@Azures:

Hahahah, you're Mr Funny.

MetalGearMax

How do you go about creating a Japanese account? I didn't know you could even do that.

ajnewman

@DHSlash: The Tales games usually take an RPG cliche and then introduce a plot twist that turns that cliche upside down. If Vesperia doesn't do that, I'd be fairly surprised. The demo section is probably from an early portion of the game.

wormguy

This should be multi-platform, no reason for not to be. It could run on the Wii just fine. It could definitely run on the PS3.

Meh, I like tales games, will probably get anyhow.

Chaospluto

Just created a Japanese account, and started downloading it. Last tales game I got to play was Symphonia and I loved it, unfortunately I never got to try out Legendia or Abyss. I probably went through Symphonia 4 or 5 times. I'm looking forward to Symphonia 2 on the Wii as well.

Vesperia definitely needs to be seen in action. After see HD gameplay trailers my jaw dropped. Can't wait for the demo to finish.

MantisDragon

@Fierfaerie: Im so down with you on thats one. Maybe im just nostalgic, but Id rather have colorful sprites to photrealistic 3D real-life models.

I was a bit asdden to notice that Tales 2 lost some of it's processor cell shadedness, but I think ill endure.

@Azures: You have the right to your opinion, of course, but you need to see it in motion.

Shiryu

No, it isn't coming to PS3 for now. It was said that it was designed partially on the PS3 at one point though. That said, Namco's multiplatform versions don't come out in the US. See Tales of Symphonia and Eternal Sonata.

As a person who has played every Tales game, I can honestly say Vesperia has probably the best battle system so far. Can't really say much about the story because it's a demo and that's such a small amount of time to get a feel for the characters that it's worthless to judge it based on it. I definitely love how it plays though and that means I'm buying it.

Ueziel

Any word on when this will be released to those of us without Japanese accounts?

Cloral

woot just played it, short but SWEET demo!

YourAnthony

@Azures: LMFAO. You must be joking.

I'm gonna try this when I get home.

karasu is my homeboy

@Fishballs: Lies. I am a Silver subscriber and was just playing it.

Mike Fahey

@DHSlash:
Eventually, it'll probably cross over. I don't particularly forsee this one becoming a massive hit on 360 (considering the Tales games are never big hits outside of Japan), so they'll have to do something to recoup.

Archaotic

Just downloaded this, gonna try it out...but Legendia totally murdered my love of the Tales series a few years ago, so I doubt this is gonna do anything for me, considering the character designs are godawful and the plot is nothing unique.

Still, I'll try it out before making a final judgment.

Archaotic

@PsycheE: Tales games have been ahead of the curve since ToP on SFC

Omegasoap

I love the COLORS! And I love the style. The good thing about game design like this is that it takes longer to start looking outdated. It's part of the reason I prefer sprite RPGs over fully rendered 3D ones.

3d looks better every generation, making the older gen games look like shit, whereas sprites and cel-shading keep crispness and color and age much better. I realize that sprites can look outdated, but I personally have never played a sprite game where I said, man, those sprites look like crap. I can't play this game. On the other hand, FF games, the pinnacle of graphical beauty for their time, just look shittier as time goes on. And...I guess I am becoming a graphics whore, damnit.

Fierfaerie

I really love the Tale series, but since I only own a Wii, the only thing Im waiting for is a speedy (but good) translation of Tales of Symphonia 2. I loved the original. I really also loved the PSX one, and the SNES, well, thae SNEs one was a landmark title that im happy to have played from start to end.

Hope this one does very well at retail.

Shiryu

This demo is really quite good. The boss kicked my ass over and over till I worked out what to damn well do. The gameplay is really good with a good ammount of strategy and action all mixed into one package.

The voice acting is not bad, but the script is meh. I know its stupid to judge in a demo, but I just hated some of the lines. One scene just felt like it was going through the motions and like they just copy and pasted out of every other JRPG ever made.

I like it and it adds to the RPG pile of games on 360. I say download it and try for yourself. Will it change the world? No. Will it beat Lost Odyessy in greatness? Probably not. Will it change Japan into liking the Xbox 360? Hell No, they wouldn't buy it even if it came with 5 erotic games, the promise of free sex and some used panties.

