Almost a decade later, Bandai Namco offers us a remastering of one of the best episodes of one of its most beloved role-playing sagas. We review the Definitive Edition of the sensational Tales of Vesperia.
Many users miss the arrival of a new “real” chapter in the Tales of series , one of the oldest and most beloved franchises linked to the JRPG genre. Fortunately and to make this wait more bearable, Bandai Namco wanted to give the fans of said series a remastering of one of its most prominent chapters … and perhaps less known, since the original only appeared in the West in its version for the Xbox 360 console.
Precisely for this same reason I consider that this Definitve Edition of Tales of Vesperia has a special hook for all fans of this type of productions in general. Yes, because despite the fact that it is not the most “currada” remastering in history, not at all, as it is based on the delivery for PlayStation 3 that did not leave Japan in its day (and that featured several important additions compared to the original) its value rises several integers.
As it is a fairly veteran title (almost a decade contemplates it), I think it appropriate to delve a bit into its history and, also, its gameplay, even if only in passing and without going into the deeper details of both aspects.
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition Announcement Trailer
Challenging, joyful and memorable adventuresStarting with its script , in my opinion we are facing one of the most elaborate episodes from the plot perspective of the entire saga, which is saying a lot considering its age and pedigree. Everything takes place in a beautiful world called Terca Lumireis , a location that has a huge size and that we can explore at will.
The battles take place in real time and use the famous Linear Motion Battle system.
A resource called Blastia is on which the whole story revolves, which supplies the necessary energy to the different cities that are home to Terca Lumireis. That is why its value is as high as you can imagine, which makes it a very coveted element that gives rise to great conflict.
In the middle of everything there is the main protagonist, Yuri , a boy who with the help of a good number of other characters who are joining his journey must save said world from the worst of fates … such as being the pasture of beasts savages that roam freely in the open areas. A trip of approximately 50 hours (although this estimate is highly variable, as in this type of proposal) in which we are going to enjoy the ingredients inherent to the genre … starting with the fighting.
It has a special hook for all fans of this type of productionThese battles become one of the main tasks to carry out throughout this adventure. The combats take place in real time and are not random, that is, we can see the rivals arrive and enter into combat or not depending on what we decide at each moment. The classic system of the series, the LMB ( Linear Motion Battle), works as well as usual, being able to enjoy very fluid, dynamic and quite tactical confrontations in which it is only possible to criticize one aspect: how unintelligent CPU-controlled allies are sometimes shown, which can get us out of our boxes on more than one occasion for his ineptitude. It is true that it is possible to choose between several behavioral options to try to mitigate this flaw (which was already featured in the original Tales of Vesperia), but in my opinion it should have been revised in this remastering. Good thing it’s not bad enough (at all) to ruin the gaming experience …
As we progress we can learn new skills and Arts.
Exploration is also essential in Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition and it is possible to go through a large number of different locations, some of a more than worthy beauty. Many of these sets are full of characters with whom it is possible to market, obtain information and carry out secondary tasks, conversations that although in the original title were captured in English, on this occasion it is possible to follow them in our language thanks to an excellent translation. An innovation that, in a work of similar characteristics with a multitude of texts, is greatly appreciated.
Continuing with the news that this Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition presents in relation to the delivery of Xbox 360 (which, I reiterate, was the only one to appear in the West), this version also includes the incorporation of a new character that can join our group (Patty Fleur), as well as the perpetual presence of the old acquaintance Flynn. New side quests have also been introduced, entire dungeons with their final bosses, certain areas have been slightly redesigned and it is possible to enjoy some new events and mini-games .
Although it doesn’t technically stand out, its setting remains as captivating as it was a decade ago.
The soundtrack is really wonderfulFor its part, the graphic side has also been revised … but not as much as I would have liked, although the final result is not bad. The version I have tested, the one corresponding to Switch, is quite solid and offers a resolution of 720p in portable mode and 1080p when we connect it to the television, although the frame rate varies depending on whether we are exploring the backgrounds (30 fps) or fighting (60 fps). What happens is that it gives me the feeling that nothing related to the quality of the textures or the lighting has been touched, so it shows that it is a fairly veteran title, although fortunately the aesthetic line shown by the characters and the decorations are still excellent and mitigate this inconvenience somewhat.
The sound has withstood the passage of time better, and in addition to being able to listen to conversations in English and Japanese , it is also possible to enjoy a soundtrack that is still as wonderful as before, being in my opinion one of the greatest attractions who owns this remarkable JRPG adventure.
“Very good”
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
8.5
Readers
(1)
Although it is not the best remastering that I have enjoyed in the present generation of consoles, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a great opportunity for all those who did not enjoy this fantastic JRPG in its day to do so with the best edition ever released. Its elaborate plot, magnificent string of characters, varied gameplay and great setting are its highlights. A couple of aspects related to its playable and technical plot could have been polished, but despite that it is a very enjoyable title.
- Its playability is still magnificent almost ten years later
- Finally comes with texts in Spanish
- Excellent sound section in general
- + The fighting is still very entertaining.
- Technically it could be more worked
- Allied behavior during battles is poor
