Tales of Hearts R (PS Vita)
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This game is a remake of Tales of Hearts which was never officially translated in to English, but I have not played that version so I cannot make any comparisons. While the game has English subtitles, the voice acting remains in Japanese and there are clearly some changes that have been made. Voice acting can be turned off though if it's bothersome.

Story:
In this game, people have things known as 'Spirias', which are hearts of sorts and govern emotions. Sometimes a person comes down with a case of despair, meaning something bad is happening with their Spirias. Certain people possess things called 'Somas'. Somas take the form of weapons, differing depending on the wielder, and those in possession of a Soma can perform a 'Spiria Link' in to those with despair in order to cure them.


We start the game with our hero, Kor Meteor, training with his grandfather. But when his grandfather leaves in order to cure someone of despair, he finds a mysterious young girl, Kohaku Hearts, and her brother, Hisui, on the run from a witch who seems to be trying to kill them. The witch catches up with them and does something to Kohaku's Spiria, so Kor enters to try and cure her. Inside her Spiria he finds a girl with emerald hair. But things go horribly wrong and Kohaku's Spiria shatters to all corners of the world. She only has one fragment left, Kindness. Kor and Hisui make it their mission to find all the shards of her Spiria Core and return her to the girl she once was.


Gameplay:
Anyone who has played a 3D Tales game is probably familiar with the battle system. This game is an RPG, and encounters are random. In battle, you take control of one of 4 characters (with eight playable total). By pressing X you will attack the enemy, pressing O will use and art, Square will guard, and Triangle will open the menu where you can do such things as flee or use items. Arts use up TP, which is restored by attacking, using items, cooking, or by completing a battle. You'll also gain a limit bar or sorts that when pressing L1+ a directional arrow, will increase your power and allow you to perform special attacks later in the game.


Abilities are learned through the Somas option. When a character levels up, they will receive a certain amount of points. Points are then distributed in to one of 5 categories. Once the appropriate number of points has been allocated (it will tell you how many you need) you will learn the corresponding ability, skill, stat bonus, or even gain new weapons. By allocating points, your stats will also increase in certain categories. This is the only way to get new weapons. Points can be distributed however you like and at certain points in the game, the Somas will expand, allowing you to learn more from those 5 categories. You can also set strategies for how your party will fight, and you can do this in little detail, or buy purchasing commands for them at stores and setting them very detailed. You can also set skills, such as allowing more TP to be restored after battle, or having spells cast more quickly. Characters can also cook for bonus effects or healing if they have recipes and ingredients.


Eight different arts can be set to the character you're using. One to the O button, one to the O+up directional button, one to the O+down directional button, one to the O+left/right directional buttons, and one to each of the right analogue stick. In battle, characters can also initiate a "chase link" where a blue indicator will appear on an enemy, and if attacked enough, the enemy will be stunned. You can then attack him freely and also perform a combo by tapping on the portrait of a glowing character. The 3 characters who accompany you in battle but are not controlled directly can also have certain commands assigned to them, which you can activate by tapping or swiping their portrait.


there are a number of sidequests to do, as well as different outfits and accessories for the characters. The game is fairly linear at first but opens up later in the game. You can collect recipes, improve your cooking, watch skits between characters, find namicoins for prizes, play a few mini games, among other things. You can also check the relationship between your characters, improved by scenes, skits, and battle time together, and they'll give you little quotes about the other. There's also a synopsis section if you find yourself forgetting what's going on and is written in the form of a diary by the playable characters.


World:
The world is fairly large with a wide range of locations. You travel on the world map by foot and boat, and later acquire a way to fly, opening up the world map to areas not accessible before. There are towns and dungeons, and dungeons usually involve puzzles to solve them. The first part of the game is linear and doesn't allow for too much exploration, although it does open up later on.


Characters:
Ordered from favourite to least favourite:
bjeJrF1.jpgKohaku: A girl being chased by a mysterious with, she has a woman living in her Spiria. She goes out seeking the aid of Kor's grandfather but is attacked and eventually her Spiria shatters to all corners of the globe. The first part of the game revolves around restoring her emotions. She has a lot of fire elemental spells, she can heal, and kicks like a mule.
DFF6QT8.pngKor: The hero of our journey. A bit slow and naive, having grown up in a small town, but full of energy. He always rushes in head first when someone is in trouble and has vowed to restore Kohaku's Spiria. He uses a sword in battle and is good with Thunder/Lightning elements.
VtCHhnh.pngChalcedony: A member of the Crystal Knights who was ordered to get the Spiria Shards from Kohaku's Spiria, he is very loyal to the Church and very much believes in Knightly Honour. He has a number of spells and can shoot an enemy in the air. He's also a decent healer.
kQgrP5J.jpgBeryl: A young girl who one day wants to become a court painter. She's very brash and not afraid to speak her mind, but holds some insecurities under it all. She's an offensive magic user style of character.
HyqndpJ.jpgGall: A mysterious older man who helps out Kor and Hisui when he sees them struggling with the broken Spiria's Kohaku. He doesn't reveal much about himself, but he's always there to encourage and help the others. He uses an axe/machete combo in battle.
Q30CT9W.jpgHisui: Older brother of Kohaku and very protective of his sister. He's not immediately trusting and very hot-headed but he does what he needs to to help Kohaku. He's an archer character with wind and healing magics.
4nZUXJN.jpgInes: A ridiculously strong woman with a courrier business and a taste for money. She has various water magics. She's business and street smart and a bit ruthless when it comes to what she wants.
kJ3SOyv.jpgKunzite: A mech from ancient times who's mission it is to protect his "master" which seems to be Kohaku! Very analytical and cold.

Overall:
Overall I adored this game from the moment I started playing. The menu screen was beautiful, the main character positive and happy, and the story interesting. The main complaint I have is that the game was very linear for a long time, but other than that I liked the story, characters, world, gameplay. Amazing game and I'm really glad I played it.

Verdict:
LOVED IT