Crok425 developement does not equal interesting. Velvet was interesting all the way through. Her developement was great. Everyone she meets and everything she does changes her. They're subtle changes throughout which is what makes her great. She seems like a real person. Unlike many main characters in the tales series.
+OhMeOhMy I disagree, she doesn't change at all when it matters. She's very basic and one dimensional since her entire character revolves around revenge and Laphi... nothing else which makes her shallow. I go into detail in another comment I made, read it if you cam find it.
Crok425 Except that's not necessarily true. She's already developed so much since the beginning of the game. You see how much the death of her brother affected her and turned her into a beast. As the game goes on she becomes more and more empathetic to everyone and slowly let's down her walls to reveal a more caring person. She's not one dimensional. She demonstrates that at the very beginning of the game
OhMeOhMy thats not development. Check tales of abyss and luke. That is good development. Berseria is overrated. Go play vesperia now that its out on ps4.....
@@RaidikV just beat the game yesterday. Honestly there were several times where I would say, "I get it, you aren't heroes. This is not for the world but for your beliefs" they tried so hard to shove that down our throats and then create "Light-Edgy" Velvet by the end. Exposition is big in anime/tales of series, but I got tired of how they handled it. Tales of the Abyss still King for me. (unpopular opinion: Legendia is my favorite Tales game)
Fun fact: Laphicet's death at the start was actually changed in Western releases to be less violent. Originally, Artorius simply impales Laphicet with his sword, which makes it all the more poetic that Velvet does the same to Artorius at the end.
Huh? Is the one on the PSN store the Japanese version then? Cause in the version I bought on the store it showed Arthur Stabbing Laphi then dropping him down the pit.
Berseria's story was great! It was simpel but it always managed to be consistently interesting. +it had some of my favourite moments of any video game I ever played. Further, good job on the analysis. It was well written and kept being interesting.
Glad you agree and that you enjoyed the video! I really hope stories continue in this manner as the series goes, and those moments brought me to tears at times ;_;
ZaffreRevolution Real shame we don't get to see these characters again but you could say its better as its own self contained story. I roughly hold it next to Xilla as my favourite Tales cast. Personally I wouldn't really say its story is a masterpiece as it Artorious's ultimate goal can be boiled down to 'create a world where noone suffers because humans arw inherently evil and destructive creatures'. Its something we've seen a thousand times but I think where it breaks the mold is its excellent script and charactetisation.
1: Melchior's aversion to stepping on flowers had nothing to do with his pact, he just really liked them 2: Velvet went into sleep with Innominat because killing him would have killed Phi and all the therions
1. If you had paid attention to melchior's exposition dump and the flashbacks you would have gotten the subtext. Melchior likes flowers yes, but because he sees them as a symbol of perfection.
I fell in love with the game the moment I started playing it 3 years ago. This game had it all. Laughs, tears, character development and whatnot. I enjoyed every second of it! This game has set a new standard for future Tales games.
I felt the characters really were the driving force of the story. The story itself was decent, But if it didn't have the cast to back it up it could've fallen flat. But the cast delivered in spades! Really dug how the cast wasn't the Tales status quo of tropes. This game didn't feel like every tales cast where it's just the same characters with a new coat of paint. These were legitimately fresh and unique characters. Velvet has a perfect story arc. And when it comes to a climax it's the best it possibly could've been written. Same goes for the rest of the cast. The writing is GOAT tier in this game. While the general story focus is just average at best for me. Also, Great video bro like always!
Yeah, the characters did drive a lot of the plot, and the actual plot itself WAS about the characters when you really look at it. But I still thought the main premise was interesting enough, even when looking at just the plot itself. Glad you liked the video, man!
@@gamerprince-tl5hg Maybe you haven't played many JRPGs in your life. I recommend startig with Xenogears, Xenosaga, Trails in the Sky, Trails of Cold Steel or some other Tales of games like Abyss. Last years Utawarerumono Mask of Deception/Truth make Berseria pale in comparison.
@@DesMondesBlut well aren't you just a ball of sunshine :/ Listing off all these other games as if they're objectively better which, is not the case... At all
Just 100% this game. I rarely likes male character, but laphi certainly has become my top male character in jrpg by the end of the game. That part where he told velvet to leave him with one hand, so he can wallop artorus for her is so bad azz!
I love his line right before the final fight too. Innominat's like, "I've been pissed since you punched me in the face, and I don't know why.", and Phi replies "Then I'll punch you again. Maybe that'll help."
Here's my nutshell points of this game (because I have nothing of intelligence to say that would count as a review): The ending made me cryyyy Poor Silva. Just.... poor Silva. Zaveid and his theme are the best thing ever. Having to do the thing with Eizen in Zestiria really bums me out now. At least the anime had a happier ending with him- I like what they did with Titania. At the beginning being a damp cold prison, and later a hideout with a calming peaceful music in the background for it. A complete turn around that I don't think anyone saw coming. (Also, let Eizen do his damn secret tunnels!) The music is amazing. Kind of obvious because it's the Tales series, but it needs mention regardless. My favorite Mystic Arte would be Velvet's 2nd. Just because it's so satisfying to look at, and to say as well.
Thank you! I have bee. Saying that Berseria has the best story of any Tales Of game for awhile. Although if you want my take I thought reason and free will were backseat to the more personal story at the heart of the main character Velvet. The real driving factor was "Do the ends always justify the means" is "sacrificing the few for the many" really a good thing. Berseria is an empathetic game, one that speaks to people on a deeper level than lofty philosophical ideals. Velvet is a victim of circumstances larger than her self, consumed by survivor's guilt and wanting revenge. She's the counterpoint to Artorius, to show that sometimes our selfish desires shouldn't be seen as "good" or "bad". That sometimes wanting to do something is more important then feeling like it's your duty to do something. And it also humbles and humanizes Artorius in the end. He had to die, to see how his point of view was wrong. You can't foist your ideals upon another, one man doesn't get to decide what is for "The Greater Good", one man alone cannot save the world, one man shouldn't martyr himself when he was never asked to.
I finished Berseria half an hour ago and I don't know how I can go on, I miss Velvet already! :( I loved this game a lot, the story is amazing and all the characters are excellent! When Velvet finds out Laphicet is alive, I was afraid the writers would not know how to continue the story because the "I am killing people to revenge you" plot would not work any more. I didn't want velvet to go on fighting because she was now the good girl and fighting Artorius was the right thing to do. I wanted her to pursue her revenge, not in her brother's behlaf, but in her own, and that was the direction the game took, wich is the mature direction, not the mainstream one. Is this something Namco does? It feels good that a game developer thinks you are an intelligent, mature person, not a kid.
I luv Berseria, esp Velvet and Laphi, and this is great review for a wonderful game. Its a breath of fresh air too since this tales focus more on sibling/family relationships rather than the mainstream boy x girl.
And i'm here wondering why didn't Berseria get an anime instead of Zestiria... I love both games but an anime about Berseria would be a lot more interesting than Zestiria The X.... anyway, great video man!
ToZ got an anime for one reason, and the reason is, because they F-ed up the game and people were PISSED. More specifically, they removed Alisha as a playable character. This caused a HUGE backlash for ToZ. It was one of the reasons it didn't do so well. They advertised Alisha is the main heroine. They played her up like she was a huge part to the game, then just ditched her like she was nothing. The anime was created as a "We're sorry". The anime was also released around the same time as ToB, which is why there are 2 episodes in the anime dedicated to ToB. They used it as advertisement.
I just finished the game and yeah, I couldn't agree more with everything you've said. Two thing I'd add though: 1. It's connections to Zesteria were so amazing that it made me appreciate that game even more and, 2. Those credits, dang those credits. I was chocking up during the ending but those credits had me get teary eyed, they were so good.
Amen to that.. she was so well created, funny, zany, powerfull, beautifull, and the most memorable theme music i have heard in most if not all rpg's /jrpgs i have played. Every time i heard her theme music i knew fun times were ahead. If only they made a tales of Magilou.
I love and hate the ending. I want Velvet to make a comeback at some point. Maybe Phi could use the silver flame to purify her and then he could absorb innominat since he's a full fledged empyrean now. Idk man I just want justice for Velvet lol
I felt the same way. The ending is, well, I guess as close to a “good ending” as you can get with a story this dark and depressing, but goddamn it, I felt SO bad for Velvet pretty much the whole game, and I wanted a proper happy ending for her. Still a fantastic game though.
The overall logic and details of TOB's story are great. Many details can be determined by setting or some other minor things. The text is really amazing!
I love how all of the antagonists in the story have lighter colored outfits and designs that in general just look pure and good, and the protagonists all wear dark colored outfits and all look like villains. Totally agree with everything said in your video, there is no black and white in this story, and every character has their own reasons for what they're doing-- there's no badguy that's just evil to be evil. The Tales of Series has always been amazing at making 3D, real characters, but this game takes the cake.
The ending crushed me I just wanted Velvet to live her life finally and settle down again I loved the ending because it was truly a good bittersweet ending but stilllll
Okay, so, you did very well in covering most of the points (aside from a couple that were already pointed out) but one particular point that I felt needs to be said about the characters didn't show up. Everyone is a hypocrite. In the game, it's referred to as "contradictions", and that works in a sense. Everyone in the game has a contradiction about themselves that they cannot reconcile. What separates the protagonists (and Shigure) from the antagonists is the ability to recognise and accept the hypocrisy in themselves, and work towards trying not to eliminate it, but to mitigate it.
