History YMMV / TalesOfVesperia

*** Yuri is by ''far'' the best physical attacker in the game thanks to his ability to combo enemies into oblivion all thanks to his skills while also being able to achieve the different Overlimits through those combos alone. He is also the only playable character who can get the Glory skill, which helps him continue his combos without interruption and helps with his survivability. His only downside is his lack of crowd control artes, but this can be circumvented by setting his burst arte to Divine Wolf Flood.

*** Yuri is by ''far'' the best physical attacker in the game thanks to his ability to combo enemies into oblivion all thanks to his skills while also being able to achieve the different Overlimits through those combos alone. He is also the only playable character who can get the Glory skill, which helps him continue his combos without interruption and to help with his survivability. His only downside is his lack of crowd control artes.

*** Yuri is by ''far'' the best physical attacker in the game thanks to his ability to combo enemies into oblivion all thanks to his skills while also being able to achieve the different Overlimits through those combos alone. He is also the only playable character who can get the Glory skill to help him continue his combos without interruption and to help with his survivability. His only downside is his lack of crowd control artes.

* ClicheStorm: Admittedly, a lot of the main characters fall into some classic JRPG character archetypes (Estelle is [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething the princess]], Karol is [[TagalongKid the kid character]], Raven is [[CoolOldGuy the old mentor character]], Judith is [[TheTease the fanservice character]] etc.), which may turn off some first-time players of the game. However, the way [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits how the party is presented throughout the story]] [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools and how each one of them plays off of each other and the emphasis on the most fun qualities of the characters]] make them one of the best character casts in the entire series.

*** Karol is often seen as a low tier party member due to being [[MightyGlacier strong, but very slow in both attack and movement]]. His AI is actually rather competent, he has good HP and defense, and is something of a JackOfAllTrades in terms of his skill and what he rbings to the table, but he is a rather unpopular pick for players who would rather use someone much faster like Repede or Judith. This stems from how combo-heavy the game is; Yuri, Flynn, Judith, and Repede are able to do fast and strong combos, while Karol is left with slow Artes that are poor in combo potential. The best thing going for him is his utility, but Raven and Flynn simply outperform him in utility.

*** Judith's gimmick is juggling enemies in the air or attacking from the air - which the AI just ''can'' not handle in ''any'' way. Unfortunately this goes both ways - since ''her'' AI usually can't do this. She's amazing [[DifficultButAwesome if a player can pull it off]], but it's going to take a lot of trial and error to do that.
*** Patty uses a StanceSystem but also requires a bit of luck. She's very DifficultButAwesome - if the game treats you well then you'll rip through things ''very'' fast. If it doesn't, you'll end up slowing things down.

** "Yeah that one The European Namco Bandai twitter back in 2015 told fans they were listening to them about localizing more games. In response, people suggested Vesperia, to which they stated "[[NoExportForYou yeah not that one]]". When the HD remaster was announced, the Tales of twitter responded to the original tweet with the response, quickly becoming a meme."

* CantUnhearIt: For some, Yuri's voice switching from Creator/TroyBaker and Creator/GrantGeorge mid-scene can feel a jarring. Don Whitehorse switching from Creator/DavidLodge and Creator/JamiesonPrice in one scene is even more jarring.

* CantUnhearIt: For some, Yuri's voice switching from Creator/TroyBaker and Creator/GrantGeorge mid-scene can feel a jarring.

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt - [[spoiler:Like you would ''really'' kill the party's main healer, Yuri.]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Patty is generally a popular character in Japan due to her fun gameplay quirks, her cute design, and the nature of how she is integrated into the story. In the west she's much more polarizing, and a good number of fans dislike her. The reason for this is largely attributed to the NoExportForYou nature of the PS3 version, meaning she ended up becoming the face for many who were unhappy about the lack of release until several years later. Ignoring that, her personality and role in the story is seen more negatively compared to Japan.

* DifficultySpike:
** The difficulty gap between [[spoiler: Duke]] rounds 2 and 3 is simply staggering.

** The boss fights in this game are, on average, a tad harder than other VideoGame/TalesSeries games, at least when it comes to difficulty spikes. Zagi, for example, hits 60,000 HP when he's a mid-game boss...whereas in other VideoGame/TalesSeries games, 60,000 HP for a boss at ''that'' level is something you ''usually'' only find on the harder difficulties.

