Tales of Vesperia/Eternal Sonata

I'm thinking about buying these for the PS3 because I haven't played any RPGs on it except... ugh... Enchanted Arms. I was thinking about buying Eternal Sonata but the concept kind of repulses me (CHOPIN DREAMING OF ANIME CHARACTERS AS HE DIES) so I'm not sure about that. Everyone knows I'm not a fan of anime but since I play a lot of jRPGs, it's something I've learned to deal with as long as they have good gameplay and lots of side-quests. A bestiary/item guide help a lot too (I love collectibles!)

Since these are jRPGs I don't count on them having anything near a decent storyline but before I invest, it would nice to get a run down of what I can expect from people who've played these games.

Things to note before responding (but please respond if you have something to say about either of these games):

I really like sidequests and basic object interactivity. It's one of the top things I look for in a game if not the top.
Tell me about the battle system! I'm okay with mashing X but it leaves a lot to be desired.
Tales games: The series has, overall, been pretty bad. I've played most of them and the only ones I really enjoyed or that struck me at all as memorable would be Abyss and Destiny 2 (forgot the other name of it.)
Replay value: If I'm going to sink $70 into a game, I hope I can play it a couple of times. Would either of these games give me a reason to keep playing when it's over, or to play again?

Oh and one last thing. Do either of them have a world map? I love running around on world maps, especially if you can find secret dungeons and stuff. Games have stopped doing this so I've stopped coming to expect it, but it's something I still hope for.

Uhm and... if you've got any recommendations. I've only got a PS3 and I know it's lacking in games overall, and I stopped following what's new a while ago so I dunno if there are any other RPGs or even decent games. I've got basically what you'd expect a person to have (LBP, both Ratchet and Clank Futures, MGS4, GTA4, Burnout Paradise, DMC4, Enchanted Arms and a couple of others I think. Don't care to look.)

All posts appreciated, thanks.

From what I know, Tales of Vesperia was a best seller for XBox 360 and even better for PS3, and the ratings were higher than Abyss.

Tales games have questionable plots so to speak but the gameplay is splendid in my opinion.

Symphonia really wasn't that great and symphonia 2 was so horrid (for me at least) that I don't count it as part of the "tales of" series. (Notedly there are those who like it.)

Abyss was truly wonderful. i loved the gameplay and it's still my favorite game. While vesperia doesn't beat Abyss, I can't say that Abyss truly beats vesperia either. The two games play remarkably well. Since you're used to tales of the abyss, let me describe tales of vesperia in terms of abyss:

1) Much more abuse of near infinite combos. But it's a bit necessary since it's harder.
2) The Ai is quite smarter. If you'll let your team mates use overlimits they'll actually go and try to bust out their burst artes (kinda like FoF changes... loosely, but can only been done while in overlimit) and will definitely do their mystic artes.
3)Shared overlimit bar. I didn't like this part so much, but it's at least useful that you can have your main character build up the bar
and then have your mage or healer go into overlimit pretty quickly.
4)Instant cast during overlimit. 'Nuff said. it saves your ass a ton of times when your characters start getting hurt too much.
5)My spellcaster's strongest spell is FIREBALL. That's right, the VERY first spell she learns is the one I stll have her use against bosses. Luls. Starts at two or three and gains an extra hit every 500 uses maxing at 10 hits. Almost all of the spells have really good uses though.
6)Spellcaster: I don't feel like casting... *flying punch to the enemy face* win.

You can easily be cheap in this game with the spell instant casting though. But it's tons of fun when you dont.

Symphonia really wasn't that great and symphonia 2 was so horrid (for me at least) that I don't count it as part of the "tales of" series. (Notedly there are those who like it.)

Abyss was truly wonderful. i loved the gameplay and it's still my favorite game. While vesperia doesn't beat Abyss, I can't say that Abyss truly beats vesperia either. The two games play remarkably well. Since you're used to tales of the abyss, let me describe tales of vesperia in terms of abyss:

1) Much more abuse of near infinite combos. But it's a bit necessary since it's harder.
2) The Ai is quite smarter. If you'll let your team mates use overlimits they'll actually go and try to bust out their burst artes (kinda like FoF changes... loosely, but can only been done while in overlimit) and will definitely do their mystic artes.
3)Shared overlimit bar. I didn't like this part so much, but it's at least useful that you can have your main character build up the bar
and then have your mage or healer go into overlimit pretty quickly.
4)Instant cast during overlimit. 'Nuff said. it saves your ass a ton of times when your characters start getting hurt too much.
5)My spellcaster's strongest spell is FIREBALL. That's right, the VERY first spell she learns is the one I stll have her use against bosses. Luls. Starts at two or three and gains an extra hit every 500 uses maxing at 10 hits. Almost all of the spells have really good uses though.
6)Spellcaster: I don't feel like casting... *flying punch to the enemy face* win.