9:00 In one of the skits shortly after defeating Melchoir, Magilou reveals that he actually didn't make a pact involving flowers, he just liked flowers and made an effort to not step on them.
You have good taste. Man, this Tales story is my favorite and the one I can say does stand together with great stories outside the series. Sometimes when I see someone say the story is simple or so, I cannot imagine why. Maybe in its premise, the game's lore is, but going more into it you can see is much more than that. A complex, deep and personal story. I am no story critic, but when I think of simple stories, main Pokémon games come to mind. Even the titles who tried to add depth into the games like Black/White, ORAS' Delta episode and Sun/Moon. They are very simple just with some added complexity, and not by much. So, to me, Berseria is nowhere near simple. Although, that is my own view on the title. Everything with the lore just clicked wonderfully well. When the characters and voice acting accompanies a greatly made story, you know is top-quality. Another thing that I found incredible was that we get development sidequests for the main cast(aside from Velvet which she gets flashbacks to understand her better). Lovely to experience how in the side content there is as much depth as the main story. Just simply adore this game. Anyway, magnificent to witness someone who thoroughly loves the game and able to give the merit it deserves.
I love the Tales series..i have to rank Berseria as the top one not only for the reasons you mentioned but also 1 huge factor, the best girl ever created..the funny, the zany, the acclaimed, the illustrious, the irresistible, the sexy, the sensational, the breathtaking, the beautifull, the one and only...the magnificent marvelous miss Magilou. When i see Magilou i'm put under her spell and i could be knocked over with a feather..and the only desire on my mind is getting to know her better. For i have a fever and the only prescription is more Magilou.
Good presentation. This game is such excellent . They really work well on this game. But one thing, Melchior pledge never concern about flower. Like Magilou said, he just love them than human which when he's okay to kill human but not harm a single flower. It proved that even a man who reason can never truly repress his own feeling
Still actually wished they made Berseria not a prequel or sequel to Zestiria and just made it it's own thing without being connected to any of the other Tales games. I wouldn't also mind a sequel to Berseria if the sequel isn't an already existing tales game before Berseria.
I feel as though the anime was a welcomed sequel... as Sorey could give them the happy endings they sorely deserved and though they would get. I hoped it would continue so he could grow powerful enough to purify Velvet.... But I'm cool with the endings we got.
Well Velvet kinda got a happy ending. She maybe deadlocked with Innominat/Laphicet but at the same time they spend their deadlock in a dream like state that allows Velvet to show Laphicet the world and what she saw through her dreams and the people she met. I was happy that the ending was both bittersweet and a bit happy. It felt appropriate and it was a great RPG.
Just finished it a couple of days ago and I think it's one of my favorite games ever, right up there with Final Fantasy 7 and 9. The game is very immersive and both the world and the characters, even secondary, are very well fleshed out and endearing, again, even secondary ones that aren't with you all the time, like Percival. The story was very personal which made it engaging but it also was well executed enough to drive home whatever it wanted me to feel, it was compelling. Everything that happens in the story felt like it had been properly set up by something before, be it a cutscene, a big event, a skit or even just something some NPC said, nothing felt out of place. As I played and talked about everything that was happening to a friend she kept having the feeling the game was just too edgy and somewhat forced, but me, having played and seen everything, couldn't think so. Everything made sense as to why it happened the way it did or why a character acted a certain way. I also love the combat system, I felt like it had enough to adapt to your skill level. If you don't want to look into the small mechanics, it can be a very fun button masher, if you want to master it, you can do some crazy combos that require skill and knowing what you're doing, this flexibility is really interesting. I have very few complaints, and even then it's just minor stuff like most puzzles being very easy to solve and most of the hairstyles and outfits being DLC, I think so, at least, given that I think I got everything I could and even then I just had their default hairstyle, the hat style and their regular outfits, swimsuits from the expeditions, serving clothes, color variants and winter clothes. But yeah, loved the game, it's only my second Tales, after Abyss, which I played years ago. Now I wait for Vesperia to come to Steam and maybe I'll look into Xilia which I believe is also on Steam =]
Just finished the game. It was great better than Zesteria but I love Vesperia. Hands down Velvet is my favorite Tales character and hopefully we could see her again in a game. I only used 4b characters throughout the game: Velvet, Phi, Rokoru and Eleanor
this game deserved way more then it get im still playing it over and over again, it got my favorite game after kicking skyrim after almost 8 years from the top, the story is AWSOME GREAT and Perfect and every time i get to the emotional parts i have to cry
Did... Did you miss the like 20 hours of character side stories only unlockable after the end of the game? Felt like a second game for free, just when you thought you were done.
I loved the selfishness of the characters, which made me love the cast of Berseria. The whole Friendship and family, although cool just is very nonchalant in my opinion.
They're for friends and family but not if it means compromising their individual selves. I found this game when I was in a bad place and it really help me start my time again. I was standing still before it.
@@vDorgengoa I found that message of the game very troubling to say the least as it implies that it is acceptable to harm other people if not doing so would compromise your individuality. That's why I found these characters very hard to relate to... To the point that I found the message they were preaching even insulting. I personally do everything for the people I care about even if it means holding back my own desires and wishes. I don't think such altruism stands against human nature but is maybe even embedded into our very being. That's why the majority of protagonists in stories throughout human history are selfless people who put other people's well being over their own.
@@DesMondesBlut No man desire for a brother to fall, but if you can convince that man they were never brothers at all, he will not hesitate to live and let die. That is the only way humanity can fall.
Suddenly people in the comments is writing expert. But it's always interesting how to see things in different pair of eyes. Like Eizen said, that's what truly makes us alive heh
To be honest the game was simple I wanted it to be deeper and darker. Probably explains why Magliou to me is the BEST THING to happen to this game because she is just such a complex and amazingly written character. ALL HAIL MAGILOU-SAMAA MAGIIIII-KAZAAAAM out
magilou is the most complex and well written character that the tales of series birthed. She's the only one with whom I related on a personnal level (other than pure empathy I mean).
Out of all the rpg'd/jrpg's i have played for many years no one and i meen no one comes close to the acclaimed, the illustrious, the irresistible, the sexy, the sensational, the magnificent marvelous miss Magilou. I have a fever and the only prescription is more Magilou.
The ending implies Velvet and Laphi get to spend eternity in a lucid dream of sorts. In a way, they finally got each other back and spend the rest of forever in their own paradise. At least I hope that's the case.
Damn I came to see what I would agree on and I agree on the whole thing. This story was incredible, it stood out from all of the other Tales games by far, the character development was perfect, Their voice actors and actress' blew the performances out of the water, and there's times I still can't Shut the fuck up about giving praise to this game. I honestly wish more people would give stuff like this a chance, I always hated the "I can't get into it cuz it's too cartoony" or something similar to that, Total Bullshit. If you love story, Never pass things like this up, Looks Don't Equal Greatness. I've followed that philosophy since I played Rayman 2 (Which was one of my first real gamer experiences back as a kid) Games to me don't have to LOOK good, Their story, music, and character is what i'm looking for, that goes for TV, Movies, Anime, Anything. Storytelling is the Reason this stuff exists, to say such things as you can't get into it when you're someone who loves Story is hypocritical. So I really can't suck this games dick enough when I say I recommend this game to Anyone that's never played a game like this before, Step out of your Call Of Duty safe space and experience a REAL story.
I don't care what you say Eizen my favorite character in Tales of berseria it's a shame he turn into a dragon in zesteria I would have love see how him and sorey get along
to be fair i think it should be noted how Berseria was a large step up from Zestria where I think the basic idea was to give perspectives of 2 sides as main theme and assuming the rumors are true tell it as a trilogy. you got the one who became the greatest shephard that made the biggest impact and the orignal lord of calamity/ both viewed as a hero and villain by the people but both were what the world they live in needed. Berseria made for a great prequel and despite some pacing issues in the anime adaption I think this is what made Zestria's story in the anime work better than the game telling the story. I also heard there was some writing arguments in zestrira's development which even if you're not a writing or story telling expert you can tell something about Zestria had this ambitious idea but something felt off in a way. whether they intended to have both Velvet and Sorey co cast as leads in the third installment we likely aren't getting now is debatable and it was obvious a third installment was meant to come and close out the story of this world in the tales of series given zestria's DLC story ends on a cliff hanger with one of the antagonists walking out with something planned. but I suppose that's all speculation and the other factor that made Berseria work was it had to work off with what Zestria left off and it managed to pull off a story where there are references in what leads to zestria's story but you don't really need to know zestria to enjoy berseria.
there isnt much NG+ content, but just reliving the story and journeying with the cast is worth it, I can assure you. At best NG+ gonna allow you to just swift through the game easier/faster.
I'd also add decent subquests. Unlike previous games they're few but each of them explains characters' motivation to finish them. Unlike previous games where you meet some random character that says "Hey, you with the sword! Go kill 10 wolves and I'll give you 100G or something...", here it's more like "Laphicet finally finds a friend, but he has a fatal disease, so Laphicet decides to find ingredients for a mystic potion to cure him."
