Another Great Tales of...
...as well as just a great jRPG in general. Tales of Vesperia will keep you hooked from the beginning to end with beautiful visuals, charming characters, and fun gameplay. The story is also lengthy, and while it isn't the best ever, it is written well enough to keep you interested.
Tales of Vesperia starts out with Yuri Lowell, who definitely isn't your typical protagonist, trying to recover a stolen "aque blastia". "Blastia" is this story's source of everyday functions. In his pursuit he later meets the female protagonist Estelle, who was trying to escape from a castle, and then the story twists and turns from there.
You'll meet many more characters, all with their own unique personalities. I personally thought Tales of Vesperia's cast was very well-done and is one of my favorite jRPG cast of characters. You'll be attached to them in no time, especially with the help from Skits, which are now fully voiced.
If you've played other Tales of games, the gameplay will feel familiar, but is still different enough for something new. It is still a real-time battle system and they've kept free-run, but they've upgraded it so it's not easily as exploitable. Once you're able to get more artes and skills, battles become incredibly fun with all the different combinations of artes you can do. It's complex enough to almost pass as a fighting game system.
Lastly, maybe this is needless to say, but the graphics are a huge improvement from previous Tales of, and are just lovely. Many have said that "it almost feels like you're playing an anime." I agree, although it would've been nice to see even MORE anime cutscenes than from what it already has.
Tales of Vesperia is very lengthy, and will easily eat 50-70 hours on your first playthrough. After you beat the game you get access to a Grade Shop, which lets you play a second playthrough with bonuses and things like that. Even if you don't do a second playthrough, there are plenty of sidequests to do in your first, so you won't be bored even after beating it.
If you're a Tales of fan, I don't think I even need to tell you to get this; it's a fabulous addition to the series. If you aren't, well, here's a good place to start being one. :D
The Limited Edition comes in a steel case with extra pages of original artwork in the instruction booklet. They're nice if you're willing to pay an extra $10, but not completely necessary. Nothing gameplay-wise is affected if you get the Limited Edition or not.