You can easily be cheap in this game with the spell instant casting though. But it's tons of fun when you dont.

What about in terms of other things? Story, side-quests, characters? Is there a mieu-like character that's going to make me want to stab myself in the ear with an icepick? Does it have a world map like Abyss?

I wasn't a big fan of the FoF stuff in Abyss. It was too much of a hassle to lure monsters into circles just so I could do 100 extra damage.

What about in terms of other things? Story, side-quests, characters? Is there a mieu-like character that's going to make me want to stab myself in the ear with an icepick? Does it have a world map like Abyss?

I wasn't a big fan of the FoF stuff in Abyss. It was too much of a hassle to lure monsters into circles just so I could do 100 extra damage.

There's no mieu character that makes you want to stab yourself. The storyline's good, there's quite a bit of storyline sidequest too. I really liked it. You get to play as the main character's dog... and he kicks ass It has a world map just like abyss. There's a ton of humor in certain parts. Especially once you get the archer.

And since you're gonna buy the ps3 version of ToV, get ready to see some new skills, as well as the Barbatos-Summoner, Patty!

god damn shes so cute

Im waiting on White Knight Chronicles, other than that, FF13 is the only other jRPG thats been catching my eye. PS3 really needs some RPG love

And since you're gonna buy the ps3 version of ToV, get ready to see some new skills, as well as the Barbatos-Summoner, Patty!

god damn shes so cute

I want the ps3 version D: I have the 360 version and as you guys can already tell from before I love it. Then I saw some of the ps3 exclusives and my jaw dropped D:

If you're getting the PS3 (japanese) version check out this vid for the mystic artes. If that doesn't convince you already, then take my word on that the plot is actually good.

 ps3 mystic artes

[youtube]h_MdxrTtBrc[/youtube]

Must I really make a 5-paragraph long post in here about Tales...? Let's not get me started!

PS: Farah Oersted = cutest Tales girl, fcking ever, personality-wise. Judith would win hottest in a HEARTBEAT.

Must I really make a 5-paragraph long post in here about Tales...? Let's not get me started!

PS: Farah Oersted = cutest Tales girl, fcking ever, personality-wise. Judith would win hottest in a HEARTBEAT.

Then go watch that video I posted and have a look at judith's new mystic arte... you'll lol and go

Must I really make a 5-paragraph long post in here about Tales...? Let's not get me started!

Yes. No one else is giving me any idea about the story. I know you're a rabid fanboy and I'll have to take what you say with a grain of salt but insight is insight and clearly I'm not gonna get it anywhere else.

Yes. No one else is giving me any idea about the story. I know you're a rabid fanboy and I'll have to take what you say with a grain of salt but insight is insight and clearly I'm not gonna get it anywhere else.

So be it.

Tales, huh. Well, what can I say, it's not your typical Role Playing Game, at all. When you think RPG, you think 'turn-based' for most. Some exceptions are Tales, Elder Scrolls, sh't like Monster Hunter, etc., in which you have free-movement control over your character. Basically, Tales lets you move your character around the battle field, use items, attack, use skills, etc., however, you have to learn how to time your usage. One wrong mistake could cost you a battle.

Truthfully, and I've told everyone this, "Tales doesn't really get hard and uber-fun til you play the game on Mania/Hardcore mode with x0.5 (or x1/2) exp on."!

Tales lets you customize your character's outfits during combat, in Tales of Symphonia, some characters such as Sheena, had multiple costumes. Tales not only attracts male players, but as well as female players because of it's diverse storyline. Some Tales games has romance in it, but some others, not so much. In Tales of the Abyss, it's evident the main character has a thing for a certain girl (not going to spoil anything here). In Tales of Eternia, the main character and his childhood friend are 'close' to being in a romantic-relationship, but the game does not state so. You only get more of a hint when you watch the anime based off of the game itself.

What I enjoy from playing a Tales game, in comparison to a FF is that you can change the pace of the game for yourself. In FF, if you played FF7, for example, it's turn-based. It doesn't matter how fast you tap "ATTACK", the animation is still slow as a motherfcker. In Tales, how your fingers triggers certain buttons and how you set your spell + skill shortcuts could mean either an easy victory, or just a regular victory. There are advanced-Tales players out there that wishes to exploit every single grain of knowledge possible from playing the game.

Look up players like Shinryu on Youtube, he played a sh'tload of Vesperia. He's one of the players, and although he isn't the best, he proved he knew what he was doing. Tales has a lot of games for multiple consoles, and if you wish to purchase an RPG that you'd play more than once, definitely get Tales. Some of the Tales I have played:

-Tales of Symphonia
-Tales of Eternia
-Tales of Phantasia
-Tales of Hearts (un-translated, played a portion of it)
-Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (I actually don't recommend this one....)