Thank you for making a review bout this MARVELOUS GAME, I've just finished it 2 days ago and the fact that it's over made me as sad as the ending itself, it left me with literally a rift of void in my chest for days so much that I feel the need to scream my passion & sorrow for this game to the world espec that I've been playing it for so long now, at a pace of 1hour/day since january so a whole half year! Having spent 98 hours (fuk I wanted to reach the 100 :3 but it's k imma do the bonus dungeon now) & taken over 1220 screenshots of pretty much anything (yes I'm a maniac :v ) I was so much into it that it felt like a part of my existence, I loved practically everything bout it even the side stories and the dialogues from the random villagers & various npcs & other small details, the ost, the humor, the characters' interactions, the journeys, the really pretty & beautiful sceneries, the gameplay and the character's abilities are really great and diverse, damn loved every inch of it. If there're some things I'd reproach this game it'd be the annoying dependence on the souls to make attacks without which you're pretty much useless af and the lack of useful/decent stats in most of the looted equipment which's usually quite garbage but it's no big deal & we get used to it. In other words I'm gonna miss this game alot and it's likely to stay in my memory for quite some time, I just feel bad that I played it a whole year after its pc release but I'm new to the series and next time a new tales of game is released IMMA FKING JUMP ON IT RIGHT AWAY! I also feel a bit sad that such great & maybe unique jewel didn't get as much credit & attention as it ought world wide while games that're less mature/deep get tons of hits but w/e that's how this world is and it'd at least stay alive in its vehement fans' hearts !💓💞
I always compared the Therion hunt to the Sephiroth Tree hunt in Tales of the Abyss. Also may I just say Velvet sweetheart why did you practically rip my heart out more than once?
Abyss is the only plot that I find tops Berseria. I love them both equally though. Luke's character arc feels slightly better than Velvet's in my opinion. Also, I loved the cast of both games. lol
I love how you used one of the best tracks on this game's bgm: The Palamedes Temple theme... EASILY one of the best tracks to ever strike my ears. i stil can remember the first time i heard it, i had goosebumps from the moment i stepped into the dungeon til i walked away with Kamoana.
Well now that I’ve finally gotten the game and beaten the game, I will say the Berseria is an amazing game and probably my 3rd favorite Tales of game and my second favorite story of any tales of game. And great video my dude.
Thank you SO MUCH for the spoiler warning. I'm saving up so I can get it on steam- the only other Tales game I've played to date is Symphonia (and I've played it a LOT), so I can't wait. Here's a like, and I'll be back once I've finished Berseria !
I hope they'll make a sequel after that, I mean I know this game is a prequel and all, but they should make a Tales of Zestiria 2, where velvet returns for some reason unknown.
Played Berseria, Vesperia, Abyss, and Zestiria and Berserias my favorite by far. Only issues I had with it were lack of side quests and I kind of wished the world was explorable instead of a hub map.
The ending was a mixed bag for me. I felt that Namco went the cliche "main protagonist gets sealed away in limbo because of continuity issues" trope. I knew going in that Velvet's ending would be at the least bittersweet and at the worst outright depressing. On the other hand, I think the ending was appropriate for who Velvet was. She got her revenge and with everything dear to her gone by the end of the game, she could find some small measure of peace eternally locked in an embrace with her little brother while her companions try to rebuild the world that she burned to the ground. Leaving it in Laphicet's capable hands....or claws....also contributed to that. I'm glad that Tales of Zestiria the X quasi-retconned the Lord of Calamity component so that Velvet wasn't forever lost to the history books. Her story shouldn't be forgotten.
Great insight and channel,can see you getting bigger over time,keep up the good work! As a tales fan myself berseria is in my top 3,along with vesperia and abyss.
I actually enjoyed Shigure a lot! I thought his design was great, and his overall attitude was enjoyable to me. Not to mention his voice acting was phenomenal, too. He was basic but, I feel that was the point of his character. In comparison to Roku, he almost seemed like the better person too, which I found interesting - but, maybe that's just me. Anyways - love the video!
Okay so Personally, while I think Berseria has a good plot and it's definitely better than the likes of Graces and Zestiria... I also think it's far from the best. And there are two major reasons why: 1. You said that having the same end goal all throughout gives the game better focus, and I agree with that to an extent, Artorius is a really great villain because of it. But I feel that it also affected the game's pacing, because like in Zestiria, there were times in the game where it felt like the main story wasn't moving at all because all you were doing was working towards defeating Artorius. And I noticed this especially during the therion hunt, it reminded me a lot of the trial shrines from Zestiria, and felt the exact same way back when I played that game. And while the character arcs during the hunt do wonders for the characterization, it feels like nothing really happens in terms of the main plot until the attack on Titania. 2. The game's main theme, Emotion/Will vs Reason? It's about as subtle as a brick. The fact that they say the word "reason" constantly when referring to Artorius's motivations really hurts the message they try to convey and it can make the dialogue really monotonous at points in my opinion. This is why some of my favorite moments in the game are the ones where they don't say it straight out, like Phi's will to not let go of Velvet. Now usually, I wouldn't mind this that much (I play Kingdom Hearts and Danganronpa for crying out loud) but other Tales games have been pretty good at keeping their themes subtle, like with Vesperia's "what is real justice" and Abyss's purpose in life and choosing one's own future. Then there are some personal issues I have, like Velvet not learning to chill for the most of the game and me finding the other villains aside from Artorius kinda eh, but those are the things that bugged me the most. ...I think. But I'm definitely not undermining your opinion, I can definitely see where you're coming from, to me this story (and by extension, the whole game) was a step-up from Zestiria, but not anywhere near the best, I'm afraid. also holy shit this was a long comment (I worked on this for like 30 minutes help) PS. I love Laphicet/Phi and Eleanor very much and I will protect my wife and son with my life
Ah, I can definitely see your points, they’re good. I dunno though, they just worked for me. I can see why the consistency can get boring at times, but overall I’d say that this works in spades for me at least. And yeah, the theme isn’t the most subtle haha. But I loved the idea behind it so much, and when it came up it always felt natural so I didn’t notice it TOO much. I can see why some of the ideas wouldn’t work for people but clearly I loved a lot of them :P
Honestly, the more "complex" plots are a bit of a double-edged sword for me On one hand, it can fall apart really easily (like in Vesperia's third act) But on the other hand, it can also create an intriguing and unpredictable storyline (like in Abyss for example)
always found tales plots to be kind of strange and half-realized, confusing and not very engaging. both berseria and zestiria, being tied together plotwise, are really very simplistic stories and it kind of works better? because namco seems to be bad at writing complex stories and keeping everything coherent.
Corinn Heathers- Honestly Zestiria's plot was kinda bad. It felt like half a story, as there were times where it felt like a huge chunk of a character's back story was missing, like with eizan and zavied, which were the biggest suspects, but apparently they get fleshed out in Beseria. Then there were the characters that didn't get fleshed out in Beseria, like Alisha. Alisha having her plot get dropped for most of the game was really odd to me, especially since so much of the game's start is spent building up her character. Then there's the fact that the world itself felt very small.
I agree with a lot of what you are saying and I think berseria makes my top 3 in the tales franchise. I was really relieved that this game was so good because I was very disappointed in zesteria and thought that the franchise was heading down a bad path. I think the reason I love this game the most is because the cast of characters was the best in the franchise IMO. I mean each character had a lot of flaws and weren't the traditional JRPG bland hero who fights for a good cause. Each character had their own personal vendettas and were more focused of killing/defeating their rivals as opposed to saving the world. It was kinda like a group of thieves/pirates who band together to accomplish a similar goal, but mainly focusing on their own self interests. The characters had their own self interests, but still had plenty of heart for you to empathize with them and root for them to accomplish their goal. The music was really good in this game and I found the environments were pleasing and varied as well. Overall I think this was a great game and a big step in the right direction for a franchise that I felt had been lacking ever since the original tales team left after xillia. BTW what video specifically did the creator say that he did a countdown of the tales of games? I can't find it unless i'm looking in the wrong place. Here is my personal Tales of ranking in case anyone wants to discuss/debate: 1.) Symphonia (my first tales of game, so it has a lot of nostagia) 2.) Vesperia 3.) Berseria 4.)Abyss 5.)Xillia 6.)Graces 7.)Xillia 2 8.)Legendia 9.)Zesteria 10>) Dawn of the new world
Zesteria was a trainwreck I wish they would of just thrown it away and made berseria it's own thing I dont feel glee when zesteria x mentions velvet I feel disgust because it feels so damned forced in berseria should be it's own universe it's too good of a story zesteria stains berseria. Anyways what I love the most about berseria's story is it doesnt try to pull the "revenge is bad and evil" trope it delves much deeper into it and tells how revenge isnt black and white with morality
I absolutely disagree, Zestiria was infinitely better than Berseria if you'd ask me. Alone Berseria's fragmented world building makes it such a weak game in comparison. In short: It's a well told story if it were a 26 episodes anime, but it's a horribly linear game. When it comes to JRPGs there is one thing I treasure above anything and consider it to be base of a great story and journey: the world in which the game takes place and the journey need to feel "tangible" and immersive. With each Tales of game prior, even Xillia with its corridors of boredom, I always had at least some sense of immersion, always felt like the journey through the game was grounded in an interconnected world as the games were able to create a sense of "place". One can say many bad things about Zestiria for instance and how the open world felt empty, but I always had this feeling of immersion and how each new area was actually part of that world. Berseria though doesn't even try. From the beginning on it constantly switches from one place and generic town to the other without giving you a sense of adventure, of a journey. Each location is totally interchangable and only serves a narrative purpose. It feels like the writers wanted the story to move forward as fast as possible. But that's not how games work. This is OK for TV shows or anime, but a JRPG first and foremost needs to create a tangible world before it tells its story in which it is grounded. From the escape from the prison onward it's just basically cutting from one location to the next, you never actually experience the journey there. Listening to NPCs talk about places you visited earlier should make you reminisce the journey that led up to this point but instead you feel nothing, instead it feels like the NPCs were talking about the events of the last TV episode of a show you watched instead of the place you actually visited (can't think of a better comparison). And whenever the game tries to actually make you travel from one place to the next... On foot... the map size makes it impossible to imagine this being a realistically interconnected world. In one instance early in the game you travel from a big city to a smaller town and while the town is supposedly in a remote area, cut off from the city you visited before, the actual distance between the city and the village is about 200m... You actually can see the entrance to the town from the city gates. It is stuff like that which totally killed my immersion.
