First off, those familiar with the Tales of series should be pleased to know that the ever-elusive Wonder Chef will be making an appearance in ToV. Having previously gone MIA in Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Innocence (I don't remember if he/she was in Tales of the Tempest), the Wonder Chef is back and as sneaky as ever. (The article shows him disguised as a fish in the marketplace.) As usual, players will be required to find the Wonder Chef by examining out-of-place objects with the hope that he will appear before them and offer a new recipe.
As with ToA before it, ToV's cooking system allows characters to become better at cooking the more they do it, and certain characters will think up variations on recipes that they have a lot of practice making. See? Eating is important too.
The second point the article mentions is the inclusion of various vehicles. Terca Lumires (the world ToV takes place in) is extremely vast, and the article states that just walking everywhere the party needs to go would be a little tough. A boat and an airship are both shown in the screens, but there are apparently more. (Sweet!)
Third up is the mention of strong, unique enemies, such as Nan and Tison (Tyson?) of the Hunters' Guild. (Those of you who have gone hands-on with the demo will probably reconize Nan's name.) As in ToA, these recurring enemies (will they always be enemies?) will also be able to pull off Overlimits and Burst Artes, and truly give your party a run for its money.
Also included in this section is the introduction of a new guild. Known as the Leviathan Claws, the members of this guild are assassins and arms dealers by trade, and seem decidedly more dangerous than even the Hunters' Guild. The leader (?) of the guild, Iegar (Jager?) appears to be a cold professional who will do anything to further his business. Two of his lackeys, Goash (the red-haired girl) and Dolowat (the blonde-ish girl) apparently always work as a pair, and even their Burst Artes are done together.
Fourth is an expansion on "attachments," a feature new to the Tales of series that allows players to tweak various aspects of the characters' appearances. These attachments are separate from the costumes (now a Tales of staple feature). Both attachments and costumes will be set from the character status screen under "Title" (just like ToS and ToA), and attachments will be set under "Attachment" on the same screen.
Finally, there is some information on the beginning of the story. Players who want to keep the story a surprise may want to skip the next paragraph. (In other words, THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS. Okay?)
The story apparently begins with an accident occuring in the waterway blastia underneath the capital city Zarfius. Since the waterway is the main water supply for the people within the barrier city, all haste is made to repair the damage, and Yuri (a mercenary for hire) is enlisted to help. However, during the operation, things take a turn that he never expected, and he winds up meeting Estelle, a young noble who is apparently fleeing the castle for her own reasons. The article doesn't give any further details, but somehow the two end up working together and leave the city behind, but not before Estelle mysteriously brings a great tree, poisoned by magic, into bloom with her prayer. Just what power does Estelle have?
Tales of Vesperia will be available for Xbox 360 on August 7th, 2008 in Japan, and on August 26th, 2008 in North America from Namco Bandai Games. May I also add in a plug here that I really really want to get my hands on this game. One month to go!
Famitsu scans are included below.
As usual, note that my translations may differ from the final, official translation.
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