In the upcoming issue of Play magazine, it was revealed that Tales of Vesperia will be released on Microsoft's Xbox 360. It was also revealed that the game will be released outside of Japan fairly quickly, as the English version is being developed simultaneously with its Japanese counterpart, and that the releases will be close to each other.
The main characters announced so far are:
Yuri - An empathetic person, who cares deeply about his friends and family, despite not actually having any real family of his own.
Flynn - Childhood friend of Yuri, he has a strong sense of justice and wants to change the world for the better without having to go outside of the law.
The ring around the city, seen in trailers, is actually a barrier that keeps monsters out. The world's energy balance is breaking down, causing an influx in the creation of monsters. Most people will never set foot outside the city, though Yuri used to be a knight and Flynn regularly ventures out to fight monsters.
At this point, the game is approximately 60% complete and is scheduled to fit on a single dual-sided DVD. Production I.G. is once again handling the opening movie, and they will also be handling the FMVs in Vesperia. The FMVs will be more numerous than any past game in the series and will all run at 720p.
The battle system is based on the one from Tales of the Abyss, though more features have been added to it to create the Evolved Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System or EFR-LMBS. The battles are scheduled to run at 60 frames per second (fps), while in the field it drops to 30 fps.
One of the changes to the battle system is the addition of enemy links. This means that when the player goes into battle in an area within range of other enemies, the player may have to fight a larger group than initially intended. There is now the ability to stock up Over Limits to as high as four, so each character can use one or a single character can use them all. Using that gauge, players will be able to create more combos. This may see characters fight faster or even gain the ability to use artes more rapidly.
When it comes to mini-games and downloadable content (DLC), Namco Bandai will likely have both of those available to players. They're working on a few ideas for mini-games in Vesperia, though they're running out of time, so it may not be finished in time to be added to the game. If it is added, an Xbox Live ranking system would be included. In regards to DLC, it's doubtful that bonus dungeons will be released, though there are plans to have hard to find items downloadable for those more willing to pay for items rather than find them.
When it comes to the game's North American version, players can expect to find fully-voiced skits and an English version of the main theme, sung by the same person that does the Japanese one. This will mark the 10th anniversary of the Tales series, and as such Namco Bandai has been putting a lot of work into its development.
Though the game will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 when it releases, Namco Bandai also mentions that there is a possibility that the game may one day be ported to the PlayStation 3. Readers interested in seeing the game's teaser trailer may visit the game's official site for both a high definition and standard view.
Tales of Vesperia Headed to 360, North America
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