One thing you miss in your ending spiel is the fact that Eizen's fate is already known given this prequel comes out before zestiria... and you kill him in zestira as he's turned into a dragon. Gives a whole new meaning to tragedy there... and he knows it will happen. If you do some sidequests you also hear about his sister and other sidequests reveal just how some of the other characters tie into zestira.
Someone please put Berseia on the Switch so new players like myself(I've played Vesperia: Definitive Edition, Abyss on the 3DS and read the mangas for Zestiria and Symphonia.) Heck, it would be awesome to see this game for the Switch.
Story wise, it was great. It was like playing the war generals(antagonists) from tales of abyss or Gaius team(antagonists as well) in xillia. But the the characters were mostly crap except for aizen and magilou, these two were great and the only reason I pushed myself to finish the game. SPOILERS AHEAD Velvet was like revenge for my brother the whole time and when it was revealed that wasn't the case, she went like screw it and let the world burn......reminds me of sasuke from naruto Rokuro was actually an evil person, jealous of his bro, ruined the latter's reputation and tried to kill him but was defeated and had his life spared. So what does he do next, well he tries to kill his bro multiple times again until he succeeded and he also kills anyone who his bro trained(shows trick or two), a guard from prison. Phi, kid just wants to bang velvet, can't blame him, he's young...moving on. Elenor is just an idiot.she can't forgive the exorcists for their actions (even though its crucial or society would have been doomed) but closes her eyes to all the crimes velvet and gangs do (turning whole towns into monsters) The battle system was ok but it would have been great if they corrected the soul system well, for e.g my party of lv70 kept getting stunned by low lv monsters cuz their soul is only 1. This keep happening throughout the game, so I consider it the same level as the crappy camera angles from zestiria.
Seth Renegade kinda odd that I agree a bit. There's also an additional factor besides the characters feeling like I've seen them somewhere before... for me that new factor made berseria feel weak to me despite completing it.... The fact that its stuck tied to zesteria and couldn't break free of those bonds like a different rpg series did not even 3 weeks later... Also... The music in tales has never been that stellar... Yoko shimomura or yasunori mitsuda this certainly isn't. Yes. Nier automata. It broke free of the drakengard and nier past that would have trapped it in berseria's situation... The main difference here is nier automata exceeded its predecessor in so many ways like gameplay and story execution and its breakdown of the act of playing a videogame... That it broke into the mainstream. I enjoyed nier automata so much that I put Zelda and berseria to the side.
for me the biggest problem with Berseria is to have been released in 2017, it was such a great year that it got a bit overshadowed for some other games
Berseria was the game that made me get into the series. Thanks, for that sale where i bought it. I never thought i would like it that much. Since then i bought a PS3 for the sole purpose of playing the old Tales games, older games i can emulate, newer games i can play somewhere else.
I've read the manga version of this game, and it showed me something that the game didn't show, when velvet was holding on to her now dead brother, while holding on a circle ledge of a bottomless pit, when it showed in the anime cutscene that artorious stabbed her at the hand, forcing her to let go and fall into the pit, in the manga version of the game, it showed him cutting off velvets arm clean, causing her to fall down into the pit, seeing that scene was quite the different comparison if I ever saw one.
This game is currently 79 on metacritic The last of us 2 is 94 on metacritic But in my opinion only one of them is a masterpiece and that’s NOT the last of us 2 :)
as much as i enjoyed the story and characters the cencorship of laphis death still irks me cause it was way more symbolic in the original jaanese version of the game. i still think abyss had the best overall story in the series.
I liked how the game takes place long before Zestria and going in knowing that it made the expirence that much better for me i know the Zestria world was a little weak but i feel this game stand-alone or not makes Zestriacs world a little more exciting in my opinion
While I liked the main driving theme behind the narrative, it just felt like a bit of a rehash of Symphonia's (not completely, mind, just changed enough in order to be distinct). I mean, even Innominat and Mithos have a pretty similar aesthetic, demeanor, and motivation. Also, the whole "holy organisation everyone loves but is secretly evil thing", although that seems to be a recurring trope in games, especially JRPGs, so I'm inclined to be more lenient toward the game in this aspect. I also can't completely agree with your statement that the story keeps a consistent focus. With how much emphasis and immediate urgency some minor plot points and deviations (like the whole sale'tomah business (like seriously, maybe I just can't recall if there was a major point to that, but it felt like an asinine deviation to me) and how often the game feels like it's just making you meander around the world (thank heaven they decided to implement the Inoph and Denore bottles), I often found it hard to stay consistently invested in the story, regardless of how great the overarching narrative, themes and characterisation were, and those were frankly stellar (major step up from Zestiria, and thank heaven for that too). Pacing, I think, is where the story could've done with a bit more editing (and that's considering I skipped most of all side content). Otherwise, great job, man. Very well explained and developed points, great charisma, and great entertainment value.
How many hours are needed to beat berseria cause my old save file got currputed an I never uploaded a save to the cloud. So I'm hesitant to pick this game back up after investing like 60 hours into it
Tales of Berserkia. Doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but Velvet is just lite FemGuts and I love it. This game makes me think about Berserk in great ways and I loved it from beginning to end.
Can someone PLEASE tell me the song that is played during 10:00? i've been searching that song for months and can't find it in the OST, thank you in advance
Velvet is a highlight for the whole damn tales series. One of the best written characters in any game I've played.
Not the best, her development wasn't good.
Crok425 developement does not equal interesting. Velvet was interesting all the way through. Her developement was great. Everyone she meets and everything she does changes her. They're subtle changes throughout which is what makes her great. She seems like a real person. Unlike many main characters in the tales series.
+OhMeOhMy I disagree, she doesn't change at all when it matters. She's very basic and one dimensional since her entire character revolves around revenge and Laphi... nothing else which makes her shallow. I go into detail in another comment I made, read it if you cam find it.
Crok425 Except that's not necessarily true. She's already developed so much since the beginning of the game. You see how much the death of her brother affected her and turned her into a beast. As the game goes on she becomes more and more empathetic to everyone and slowly let's down her walls to reveal a more caring person. She's not one dimensional. She demonstrates that at the very beginning of the game
OhMeOhMy thats not development. Check tales of abyss and luke. That is good development. Berseria is overrated. Go play vesperia now that its out on ps4.....
When I realized that the Eizen on my team was Edna's brother, I was heartbroken... He's so cool
And Zaveid promised to... Take care of him when the time came.
Not enough people give this game's writing credit at all.
It’s a shame because it’s soooooo good
Not enough people give the game itself credit at all. Specially the writting, yes, it's kinda weird, but it's very good.
@@RaidikV just beat the game yesterday. Honestly there were several times where I would say, "I get it, you aren't heroes. This is not for the world but for your beliefs" they tried so hard to shove that down our throats and then create "Light-Edgy" Velvet by the end. Exposition is big in anime/tales of series, but I got tired of how they handled it. Tales of the Abyss still King for me. (unpopular opinion: Legendia is my favorite Tales game)
dont you think its very similar to tales of the abyss plot?
Because the gameplay sucks. They should have kept the Abyss/Vesperia fighting system. The repetitive garbage from Berseria and Zestiria got old quick.
This game's writting it's kinda underrated. The whole game is underrated.
Like almost every Tales of game.
Fun fact: Laphicet's death at the start was actually changed in Western releases to be less violent. Originally, Artorius simply impales Laphicet with his sword, which makes it all the more poetic that Velvet does the same to Artorius at the end.
Huh? Is the one on the PSN store the Japanese version then? Cause in the version I bought on the store it showed Arthur Stabbing Laphi then dropping him down the pit.
North American versions are usually censored more than the European ones
Berseria's story was great!
It was simpel but it always managed to be consistently interesting.
+it had some of my favourite moments of any video game I ever played.
Further, good job on the analysis. It was well written and kept being interesting.
