Tales of Berseria™

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It looks pretty outdated for a game from 2016, especially with the low quality rough textures.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

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.

I have not completed the game yet but I love the story so far. The only biggest gripe I have is blocking takes from your Soul Gauge which is the same thing that also gets taken away from when you attack making blocking annoying to do.

a very interesting game that is worth all the money and at a discount, in general it’s worth taking without hesitation, the plot and atmosphere are excellent))).

this game gives you an angry demon hybrid grown-ass woman on a quest for vengeance as a main character and i don't think i've been this invested in any other jrpg protag ever

I fell off this one hard. The combat has loads of different mechanics, none of which really matter. It just comes down to mashing the attack button and you'll get through it all. Dungeons are very linear and generic. I couldn't connect with any of the characters with the main character being a boring edgelord with a "fan service-y" design. Maybe I'll give this one a go again sometime, but I honestly can't recommend it.

i feel empty after finishing it, for 2017 game it had an amazing storyline and the combat system was great as well

Velvet is the first edge lore MC I have enjoyed playing and the combat is cute. The rest of the cast are fun and interesting to compensate for her

my friend told me to play this game cuz i never touched the tales series before, and now i can't listen to velvet's theme without bawling like a little baby. love the characters, love the dialogue, love the story and its overall message. combat was a bit too complex for me to comprehend simply because there were so many things to keep track of, however that made pulling off a combo feel all the more rewarding. definitely will try to play another tales game in the future.

First Tales Game I played so a little biased. But I love the characters and arcs. Great combat mechanics and overall time well spent! Highly recommended!

好好好好好好好好好好好

9/10
Great story and profound messages, if you like story-oriented game about good, evil, and everything in between, I think you'll love this.
Well written characters, the chemistry between characters is one of my favorite aspect, and some of my all time favorite video game characters are here.
Great world building, I guess this is not a surprise, since every Tales games I've played have great world building.
The character theme songs are awesome. (you should visit Katz Korner, you won't regret it)

The advanced battle system is a bit hard to get used to, the tutorials doesn't make it easier for me because they just throw a bunch of texts and terms at you without proper example, they even botched some of the instructions, I had to study from some guy on YouTube to finally get it, I believe it wasn't supposed to be like that.
Oh, and if you're going to Platinum this game, just don't. I've tried and I gave up, it's not worth your precious time, it's way too grindy. (Don't believe me?, try collecting 20k tales coins and try to get that stupid "A Solid B" achievement)

Other than that, this is a solid A game, this was my first Tales game, and I'm a fan of Tales series ever since, highly recommended.

love this game. one of the best jrpgs ive ever played with nice characters and story.

Story is great but mechanics can be a bit too complicated especially when it comes to healing just use items. This game has a better story than Tales of Arise but Tales of Arise has better gameplay.

average game. 80 points crtitics? lol

The combat is really fun once you figure it out.

the best game in the series, and the only one that doesnt reuse the same generic storylines

Nice tales game, story didn't make much sense to me. Characters talk too much. Gameplay was neat, although it was difficult to fully understand all the different systems. Not as good as Symphonia.

Pretty good action RPG I'll be it with a pretty bad PC port. Most of the big open areas you are in will stutter a decent amount and the game began dying on me in the end cutscene. I would say though that the pretty good gameplay and story outweigh those negatives I have.

This game is amazing, loads of replay value and gameplay is fun as well. The humor is amazing as well

Its a decent action JRPG. Not usually my thing, but it has a satisfying combat system and a story that really works.

People say Tales of Zestiria isn't all that. Personally, I really enjoyed it.

After 5 hours of Berseria, I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy Zestiria again.

This is the first Tales series i finished it was fun also the cast is solid, the development of every cast is so good also the villain is very fit in the plot. I love velvet from the start is an edgelord but the ending got me.

The gameplay is easy to understand also fun if you can produce some sickass combo(spamming breaksoul) . The mid game is kindy grindy but building your character is just fun. This game is totally worth it.

10/10. Laphicet is my fav. Also eleanor is mine :)

Very fun game in the "Tales of" Series, has some of the more fun combat in the recent games, and nice story. Why can't we get a repaired/restored Velvet's outfit without mods though. Unlike TOA (newest installment) Tales of Berseria has actual mini-games and more content besides just main and sub stories. I also prefer the talk scenes in this then the 3D rendered ones in TOA. Fun game hard to rate and comment about, without spoiling. (Yes I'm late to the Tales of Berseria party, didn't had a PS3 or computer before a little while ago, and recently got one.) Would definitely recommend!
- Im new to Berseria with only half of the story complete.


