Tales of Berseria™

With only an hour in I found the storyline too predictable right out of the gate compared to Tales of Zesteria and Tales of Arise, where I couldn't figure it out and was wondering what was happening next. At least in Tales of Arise, they didn't try to be subtle about the world building at the start. They just told you how it was and built the world from there. A lot of the plot points of what's about to happen are blatantly obvious even though they're trying to hide it in the world building. Typical slice of life anime tropes that are bland. The acting feels half-hearted at best.

I'm just going to give spoilers here with no spoiler tag. Mainly because its so early ingame and to show how bad the writing is:
Luphicet said something along the lines of (not direct quote): "This is a compass. Its made to be level regardless of how bad the waves at sea are. Its perfect for an adventure!" Just... really? I know I'm playing and RPG/adventure game. There is no reason to bring this up. Its incredibly cringe.
I got to the point where Luphicet needed to be found because he wandered off without permission. I already knew that he was going to get into trouble (or Velvet get into trouble on her way to him or on their way home). The day before her weapon master/father figure/teacher said to be careful there were daemons around. I didn't even get to find him. I already knew what was going to happen that would set off your need to go on an adventure. I stopped playing shortly after this point. It was just too bland.

Fps is locked to 60fps with jittering in the framerate. Get special K mod to smooth this out. Controls feel even more clunky than in Zesteria. They tried to smooth it out from Zesteria, but made it feel even weirder with KB/M. In Zesteria it the turns were sharper and more responsive. Even with both Zesteria and Berseria being limited to 8 cardinal directions due to how the default controls being for a controller with WASD.

You can see the evolution from Zesteria to Arise here overall. But it somehow manages to be worse than both of them combined.

Buy on sale if you are becoming a die-hard "Tales of" fan. Otherwise, avoid this Tales of title.

Overall, a really excellent and emotionally moving game. I've never played a Tales game before and that wasn't an issue for playing this one. If you do all the side quests, it's about a 110 hour game (+10 playing the mini game card game five zillion times, in my case :P ). It's a very character/story driven game about what we fight for in life and why.

My one complaint is that there are some iffy conversation topics throughout, including the repeated sexualizing of a child/their relationships, lots of gender stereotyping comments (men all like bugs, women are all complicated, etc), the inclusion of a (kinda creepy) childlike sidekick constantly trying to be sexual with adult women and one character's genuine abuse of that sidekick being presented as funny.

Overall though, definitely recommended. Engaging throughout, well written, believable character-building dialogue, and certainly an emotionally poignant (and sad) story.

Hmmm... a dark anti-hero who is on a warpath for vengeance up against the white robed villain who appears noble? Where have I seen this before?

It's tales... but berserk. Our lead Velvet is Guts and her goal is to defeath Griffith.

I have tried to get into tales since symphonia all the way back when i was in middle school on the game cube with symphonia. And this one, berseria, finally did it for me.

I think all of them will be worth trying but this one's more unique premise with an anti-hero was what drove me to choose this one. If you're like me, this one might be the one for you.

Simply put, this is probably my favourite RPG story. The side stories for each party member all have fulfilling conclusions that cement their motivations and the conclusion to the main story is one I shall always treasure.

The gameplay is dated and less than it could be, though when everything gels, it does feel satisfying. Though my gameplay on Steam is at around 70 hours as of writing, I have completed it three times on console (and near completion on the PC)

It isn't a hard game, per se, though there can be quite unpleasant spikes as the combat system progresses (ways to chain encounters and increase the odds of a rare almost-boss enemies that if you're unprepared can destroy you very quickly)

A Dark and Emotional Journey of Vengeance

Story

Strengths

Weaknesses

Achievements

(Not) Recommended for

Final Verdict

Still an amazing game.

Story:

A heart wrenching tale, following Velvet and a band of misfits. On the Scarlet Night, Velvet's life would fall apart, becoming a Therion and being held captive on a prison island. Her hatred for a man who was once part of her family for sacrificing her brother was her drive. However, as the story goes along. You see she faces hardships, endures terrible truths.