Glad you agree and that you enjoyed the video! I really hope stories continue in this manner as the series goes, and those moments brought me to tears at times ;_;
ZaffreRevolution Real shame we don't get to see these characters again but you could say its better as its own self contained story. I roughly hold it next to Xilla as my favourite Tales cast.
Personally I wouldn't really say its story is a masterpiece as it Artorious's ultimate goal can be boiled down to
'create a world where noone suffers because humans arw inherently evil and destructive creatures'.
Its something we've seen a thousand times but I think where it breaks the mold is its excellent script and charactetisation.
one of the best parts of berseria is that it also improves zestiria and brings resolution and answers to the game.
1: Melchior's aversion to stepping on flowers had nothing to do with his pact, he just really liked them
2: Velvet went into sleep with Innominat because killing him would have killed Phi and all the therions
and because namco is super addicted to endings that make you sad
Yes for all his talk of perfection, even he had a flaw that was his undoing.
I thought magilou used an arte to fix her heart?
@@syn010110 Yes!
1. If you had paid attention to melchior's exposition dump and the flashbacks you would have gotten the subtext. Melchior likes flowers yes, but because he sees them as a symbol of perfection.
I fell in love with the game the moment I started playing it 3 years ago. This game had it all. Laughs, tears, character development and whatnot. I enjoyed every second of it! This game has set a new standard for future Tales games.
I love Berseria and Velvet.
I felt the characters really were the driving force of the story. The story itself was decent, But if it didn't have the cast to back it up it could've fallen flat. But the cast delivered in spades! Really dug how the cast wasn't the Tales status quo of tropes. This game didn't feel like every tales cast where it's just the same characters with a new coat of paint. These were legitimately fresh and unique characters. Velvet has a perfect story arc. And when it comes to a climax it's the best it possibly could've been written. Same goes for the rest of the cast. The writing is GOAT tier in this game. While the general story focus is just average at best for me. Also, Great video bro like always!
Yeah, the characters did drive a lot of the plot, and the actual plot itself WAS about the characters when you really look at it. But I still thought the main premise was interesting enough, even when looking at just the plot itself. Glad you liked the video, man!
You're wrong. The story itself was some of the best I've ever experienced.
@@gamerprince-tl5hg Maybe you haven't played many JRPGs in your life. I recommend startig with Xenogears, Xenosaga, Trails in the Sky, Trails of Cold Steel or some other Tales of games like Abyss. Last years Utawarerumono Mask of Deception/Truth make Berseria pale in comparison.
@@DesMondesBlut well aren't you just a ball of sunshine :/
Listing off all these other games as if they're objectively better which, is not the case... At all
@@DesMondesBlut I played many JRPGs including the games you listed,but guess what
Berseria still felt better to me
So what's your point
Just 100% this game. I rarely likes male character, but laphi certainly has become my top male character in jrpg by the end of the game. That part where he told velvet to leave him with one hand, so he can wallop artorus for her is so bad azz!
I love his line right before the final fight too. Innominat's like, "I've been pissed since you punched me in the face, and I don't know why.", and Phi replies "Then I'll punch you again. Maybe that'll help."
Josh LZK would adopt lahpi as my son :D such a cute and badazz character.
That was my favorite line in any game ever .... or one of my tops
Here's my nutshell points of this game (because I have nothing of intelligence to say that would count as a review):
The ending made me cryyyy
Poor Silva. Just.... poor Silva.
Zaveid and his theme are the best thing ever.
Having to do the thing with Eizen in Zestiria really bums me out now. At least the anime had a happier ending with him-
I like what they did with Titania. At the beginning being a damp cold prison, and later a hideout with a calming peaceful music in the background for it. A complete turn around that I don't think anyone saw coming. (Also, let Eizen do his damn secret tunnels!)
The music is amazing. Kind of obvious because it's the Tales series, but it needs mention regardless.
My favorite Mystic Arte would be Velvet's 2nd. Just because it's so satisfying to look at, and to say as well.
Eizen's 2nd is better
I always used to yell *Heart Stopper!* whenever she did Annihilating Crash.
Lostfon Drive!
Thank you! I have bee. Saying that Berseria has the best story of any Tales Of game for awhile. Although if you want my take I thought reason and free will were backseat to the more personal story at the heart of the main character Velvet. The real driving factor was "Do the ends always justify the means" is "sacrificing the few for the many" really a good thing.
Berseria is an empathetic game, one that speaks to people on a deeper level than lofty philosophical ideals. Velvet is a victim of circumstances larger than her self, consumed by survivor's guilt and wanting revenge. She's the counterpoint to Artorius, to show that sometimes our selfish desires shouldn't be seen as "good" or "bad". That sometimes wanting to do something is more important then feeling like it's your duty to do something.
And it also humbles and humanizes Artorius in the end. He had to die, to see how his point of view was wrong. You can't foist your ideals upon another, one man doesn't get to decide what is for "The Greater Good", one man alone cannot save the world, one man shouldn't martyr himself when he was never asked to.
i had a little shiver reading the final lines of this. thank you
I'm a simple man.
I see tales of Berseria.
I question it why it flies.
And put a like.
It's okay, man. I was also sad at the ending. I'm not crying - you're crying! Magikazam!
Nobody gave you the appreciation you deserved for just that last word. 2 years later, I appriciate it.
I finished Berseria half an hour ago and I don't know how I can go on, I miss Velvet already! :(
I loved this game a lot, the story is amazing and all the characters are excellent! When Velvet finds out Laphicet is alive, I was afraid the writers would not know how to continue the story because the "I am killing people to revenge you" plot would not work any more. I didn't want velvet to go on fighting because she was now the good girl and fighting Artorius was the right thing to do. I wanted her to pursue her revenge, not in her brother's behlaf, but in her own, and that was the direction the game took, wich is the mature direction, not the mainstream one. Is this something Namco does? It feels good that a game developer thinks you are an intelligent, mature person, not a kid.
I luv Berseria, esp Velvet and Laphi, and this is great review for a wonderful game. Its a breath of fresh air too since this tales focus more on sibling/family relationships rather than the mainstream boy x girl.
And i'm here wondering why didn't Berseria get an anime instead of Zestiria... I love both games but an anime about Berseria would be a lot more interesting than Zestiria The X.... anyway, great video man!
ToZ got an anime for one reason, and the reason is, because they F-ed up the game and people were PISSED. More specifically, they removed Alisha as a playable character. This caused a HUGE backlash for ToZ. It was one of the reasons it didn't do so well. They advertised Alisha is the main heroine. They played her up like she was a huge part to the game, then just ditched her like she was nothing. The anime was created as a "We're sorry". The anime was also released around the same time as ToB, which is why there are 2 episodes in the anime dedicated to ToB. They used it as advertisement.
I think so too
I just finished the game and yeah, I couldn't agree more with everything you've said. Two thing I'd add though:
1. It's connections to Zesteria were so amazing that it made me appreciate that game even more and,
2. Those credits, dang those credits. I was chocking up during the ending but those credits had me get teary eyed, they were so good.
Magilou was the only reason I needed to put Berseria up there in my favorite games.
she's my favourite tales of character FREE
Amen to that.. she was so well created, funny, zany, powerfull, beautifull, and the most memorable theme music i have heard in most if not all rpg's /jrpgs i have played. Every time i heard her theme music i knew fun times were ahead. If only they made a tales of Magilou.
I love and hate the ending. I want Velvet to make a comeback at some point. Maybe Phi could use the silver flame to purify her and then he could absorb innominat since he's a full fledged empyrean now. Idk man I just want justice for Velvet lol
I felt the same way. The ending is, well, I guess as close to a “good ending” as you can get with a story this dark and depressing, but goddamn it, I felt SO bad for Velvet pretty much the whole game, and I wanted a proper happy ending for her. Still a fantastic game though.
The overall logic and details of TOB's story are great. Many details can be determined by setting or some other minor things. The text is really amazing!
I love how all of the antagonists in the story have lighter colored outfits and designs that in general just look pure and good, and the protagonists all wear dark colored outfits and all look like villains. Totally agree with everything said in your video, there is no black and white in this story, and every character has their own reasons for what they're doing-- there's no badguy that's just evil to be evil. The Tales of Series has always been amazing at making 3D, real characters, but this game takes the cake.
The ending crushed me I just wanted Velvet to live her life finally and settle down again I loved the ending because it was truly a good bittersweet ending but stilllll
Okay, so, you did very well in covering most of the points (aside from a couple that were already pointed out) but one particular point that I felt needs to be said about the characters didn't show up.
Everyone is a hypocrite.
In the game, it's referred to as "contradictions", and that works in a sense. Everyone in the game has a contradiction about themselves that they cannot reconcile. What separates the protagonists (and Shigure) from the antagonists is the ability to recognise and accept the hypocrisy in themselves, and work towards trying not to eliminate it, but to mitigate it.
yasssss
9:00 In one of the skits shortly after defeating Melchoir, Magilou reveals that he actually didn't make a pact involving flowers, he just liked flowers and made an effort to not step on them.