** ''The Empty Mask'' adds much needed characterization for Alexei, whose status as a FallenHero comes off as an afterthought in the main game. The manga also makes Raven's motive for betraying the party more believable and sympathetic, showing how the horrors of the Great War broke his will to choose his destiny.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The [=PS3=] version and ''The Empty Mask'' manga counts as one for several reasons:

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The [=PS3=] version counts as one for several reasons:

* TierInducedScrappy: A ''very'' subjective example in that each party member is unique and fill different roles in battle.

*** Judith, in part because her gimmick is juggling enemies in the air or attacking from the air - which the AI just ''can'' not handle in ''any'' way. Unfortunately this goes both ways - since ''her'' AI usually can't do this. She's amazing if a player can pull it off, [[DifficultButAwesome but it's going to take a lot of trial and error to do that]].

** While Yuri's approval as a whole is well-liked as a ''Tales'' protagonist, there's debate as to his merits among the fanbase. There are many that dislike him for his hypocrisy as far as acting as judge, jury, and executioner, regarding anyone he personally feels "has it coming". Yet, having the audacity to talk down to Pharaoh and Sodia for doing the same. The fact that no one (other than Flynn and Sodia) [[WhatTheHellHero call him out on it]] makes it moreso, since she's made out to be the one [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality 'at fault']] for questioning him. Then there are those that hate his smug, lone-wolf personality. At the same time, there are just as many fans who like Yuri for the same reasons, believing that his murders of Ragou and Cumore were [[PayEvilUntoEvil justified]] and that makes him TallDarkAndSnarky. These same fans usually defend Yuri by saying that the perception of ProtagonistCenteredMorality is a bit unfair, since Yuri is called out on his actions repeatedly, and he admits that he's dirtying his hands, but [[ShootTheDog feels like it's the only way to dispense justice to people the law can't touch]]. In any case, while Yuri remains a popular character, it's hard to come to a concensus on him within the fanbase.

** Karol is often criticized for his voice (due to the amount of screaming he does, especially from his seiyuu) and constant need to put up a brave front, despite visibly being terrified. Others find this to be a rather believable portrayal of a twelve-year-old boy who inspires to be as strong and capable as his idol, and desperately wants his "former" guild to validate his resolve. Karol eventually mellows out, and even [[spoiler: saves the party from certain death in Act 2]].

** Patty, as far as the Western fanbase is concerned. She is either an interesting character with a [[TokenMiniMoe loli-pirate]] motif, or an AssPull character with a [[OlderThanTheyLook childish design]] and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter admittedly cool mechanics being wasted on her]]. Add to her [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking rather shrill voice]], [[spoiler:LaserGuidedAmnesia]], and her being shoehorned into scenes and skits she previously wasn't in — giving her perspective on everything, and you have one of the more polarizing ''Tales of'' characters.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During the Seduction quest in Heliord, Yuri can choose to have Judith, Estelle, or Karol seduce the guard. No matter what, the quest is relatively the same with them having to make a sexy dress. However, if Yuri chooses Judith to perform the seduction, for some reason Estelle also gets a sexy outfit, despite having no reason to wear one. Now if Estelle is chosen to seduce the guard, Judith will also get a sexy outfit of her own but it's specifically pointed out that she asked the peddler to make it for her while Estelle was getting ready, so it makes sense in the scene. It's {{Lampshaded}} by Yuri, who bluntly asks why she is dressed up despite not being part of it, at which point Estelle changes back to her normal outfit.
* BreatherBoss: The first Yeager boss battle. He doesn't even have a Secret Mission!

