I never did get to finish Symphonia. That was a ridiculously awesome Tales game.
Vesperia, I dunno. I haven't played it enough to really give it a solid grade yet. It got me hooked for an hour and a half before supper though, so that might be a good sign.
Symphonia is among the handful of games out there that I think have a truly compelling story. Like, good enough to be a serious novel level of story. A few cliches, but overall wonderfully done.