Tales of Berseria

The Tales of franchise has a rich history in crafting memorable, epic stories and implementing intuitive action combat. Tales of Berseria is no exception, and it drives home a rather powerful message that will hit close to home for most people. It’s difficult to see this at first, because on the surface, it acts like a stereotypical JRPG. The main character, Velvet Crowe, is on the warpath for rev...

Tales of Berseria is a strong return to form from Bandai Namco and this return to form has produced one of the best Tales games out there in terms of story and overall quality.

The Tales series has always been one of my favourites, but that’s made playing each entry increasingly more difficult. Since Tales of Symphonia, the seminal title released on Gamecube, the Tales formula has gotten increasingly familiar, and increasingly not-as-good-as-the-last. That’s not to do the series a disservice – Tales of Vesperia is one of the best the series has ever known, Graces F had o...

Tales of Berseria isn't a reinvention of the series, but it delivers a more emotional story mixed with a great combat system to make this adventure worth taking.

All in all then, Tales of Berseria is a game carried by its thrilling combat and unusual cast of characters, and they do so with ease. It doesn’t try to push the bar in any particular way; it’s just content with being a good old-fashioned JRPG, and I respect it for that. Whilst the Final Fantasy series constantly shifts in an attempt to expand its audience, alienating many long-term fans in the pr...

Tales of Berseria is proof that with a more thoughtful approach to design, the series still has what it takes to stand tall among its RPG contemporaries.

Tales of Berseria's heavy anime and manga influence and its incredibly lengthy campaign will likely be a difficult barrier of entry for many gamers. That said, RPG fans won't want to pass this one up. Its style may be over the top, but there is actually a pretty compelling story here and an unforgettable cast of characters with unique abilities to get to know. All of that on top of a challenging c...

Tales of Berseria feels like a Tales game made just for me. There’s so many games in the series now, and I’ll never play them all, but the characters and the narrative and the combat mechanics of Berseria just click with all of my tastes so well. For some, the lack of gameplay innovation might be a turn off, but for me, a classic Tales gameplay system combined with a unique narrative led to a fant...

A refreshing return to form for the storied "Tales of" franchise.

A touch of evil.

Tales of Berseria is far from perfect, but the game is interesting and energetic enough that its flaws are easy to overlook. Velvet’s quest for vengeance with the help of her colorful companions is entertaining, even if it tends to drag on a little. But at the end of the day, it’s pretty damn fun, and isn’t that what really matters?

For anyone burnt by Tales Of Zesteria, this game is a step in the right direction. Anyone looking for a long, combat-rich JRPG with interesting characters should pick it up. It isn't going to change your opinion of the genre as a whole, but it does enough right to set it apart from other games like it.