A Tale of Two Genres - Vesperia Breaking J-RPG Mold?

He clutched the controller, its adornments now clammy to the touch. The incessant whirring of mechanisms were reaching their crescendo - an ululation that could shake the very foundations of even the most ardent resolves.



His sweaty brow quivered before adopting a steely and austere resolve. With a terminal burst of light from the TV set, the words came into clear view; 'Tales of Vesperia' - There was no going back now.

And thats exactly how my first time playing Tales of Vesperia went. Honest.

But seriously, I'm starting to approach double digit play-hours now, and TOV is offering up some surprising new...surprises.

First and foremost, for newcomers to the tales series. ToV (Tales of Vesperia) is the latest in the long line of J-RPG's from TECMO. Players assume the form of 'Yuri Lowell' our male protagonist and former Imperial Knight with an apathetic nature towards the Imperial Empire - a powerful presence in the worlds many continents.

The biggest surprise to note:

Yuri is actually kind of cool, for your average J-RPG lead. Sure, the character design has an androgynous influence, which may even seem alien to those who have yet to penetrate the Japanese Manga/Anime culture, but for a J-RPG vet such as myself, this goes largely unnoticed, its what we signed up for. What splits Yuri from the pack is his personality, it makes for a welcome and refreshing change from the archetypical Fanboy hero. He's a go-getter, sure-of-himself badass with an attunement to the wellbeing of others, which delightfully, doesnt come across as overly-vivacious, as is the tendency for your Johnny Average shounen male (I'm looking at you, Naruto).

Thats not to say the game escapes stereotypes of the genre. The Voice Acting itself isnt bad, but suffers under the tendrils of the script - a force known to reach Saturday Morning Cartoon levels of cringe'worthy. This is intentional of course, Tecmo probably believes there just isnt a market for a more mature take on J-RPGs in the West, and so treats the world they've crafted with kid gloves, but the experience doesnt suffer terribly from this. To be sure, the story loses some of its Dire-ness, but the quality of the actors themselves help remedy this to some degree, there's life in the voices - and they fit the characters more or less. They're cliché, but its cliché at its finest.

The next nugget of the unexpected was the difficulty, Goldilocks knows when something is just right, and apparently she works at TECMO. Newcomers and grizzled vets alike are catered for, battle difficulty can be changed at any time during the game at your convenience. The various settings do just what they say on the tin; Easy Mode - so paltry your mum could clock it, Normal Mode - a modest offering, and Hard Mode, a crucible so impenetrable it makes insurance on your gamepads an essential purchase. I am speaking from experience.

Of course, being only 10 or so hours in, we cant be dealing with certainty's here. The shell has been breached, and brave men scale its inner core. The experience could be all downhill from here, or perhaps, J-RPG Nirvana lies in wait.

We'll have to see.

-Ari