Anyways, is this coming to PS3 as well? I'm just hoping as well for a region-free version.

DHSlash

It's only available for gold subscribers right now.

@Azures: Kotaku posted a few screenies a few days back, they looked pretty good actually.

Fishballs

I hate JRPGs,but this game looks pretty decent from what I've seen.

enewtabie

So is it difficult to get a Japanese Silver account? How exactly can I pull that off...I'm really itching to try some JRPG demos, especially if they're in English ^_^ Someone point me in the right direction?

goomba478

@Azures: Yea, it might be bit flat for current-gen, but the Tales series has never been about graphics. Just fuckton of particle effects and ridiculous hitpoints.

PsycheE

@goldwings:

When you say again what exactly do you mean? If you did once have an RROD console you would have gotten it replaced for free.

@Azures:

Yes its called cell shading.

YourAnthony

By squiggles I believe he is referring to the "Moonspeak"

FLYBOY611

Those cursed squigglies... how they laugh and point at my shameful monolingual self. I'm going to go hang myself right after I contemplate for a few moments what in God's name a Vesperia is.

Snozzberry

@Azures: Looks amazing in action.

Mike Fahey

@Azures: 1/10

Omegasoap

This is a 360 game?

It looks like a PS2 game, and not even one of the better ones.

Azures

T_T
If I don't hear a PS3 release (it could be timed), then I'll have to get a 360 agian. Oh well I now know RRoD is not as bad as it used to be.

goldwings

I guess I'll be playin' this game on a 360 emulator 10 years from now, along with eternal sonata, aside from that it does look pretty good, can't really say anything bout the combat seeing to as how I can't paly the demo, but from all i've heard it sounds solid.

AznSlackerType

@Mike Fahey: damnit. it has that little red "no" sign on mine, and when i try to d/l it, the "only gold subscribers" message comes up.

Am I doing it wrong?

Fishballs

@KingBroly:

It's the exact same as all the Japanese Tales games. The US versions usually flip attack and artes though.

Ueziel

I don't think this demo is that good.

A - You can't level up
B - You have almost no TP (like 3 uses = gone)
C - Enemies take way too long to kill sometimes (I can beat a Snake in 3 seconds but another Snake just like it takes 10 seconds to beat)
D - The button mapping layout is HORRIBLE, and I pray for custom layouts in the retail version (B - attack, X - block, seriously?)

KingBroly

Im looking forward to this release, Western RPG's don't usually have as much grinding as JRPG's, and some like Mass Effect and the Star Wars RPG's (basically anything by Bioware) have stories that are atleast on par with the JRPG equivalent. I'll admit though, this generation is in dire need of some JRPG's, and some Okami/Ico/SOTC/Katamari type niche games.

Shinra

@Archaotic:

There is something seriously wrong with you. I can tell you quite clearly that it isn't even close to the same as Abyss' battle system and saying that tells me that you really didn't even pay attention to it. Vesperia appears to not have FOF changes but instead actual skill changes as moves you use. Shortcuts being mapped to the right stick gives you even faster access to them. Environmental obstacles to hit (as seen in the boss fight) that actually give off effects (and is how you kill the boss. See, the plants you can target stun him if he's near them) and that's certainly a Tales first. Defense is mostly the same but it's defense. The only thing we don't see (or I didn't see in the demo) is what the burst artes are. There's probably a ton more like how the skill system itself works and all sorts of other things.

The voice acting is of the same caliber as any recent RPG from the PS2 era and pretty much equal to anything you'll find in almost any other game for that matter (certainly better than all the OORAH garbage the CoD4 story spit out). FF12 is really the only game I can think of with clearly better voices.

The character designs are just as the Tales series has always. Complaining about that now just seems dumb. Just about everything put out these days can be seen as generic and continuing to complain when nearly every game is like that doesn't really jive with me very well.

Ueziel

@Archaotic: If it's as bad as you say it is, I'll probably just hold out for Tales of Symphonia 2.

wormguy

Just "finished" the demo (read: got destroyed by the boss because of all of its "lol hit everyone around me and inflict stun" attacks), and I have to say, I'm glad I kept my expectations low. I'm not impressed...the voice acting seems really low-caliber, the character designs are painfully generic, and the battle system feels like Abyss' all over again...

