Tales Of Vesperia is next for me. But it’s in fact Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike. The 2009 anime movie acts as a prequel to the actual game. Tales of Vesperia. It’s also the first animated movie in the Tales series, and one of my long-requested projects.
But honestly, neither I nor my colleague (The Italian Guy) are strangers to this series. Just recently I did a ranking of the Tales series (which you can check out here). And The Italian Guy graced us with a fabulous review of the game itself. You can read his Tales of Vesperia review here. It’s awesome.
Which is the inspiration for this article.
That’s Tales of Vesperia All About You Might Ask?
Developed by BANDAI NAMCO Studios and published by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition is all about a power struggle. A power struggle that begins in a civilization dependent on ancient technology. The blastia, and the Empire that controls it. The fates of two friends traveling separate paths intertwine in an epic adventure that threatens the existence of all.
Those two friends are of course Flynn and Yuri, and you can find them in the anime as well. They’re in the center of the story but I’ll get to that in a minute. However, the game does a good job at celebrating the 10th anniversary of Tales of Vesperia. And the return of this fan-favorite with the Definitive Edition too! Get it by clicking here.
Also, the game is a fan-favorite among the fans and here are some of the Steam User comments about it.
* It’s one of the best games of all time go buy it. Says Stoat Muldoon in his Steam comment.
*While Darkwell adds: Tales of Vesperia is by FAR my favorite Tales game. The combat is fun, the systems are engaging, the story is cogent, and the characters are enjoyable. It’s a bright star in the sky of JRPGs.
But if you’re not a fan of Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition, don’t despair. Perhaps Tales Of Arise will grab your interest. It’s available here. How about Tales Of Berseria, which is also available for purchase here at IndieGala. Take your pick and enjoy.
And if you’re interested in more Bandai Namco games, then you should head out to our very popular Bandai Namco Sale. You can find plenty of great game series there. And with up to 91% off. Just click here and take your pick.
Now. Let’s get back to the topic at hand. Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike.
The Basics Of Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike
Well as I previously mentioned, the movie takes place a few years before the events of the game. Since it’s a prequel and all. But the movie also follows the two main characters, Yuri and Flynn. In their early days as Knights of the Niren Corps. But at the start of the movie, they’ll join other knights and head out to the forest near Shizontania. Furthermore, they’ll have to investigate the abnormal aer activity in the area and the appearance of some mutated beasts. They must find out the truth but that won’t be such an easy task. To say the least anyway.
But Is Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike Good?
I enjoyed it, although there are a bunch of flaws that I’d like to share with you. And while I’m on that subject, I’m even reluctant to call this article a review. It’s not but I did enjoy watching the movie. I still have issues with the pacing, but I liked it overall. Now the reason I’d rather not call it a review is that I’m not that versed in the world of anime. And my experience with the Tales Of series is fairly basic as well.
But as I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed watching The First Strike and I do think it’s rather good. I enjoyed the simplicity of the plot the most really. The group must head out to a place and their entire premise is centered around that. The obstacles that they come across, their strengths and differences are shown along the way. They’re all there. And although we don’t see that much character development besides the two main protagonists… There is a fairly decent animation to compensate for the flaws. Oh yes. I even liked the English dub (since it’s the only version I could find) but please don’t judge me for this.
Yuri And Flynn Are Center Stage
Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo indeed take center stage in this movie. And they’re probably the most developed characters in this movie. This is a crying shame because there are plenty of potentially great characters that don’t get even a fraction of the development that these two have. Most notably Hisca and Chastel. Sure they made the movie enjoyable but I wanted so much more out of them.
But yeah. Yuri and Flynn are the most prominent characters here. I loved their bond, their friendship in the movie. And with Flynn, I liked that there’s a background to his character. We get a glimpse of his father’s legacy to his presence now. And how it cast a shadow on his character in the present time. I suppose he’s carrying the sins of his father on his back and it’s not easy. It never is I guess. But yeah. They drifted apart early in their childhood and now they’re together again. Bound by duty and a new sense of belonging.
Good Visuals And Good Battle Scenes
When it comes to the good visuals I don’t merely mean good animation. No the theatrical animation is on point in First Strike. But I also loved the animation in the battle scenes. There are few that are not on par and where the flaws are most visible. But for the most part they’re good. The dubbing as well. I watched the movie on Blue-Ray and with English dubbing and they were great. One thing that I always notice when I’m watching dubbed anime. They’re not always natural let’s just put it that way. But over here are for the most part.
Just watch at the scene where Rita Mordio wakes up from deep sleep. You know she’s sleepy from her voice too. Not just from the animation. That’s some good voice work right there. But One thing impressed me the most in the visuals. Just look at the architecture. The buildings and the entire city really have a sort of Spanish influence. But the music that accompanies the movie, gives it a more medieval feel at times. Add the nicely choreographed battle scenes and it’s a pretty darn movie. So you might say… I liked it. Not all too much but the stuff that’s good… It’s pretty good.
What’s Your Take On Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike?
Do you like it? Or it’s not one of your favorites. Let us know in the comment section. We’d love to know all about it.
