not always be honest.

The plot is obscure and the details the subject of much debate among the game’s community. You aren’t given much to go on, but the basic thrust is that you need to bring five lords to their thrones in order to link the flame.

One lord has volunteered, leaving you effectively, with four major bosses to hunt down in order to complete your quest. As with much of the game, it isn’t clear exactly why you are trying to link the fire, or if it is a good thing.

Dark Souls 3 launched in 2016, but is still going strong and has plenty of people playing online. To discuss the multiplayer is almost a spoiler, because the mystery of the mechanics is such a key part of the game. Suffice to say other players appear in your game in various ways. If you don’t consult a guide you could easily go through the whole game without understanding exactly what is going on and we’re not going to spoil things here.

What Dark Souls does is impressive though and pretty much unique. The optional co-op parts provide a real sense of team spirit and a welcome respite from the bleakness of the rest of the game. If you haven’t played a game in the series, you might be wondering which to go for. Well, the first is the classic, though is harder to figure out than 3, which feels more conventionally structured.

Having said that, the interlinked map of the first game and the way everything hangs together is a unique piece of game design that this game doesn’t recreate, despite the exquisite design of individual areas. Our advice would be to start with the third, but the first is a good choice, too.

There are two pieces of downloadable content. There is no shortage of things to do in the main game, but if you want even more to do these are well worth it and include some of the game’s toughest bosses.

The game is available for PC, Playstation 4 and XBox One. The PS4 version is currently on Amazon for $19.99. That’s well worth it if you haven’t played it, and we recommend anyone that likes a challenge to pick it up.

A mini PlayStation is on the way with 20 classic games included.

Following in the footsteps of the many recent retro consoles, a new mini PlayStation is coming. The PlayStation Classic will include Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Wild Arms and Tekken III as well as several unannounced games.

Final Fantasy VII needs no introduction. The Tekken and Ridge Racer games are the final entries of those iconic series on the console and will no doubt appeal to most players.

Jumping Flash is an unusual 3D platformer and one of those early titles we had our eye on back in the day but will jump at the chance to try this time around.

Lastly, Wild Arms is a Western themed RPG which again, we’ve not played but would enjoy checking out.

The rest of the games have yet to be confirmed but are expected to vary between regions. Whether gamers will be able to add games from other regions as with the mini NES and SNES remains to be seen.

The new version of the system is 45% smaller than the original. Two classic controllers are included.

The Japanese launch price will be Y9980. Elsewhere the system will be around $100 or 100 Euros. You’ll be able to buy it on the 3rd of December. Best get writing to Santa now.

Game controllers can bring an added level of immersion to the gaming experience as well as improve your play. A flight stick can make all the difference when you’re angling to be top gun. Luckily then, Hori are bringing out a new controller to help indulge your fantasies. The Ace Combat Flight Stick for PS4 will launch alongside the forthcoming Ace Combat 7 early next year.

The stick and throttle are separate. There’s a stereo jack included too, if you want to put some headphones on for another layer of immersion. The stick has been designed to follow the HOTAS specification, just like a real flight controller. It vibrates too, for an extra sense of panic when you’re under fire.

This isn’t the only flight stick available on PS4 but it looks like a high quality unit. The stick is not just compatible with the PS4, it also works on PS3 and the PC. It is penciled in for a January 17th 2019 release date and will set you back Y19,980.

The Ace Combat series has been consistently good but we haven’t seen it in a while. Ace Combat 6 came out just over a decade ago. Let’s hope the new game will be a good one.

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The upcoming Gran Turismo Sport is going to feature a VR mode allowing you to immerse yourself in the driving experience like never before. This feature will allow you to look around the tracks at your leisure, though it will likely be limited to part of the game only.

Anyone wanting to try this feature out had best head along to the Tokyo Auto Salon. The event is running from this Friday 13th – Sunday 15th and will feature a booth showing off the game. Visitors willing to queue will get the chance to try out the game in solo or multiplayer mode.

Sounds like a good chance for petrol heads to get an early look at how Gran Turismo shapes up in VR.

Links:
Tokyo Auto Salon 2017

Buy Gran Turismo Sport at Play Asia

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 was shown at the Tokyo Game Show this week. The game looks to be shaping up well and will launch in Japan on November 2nd, for PS4 only. Outside Japan there will also be versions for Windows and Xbox one.

Check out famitsu for a few screenshots, and pictures of Japanese celebrities in wigs: link

Players wanting to get in on the action early might want to sign up for the open beta which will start on October 8th, details at the official website here.

You can order the game here [affiliate link].

Sony made a big announcement at E3 today. The long hoped for remake of Final Fantasy 7 is at last a reality. It will be a timed exclusive for PS4, and will then launch on other platforms. Fans have been asking for this for a long time, so it looks like they finally got their wish. FF7 is of course one of the best loved RPGs of all time, so many will be waiting for this with baited breath.

We’re looking forward to seeing how closely this sticks to the original. There are quite a few translation issues with the English version, but correcting them may irk some people who are attached to the version they grew up with. We’re also wondering if the ending will be expanded upon as there have been suggestions it was rushed originally due to lack of development time. Any changes or new material will surely be the subject of vigorous debate among fans.

No news on a release date as yet.

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The PS4 has finally launched in Japan, and has shifted a respectable 322,083 units. That’s a lot more than the PS3 managed over its opening weekend, though less than the PS2, according to Eurogamer. We reckon Sony will be happy with that, given the declining importance of the console market in Japan. It will be interesting to see what happens as more software is released over the coming year.

Expat gamers got the news they were hoping for earlier today with the announcement that PS4 will be region free.

Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida announced the news on Twitter, shortly after his E3 appearance.

And yes, PS4 is region free 😀

— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) June 11, 2013

This more or less makes the Playstation 4 the console of choice by default for expats, since the Xbox One and Wii U both feature region locking, making it impossible to play games from different regions.

We’re really happy with this news, and looking forward to getting our hands on some of the next-gen titles that have been on display at E3.

Want to know what toys Japanese kinds are going to be playing with this year? Then the World Hobby Fair is your place to go. Put on by toy and game businesses, the show gives kids the chance to play with all the newest stuff and gives the companies lots of feedback about what’s hot or not.

This year was dominated by Pokemon, Gundam, and Inazuma Eleven, with all three licenses being spread over a wide variety of merchandise and crossovers. Nintendo and Sony both had a substantial presence, setting up large booths and lots of demos and tournaments. Battling toys were getting a lot of attention, it seems kids want anything that lets them pit one toy against another in a brawl. Professional Yo-yo…ers?..ists? were drawing crowds teaching tricks and hosting shows. Girl-focused games like Pretty Rhythm, Tamagotchi, and Cooking Mama were bringing in lots of players too.

Our picks for the best of the show? The Taiko no Tatsujin game being demoed inside a giant snow globe, the very unusual pairing of feudal Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga with Pokemon, and the Sony shrine featuring Playstation characters and selling good-luck charms.

Here are the pictures, scroll over for a description.