Games of the Year 2021 - Runner Ups

Moving on from our more fun categories, we are now getting into what people really want to know. What hit the top of the list? Well for that you'll need to come back tomorrow but in the meantime check out our 2021 runners up entries to our games of the year.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

---

Pierre-Yves: Echo Generation

Into one of the harder decisions that I had to make this year, Cococucumber's Echo Generation is taking my runner up spot for my Games of the Year. This RPG had it all. Aliens, Monsters, Ghosts, Horror, epic music tracks and the house cat as an ally and healer. Short and sweet clocking in around 10-12 hours, it never overstayed its welcome and everything that it did it did well making it a fun ride and a great placeholder while we wait for Stranger Things Season 4!

Check out our full review of Echo Generation by developer and publisher Cococucumber for the Microsoft Xbox Series X.

Richard: Tales of Arise

This is the Tales title I've been waiting for since Graces came out. The combat was great, the dynamic environments, the battle system, the unique characters, everything just came together really nicely. While I did feel the game sort of fell apart in the storytelling in the second half, and it was extremely unfortunate not having a coop mode, Tales of Arise was a game I had a lot of fun playing and that's why it's my runner up for the year.

Check out our full review of Tales of Arise by developer Bandai Namco Studios and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 4.

Susan N.: Outriders

Puzzle and Mystery games will always trump other video games on my list. Occasionally, a title knocks it out of the park, even if it’s not in my regular repertoire. I’m talking about a cover shooter being my runner-up game of the year. Outriders surprised me as a game that I would enjoy, but I'm glad that I enjoy it as much as I do. There are sporadic shooters that I play, yet Outriders is among them. Not only did they give players a free legendary weapon for continuing to play when things weren’t going well, but they added an outfit customization system that costs players nothing. Given that the story has some hilarious knee-slapping dialogue, even the twists and turns make the title exciting. Plus, rookies like me can drop the world tier down a notch or two when things get dicey. For that, I give People Can Fly a virtual medal. Outriders is a fantastic game that I enjoy playing as a solo experience or with friends.

Nick: Hot Wheels Unleashed

Tons of cars, many of which call back to my early childhood? Check. Creative environments that remind you that these are miniature vehicles? Check. Oodles of settings, modes and a high degree of accessibility? Check. Simply a blast to play? Checks all of the boxes. Hot Wheels Unleashed hooked me with its aesthetics when I saw the first trailer, but the excellent gameplay and variety of cars and modes combined with a solid progression system had me coming back time and again.

Check out our full review of Hot Wheels Unleashed by developer and publisher Milestone S.r.l. for the Sony PlayStation 5.

Robert: Star Citizen

While not quite as rich as my 2021 Game of the Year nominee, my runner up to this year’s Game of the Year is none other than Cloud Imperium Games’ absolutely massive immersive space sim, Star Citizen. When all is said and done, this massive, explorable (and fictional) wing of the Milky Way galaxy will house over 100 systems, with dozens of planets, moons, asteroids, and other space-related doodads, all without loading screens.

Pioneering some of the most fascinating and sophisticated technologies, Star Citizen pushes the bounds in every way- from the extremely high fidelity graphics to the rich and expansive universe (a part of which you can experience now in the Persistent Universe!) full of heroes, villains, and everyone in between. Having more than a few hundreds hours behind my dual VKB Gladiator NXT flight sticks in Star Citizen this year alone lands it in contention for the top spot and with Cloud Imperium Games releasing massive game-altering evolutions every quarter, Star Citizen isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

 

Read More

Tales of Vesperia - Third Opinion - Switch Review

Welcome all to the world of Tales of Vesperia. One of my top 5 favorite Tales of games in this long running series. Vesperia is a Japanese role-playing game that came out way back on the Xbox 360 (I can say 'way back' right? It has been a decade) in 2008. Exclusively at the time for the Xbox only, I was lucky enough to have owned the system and got to play this beautiful masterpiece. Jump 10 years to today and during, what I assume was short, heated argument we where blessed with Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition. This edition was actually the PS3 port of the game that was only released in Japan back in 2009. I remember huffing and puffing when i was a teenager, whining that I hated when Japan would do this kind of crap. But they say patience is a virtue, No? For those who are first time goers to the series I'll try to explain the intricacies of this game.

Vesperia is a game set in the world of Terca Lumireis. In this world people depend on devices known as blastia to help them through life. It's a tool that absorbs a particle called Aer, the source of all the energy for this planet. The story focuses on our young protagonist Yuri Lowell, who thought a simple blastia thief would be easy enough to catch. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple and he gets tangled up with a mysterious pink-haired girl named Estelle. Together with her and his ever faithful K9 companion, Repede (best doggo), they set off on a whirlwind of an adventure.

