Tales of Berseria™

it's pretty good you must trust me on this

60 hours and that's with me trying to take my time and explore and find everything I could start to finish. I did not 100% it though. As a big fan of Symphonia and Vesperia I thought I would enjoy this after not playing a Tales game cause I don't have the time I used to.
I have no idea if it's because I am older and jaded but this game didn't click with me, Velvet is my least favourite type of character that being the "Sasuke" kind. the whiny emo "Oh I am damaged, traumatised, and tragic, that excuses how terrible I treat everyone." My issue with characters like this is they are completely dictated by their past, I won't spoil it but Velvet makes no attempt to control her emotions. Now this my anger some fans but I always found characters who don't wear their heart on their sleeves more compelling seeing how they deal with their past rather than be ruled by it. That's just me, it's irritating cause Velvet puts on this "I don't care about people, I will use you, for the money" persona, but deep down she cares and I have to watch her put this b*tch act on only for her to make the choice to actually help people begrudgingly every. time. It got old fast. Side note Magilou's outfit was a little much for me. I know its a jrpg so bad fashion sense abound but seriously the jester hat and book skirt was to much. I won't waste anymore time on the characters they weren't as bad as Velvet though Laphicet does get annoying late game.
Game play wise Namco play tested this game to a fault. It feels as though the developers didn't want you to feel challenged or get stuck at all. Many mechanics can be made use of like making your own combos in combat, or you could just let the computer decide. You could forge your own weapon and upgrade it or just buy the next weapon in the new area. It feels like a waste as if the game is apologising hoping I don't get overwhelmed. Now I can see the reasoning behind it they want to reach as many people as possible so in case you aren't an jrpg player you'd appreciate the game meeting you half way. But it makes the combat boring and repetitive, very few times did I ever feel challenged or felt that I wasn't going to win a battle. That and this game is more combat focused unlike Symphonia with its Zelda esque dungeon puzzles. This is wander around massive same looking environment killing everything, fight boss, repeat. The final nail in the coffin though is the movement speed is so slow, seriously even with items that speed you up cause the maps are so huge walking around takes forever. It was for that reason I did not want to back track to find secrets.
I would wait for a sale if you want this like I did. I maybe getting old but compared to Vesperia or Symphonia I was left disappointed.

LAPHICET!
LAPHICET!
LAPHICET!
LAPHICET!

The best tales of protagonist, well built story and fun gameplay.

senza na romana che te spiega come funziona è ingiocabile

This is the first tales game I have beaten personally and I loved the story and like persona 3 the ending made my cry and to me that's a sign of a great story worth putting your time into

Wonderful game that has easily become one of my favorites. Initially I wasn't sure of going for the platinum trophy (I don't do that for every game that I play) but I was halfway through the story when I realized that I was definitely going for it. Engaging story, good music, skits that add depth to the characters and combat that even if it grows old towards the end, it's enjoyable.

The combat system might be a little difficult to comprehend at the beginning, but the game gives you enough freedom to set the difficulty adequate to your playing style. If you like the story, it wouldn't be surprising you end up doing a second play-through on Chaos difficulty all the way through.

Highly recommended.

Great story, memorable characters, fun side quests. Wonderful artwork and soundtrack. I recommend this.

enduring Zestiria paid off really well. the cast of characters is near perfect

I can eat Laphicet up. no one should have the right to make me feel cute aggression this often

Any reason why you have the Guard button in combat to be the same button to bring up the controls window?

It stops combat and interrupts the flow horribly, as guarding is a necessity in this game for fluid combos. I'm using an Xbox controller and there is minimal customization for this method.

FIX THIS issue, as the player has no access to splitting a key between two, and NO ADDITIONAL options to help solve this issue.

