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Tales of Berseria- Review Thread

Cornbread78

Member
TESpJo0.jpg


Digitally Unloaded: (9/10)
http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2017/01/review-tales-of-berseria-sony.html
If Velvet’s party of anti-heroes were written by lesser writers, the thirst for revenge would have tired us out far too early; revenge is a state of mind of heightened emotion and impact, and over the course of a full-length JRPG the passion and anger would have boiled over far too soon. But, thanks to brilliant characterisation and the ability to throw some genuine humour and moments of softness into the mix, the team at Bandai Namco has been able to deliver one of the most refreshingly nuanced quests that we’ve seen in this series, and for the first time in a very long time, I haven’t been able to put a Tales game down

IGN: 8.8/10
http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/01/23/tales-of-berseria-review
Tales of Berseria is a surprisingly strong showing for this long-running series. Its tragic story of broken people fighting on the wrong side of history makes it utterly compelling, and its well-tuned combat more than makes up for its lack of interesting environments. Simply put, this is a tale too heartbreaking to miss, or to forget.

Gamespot: (7/10)
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tales-of-berseria-review/1900-6416604/
Tales of Berseria's weak presentation and dull world design may not excite but they only account for a piece of the otherwise enjoyable tale. The refined combat and darker tone paired with the sinister characters makes for a more engaging experience overall. In these ways, Tales of Berseria actually takes the series in an intriguing new direction.

Attack of the Fanboy: (8/10)
http://attackofthefanboy.com/reviews/tales-of-berseria-review/
Tales of Berseria isn't a reinvention of the series, but it delivers a more emotional story mixed with a great combat system to make this adventure worth taking.

Game FAQs: (4/5)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps4/167071-tales-of-berseria/reviews/163019
At the end of the day, it needs to be said: Berseria is a great game. It is truly the best Tales game released since 2011. It took the Xillia framework and polished it wonderfully. However, the game still plays it very safe and is largely unambitious. Many of its additions are less “additions”, and more things we have come to expect from this series that have been strangely missing since Xillia. I can't really imagine anyone being offended or put off by this game simply because of how safe it plays its hand....

Gameinformer: (75/100)
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/t...3/tales-of-berseria-review-game-informer.aspx
Tales of Berseria does some interesting things, and is the most captivating Tales storyline in some time. I like the majority of its ideas, but the execution often feels half-realized. It still feels like the franchise isn't making big enough leaps, and is just content to bring its fans more of the same. By now, you probably know if you're okay with that. Nothing ever made me stop playing, but the flaws are impossible to ignore.

Destructoid: (in progress)
https://www.destructoid.com/review-in-progress-tales-of-berseria-413938.phtml
As it stands, Tales of Berseria may not be the most ambitious or innovative JRPG, but that's perfectly okay. It makes up for this by providing a highly polished and entertaining experience, and I can say with absolute certainty that I'm excited to see this story through to its completion.

EGM: 7/10
http://www.egmnow.com/articles/reviews/tales-of-berseria-review/
The Good: It’s fun to play as a group of villains in a traditionally heroic genre, and Berseria‘s story throws in some decent twists for a compelling tale of revenge.
The Bad: Do you like walking and talking? And talking and more talking? And more walking, and talking? Or what about talking?
The Ugly: I know your friends are too afraid to say it to your face, Velvet, but your outfit is an episode of What Not to Wear waiting to happen

Trustedreviews: 3.5/5
http://www.trustedreviews.com/tales-of-berseria-review
Pros: Great heroine and strong supporting cast; Interesting, action-oriented combat; Meaty adventure with plenty to enjoy
Cons: Dated visuals; Dull dungeons; Looks and feels stuck in the past

God is a Geek:(9/10)
http://www.godisageek.com/reviews/tales-of-berseria-review/
2017 is off to a strong start with some great games already out in just the first month. Bandai Namco Entertainment really impressed me with Berseria. With a couple of tweaks and fixes, they can really achieve great things with this franchise. I’m glad fan feedback was taken into account for this release. If you are in the mood for nice action RPG with great characters and addictive combat, Tales of Berseria is for you.

Spazio Games (8/10)
http://www.spaziogames.it/recension..._playstation_ps4/20362/tales-of-berseria.aspx

cubed3(6/10)
http://www.cubed3.com/review/3475/
Whilst not on the same shaky ground as Final Fantasy XV by any means, despite Tales of Berseria bringing with it a great story, wonderful animation scenes, a sublime soundtrack and voice cast, it lets the side down with its dull environments, lack of engaging puzzles and quests, overly-wordy interactions that go off on pointless tangents, as well as a battle system that is quite hit and miss, resigning many gamers to mere button-bashing to get through most of the adventure. Bandai Namco has managed to deliver yet another solid Tales entry, but not one that will be remembered anywhere near as fondly as past classics, unfortunately.


Wccftech - (8.3/10)
With a fantastic combat system and a good story, Tales of Berseria feels like a return to form in a lot of ways, despite being more adventurous with the combat than ever before. A great series making a triumphant return.

TheSixthAxis - (8/10)
Tales of Berseria feels like a Tales game made just for me. There’s so many games in the series now, and I’ll never play them all, but the characters and the narrative and the combat mechanics of Berseria just click with all of my tastes so well. For some, the lack of gameplay innovation might be a turn off, but for me, a classic Tales gameplay system combined with a unique narrative led to a fantastic experience. Fans both new and old would be doing a disservice to themselves if they didn’t check this game out.

