The debut of the Tales series on the Xbox 360, Tales of Vesperia is set in a world reliant on a mysterious ancient technology known as Blastia. The game follows former knight Yuri as he delves into a shadowy plot to use these magical devices to control civilization, or destroy it.

The game makes significant additions to the series' trademark real-time combat system, allowing players to do battle in massive battlefields and learn new special attacks that are tied to individual weapons. New finishing blows allow players to take down enemies in a single hit with correctly timed button combinations, while mission-based battles increase the variety of each encounter as players gain unique items by fulfilling various battle objectives. Players can also use materials collected by successfully executing finishing moves to craft rare and unique equipment for their characters.