I don't know, man. I just don't know. I'm all for the JRPG continuing to thrive, but if all we're going to get is Saturday Morning Anime rejects, maybe it needs a few more years in the oven...

Archaotic

Seems like pretty good stuff so far. I don't go in to any Tales game expecting major changes, and Vesperia seems fine in my honest opinion. Regardless of VA or mediocre plot, the Tales series always has had interesting enough gameplay to make me want to suffer through the storyline.

One note though, the difficulty does seem a step up. Perhaps I wasn't utilizing the plant things enough though.

@Archaotic: Is Suikoden V really that good? I keep hearing good things, but after IV I sort of gave up.

Grahf

I'm honestly surprised they didn't have Eternal Sonata under the Tales name, after looking at the menus. Character development in demos isn't really good, and this is no exception.

KingBroly

Just played the demo.

One of the PCs is a dog. I am SOLD.

tehrahl

@karasu is my homeboy:
I've played every Tales game out there, save for Tempest. Even the Japan-only ToD2 and Tales of Destiny Redux.

It really does feel like "more of the same, but with worse characters". It's not Legendia bad, definitely, but after playing Suikoden V last gen and Lost Odyssey this gen...I expected more.

It's definitely no Tales of Destiny.

Archaotic

Great, I was hoping for a demo. My experience with the Tales series has been very hit-or-miss. I liked Symphonia on the Cube, but Eternia (PS2) and Legendia (PSP) failed to grab me.
I'm not the biggest fan of the action-y combat system, but the story and characters in Symphonia kept me playing.

Vesperia seems to have a decent main character (i.e. not a motherhumpin' urchin-type kid), so that's already a plus in my book. And the graphics seem to capture the anime-you-get-to-play feel even better than Eternal Sonata.

OK, download finished, time to sample.

Antiterra

@Chaospluto: Are people just glancing at the post picture and deciding it's graphics are "meh"? If you've seen more than 1 big screenshot for this game, you wouldn't be saying "It can easily be done on Wii."

There's also a few reasons why it's on 360 and not PS3/Wii, but why bother.

I'm confused @ the mixed reactions in this thread. Some are saying it's fun, others are saying it's just like other Tales games, then people are saying wtf @ you it's obviously different, so it's making me die inside. I won't be able to start downloading until around 5...which is 3 hours away. Damn I want to play it :(

karasu is my homeboy

Do you have TP? TP for my bunghole?

shitheadfatass

@Ueziel:
Well, unfortunately, the game didn't really mention any of that in a manual or a tutorial or anything, and I was spending most of my time wrestling with the hideous control map to experiment very much. I'll try it again and see if you're right, but with that button map it's hard, considering I've been playing Tales games the same way for YEARS.

The character designs grate on me this time specifically because I played Abyss and the characters in that were a lot less offensive to my eyes and ears, save for Anise. I mean, Abyss had a lead heroine who WASN'T a totally useless, soft-spoken healer, for god's sake! Why did they have to go back to that horrible archetype for Vesperia? =/

Archaotic

If you guys want to make a XBL Japan account, here are some instructions I just used to make mine. Demo's downloading now, can't wait!

[www.gamingtrend.com]

JonDarkwood

@Ueziel:
I have absolutely no response to this statement, except that it is 100% true. Georg Prime is the fucking man.

@Grahf:
It has a slow start, but that slow start is full of one thing games (I'm looking at you, Western devs!) rarely spend time on these days; character development. It's all necessary to the plot, but the game makes you think it isn't until everything starts coming together. It's really an amazingly well done game.

Archaotic

@Viet0ne: This is pretty much a given. Microsoft is still trying very hard to make it in Japan, but it's been proven time and time again that Japanese gamers have little to no interest in the 360.

I preferred the previous generations of consoles, where PlayStation was my one stop for RPG goodness :(

Grahf

I dont see this game selling well on the 360.

1. graphics are not going to appeal to 90% of the owners just like Blue Dragon
2. It doesnt have online
3. Most 360 gamers play shooter games.

