In Reception: 'Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike is a standalone offering, or at least one that might have done better had it focused solely on Yuri and Flynn and left the rest of the 'cast of thousands' far in the background.' I think maybe you should use italics for the film's title.

1. Tales Of Vesperia Patty
2. Tales Of Vesperia Wiki Zagi

The video game Tales of Vesperia and its prequel film, Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike, features multiple characters designed by Kōsuke Fujishima and Yoshito Higuchi.

• 1Protagonists
• 2Antagonists
• 3Introduced in Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike

Protagonists[edit]

Yuri Lowell[edit]

Yuri Lowell (ユーリ・ローウェルYūri Rōweru)

Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi (Japanese); Troy Baker, Grant George (Definitive Edition, new dialogue) (English)

The main protagonist of the story, Yuri was born and raised in the Lower Quarter of the Imperial Capital, Zaphias. He was formerly a member of the Imperial Knights, but left after only three months of service due to his contempt for the Empire's treatment of its lower citizens. He is willing to help those in need, even if he has to take extreme measures to do so, adopting a vigilante-like attitude in many situations. He is an expert fighter, capable of wielding swords and axes. Together with Karol, he forms Brave Vesperia, a guild of which Judith also becomes a part.

Repede[edit]

Repede (ラピードRapīdo)

Voiced by: Makoto Ishii

Repede is Yuri's loyal companion. He is an intelligent dog distinguished by a scar and a pipe, which he carries as a memento of his former master. He is friendly around people he trusts, but dislikes being approached by strangers.

Estellise Sidos Heurassein[edit]

Estellise Sidos Heurassein (エステリーゼ・シデス・ヒュラッセインEsuterīze Shidesu Hyurassein)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese); Eden Riegel (game),^[1]Cherami Leigh (First Strike) (English)

Estelle (エステルEsuteru) for short, she is the princess and candidate to the imperial throne. Before meeting Yuri, she had not set foot outside the capital. As a result, she is very naive of the outside world. Because of her strong compassion, she never hesitates to help and heal anyone in need. During her time in the castle, she was trained by Imperial Knights, allowing her to wield a sword and shield efficiently in battle, along with healing magic. She also spent much of her time reading books, allowing her to become knowledgeable in a wide range of fields. After traveling with Yuri for some time, she decides that she wants to continue her journey with him and the group in order to learn more about the world.

Karol Capel[edit]

Karol Capel (カロル・カペルKaroru Kaperu)

Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor^[2] (English)

Karol is a young, eager, worldly yet naive member of the Hunting Blades guild, which hunts down monsters all over the world and believes that all monsters are evil. He was born and raised in Dahngrest, a city run entirely by members of guilds. Karol has a history of joining many guilds, only to be thrown out of them due to his cowardly tendencies. He later becomes the leader of the guild Brave Vesperia, which he started with Yuri and Judith.

Rita Mordio[edit]

Rita Mordio (リタ・モルディオRita Morudio)

Voiced by: Rika Morinaga (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (game),^[3]Luci Christian (First Strike) (English)

Rita is a young, ingenious, and eccentric but apparently infamous blastia researcher. She was born and raised in Aspio, a city of scholars. She has a quick temper and poor social disposition; without hesitation, she will execute her magic on any offender if provoked. She becomes best friends with Estelle and eventually bonds with Judith as the story progresses.

Raven[edit]

Raven (レイヴンReivun)

Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto (Japanese); Joe J. Thomas (game),^[4]Jonathan Brooks (First Strike) (English)

Raven is a shady, laid-back member of the group who seems to know more than he lets on. He first encounters Yuri in the castle prison and allows Yuri to escape by slyly sneaking him a jail key between the bars of his cell. Raven frequently causes the group to run into trouble early on, harboring feelings of unease from the rest of the party. He often complains about his age and work load, causing the group to refer to him as 'old man.' He is apparently a veteran of the Great War, which took place ten years before the story; however, he does not like to talk much about his experiences.

Judith[edit]

Judith (ジュディスJudisu)

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Alison Lees-Taylor (English)

Judith is a mysterious, mature and rational member of the group. She is a member of the Kritya (クリティアKuritia) tribe, which possesses expert knowledge of the blastia and has attempted to stop them in the past due to their dangers. She is decisive, persistent, witty, impulsive, bold, flirtatious, and seemingly carefree. She initially appeared as a nameless dragon rider who went about destroying blastia, prompting contempt from Rita; however, the two eventually become good friends after Judith explains the reasons for her actions.

