After finishing [i]Symphonia[/i], [i]Vesperia[/i], [i]Arise[/i] and [i]Zestiria[/i], jumping into this one felt both familiar and refreshingly different at the same time – and honestly, that’s probably the best way I can sum it up.
So yeah, end of review, thanks for reading this!
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Heh, but in all seriousness: I really liked the core idea here that, for once, you’re not playing the bright-eyed hero trying to save the world, but a group that’s much closer to villains than traditional JRPG protagonists. Also, the tone is noticeably darker than in the other [i]Tales[/i] games I’ve played so far, and while it doesn’t reinvent the genre, it definitely dares to go places that felt surprisingly grim at times. Velvet is a strong lead, probably my favorite so far in the series (followed very closely by Yuri from [i]Vesperia[/i]), and all the party members are interesting and flawed. Their interactions (especially through the usual skits) kept me engaged all the way through. As always, the character writing is one of the biggest strengths of the game.
Story-wise, I also found it really cool that this acts as a prequel to [i]Zestiria[/i]. There are lots of references and connections that made certain moments hit harder if you’ve already played that one, but the nice thing is that the game still works perfectly well as a standalone experience without any prior knowledge. You don’t need the extra context to enjoy it, it just adds a bit of bonus flavor.
The combat system is… fine, I guess. It works, it’s fast, and it looks flashy enough, but I’ll be honest: I never truly felt like I mastered it. Sure, OK, this might be more of a “me” problem than the game’s fault (I’ve never been the biggest fan of active battle systems), but still, it was a bit frustrating for me that I never quite reached that satisfying “now it really clicks” moment. Nevertheless, it’s enjoyable, and it never became a huge dealbreaker (also, you can always change the difficulty if needed).
Content-wise, I have to say [i]Berseria[/i] absolutely delivers. There’s a ton to do: sidequests, optional bosses, collectibles, customization options, minigames, skits (lots of them, as in all [i]Tales[/i] entries), and of course new game+. If you enjoy squeezing every last drop out of a JRPG, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here, and you can play this for hundreds of hours if you want to. That said, I did sometimes feel that the maps and dungeons were a bit too large for their own good. There’s quite a bit of running back and forth, and occasionally it felt like padding rather than meaningful exploration.
Overall, another solid entry in the series. For me, it doesn’t quite reach the highs of my favorites like [i]Vesperia[/i] or [i]Symphonia[/i], but it’s clearly stronger than [i]Zestiria[/i] in terms of story and characters, if you ask me, and I really appreciate how much darker and more experimental it dared to be. For all my fellow JRPG fans out there, this one is absolutely worth playing – even if it’s not the one that completely stole my heart.
Or just wait for the remastered version coming out soon, and play that one, I guess.
