Cornbread78
Member
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Director: Yoshimasa Tanaka
Producer: Yasuhiro Fukaya
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Platforms:
• PlayStation 3 (JPN Only)
• PlayStation 4
• Microsoft Windows
Release dates:
• JP: August 18, 2016
• NA: January 24, 2017
• EU: January 27, 2017
• PC: January 26, 2017 (Steam)
Genre: Role-playing
Price: $59.99
Website:
http://talesofberseria.tales-ch.jp/
Tales of Blog Site:
http://blog.talesofgame.com/en/?home
Game Opening track:
"Burn" by Flow (in Japanese)
Box Art:
Collector's Edition:
System Requirements:
Minimum:
o OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (64-bit)
o Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz or AMD Phenom II X2 550, 3.1GHz
o Memory: 2 GB RAM
o Graphics: GeForce 9800 GTX or AMD Radeon HD 4850
o DirectX: Version 9.0c
o Storage: 15 GB available space
o Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible
Recommended:
o OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (64-bit)
o Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.66GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.2GHz
o Memory: 4 GB RAM
o Graphics: GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 7870
o DirectX: Version 9.0c
o Storage: 15 GB available space
o Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible
PC Tech Details Outlined
Steam Tales of Berseria Page
Tales of Berseria is set on a world called Wasteland. The central region of this world is the Holy Kingdom of Midgand, a massive kingdom whose territory spans over several islands and continents. It is a very diverse place, with each area having its own culture and architecture depending on the climate and environments its residents have to deal with. Because many places are divided by seas, rivers, and oceans, this world is highly dependant on ships for transportation, communication, and trade, and even pirate crews have appeared to take advantage of this fact. Within the past decade a disease known as Daemonblight has begun to spread, infecting humans, plants, and animals, and turning many of them into violent creatures. To fight against this a savior known as Artorius appeared and formed the Abbey, an organization supported by the kingdom with the goal of fighting against the spread of Daemonblight.
The central character of the story is Velvet Crowe, a woman who some years ago lived a normal life in her village on the outskirts of the kingdom. However her village was infected with Daemonblight. Artorius, a man with the power to fight against Daemons, kills many of the transformed villagers, including her brother. Velvet manages to somehow escape death, and is instead captured and imprisoned for three years. The story begins with her executing a plan to escape and get revenge on Artorius for what he did.
Berseria vs. Zestiria Lore:
Tales of Berseria and Tales of Zestiria are set in the same world, however the story of Tales of Berseria is set long in the past.
The setting of Tales of Berseria is known as the ”Wasteland." The continent in the middle of this world is what eventually comes to be called ”Glenwood," which is seen in Tales of Zestiria.
Though it's set in the same world, the world of the past in Tales of Berseria is completely different than that of the future. Place names such as towns and nature are all different from the future seen in Tales of Zesteria, too. But there are also places where you'll be able to recall the culture and nature of the future.
Velvet Crowe:
Voiced by: Rina Satō (Jpn); Cristina Vee (Eng)
A 19-year-old woman who transformed into a Daemon and was subsequently imprisoned because of an incident that happened 3 years prior to the events of the game in her village. After breaking out of her island prison Titania, she battles the Abbey and their Exorcists who have shed their emotions in pursuit of victory against Daemons. She holds a grudge against Artorius, her brother-in-law, for sacrificing her younger brother in front of her during the incident 3 years prior.[4][11]
Laphicet
Voiced by: Azumi Asakura (jpn)
A Malak who is forcibly made into Velvet's companion after being kidnapped from Teresa's control by an escaping Velvet. As his will is sealed, he has no sense of self and lives as a tool to be ordered and used. However after following Velvet and her group, he starts to develop his own sense of self. Velvet named him after her little brother.
Rokurou Rangetsu
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Jpn); Ben Diskin (Eng)
A Daemon similar to Velvet who managed to maintain his sense of reason and his human form. He aims to defeat his stronger elder brother in the ways of the sword. He joins Velvet in escaping Titania and continues on her journey to repay his debt to her for helping him find his sword.