Since this is a Tales game the battle formula used in Vesperia is the same recipe that's used in most, if not every, installment of the series. Nothing makes me happier then running around combo hitting up some baddies and throwing Artes in their faces. Artes are special attacks unique to each party member that can be learned throughout the game. Each character has their own special kind of moves based on their unique style of class. But nothing is ever free or easy and Artes will always require you to use SP (Specialty or spell points, or super possums, who knows at this point).

There are 3 types of Arte pools to use from: Base, Arcane and Magical Artes. Base Artes are your lowest level of attacks that you can use frequently without consuming too much of your SP and are the only type that allows you to cancel during a combo spam. Arcane Artes are stronger and can only be obtained through leveling up your Base ones, at least 50 times or more, or special events. Though they pack a punch they will munch down on some serious SP to use. Magical Artes (mostly used by the Casters in your party) include novice, intermediate and advance spells. They all have an elemental base to them and a radius of the spell effect on the enemies. Either through line of fire or circular ratio.

Now we dive into the more... complex part of the Arte family. Altered, Burst and Mystic Artes are special attacks that require more specific steps to be used. Altered Artes were new to the Tales series back when Vesperia first came out. They take the place of an old Arte only through the means of unlocking certain skills. Altering its original move it becomes more powerful and usually has an added element effect to it, which can be hurtful to specific enemies.

These next two Artes will require you to have a burst of power through a move known as Over Limit. Over Limit is a meter of power you can store by fighting. As the gauge increases you can activate it during any of its power levels. The higher the number the longer you stay in this mode. It is brief, but with this extra surge of adrenaline you'll be able whack out infinite combo moves. As long as the enemy doesn't attack you during your combo you can go to town on them.

Burst Artes can only be used during Over Limit. They are exactly as they sound and will pack a punch when activated. They can be used multiple times during Over Limit, but I always use this formula as an example. Multiple continuous hits to the face -> Arcane Arte to the groin -> Burst Arte to FINISH HIM. But you can beat' em up however you please. Another thing to know is that depending whether or not you have an elemental based weapon equipping it can change the style of the Burst Arte.

Mystic Artes are the ultimate form of power that can be unleashed, but can only be activated under specific conditions. First you'll need to unlock the skill 'Special', which can be obtained halfway through the game. Some are learned through weapons while others are through events. Second you must fill your Over Limit gauge to level 3 or higher. Finally, once you are in Over Limit mode, you must hold down the 'attack' button after using an Arcane Arte to unleash some serious damage and trust me these are always satisfying to use. They are stupid strong and will use up the entirety of your Over Limit so my advice is to always use it at the last second before your gauge runs out to get one hell of a combo.

Still with me? Good, because I have one final trick to throw at you. There is one more special move that you can use against your enemy. It's called a Fatal Strike and this is another one of those goodies that was added to the Vesperia installment. Fatal Strikes can Insta-kill enemies, except bosses, but they can still do some sick damage. You also have a chance to gain stat boosts, extra EXP, extra LP (Skill Points) and higher drop rates anytime you use a Fatal Strike. How do you use such a move? It will require you to spy on your enemies stats with a fancy tool called a Magic Lens. Once you have that stat window open you'll notice 3 small colored gauges at the bottom (Red, Blue, Green). If you bring any of these 3 gauges to zero (or empty) this will prompt one of the colored circles to appear on the enemy. Be quick when it does , because it will only be visible for a split second. These strikes can be triggered by using up attack, forward jabs or downwards strikes.

Remember that I keep mentioning these 'skills' you need to learn? Well they actually work like Final Fantasy 9's skill tree. During your play through you'll be picking up and swapping tons of equipment for your party, but these pieces of equipment actually have the skills embedded in them. In order to unlock those skills you'll have to gain LP through winning battles. These fill a gauge and unlock the skills from your equipment. Once you've learned that skill it will permanently stay in your skill tree, which you can customize anytime by opening the menu screen. Optimizing and utilizing these skills will help increase your parties effectiveness during battle. I highly recommend taking the time to unlock most of these skills. I say most only because there are skills you can learn that will hinder you, but it can give you more of a challenging run through of the game for the more... Seasoned players. Depending on your new game plus settings, some of these can turn a tough game mode into downright hilarious if used well. Combo exp and minimum damage come to mind with a certain mage and her "blah blah blah " magic.

