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Tales of Vesperia is one of the worst-paced video games I've ever played (help me see the appeal of this game?)

Mendrox

Mendrox

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,439
cyklisten said:
All sorts really. Try to vary the experience.
Of the top of my head some "short - under/around 30 hrs"-rpgs I´ve completed: Soul Hackers, Breath of fire, both Grandia games (If I recall correctly 35 hrs each), Front Mission, Vagrant Story, Persona 2 etc.
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C'mon lol. Early year RPGs of course. I haven't played a RPG in the past 20 years which was less than 40 hours (Tales of Berseria, Tales of Xilia 1, Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler come to mind both of them being on the shorter side if you don't do optional content)
 
TJ_Electronica

TJ_Electronica

Member
Nov 14, 2017
2,069
Yeah I'm right at the end of the big second act and a major boss fight. I think last time I looked at the hour count on Switch I was at like 65-75 hours and I just can't bring myself to keep going. Loved the game when I played it originally on 360 but the grinding and repetitive tasks have worn me out.
 
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OP
Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,590
Interesting of the people who played the game initially back in the day, more seemed to have soured on it over the years than like it more now than they did back then.

Also the music needs a special mention because of how bad it is. Isn't a patch on Legendia, Symphonia or Abyss's OST. Not a single song has stuck with me and most seem like real B-side material.
 
firehawk12

firehawk12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,343
I have to imagine a lot of the fondness for the game was the fact that it was on Xbox when there weren't that many choices JRPG-wise.
 

Deleted member 81119

User-requested account closure
Banned
Sep 19, 2020
8,308
tenisilin234 said:
im at 100 hours and barely started doing sidequests. dont know how you can do anything but just gun through the main story(and the next part) in under 100 hours
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Are you joking? I have the S version, have done everything this game has to offer and pretty much hit 100 hours on the dot.

The only way JRPGs are frequently 100 hours long is if you're looking at completionist runs...which would involve even longer stints of poor pacing as you grind out typical JRPG filler content.
 
Isamu

Isamu

Member
Dec 18, 2017
1,584
Downtown Rave City
Holy shit era hates Tales of Vesperia now?!?!?!?!!? Damn you guys really surprised me with this thread. I'm seriously having second thoughts about playing this now :(

I guess the million dollar question is....which is the better jrpg, ToV or Grandia HD Remaster?
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
jacktuar said:
Are you joking? I have the S version, have done everything this game has to offer and pretty much hit 100 hours on the dot.

The only way JRPGs are frequently 100 hours long is if you're looking at completionist runs...which would involve even longer stints of poor pacing as you grind out typical JRPG filler content.
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hard to believe. i haven't even beaten the true boss yet.

also cmon look at any modern jrpg. xenoblade, persona 5 all have hours of content no where near being 30 hours . and again the poor pacing this is at best subjective

https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=15221 not even the royal version
 
cyklisten

cyklisten

Member
Nov 12, 2017
442
Mendrox said:
C'mon lol. Early year RPGs of course. I haven't played a RPG in the past 20 years which was less than 40 hours (Tales of Berseria, Tales of Xilia 1, Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler come to mind both of them being on the shorter side if you don't do optional content)
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Yeah, triple AAA JRPGs definitely feel longer nowadays. Which makes almost everyone of them feel bloated and boring after a while, lessening my enjoyment of the genre.
The fact that devs think rpgs has to include 100 hrs of, in my opinion, filler-content these days is actively hurting the scene. Not that there´s anything wrong with those types of games, but it´s all there is at that level, with shorter indie rpgs picking up the slack, but often lacking severely in quality.

Cudpug said:
Also the music needs a special mention because of how bad it is. Isn't a patch on Legendia, Symphonia or Abyss's OST. Not a single song has stuck with me and most seem like real B-side material.
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Some astonishingly bad music in that game.

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tenisilin234 said:
hard to believe. i haven't even beaten the true boss yet.

also cmon look at any modern jrpg. xenoblade, persona 5 all have hours of content no where near being 30 hours . and again the poor pacing this is at best subjective
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I´m playing Xenoblade right now, and it would benefit tremendously from cutting unnecessary content or at least making it 100% optional.
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
cyklisten said:
Absolutely, just like everything anybody writes in here.