Eleanor Hume
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu
One of the Abbey's Exorcists who at first clashes with Velvet's quest for revenge, but later is forced to join her party in order to return Laphicet to the Exorcists on Artorius's special orders. She can come across as cold, especially to those who aren't in support of the Abbey and their efforts, but above all else she cares about protecting people from Daemons and finding a method to stop it for good
Magilou
Voiced by: Satomi Satō (Jpn); Erica Lindbeck (Eng)
A mysterious and carefree sorceress, calling herself the "Great Witch," who joins Velvet and Rokurou in escaping their island prison. She is acquainted with Melchior in a seemingly antagonistic relationship. She is also a jokester and likes to play pranks and lift the other's spirits.
Bienfu
Voiced by: Naomi Nagasawa
Magilou's small Malak partner who is abused at the comedic sake of Magilou's teasing, he hides his real face with a ribbon-decorated hat to look interesting. After Magilou was locked up in Titania, he was found and taken into the care of Eleanor, whom he sees as a significantly kinder master.
Eizen
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa
A 1000-year-old Malak pirate who has the appearance of a 30-year-old and pilots a ship called the Van Eltia as its vice-captain. He joins Velvet in order to search for his close friend, the missing ship captain, Van Aifread. In the 3 year period during Velvet's imprisonment, he became infamous as a Death God whose existence as a Malak brings misfortune to everyone around him.
Other Characters:
Oscar Dragonia
Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese); Michael Sinterniklaas (English) A Praetor-rank Exorcist who tries to stop Velvet after the latter escapes from prison. He has a strong sense of justice as an Exorcist and loyalty to his sister.
Teresa Linares
Voiced by: Yui Horie
A Praetor-rank Exorcist and Oscar's half-sister who governs the northern area of the empire. She worries much for her brother that he will push himself too far on the job, despite her being known by the title of 'Ice Queen'.
Shigure Rangetsu
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai
A Legate-rank Exorcist who is Rokurou's elder brother. He is regarded a genius swordsman within the Rangetsu Sword-style, and is always seeking an interesting and entertaining fight.
Melchior
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita
A Legate-rank Exorcist who is a master in the art of alchemy. He is Artorius's colleague and friend who shares similar beliefs.
Seres
Voiced by: Satomi Arai (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
A Malak formerly under Artorius' command who regained her sense of will and aids Velvet in her escape from prison for the sake of stopping Artorius.
Artorius Collbrande
Voiced by: Kenyu Horiuchi
Once addressed by Velvet with the nickname of 'Arthur' and her brother-in-law, is the head of the Abbey and the Exorcists who is deemed the world's savior and the game's primary antagonist for having acquired a power that would allow him to save the world from the Daemonblight. He favors the use of reason over emotion as part of his battle tactics, and has used this as the prime teaching for all Exorcists.
Liberation Linear Motion Battle System:
Berseria's battle system - while it retains some elements people who've played other Tales will be familiar with - is a big departure from all previous Tales games, in that the "Linear" part of the name is almost superfluous, among many other changes:
•Free Run-Based Controls- Unlike other Tales games, you don't move along any lines. Instead movement in inherently 3D based, no need to press any buttons for Free Run. You can also use attacks while moving, and use the right stick to adjust the camera.
•Arte Control Changes - Berseria uses the Arte Tree seen in Graces and Zestiria, however now artes can be removed, moved, and assigned to any position in the tree. Assigning certain artes in certain sequences on the tree can add various benefits to your attacks. Also, instead of using various stick+button combinations for artes, Artes are now be assigned to X, Circle, Square, and Triangle. The button an arte is assigned to can also affect how the arte will be used in certain cases, such as changing the direction of an attack.
•Soul System - This is the central feature many of the combat mechanics center around.
Great breakdown of all party member's "Break Soul" from Gematsu
•Break Souls - Special abilities that are unique to each character, and can be used if the character has 3 or more souls. They're all abilities that are powerful, but can vary in usefulness depending on the enemy and situation. Using one also allows the character to continue their chain of attacks beyond the limit imposed on them. They will improve over the course of the game, making them stronger and more versatile.