Though most of all, you see as she grows and tackles her challenges. Her tale is a tragic one, and this steadily builds as she takes on the hatred of the world as the Lord of Calamity. You see how she lost everything, but eventually finds a place among pirates and others.

And despite her path, she is shown to have a soft side. The characters, all of them blend very well together, their differences is what unites them against a common goal. And the twist being that the savior was the oppressor, and the one the people most loathe was actually their savior.

This game really hammers in the grey line of morality, as well as how the common feelings of selfishness is just what makes people human. There will come hard times, some more difficult than the last, but it is not something to shy away from.

To cut it short, it does well to leave a lasting impression with valuable lessons.

"Why do birds fly?"

A very basic question, with great complexity. And Velvet's answer is one that will hit deep.

System:

The battle system is more complex the deeper you get into it, but pretty easy to get into. What is needed to be known is that you can use 16 artes + 4 extra. You have SG which acts as the cost, and BG which is the cost for Mystic Artes.

Learning the system is key to making battles easier in the harder difficulties. An example? Velvet does more damage the lower her life is when she is in her Therion state. If she can stun the enemy, which makes them vulnerable. On top of being at low HP, her damage shoots through the roof.

Little things like these, which can be made easier with weakness exploits.

Maps:

Quite a lot, and pretty large, with its details being really good.

Music:

Amazing. This game knows how to use it to tell a magnificent story. Some of the most heart wrenching, but also exciting ones when need be. Plus, the placement of it lands very well. The music reflects the theme of the game very well.

Art Style:

Very good, and even better with the animation scenes.

Overall:

Tales of Berseria is basically the height of the series. The bar was set insanely high on this one. It is a tale of not only vengeance, but more importantly. Loss, despair, happiness in the face of sadness. What one is willing to do to achieve their desires. Though, more importantly. A tale that makes the world feel alive, and through the characters that grow close like family.

You see as they share good and bad times, how they live their life and push forward from their beliefs. A story where what the surface shows isn't what it appears to be. There is a lot to take in with this game, more than I can explain. So, head on in. ^^

I like the game, it is fun to weave in multiple weaknesses and get huge combo's going as Velvet, it's really taking advantage of the systems it created and it's just fun diving into battles.
I just have some gripes with the game, I feel like some enemies just exist to be damage sponges and you can slap them around for minutes, it's the only reason I could not really stomach chaos difficulty and the raw mountains of cash and materials required top off your gear is loco (1,5mil to upgrade mithril spear to +10).
However the systems for grinding and dragging enemies together with dark bottle is really fun and feels rewarding though when you get 15 drops at once.
The story is good, I like a good fury driven story with some feels shining through and I like the characters for not just being the nicest and friendliest people ever with some quirks in the end, it kept me engaged enough to talk to lots of NPCs (I just skipped through when I noticed the dialogue was going in the direction of "what are we cooking today?") and look for every voice acted event, the voice range of Rokuro english VA from raspy guy to raspy guy just made me switch to JP fast.
Minigames are nice as well, we have a serving minigame, tony hawk lite and much more, fishing was just unnecessary though but it was fun collecting minigame coins to buy some new outfits and accessoires.
Well spent 5€, I got some pirate costumes as well later.

6.5/10

My first Tales game, and overall, it was a fun experience playing through the game. The story wasn't the deepest or best, but it was enjoyable enough to want to finish the game and see how it all ended. I also enjoyed the abundant number of the little character cutscene things that would pop up when you were running around, and my game stats said I had seen around 320 of them. It made the characters a bit more enjoyable. All of the main cast are given little side arcs to see a bit more of their backstory, and I enjoyed the depth it gave. I think the character development between most of the characters was done pretty well. Rokurou and Eizen were my favorites. Also, it was a nice change with the main characters being more evil than just the typical good guys.

Combat was fun, I enjoyed it, and the level up system wasn't too grindy, though I had hoped it could have been a bit harder, as I played on hard mode and beat the main boss at like level 56, when the main boss was like 65. I enjoyed taking all of the different moves and trying to find ones that connected well with each other to maximize damage and status effects. Even if you had to grind, it was very easy, just get a darkness potion and gather a group of enemies in a field.