Flynn Scifo[edit]

Flynn Scifo (フレン・シーフォFuren Shīfo)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese); Sam Riegel^[5] (English)

Flynn is a childhood friend of Yuri's, as well as a friend to Estelle. He joined the Imperial Knights at the same time as Yuri when they were younger for the purpose of 'making a difference' in the world. But unlike Yuri, he stuck with it and has since continued to climb higher in rank, becoming the youngest to receive the title of Captain. He often helps the party deal with problems in their travels. He has a sense of justice similar to Yuri's, but he pursues it through a different method, attempting to solve matters through peaceful politics rather than forceful rebellion. He is unplayable in the Xbox 360 version of the game (save for a single battle,) but is a fully playable character in the Japanese PS3 version and Definitive Edition.

Patty Fleur[edit]

Patty Fleur (パティ・フルールPati Furuuru)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese); Sandy Fox^[6] (English)

Patty is a cheerful young pirate girl who travels around the world in search of romance and the legendary treasure of the notorious pirate Aifread. Despite her young appearance, she has a personality and manner of expression of that of an elderly person. She is an expert marksman, capable of using a gun and equally skilled at wielding a knife. She does not appear at all in the Xbox 360 version, but is a major main character of the Japanese PlayStation 3 port and Definitive Edition.^[7]

Antagonists[edit]

Zagi[edit]

Zagi (ザギZagi)

Voiced by: Akio Suyama (Japanese); Roger Craig Smith (English)

Zagi is a crazed assassin who holds a grudge against Yuri, mistakes him for Flynn upon their first meeting, and interferes at inappropriate times throughout the story. He sees Yuri as his equal because he was the first one to ever make him bleed in battle (during their second battle) and becomes obsessed with fighting Yuri. He's fought five times of the course of the game until he is finally killed at the Tower of Tarqaron by Yuri and his friends, and falls to his death.

Barbos[edit]

Tales Of Vesperia Patty

Voiced by: Masashi Hirose (Japanese); JB Blanc^[8] (English)

Tales Of Vesperia Wiki Zagi

Leader of the Blood Alliance, one of the Five Master Guilds. On the surface, the Blood Alliance serve as a mercenary guild, doing jobs that no one else is brave enough to. However, their real purpose is the theft and illegal use and distribution of blastia. Yuri finally confronts Barbos in the Tower of Ghasfarost where Barbos attempts to kill Yuri and the others with a new weapon built with the Lower Quarter's aque blastia. But just as he's about to deliver the killing blow, Duke arrives and uses Dein Nomos to destroy the weapon. Resorting to his old tactics a fight breaks out between Yuri's part and Barbos' Blood Alliance, with Yuri emerging as the victor. Before falling to his death, Barbos warns Yuri that he will make powerful enemies later on.

Ragou[edit]

Voiced by: Takashi Taguchi (Japanese); Dino Andrade^[9] (English)

Ragou is the corrupt magistrate who rules over Capua Nor with an iron fist. He taxes the townsfolk and travelers very heavily and prides himself in watching people fight his pet monsters so that he'll cancel their debt. He frequently deals in blastia smuggling with Barbos. After Yuri gets back the aque blastia for the lower quarter, the Flynn brigade is successful in arresting Ragou in Dahngrest. However, on the eve that he's to be extradited back to Zaphias, Ragou was able to use his position in the Royal Council to clear the charges against him and get off with only a slight decrease in rank. Yuri is enraged after hearing this from Karol and confronts Ragou on the bridge in Dahngrest, where he cuts him down.

Cumore[edit]

Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese); Liam O'Brien^[10] (English)

Aristocrat born Captain of the Imperial Knights. He is sadistic and enjoys taking advantage of those less fortunate than he. After his atrocities in the desert town of Mantaic, Yuri confronts him at the inn and chases him outside, where Cumore accidentally falls into dry quicksand as he was fleeing Yuri in cowardice. Cumore then begs Yuri to spare him by tossing down a nearby rope, but Yuri responds by asking Cumore how many of his victims begged the same of him. Yuri then turns away, leaving Cumore to sink to his doom.

Alexei Dinoia[edit]

Alexei Dinoia (アレクセイ ディノイアArekusei Dinoia)

Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (Japanese); D.C. Douglas (game)^[11], Jason Douglas (First Strike) (English)

Alexei is the commandant (the highest-ranking officer) of the Imperial Knights. However, he is secretly maneuvering events throughout the story to his own ends. He was in fact behind most of the events. He desires control of the Imperial Throne and world domination; however, his actions accidentally bring about a threat to the entire world. Alexei is mortally wounded by Yuri after releasing the Adephagos (an apocalypse-like force) at Zaude, before death he reflects that perhaps he 'was the greatest fool of all' before he is crushed by the malfunctioning blasita.