It might all seem like a lot to follow for a fighting system, but the game does a great job at introducing these steps at convenient times in the story. You won't have to worry about being bombarded in the beginning with all these tricks. Combat is always fun and fluid and can be played by up to four players at once... If you can find three people to tolerate for hours. Whether you play with your friends or just customize the AI's in your menu settings the game is pretty on point.

I've been playing the Tales series since Tales of Symphonia came out back on the GameCube and each installment is a different adventure. Vesperia is no exception to that list. When it was announced that Vesperia was getting a re-release for the Switch I did not hesitate to get a day-one copy of the game. New playable characters, dungeons, enemies and story were just waiting to be played. Boy, was I excited... But that doesn't mean that this newer, shinier version of the game was perfect. When games get re-released I tend to focus on all the things that were changed and these come with pros and cons.

Let's start with the cons. The new playable characters we get in our team are Patty Fleur and Flynn Scifo. If anyone has read our review on Tales character that have been uploaded to the site then you'll know why I think Flynn should be impaled by a Rhybgaro. For those who haven't, I recommend swinging on over and having a very detailed read on the subject, but long story short... I hate him.

Then we have Patty, a swash buckling pirate that's on a quest to look for the infamous Aifread (a recurring character that pops up in most Tales lore) and regain her lost memories. As a whole I don't dislike this character I just find her... Not necessary for the plot line. You can basically feel the cut and paste parts of her story through the game. It just feels rushed and out of place like those YouTube Ads we suffer through that jump out in the middle of streaming a video. As a fighter she's very random. Leaves everything to chance like the battle field is nothing more then a big game of Russian roulette. When I use a spell I like to throw fireballs at the enemies face please, not heal or stat boost a party member that didn't need it in the first place. All in all, these two characters didn't need to fit in the story, granted Flynn was already part of the main story, in the original game, in small sections, but now I have to cringe through the game with him as a party member... Yuck!

The other elephant in the room for me would have to be the voice acting. The only good thing about it was that a majority of the original cast came back to reprise their roles. Great! The new ones are... Noticeable. Patty Fleur is voiced by none other then the great Sandy Fox, who did a great job voicing a previous character in Tales of the Abyss, Mieu. Her performance as Mieu was spot on, as Patty... It was a swing and a miss. Her high pitched, cartoonish voice just wasn't what I had in mind for this pirate lass. It was annoying to say the least.

I take great pride in good dubbing for English releases, but I can notice changes like shiny pennies in the sand. Which brings us to the hero himself... Yuri Lowell is played by Grant George this time around for the added scenes. Why they didn't approach Troy Baker (the original Yuri) is beyond me and a little hurtful. I did some digging and it turns out that Namco Bandai didn't even bring it to his attention. Troy was willing to return to reprise his role as Yuri, saying that it was one of his favorite characters to voice. My guess... A financial issue?

But I noticed the difference during the first 15mins of the game. I'm not saying that Grant is terrible, in fact I think he's got Yuri's attitude down to a T, but... He ain't no Troy Baker. It's a little heart breaking, but not enough to stop me from playing this game. (Editor's Note: Honestly? I like Grant as well since he's a perfect Yuri, but I wish, and as much as I loved Troy Baker as Yuri, that they just re-recorded all of the dialog to make it less jarring.) Judith also got a noticeably new actor, but I had no problem with her performance. In fact I think I like her over her original, but only just a little. If you can't stand the changes in voices the game will allow you to play with the original Japanese audio as an alternative.

The only other small con that I can think to bring up is the voice quality in the new added skits. You think for a game that's been sitting on a dusty shelf for 10 years would have newer, fancier equipment to heighten the games experience, but for some reason when I sat and listen to the skit scenes it almost sounded like a was watching a VHS. I was hoping Blu-Ray quality sound and I got a VCR??? Maybe I'm the only one thinking this, but hey... It's just an opinion.

The pros to this game is still everything that the original one had to offer. Beautiful graphics, a fantastic music score (as much as I HATE Flynn he has one of the most bad ass fighting themes of all times), great characters and an engrossing story. The fighting is always fun to play with friends or solo and all the side story content is just as good. Pretty sure I clocked over 100 hours of gameplay.