** And whatever happened to Dedecchi, the guy who stole the aque blastia? Thankfully the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]] version has a small sub-event where the party finds him, and Rita Stone Blasts him before he is arrested.
** Much talk is made of the party forming their own guild, but the guild never grows beyond the party who carry on traveling normally afterwards, doing nothing apart from the occasional odd fetch quest common in {{Role Playing Game}}s. Thus forming a guild never factors into the plot and ends up appearing to just be a formal way for the party to pick a name for themselves.
** Raven's plot about [[spoiler: secretly being TheMole for the empire]] who [[BecomingTheMask fully embraced his alternative persona]] and having a [[spoiler: Blastia for a heart]] goes... surprisingly nowhere. Once [[WelcomeBackTraitor he returns and everyone smacks him]], that is essentially the last we ever hear outside of skits and side events.
** [[spoiler: Yuri getting stabbed and lost at sea at the end of the second act]] is a great way to cap off a tense WhamEpisode. But [[spoiler: he recovers with no major setbacks, the party is soon reunited,]] and we're back to business as usual. Aside from some dialogue later between Yuri and Sodia, the incident leaves little impact on the story. One gets the feeling that the whole thing is just an excuse for [[spoiler: Duke to get Dein Nomos back]].

*** Karol is often seen as a low tier party member due to being [[MightyGlacier strong, but very slow in both attack and movement]]. At the same time, he makes up for it by having very high Health and Defense. His AI is actually rather competent, which helps, but he is a rather unpopular pick for players who would rather use someone much faster like Repede or Judith. This stems from how combo-heavy the game is; Yuri, Flynn, Judith, and Repede are able to do fast and strong combos, while Karol is left with slow Artes that are poor in combo potential.

** Patty, as far as the western fanbase is concerned. She is either an interesting character with a [[TokenMiniMoe loli-pirate]] motif, or an AssPull character with a [[OlderThanTheyLook childish design]] and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter admittedly cool mechanics being wasted on her]]. Add to her [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking rather shrill voice]], [[spoiler:LaserGuidedAmnesia]], and her being shoehorned into scenes and skits she previously wasn't in — giving her perspective on everything, and you have one of the more polarizing ''Tales of'' characters.
** The party as a collective is somewhat polarizing as well. In contrast to the casts of, say, ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Abyss]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria Berseria]]'', many of the main characters don't have particularly significant relationships with each other even by the end of the game. They're constantly on the verge of splitting up during the first act and one may feel as if they're being forced together for arbitrary reasons (Patty, a new character in the ''Definitive Edition'' who pretty much had to be inserted into the old plot, is [[TagalongKid hit with this particularly hard]]). Others think the individual strengths of some of the characters (Yuri constantly tops popularity polls) make up for these criticisms, or don't agree with them to begin with.

** "Yeah that one[[note]]The European Namco Bandai twitter back in 2015 told fans they were listening to them about localizing more games. In response, people suggested Vesperia, to which they stated "[[NoExportForYou yeah not that one]]". When the HD remaster was announced, the Tales of twitter responded to the original tweet with the response, quickly becoming a meme.[[/note]]."

** While Yuri's approval as a whole is well liked as a ''Tales'' protagonist, there's debate as to his merits among the fanbase. There are many that dislike him for his hypocrisy as far as acting as judge, jury, and executioner, regarding anyone he personally feels "has it coming". Yet, having the audacity to talk down to Pharaoh and Sodia for doing the same. The fact that no one (other than Flynn and Sodia) [[WhatTheHellHero call him on it]] makes it moreso, since she's made out to be the one [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality 'at fault']] for questioning him. Then there are those that hate how smug he is and his lack of chemistry with the rest of the party. At the same time, there are just as many fans who like Yuri for the same reasons, believing that his murders of Ragou and Cumore were [[PayEvilUntoEvil justified]] and that makes him TallDarkAndSnarky. These same fans usually defend Yuri by saying that the perception of ProtagonistCenteredMorality is a bit unfair, since Yuri is called out on his actions repeatedly, and he admits that he's dirtying his hands, but [[ShootTheDog feels like it's the only way to dispense justice to people the law can't touch]]. In any case, while Yuri remains a popular character, it's hard to come to a concensus on him within the fanbase.
** Patty as well in the western fanbase. She is either a pretty interesting character with a lot of interesting gimmicks, or an AssPull character with a terrible design and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter admittedly cool mechanics being wasted on her]]. Also, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking she has a rather shrill voice.]]
** The party as a collective is somewhat polarizing as well. In contrast to the casts of, say, ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Abyss]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria Berseria]]'', many of the main characters don't have particularly significant relationships with each other even by the end of the game. They're constantly on the verge of splitting up during the first act and one may feel as if they're being forced together for arbitrary reasons (Patty, a new character in the ''Definitive Edition'' who pretty much had to be inserted into the old plot, is hit with this particularly hard). Others think the individual strengths of some of the characters (Yuri constantly tops popularity polls) make up for these criticisms, or don't agree with them to begin with.

