Patreon Pin Up 1/22/19 (Patreon)

Tales of Vesperia just got a re-release this week, so I figured I'd take this chance to draw Estelle, the leading lady from the game. The number of entries in the "Tales" series of Japanese rpgs are simply countless. Absolutely innumerable to any but those who take the time to perform a quick Google search. But Vesperia is my favorite and, thus far, the only entry in the series that managed to grab me. I've tried "Xilla" and "Berseria" and wasn't a fan of either. If you care to suggest any of the older ones I should try, I'd be happy to hear them.

To me, a lot of what set Vesperia apart from its peers was the protagonist, Yuri. Funny thing about him: in my first glance at the cover art, I actually thought he was a girl. However, his androgynous look was cancelled out the minute he started talking in-game. I don't know if you've heard of a voice actor named Troy Baker (probably best known as Joel from "The Last of Us") but he's got one of the manliest friggin' voices you'll ever hear. The contrast was pretty jarring at first, but I got used to it.

Long story short Yuri won me over as the game went on. Without spoiling anything I can say his behavior was pretty edgy for the time, as this was before western rpgs gained popularity, and having the option to punch or fuck any NPC your character meets was not yet the standard. I found the rest of the cast likable in their own right as well. I got charmed by Estelle here pretty fast, her voice actress did a great job of sounding cute and naive without going overboard. I can't imagine when I'll have the time to go through an rpg anytime soon, but I'll definitely be picking up the remastered version when I can. 

Are there any other relatively obscure jrpg characters that don't get enough fan art? Let me know! If I get enough suggestions maybe I'll pick two and put them to a vote.