Tales of Vesperia special edition has many tales to tell
by Jason Dobson 
{ Aug 6th 2008 at 3:00AM }
While specifics haven't been revealed, Namco Bandai notes that of the 25 songs included on the disc, a hefty 14 will be pulled from Vesperia, with the remainder coming from Tales of Symphonia (4), Tales of the Abyss (3), Tales of Phantasia (2) and Tales of Destiny (2). However, as much as we enjoy our ears, this limited offering is a step back from the Big Daddies and cat helmets we're used to, though we doubt that will stop fans from switching their pre-orders over in the run up to the game's August 26 release.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wilhelm @ Aug 6th 2008 3:19AM
Hmm... the demo didn't really win me over and I didn't even finish it. Should I give it another chance, or just pass? I found the characters annoying and if it's a really long game, not sure if they could grow on me. Then again... the characters in Enchanted Arms grew on me haha.
StrangeBum @ Aug 6th 2008 3:10PM
I plussed you only because you must have nerves of steel to have been able to play Enchanted Arms long enough for the characters to grow on you.
And I think you should give Vesperia another chance. The Tales games have all been pretty spot on in the past, and I don't think this will be the one to disappoint.
Wilhelm @ Aug 6th 2008 7:33PM
Haha. Yeah... not only did I completely beat that game, but I did the extra long ass special dungeon to get the best character in the game... such a waste of my life haha
Crescent @ Aug 6th 2008 3:22AM
I guess this relates to a decent incentive, as I'm sure the CD is worth an extra few bucks to some. $10 isn't that unrealistic of an amount more to ask for that and the nice metal case.
I'm really just tired of the flood of special/collector's editions that offer extra content that barely or doesn't justify the extra $10-20 being charged.
But I guess it's not like people are forced to buy them, and they are a good way for publishers to make a few extra bucks on a game's release while long-term sales are hurt by the used market.
Foetoid @ Aug 6th 2008 3:40AM
After i found Tales of Symphonia on GC to be the best RPG i've ever played (yes i've finished all the FF games) i have the upmost respect for the Tales series and i will buy this when i get my 360.
Mike @ Aug 6th 2008 3:50AM
Tales of Symphonia was a big favorite of mine on the Gamecube. (The "multi-player", with a friend controlling other characters, was a great addition). Finally finishing up Lost Odyssey now though, so it may be a while before I hit another JRPG.
Anticrawl @ Aug 6th 2008 4:53AM
Tales of Vesperia is likely to be good but Lost Odyssey was the best JRPG experience I've had since say Chrono Cross on the PS1.
Syl @ Aug 6th 2008 3:56AM
I understand the reasoning of sticking to Motoi Sakuraba for the "best of" CD. But the *BEST* tales soundtrack easily goes to Tales of Legendia which is sadly left entirely out of this CD.
Go Shiina, i still love your work!
thatguy @ Aug 6th 2008 6:22AM
I'm an off and on again RPGer and I've been unsure about this one. Lost Odyssey wasn't bad, but left a little to be desired. I heard amazing things about Tales of Symphonia, and its starting to force me to check this out.
John Z @ Aug 6th 2008 7:39AM
The demo is out now. Give it 45 minutes of your time, and I think you'll dig it.
John Z @ Aug 6th 2008 7:49AM
You had me at "Kosuke Fujishima". Seriously, the man must be completely incapable of making a character look bad, and N-B has done a damn good job of translating those designs into 3D models. The soundtrack CD is basically just icing on the cake at this point. After Otakon I'm so pre-ordering this beast (the demo was mostly unsubstantial, but I at least liked what I saw).
I'm honestly surprised at how much JRPG support the 360's been getting. I figured Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon were just flukes, but apparently they did well enough to warrant all these other games since then (even if I despised Blue Dragon enough to warn me away from Lost Odyssey). We're coming to a point where JRPG fans are getting as much love from developers as they did back in the SNES/early-to-mid Playstation days, and I am ecstatic over it.
Strike Man @ Aug 6th 2008 10:49AM
"You had me at "Kosuke Fujishima"."
dark_inchworm @ Aug 6th 2008 8:30AM
Limited/special/collector's/premium/awesome editions are seeing a steady decline in terms of quality of content.
At least this one's just a $10 bump and not $20-ish. I'm looking at you, underwhelming Soul Calibur IV and Devil May Cry 4...
The_Punisher @ Aug 6th 2008 9:00AM
....the demo was awful....I HATED the characters. Ah well, guess i'll wait for Infinite Undiscovery
:)
Stuka @ Aug 6th 2008 9:11AM
Gotta try the demo still but if it's good, I sadly am willing to shell out $10 extra for a steelbook.
Vcize @ Aug 6th 2008 10:56AM
I have the same weakness :\
Vcize @ Aug 6th 2008 10:55AM
Can someone explain to me how the heck the combat works in this game? I tried the demo and as soon as we went into combat there were like 293749278394729874 different things happening and I couldn't tell what the heck my button presses were doing?
stigmataofyouth @ Aug 6th 2008 12:23PM
You were probably on auto for some strange reason. You control the character on the far left if you aren't. To switch to semi-auto(what I use) Press Y while not in a battle and go to artes and the character in the first slot if you are controller 1, if not find the character that corresponds to the number 1-4 controller left to right. Then press select. The B button is to attack and the a is to preform artes. X is to block. And RB is to switch target. Now you should be able to play
krazy @ Aug 6th 2008 2:56PM
some how i didn't feel what i felt in tales of symphonia in the vesperia demo but i'll still get it :D
Misfit Toy @ Aug 6th 2008 4:26PM
Soundtracks are actually one of my biggest incentives towards purchasing a special edition of a game. Not often seen on console games. Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the rare exceptions. Now this. I am encouraged to see more of this kind of thing.
Though, alongside soundtracks, I generally like "making-of" videos for special editions. Halo 2 still is the benchmark, to me, for best included special feature videos.
iritsu515 @ Aug 9th 2008 1:04PM
when will it be released on the ps3?
Mr.ESC @ Aug 6th 2008 9:49PM
I might think about it but first TO the Demo section!
turkeybaster @ Aug 7th 2008 10:36AM
Has this been confirmed or anything close for PS3? I loved Tales of Symphonia, and the demo of this I played on my friend's 360 made me want to buy it.
I really hope they release more of these JRPG's on PS3. I can't help but shake the feeling that they're targeting the wrong audience (just check out some VGchartz JRPG sales on 360. They make me sad).
natasha @ Aug 21st 2008 2:53PM
To my knowledge, right now Tales of Vesperia is an xbox 360 exclusive. I just put a whole bunch of game credit on my edge card to buy the premium edition online. I figured if I'm going to cough up a whole bunch of money for the game, it might have well be the special edition where you can get extra items with game. Therefore, if you don't like the game, you can trade it in and still keep the bonuses. On the other hand, I did not like Tales of Sympthonia, mostly because the story and characters didn't grow on me which is the number one reason I'm not going to support the new Tales game on the Wii. However this Tales game reminds me of Tales of Legendia and Tales of Abyss which I loved. There was something about those stories that captivated me and had me rooting for the characters to win so I'm definitely going to support this. This might be my last Tales game until they Japan finally brings some of those great tales DS titles over here like Tales of Innocence and Tales of Heart.
Doodlez @ Oct 5th 2008 12:10PM
This is sooo what i'm gettin' instead of ninja gaiden 2... (ninja gaiden 2 is still cool, though).