You lead a small group through a fantasy story dealing with corrupt authorities and old magic, fighting in real time where you dash around a small arena chaining attacks and special moves together. Combat rewards timing and combo strings more than most turn-based RPGs, since you are directly controlling the action. It is a long, dialogue-heavy story with a cast many fans still talk about fondly.
Gameplay video
More Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition gameplay on YouTube →Ready to play Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition?
Grab a physical or digital copy from Amazon — prices and availability update live.
This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Screenshots & review notes
The short version
A classic JRPG that has aged remarkably well, carried by a cast and story that still resonate more than a decade later.
In the hands
The action-based battle system rewards timing and combo strings in a way that keeps random encounters from feeling like busywork.
Look and sound
Its painterly art style has aged more gracefully than many contemporaries, and the score remains a genuine highlight throughout.
The long haul
A must-play for JRPG fans with dozens of hours of content, though its slower opening hours may test newcomers' patience.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You control Yuri, a former knight turned vigilante, walking through towns and dungeons in third person, talking to characters through frequent animated conversation scenes called skits that pop up as you explore. Combat happens in real time on a smaller battle stage, where one button does a basic sword swing and combinations with the stick trigger special moves called artes, letting you chain a string of five or six hits together before an enemy recovers. Your first ten minutes will have you leaving a walled city with your dog-like companion Repede, fighting simple monsters on the road while the game slowly introduces new artes and party members over the opening hours.
Most of your time is spent walking the world map between towns, following a story about a water shortage and government corruption that grows more complicated as new party members join, while fighting monsters both in required story battles and optional ones for experience. Beyond fighting, you can cook meals at campfires for temporary buffs, and equipping different weapons unlocks new skills over time, which gives you a reason to try gear you might otherwise ignore. A full story takes forty to fifty hours, since side content and character skits add up if you stop to watch them, which is worth doing since the writing is a highlight.
Session to session the appeal is really the cast of characters and how their relationships develop, alongside battles that reward chaining longer combos as you learn more artes. What may frustrate newcomers is a slow pace, particularly a stretch in the middle of the story that asks you to run several fetch quests before the plot moves forward again. If you enjoy long stories with a memorable group of companions and do not mind a slower burn, this is one of the better examples of the genre.