Yeager[edit]

Yeager (イエガーIegā)

Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese); Spike Spencer^[12] (English)

Yeager is the leader of the mysterious Leviathan's Claw guild and wields a scythe that changes into a crossbow. He has two adopted daughters: Gauche (ゴーシュGōshu) and Droite (ドロワットDorowatto) who follow his orders without question. He's later revealed to have been working for Alexei. Much like Raven, he has a blastia heart. He occasionally aids the party for his own reasons, but ultimately fights against them at Zaude, where he is finally killed. In the Japanese version, he occasionally speaks in English, while in the English version, he has a German accent.

Khroma[edit]

Voiced by: Satomi Arai (Japanese); Kate Higgins (English)

Khroma is Alexei's only fully informed confidant. However, with each time Khroma appears before the party without Alexei, she is shown to be a traitor to Alexei's cause as she hints to Yuri Lowell and the party that she wants Alexei stopped before his plans come to fruition. In Relewiese Hollow, it is revealed to the party that she is one of the Entelexeia, although Yuri already suspected this beforehand. She transforms into her Entelexeia form, resembling a dragon or griffin, and does battle with Yuri and the party. In her death she allows herself to be reborn into the summon spirit of the wind, the Sylph.

Gauche and Droite[edit]

Gauche (ゴーシュGōshu) and Droite (ドロワットDorowatto)

Gauche Voiced by: Satomi Arai (Japanese); Laura Bailey^[13] (English)
Droite Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Japanese); Cristina Pucelli (English)

These two were adopted daughters of Yeager, but are not blood-sisters. In general these two act as the same character, however they do have their own differences. The duo have an undying gratitude to their foster father because he once saved the financially troubled orphanage they lived in for so long. In a side quest where the team fights these two, it is revealed that Yeager potentially knew an old friend of Raven's when they give him her old bow in exchange for a locket. The primary difference between the two is seen in their view of battle where Gauche is seen as more violent than Droite. Perhaps the easiest way to remember who is who is by their hair color and meanings of their names. Gauche is French for 'Left' (who holds her sword in her left hand), and Droite is French for 'right (direction)' (who holds her sword in her right hand).

Duke Pantarei[edit]

Duke Pantarei (デューク パンタレイDyūku Pantarei)

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese); Jamieson Price^[14] (English)

Duke is the main antagonist of Tales of Vesperia. Duke is a mysterious war hero who once fought for humanity's survival alongside the ancient king of the Entelexeia, Elucifer, in the Great War. He fights for his own cause, going against the party at times (but also assisting them at others), causing the party to doubt his trustworthiness. When the Adephagos is released, he plans to use an ancient weapon called the Tarqaron to sacrifice all human beings, including himself, revealing he had grown to loathe other humans for releasing the Adephagos and for killing Elucifer after the Great War, who was his close friend. The party faces him as the final boss of the game. Duke manages to survive the fight, and then helps in destroying the Adephagos. He carries a special sword by the name of 'Dein Nomos'.

Introduced in Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike[edit]

Niren Fedrok[edit]

Niren Fedrock (ナイレン・フェドロックNairen Fedorokku)

Voiced by: Takashi Taniguchi (Japanese); Christopher Sabat (English)

Niren is the commanding officer of the Niren Corps during First Strike, with Yuri and Flynn operating under his command. Although he bears guilt over the loss of his wife and daughter and has the aura of a commanding officer, he also exudes that of a friendly middle-aged man. During a siege on a giant blastia, he is injured and forces the others to leave him behind, bequeathing Yuri his bodhi blastia before getting crushed by falling debris.

Hisca and Chastel Aiheap[edit]

Hisca Aiheap (ヒスカ・アイヒープHisuka Aihiipu) and Chastel Aiheap (シャスティル・アイヒープShastir Aihiipu)

Hisca Voiced by: Arisa Ogasawara (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)
Chastel Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)

Hisca and her twin sister Chastel are knights in the Niren Corps. The two were introduced in First Strike as senior officers to Yuri and Flynn. The twins later made a brief appearance in the PS3 port of Tales of Vesperia, along with its Definitive Edition re-release.

Garista Luodur[edit]

Garista Luodur (ガリスタ・ルオドーGarisuta Ruodoo)

Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto: (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English)

Garista is the strategist of the Niren Corps. He often showcases his wisdom in military affairs, which greatly exceeds that of others. He is later revealed to be the main antagonist of First Strike, whose experiments with creating new blastia led to the deaths of many, including Flynn's father and Niren, with Garista planning to wipe out Shizontonia and the Corps to cover it up. When he and Flynn learn of his actions, Yuri kills him in retribution.