You have good taste. Man, this Tales story is my favorite and the one I can say does stand together with great stories outside the series. Sometimes when I see someone say the story is simple or so, I cannot imagine why. Maybe in its premise, the game's lore is, but going more into it you can see is much more than that. A complex, deep and personal story. I am no story critic, but when I think of simple stories, main Pokémon games come to mind. Even the titles who tried to add depth into the games like Black/White, ORAS' Delta episode and Sun/Moon. They are very simple just with some added complexity, and not by much. So, to me, Berseria is nowhere near simple. Although, that is my own view on the title. Everything with the lore just clicked wonderfully well. When the characters and voice acting accompanies a greatly made story, you know is top-quality. Another thing that I found incredible was that we get development sidequests for the main cast(aside from Velvet which she gets flashbacks to understand her better). Lovely to experience how in the side content there is as much depth as the main story. Just simply adore this game. Anyway, magnificent to witness someone who thoroughly loves the game and able to give the merit it deserves.
I love the Tales series..i have to rank Berseria as the top one not only for the reasons you mentioned but also 1 huge factor, the best girl ever created..the funny, the zany, the acclaimed, the illustrious, the irresistible, the sexy, the sensational, the breathtaking, the beautifull, the one and only...the magnificent marvelous miss Magilou. When i see Magilou i'm put under her spell and i could be knocked over with a feather..and the only desire on my mind is getting to know her better. For i have a fever and the only prescription is more Magilou.
Good presentation. This game is such excellent . They really work well on this game. But one thing, Melchior pledge never concern about flower. Like Magilou said, he just love them than human which when he's okay to kill human but not harm a single flower. It proved that even a man who reason can never truly repress his own feeling
huh, ya left off the ending credits showing velvet and laphicet living a normal life with Celica and Arthur
That is the dream she is dreaming with Laphicet.
ik but it hit so much harder because of that "what if scenario" T^T
Still actually wished they made Berseria not a prequel or sequel to Zestiria and just made it it's own thing without being connected to any of the other Tales games. I wouldn't also mind a sequel to Berseria if the sequel isn't an already existing tales game before Berseria.
I feel as though the anime was a welcomed sequel... as Sorey could give them the happy endings they sorely deserved and though they would get.
I hoped it would continue so he could grow powerful enough to purify Velvet.... But I'm cool with the endings we got.
Well Velvet kinda got a happy ending. She maybe deadlocked with Innominat/Laphicet but at the same time they spend their deadlock in a dream like state that allows Velvet to show Laphicet the world and what she saw through her dreams and the people she met. I was happy that the ending was both bittersweet and a bit happy. It felt appropriate and it was a great RPG.
Just finished it a couple of days ago and I think it's one of my favorite games ever, right up there with Final Fantasy 7 and 9.
The game is very immersive and both the world and the characters, even secondary, are very well fleshed out and endearing, again, even secondary ones that aren't with you all the time, like Percival. The story was very personal which made it engaging but it also was well executed enough to drive home whatever it wanted me to feel, it was compelling.
Everything that happens in the story felt like it had been properly set up by something before, be it a cutscene, a big event, a skit or even just something some NPC said, nothing felt out of place. As I played and talked about everything that was happening to a friend she kept having the feeling the game was just too edgy and somewhat forced, but me, having played and seen everything, couldn't think so. Everything made sense as to why it happened the way it did or why a character acted a certain way.
I also love the combat system, I felt like it had enough to adapt to your skill level. If you don't want to look into the small mechanics, it can be a very fun button masher, if you want to master it, you can do some crazy combos that require skill and knowing what you're doing, this flexibility is really interesting.
I have very few complaints, and even then it's just minor stuff like most puzzles being very easy to solve and most of the hairstyles and outfits being DLC, I think so, at least, given that I think I got everything I could and even then I just had their default hairstyle, the hat style and their regular outfits, swimsuits from the expeditions, serving clothes, color variants and winter clothes.
But yeah, loved the game, it's only my second Tales, after Abyss, which I played years ago. Now I wait for Vesperia to come to Steam and maybe I'll look into Xilia which I believe is also on Steam =]
I know one thing: If even the story wasn't good. I'd still watch for Magilou alone. I like witty girls like her
magilou is everything and more
I fell in love with the magnificent marvelous miss Magilou. Every time i heard her theme music i knew fun times were ahead..fun and sexy times.
Just beat the game and my heart has been ripped out 😭
Same😭😭
Just finished the game. It was great better than Zesteria but I love Vesperia. Hands down Velvet is my favorite Tales character and hopefully we could see her again in a game. I only used 4b characters throughout the game: Velvet, Phi, Rokoru and Eleanor
this game deserved way more then it get im still playing it over and over again, it got my favorite game after kicking skyrim after almost 8 years from the top, the story is AWSOME GREAT and Perfect and every time i get to the emotional parts i have to cry
Did... Did you miss the like 20 hours of character side stories only unlockable after the end of the game? Felt like a second game for free, just when you thought you were done.
I, playing TOB in 2020, feel myself falling in love with JRPG once again.
It deserves the greatest praise.
Certain people I found out don't like the characters because they are not about friendship/family.
Capone Ardelean they are the mainstream weeb that like mainsteam anime plot i hate those bunch too
I loved the selfishness of the characters, which made me love the cast of Berseria. The whole Friendship and family, although cool just is very nonchalant in my opinion.
They're for friends and family but not if it means compromising their individual selves. I found this game when I was in a bad place and it really help me start my time again. I was standing still before it.
@@vDorgengoa I found that message of the game very troubling to say the least as it implies that it is acceptable to harm other people if not doing so would compromise your individuality. That's why I found these characters very hard to relate to... To the point that I found the message they were preaching even insulting. I personally do everything for the people I care about even if it means holding back my own desires and wishes. I don't think such altruism stands against human nature but is maybe even embedded into our very being. That's why the majority of protagonists in stories throughout human history are selfless people who put other people's well being over their own.
@@DesMondesBlut No man desire for a brother to fall, but if you can convince that man they were never brothers at all, he will not hesitate to live and let die. That is the only way humanity can fall.
The reason I just bought a Ps4 is to get Tales of Berseria.
We finished it yesterday and I loved it!! Cried so much at the end..
Suddenly people in the comments is writing expert. But it's always interesting how to see things in different pair of eyes. Like Eizen said, that's what truly makes us alive heh
This game was so awesome. I feel a little bit guilty that I played it just yet and not at the release.
I freaking love Tales of Berseria!!!!!!
To be honest the game was simple I wanted it to be deeper and darker. Probably explains why Magliou to me is the BEST THING to happen to this game because she is just such a complex and amazingly written character. ALL HAIL MAGILOU-SAMAA
MAGIIIII-KAZAAAAM out
magilou is the most complex and well written character that the tales of series birthed. She's the only one with whom I related on a personnal level (other than pure empathy I mean).
Out of all the rpg'd/jrpg's i have played for many years no one and i meen no one comes close to the acclaimed, the illustrious, the irresistible, the sexy, the sensational, the magnificent marvelous miss Magilou. I have a fever and the only prescription is more Magilou.
Would you consider that the theme is more so of Emotion vs Reason, rather than Will vs Reason?
The ending implies Velvet and Laphi get to spend eternity in a lucid dream of sorts. In a way, they finally got each other back and spend the rest of forever in their own paradise. At least I hope that's the case.
i think that's a valid way to see it, it kinda felt like to me as well
This ending is too abusive, they live in a dream, although they look so happy but so hypocritical
Damn I came to see what I would agree on and I agree on the whole thing.
This story was incredible, it stood out from all of the other Tales games by far, the character development was perfect, Their voice actors and actress' blew the performances out of the water, and there's times I still can't Shut the fuck up about giving praise to this game.
I honestly wish more people would give stuff like this a chance, I always hated the "I can't get into it cuz it's too cartoony" or something similar to that, Total Bullshit.
If you love story, Never pass things like this up, Looks Don't Equal Greatness.
I've followed that philosophy since I played Rayman 2 (Which was one of my first real gamer experiences back as a kid) Games to me don't have to LOOK good, Their story, music, and character is what i'm looking for, that goes for TV, Movies, Anime, Anything.
Storytelling is the Reason this stuff exists, to say such things as you can't get into it when you're someone who loves Story is hypocritical.
So I really can't suck this games dick enough when I say I recommend this game to Anyone that's never played a game like this before, Step out of your Call Of Duty safe space and experience a REAL story.
This. Is. My. Absolute. FAVORITE. GAME. EVERRR!!!!!!!!
Played this game last March and i still think about it at least once a week since I write stories of my own. Easily best story in any game I’ve played
I don't care what you say Eizen my favorite character in Tales of berseria it's a shame he turn into a dragon in zesteria I would have love see how him and sorey get along
to be fair i think it should be noted how Berseria was a large step up from Zestria where I think the basic idea was to give perspectives of 2 sides as main theme and assuming the rumors are true tell it as a trilogy. you got the one who became the greatest shephard that made the biggest impact and the orignal lord of calamity/ both viewed as a hero and villain by the people but both were what the world they live in needed. Berseria made for a great prequel and despite some pacing issues in the anime adaption I think this is what made Zestria's story in the anime work better than the game telling the story. I also heard there was some writing arguments in zestrira's development which even if you're not a writing or story telling expert you can tell something about Zestria had this ambitious idea but something felt off in a way.
whether they intended to have both Velvet and Sorey co cast as leads in the third installment we likely aren't getting now is debatable and it was obvious a third installment was meant to come and close out the story of this world in the tales of series given zestria's DLC story ends on a cliff hanger with one of the antagonists walking out with something planned. but I suppose that's all speculation and the other factor that made Berseria work was it had to work off with what Zestria left off and it managed to pull off a story where there are references in what leads to zestria's story but you don't really need to know zestria to enjoy berseria.
