Past Game of the Years include both new games and traditional games. Last year, my Game of the Year was Picross DS, a simple puzzle game for the Nintendo DS. Why the nod for the award? I spent most of the year playing it, and I played it every night. It stimulated my brain before sleep and I dreamt a ton more. It was, in my opinion, a perfect puzzle game. Great interface, precise controls, thousands of puzzles, downloadable content, and user generated content. The cool part is that all of Picross DS’s features are nicely wrapped up in a $20 price tag.
The 2006 Game of the Year proved that something more traditional can win people over. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess got the Game of the Year 2006 for many reasons. First and foremost, Zelda is one of my favorite series of all time. The series is so good that only two hated Zeldas come to mind: Zelda 2 for the NES and Phantom Hourglass on the DS. Twilight Princess did what fans wanted and gave us an Ocarina of Time clone, but with better art direction, story and a staggering 50 hour long adventure. It is still my favorite game in this generation so far.
With those two examples said, it’s time to announce the Game of the Year. It’s a game that very few would put on their list. It’s also not a high profile game like Grand Theft Auto 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3 or Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nope, it’s Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360.
Tradition rules 2008 since Vesperia is the second Tales game to be my Game of the Year. The first was the 2004 GameCube hit, Tales of Symphonia. I was still a bit green in the Japanese RPG’s back then and only having Nintendo systems at the time limited access to them outside the first party Pokemon and Mario RPG’s. Then came Namco and its juggernaut RPG and all of a sudden, a whole new genre opened for me. Sadly no one has beaten Symphonia in my eyes since, but few have come close. Three come to mind: Dragon Quest VIII, Eternal Sonata and finally Tales of Vesperia.
Tales of Vesperia starts off with a man named Yuri Lowell, an ex-knight who lives in the slummier sections of the capitol city of Zaphias. He’s the Robin Hood of games; he beats on knight collecting taxes to protect the people around him. He gets thrown in the slammer after breaking into the house of a thief of a device that supplied the slums’ water. Yuri breaks out and saves a noble girl who is friends with Yuri’s best friend. They set off finding the friend named Flynn and triggers the huge seventy-plus hour adventure of Tales of Vesperia.
Tales of Vesperia refines all the great things of the “Tales” series, from the unique battle system to the anime-inspired visuals. The game outside of battle plays like any normal JRPG, explore a world map between detailed towns and monster-filled dungeons. Inside battle though, it’s unlike most RPG’s. Namco needlessly calls it the "Evolved Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System" (EFR-LMBS for short), but its fancy name is only a name.
What it is though, is an exciting, fast-paced, and fluid battle system. The closest comparison would be that it feels like a fighting game mixed with special attacks and item usage.
Possibly the best part about the game is the cast. Most JRPG’s usually have a diverse cast to relate to, but Vesperia’s cast of characters are extremely memorable and a blast to play with. From the badass Yuri to the hot-headed Rita to the perverted Raven; the party consisted of triple-A personalities with better-than-expected voice acting. A great cast is supported by a great story, and while Vesperia’s story doesn’t break much new ground, it still satisfies thanks to the colorful characters. It’s hard to let go of the controller once a player gets knee deep into the game.
(Image from IGN.com)
Tales of Vesperia didn’t win because it was something I never saw before; it won because it took a successful formula and tweaked it for a new generation. The game looks stunning, plays well and is a blast to experience. Sadly, Vesperia is like all the games I liked in 2008; it was good, but nothing overly impressed me. Only thing I liked were games from existing franchises; from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Gears of War 2, Fable 2 and the winner: Tales of Vesperia. Though these games are great, it was hard picking a winner due to nothing feeling fresh. So don’t think of last year as a year of innovation, because there was none. It was just a fair year full of easy expectations and the same old thing.
(It's like I planned on doing it the on Inauguration Day or something)
(Image from IGN.com)
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