Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC (for Western release)
Theme/Genre: Live Like Yourself RPG
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Director: Yoshimasa Tanaka
Producer: Yasuhiro Fukaya
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Animation: Ufotable
Character Design: Mutsumi Inomata, Kousuke Fujishima, Daigo Okumura, Minoru Iwamoto
Release Date:
- Japan: August 18, 2016
- North America: Early 2017
Theme Song: "Burn" by FLOW
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Tales of Berseria is set on a world called Wasteland. The central region of this world is the Holy Kingdom of Midgand, a massive kingdom whose territory spans over several islands and continents. It is a very diverse place, with each area having its own culture and architecture depending on the climate and environments its residents have to deal with. Because many places are divided by seas, rivers, and oceans, this world is highly dependant on ships for transportation, communication, and trade, and even pirate crews have appeared to take advantage of this fact. Within the past decade a disease known as Daemonblight has begun to spread, infecting humans, plants, and animals, and turning many of them into violent creatures. To fight against this a savior known as Artorius appeared and formed the Abbey, an organization supported by the kingdom with the goal of fighting against the spread of Daemonblight.
The central character of the story is Velvet Crowe, a woman who some years ago lived a normal life in her village on the outskirts of the kingdom. However her village was infected with Daemonblight. Artorius, a man with the power to fight against Daemons, kills many of the transformed villagers, including her brother. Velvet manages to somehow escape death, and is instead captured and imprisoned for three years. The story begins with her executing a plan to escape and get revenge on Artorius for what he did.
Velvet Crowe
Voice Actor: Rina Satou
Character Design: Mutsumi Inomata
The central character of the story. Infected with Daemonblight yet somehow still able to retain her senses, she has a mutated arm as a result of the condition. To get revenge for events from 3 years ago, she escapes from prison and goes on a journey in pursuit of Artorius.
Laphicet
Voice Actor: Azumi Asakura
Character Design: Minoru Iwamoto
A Malak (a different species with stronger magical abilities than humans) Velvet comes across. Like many of his species, he has no emotions, no sense of purpose, and not even a name when Velvet meets him. He decides to go along with Velvet, and develops more a personality along the way.
Rokurou
Voice Actor: Daisuk Kishio
Character Design: Daigo Okumura
A young man ho owes Velvet his life, and joins her in order to repay that debt. Also infected with Daemonblight several years ago, he decided to use the superhuman powers it grants humans to become stronger and perfect his family's style of martial arts. He carries a large sword on his back but is against using it combat, preferring to use short swords.
Eleanor Hume
Voice Actor: Ami Koshimizu
Character Design: Kousuke Fujishima
A First Class Exorcist from the Abbey. She can come across as cold, especially to those who aren't in support of the Abbey and their efforts, but above all else she cares about protecting people from Daemons and finding a method to stop it for good.
Magilou
Voice Actor: Satomi Satou
Character Design: Daigo Okumura
Calling herself the "Great Witch", she's a strange woman who joins Velvet. A jokester, she likes to play pranks and lift the other's spirits.
Eizen
Voice Actor: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Character Design: Minoru Iwamoto
A Malak who serves as second-in-command in the Aifred Pirates. He and the crew have been looking for their captain, who has disappeared recently, when they meet Velvet. He decides to join her and offer her use of their ship, believing they have a mutual enemy in the Abbey and that helping her will get him closer to finding out what the Abbey did with Aifread.
Liberation Linear Motion Battle System
Berseria's battle system - while it retains some elements people who've played other Tales will be familiar with - is a big departure from all previous Tales games, in that the "Linear" part of the name is almost superfluous, among many other changes:
- Free Run-Based Controls - Unlike other Tales games, you don't move along any lines. Instead movement in inherently 3D based, no need to press any buttons for Free Run. You can also use attacks while moving, and use the right stick to adjust the camera.
- Arte Control Changes - Berseria uses the Arte Tree seen in Graces and Zestiria, however now artes can be removed, moved, and assigned to any position in the tree. Assigning certain artes in certain sequences on the tree can add various benefits to your attacks. Also, instead of using various stick+button combinations for artes, Artes are now be assigned to X, Circle, Square, and Triangle. The button an arte is assigned to can also affect how the arte will be used in certain cases, such as changing the direction of an attack.
- Soul System - This is the central feature many of the combat mechanics center around.
- Break Souls - Special abilities that are unique to each character, and can be used if the character has 3 or more souls. They're all abilities that are powerful, but can vary in usefulness depending on the enemy and situation. Using one also allows the character to continue their chain of attacks beyond the limit imposed on them. They will improve over the course of the game, making them stronger and more versatile.
- Blast - The Blast Gauge returns in Berseria. It's a gauge that's primarily filled through performing Break Souls, and allows you to perform various actions when filled up to certain levels. When it's filled to a certain point you can use it for things such as Switch Blasts, which let you swap in a reserve character, or Mystic Artes, powerful attacks.
Equipment/Skill System
Berseria uses an equipment and skill system that's somewhat like a combination of various elements from Vesperia, Graces, and Zestiria.
- Equipment - Each piece of equipment can have three types of skills: Master Skills, Refinement Skills, and Random Skills. Master Skills are like skills in Vesperia (or other games like Final Fantasy IX): the equipment has an ability attached that you can use while it is equippmed, and a certain number of points needed to master it. Once you've obtained the necessary number of points, the ability is learned permanently and the character will have it active even when you've removed the equipment. If you keep the equipment on, the ability on the equipment will actually combine with your learned skill, increasing its effectiveness. Refinement Skills are abilities attached to equipment that are unlocked as you use materials to refine it and improve its stats. Once an ability is unlocked, refining the equipment further can improve the efective of the ability. Random Skills are skills that appear on equipment at random, offering some sort of bonus or ability. Finally, equipment you aren't in need of anymore can be broken apart into materials for use on other equipment.
- Titles - Berseria uses Titles again, and like most entries in the series you'll obtain many of them through certain events or from fulfilling special conditions in battles. Each Title levels, with certain requirements to level up, such as using Base Artes a certain number of times or reaching a certain level. As you level the Title, various skills on the Title will be unlocked, and you can swap around Titles depending on the skills you need.
- Crystals - There are different crystals you can collect that unlock a wide array of abilities and features. For example, some will unlock difficulty modes, others will affect what kind of abilities you find on equipment that's dropped.
Other Stuff
- Cooking - Berseria goes back to a more traditional cooking system, where you find recipes and each character can cook them to result in different bonuses.
- Skits - Berseria uses a slightly altered version of the usual Tales Skit system called "Variable Cut-in Chat", that makes the skits more expressive and dynamic.
- Minigames - There's a collection of minigames to play in the game, such as a card game and a combat-based balloon-popping minigame.
- Ship Exploration - You eventually come into possession of a scouting ship, which similar to the cats in Xillia 2 you can send out to different place to collect various items and treasures.
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