Overall great game, not to mention it only costs 5€ on sale for ~50 hours

Pros:
-Phenomenal cast with great english voice acting
-One of the best written protagonists I've seen in a JRPG, edginess done right
-Constantly progressing story, without huge breaks
-Decent build variety
-Acessible combat that doesn't require extremely demanding chains of actions
-Characters feel different enough during gameplay to feel unique but not unfun
-Story takes place in a fantasy world without being too generic (it does start a bit generic in its themes but they get enough development to make them stand out)
-Actual good antagonist that gets enoguh screen time (unlike Vesperia)

Cons:
-Combat starts kinda weak because of the lack of skills
-Boring and unrewarding dungeon design (sometimes backtracking to previously inaccessible areas give trivial items)
-Painfully slow character movement in the map
-Velvet's character design, they could very easily make her repair her clothes later in the game (which is even mentioned in the story), but they didn't because of fanservice or something
-Overall weak graphics for a 2017 game (Recommend using Reshade if it bothers you)

I love the game, the story is very good

The story was great but the game is way too long and the combat gets repetitive with time. 7/10

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The main character is tsundere, 100/10

The same spammy stunlock central heavy combat as Tales of Zestiria. Jesus Christ is this an atrocity.

Im sure this game would be great if it would ever open.

Edit: i tried a lot of different things to get it to run, yet nothing came from it. It would say it was open, but then not show up anywhere. Now that cosmic rays have done their thing, it suddenly opens. so thats cool.

10/10 the game opens

there r sordsman & there r deamen.

I finished this Tales of game on PS4 back in 2017, I got the CE for it (Still have that!) Imo this is a great entry, I bought it last summer on sale on steam, and last few weeks im hooked again! Velvet is a amazing girl! <3

After the world had been conquered. In a tiny village obscure from all life. Artorios Colbrande sacrifices his wife and unborn twins to a hole in the ground and purifies most current Demons turning them back into humans and reviving and creating many angels (maleks) in becoming the world savior; the Shepard. 2 Years later he does this again with your little brother and you get in the way So he kills you because that is why birds fly... This revives many more angels and they become visible to humans. So you play as the Lord of Calamity Velvet Crowe; a therion Demon (demon that consumes other demons powers) trying to take ur revenge and reshape world. Watch the first hour on youtube to SEE!!!) greatest voice acting, heart breaking every cutscene for real, very fun new fighting style very different than other Tales of games. Different punishments and rewards on all difficulties but u can set to 5 difficulties and can set all 4 to Auto or up to 4 players.. can change party in battle, 4 at a time and back attacks reverse party order, and chain battles can be way more devasting and rewarding. All Tales of games have free about 7 unlockable for each character costumes and over 100 accessories for all and paid DLC ones which aren't even nice in comparison.. The people in towns talk automatically like in the atmosphere and the ones that don't have a small cutscene. The party also constantly talks to eachother, in skits too wish they were more animated though, but after the battle they congratulate eachother depending on who did the best that battle and it is incredibly satisfying every time.

I like the fighting; switching ur skills to the enemies element and fiend type weakness or just using ones i have on X button for wide range or Y for in air. For the stamina system I'm not very good at it but if u block or blockdodge u can gain a stamina and if u get hit hard u lose a stamina. When u do a combo u can use the stamina in the skills so some could cost more than 1 bar or almost 0.2 of a bar. For attacking get the biggest group of monster u can get without being interupted then when u are low on stamina or need to stunlock u can always use devour with Velvet to continue the combo until ur devoured type ability activates and end it with a Hyper combo if its above 40 combo for the 2nd stronger hyper combo. I do prefer the old Tales of games fighting style which is mostly the same but uses SP like MP no stamina gauges.

Boring ahh game

10/10 ending make sure you play zestiria first if at all possible

Came blind to this one and really liked it! Quite nice story and good characters. I found the combat really hard to master, but one don't need to master it to finish the game.

three lesbians two gays and their adopted child fight the church, making this the best game ever

Been a long time since I actually played but I'm feeling nostalgic waiting for a new tales game. Berseria characters and party banner are unforgettable and I'm really pining for a modern character to be written and voiced nearly as well as Velvet was.

Birds fly because they want to.

I wasn't expecting anything from this game but i'm glad I bought it.

The story and characters are pretty solid and there are some funny interactions.

The gameplay can be somewhat complex at the beginning because of the combo system.

The open world isn't anything spectacular and the worst part for me are the dungeons, they tend to be boring because of the lenght and lack of content.