- Break Souls can be embedded into combos, and you can link at least as many Break Souls as the number of souls you posses. When you trigger a Break Soul, in exchange for one soul, there is a special characteristic that lets you resume the combo from the first stage of your artes without stopping while staying in the combo state.
•Blast - The Blast Gauge returns in Berseria. It's a gauge that's primarily filled through performing Break Souls, and allows you to perform various actions when filled up to certain levels. When it's filled to a certain point you can use it for things such as Switch Blasts, which let you swap in a reserve character, or Mystic Artes, powerful attacks.
Equipment/Skill System
Berseria uses an equipment and skill system that's somewhat like a combination of various elements from Vesperia, Graces, and Zestiria.•Equipment - Each piece of equipment can have three types of skills: Master Skills, Refinement Skills, and Random Skills. Master Skills are like skills in Vesperia (or other games like Final Fantasy IX): the equipment has an ability attached that you can use while it is equippmed, and a certain number of points needed to master it. Once you've obtained the necessary number of points, the ability is learned permanently and the character will have it active even when you've removed the equipment. If you keep the equipment on, the ability on the equipment will actually combine with your learned skill, increasing its effectiveness. Refinement Skills are abilities attached to equipment that are unlocked as you use materials to refine it and improve its stats. Once an ability is unlocked, refining the equipment further can improve the efective of the ability. Random Skills are skills that appear on equipment at random, offering some sort of bonus or ability. Finally, equipment you aren't in need of anymore can be broken apart into materials for use on other equipment.
•Titles - Berseria uses Titles again, and like most entries in the series you'll obtain many of them through certain events or from fulfilling special conditions in battles. Each Title levels, with certain requirements to level up, such as using Base Artes a certain number of times or reaching a certain level. As you level the Title, various skills on the Title will be unlocked, and you can swap around Titles depending on the skills you need.
•Crystals - There are different crystals you can collect that unlock a wide array of abilities and features. For example, some will unlock difficulty modes, others will affect what kind of abilities you find on equipment that's dropped.
Other Stuff
•Cooking - Berseria goes back to a more traditional cooking system, where you find recipes and each character can cook them to result in different bonuses.
•Skits - Berseria uses a slightly altered version of the usual Tales Skit system called "Variable Cut-in Chat", that makes the skits more expressive and dynamic.
•Minigames - There's a collection of minigames to play in the game, such as a card game and a combat-based balloon-popping minigame.
•Ship Exploration - You eventually come into possession of a scouting ship, which similar to the cats in Xillia 2 you can send out to different place to collect various items and treasures.
•Hover board - The board allows you to move much more quickly when you use it. Some locations can only be crossed by using the Rare Board.
Screenshots:
Post Battle Scenes:
Cut Scene:
Costume DLC: (paid DLC)
Videos:
The Calamity and The Blade
"Grand Tour" Trailer
Combo Mechanics
8 Mins of English Gameplay
E3 2016 Trailer
Trailer #2
Trailer #3
Trailer #5
Anime Story Intro:
LAst year as part of the "Tales of Zestiria the X" anime series, they dedicated two full episodes to dig a little into the Berseria story. From what's been said, they cover about the first 2 hours of the games story (after the "controversial" opening scene)
Episode 5 ”Dawn of Chaos"
Episode 6 ” Velvet Crowe"
Reviews:
PS4 Metacritic Site
PC Metacritic Site
Opencritic
NeoGAF Review Thread:
NeoGAF Review Thread
Import Thread:
NeoGAF Tales of Berseria Import Thread
User Reviews from the Import Thread:
*Thread Notes*
- Thank you to BGBW for once again, providing an awesome banner! Good work man; I can't thank you enough! Also, thank you to RPGMonkey for sharing assets allowing greater continuity between the Import and NA/EU OTs. Last but not least, kewlmyc get's a shout out for the OT title. I'm on his $hitlist for dissin' his favorite anime, so the least I could do was throw him a bone with the naming rights, lol.
- Story spoilers are a no-no. Don't be "that guy" and post spoilers untagged and titled. Mods may or may not have mercy on your soul; your GAF life is in your own hands!
- If anyone has anything additional they feel would be helpful for the OP, please let me know and I will remove/add/change as needed. (be gentle)
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