Even without the satiric layer, the song is an abysmal rehash of Entrance of the gladiators, which is also a relatively bad piece of music.
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ya but its legit for humor. who says "hey im gonna listen to this one song that plays when dumb stuff happens and love it"? the song isnt supposed to be good its supposed to sound silly
 
cyklisten

cyklisten

Member
Nov 12, 2017
442
tenisilin234 said:
ya but its legit for humor. who says "hey im gonna listen to this one song that plays when dumb stuff happens and love it"? the song isnt supposed to be good its supposed to sound silly
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Why do I have to listen to a bad piece of music for humor? Other games do humor incredibly well without having hamfisted, plagiarizing music added. It doesn´t add anything to the skits other than sounding bad.

I will say, that there wasn´t any other music as offensive as this in the game. I just don´t remember any tracks or melodies at all.
 

Deleted member 81119

User-requested account closure
Banned
Sep 19, 2020
8,308
tenisilin234 said:
hard to believe. i haven't even beaten the true boss yet.

also cmon look at any modern jrpg. xenoblade, persona 5 all have hours of content no where near being 30 hours . and again the poor pacing this is at best subjective

https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=15221 not even the royal version
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I thought you said you'd barely started the sidequests?

Persona 5 is notoriously long. I can't think of any other JRPG that is that long. DQXI, VIIR, FFXV, Nier Automata, Yakuza 7, Xenoblade 1 and 2. I can't think of any that are anywhere close to the 100 hour mark. Again, unless you're talking about a completionist run, which is a disingenuous way to compare things when you're talking about pacing.
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
cyklisten said:
Why do I have to listen to a bad piece of music for humor? Other games do humor incredibly well without having hamfisted, plagiarizing music added. It doesn´t add anything to the skits other than sounding bad.

I will say, that there wasn´t any other music as offensive as this in the game. I just don´t remember any tracks or melodies at all.
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old rpgs or games in general did that alot. i honestly find it way better then it just being quite with no music at all.


im just saying that using an example of a song that is supposed to sound silly in order to say "some astonishingly bad music in that game" dosent make sense
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
jacktuar said:
I thought you said you'd barely started the sidequests?

Persona 5 is notoriously long. I can't think of any other JRPG that is that long. DQXI, VIIR, FFXV, Nier Automata, Yakuza 7, Xenoblade 1 and 2. I can't think of any that are anywhere close to the 100 hour mark. Again, unless you're talking about a completionist run, which is a disingenuous way to compare things when you're talking about pacing.
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you dont need to do side quests to get to the secret boss

um what? xenoblade games have loads of content. i feel you arent getting the point here. the other guy said that 30 hours was about as long as alot of rpgs which i brought up how thats simply wrong. dq11 xenoblade, and persona games all have loads of content that can easily surpass 100 hours.

this whole conversion started from a complete overexaggeration
 

Manbig

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,329
Vesperia to me is like how a lot of people talk about Mass Effect 2 having good character moments, but a shit main story.

Vesperia's cast is one of the best in the series, and Yuri is one of my favorite protagonists in all of JRPGs. I found the dynamic of ideals that he has with Flynn to be one of the more interesting things in the whole game. Yuri making some controversial choices on how to handle certain villains was an amazing build up.

Unfortunately, this whole set up takes a backseat to the actual final threat that shows up near the end of the game and the pay off really putters out. So while these events do match up with the final "villain" and their motivations thematically, the more interesting way of exploring those themes through Yuri and Flynn's clash of ideals take a back seat to a typical dull and super anime exploration of the theme with the classic cliche of world ending consequences.

Having said all of that, I still love Vesperia for what it is. The definitive edition even added some laughs for me with the very poorly tacked on English dub and the awfully shoehorned in pirate girl that slows the pacing down even more.
 
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Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,590
I agree Vesperia has a good enough cast, though they all seem to want to be somewhere else rather than the party. I don't feel there is a strong reason for half of them to be in the party, at least where I'm up to at the game, and they only seem to regroup to further their own agendas. The more I think about it, the more a lot of them seem to just repeat the same handful of flimsy motivations, or no motivation for being with the group at all in the case of Judith and Raven.
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
it makes more sense as you go on. rita honestly cares about estelle and wants to stay with her, karol is the guild leader judith and yuri are apart of that guild, raven says that he wants to keep an eye on us ,patty is there so that she can find the treasure and wont be lonely, estelle wants to be anywhere but the castles, and repede is yuris dog
 

Manbig

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,329
Cudpug said:
I agree Vesperia has a good enough cast, though they all seem to want to be somewhere else rather than the party. I don't feel there is a strong reason for half of them to be in the party, at least where I'm up to at the game, and they only seem to regroup to further their own agendas. The more I think about it, the more a lot of them seem to just repeat the same handful of flimsy motivations, or no motivation for being with the group at all in the case of Judith and Raven.
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With the whole guild as a family aspect, the motivation for most of them is simply wanting to be around each other more because they are typically loners or outcasts. There's a bit more going on with one of them, but I won't spoil.
 