My main gripe with the game is how much it makes you run around without any warp points or anything. It gives you items for warping, although much later in the game, and they often turn out to be useless because there's a cutscene in an area you need to walk to. I get the cutscene thing, but good god, did all that running suck the soul out of me. And it eventually gives you a surfboard tablet thing you can use to go faster, but of course you only get that in the latter half of the game, because it wants you to suffer. It also requires you to unlock the board in each specific area before you can use it in said areas. Also, this game had a stupid obsession with caves, and each cave was the least enjoyable thing to navigate. Puzzles were not puzzles, just chores. Want to open this door? Go all the way back and turn this crystal on, then go around and switch that crystal on. Is it on yet? Nope! You forgot to walk seventy thousand miles back to the start to switch that other one off. :(

Also, I didn't like Velvet's ending. I feel like they could have given her a better one instead of the freaky ahh ouroboros thingy. That was the main thing I disliked about the story other than Bienfu.

i hate bienfu

As someone who's been hooked on the Tales series since Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Berseria truly stands out with its bold narrative and character development. The shift to anti-heroes is a refreshing take, especially with Velvet Crowe leading the charge. Her journey from a kind-hearted sister to a vengeful daemon is compelling, and her crew of misfits, each with their own dark pasts, adds a rich layer to the story. The pirate theme is brilliantly executed, not just in the aesthetic but in how it influences the gameplay and interactions. The character dynamics, driven by their morally gray choices, make for some of the most engaging dialogues and plot twists in the series. Berseria rekindles that adventurous spirit of the Tales games, but with a darker, more mature edge that I've grown to appreciate over the years. It's a testament to how the series can evolve while keeping its heart intact.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

It is a Game which you can buy in steam for stream

ho ho ho

u can put a plushie anywhere on ur characters and they have jigglebones and appear during cutscenes

This is quite possibly the best Tales game ever made. It is just as good if not better than tales of Symphonia. Berseria has an fun combat system, side quests and minigames bursting at the seems, and most importantly an truly incredible story with amazing acting that you will never forget!

A solid Tales JRPG. It's a little "edgy," especially in the beginning, but it ends up approaching Vesperia and Abyss for me.

Has a powerful storytelling with an age old question: Will you fight the world for your loved ones or will you sacrifice the ones you love for the slight chance of bettering the world?

I would say that this game has bumped up to be one of my more favorite Tales game (still waiting for Tales of Eternia for PC) for both its story aspect as well as the combat system. Although the latter is a bit lacking and chaotic at times. I disliked Velvet for the first few hours because of her cynicism and I guess lack of characterization (All she says at that point is "REVENGE REVENGE REVENGE"). But by the end of the game, she grew on me. All the cast is great as well especially their character arcs. Though I would say that when Magilou first appeared, she caught my heart by her goofiness. For most of the time I played this game, she was my avatar. Sadly, her combat skills did not satiate my desires and so I chose other characters than her. In conclusion, GREAT GAME I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

My entry point to the tales of series, and the game successfully sold me on becoming a tales of fan. This story if you haven't read a synopsys is about our neutral-good protag being thrust into a world of madness after a failed ritual on a boy she take care of that would remove evil from their world goes wrong. Our Protag finds herself being labelled the root of all evil, and must become it to survive.

The gameplay is enjoyable, and the challenges rarely got in the way of progressing the story; which is the highlight of this game. The characters you meet along the way give this game my favorite group dynamic in all of the tales games, and the character development within the story is wonderful.

Pick this game up on sale if you are craving an anti-hero story.

Do you enjoy female protagonists? Do you like a good revenge story now and then? Do you like sailing the seven seas with a crew of rapscallions? Do you like zany characters with so much development and personality that you may even be complaining about too much of it by the end? Do you like button-mashing combat that punishes you randomly because an enemy happened to stun-lock you before you had a chance to guard and the dodge is so delayed that there was nothing you could do so you just get killed in 3 seconds and your allies will never revive you?? ...Okay that last one is just a nit-pick, in point of fact this game is awesome and you should play it. Especially because the sale price is an insane value-for-money. I bought dlc costumes just so I wouldn't feel like I robbed the developers (and also because Velvet...).