I loved this game so much!! There were some scenes that actually made me cry.
I'm debated to start new game+ or not
there isnt much NG+ content, but just reliving the story and journeying with the cast is worth it, I can assure you. At best NG+ gonna allow you to just swift through the game easier/faster.
I'd also add decent subquests. Unlike previous games they're few but each of them explains characters' motivation to finish them. Unlike previous games where you meet some random character that says "Hey, you with the sword! Go kill 10 wolves and I'll give you 100G or something...", here it's more like "Laphicet finally finds a friend, but he has a fatal disease, so Laphicet decides to find ingredients for a mystic potion to cure him."
Thank you for making a review bout this MARVELOUS GAME, I've just finished it 2 days ago and the fact that it's over made me as sad as the ending itself, it left me with literally a rift of void in my chest for days so much that I feel the need to scream my passion & sorrow for this game to the world espec that I've been playing it for so long now, at a pace of 1hour/day since january so a whole half year! Having spent 98 hours (fuk I wanted to reach the 100 :3 but it's k imma do the bonus dungeon now) & taken over 1220 screenshots of pretty much anything (yes I'm a maniac :v ) I was so much into it that it felt like a part of my existence, I loved practically everything bout it even the side stories and the dialogues from the random villagers & various npcs & other small details, the ost, the humor, the characters' interactions, the journeys, the really pretty & beautiful sceneries, the gameplay and the character's abilities are really great and diverse, damn loved every inch of it.
If there're some things I'd reproach this game it'd be the annoying dependence on the souls to make attacks without which you're pretty much useless af and the lack of useful/decent stats in most of the looted equipment which's usually quite garbage but it's no big deal & we get used to it. In other words I'm gonna miss this game alot and it's likely to stay in my memory for quite some time, I just feel bad that I played it a whole year after its pc release but I'm new to the series and next time a new tales of game is released IMMA FKING JUMP ON IT RIGHT AWAY! I also feel a bit sad that such great & maybe unique jewel didn't get as much credit & attention as it ought world wide while games that're less mature/deep get tons of hits but w/e that's how this world is and it'd at least stay alive in its vehement fans' hearts !💓💞
i love you
Oh my god, I'm exactly like you. I have checked every NPC conversation in the game, and I love this game so much. I hope they can value its animation
I always compared the Therion hunt to the Sephiroth Tree hunt in Tales of the Abyss.
Also may I just say Velvet sweetheart why did you practically rip my heart out more than once?
Abyss is the only plot that I find tops Berseria. I love them both equally though. Luke's character arc feels slightly better than Velvet's in my opinion. Also, I loved the cast of both games. lol
Tales Of Berseria Is EASILY My Second Favorite Of The Series
Yes, Velvet's answer to Artorius question was good... but I ask, What can change the nature of a bird?
I know it’s late but animals change with experiences, some become more docile when tamed by humans and other more aggressive if they where mistreated.
I love how you used one of the best tracks on this game's bgm: The Palamedes Temple theme... EASILY one of the best tracks to ever strike my ears. i stil can remember the first time i heard it, i had goosebumps from the moment i stepped into the dungeon til i walked away with Kamoana.
Well now that I’ve finally gotten the game and beaten the game, I will say the Berseria is an amazing game and probably my 3rd favorite Tales of game and my second favorite story of any tales of game. And great video my dude.
Thank you SO MUCH for the spoiler warning. I'm saving up so I can get it on steam- the only other Tales game I've played to date is Symphonia (and I've played it a LOT), so I can't wait.
Here's a like, and I'll be back once I've finished Berseria !
so how did you find it??
I hope they'll make a sequel after that, I mean I know this game is a prequel and all, but they should make a Tales of Zestiria 2, where velvet returns for some reason unknown.
I also think there should be a trilogy
@@zzzvioland602 yeah, a trilogy would be nice, if they weren't so fixed on the new Tales game.
Played Berseria, Vesperia, Abyss, and Zestiria and Berserias my favorite by far. Only issues I had with it were lack of side quests and I kind of wished the world was explorable instead of a hub map.
What about Symphonia? I heard that one was pretty good.
Berseria was such a pleasant surprise. I was constantly intrigued and affected by the story. And I agree with the video, best Tales of story EVER! :D
The ending was a mixed bag for me. I felt that Namco went the cliche "main protagonist gets sealed away in limbo because of continuity issues" trope. I knew going in that Velvet's ending would be at the least bittersweet and at the worst outright depressing. On the other hand, I think the ending was appropriate for who Velvet was. She got her revenge and with everything dear to her gone by the end of the game, she could find some small measure of peace eternally locked in an embrace with her little brother while her companions try to rebuild the world that she burned to the ground. Leaving it in Laphicet's capable hands....or claws....also contributed to that.
I'm glad that Tales of Zestiria the X quasi-retconned the Lord of Calamity component so that Velvet wasn't forever lost to the history books. Her story shouldn't be forgotten.
IMO, Melchior is the true villain/antagonist of Berseria.
Great insight and channel,can see you getting bigger over time,keep up the good work! As a tales fan myself berseria is in my top 3,along with vesperia and abyss.
Why thank you! Berseria is just so great so I had to make a video on it
I actually enjoyed Shigure a lot! I thought his design was great, and his overall attitude was enjoyable to me. Not to mention his voice acting was phenomenal, too. He was basic but, I feel that was the point of his character. In comparison to Roku, he almost seemed like the better person too, which I found interesting - but, maybe that's just me. Anyways - love the video!
Okay so
Personally, while I think Berseria has a good plot and it's definitely better than the likes of Graces and Zestiria... I also think it's far from the best. And there are two major reasons why:
1. You said that having the same end goal all throughout gives the game better focus, and I agree with that to an extent, Artorius is a really great villain because of it. But I feel that it also affected the game's pacing, because like in Zestiria, there were times in the game where it felt like the main story wasn't moving at all because all you were doing was working towards defeating Artorius. And I noticed this especially during the therion hunt, it reminded me a lot of the trial shrines from Zestiria, and felt the exact same way back when I played that game. And while the character arcs during the hunt do wonders for the characterization, it feels like nothing really happens in terms of the main plot until the attack on Titania.
2. The game's main theme, Emotion/Will vs Reason? It's about as subtle as a brick. The fact that they say the word "reason" constantly when referring to Artorius's motivations really hurts the message they try to convey and it can make the dialogue really monotonous at points in my opinion. This is why some of my favorite moments in the game are the ones where they don't say it straight out, like Phi's will to not let go of Velvet. Now usually, I wouldn't mind this that much (I play Kingdom Hearts and Danganronpa for crying out loud) but other Tales games have been pretty good at keeping their themes subtle, like with Vesperia's "what is real justice" and Abyss's purpose in life and choosing one's own future.
Then there are some personal issues I have, like Velvet not learning to chill for the most of the game and me finding the other villains aside from Artorius kinda eh, but those are the things that bugged me the most. ...I think.
But I'm definitely not undermining your opinion, I can definitely see where you're coming from, to me this story (and by extension, the whole game) was a step-up from Zestiria, but not anywhere near the best, I'm afraid.
also holy shit this was a long comment (I worked on this for like 30 minutes help)
PS. I love Laphicet/Phi and Eleanor very much and I will protect my wife and son with my life
Ah, I can definitely see your points, they’re good. I dunno though, they just worked for me. I can see why the consistency can get boring at times, but overall I’d say that this works in spades for me at least. And yeah, the theme isn’t the most subtle haha. But I loved the idea behind it so much, and when it came up it always felt natural so I didn’t notice it TOO much. I can see why some of the ideas wouldn’t work for people but clearly I loved a lot of them :P
Honestly, the more "complex" plots are a bit of a double-edged sword for me
On one hand, it can fall apart really easily (like in Vesperia's third act)
But on the other hand, it can also create an intriguing and unpredictable storyline (like in Abyss for example)
Well goddamn. Surprising to see you here dude.
always found tales plots to be kind of strange and half-realized, confusing and not very engaging. both berseria and zestiria, being tied together plotwise, are really very simplistic stories and it kind of works better? because namco seems to be bad at writing complex stories and keeping everything coherent.
Corinn Heathers- Honestly Zestiria's plot was kinda bad. It felt like half a story, as there were times where it felt like a huge chunk of a character's back story was missing, like with eizan and zavied, which were the biggest suspects, but apparently they get fleshed out in Beseria. Then there were the characters that didn't get fleshed out in Beseria, like Alisha. Alisha having her plot get dropped for most of the game was really odd to me, especially since so much of the game's start is spent building up her character. Then there's the fact that the world itself felt very small.
Anyone else notice the similarities between this story and berserks?