This is definitely a timed exclusive. I predict sales of around 400k. It doesn't look like it will outsell Blue Dragon.

Viet0ne

@KingBroly: There's actually a reason for that. Eternal Sonata was developed by tri-Crescendo, which started out as part of tri-Ace. tri-Ace was founded by people who worked on the first Tales game, Tales of Phantasia, way back on the SNES. They were annoyed at the changes Namco made to the game, so they left and founded tri-Ace. If you play the Star Ocean series, you'll notice a ton of similarities between it and Tales.

Syril

@Ueziel: Hm, is it a slow starter or does it jump in? I can't count how many decent titles I've given up on because they take too long to really start.

Grahf

@Grahf:

Suikoden V is probably the second best of the series, behind the beloved II. I know I certainly loved it.

Ueziel

Does it still have that annoying quirk from Abyss where if you try to use a ranged attack in Semi-Auto, your character will run up to the enemy first?

Syril

Got to play it a little before heading for work, and it was pretty and I wished they gave more tutorialish stuff in there as well. I've read upelsewhere on how to do the overlimits and whatnot so I'll seehow I fare when I get back.

Btw, do you kids really need to constantly reassure yourself that this may be a timed exclusive? Aside from the fact that The devs have already stated that a port does not make sense from a business pov, the ps3 has no proven track record itself that it can proficiently sell jrpgs. And yes, I do believe there are better posts toargu about something like this.

muu

Umm.. India is in Asia.

StupidDufus

@Viet0ne:

It'd probably do best on PS2, honestly. Tales games never sell all that well to begin with. It'll sell even more poorly now that the fanbase is somewhat divided... some owning 360, some owning PS3.

LUCYMONO

Well, the demo has me mildly interested. The Red XIII-but-blue dog-wolf thing is pretty cool (but I think I'm just jonesing for even a hint of Amaterasu). And the main character has a manly man's voice, unbelievable! It all seems standard anime fare, but potentially enjoyable.

What is Namco's region-coding track record like, btw? IIRC, Eternal Sonata was locked.
If they go region-free this time around, I may give Vesperia a spin on the American (or better yet, Asian) version this summer - a perfect time for it. It still doesn't have a release date for Europe, and is apparently not expected until 2009 - at which point I may be busy with other games...

Antiterra

It's awesome! *goes back to playing*

Grumps

@fusilero: and there's yet to be solid proof that the other hd choice is any better. You could wing it and call Valkyria a RPG but even that was a 150k class title. Things most definitely will change in some ways once mid class titles actually see solid success, but in the meantime lower dev costs must be winning people over.

muu

@Azures: By the content of your comment I'd say you have an Atari sized brain.

But I'm not one to judge from such few data... get my drift?

Looks hot! And once again, the balance of the force is disturbed...

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

I'll end up getting it when it comes out, I just hope the combat is smoothed out a little bit, it seemed kind of stiff to me. Though that could be possible due to them just throwing you into the middle of the game. I am glad this demo has turned out better then blue dragons did.

Chaoticevl

Just started playing this game. Yes, it's pretty awesome.
@muu: Thing is, JRPGs traditionally sell best in Japan. The tales series even moreso, with over 50% of it's sales in Japan. Guess which console is worth as much as a rock in Japan?

fusilero

@Snuffbox: Keyword is "most". And it's "most"ly true. There's plenty out there who don't, but it seems to be the "alternative" casual's System (by this I mean the people who own more than just a Wii or DS for Fit / Brain Age, but really don't branch out much further than Halo or CoD).

I bought a 360 for LO and Mass Effect personally, but I know I'm in a severe minority.

Grahf

@Snuffbox: Hate it or not, the stereotype is here to stay. It's still the genre the Xbox brand built its house on.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

@Viet0ne:

"Most 360 users play shooter games."

I'm sick of this stereotype that anybody with a 360 plays shooters at the expense of other genres. Yes, 360 users buy a crap-load of FPSes but that hardly means that's all they buy.

Lost Odyssey sales were in the top 10 in the NPD charts earlier in the year. Mass Effect had tremendous sales. The pigeon-holing of 360 users is ludicrous.

Snuffbox

@Viet0ne:
"I dont see this game selling well on the 360."