PlayStationLifestyle (8.5/10)
One of the great things about the Tales of series is that you can jump in any of the games at any time and not be lost with either the story or combat. Tales of Berseria is a great launch point for newcomers, and of course a fabulous return point for veterans. JRPG fans who have never tried a Tales of game but always wanted to, this is a perfect place to start. Be sure to have the tissues close by.

Kotaku - No Score

The Games Machine - 7.8/10
Despite an old-gen graphics engine and some balancing issues, Tales of Berseria is an ambitious title, with rock-solid writing and a rather deep gameplay. It could have been bolder, but the new installment in the Tales saga is an enjoyable experience, one that the fans of the saga will definitely love.

Hobby Consolas - 8.7/10
Extensive and surprising JRPG that shows a powerful history dressed up with an improved combat system that offers many strategic possibilities.

Game OT:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1336931


Compilation Sites:
PS4 Metacritic Site 78 as of 1-24
PC Metacritic Site
Opencritic


Please post reviews here and I will update the OP throughout the day.
 
I'm expecting 80s. Still excited.

Also for reference, Zestiria averaged around a 73/74.

Edit: Why do we have a GameFAQs review included?
 

ZeroX03

Banned
I don't expect it to crack 80, but reviews toughened up with Xillia 2 and Zestiria so that's fine. High 70s is good.

I'm very happy to be interested in the series again, I just can't summon the energy to care enough about Zestiria to play it or wade back into Xillia 2 after how the first game beat everything interesting and likable in the characters out of them.
 

Zedark

Member
I don't expect it to crack 80, but reviews toughened up with Xillia 2 and Zestiria so that's fine. High 70s is good.

I'm very happy to be interested in the series again, I just can't summon the energy to care enough about Zestiria to play or wade back into Xillia 2 after how the first game beat everything interesting in the characters out of them.

Hell, Tales of Vesperia "only" got 79 on Metacritic, and we know how that turned out!
This one is 60fps, yeah?

I need something to wash off the Star Ocean aftertaste.
Yes.
 
Really love the things that I'm reading about the story. I can settle for game play being acceptable/more of the same, but it's cool to hear that it has a different and more exciting story this time around.
 
God Is A Geek (9/10)
2017 is off to a strong start with some great games already out in just the first month. Bandai Namco Entertainment really impressed me with Berseria. With a couple of tweaks and fixes, they can really achieve great things with this franchise. I'm glad fan feedback was taken into account for this release. If you are in the mood for nice action RPG with great characters and addictive combat, Tales of Berseria is for you.

Attack of the Fanboy (8/10)
Tales of Berseria isn't a reinvention of the series, but it delivers a more emotional story mixed with a great combat system to make this adventure worth taking.
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
Disappointed in hearing the dungeons suck and are bland again. It was my biggest issue with the Xillia entries. Since Vesperia the dungeons have really fallen off.
 
Disappointed in hearing the dungeons suck and are bland again. It was my biggest issue with the Xillia entries. Since Vesperia the dungeons have really fallen off.

Yeahhhh.... especially when you walk through empty/bland fields with visible monsters and shiny glinty objects on the ground and it's rinse and repeat between every town.
 
So, I played the demo and wasn't too impressed with the combat, but these reviews are really good.

If anyone's played an imported copy, does the combat feel less button mashy in the full game. And does it still come down to spamming the arts that the monsters are weak against?
 
Yep, sounds like a Tales game. I'll try it if I have a need for a new game down the line, but I have trouble getting excited for it.
 
I wasn't expecting to see the writing praised so highly. Huh.

Too much other stuff coming out this week that I'm interested in, but I'll pick this up in the coming months.
 
Found the combat unbearable in the demo and the general feel of the game was so mediocre.

But the characters instantly clicked with me from the little skits I saw in the demo.

So torn. This is probably a bargain buy later in the year.

Good to see reviews are higher than expected though...JRPG's need this!
 

Datschge

Member
Surprising positive reviews so far, all praise the story and characters, all go in-depth with the battle system (I'm too used to reviews calling it the "usual Tales battles", Graces for instance never got recognition for it approach different from "Team Symphonia" that the West was used to), and just one review so far found the battles button mashing. That's great.
 

Merc_

Member
The praise for the characters doesn't surprise me given all the importers I've seen compare the cast to Yuri and the rest of the vesperia crew.
 

Pancake Mix

Copied someone else's pancake recipe
Wow, that IGN review. Liking the review notes on there being good characters this time around.

Will definitely pick this up down the round. Despite it's flaws, I actually liked Zestiria anyways.
 

Giolon

Member
Man, I really miss the cel-shaded look of Vesperia. These games look kind of shitty without it. They could be doing something like Guilty Gear Xrd.

Still, everything else about the game looks cool. I can't wait for tomorrow!
 
Man, I really miss the cel-shaded look of Vesperia. These games look kind of shitty without it. They could be doing something like Guilty Gear Xrd.

Still, everything else about the game looks cool. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Vesperia was the high point of the series for me.
 
Aaagh...It's too much.
Good games I mean...absolutely crazy start to the year. Is this January going to go down as one of the strongest ever?
 

Lifeline

Member
IGN gave it a higher score than RE7 lol.

But it's been a good month for Japanese games. GR2, Y0, RE7, and now this all doing well with critics.
 

Bladenic

Member
IGN gave it a higher score than RE7 lol.

But it's been a good month for Japanese games. GR2, Y0, RE7, and now this all doing well with critics.

It's not like it was the same reviewer. The Berseria reviewer is like the resident JRPG fan at ign I think, so I trust her opinion.
 
Woah. The story impressions seem to be super positive.

Looks like I'll have to buy. Any story connection to Zestiria? I remember reading a thread here that someone found a connection.
 
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