* GrowingTheBeard: In terms of gameplay, this is when the series ''really'' grew into its own. The previous games in the series ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' still do have their fans, many point out that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny they are showing their age in terms of gameplay]], and this is essentially the point when games in the Tales series became ''much'' more frantic. In fact, when ''Innocence'' was remade for the Vita, it played much more closely to ''Vesperia''.

** Due to the aforementioned gamebreaking Tidal Wave and the process in which it is used, we also have: ''"Blah blah blah! TIDAL WAVE!"'' ''[repeat ad nauseam]''
*** To a lesser extent, "Blah Blah Blah! CRIMSON FLARE!" since it could give a ''huge'' amount of hits.
*** "I am SO going to make you-Blah blah blah! TIDAL WAVE/CRIMSON FLARE!".

** Yuri's vigilantism is '''not''' something you're supposed to think is factually correct all the time. Yes, he punishes REALLY evil people, but ''he might end up JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope'' and it alienates him from his loved ones as well. He even realizes that it's best to let the law punish people, and is fully aware that meting out vigilante justice is less than moral. Yuri needs someone like Flynn to rein him in at times.

* NarmCharm: If the player is quick enough, the second Rita enters overlimit, her voice clips will end up interrupting one another resulting in her going from "I am SO going to make you pay!" to "I am SO going to make you-Blah blah blah."

* PortingDisaster: When it first released, the ''Definitive Edition'' version was this for all consoles, being marred by run-on sentences, typos, grammatical mistakes, and the newly localized lines also having inconsistent writing compared to the polished dialogue of the original. But worst of all, the newly dubbed dialogue and extra skits have inconsistent sound quality. Except for Patty’s audio (mostly), the new audio is either too low in volume, or too high, which distorts the audio due to the inconsistency (mostly evident at Ghasfarost). The Switch version was possibly the worst one of them all. It had game-breaking bugs and glitches that ''were not present in either the [=PS3=] or Xbox 360 editions,'' like shutting down at random times.

** And whatever happened to Dedecchi, the guy who stole the aque blastia? Thankfully the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]] version has a small subevent where the party finds him, and Rita Stone Blasts him before he is arrested.

** Raven's plot about [[spoiler: secretly being TheMole for the empire]] who [[BecomingTheMask fully embraced his alternative persona]] and having a [[spoiler: Blastia for a heart]] goes... surprisingly nowhere. Once [[WelcomeBackTraitor he returns and everyone smacks him]] that is essentially the last we ever hear outside of skits and side events.
** [[spoiler: Yuri getting stabbed and lost at sea at the end of the second act]] is a great way to cap off a tense WhamEpisode. But [[spoiler: he recovers with no major setbacks, the party is soon reunited,]] and we're back to business as usual. Aside from some dialogue later, the incident leaves little impact on the story. One gets the feeling that the whole thing is just an excuse for [[spoiler: Duke to get Dein Nomos back]].

*** Raven. Having characters who are ranged and ''stay ranged'' (as opposed to Estelle) or are effective at hit-and-runs are a very valuable asset. Raven is also one of the three characters with an ability that can heal the party as well - Yuri and Karol can only heal a small area around them with Guardian Field and Nice Aid Smash respectively, so Raven's healing from anywhere on the field makes him quite versatile.

* TheUntwist: Absolutely no one is surprised that Estelle's a princess, save [[IdiotHero Karol]]. Yuri even says outright, during the first visit to the Quoi Woods--long before the reveal in question--that she's a "sheltered little princess".

** A few have mistaken Witcher (aka "Apple Head") for a girl, since he's rather short and has feminine features. There is a scene in the [=PS3=] / ''Definitive Edition'' in which he joins the other guys in the party in the hot springs, but this isn't until really late in the game, and is optional.