"1. graphics are not going to appeal to 90% of the owners just like Blue Dragon"
Tales actually has quite the following
"2. It doesnt have online"
Whats JRPGS have online play?
"3. Most 360 gamers play shooter games."
Yes, your right, but still games like this still do well

excel_excel

Man I really love the Tales Series...I do hope this game pulls an RE4 and gets put on the Playstation, as I definitely do not have enough cash to own all the next-gen systems...

skyoon

@Viet0ne: Hi.

1. The graphics aren't kiddish, just cell shaded. The Dragon ball Z-ness of BD is what hurt it. Cell shaded games on 360 isn't huge enough to decide whether or not 360 gamers will shun a game based on that alone.

2. So? Mass Effect or Oblivion didn't, either.

3. Lost Odyssey sold 700k worldwide. It was a brand new franchise with 0 fans, and it was turnbased. This is an action RPG, and it is an established franchise. It will sell more.

Same reason applies for why it will sell more than Blue Dragon.

karasu is my homeboy

Tales has a small following, and Abyss sales showed that. Symphonia sold well for one reason or another, but it was a fluke that Namco has yet to replicate.

This will sell no better than Blue Dragon.

Grahf

@Viet0ne:

Yea...

and you are a ps3 fanboy.

Vecha

@Grahf: But what I'm saying is atleast it has a fanbase.

I see it like this:

Blue Dragon sold to people just wanting an RPG, and definitely lost sales because it was turnbased, which a lot of people hate, and reviewers don't seem to enjoy as much anymore.

Tales of Vesperia will sell to people just wanting an RPG and those fans of Tales who probably didn't even try Blue Dragon or didn't own a 360 until it was confirmed that Vesperia wasn't launching on 360/Ps3 at the same time. Plus, it's more action, which appeals to more gamers.

I don't think it can be called that it absolutely won't sell more than BD yet. It's not possible to predict that way.

karasu is my homeboy

@Vecha:

Yea man did you read some of his previous posts? That's some serious 360 hate mang.

ese

@ese:

yea...I've seen him on other forums/blogs.

He acts like an "expert" on the 360 vs. ps3 debate.

Never seen him list one positive for the 360...but he his quick to list them for the ps3 while dissing the 360.

Vecha

i love pokemon ihave the ds game of it

sammacca01

@Goomba478
Here is the instructions to create a Japanese Xbox live account. It's very easy. The demo is in Englidh dialogue!
@Fishballs
It is FREE for all Silver accounts-no need for a Gold acct.

The demo is brief but I liked what I saw. Beautiful cel shaded graphics and decent JRPG action. Definitely worth a download.

1) Head on over to Microsoft's passport Web site (if you're logged in to a current account, make sure to sign out). Sign up for a new, free Hotmail account.
2) When asked, remember to answer that you're from Japan -- don't worry, you dirty liar, we won't judge you.
3) The next part, which would be the "trickiest," is entering some additional information about where you are from. You'll have to enter bogus information. The following should work fine (the phone number is for a Domino's Pizza near Akebonobashi Station in Tokyo):

Postal code: 150-2345
Province: Tokyo-to
Phone Number: 098-974-0604

4) Once you've activated your new Hotmai account, it's time to head on over to your Xbox 360. Switch profiles if necessary (the X button) and create a new profile, and a new Xbox Live account.
5) You'll next have to sign in with your new Japanese passport. Keep the number for Domino's Pizza Akebonobashi handy, because you're going to need to enter it again. Also, you might get hungry.
6) Create a gamertag and ... that's it!
Anything downloaded off of the Japanese marketplace can be played using accounts from other regions. Enjoy yourself, and save me a slice of pizza if you decide to order any.

chathampa

I tried to download this and it said I needed a Gold account.. am I doing something wrong?

transience

@Vecha: That's typical VietOne behaviour. Actually, that's the *only* thing I've ever seen him do.

josh924

This game is so amazing. I got so used to the ES button layout that I want to be able to configure them. Also, the artes confuse me. With the right stick, do I hold the direction and release the arte? Or do I flick it to "trigger" it on and off. I mapped some to the right stick, but since the left stick is movement, I think that I might just be switching it without knowing.

Superstar90