Tales of Berseria Remastered
Developer: D.A.G
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
Over the last few years, since the release of their brand new Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco has been working on re-releasing remastered versions of former Tales games. While some of these remasters went better than others and saw older titles like Tales of Graces and Tales of Xillia brought to a new generation of fans with some quality of life and visual improvements, many wondered what title would be next on the table. The last thing many expected would be that Tales of Berseria would be it, considering not only is it the second newest Tales game, but it is actively available on the PlayStation 4. Though now that Tales of Berseria Remastered has arrived and brought the title to more platforms and with a few improvements, is it worth picking up for newcomers or even longtime fans?
Story
Velvet Crowe has been doing her best to take care of her sickly younger brother after the passing of her older sister during the “Opening” that saw daemons and the cursed Daemonblight sweep the land. Training with her brother-in-law Artorius, she has done everything she can to help their small family thrive. That is until the Scarlet Night returns and Daemonblight sweeps through the village, transforming everyone into a daemon and Artorius sacrifices her brother in a ritual to unlock ancient power. In her attempt to stop him, Velvet is inflicted with the Daemonblight herself and is transformed into a Therion, a daemon that feeds on other daemons.
After being subdued by the exorcists under Artorius’ command and thrown in a prison for daemons, Velvet has survived for one thing and one thing only, revenge on the man that killed her brother. After three years of imprisonment a twist of fate frees Velvet when it is revealed that Artorius is seen as the hero of the world and has formed the Abbey Exorcists into his own religious military. Seeking to put a stop to him is none other than Artorius’ former malak, a being capable of wielding exorcism magic and usually “bound” to their masters, who frees Velvet in an attempt to stop what Artorius might have planned that will endanger the entire world. Though Velvet cares little for the reasoning, as any allies she gathers along the way, an eclectic crew of misfits and daemons themselves, are nothing more than means to an end as long as Velvet can slay Artorius.
Tales of Berseria Remastered doesn’t change anything in regards to the storyline that was in the original game back in 2016 but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While some Tales games have always had dark twists and turns and darker themes throughout them, Tales of Berseria has always been one of the darkest and most unique stories in the entire franchise. Between strong writing and engaging character motives, players will be eager to see Velvet’s journey through. Not only is the title a great revenge story but it is expanded upon by a great cast of characters to surround Velvet, such as the delightfully eccentric witch Magilou and other characters that join Velvet along the way for one reason or another.
It is interesting to note that there is a bit of new content for those that never purchased any DLC for the original release but it only comes in the form of Bonus Skits. Skits still work as usual, appearing at set or random locations, but these Bonus Skits feature extra bits of comedy, character interaction, and more that will be brand new for most fans.
Gameplay
In many ways Tales of Berseria Remastered will still play the same as the original as nearly every change was through quality of life improvements. These include the classic move from Bandai Namco to unlock the Grade Shop immediately and give players a chance to boost XP, Gold, Item Drops, or even make the game harder and many of them can be toggled off and on once players start the game. It is also worth noting that it appears that the standard moving speed has been boosted slightly to make navigating and backtracking through dungeons easier and similarly, bottles that previously were given later in the game to fast-travel to the start of a dungeon are given to players almost immediately rather than late-game.
Players can even turn on map objective markers that will display where they need to travel for their objective and, if they really wish to, turn off enemy encounters entirely. Nearly all of these options can be toggled on and off in the settings, giving players a bit of freedom if they feel like avoiding lop-sided encounters when backtracking. There is also the ability to save at will with “quick saves” and some auto saves here and there but it never really felt necessary to rely on an auto-save.
Combat remains as fast and more fluid than ever thanks to the remastering as even the flashiest of fights never saw a moment of slowdown. Tales of Berseria allows players to freely roam around the battlefield and target their locked-on enemy or swap targets with a single button tap. Once again combat chains are tied to the Soul Gauge with each attack draining some of the gauge that refills over time. Extra souls can be obtained from slaying an enemy or stunning them and in certain cases, especially Velvet, can be used to trigger a powerful Break Soul that unlocks the combo meter and allows her to finish off foes with a powerful finishing move depending on input and enemy type.
Exploration is something of a mixed-bag unfortunately and it is also an issue even with the quality of life improvements here. While there is some decent variation to the dungeons players will travel through, players will notice certain blocked paths that can’t be interacted with due to a missing character or some incredibly boring puzzles. Of all the Tales titles, the puzzles in Berseria are some of the worst and it is rather unfortunate that this hasn’t been remedied.
Audio & Visuals
It is a bit odd to say that Tales of Berseria Remastered really doesn’t look much different than the original title. Yes, combat and transitions are incredibly smooth without any loading and the animated cutscenes are still excellent, but most of the game’s character models and portraits were already impressive back in the day and thanks to the series’ art style, that remains true now even with this minor touch-up. Dungeons are similarly the same, which means that many are unfortunately bland and generic with only a few really standing out in any notable way. That being said, it is nice to note that since the game does include most of the DLC from the original game, players have a whole closet of different costumes, hair styles, and accessories to dress their characters up in. The only missing content are the Idolm@ster outfits which are likely due to licensing issues.
The game offers both the original English voice work as well as the Japanese voice track to choose from and the English cast does an excellent job with their roles here. Velvet’s voice actress does wonders for the character’s raging yells on one hand and deadpan tone on another while Magilou’s teasing voice serves as a perfect counterbalance. The soundtrack also is handled exceptionally well here with both an impressive opening song and a great collection of background music during combat and poignant moments.
Overall
Tales of Berseria Remastered is something of an odd game. Not because it is bad, far from it, but because it was a strange choice considering the other Tales games waiting in the rafters. The quality of life improvements do wonders to help smooth over some of the rough patches that were in the original release and smoother transitions and gameplay make combat better than ever, though the real bonus for some might just be all of the DLC being included in one batch and the classic Grade shop unlocking from the beginning. All that being said, while a strange choice for a remaster, Tales of Berseria’s strong writing and Velvet’s journey for vengeance remains as engaging as ever.
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