All in all, my favorite video game to date.
For starters, the graphics are wonderful to look at. Everything in the game looks colorful and very well designed. It looks good when fighting in battles, walking through forests, and talking with characters. The Anime style really works well and its just a joy to look at through the entire game.
Graphics: 10/10
This is a very story driven RPG. Because of this, there is a lot of text to read. I know that this will throw some people off, but the story was so interesting that i found myself talking to random people, just to get every bit of information that i could. I wont go into the main plat, but i can say that in all the game is broken down into 3 main stories, each more exciting then the last. You are always thrown some new question that you're just itching to find the answer to. And once everything wraps up its extremely gratifying.
Story: 9/10
There is just as much reading as there is voice acting in this game. Honestly, this game is one of the best sounding games that I've ever played. There are quite a few famous/major voice actors in this game, who have worked on many other hit video games or big time anime's. Each character delivers his lines in the exact way that you imagine they should be delivered. Shocked, scared, sad, angry...all these emotions come through perfectly after every single line. Along with voice acting, the music is very memorable. Fitting the mood with certain dungeons or cities, it fits well with the event that is happening at that point in time.
Voice acting/Sound: 10/10
Game play is by far one of the most important aspects of any video game. If you have ever played any other Tales games, then it will seem very familiar. In fact its mostly the exact same. Fighting consists of running into creatures onto the world map, and entering a fight sequence. The fighting is fast paced, using whatever 4 characters that you have in your team at the time. Earning levels, new flashy attacks called "artes" and items all make looking for new opponents a fun time.
I could go so much further into this review, this game is a long one, especially if you try to take in all the side quests and little mini adventures that is has to offer. On one play through, going at a steady pace, this game will take at least 25 hours to beat. It has an option to be played co-op with a friend on the same system, which makes fights much more enjoyable.
All in all, this is a game that any fans of RPG's should not miss out on. Its not perfect, but i give it a 10 because i think its a close to perfect as it can possibly get. Tales of Vesperia is the game that i am most fond of remembering, and most fond of putting back in my xbox to play through again with a friend. Sadly i think that its not to popular, for whatever reason. If you have any thoughts about this game, spend the 20$ and play it. You wont regret it!