A kind of prequel to Tales of Zestiria which is light years ahead in everything. The PC port isn't anything to write home about, but still way ahead of the terrible 30 FPS lock which was in Zestiria. It's locked at 60 though.

Characters are great, combat is decent, albeit enjoyable, and the story was good too, which was a very good contrast compared to Zestiria. Still if you can withstand Zestiria's quirks, it is a good idea to play it before this game, so the story hits a bit harder, although not necessary. You have some things linked, but the biggest one is the impact of the consequences caused by the ending.

I have to warn that this game, like other tale's games, is a bit grindy, so if you don't like grinding, you can just turn down the difficulty and cruise through the story.

As someone new to the series, I've quite enjoyed this game!

This game has been exactly what I expect from a Tales of game. this game has became my favorite along side Tales of Vesperia

Holy shit
This game is very good!
I didn't expect this game to better than tales of symphonia, cause i love that game and i thought it was the best in the series until now.
This game is amuzing with storytelling and gameplay.
The art is very good as well as the world you go though.

solid story, characters are fleshed out.

Only thing keeping me from 100% is cooking :D Which I should have started early in the game, but didn't get any benefit from so I regret that now... Playtime leisure 100% cause you could do everything in this time, I do like to run around and wonder the environments.

What initially sold me this game was the intro song, believe it or not. I have watched the intro every time I start the game, about 40 or so times. Impacts me every time. Ok, game also looked good in the trailer... This has very little fan service, I think. Apart from Velvets costume and Seres at the beginning, there's no objectification of women (I see it as that) in the way you see so much on japanese or -style games and drawn media now. Oh, you know what I'm talking about. What comes to mind when you think about anime girls? Female characters are persons in this game, not tits, ass and bare skin.

I played on normal and it was very easy overall. The usual opponents are far more dangerous than bosses. I did lose 3 hours of playtime once after 70 hours when I started to feel invinsible and forgot to save for a while, died to said normal encounter.

But you really shouldn't play this for the hardness of gameplay. The story is amazing and the world really sucks you in. Characters are, yes, blunt and really simple in their black and white ways, but very likeable and you grow fond of them quickly. They really take YOU to an adventure. I still get some emotional response when I think about the ending and I actually saw that two weeks ago.

I played the english version. To me the performances were amazing, especially Velvet. Her voice-actor could really deliver in every situation to the deepest pain and despair to the joyful and happy moments filled with hope. I listened to them shouting names of the fighting moves in battle for 146 hours. Never got tired of it. Heard "DEVOUR!" thousands of times. Same thing.

I really had a tough time leaving the world of Berseria behind.

Controls work with a controller, gameplay is good, nothing to complain really. The fights are like a slot machine, lots of lights, sounds and especially the "bling" sound when you steal a soul from the opponent. Very addictive.

But still 30 hours more fighting and cooking.....I have to draw a line here.

Anyway, an excellent game. Sure, probably some negatives but who cares, I LOVED this game. You can get it on sale very cheap and don't really have to play 146 hours. I did the story in 100 and that included everything you can do before the story conclusion. As said I like to explore, check HLTB, probably close timewise.

Conclusion: TRY THIS GAME

I had been looking for a game with a solid story, and one of my friends recommended this, and it did not disappoint. The world-building, character development, and plot are exceptional. Given that this is my first "tales" game, I was rather impressed. Not to mention, the English voice acting did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life, delivering an story that is full of twists and turns and an emotional rollercoaster. The music is also high-quality, notably some of the dungeon BGM.

Combat can be chaotic at times, especially when set to "chao" level, yet satisfying when you manage to pull off some of the mystic arte.

To summarize:
Story/Character = 10/10
Graphics = 7/10
Soundtrack/VA = 10/10
Gear Progression = 7/10
Combat = 8/10

Highly recommended for individuals who appreciate good storytelling.

the story is interesting and fun dialogue and characters. Best part is the combat with combos and you can switch between characters while fighting

I REALLY wanted to love this game because of the characters and atmosphere, but after the 5th generic, paint-by-numbers-maze dungeon, I just couldn't keep going.

