Tales of Berseria (PlayStation 4) Review

It might be surprising to hear, but the Tales series has been around since 1995! Here in the UK, though, it has never quite hit the heady heights of the Final Fantasy series, or Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda, despite there being many fantastic adventures over the years. Part of the reason is that over here some of the key older entries never got localised. Thankfully, though, this seems to have changed and each new release now graces British shores.

Tales of Berseria sees a change in direction as it introduces the first ever female lead, Velvet Crowe. She is heading out on a mission of revenge following the death of her family, and after being locked up by Artorius Collbrande, the head of a group of exorcists that is ridding the world of daemons - even those daemons that consume other ones, like Velvet. There is only black and white, with no emotional blurring, even where Velvet is concerned. The tale starts off with her escape from imprisonment on the island of Titania after three years there, with plenty of intrigue surrounding what happened back in the past and how things will play out in the end. This is her journey for vengeance, accompanied by a rag-tag group of rogue characters that normally would not fit the 'hero' bill. It is a gripping tale and one powered by fantastic voice acting and absolutely gorgeous cut-scenes from popular anime company, Ufotable.

The in-game visuals may not be quite of the same level as the recent Final Fantasy XV, but the animated story sections are breathtaking, and with the extremely impressive level of detail given to the translation, accompanied by some fine voice acting (both English and Japanese available), it really drives the adventure along and creates an immersive atmosphere. Just be prepared for a heck of a lot of talking, though, spread across plenty of bland locations that look like a spruced up PlayStation 3 release. The contrast between the animated scenes and everything else is quite stark and somewhat disappointing, with certain sections being very reminiscent of Zestiria's average appearance, perhaps with re-used assets considering both games are set in the same world.

Skits are back and in fuller force than before. Some are amusing, others are rather of a time-wasting nature, and the same goes for many of the NPC conversations. There will be times where eye-opening revelations and key information will be provided, yet on the flipside, things will sometimes go off at such a tangent that the original point of the conversation is lost. However, for those wanting to squeeze every bit of goodness out of Berseria, this will not be an issue. Talking, like battles now, can be avoided if desired, so those not keen on the almost visual novel-esque side can rest easy. Oh and yes, battles can be dodged for the most part, simply darting around enemies in the overworld to avoid encounters if so wished.

When indeed jumping into a fight, however, the big issue for most will be the actual battle mechanic since it seems to cater more for newcomers to the series with its watered-down approach. Tales games have always used a different approach than both the turn-based nature of classic Final Fantasy and Dragon Quests, and the action style of The Legend of Zelda. Instead, it is more of a hybrid feel - an arena-based, button combination brawler, where defending oncoming attacks is required before then firing off strings of moves or magical 'Artes' in reply. It was never too complicated, but at the same time there was always a level of depth that satisfied veteran RPG connoisseurs. Variations on the theme over the years have been met with mixed opinions, so new updates are always scrutinised by long-term supporters. This latest tweak can be a bit too hit and miss, sadly.

The modified version of the Linear Motion Battle System used for Tales of Berseria is called the Liberation-LMBS, and in many cases will result in mere button mashing to get through (LMBS = Let Me Button Smash here, perhaps?). Taking place within a cordoned off section of the open world previously being explored, it focuses on multiple button combinations to pull off special moves and also instigate powerful Mystic Artes, but even with careful attention given to creating different attacking patterns by attributing different moves to different buttons, sometimes the action lacks a real sense of satisfaction because of its repetitive play style. It is an enjoyable repetitive style, if that makes any sense, mainly because of its ease of use, but it also does not feel as in-depth as in past outings.

The "Break Soul" concept, for instance, gives team-mates a unique ability to use mid-battle, where part of the power gauge can be sacrificed to keep combo-attacks going, whilst mixing in special moves, and then there is the chance to switch to another party member and do the same to keep the chain going. Using up the gauge, however, means it also needs to be refilled, and to refill, more of the gauge needs to be used to keep the attack chain going…and this is where it can all break down into the mash-a-thon of buttons, rather than what is, on paper, an intricate system. Fortunately, the in-game difficulty can be adjusted at any time, so all levels of gamer can enjoy. The battles are fun and frenetic, yet just not all that engrossing. Bash away for as long as it takes, walk away, then repeat come the next foe. On the highest difficulty levels, more thought needs to be given, but even then it comes down to hitting the attack buttons as quickly as possible.

Having the chance to dodge certain encounters really helps considerably, thankfully, and saves Berseria from slipping into 'complete frustration' territory. The actual story and animated scenes, along with the great soundtrack and voice cast, all make for a well-rounded RPG adventure filled with lots of high points, but there is an overall 'certain something' absent, especially in some of the dungeons that feel too sparse and look bland. It turns out to be a rather mixed bag, overall, with some great highs, but too many middle-of-the-road moments to lift it above previous Tales releases.