Definitely recommend Vesperia, and Eternia. Symphonia is great to many, but not to my eyes, because I thought the story wasn't complex enough, and it was for a more younger audience. I enjoyed Eternia the most out of all of these games due to the fact that it was my FIRST Tales game, and the character grew and changed over time, character-development is what makes me most interested in games.

EDIT: And although this can be biased, I have played Final Fantasy games. I've played FF7, a demo of FF8, and I own Dissidia. Also played FF: Crystal Chronicles, though that wasn't in the 'main' series, sorta. Also, when you said you played Destiny 2, you could have meant 2 things:

1) The Japanese "Tales of Destiny 2".
2) The Americanized name of "Tales of Eternia", changed to "Tales of Destiny II" due to copyright laws. Yes, I actually looked this up a couple years back when I was an even bigger ToE fanatic.

EDIT 2: Before I knew how to chain skills together, I was spamming skills in ToE about 7 years back. Ever since I played ToS, I know how to REALLY chain skills, so I applied my knowledge from that to ToE, the result was astounding. If you're bored, definitely try soloing bosses in Tales. I used to be a huge Reid-player, but switched to Farah after my ....4th playthrough or so. I mained as Farah ever since, her speed is incredible. She can pull off a couple Palm Strike + Eagle Rage + Fatal Furies pretty easily if you chain right....

Thanks, but... none of that was about Tales of Vesperia which is my, well, only interest here. Besides Eternal Sonata or other ps3 games.

Like I said in my original post, I've played all of the other tales games with the exception of Hearts so none of what you said was really new to me!

Got any info on Vesperia?

Thanks, but... none of that was about Tales of Vesperia which is my, well, only interest here. Besides Eternal Sonata or other ps3 games.

Like I said in my original post, I've played all of the other tales games with the exception of Hearts so none of what you said was really new to me!

Got any info on Vesperia?

uh, you'd have to ask "Chris" (aka Roxas) on this forum if it's specifically about Vesperia. <_< I only know tid-bits about Vesperia, since I haven't played it yet. All I know is that they made the game more challenging with the implementation of a more advanced battle-system in comparison to Abyss. There's a skill-change system similar to FoF change in Abyss. Look up Hi-Ougi vids... o_O Watch an "Ultimaniax" on youtube, there's this guy that's really skilled at Vesperia, and he uploaded a vid of it. IMO, after what I saw in that vid, it's enough reasons for me to get the game. I don't have overly low or high expectations for Tales games, but as long as it comes with a more advanced combat-system every time a new Tales comes along, I won't complain.

[youtube]R71GoAkJTeI[/youtube]

But yeah, ask Chris, he knows more about this topic than I would. I'm an Eternia-freak, -coughs-

I kinda didn't want to spoil anything in vesperia, which is why I didn't say much about it's storyline. Here's some more info on vesperia then:

The main character tends to be serious and cool at the same time. You'll get a princess type character who isn't as annoying as Natalia was in Tales of the Abyss. The main character's dog also fights with you as a playable character. The rest of the characters I wont say much on, but they're each good in their own way.

There's a world map just like in Abyss. The combat system is slightly different. You get your usual free run you can run around the whole battle field in any direction instead of being stuck to lines all the time like in Symphonia. Unlike Abyss, everyone contributes to the same overlimit bar. At the beginning you can only fill up the bar once (level 1), but you get upgrades which let you fill the bar up to level 4. Here's some uses of overlimit (since it's different than in abyss):

lvl 1 overlimit: You can spam regular attacks and artes infinitely (until the timer runs out). Meaning that you can just spam the x button for however long you want during this time and you dont have to do the conventional combos. But most people use this for continuously spamming artes. Spells are also casted instantly but you still have to worry about the after delay of the spell cast.

level 2: All artes/basic attacks will pick up a downed enemy. Allows for contuining combos on enemies that you would knock down. (I almost never use this one). Everything from level 1 overlimit applies here as well.

level 3: TP consumption is reduced to 1 for all skills/spells. You are able to activate mystic artes (So long as you've gotten the skill "Special") by holding down the attack button during a Burst arte or an Arcane arte or an Altered arte. The last hit of the arte must connect with the enemy and you must be holding down the attack button to activate it. Level 2 and Level 1 overlimit properties still apply.

Level 4: You are immune to damage. (I don't use this one at all unless I'm in the coliseum solo on the hardest difficulty). Level 1~3 overlimit properties still apply.


Burst artes can be activated during any level of overlimit by holding down the arte button after using an altered or arcane arte.

When you go into overlimit (level #), only that character gets the effect. You can make all four characters use overlimit level 1 at the same time or you can make just one character go into any level of overlimit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you remember the EX spheres from symphonia, they have something similar in vesperia called Blastia. The stuff in the world pretty much runs on these. The story starts off when one gets stolen from the ghetto part of the main city which is where the main character is from. And then everything chains from there. I won't spoil much else.

Got any specific questions?