I've tried to avoid being on of those people with the threads about what to buy. But uh, apparently I am one of them, so lets just get down to it. I've been craving a JRPG, for whatever reason, and so far the two that have stood out to me are Eternal Sonata and Tales of Vesperia. Now here are some things I should mention as far as my preferences are concerned.
First off, I prefer turn based battles. I know neither are turn based, but it seemed like ES was closer to what I would like, i.e. being able to think out my attacks rather than just go by twitch instincts.
Secondly, I don't like grinding or random encounters. Not sure about grinding in either of these games, but as far as I know they are both free of random battles.
That's pretty much it actually. So which should I go for, and possibly something else if you feel the need to recommend. Also, don't say wait for FFXIII, because I already am waiting for that.