To conclude, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a must play in such a large ongoing series. The added bonus content is not entirely necessary, but still curious enough to go through it, but the cherry on top is definitely the whole game itself. Especially on the Switch since you can play it on the go. I'm giving this game an 8.5 out of 10, again I find that all these extras in the game were just not needed for a game that originally is a 10 out of 10.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s):
Bandai Namco
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
4-Player Battle coop
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Natasha

Read More

Tales of Vesperia - Second Opinion - PS4 Review

The Tales series of games has always been a forerunner in the list of “things I want to pick up when they come out”, and when Tales of Vesperia was first announced, of course it made my list. Until I found out it was a 360 exclusive. Now finally available on systems that I own, I can finally rejoice at having my Tales collection come back together, instead of me being forced to borrow my friends Xbox.

Since Vesperia has been reviewed earlier by Robert, I’m not going to go in-depth into review, rather just point out things I liked/didn’t, and some aspects that stuck with me. First of which is the characters. I personally find that the main qualifier of whether I enjoy a Tales game more or less is all about who the recurring cast is, whether it be bland “justice junkies” like Flynn or Sorey, or the sassy quipping characters like Raven and Edna, what really makes a Tales game pop is the interactions between the characters. I can honestly say that Tales of Vesperia, while not actually having any of my favorite characters, definitely had my favorite cast. Apart from Karol, all the characters were interesting or unique in their own right, and their interactions and skits were really fun to watch.

Even though the newly added Patty doesn’t have a lot of leeway, since she was basically slapped in as an “append”, I loved the way she was introduced. Best pirate ninja move. And you keep the substitution doll, I loved it. Also, the only Tales game I know where you can beat people up using a dog with a dagger. Repeede is best doggo, and the fact that he now has actual costumes and can be the party leader is even better.

The second qualifier for me about Tales quality is the battle system. Is it fun? Annoying? Did they overextend trying something new? Did they turn a 4 player possible game into a soft cap 2 player *cough*Zesteria*cough* ? While the button placement has been swapped up a bit, and the “downtime” between combos is disgustingly long, the skill learning was fun, and I’ll be damned if me and two of my friends didn’t sit down to abuse the hell out of the bonus skills. “Blah Blah Blah meteor storm” comes to mind. Pro tip, on the Xbox version you could crash the game if you had too many meteor storms going at the same time. Rita is now an ascended meme mage amongst my friends. Speaking of battling, screw the dog at Emmead Hill. Y’all know what I’m talking about if you’ve played the game before. Hardest boss in the game, and he’s like, what, the third? So dumb.

So. The story. Well, the second half got better? I mean, the first half of the game is basically “I’m going the complete opposite direction from you, but I’ll join you anyway”, and felt super forced. At least you get a decent sized team for couch multiplayer rather fast.

If you weren’t aware, you now know that the original voice actor for Yuri did not come back to voice the swathe of extra scenes/voices added for the definitive edition. On the plus side, you don’t really notice unless you’re aware and looking for it, barring a few minor exceptions.

Last line of complaint: GLOWING. SKY. ORB.

Please, Namco Bandai, we aren’t three. We can handle big boy puzzles.

As a general whole, while Vesperia definitely won’t hit my number one favorite Tales installment, it’s pretty solid in at number three or four, which is a big thing considering how much less I had to play it when it originally came out. Backed by a swell cast of characters, some solid voice acting, a great opening theme, and a swell soundtrack, not to mention the character customization through the use of skills, Tales of Vesperia is definitely a title to get your friends into the series, and to leave series veterans pleased. It also looks and runs really nicely on the PS4 which I'm happy to own.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s):
Bandai Namco
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
4-Player Battle coop
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Richard

Read More

Tales of Favorites - Part 2

I’ve been playing the Tales of Series since that fateful day that I saw Tales of Destiny on the shelf at the local video store. Renting it, falling in love with it, it wasn’t long until I grew sad that it was damned near impossible to buy and it would be years before I owned both Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2 for the PS1 in which “2” is actually Tales of Eternia. They did the whole Final Fantasy naming thing as well.

Moving years down the line, I own just about every instance that I could get my hands on and only as of last week due to a wonderful woman in my life, have Tales of Vesperia’s HD treatment on my Switch. So who did I go ahead and crown as favorites? Check it out below!

Rollo

While my actual #1 is Judith because she’s such a badass, I’m going with my other #1 as I've already written about Judith. So instead of the gushing over the badass spear wielder, I’m going to go ahead and gush about this cat.

Rollo is a cat. Plain and simple. Well… that’s not quite true as he’s a fat and adorable cat. And that’s it.

Now while that should be enough, because cat, it’s the fact that Rollo is just a plain old cat that makes him absolutely fantastic. He follows Lugar in Tales of Xillia 2 out the door and hangs around for the entire adventure. Why would he stay at home where there’s no chance of him being fed when he can follow along and be dotted on? So many times I worried about this cat but he’s just amazing and spoilers or not, survives the whole ordeal and the near end of the world as many a cat would.