* GoddamnedBoss: The Baitojoh in the Blade Drifts of Zopheir is not an overly hard boss like some of the more notable ones in the game, but it is incredibly annoying to fight for a number of reasons. Being an enemy that flies above the ground means that stringing together combos to gain any offensive momentum on it is difficult to pull off, and it will constantly dig underground to evade your attacks. This can drag out the fight longer than it should, and while underground, the Baitojoh will stick its dorsal fin out to emit a shock wave that will insta-stun any of your party members near it, leaving them vulnerable and unable to attack for a short time. All of these together makes this boss fight a very irritating slog to go through for what is just another unassuming monster with no bearing on the main plot, and it will likely make you spend some of your resources to keep your head in the game.

*** Some of Rita's spells are on the lower-tier end of the spectrum due to being counter intuitive and not very practical in battle. The two most notable ones are Spiral Flare and Blade Roll. The former is essentially a more powerful version of Fire Ball, but unfortunately, it's held back by a huge start-up delay so by the time the spell is all set up, enemies are very likely to move out of its range, causing the spell to miss entirely as a result and wasting TP. The latter on the other hand is only effective at close range and is very circumstantial when Rita goes into Over Limit and needs to get enemies off her tail, since as an advanced spell, it has a very long cast time by default.

** The Xbox 360 version had a skill called Eternal Support, which gives a chance that the stat-boosting spells Estelle casts will remain in effect until the the end of the fight or the character was knocked out. One of her spells, Force Field, gives all characters in the area of effect invulnerability. Due to an oversight, Force Field works with Eternal Support, meaning it's possible to make your party invincible for the duration of a fight. You could simply set everyone to Auto-Fight once you got this to work, and go make a sandwich or something - you'd win eventually. This oversight was fixed in the [=PS3=] remake.

* HilariousInHindsight: The real [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Estelle,_Duchess_of_%C3%96sterg%C3%B6tland Princess Estelle]] was born in 2012.

** Due to the aforementioned gamebreaking Tidal Wave and the process in which it is used, we also have: ''"Blah blah blah. TIDAL WAVE!"'' ''[repeat ad nauseam]''
*** To a lesser extent, "Blah Blah Blah. CRIMSON FLARE!" since it could give a ''huge'' amount of hits.
*** "I am SO going to make you-Blah blah blah. TIDAL WAVE/CRIMSON FLARE!".

* FanPreferredCouple: Flynn/Yuri (Fluri) and Rita/Estelle (Ristelle) both enjoy overwhelming popularity among fans, helped in no small part by VAs and crew vocally supporting them as well as repeatedly sinking the other ships during panels and shows.

* FoeYay: Zagi towards Yuri.

** Yuri's vigilantism is '''not''' something you're supposed to think is factually correct all the time. Yes, he punishes REALLY evil people, but ''he might end up JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope'' and it alienates him from his loved ones as well. Yuri needs someone like Flynn to wring him in at times.
** Likewise, Flynn's always-lawful approach isn't automatically the best, either. Yes, he has a point about Yuri JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, but TheEmpire's laws have repeatedly proven ineffective at protecting countless innocent people from the very {{Asshole Victim}}s Yuri targets. Like Yuri, Flynn's approach needs a counter balance to it, or else he beams a KnightTemplar like the BigBad.

** Many people found it hard to forgive the Hunting Blades (especially Clint and Tyson) when [[spoiler:they assaulted Nordopolica to kill Belius just because she is an Entelexeia.]]

** A few have mistaken Witcher (aka "Apple Head") as a girl. There is a scene in the [=PS3=] / ''Definitive Edition'' in which he joins the other guys in the party in the hot springs, but this isn't until really late in the game, and is optional.
** Duke has gotten this reaction a few times as well.

** A divide over Rita's popularity between her role in the plot and gameplay. Her fans love her [[LittleMissSnarker for her snark]] and game-breaking magic abilities, which allow her clear entire waves of enemies single-handedly. For her critics, she embodies [[InsufferableGenius every]] [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale single]] [[NeverMyFault negative]] [[HairTriggerTemper tsundere]] [[DisproportionateRetribution stereotype ever.]] Some also point out how her only real role in the plot is being the party's Blastia expert making her feel more like a plot device and how she never really grows as a character, other than implied feelings towards Estelle.