Tales of Vesperia

Before getting started, I just want to preface this post with the fact that I have, unfortunately, not played this game. All knowledge comes from the walkthrough videos up on YouTube. Dammit, why is there no Japanese audio?! These were recorded by someone I don't know, so all knowledge for anything I say comes from YouTube user leonyasch! Thank you, kind sir! I will not post any videos as a courtesy to him; go look them up yourself! But anyway, the version used in the walkthrough was the Xbox360 one, so no Patty and no Flynn in the party. How sad. *sarcasm* I would also like to say that this will contain spoilers. If you have not yet played the game or are playing it currently, please do not read this and then complain about how I spoiled things for you. I realize that I am at an unfair advantage, only watching the walkthroughs, but I don't have an Xbox. Or a PS3. So, I will not be able to get or play this game for a good long while. SO NO FLAMING. GOT IT? GOOD. Now then, on to the post!


It has come to my attention that the newest game in the Tales series (in the U.S., at least) has Yuri in it!

...OK, for those of you who play, I know that was a bad joke. I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. For those of you who don't play, the main character is a guy named Yuri. But there is still yuri in it! Subtext, of course, but still! It's there! Really! It's not like my Yuri Goggles are turned way up high or anything! Honest! ......That aside, let's actually talk about the game!

After seven long days, I have finally finished watching the walkthrough on YouTube, and let me tell you. That was a killer. Some 240 videos or so, each about 10 minutes long... It really sucked. And the amount of yuri in it was really tiny compared to all the walking around, battles, and drama, which kinda sucked. But it was all good! The story was marginally interesting, and the characters, though stock, are very appealing when interacting with each other. So it did not end up being 238 videos of nothing. As for the gameplay itself, I can't really say anything about how the controls were, but it looked fairly smooth. It was certainly fun to watch until you got 10 minutes of someone else leveling up when all you want them to do is get through the dungeon DX. But onto what I really want to talk about: the yuri!


She's mine! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER.
For those of you who have played the game through or have already gotten all of the party members, this will be an even funnier picture. :D

Pairings-wise, there's a lot of Yuri x Estelle for those who aren't like us me. For the fujoshi, there's Yuri x Flynn. And for me, there's Estelle x Rita or Rita x Judith! Look at that variety! And for extra fun, just add them all together for Estelle x Rita x Judith, all for around $50 and sometimes less! Not included is the game system, cables to connect to power and television, controller, television, any data cards, or small llamas. Shipping and handling fees are included. Joking aside, let's talk about the characters!

Estellise Sidos Heurassein


A Tomboy!Princess type, she's been stuck in the palace for a long time. In fact, she hasn't even been let out to see the rest of her city! All of her information comes from books (and who can blame her; she's stuck inside with only knights and maids to talk to), so she's really rather naive and socially inept when she first meets Yuri. Well. Socially inept for people 'below her class,' as they say. Luckily, rather than being a snob, she's rather friendly. If it hadn't been for that, we never would have had Ristelle! Combat-wise, she's the cleric of the group, capable of fighting but mostly used for healing spells.

Rita Mordio


A Genius!Researcher type, Rita spends her life researching the prominent energy utilizers called blastia. When the party first meets her, she has been falsely accused of being a blastia thief. It's OK though. They find the person who did it in the end. A cynical tsundere, she's rather cold to the party members, but slowly warms up to them. And it's all thanks to Estelle and her friendliness. :D Combat-wise, she's the mage. Surprisingly, though, she doesn't seem to have healing spells... But that's OK. She'll just make you go 'blah blah blah.'

Judith


A Mysterious!Elf type, you actually meet Judith earlier in the game then you think. Her father created a type of blastia that, while terribly convenient, actually acts like DDT, killing the world. So Judith, in an effort to... Well, I forget her actual reason, but at any rate, she goes around destroying the blastia, which makes prospects look bad on the Judith x Rita front, as Rita hates the person who was destroying her beloved blastia. It's OK though. All is forgiven, because Judith is trying to save the world! Funny how that works out, huh? For combat, she would be a warrior or a fighter. In the Final Fantasy series, she would be a dragoon. I just think she's really cool because she fights with a pole arm.

As for pairings, I don't know whether I like Rita x Estelle or Rita x Judith better. I might just lump them all together 'cause I'm lazy. >_> Anyway, Rita x Estelle actually gets an official name in the game. Seriously! There's a small scene called 'Ristelle.' And Yuri actually calls them that! It's great. There's also this small island where if you can act out a small play, with Rita as the princess-in-need-of-saving and Estelle as the heroine! :D Rita x Judith is more subtle and appears a lot later in the game, with scenes appearing during the side quests rather than the actual storyline. Anything in the actual storyline can be seen as more light teasing. And there is actually this great scene for Estelle x Rita x Judith...




But yes. That's all from me for now! Till next time~