- PY

Cheria Barnes

From the moment I met the sickly young girl in Tales of Graces F I was hooked. Here she was in poor health but still focused on protecting her childhood friends. Enter Cheria a number of years later, as she is tasked with bringing Asbel back from the big city for important family business, and she is this steel-y strong, yet pristine and delicate; a series of traits she adequately maintains throughout the entirety of the game. In fact she stays very true to her core, only growing to be slightly more flexible as her feelings for others are nurtured throughout the rest of the playthrough. That really stuck with me …

-Robert

Moses

I had to think long and hard as to who my actual second favorite character was. There’s obvious choices like Alvin from Tales of Xillia, Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, Jade covered by Natasha from Tales of the Abyss. But if I go back far enough, as much as I enjoyed Stahn from Tales of Destiny, I realized that I freaking love Moses from Tales of Legendia which was the first Tales of that I owned. This crazy assed bandit was not only fun throughout the story, but his ending lines were some of the best with my personal all time favorite “Moses Happy Dance! Yeehaw”

- PY

Rowen Ilbert

I'd like to preface this one with the fact that this is regarding the Tales of Xillia appearance, not the Tales of Xillia 2 appearance. The cast of Xillia is generally … not horrific, but Rowen really stuck with me throughout the game. He has an aloof attitude, is wholly devoted to his charge, and far more capable than his quiet demeanor belies. Plus he is hiding a secret that he thought defined him (which didn't). That is a very human-like behavior and outlook, and seeing the revelation of it throughout the course of the game is great. Plus he has some of the best quips in the game.

-Robert

Worst?

Cumore. He’s an ass. An entitled, obnoxious ass. And while I have my issues with Luke from Tales of the Abyss, who happens to be the protagonist, Cumore just has it coming in Tales of Vesperia and I am so, SO, happy that Yuri gives it to him. SO HAPPY. It was in that moment in which my respect for Yuri increased more than it already was because he was ready to do what needed to be done to keep others safe even if it meant getting his hands dirty.

The only, and I mean ONLY good thing about Cumore in English? Is that he’s voiced by Liam O’Brien. That’s it. Glad he’s gone. Ugh I had him and his purple jockstrap that he keeps on the outside of his pants.

- PY

"Least favorite"

Literally any one of the "moe" characters (Elise from Xillia, Beryl from Hearts, Magilou from Berseria, etc… in fact, about the only "moe" character I like is Edna from Zestiria). These characters are thrown in for some ridiculous reason and I have no idea why; they tend to detract from the overall feel and emotional aesthetic of the game.

A close second, if not a tie, to that "class" of character would be the "I'm an immature turd but it's all an act because I'm fake as all hell" group (Hisui from Hearts, literally the entire cast of Berseria minus Eleanor, Alvin from Xillia, Raven from Vesperia, Malik from Graces, etc.).

Both of these groups do nothing for the overall story, show extremely little by way of character development, and more often than not are eye-rollingly embarrassing. I cannot stand either and to see their roles in Tales to be refined would be a massive step in the right direction.

-Robert

Article by Pierre-Yves and by Robert

Read More

Tales of Favorites - Part 1

With the recent re-release of Tales of Vesperia, we started talking about which characters we liked above all else. From there, we also started talking about which characters we didn't like. So kicking off our lists are Richard and Natasha with their entries into our lists.

---

So, my favorite tales characters, eh? There have been a lot of characters that I’ve liked over the years, some with a clear dividing line between personalities and playstyles (Zaveid needs a nap!). Sometimes I barely liked ANY of the characters (Xillia, I’m looking at you. Teepo can stay). Really, it’s pretty had to choose a favorite character from the party members I’ve had over the years, so I’m going to do a little something different: favorite NPCs in tales games. Most of the others are going to be focusing on the main playable characters, so I figure this will give some light to those minor characters that may not receive the attention they deserve.

Sword Dancer(s)

Yes, my first pick is an optional boss, and no, I’m not helping you beat him. The sword dancer has appeared in quite a few tales games, and each time he appears, I love challenging him. He’s tough, pretty badass looking, and he gives some really nice things if you beat him. The sword dancer in Tales of Symphonia was probably one of the first optional bosses I’ve ever really fought in a game before, and that just grew my love for bonus/post-game content. If a game doesn’t have a post-game, bonus optional content, or a new game plus feature, I’m now a little annoyed, all because of Tales of Symphonia and this many armed marauder right here.