Merzhom Keida[edit]

Merzhom Keida (メルゾム・ケイダMeruzomu Keida)

Voiced by: Daisuke Gori (Japanese); R. Bruce Elliot (English)

Merzhom is the leader of a local guild in Shizontonia, working under Don Whitehorse in the Union. He is an old friend of Niren's and takes a liking to Yuri after his men get into a bar fight with the knight. He later aids the Niren Corps in protecting the town from a giant blastia and evacuating the citizens.

Lambert[edit]

Lambert (ランバートRambaato)

Lambert is Repede's father and the official wardog of the Niren Corps. During a attack on Shizontonia, Lambert is possessed by a monster and goes berserk, forcing Yuri to kill him.

References[edit]

1. ^http://voice123.com/edenmiller
2. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Karol-Capel/
3. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Rita-Mordio/
4. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Raven/
5. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Flynn-Scifo/
6. ^Fox, Sandy (2019-03-19). 'Had a blast voicing Patty the Pirate for the new #TalesOfVesperia Video Game'. @SandyFoxWorld. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
7. ^'Tales of Vesperia Set for PS3'. IGN. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
8. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Barbos/
9. ^http://www.dinoandrade.com/
10. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Cumore/
11. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Alexei-Dinoia/
12. ^http://spikespencer.com/resume/
13. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Gauche/
14. ^http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Tales-of-Vesperia/Duke-Pantarei/

External links[edit]

• Official Xbox 360 Version Site‹See Tfd›(in Japanese)
• Official PlayStation 3 Version Site‹See Tfd›(in Japanese)
• Official Developer's Blog‹See Tfd›(in Japanese)
• Tales of Vesperia on IMDb

Tales of Vesperia releases officially tomorrow for the Nintendo Switch. For those of you new to the series, or old hands, I've written up a few tips and tricks to help navigate the game as Tales games are fairly deep but also don't do a great job of explaining things. This is also for players who played the original Vesperia, but that was eleven years ago and there are some key differences. I'm going to be intentionally vague to avoid spoilers. If I missed anything super important, feel free to add it below or ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer it. Vesperia is my absolute favorite game, and I firmly believe that this game will sit as one of the best RPGs on the Switch.

Framerate: 60FPS in battle, 30-60 FPS in the overworld/towns and dungeons from what I'm seeing on the main Tales Subreddit. Looks like there's a small Day 1 patch that might be the unlock for the framerate.

Character: You don't HAVE to play as the main character, if you don't want to. There's an item called the Special Flag that allows you to change which character you control outside of battle. Slot 1 in your party is always set to Manual Control - outside of battle, you can rearrange the order of your party. Whoever you set in Party Slot 1 is who you will control in battle. There is also an item called the Moon Selector that will let you change which character you control during battle. Certain sidequests, like Judith's best weapon, REQUIRE you to change your avatar in the overworld.

Party: Everyone gets the same amount of experience, even party members who DON'T participate in battle, so feel free to play with your favorites. However, if an enemy mob contacts you on the overworld from behind, you'll be ambushed and have to fight with your non-active party members, so don't forget to keep their gear updated! Everyone has different play styles, too - Yuri is combo centric, Rita is your spellcaster, Estelle can be a mixed healer/attacker, and Patty is entirely RNG based. She can, in fact, kill your party with her skills if you're unlucky.

AI: Every character can be set to AI behaviors such as Protect Player, Spread Out, remain stationary, etc. You can also set if you want them in the rear, up front, etc. As is normal for Tales games, however, each character also has a distinct personality AI that can direct their actions. You can also set them to go all out or moderate their TP (Artes) usage, or focus on things like healing.

Skills: Every character unlocks skills by level and by usage. Most weapons and subweapons come with skills on them - use the weapon enough times and the skills are added to the characters permanently. As you level, you will get more skill points that increase the number of skills you can have simultaneously. Some change your element affinity, which in turn can change your Artes/Burst Artes. For example, equipping the Hellfire skill will change Yuri's Divine Wolf Burst Arte to Divine Wolf: Blaze. One of the earliest skills is Auto-Item - I suggest you turn that OFF on all your characters. It's easy enough to have them use items manually - they may accidentally use expensive healing items in the early game if left to their own devices.

Combat: It's realtime. Your character is placed on a line towards the enemy you have locked on, and you'll be able to move towards or away from them, or jump. You can also Freerun, which allows you to move in the full 3D space - you lose the ability to attack or combo except for the freerun attack, and if you get hit while freerunning, you'll be stunned. If you hit an enemy with the freerun attack, you'll change your lock-on to that enemy. Practice with the freerun attack if you want to use Yuri - it's his best combo extender since it hits downed enemies.