The graphics are outdated but honestly most of the times I play a game it isn't for the graphics, I think the graphics are perfect as they are.

Buy this game on sale if you like JRPGS, because if you don't like them, this game isn't for you.

The story is awesome and the ending is super satisfying. If you have a younger sibling or if you hate your brother-in-law it will talk to you personally.

I really liked this one. Cool story, smooth gameplay, good music and interesting cast of characters. If you like JRPGs definitely grab this one on sale or even get it for a full price. Gameplay and graphics may be slightly dated though, but it should not be a big deal.
P.S. If you don't like "chatty chibi animal character" in games/anime, beware.

Fuckin' Lethal Pain

I Love Teresa

Velvet Crowe is my favorite video game protagonist i have played yet, she along with the supporting cast of characters radiate in personality and are very charming, they made me feel super immersed into the story. A strong theme of self identity shines through the story and would often uplift my mood and make me smile. Game play feels smooth, and even after very similar battles and repeated button smashing I never felt bored. Sound design is really great I found a lot of time i would know when I needed to dodge based off of the sound of an attack. Tales of Berseria is a great JRPG I enjoyed, had lots of fun with and was well worth the time I put into it.

Huge fan of the Tales of series one of my top favorite games.

I like the anime cinematics. I really had fun getting to know each chatacter. Recommend!

Great game for piss price must play

Till this day I still don't understand the battle mechanics. It's an otherwise good game. It's honestly very boring to just click the mouse as fast as you can, thats all you need to do to progress the game.

Oh man where do I even begin... that was such an amazing experience. First off let me just say that this game is an exception to the rule of "play in order of release". In my opinion you HAVE to play this before Zestiria, since the story would be completely linear with some few exceptions like the term Malak/Malakhim --> Seraphim. Daemon --> Hellion etc, and not to mention the overall "feel/vibe" of both stories as well. Or you can do what I was doing (not recommended!) and watch the anime Tales of Zestiria the Cross/X after putting some hours into it (I started watching only after 60h into the game). Do keep in mind that I already beat Zestiria way back in 2017 and I only watch the anime to jog my memories.

So back to Berseria, Velvet is a pretty solid protagonist. At first she appeared to be this broken and angry character and just "I'm displaying a various level of angry and will lashed out at anything and at everyone". But as the story progress we get to see development to her character, and her softer side as well. And how others (especially in her party) interact through the many skits and people in the world as well (especially with the Priest you keep meeting in different churches but I won't spoil this). Story is really good and not your average saving the world for sure and the world for me feels "alive" in a sense that you interact with various NPCs and they all have their set of problems, opinions that keeps changing (when you visit that place again) as you progress through the story. It's like in Persona 3 the original version I played in PS2, no idea about the remake since I got that on my wishlist still, when you progress toward the end of the year and there's that sense of foreboding/hopelessness and you see less and less people on the street and even the music changed as well although Persona did it better. Bit hard to explain unless you experience it yourself.

Last but not least, combat feels smooth and never once I experienced any lag or input delay etc. It does everything you want inside or outside the battle even with the camera action and everything with the exception of the geoboard which needs to be fixed. Almost forgot to mention, it's highly recommended to look up the modding section under discussion -> guides and find the Berseria Fix by Kaldaien (Kaldaein? I hope I got their name right) and apply their mod into this game to make not only the graphic better but everything else better.

TL;DR I enjoyed playing every bit of the time I spent with it. It made me laugh, it made me sad, it made me think. Each and every characters we're dealing with have very distinct personality and likeable and never once I felt bored or have to grind like crazy (I believe this aspect was improved compared to Zestiria). Voice acting is strong overall (Japanese version), and the story moves forward at an excellent pace as well. For now maybe I'll finish up the side quests and the postgame bit, and move on to another Tales game.

the only reason i dont buy tales of grace is they give you every grade,,,YOU SUPOSE to FARM THEM what the point of playing the game IF YOU GET EVERYTHING UNLOCKED.... it like playing resident evil but you get infinit ammo the first minute,,, like how long you gonna play?....there no point playing if you have UNLOCKED EVERYTHING before the game start i like playing berseria... get my exp x6 after 3 time NOT FIRST I WILL NOT BUY THAT GAME ..