Mortemis

Mortemis

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
7,449
Idk guess I'm weird since I enjoyed that first 30 hours of it. It was laidback with not much urgency which was nice, kinda like the first half of FFXV.

It was the next 30 hours that I didn't like. It felt like the end was near for most of it, overstaying its welcome. I was also annoyed that I missed so much side content without even knowing.

Overall it was a pretty average game. It was my first tales game and I'm not sure if I'll dive into other games on the series. Will probably play arise though.
 
PAFenix

PAFenix

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Nov 21, 2019
14,934
I played Vesperia this past year and I had to force myself to. How it was ever considered a high point of the series is beyond me. Gameplay was dull, but I was spoiled in getting back into the series with Graces F and thought everything I've played since has been inferior. And I'll stan for Graces story too. It was simple and stupid, but at least it made sense. Vesperia tried too hard to be "deep" and "intriguing" but was just inconsistent.
 
Naha-

Naha-

Member
Feb 6, 2019
1,012
Vesperia is definitely overrated. I was expecting it to be a really good game from all the praise it's usually gets when it's just a average JPRG.

At least isn't as bad as Zestiria a or Hearts I guess
 
Ravage

Ravage

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
1,536
Playing Vesperia after experiencing the excellent Graces F combat was on hindsight a huge mistake. I topped out at the 30hrs mark and got too bored to continue.

That and the shitfest otherwise known as Infinite Undiscovery were my two reasons to get a 360 and the buyer's remorse was intense.
 
chanman

chanman

Member
Nov 9, 2017
1,606
I was incredibly disappointed in this game especially coming from Abyss. I remember playing it on 360 back in the day and hated it after 40 hours.
 
Xenosaga

Xenosaga

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,001
Ravage said:
Playing Vesperia after experiencing the excellent Graces F combat was on hindsight a huge mistake. I topped out at the 30hrs mark and got too bored to continue.

That and the shitfest otherwise known as Infinite Undiscovery were my two reasons to get a 360 and the buyer's remorse was intense.
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Graces F combat is something special. It's one of very few JRPGS which I played until the end purely because of the combat... because I hated almost everything else about that game.
 
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Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,590
chanman said:
I was incredibly disappointed in this game especially coming from Abyss. I remember playing it on 360 back in the day and hated it after 40 hours.
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Abyss seems to catch a lot of criticism but I really enjoyed that game. Granted I was much younger so I don't know how well it holds up now, but I played it around the same time I played Vesperia and I thought it was much better. Better locations to explore, better cities, a better plot, better villains...
 
Kewlmyc

Kewlmyc

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
26,801
Mendrox said:
Not with both of thoese



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The OP that is done by a popular pop singer and a song that plays once in the game.

I agree both are great songs, but it doesn't really combat the whole "this game's music isn't great". As a whole, yeah, most of the music you hear in the game isn't great.
 
pbayne

pbayne

Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,492
If you dont like a laid back plot stay away from zesteria too. That game is pratically a SOL anime for the first half until the main antognist pops up out of nowhere and you're quickly funneled into the tired old collect the 4 crystals type stuff.

Berseria really improved on that(even though it has its own pace killing moments) by giving the main character very strong motivation right off the bat.
 
Kain

Kain

Unshakable Resolve - One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
7,669
Xenosaga said:
Graces F combat is something special. It's one of very few JRPGS which I played until the end purely because of the combat... because I hated almost everything else about that game.
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It's perfectly normal to hate everything but the combat. I don't remember a game where I felt the writers were laughing at me while I played so much. The story and characters are so infuriatingly bad, while clearly not being a parody, that it's insulting to the player.

I remember after one point I just kept skipping the cutscenes, I finished the game but I didn't watch the ending or anything really in the last 10 hours or so. The only other game I did that was Star Ocean 4, another case of infuriating everything but great combat.
 
Xenosaga

Xenosaga

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,001
Kain said:
It's perfectly normal to hate everything but the combat. I don't remember a game where I felt the writers were laughing at me while I played so much. The story and characters are so infuriatingly bad, while clearly not being a parody, that it's insulting to the player.

I remember after one point I just kept skipping the cutscenes, I finished the game but I didn't watch the ending or anything really in the last 10 hours or so. The only other game I did that was Star Ocean 4, another case of infuriating everything but great combat.
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Yeah Star Ocean 4 was another game as well that I felt similar to Graces F, finished it just for combat. Lightening Returns as well.
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
Kewlmyc said:
The OP that is done by a popular pop singer and a song that plays once in the game.