- Richard

Jade Curtiss (Tales of the Abyss)

One of the biggest TEASES in Tales history is this man right here. Jade is both sarcastic and witty towards everyone around him, and will always find a way to make fun of you. He was a prodigal genius at a young age, which didn't boast well with the people around him in his youth. He was cold and almost cruel towards everyone, until he met the right people who shaped him into the man he is today. To me, Jade comes off as someone playful, but hides it behind a sense of pride and duty. But piss him off and he will bend you over and well... Use your imagination. He is one of the most powerful casters (fonist) in tales games. And if you dare try to fight him one on one, even with a fon-slot seal on him, he'd still beat you mercilessly with his spear.

Men like him could easily bring me to my knees with his hidden bad boy attitude and piercing eyes, masked behind sharp looking spectacles, with a smile that screams mischief and deviance. DO NOT TRUST THE SMILE OR THE VELVETY SOMBER VOICE THAT COMES FROM THIS MAN. He will drag you down an alleyway and do God-Knows-What with you. We've seen how that worked with Dist the Runny *Ahem* I mean Rose. But overall Jade will put his life on the line to save the people he cares about even if he calls you a fool... With love. And lastly, nothing shouts NERD better than the Pac-Man belt he sports throughout the game.

- Natasha

Georg Heldalf 

For a game that was incredibly mediocre at best, I really liked the villain from Tales of Zesteria. Apart from Edna and occasionally Zaveid, the game was generally full of lackluster, annoying, or just all-around uninspiring characters. And what the hell was up with the “quasi-four player” battle system?!? That was so dumb. But the Lord of Calamity struck quite the imposing presence, when you finally meet him, anyway. Heldalf, or “Kittybeard” as Edna calls him, isn’t just the major villain, but he also PLAYS the villain. This is a man who was battered and beaten, suffered and anguished, and then decided “screw it, if the world needs a villain so badly, than I’ll show you exactly what I can do”, and I really loved that aspect of him. Most Tales Villains fall into two categories: doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, or “kick the dog” level self-important villainy. Heldalf was neither, and it was rather refreshing to be honest.

- Richard

Velvet Crowe

I know what you're thinking... Another bad ass? (I guess I'm just into bad ass characters) Yuppers, Velvet is one of my favourite female leads in the Tales franchise. After the terrible failure that was Milla Maxwell in Xillia I was scared to see what the company was going to give us as the next female protagonist. Lo and behold, I was blessed with this sexy minx. She is what I wish most female protags strive to be, beautiful and strong. Right off the bat I was blown away by her design and dark back story. The more I played as her the more I could see myself in her, minus the demon arm... Doubt I could get through security with that thing hidden under a poncho. Velvet isn't just about strength, though. She also has a tender underbelly that she tries to hide from everyone. I don't blame her, she's gone through enough pain and betrayal, but when I see it slip from time to time, especially when she's with Laphicet, I tend to get the warm and fuzzies.

Her fighting style is fast and rugged, which makes it fun to tear the enemies apart. And her arm blade only makes her stand out as an individual. Don't irritate this black crow or she might *Coo, coo-ya* to the darkest folds of the earth.

- Natasha

Most Hated Tales Characters

Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World cast

Yes, not least liked. For this category I choose: the entire non-returning cast in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. The game was bad and the developers should feel bad. EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. SUCKED. Except the fact you could “pokemon” up your party with monsters. Woot more sword dancer. But seriously, every character was awful, the game was disappointing, and the main character has all the allure of a wet sponge soaked in sewer sludge. AND THE FREAKING UNNECESSARY FLASHBACKS EVERY TWENTY SECONDS. FOR GODS SAKE EMIL, HOW MUCH OF A MORON DO YOU HAVE TO BE, AND HOW EASILY INFLUENCED THAT AFTER A SINGLE SHITTY LINE THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REJECT FORTUNE COOKIE SLOGAN YOU SUDDENLY HAVE A MORE OUTSPOKEN AND UPFRONT PERSONALITY?!? SO DUMB. AND YES THIS IS CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I’M YELLING.

- Richard

Kratos Aurion and Flynn Scifo

I couldn't just choose one since I equally dislike both of these characters.

Starting off with Flynn, his sense of justice is smothering. Always doing everything to the book and walks around like he has a stick up his ass. Nipping at Yuri's feet about "the law" from start to finish of the journey is a constant nag. I get it, I killed people, but only because your precious "Laws" allowed multiple crocks to walk free with minor punishments, so E-X-C-U-S-E me if I decided to do the dirty work for YOU since you were too much of a puss to sully your hands. Plus... He's a knock off of Guy Cecil from TotA. Guy was a much better short hair blonde swordsman then Flynn. Could fight circles around him in his Sigmund style.