Why do the birds fly?

A wonderful game with well written characters. We find ourselves approximately in the Middle Ages, where revenge becomes our goal in the game. Along the way to the goal, we will assemble a team that will help us. Each team member is perfectly described, so you will feel that this is not just an NPC, but your friend. The cutscenes will show their relationships with each other, we will see the development of these relationships.
The game will have several side quests that are desirable to complete as they reveal the individual character well. The most boring thing in the game will be running back and forth, but you get used to it pretty quickly. The world itself is quite interesting to explore, but there is no desire to get 100% of the achievements. To get them, you need to replay the game twice, and grind a lot the second time. The combat system is not the most complex, but it is quite interesting to find combinations of right techniques to defeat your enemies. The system for leveling up weapons and skills is a little stuffy, because it forces you to use skills that you, for example, don’t want to use. I wish there were more anime cutscenes like there are in other games in the series, but I'm happy with what we have. If you are not familiar with the Tales of [] series, then feel free to take this game first, it is independent of the plot of the other parts, and is also a prequel to the other parts.


PS: I hate the final location, why did it have to be so confusing, I spent almost 4 hours on it without using a map

Tales of Berseria is a great example of how an amazing story and cast of characters can elevate a game, even when other aspects have noticeable flaws.

That’s not to say the gameplay is bad—far from it. It’s just that certain issues make it feel a little less consistently fun compared to other Tales games in the series.

The battle system is essentially a modernized version of the CC system that started in the Tales of Destiny remake. In Berseria, normal attacks are gone entirely, and everything is about chaining together arts (special attacks). At first, I thought this was a cool idea, but over time, it started feeling repetitive. Even when switching between characters, the combos start to feel stale quicker than in other Tales games, which, in my experience, offer more variety. The resource management side of the combat is fun, but seeing the same moves over and over dulls the excitement.

That said, Berseria doesn’t falter at all when it comes to its story and characters, which might be my favorite in the entire series.

Some people criticize Velvet for her fanservice-y, edgy design, and while that aspect can be a little distracting, I still think she’s a fantastic protagonist. Her tragic backstory makes her personality and motivations feel justified, and her slow growth throughout the story, along with certain plot twists, really challenges her beliefs in ways that make the narrative incredibly satisfying from start to finish.

The other party members all play interesting and entertaining roles in the story, with their banter striking a great balance between humor and depth without veering into overly generic anime tropes. The fact that the group knowingly embraces their role as “villains” makes for a refreshing dynamic that’s both amusing and thought-provoking.

While Berseria may not be the most consistently fun Tales game to play in terms of combat, its story and characters more than make up for it. The edgy premise is handled in a way that keeps the plot consistently unpredictable and engaging, even within a typical fantasy setting.

Hearing the piano start in velvet's theme song activates me like a sleeper agent, but the only order given is to get emotional

Berserias strong point is in its characters and story, with the story initially taking a lot of inspiration from things such as Miura's berserk but with less of the gruesome aspects, but then it comes alive into its own story after the initial setups and can no longer be compared

As far as tales games go, the tales games before this felt like they were written with a pre-teen audience in mind, while berseria feels more written with a young-adult audience in mind, in both story and characters

The gameplay itself is hit or miss depending on the player, and the story slows down at parts but overall if the gameplay clicks with you and the story hits, it REALLY hits. Its a really good representation of the jrpg genre and my favourite tales game of them all, I really couldnt stand most of the other games (I have yet to try arise).

Highly recommend to fans of jrpgs but a fair warning: The English voices are insufferable in this game, I recommend using the original Japanese and going by subtitles. It changes the entire tone of the game, and this is coming from someone who plays the final fantasy games with English voices

Great characters, fun battle system, interesting story. 8.5 of 10

Of the 4 Tales series games I've played (Vesperia, Zestiria, Berseria, and Arise,) Berseria ranks #2. The story is engaging and has a slightly edgier/darker tone than other entries in the series, the characters seem much more morally grey, the world is very engaging and interesting, and it has many of the charms that I loved with Vesperia and Zestiria, and less nit-pick complaints than the latter.