I agree both are great songs, but it doesn't really combat the whole "this game's music isn't great". As a whole, yeah, most of the music you hear in the game isn't great.
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i posted a few songs that i think are good. music is subjective
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
wait people like abyss? that game put a negative stigma on the tales of series for me until i tried vesperia and symphonia
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,561
Man God said:
People were desperate for JRPGS on the PS360. Even the Wii was feasting by comparison and all the real action was on the DS and PSP.
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This doesn't match my memories at all. The Xbox 360 was about 2.5 years old and already had Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Tales of Vesperia which was a drastically stronger lineup of JRPGs than anything on the Wii at the time (and in general was a stronger JRPG lineup than most systems have at the 2.5 year mark). The Wii had Opoona & a low-print run Fire Emblem as its highlights. Of course, things changed soon after that - Mistwalker & Namco stopped releasing exclusive 360 JRPGs and the Wii started getting some strong games like the Operation Rainforest games.

EDIT: Just remembered that Xbox 360 also got Eternal Sonata & Star Ocean 4 first. And then about a year later, the PS3 got enhanced versions of both. There were also some random, minor games like Operation Darkness & Enchanted Arms. But anyway, the Xbox 360 was the non-portable place to be for JRPGs for the first 3 years of its life and then the other systems caught up and exceeded it.
 
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Nall

Nall

Member
Oct 25, 2017
376
tenisilin234 said:
one thing i wont defend in vesperia was that bum ass gatsou boss
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Lol. First time I fought him and the damn thing completely destroyed me. Kind of threw me for a loop.

On topic: I'm just about at the end of Act 2, and I'm not really seeing any issues with the story or the pacing. It feels to me like a story where the MC goes on an adventure over something personal and seemingly minor, but then it all explodes into something bigger than anticipated. Sure, maybe it could've all unfolded a little faster, but I haven't minded it. I've really enjoyed it so far!
 
tenisilin234

tenisilin234

Banned
Dec 5, 2020
266
Nall said:
Lol. First time I fought him and the damn thing completely destroyed me. Kind of threw me for a loop.

On topic: I'm just about at the end of Act 2, and I'm not really seeing any issues with the story or the pacing. It feels to me like a story where the MC goes on an adventure over something personal and seemingly minor, but then it all explodes into something bigger than anticipated. Sure, maybe it could've all unfolded a little faster, but I haven't minded it. I've really enjoyed it so far!
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i was so close one time karol just had to do 400 more damage but he died. after that i was over it and just popped open one of the level up items.


and it was STILL hard
 
RomanticHeroX

RomanticHeroX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,921
Vesperia is great. Graces has a better combat system but Vesperia is the better game overall. The 360 version took maybe 40 hours to finish and I only remember it dragging at a handful of times.
 
Giga Man

Giga Man

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,311
Cudpug said:
Interesting of the people who played the game initially back in the day, more seemed to have soured on it over the years than like it more now than they did back then.

Also the music needs a special mention because of how bad it is. Isn't a patch on Legendia, Symphonia or Abyss's OST. Not a single song has stuck with me and most seem like real B-side material.
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Tales OSTs lost their identity somewhere around The Abyss. I haven't listened to every game's OST, but Symphonia's OST is the best I've ever listened to by a wiiiiiide margin.

Do you enjoy the skits in Vesperia? Most of the enjoyment in Tales games for me are the character interactions. The Tales series is entirely carried by its playable characters and battle systems because nothing else in the series evolves beyond that. Vesperia's cast grew on me over time, and I came away with a positive outlook on the game when I finished it on 360. I played it for the first time somewhere around the time Xillia or Xillia 2 was out. I've tried playing through DE, but it's hard for me to start from scratch again...
 
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Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,590
Giga Man said:
Tales OSTs lost their identity somewhere around The Abyss. I haven't listened to every game's OST, but Symphonia's OST is the best I've ever listened to by a wiiiiiide margin.

Do you enjoy the skits in Vesperia? Most of the enjoyment in Tales games for me are the character interactions. The Tales series is entirely carried by its playable characters and battle systems because nothing else in the series evolves beyond that. Vesperia's cast grew on me over time, and I came away with a positive outlook on the game when I finished it on 360. I played it for the first time somewhere around the time Xillia or Xillia 2 was out. I've tried playing through DE, but it's hard for me to start from scratch again...
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The skits are fine but I can't say they really stand out to me as noteworthy. A few interesting or amusing ones here or there, but generally they just seem to repeat conversations that happened prior to them, or they're over pretty quickly.
 
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