*Minor Spoiler - the main characters personalities are horrible at the start but get great development midway through the game!

If you're a fan of Tales games, you owe it to yourself to play Berseria. It accomplishes two things: first, it retroactively makes Zestiria a better game, and second; it gives us a refreshing protagonist in the form of Velvet, who forms an uneasy alliance with a group of dubious moral constitution. Velvet's journey is one marked by obsession, hate and a heaping dose of trauma. Unlike previous games, Berseria is not afraid to show us a deeply flawed main character, who borders between an anti hero and a downright villain. The story can get dark, and it does not shy away from the consequences of Velvet's actions.

Combat and inventory system, one of the most maligned things about Zestiria, is greatly improved here. However, if you're looking for the perfect combination of gear and skills, be prepared to grind. Minor nitpicks all in all. The world is huge, the story is interesting and makes playing Zestiria again worth it, and the characters and their relationships go beyond the usual "Power of friendship" anime trope. One of the strongest Tales games. I highly encourage anyone that hasn't played Berseria and Zestiria to take the plunge.

Main quest is around 50 hours , and as usual for a Tales games, there's post game content and a second playthrough is a given, with new bonuses and mechanics you can unlock.

Combat is fun though Velvet is laughably overpowered, so I suggest playing on moderate/hard for a first run, and each party member has their own unique quirk so swapping around is very fun.

All in all, an amazing Tales game, and a great, strong jrpg for anyone who enjoys the genre.

Really enjoyed the characters, their development, and the overall story. It's nice to have protagonists that are complex and have understandable motivations beyond saving the world or something like that. Voice acting is astoundingly good.

If you're looking to duo co-op a story game it's a good choice. Love the cast, Magi-Lou easily one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise. Story wise it's an interesting perspective to be the bad guys, but ultimately I think the plot gets kinda lost around a bunch of big word soup and you wind up just doing w/e and not super knowing why ahahha or maybe that's just me. Combat is very different from Symphonia or Vesperia, and took some getting used to for us but eventually we grew to enjoy it. My biggest gripe was that mobs tend to chase whoever is player one, making playing casters as player one kinda impossible early on. I wanted to play Laphicet but found myself having to endlessly run from the mobs almost every fight maybe getting just a cast or two off. (I think especially if you play harder difficulty settings) If your're playing as a duo you can work around it by having player two help keep mobs off or just keeping casters to p2 but as the story progresses and you get faster casting it does get easier to deal with. Also you'll probably need the wiki handy to figure out some mechanics they dont do the best job describing or sometimes not really at all.

This is the third Tales game I've completed. It's got an excellent cast of characters, very well voiced. The band of misfits trope work really well here, as the characters bounce off each other a lot. It leaves a lot of room for banter, teasing, and funny conversations. The skits are probably the best I've experienced yet. The characters feel well rounded and endearing, and have satisfying character arcs. It's a very emotional journey without going into any spoilers. The graphics are fine enough, although has quite a soft look. It works well on my Steam Deck and the sprites look clean. The music works well with one or two standouts.

However, I think there are some things that let this game down though. One of the things that let this game down is the frequent back tracking, which can get tiring after a while, especially after the mid-game onwards. I can understand there are skits or important story events along the journey, but a lot of journeying back into past areas feel sometimes a little contrived, especially when it's for no other reason that to "rest" or for characters to ponder their next move. It can make the game feel dragged out at times (although I do actually appreciate the quieter subtle moments).

Worst still, there isn't enough helpful compasses or travel/path line markers, so aside from the star markers on the map it can feel like you can easily make a wrong turn on yourself a go backwards through a dungeon or area. Some dungeons or quest/story areas often have repeating textures and diverging maze like paths, with enemies that will interrupt your flow of gate/door solving. This makes for very bland exploration.

The battle itself is probably my least favourite of the Tales games so far. It's not bad, it's actually rather serviceable; but I never found myself caring to master it like I did with Arise (which I feel moves the combat forward a lot). The battles can feel a little visually chaotic at times, much like with Graces, and that's something Tales games have done well, as it feels like your party is getting stuck in.

With all that considered, I do highly recommend this game, especially on a sale. The story and characters are probably my favourite of the Tales games so far, and beat out many, many other games of the genre. I felt like I was really invested in the plight of the characters and eager to know where the story was going. After I completed the game, I was very satisfied.