The Good: If you have never played a Tales game, this definitely isn't the worst one to start with. It will show you all of the highs the series has to offer and essentially none of the lows. Combat is exhilarating, colorful, and engaging, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, the characters are full of unique personalities and interactions (along with some of the typical JRPG tropes, but not as many as you'd think,) it has an exhaustively extensive crafting system if that's your thing, the Skits are almost always worth watching, and the VA is apparent that the cast had a great deal of fun and natural chemistry. It also has a significant amount of replay value like other titles in the franchise (minus Arise,) and is definitely a game you can put down for a few months/years and play again with a great deal of enjoyment (I will be starting my 3rd playthrough soon, my 2nd was on console.)

The Bad: Nothing particularly jumps out as "Bad," to me, but things that may turn other players off are that in order to get the absolute best equipment, you WILL need to invest in the crafting system and do a pretty significant amount of grinding to get all of the requisite materials. The story has an overall edgier/darker/ more mature spin than other entries, and while I personally enjoyed it, I will acknowledge that's not everyone's cup of tea. And finally, the notorious Difficulty Spikes known to the Tales Franchise are definitely in full swing. Easy is...almost too easy, Normal presents a formidable challenge especially past the halfway mark, and Hard is absolutely *grueling.* Again, the combat can be as easy and simple or multifaceted/layered/challenging as you want.

The Ugly: This is almost as good as it gets for the franchise, personally (so far.) Vesperia is the only title I would say is better overall, and now with the Definitive edition being readily available, its lead widens. Zestiria is *almost* as good, but it has its own drawbacks (like the lack of fast travel and certain quests requiring a mind-boggling amount of time/grinding to complete.) And, as a JRPG, by default it's not going to be something the Western audience at large enjoys on a broad level, the subgenre is definitely more niche, although it seems to be widening in recent years.

Final thoughts: perhaps a spoiler but as a Prequel to Zestiria, i found myself enjoying the game and setting/world significantly more and that perhaps influences my thoughts on it. It's a solid game overall, a worthy addition to the franchise, and definitely worth playing at least once if you're interested in the franchise at all. 8.5/10

This is the 1st main title of the Tales of games I played, the other being Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. It had a confusing battle system that I was not used to, but ultimately enjoyed. However, some of the dungeons are a bit lackluster and bland. Either way, Velvet's story is a bit tragic, but fulfilling. 8/10

Average JRPG with mediocre writing and bad gameplay

The game offers a solid story and a decent combat system, but its standout feature is undoubtedly the characters. I love Eleanor and really like Eizen, Rokurou, and Velvet. As for the combat system, while it’s fun, I feel it could be improved by simplifying some of the mechanics—there are just too many elements crammed in. The low point of the game for me was the final dungeon, which felt tedious and unnecessarily long. By the end, I just wanted to reach the last boss and finish it. Also, I really dislike Bienfu.

My first Tales of game. Really enjoying it so far, even though I heard it's the weakest story-wise. We'll see!

One of the best stories I've played in a JRPG in quite some time and I spent the last year playing games like Persona 3 RELOAD and Octopath traveler 2. Sure the combat and visuals are a bit dated but I like old school vibe it has. The characters are a blast and watching their relationship grow throughout the game is worth it alone. There are weighty themes the game touches on that are nuanced and often go unexplored in many other JRPG's. If you like old school JRPG's you'll probably really like this game

Have not finished it yet
probably the best Combat in a Tales Game I've played
with that alone, it gets a recommend from me

fluid combos, and the enemies don't feel like bullet sponges compared to other tales

I mainly play MC only though (on all the Tales I've played)

Still playing, but this is some of the best game i ever played. I'm not biggest fan of jrpg, but this one is something special. Also despite steam claims it does not work on Steam Deck, can guarantee it works just fine.

Cool game would recommend. Combat is ok, but story is amazing

A jrpg with a female protagonist and it also isn't the most basic story known to humankind? Very worth a play!