I agree with a lot of what you are saying and I think berseria makes my top 3 in the tales franchise. I was really relieved that this game was so good because I was very disappointed in zesteria and thought that the franchise was heading down a bad path. I think the reason I love this game the most is because the cast of characters was the best in the franchise IMO. I mean each character had a lot of flaws and weren't the traditional JRPG bland hero who fights for a good cause. Each character had their own personal vendettas and were more focused of killing/defeating their rivals as opposed to saving the world. It was kinda like a group of thieves/pirates who band together to accomplish a similar goal, but mainly focusing on their own self interests. The characters had their own self interests, but still had plenty of heart for you to empathize with them and root for them to accomplish their goal. The music was really good in this game and I found the environments were pleasing and varied as well. Overall I think this was a great game and a big step in the right direction for a franchise that I felt had been lacking ever since the original tales team left after xillia.
BTW what video specifically did the creator say that he did a countdown of the tales of games? I can't find it unless i'm looking in the wrong place.
Here is my personal Tales of ranking in case anyone wants to discuss/debate:
1.) Symphonia (my first tales of game, so it has a lot of nostagia)
2.) Vesperia
3.) Berseria
4.)Abyss
5.)Xillia
6.)Graces
7.)Xillia 2
8.)Legendia
9.)Zesteria
10>) Dawn of the new world
Zesteria was a trainwreck I wish they would of just thrown it away and made berseria it's own thing I dont feel glee when zesteria x mentions velvet I feel disgust because it feels so damned forced in berseria should be it's own universe it's too good of a story zesteria stains berseria.
Anyways what I love the most about berseria's story is it doesnt try to pull the "revenge is bad and evil" trope it delves much deeper into it and tells how revenge isnt black and white with morality
I absolutely disagree, Zestiria was infinitely better than Berseria if you'd ask me. Alone Berseria's fragmented world building makes it such a weak game in comparison. In short: It's a well told story if it were a 26 episodes anime, but it's a horribly linear game. When it comes to JRPGs there is one thing I treasure above anything and consider it to be base of a great story and journey: the world in which the game takes place and the journey need to feel "tangible" and immersive. With each Tales of game prior, even Xillia with its corridors of boredom, I always had at least some sense of immersion, always felt like the journey through the game was grounded in an interconnected world as the games were able to create a sense of "place".
One can say many bad things about Zestiria for instance and how the open world felt empty, but I always had this feeling of immersion and how each new area was actually part of that world.
Berseria though doesn't even try. From the beginning on it constantly switches from one place and generic town to the other without giving you a sense of adventure, of a journey. Each location is totally interchangable and only serves a narrative purpose. It feels like the writers wanted the story to move forward as fast as possible. But that's not how games work. This is OK for TV shows or anime, but a JRPG first and foremost needs to create a tangible world before it tells its story in which it is grounded.
From the escape from the prison onward it's just basically cutting from one location to the next, you never actually experience the journey there. Listening to NPCs talk about places you visited earlier should make you reminisce the journey that led up to this point but instead you feel nothing, instead it feels like the NPCs were talking about the events of the last TV episode of a show you watched instead of the place you actually visited (can't think of a better comparison).
And whenever the game tries to actually make you travel from one place to the next... On foot... the map size makes it impossible to imagine this being a realistically interconnected world. In one instance early in the game you travel from a big city to a smaller town and while the town is supposedly in a remote area, cut off from the city you visited before, the actual distance between the city and the village is about 200m... You actually can see the entrance to the town from the city gates. It is stuff like that which totally killed my immersion.
DesMondesBlut what do you have to say about the characters and the story itself?
One thing you miss in your ending spiel is the fact that Eizen's fate is already known given this prequel comes out before zestiria... and you kill him in zestira as he's turned into a dragon. Gives a whole new meaning to tragedy there... and he knows it will happen. If you do some sidequests you also hear about his sister and other sidequests reveal just how some of the other characters tie into zestira.
Someone please put Berseia on the Switch so new players like myself(I've played Vesperia: Definitive Edition, Abyss on the 3DS and read the mangas for Zestiria and Symphonia.) Heck, it would be awesome to see this game for the Switch.
You’re my favorite RUclipsr!!!! I love this video!!!
Whoa, you’re freakin cute as hell. Thank you!!
Story wise, it was great. It was like playing the war generals(antagonists) from tales of abyss or Gaius team(antagonists as well) in xillia.
But the the characters were mostly crap except for aizen and magilou, these two were great and the only reason I pushed myself to finish the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Velvet was like revenge for my brother the whole time and when it was revealed that wasn't the case, she went like screw it and let the world burn......reminds me of sasuke from naruto
Rokuro was actually an evil person, jealous of his bro, ruined the latter's reputation and tried to kill him but was defeated and had his life spared. So what does he do next, well he tries to kill his bro multiple times again until he succeeded and he also kills anyone who his bro trained(shows trick or two), a guard from prison.
Phi, kid just wants to bang velvet, can't blame him, he's young...moving on.
Elenor is just an idiot.she can't forgive the exorcists for their actions (even though its crucial or society would have been doomed) but closes her eyes to all the crimes velvet and gangs do (turning whole towns into monsters)
The battle system was ok but it would have been great if they corrected the soul system well, for e.g my party of lv70 kept getting stunned by low lv monsters cuz their soul is only 1. This keep happening throughout the game, so I consider it the same level as the crappy camera angles from zestiria.
Seth Renegade
kinda odd that I agree a bit. There's also an additional factor besides the characters feeling like I've seen them somewhere before... for me that new factor made berseria feel weak to me despite completing it....
The fact that its stuck tied to zesteria and couldn't break free of those bonds like a different rpg series did not even 3 weeks later... Also... The music in tales has never been that stellar... Yoko shimomura or yasunori mitsuda this certainly isn't.
Yes. Nier automata. It broke free of the drakengard and nier past that would have trapped it in berseria's situation... The main difference here is nier automata exceeded its predecessor in so many ways like gameplay and story execution and its breakdown of the act of playing a videogame... That it broke into the mainstream.
I enjoyed nier automata so much that I put Zelda and berseria to the side.
for me the biggest problem with Berseria is to have been released in 2017, it was such a great year that it got a bit overshadowed for some other games
Berseria was the game that made me get into the series. Thanks, for that sale where i bought it. I never thought i would like it that much.
Since then i bought a PS3 for the sole purpose of playing the old Tales games, older games i can emulate, newer games i can play somewhere else.
I've read the manga version of this game, and it showed me something that the game didn't show, when velvet was holding on to her now dead brother, while holding on a circle ledge of a bottomless pit, when it showed in the anime cutscene that artorious stabbed her at the hand, forcing her to let go and fall into the pit, in the manga version of the game, it showed him cutting off velvets arm clean, causing her to fall down into the pit, seeing that scene was quite the different comparison if I ever saw one.
*cries*
I still havent gotten over this game
11:46
Hell, Phi Literary punch God in the face and made him his bitch.
This is honestly the only tales of game I have played and I absolutely loved it!
If your a big Tales fan, I’m a new subscriber! Lol
This game is currently 79 on metacritic
The last of us 2 is 94 on metacritic
But in my opinion only one of them is a masterpiece and that’s NOT the last of us 2 :)
as much as i enjoyed the story and characters the cencorship of laphis death still irks me cause it was way more symbolic in the original jaanese version of the game. i still think abyss had the best overall story in the series.
I liked how the game takes place long before Zestria and going in knowing that it made the expirence that much better for me i know the Zestria world was a little weak but i feel this game stand-alone or not makes Zestriacs world a little more exciting in my opinion
While I liked the main driving theme behind the narrative, it just felt like a bit of a rehash of Symphonia's (not completely, mind, just changed enough in order to be distinct). I mean, even Innominat and Mithos have a pretty similar aesthetic, demeanor, and motivation. Also, the whole "holy organisation everyone loves but is secretly evil thing", although that seems to be a recurring trope in games, especially JRPGs, so I'm inclined to be more lenient toward the game in this aspect.
I also can't completely agree with your statement that the story keeps a consistent focus. With how much emphasis and immediate urgency some minor plot points and deviations (like the whole sale'tomah business (like seriously, maybe I just can't recall if there was a major point to that, but it felt like an asinine deviation to me) and how often the game feels like it's just making you meander around the world (thank heaven they decided to implement the Inoph and Denore bottles), I often found it hard to stay consistently invested in the story, regardless of how great the overarching narrative, themes and characterisation were, and those were frankly stellar (major step up from Zestiria, and thank heaven for that too). Pacing, I think, is where the story could've done with a bit more editing (and that's considering I skipped most of all side content).
Otherwise, great job, man. Very well explained and developed points, great charisma, and great entertainment value.
It's a sad game from beginning to end. Quite different and good.
How many hours are needed to beat berseria cause my old save file got currputed an I never uploaded a save to the cloud. So I'm hesitant to pick this game back up after investing like 60 hours into it
Velvet is best waifu material.
I LOVE this games SO MUCH
Tales of Berseria got me into the series
Tales of Berserkia. Doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but Velvet is just lite FemGuts and I love it. This game makes me think about Berserk in great ways and I loved it from beginning to end.
Wow! Fantastic video!
Hey thank you! Glad you liked it :)
melchior didn't swear an oath not to hurt flowers, he just likes them. magilou points that out, too.
Great video! However, as for story, I still hold Abyss and Symphonia tied for the best stories.
Can someone PLEASE tell me the song that is played during 10:00? i've been searching that song for months and can't find it in the OST, thank you in advance
Late af lol but if you never found it it's the Abbey battle theme