As for why I hate Kratos, well actually there's a long story to it, but to put it short... I had a good friend who actually introduced me to the Tales Series with Tales of Symphonia. I was excited to play through this JRPG I've never even heard off and right of the bat she started hounding me about how Kratos was the best character and that I wasn't allowed to play or crush on him. (Don't laugh I was younger and anime guys were... Still, are hot) Throughout are play through she kept going on and on about him being "wonderful", but the more I played the more I noticed how awful he was to our party members. He's got this everything-I-say-goes attitude and treats everyone with a grain of salt. By the time I got to fully know his reasons behind his actions I was too far gone in the hate pool that he couldn't redeem himself with the little bit of good deeds he did in the end. Thanks, but no, thanks. Crotch-Toast Oreo is what I've come to address him as.

Tales of Games

Article by Richard and by Natasha

Read More

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - XB1 Review

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is the hotly awaited remaster of 2009's utterly fantastic Xbox 360 exclusive Tales of Vesperia. While the original was released in other parts of the world for numerous platforms, it was, in the West, exclusive to the Xbox 360, for which is set an unattainable bar for JRPGs on that system. Ten years later and Bandai Namco decided to remaster it, and much to the delight of its fans, released it across all platforms. Now a new generation of consoles and new gamers can reexperience the excellence of Yuri, Repede, Estelle, and gang, as they live the life of adventurers, monster hunters, thief-catchers, and more.

The real question though, is does it still live up to today's standards, and are the changes in the Definitive Edition really all that they are made out to be? Those are incredibly difficult questions to answer and while I thoroughly enjoyed another run, I can see now, in a world post-The Witcher III, Dark Souls III, Final Fantasy XV, Ni No Kuni II, and Persona 5, that Tales of Vesperia does not quite stand the test of time… Though it is still an excellent game; just not quite the perfect ten It might have been in 2009.

Story

While I will likely be burned at the stake for my opinions on Tales of Vesperia as the fanbase is utterly crazed and can be hostile towards anyone looking to say any sort of criticism against their beloved Vesperia. While Tales of Vesperia might have been an excellent entry into the JRPG genre in 2009, ten years is a long time and growth in gamer appetite as well as trends within the genre itself have taken wild leaps in progress. Though the story is enjoyable, it also feels beyond-cliché, even boring at times, and is predictable from start to finish (even to those that may not have played Vesperia).

Growth in the Tales franchise itself also contribute to this somewhat backwards feel; if you did not have a Xbox 360 growing up, but did have a PlayStation 3, then you would have missed out on Vesperia's launch, but you would have otherwise gotten, were you a fan, both Tales of Symphonia games, both Tales of Xillia, and my personal favorite, Tales of Graces F; additionally, if you have a PlayStation 4 (but still no Xbox 360), then you might have also picked up Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria, plus there was Tales of Hearts R on the Vita!

That is eight Tales of games, six of which are post-original Vesperia's launch. A lot can happen in franchise evolution in that time (and it does). In terms of story maturity, complexity, and overall tone, Tales of Vesperia is the weakest link when compared to modern Tales titles. This leaves gamers that have played the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 Tales games (like me) feeling a bit mystified and, at times bored, with the story. After all, we had seen all of these things already…

What that means though, is that Vesperia is one of the founding titles for many of the aspects, both in gameplay and in story, for the Tales franchise. Prior to Vesperia's release the Tales franchise, for the most part, was relatively juvenile with regard to its story, and it relied on its unique realtime-combat system to gain headway in a genre literally dominated by Square Enix's flagship Final Fantasy franchise. Post-original Vesperia's launch though, focus on meaningful relationships between characters (enriched via the Skit feature, which is awesome) became a staple in the franchise, tied to the wonderful Artes system and its action-oriented combat, set forth a winning formula.

Truthfully, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition feels a bit bizarre now; the story is, in retrospect, quite immature, though there are a few jaw-dropping moments, but the overall tone and direction tend to be relatively face-palm inducing. However, if Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is your first foray into the Tales franchise, then it will be a wonderful journey of growth and acceptance.

