I've played this game before, but that's alright.
Tales of Vesperia is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed playing the game, but it was more of a nastalgia-like enjoyment as opposed to the enjoyment of playing something truly special. I suppose the same can be said of the entire seies. The story in this particular game is quite bland. There are tons of jrpg cliches around every turn. After 40+ hours of gameplay I never really cared what was happening in the story.
This all sounds like I don't like this game, but that's not at all the case. I really enjoyed Tales of Vesperia for one main reason. Characters. The characters are some of the most fun I've played as since Persona 3 and 4. You might not give a hoot about why these people are traveling, but you'll enjoy every cut scene thanks to the banter between everyone. It kind of goes with that old saying, "it's not the destination that matters, but the journey there".
Combat plays out much like it always has. A real-time button-mashing system that gives surprising depth at moments thanks to the ability to assign AI roles to your teammates. These play out more like side-scrolling beat em ups than your standard turn based rpg. You'll never have the strategy that many crave from more complex rpgs, but there are victories well earned at times.
There's not much more to say about this game. It is a fun rpg. No thrills, no frills, but just good old-fashioned fun. If you're a fan of old school rpgs you'll be right at home here. If you're more impressed with modern offerings or western rpgs you'll probably want to look elsewhere for your role playing fix. I for one first sunk my teeth into the rpg world with the original Final Fantasy, so old school role playing is just fine by me. Those that just started with Fallout 3 or Mass Effect... rent this before you buy it.