Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition brought to PS4, for the first time, a complete and visually unified version of the beloved JRPG from the Tales of series, which had previously been available mainly on Xbox 360 and, in an enriched form, only on the Japanese PS3. The story follows Yuri Lowell, a former knight disgusted by the corruption of the nobility, who together with a colorful group of companions sets out across the fantasy world of Terca Lumireis, where technology based on magical crystals called blastia fundamentally influences politics, the economy, and the everyday life of its inhabitants. The combat system follows the series' traditional action combat - the player directly controls one character in real time within an enclosed arena, while the rest of the team is handled by AI according to finely adjustable tactics and priorities, allowing smooth switching between characters depending on the situation in battle.

Definitive Edition added new playable characters, additional quests, and content compared to the older Japanese release, making it, for the first time, a truly complete version of the game for Western audiences as well, who had been waiting for it for over ten years. On PS4 the title ran smoothly and stably, though visually it is clearly a remaster of an older generation, evident in simpler textures and environment models, but the colorful, cel-shaded art style and charismatic characters hold up well even years later.

Tales of Vesperia has long been considered by JRPG fans one of the best entries in the whole extensive series thanks to its strong story about friendship, sacrifice, and moral ambiguity, and its dynamic, action-based combat system. Definitive Edition on PS4 finally allowed a new generation of players to experience a title that had long been only partially available outside Japan and North America. Fans of the series still often rank it right behind the most celebrated entry, Tales of Symphonia.

Why play: For JRPG fans looking for a strong story about friendship and sacrifice paired with a dynamic action combat system - Definitive Edition finally made a long hard-to-access title available to a wider audience.