Gameplay

This is where the Tales franchise sets itself apart from the majority of JRPGs out there. Where, at the time (mid-90s), the majority of JRPG titles were still turn-based, a few franchises went by way of action-oriented gameplay. The Tales and the Star Ocean franchises being the two that deviated from the turn-based gameplay, instead focusing on the ability to move your characters while mashing buttons in a fashion not all dissimilar from traditional fighting games.

Since its early days in the mid-90's, the Tales franchise has remained true to its action-oriented combat and it, to this day, remains a beloved aspect of the long-running franchise. With Tales of Berseria's release, many gamers were quite critical of the combat system and how it has largely remained the same after two and a half decades; I for one love it and see it as a staple of the franchise. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, being from 2009, has no real change in its combat system, simply a remastered version is not expected to though, so I am fine with it.

I do have to say, though, that the sensitivity of the Jump direction on an analog stick is way too high. It is extremely difficult, on Xbox One, to move left or right on the battlefield as it takes naught more than a breath on the analog stick, to make Yuri or your chosen character to jump. Given that the left analog stick is sort of important for both moving and performing Artes/attacks, this is horrifically problematic.

Thirty plus hours in and I simply use the left analog stick to get close to an enemy then use the right analog stick for my shortcuts; it is a workaround that limits the total number of useable Artes to only five rather than the 8-9 useable Artes. It is a huge pain in the ass. Another grievance I have is that, when starting battles, your chosen character might simply walk around the battlefield rather than run and the fix is to wildly thrash around on the left analog stick until your character decides to get a move on. Not the end of the world but definitely annoying.

That said, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is easily seen as the strong foundation with which the later titles were built on; sure, there are older games in the franchise that did the same (or similar), but Vesperia really feels like the parent title. That says a lot about a title that was released a decade ago while the franchise is nearing its 30-year mark.

Issues/Complaints 

Beyond the issues I found with the controls and relatively juvenile primary arc, I also want to take a moment to discuss the graphics. There are parts of Vesperia's Definitive Edition that utterly blow my mind … Take for instance the city of Dahngrest, the home of the Guilds. The depth of field used here is mindblowing and it looks gorgeous in the remastered version. Maybe I am just aging a bit, but I do not recall the original looking this damned good… However, there are times where there is this sort of … hatching … that appears on screen that makes everything super duper fuzzy. Here is a screenshot of how gorgeous Dahngrest is:

Yet this is a picture of Deidon Hold, an area near the start of the game:

There is a clear difference in quality and it sucks because it is jarring. In the second screenshot, the one of Deidon Hold, the text is super crisp yet the entirety of the screen is hazy (and it is not simply the depth of field) with this patchwork oddness. Shots like these two are common throughout the entirety of the game; one moment stunning, the next moment looking nothing more than just a poorly attempted upscaling of the original version. It is a bit jarring.

Now many people are thrashing about Troy Baker not reprising his role as Yuri for new scenes that were added to the Definitive Edition and to be frank, they need to shut the hell up. Grant George has done a miraculous job filling in as Yuri, it is damn-near impossible to tell unless you are specifically trying to find the difference. Here is a sample between the two.

I urge you to take a few seconds to listen then try to tell me which is which. Unless you are really paying attention, it is hard to really tell. Sure, Namco Bandai should have approached Troy Baker, but they did a wonderful job with Grant George, so, to be honest, shut your traps; at least you are able to play Vesperia on modern consoles (plus with the additional content we never got in the West), and hey, if it is that much of a problem or that you are that much of a purist? Just change the voice-over to Japanese so you can hear the original seiyū and keep your mouth shut so you can listen to the glory of the original cast and an utterly amazing soundtrack.

Conclusion

As expected, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition does not bring anything truly new to the original experience, nor to modern gaming as a whole. What it does do is bring a JRPG title that easily fits well within the annals of roleplaying masterclass games. Originally released in 2009 to the Xbox 360, where it was an exclusive here in the West, Tales of Vesperia defined excellence for the time. In 2019 though, things are slightly different; with franchises, including its own Tales franchise, making leaps and bounds within their evolutionary pathways, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a throwback to a more straightforward era.

While I can easily argue that Tales of Vesperia's Definitive Edition is a love-letter to the core fanbase, it also feels like an open invitation to the Tales franchise. New gamers can easily dive into Tales of Vesperia and feel right at home, even if they have never played a Tales game. The warm colors, amusing characters, and easy-to-follow story are all indicative of the joy and love that Namco Bandai has poured into a 20+ year old franchise. Fan or not, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a must-buy.

Game Information

Platform:
Microsoft Xbox One
Developer(s):
Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s):
Bandai Namco
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
4-Player Battle coop
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Robert

Read More