Artes: These are your special attacks. They can be chained in combos that go from Base -> Arcane Arte (I might be off on their technical names - it's been eleven years.). Once you unlock the Overlimit ability, you can chain Artes anyway you want/indefinitely until Overlimit runs out, and you can add in Burst Artes by holding an attack button after an Arcane Arte, and Mystic Artes (Big flashy finishers) after an Arcane Arte by holding two attack buttons. Equipping certain skills will change Artes into Altered Artes. Use the Altered Arte enough times in battle and you will be able to permanently use it without the skills equipped. (Equip Crucible to Rita to change Tractor Beam to Gold Cat, for example - if my memory serves.) Every character has two Mystic Artes - unlocking the second requires using specific skills 200 times, then holding three buttons at the end of an Arcane or Burst Arte. Some also require some sidequest completion, or specific enemies to unlock. (Rita's second Mystic Arte requires you to recreate the famous 'What the heck is THAT?!' scene.)

Sidequests: When you get to a new town or area, talk to everyone. If you see a story scene...talk to everyone again. There are a lot of sidequests, and some can be missed in a playthrough, like Judith's best weapon. New sidequests in the Definitive Edition include the Necropolis of Nostalgia and the Sword Dancer, among others. The Definitive Edition also added a way to rechallenge boss fights at a place called Nam Cobanda Isle so if you missed any 'Secret Missions' or achievements, you can rechallenge them. They don't scale like their versions in the Labyrinth of Memories do, or give resources, but it's for completion sake. Nam Cobanda Isle also lets you rewatch every skit in the game, and these are all voiced, so they're a great way to learn more about the characters and the world.

Costumes: Each character can receive new costumes from sidequests that you can equip. You can also earn/create accessories like bunny ears or fake mustaches that can further change how your characters look, so you have a lot of control over your party's appearance. Sub Weapons and Weapons also change on the characters model - but some subweapons don't appear on different costumes. At the main menu, go to Items and the DLC section to download some free costume packs ranging from costumes of past Tales of characters, to a Bamco pack (Yuri gets a Mitsurugi costume, Judy gets Kos-Mos etc,), a Tales of the Abyss pack, and a First Strike movie tie in pack. There may be more, but these are what Bamco has officially teased.

New Game+: There IS a New Game+! During the game, you'll earn something called 'Grade' from battles. This is used in the NG+ Shop to unlock some fun effects, or the highest difficulty tier (Unknown Mode), or things like x10 XP during NG+. You really need to get good at Comboing during some of the bossfights in Unknown Mode as they WILL easily kill you if you're not careful. The Secret Boss at the end of the Labyrinth has 2.56 Million HP in Unknown Mode and can straight up kill you in two hits - it's Mystic Arte can kill the entire party if it catches everyone.

Edit: Some additional items!

1.) Don't throw out any of your weapons or sell them. Some skills can ONLY be obtained from weapons, so if you lose the weapon before getting the skill, you're SoL. Some weapons are also used as materials to upgrade to better versions with different skills. Only do the upgrade if you got everything from the original item. Also, skills on weapons can help set up bigger combos, since you can freely swap weapons in battle - so you can chain all the different element Burst Artes together, for example. Thanks /u/JustKasey

2.) Cooking! Cooking is always a fun skill that is used to restore HP/TP without wasting healing items in the overworld/after combat. Every character has a base cooking level and can then improve it, adding certain effects - for example, Yuri is really good at cooking, Estelle...not as much (She gets better, though!). Cooking is used in several sidequests, and having certain characters as the chefs of the party can trigger unique skits, so if you want to see them all, you'll need to cook a lot. Cook too much of the same meal and you'll get skits complaining about how you the player always make them eat the same thing. Make Sorbet in the Blade Drifts to get a skit inquiring who thought it'd be a good idea to make sorbet on a glacier, etc. You can get new recipes from people in towns, or from the Wonder Chef - the mysterious guy (We think. There's a skit wondering what he actually IS) who hides in every town, disguised as...anything, really. If you find him, he teaches you a new recipe. If you get the recipe from someone else in town, he'll chase you down annoyed you didn't find him. Get all the recipes, and you'll get the honor of taking part in the Guild vs Empire Cooking Battle!

Edit 2:

3.) Couch co-op! The game does have co-op in battles for you and friends! (No online though.) If you set party positions 2-4 to 'Manual', they can be controlled by Controller 2, 3, and 4 etc etc. There's no real bonus/benefit to doing so, other than discovering how much your friendship is worth when your friend makes you play as Karol. Thanks /u/Inouji!