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The Tales series has enjoyed a fair bit of success in the US, but in Japan it's more like an institution. These games are so popular, in fact, that the latest, Tales of Vesperia, has done what many might have thought was impossible—it caused the Xbox 360 to sell in record numbers. An exclusive to the system, it's easy to see why the game is so popular.

Interactive Anime Inspirations

As usual, you won't find a lot of innovation in the first next gen release for the Tales saga. It sticks close to the template for general JRPGs and the past releases in the series, yet manages to be far more charming and engaging than other recent takes on the genre. Unlike Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia doesn't bog you down with heavy-handed, clichéd and angst-ridden androgynous protagonists. Instead, these clichéd, androgynous protagonists actually have a sense of humor and irony.

Sporting a beautiful animated look, much like Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia is very much an interactive anime or manga story. The HD visuals are sharp and colorful, and the character designs are excellent. Monsters in particular are usually so adorable; you'll almost feel bad dispatching them. The presentation of the game, including the solid voice acting and excellent scoring, is a big reason why Vesperia works so well.

Funky Pet Tricks

The story itself is pretty standard stuff. The plot focuses on Yuri—a quirky young warrior from the poor side of town who constantly finds himself at odds with the city guards and government. The story opens with the theft of a magical stone, called a blastia, which regulated the water supply in Yuri's neighborhood. Yuri, being a civic-mind young lad, decides to track down the thief and get the stone back. As it turns out, blastias are being stolen and even destroyed all over the land, and thus begins a spiraling quest that expands to, not so shockingly, saving the realm from evil.

Yuri quickly meets up with a mysterious young noble lady who wants to see the world and rescue a mutual friend, along with a headstrong young mage, and many others. At Yuri's side is his trusty, pipe-smoking dog who prefers to use human weapons in combat. No, that makes no sense, but how often do you get to fight along side a pipe-smoking dog?

Real-Time Role Playing Action

The main difference between the Tales series and most traditional console RPGs is the combat. Tales of Vesperia doesn't have annoying random battles for one thing—you can see all the monsters wandering around. Combat itself is real-time as well. In fact, combat is an action-based affair, where you control one character and the rest are AI-controlled (or human-controlled if you have people wandering around with extra controllers). The B button is a standard attack. You can block, jump, move freely around the arena, and unleash an incredible array of special attacks using both analog sticks.

You'll have an array of weapons, magical skills and spells (called artes), and items at your disposal. A great feature of this system is the ability to control the strategy and tactics of your AI teammates down to an incredible degree. Even better is the how you can set up each character's artes and skills to create a supreme fighting force. Just the same, lovers of turn-based combat will likely find the button-mashing action tiresome.

Classically Done

Action-based combat controls aside, Tales of Vesperia is a perfect example of why the Japanese RPG is so venerated. The game deals with serious issues like corrupt government, tyranny, crime, honor, friendship, and other familiar elements, yet seldom bogs itself down in overdone drama. The dialogue occasionally feels lost in translation, but the interplay between the characters is funny, sly, and makes these unlikely heroes feel more fleshed out.

Tales of Vesperia has already proven itself a winner in Japan, but it deserves just as much success here. The game is far from ground breaking and offers little in the way of innovation. With around 60 hours of gameplay full of beautiful anime visuals, fun characters, and hordes of quests, there's no reason not to delve into this adventure.

Review by: Jason D'Aprile