Tales of Berseria Review

Due to the fact that the previous game in the series, Tales of Zestiria Tales of Berseria, unable to meet the expectations of players, had only a few hopes placed on it. It seemed like what could a prequel to an unsuccessful game bring to the series? Certainly, no one expected it to be hailed as the “best game in the series.” But what is it about this game that captivates?

Tales of Berseria definitely stands out from the rest of the series with its dark storyline. One could say that this is one of those cases where the Tales of franchise starts off on a not-so-pleasant note, with no talk of friendship or sugar-coating in the beginning. It all begins with Velvet, a prisoner, escaping with the help of a girl named Seres, with only one goal in mind – to seek revenge on Artorius.

Along the way, many other characters join her, but only a couple of them have genuinely friendly motivations at the start. One is driven by a sense of duty, while the other has no choice but to go along with the team. Another character is reluctantly forced into the group, and another simply has nothing better to do and joins them for company. As expected from a good game, the characters are well-developed, and the past of each of the main (and even secondary) characters is revealed throughout the game.

Don’t expect multiple endings – this game has only one (and it’s understandable why), with a linear storyline, albeit with plenty of additional quests. And believe me – if you delve into the details, the storyline will not only surprise you but also evoke a range of emotions.

You will not be tortured for long with explanations of what the basics of combat are and so on – the game will release you for free swimming by the third hour and will only bother you when switching characters or to explain a couple of details. The local combat system can also boast that you now have not 4 techniques at your disposal, but a whole 16! It is only necessary to set the combo in the corresponding positions, and you will have 16 techniques in your arsenal.

One more thing: no seraphim and no fusion! For those who have already played Tales of Zestiria, this will definitely be something new, possibly unfamiliar. The combat system offers a new feature – soul gathering. Souls determine the number of attacks a character can make. The so-called “Soul Break” takes one soul from the character’s overall gauge and allows them to use a powerful move, as well as restore some health. Some Soul Breaks can be used one after another, which undoubtedly benefits at higher difficulty levels, but at the same time, you start to feel invincible.

The shower scale is located right next to the character’s portrait.

In the game, they also took into account the camera errors in battle from Tales of Zestiria, and in Tales of Berseria it became more responsive. And if it gets twisted so much that you don’t know where to go, the block will help turn it towards the enemy.

Although the battle system originated in ToZ, it was able to bring back the dynamism that was inherent in another game in the series – Tales of Graces.

About equipment and weapons. There is no crafting as such here. There are two ways to obtain equipment: either you find it or you obtain it by defeating enemies. That’s it. The equipment itself is upgraded simply: you gather a bunch of materials and use them in any shop. But the stronger the weapon, the more difficult its upgrade becomes, and sometimes, to upgrade the weapon to the maximum, you need to strengthen the exact same weapon and give it for dismantling (in the game, this is called the “disassemble” command).

A huge number of plot-important scenes have been transferred from 3D animation to 2D animated dialogues. The problem here is that if you are someone who enjoys getting involved with the characters and experiencing the full range of their relationships, or if you simply came from ToZ with the expectation that the conversations between characters would be short, then brew some tea and stock up on snacks because a lot of the chemistry has been moved to “chats” that sometimes take up more than half an hour of gameplay time. Because of this, the 2D animation may quickly become tiresome for you. However, towards the end of the game, this drawback is somewhat fixed: the main part of the dialogues transitions to 3D, and the dynamics of such scenes keep you from getting bored.

The graphics here are colorful, but not as eye-catching as in Tales of Zestiria. The dungeons and locations in general look more vibrant: there is more greenery on the paths and fields, more stones and crystals in the dungeons, and the graphics successfully convey the unique spirit of each town.

Overall, it is worth mentioning that Tales of Berseria places a huge emphasis on the story and dialogues, and the game does not disappoint in this aspect: it pleases both newcomers and people who are familiar with the series – references to other games in the series are constantly present! The beauty of the graphics, a good story, excellent characters, and a well-implemented combat system – all of this is included in this game. Tales of Berseria is a kind of masterpiece within the series, which reaches the level of the particularly popular Tales of Vesperia.