The gameplay literally has NOTHING to offer. Every overworld is completely flat and empty, every dungeon looks exactly the same, and almost all the enemies have ultra-combos that can stunlock you from full HP to death.

If you really wanna play this game, I'd do it on easy mode so you can spend as little time as possible in these godawful dungeons.

I played this game after i completed tales of arise and the story of this game is so good i cant believe i never heard about it before. the combat is meh however, i much prefer tales of arise and it doesnt help that to get passives from gear u have to do a lot of it.
Having said that, the story makes up for the bad parts that i didnt mind going through it.
Highly recommend if you are looking for good story JRPG!

I beat Tales of Berseria
it was another case of me thinking 'that was it'? when it came to the final boss
I don't know, but final bosses have been really underwhelming recently
But, okay
let's do the review

Story 9/10:
Really amazing story, made me feel for each of the characters, and had moments which genuinely left me in awe, my only problem with it is that it's a prequel, not JUST a prequel, but a prequel to one of the worst games in the series iirc, it has moments where I feel like it's going 'see! you recognise that? Right?' and it just leaves me with half the impact. especially the end where it really digs it in.
Like, yeah, I want to experience the sequel, but I've heard it's an absolute slog.
Other than that, this is amazing.
Music 8/10:
Genuine bops in there, most of the pieces are just general RPG music
Visuals 6/10:
It looks pretty outdated for a game from 2016, especially with the low quality rough textures. The colours are quite desaturated too, so it's not the most pleasing to look at, but I guess it was fine for its time
Gameplay:
I need to split this up
Overworld 5/10:
Glorified walking sim, you don't unlock the infinite fast travel item until the last dungeon, and the bike-esque movement option isn't unlocked until 2/3rds into the story, which requires you do go to a specific point in the current area first to unlock the ability to use it in that area.

Battles 7/10:
They're fine, but you can just mash through most of it

Misc gripes:
The tutorials are no help, you don't unlock things that should be there at the start, and core game mechanics are sometimes locked behind secret superbosses (which are really easy despite being like 10 levels under them), enemy levels are a joke, I spent most of the game 3-4 levels under normal enemies and were still beating them in around 12s (I was playing on normal.)
Games really need to stop putting their recommended, balanced difficulty in the 'HARD' option, especially when a higher level actually decreases XP gains - I played on merciless on P3R for most of my time playing it, it just makes it less rewarding having to turn on hard mode in the options menu

Final score 8/10:
I definitely recommend this game just for its story, though if there were a quality anime adaptation OR Manga, I'd recommend it over the game, but there isn't.
Definitely gonna try out more from the Tales series

Ok, this game is great. It is beautiful and so far very fun to play. I normally play strategy and turn based tactical games but I have been having a blast with this and I enjoy all the characters - well except for the witch - she is a little annoying.

great opening, great story, nice atmosphere the whole time, combat is a bit inintuitive at first but you get used to it and be charmed by its complexities

you are looking for an alright jrpg to sink some hours. you see this on sale for $5. you read the reviews. huh, says this one's got a good story. gameplay's "serviceable". why not. how bad could it be ?

this is how their steal your sandwich

don't believe their lies

The good
Amazing Japanese voice acting
Great characters, with a balance of comedy and serious moments
Good story of vengeance

The bad
Pretty dated graphics
Exploration is kinda boring

The very bad
One of the most complicated battle mechanics from any JRPG that I've ever played. I cannot stress how overly complicated this bloody battle system this game has. 20 hours into the game and I am still getting f**ing battle tutorials on what to do. Soul Guard? Break Guard? Slow? Mystic artes? Hidden artes? Malak artes? WHAT??? It's a mess. The block button is not responsive, and you need to time it EXACTLY BEFORE the monster start attacking you, or you will not block. It is just that ridiculous, it makes Sekiro parrying laughable in comparison. If you stumble upon a Dire Boss and you get fucking ass raped stunlocked by its attacks and you only have one Soul left, good luck trying to regain it. When that happens all you can rely on is attack once, run, repeat. Trying to regain soul from field? Too bad, your AI companion rushes to it and claim it when they have over 3 or 4 SG left in their tank.

Overall I find this game to be a wasted potential due to its battle system. Everything is great, really, even considering how dated the graphics can look like at times. The OST, the characters, the story are very well done, but everything is ruined by the overcomplicated battle mechanic that isn't really that rewarding to learn at all.

It's the most 6/10 game which goes up to a 7/10 if you f with the story. I ugly cried at the ending. I really liked it.

Beautiful protagonist who is a shining beacon of how a heroine should be written.
Everyone of the 6 party members has a distinct play style which will take a while to master but is not essential to enjoying the game even on hard difficulty. I hope they can make an appearance in future Tales games. Stop waiting for remakes of older Tales games, buy this one ASAP.

my first tales of game and i thoroughly enjoyed this. the MC and the crew are just a wonderful bunch of misfits that are likable in their own unique way. the story was fun and the ending was just great.

only thing that i can probably think negatively on the game is that sometimes the fights could be abit tedious at times but with the custom combo system thingy i could also just be very well bad at the game lol. atleast on the plus side the random encounters are avoidable since theyre in world so you can dodge them. or use a item to prevent lower level mobs ignore you.

all in all if youre looking at this game and pondering it. id say go for it.

already grabbed me straight out the gate in the intro quest. My first Tales game was Arise. I just finished that yesterday and I jumped straight into this one i enjoyed it so much. Berseria is SO much darker than Arise. I also love that its a female MC this time, despite how over-the-top edgy they made her :D for $5 you get an amazing story with amazing characters with TONS of content to play and experience. Get this game and Arise!

The combat is not really my style but the story is good, and the voice acting in both Japanese and English are *chef kiss*.

To what lengths would you go for revenge? This single question perfectly captures the essence of Velvet’s inner conflict.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a protagonist’s character development written and performed so well in a game. And it’s not just Velvet—all the party members have meaningful character arcs that intertwine with the story’s progression. Each of them has a unique purpose in life, yet through a twist of fate, they come together to support Velvet. By the end of the story, every character finds their own resolve.

The gameplay is solid. This is the second Tales game I’ve managed to finish, the first being Tales of Hearts R. I’ve never been a big fan of the series’ combat system, often dropping games like Symphonia, Xillia, or Graces early on. However, this game’s combat is much more manageable and simplified. While veterans of the series might not appreciate the streamlined approach, I personally found it to be a welcome change.

The game runs great on the Steam Deck—I played the entire thing on it without any issues.

I highly recommend this game. It’s frequently on sale and often cheaper than a cup of coffee

Tales of Berseria is a decent JRPG entry in the Tales of series.
The characters are interesting and well-written, which is where the Tales games excel. Their backstories are explored throughout the game, adding depth to their development.

The story is a mix of corny moments and interesting ones. I liked the conclusion.

That said, the game has some issues. The equipment system is not very good, and the dungeons are not very well thought; They are large—very large. Unfortunately, traversing them becomes a chore, padding the gameplay with mindless walking. These areas are often empty.

I would say to buy it at discount.

This game was absolutely terrible all the way to the end. Plot and dialogue were awful. The combat system has a serious case of wasn't broke, shouldn't have tried to "fix" it. Most characters are not memorable or otherwise insufferable. The dungeon "puzzles" are nothing more than space fillers and the dungeons themselves are entirely too long for no reason. This game was about 60 hours too long and I am excited to never have to play it again. Just to really emphasize how bad it is; I've been using steam for a really long time and have play a good number of game, I have never written a review of any kind for any game ever. This is the first review I have ever written and it's only because of how much I hate this game.

Gameplay: Great. Combat is addicting.
Story: Great. Though I wish everybody had an happy ending.
Controls: Great
Graphics: Great
Length: Great
Cutscenes: Great. Skits are great and numerous. It wouldn't be a Tales of game without tons of skits, right? lol
Characters: Great
Game Modes: So may side/mini games. (That I didn't bother to play. lol)
Mechanics: I feel like I broken the game with the equipment skills system as I almost unlocked all the passive skills therefore making my party a bit overpowered. lol

Best Girl: Velvet ofc. (Although, Magilou was a close 2nd and could have been best girl. lol)

This game's story carries it really well. It offers small improves over Zestiria's terrible combat and gear systems, but they're both pretty bad still. Berseria's combat improves over time, but it's only "fun" when you're stomping enemies in rapid succession and able to consistently land status effects. Which means fighting bosses is a really boring slog, almost more so than it was in Zestiria because they changed how your "SP" system works.

But despite that, this game's story is very good and compelling. Even if I don't recommend Zestiria overall, I do recommend playing it before this one if you are interested in Berseria at all; so many story beats of Berseria land and hit much harder if you play Zestiria first because this game is a prequel to that game. Indeed, much of the reason of why Zestiria's story had a flat ending is explained in this game. Without spoiling, you play as the bad guy in this game who fights to get revenge. In Zestiria, you play as the good guy who has to clean up the mess left by the bad guy in Berseria.

You do have to overlook the Noticer components of this game like strong independent warrior female protagonist, "religion" being bad, and some really off the wall "reason" and justification for their cause. But it still does a great job showing the natural feminine and woman components of the protagonist throughout the game , with several moments of overwhelming emotion and lack of logic that often requires the male characters to rein her back in to reality. Which gives a nice laugh to us.

So if you can overlook those things, the story becomes extremely compelling. The pacing mid-way isn't the greatest, but the beginning is great and as you progress towards the end it becomes very very good. Magilou is written extremely well, possibly one of the best Tales of characters in terms of writing. She serves as the comedic relief but does so with such finesse that she steals the show any time she's on the screen; I often cared more about her story and fate than I did of any other character. Eizen was also very good, being extremely stoic and rational, providing logic and reasoning throughout the story even when the women were doing women things. Which makes all the more reason to play Zestiria first because of his role in that game. I was impressed by just how much this story compelled me to see what would happen next, which is something I haven't felt Tales of do since Abyss.

The music is a miss, not terrible but nothing all that particularly notable. Zestiria's OST was better. Still nothing compared to Phantasia and Symphonia. But the story carries the overall game regardless. I also wish the characters had access to most of their R2 and L2 abilities earlier in the game, because they really help the combat loop a lot. None of them are particularly overpowered or anything, they just give you more options on how to play the game and strategize difficult encounters. Most enemies won't live long enough on Moderate difficulty to pull off the level 3 Mystic Artes anyway, given the requirements to make them happen. Hard mode and above requires excessive grinding in this game's gear system (getting loot to drop with the right rolls then enhancing and desyntheisizing for materials to further enhance the gear you actually want) only to have to do it again a few hours later in the next area when the enemies upgrade. It's very tiring, repetitive, and not fun, like you're playing a Korean grindy MMO instead of a single player Tales of jRPG.

But again, despite all that, the story is really good and makes the game overall absolutely worth playing. Definitely recommend.

I didnt expect this game to be good. I didnt like Dragon Quest XI. I thought it would be a similar experience that I try for a couple hours and refund. But to my surprise the characters are all very well developed, the lore is very in depth and everything that is explained has a point or purpose. A lot of it is optional in all fully voiced half-cutscenes which I never skip. The main character Velvet is, as you can tell from the other reviews, full of rage and determination to get revenge. But that is not all to her. She feels pain, sorrow, loss, and tries to focus all of her energy to further her goals. But she will reflect on her true motivation. She will remember who she was before and how it is at odds with her new existence.

The main deterrent to this game is the combat at the beginning. Its super not intuitive. Stick with it. Make sure to check your list of new moves every so often. And you will gain more mechanics down the line that honestly shouldve been there from the start, like having a sideboard of moves that you can activate from blocking.

i really like tales games, when i search jrpg i always look tales games firts. but this game is insane, after 100% i can say this is worst tales game i ever played when it come gameplay and collectables.
story is good and confusing, after eleanor join into the party velvet become side char its not about velvet anymore is about eleanor finding the truth about the world she got more screen than anyone in the party, i think they should make eleanor mc in this game not velvet.
i hate gameplay in this game u need soul to atk and u loss soul when stun, to increas soul i need to upgrade my equipment to upgrade equipment i need to farm so many item and gald just to upgrade 1. i like tales game bc of the combat mechanic is uniqe and diffrent than other jrpg, but this game is suck even zesteria consider a bad game but atleast it have good gameplay than this game as i remember

Best , most interesting cast dynamics in any of the Tales games

watch velvet and crew teach plausable deniability and criminal activities to sweet boy Laphicet.

also this probably has top 3 skits and dialogues in the whole series.

Story was basic, generic, and predictable, but the characters are so good and well fleshed out. Each of them truly brings out the beauty of this game. Velvet is one of the most memorable protagonists in the Tales series, and the supporting cast—especially the mysterious and charming Rokurou, the cynical but likable Eizen, and the humorous duo of Magilou and Bienfu—are layered, unique, and unpredictable. Each character has a personal stake in the story, making for some intense and memorable interactions. While Berseria uses familiar JRPG tropes, its setting—a world governed by Daemons and Exorcists—is unique and immersive. The game’s environments, music, and enemy designs bring a gothic, almost melancholic vibe that complements Velvet’s grim quest.

this game..is so godamn peak i just finished it and my head is full first things first no autosave but u can quicksave virtually anywhere and second this game goes on sale occasionally but its a damn good 90% so wait for it. i finished it in just under 60 hours i tried i really went around the world twice or three times just for all the quests and im not even sure i did everything every little quest has a story has good deliverance nice cutscenes literally personality into every second which i love here so much its characters you WILL love them you just have to they make you love them every one is so unique so deep and passionate about their own creed even the side characters have actual character to them youll literally love everybody even the villains wont stop you from beating the breaks off of them but still!
now the combat its pretty flashy you get a lot of moves you can assign to certain buttons to create unique combos or panic buttons each character has different moves break moves called artes so if you wanna switch characters youll have to spend a few minutes getting to know them to get a good flow on them my favourites were rokuoro and velvet i loved going into flowstates which is literally stun break arte beat beat beat stun break arte ITS SO FUN WHEN U GET INTO IT
okay now the quirks and slight dislikes its very noticable in the side quests that sometimes the subtitles say something wiildly different from what the characters are actually saying to the point where i actually just ditched the suvtitles in one of the talkys and just listented to the cxnvo cause it was straight up unreliable and the other thing is the ai doing their mystic artes frame 1 because when someone im fighting is talking i wanna hear them before rukoro pulls up with FORM 0 SUNDER and ruins the dialouge and i can never get to hear it now then stop talking after (i remedy that by turning off the first mystic arte u can turn it back on later in the same fight) and yeah that was it its a great great beautiful game with amazing art and animated cutscenes the characters are so alive and flourishing the music is cool and to the occassion i can not stop recommending it please play this its the best tales game

I like this game's story and its characters.
On the other hand, gameplay/ game mechanic is kinda meh
Overall: with steep sales these days for these Tales titles, this one is a must try for those enjoy a good story

The battle is 6/10 because I think it is so easy, the music is 6/10 expect the opening, nothing memorable from the music, but...
The character is 10/10, everyone seems really alive and have a connection to the story!
The skits almost always interesting to watch, as it explains about the world in many ways, and the sidequest never feel like a routine task like FF XV, so far loving this game
Just realize there are many battle mechanics that I've learned after playing this game 60+ hours, proving the game doesn't really force us to master the mechanics like SMT 3

Part Hamlet and part Medea, the story is sobering, beautiful, and raw. I came for the satisfying (if a little overtuned) combat, but stayed for the deeply flawed, broken anti-heroine and her journey through the five stages of grief.

Dreadful combat, it kills the fun, and thus the game.
Fun cast of characters.
Promising JRPG protag, a lot of personality. Probably the most unique and interesting I have ever seen in a JRPG. Velvet really is her own person, and an intriguing, developing person at that!
I wish this game was just turn based. The weird combat system is so bad.