Characters I Kinda Wish Were Playable in Berseria

[LuckiestMaid]

This post will most likely contain spoilers for Tales of Berseria. If you haven’t beaten it and care about spoilers, this isn’t the post for you, don’t blame me if you get the spoils. That being said, thanks for your time and enjoy watching me complain!

Tales of Berseria was a delightful experience and a breath of fresh air. After finding out it was the prequel to Zestiria I was highly interested, boy is it different from Zestiria in the best way possible! I loved the character designs and motives, contrary to my Tales persona, my favourite Character in Berseria is actually not Magilou, in fact he isn’t even a playable character. Just like most Tales games we have a max of six playable characters, and though I enjoy them, i found myself wanting more. I wanted to have other characters to use especially ones that the game shows and put emphasis on. This post will be talking about ten characters in Berseria I wish were playable characters.

Now before you get annoyed with me, i do understand that some characters weren’t meant to be playable (obviously) as some are antagonists and others don’t even have combat skills. So for each character I’m going to try and explain why I want to play as them, how I think they would play/ how they would be useful and how they could work into the story. This is an opinionated list so feel free to tell me who you’d want to play as in Berseria. That being said let’s get into my whining.

Number Ten: Dyle

Dyle is a very notorious smuggler which our team runs into after rumours of a man eating demon spread through a small town of Beardsley. We soon find that Dyle is a lizard demon with a vendetta with the trading guild for throwing him under the bus. I personally find Dyle to be very human in the sense that despite being a demon he still have fears, aspirations, responsibility and even shows a sort of caring side when he has to assist in taking care of kamoana. He even develops a friendship with Kurogane abort the Van Altia. I do actually enjoy having Dyle as a non playable character as it shows that despite being a demon he can be useful without going to fight. That being said I would actually enjoy playing as Dyle. I’d imagine his combat type would be almost like a warrior (like Presea from Symphonia), agile and fast but his artes would be hard hitting and stun a lot. Also having a one combo flamethrower move that would stun enemies would be pretty cool. His weapon would most likely be a cutlass and maybe a shield. That being said I am not too too upset that you can’t play as Dyle.

Number Nine: Grimoire the Normin

The minute I saw Grimoire I thought she was adorable and beautiful at the same time. Her personality is so cat like and mysterious, which I like in characters. I know you are probably doubting my sanity, but Normin have been seen to be “combat ready” if you will. Phoenix destroyed almost destroyed Velvet and here team with a level of 100 and Bienfu was pacted to Eleanor to assist in combat, for Grimoire should be able to fight too right? I feel like Grimoire’s “weapon” would be a book to cast spells from, similar to Rita Mordio and her scroll. Grimoire would have next to no melee attacks and mainly stick to ranged spell casting. I am a mage player myself and I was thoroughly disappointed in Magilou’s spell artes. Grimoire would be the best choice for a mage oriented character, with a bigger variety of spells. Though Grimoire seems to be an apathetic type of character so her purpose for joining the team would have to be a grave one. Perhaps finding that in the book they are reading, it also reads spells that would be useful against innominate? Though Grimoire would make an excellent purely mage type character, I don’t think she is the best one~

Number Eight: Van Aifread

To be honest with you I played Berseria before Zestiria so I didn’t know who Edna was. When Milchior made Eizen see Edna I thought that maybe she was the real Van Aifread in some crazy plot twist. The real Van Aifread seems to be a unique man, a man that had strict morals but he also has a kind heart. He takes in the broken and misfits to join him on his ship and even cares for Eizen despite his reaper curse. I was half expecting Berseria to give us a Pirate class character, whom I assumed was joing to be Van Aifread. To this day… I don’t have that class type yet… My need for this class actually started during my Eternal Sonata playthrough (amazing game made by the same creators of the Tales series. play it.) where you fight a pirate boss named Captain Dolce. I was hoping Van Aifread would have a combat system similar to Dolce’s combat system. With a pirate pistol/shotgun Van Aifread’s moves and skills would be very different from the other’s in the group. Basically having a gun as a weapon it would make for faster ranged attacks with a weaker result. In close combat I’d image the artes would be similar to Velvet’s with a mix of Eizen, quick heavy hitting combat with a shotgun as a blunt weapon. Van Aifread could have easily joined their team, if they had found him sooner he could have joined them to seek revenge on Melchior for mistreating him. This is the class i have wanted so badly and I’m actually kind of sad we didn’t get it in this one… oh well maybe in the next Tales.

Number Seven: Madissa the MILFsnake

I love Madissa’s design, it's so pretty and I love the fact that she basically becomes the surrogate mother for Kamoana. I feel so much empathy for this character and I’m glad that in the end she was able to find happiness with Kamoana. I wanted so much more from this character, so though I knew she wasn’t going to be a playable character I so wish we could have. Being snake related, it makes sense that Madissa is as aggressive as she is when it came to her own and kamoana’s safety. Since there is no possible way I’d see Madissa joining the team, I have a couple of ideas on how i think she would work as a playable character. Like velvet, she has to have a therion form, in this form I think that any spell casting artes would become instantaneous with no waiting period. With regards to ner artes I feel like Madissa would summoner as she had the ability to summon snakes, but also a healer for her motherly character.

NumberSix: Shigure Rangetsu

Oh Shigure, the manifestation of big bro… Despite Rokurou’s obsession over killing his brother I feel like Shigure would have been a decent addition to the team. Firstly, Shigure’s long story skills would make him a very strong melee fighter with a hard hit. Since we have fought Shigure we know his fighting skill already, he is a brutal sword to sword fighter with artes that are typical of sword wielder's throughout the Tales games. How he would join the team is another story in itself… I highly doubt Rokurou would willingly allow Shigure to fight alongside of him, but at the end of the day, Velvet is the leader. In the story Shigure has been shown to be fearless of Artorius, even going as far as to “challenge” him a few times. If a man of that power could go against Artorius, he’d be very useful to Velvet’s team. Rokurou would be able to kill him after Velvet is done with him after all. I honestly think Shigure would be open to doing so. His sole joy is fighting through enemy after enemy, now that the Abbey is overly powerful it would be a perfect opportunity for him to fight against them, especially with the new found knowledge of their devious affairs. I also believe that Shigure still cares about his brother and is proud of him, remember, Shigure saved Rokurou’s life in the past. Being forced to spend time with his brother and “bond” would make Rokurou’s goal of killing Shigure all the more put into question.


Number Five: Artorius Collbrande

These next two character’s are a bit different as unlike the past six character’s they would not join Velvet’s team, but instead act as a secondary team for a flashback journey. I could see this working out as a DLC chapter, where Artorius travels to capture Therions or learn about the Emperyans. Artorius would be an incredibly powerful and stilled character, I’d relate his skill and ability to that of Kratos Aurion aka a Magical Knight. Basically aside from the close combat attacks with their swords in heavy attacks that stun enemies, they also have the ability to cast spells from a distance. I feel like Artorius would mainly focus on close combat but also be able to keep a distance with his long sword. Instead of casting artes I think he’d be able to use Summoning artes instead so his partner wouldn’t be useless.

Number Four: Seres the Flamefly

Seres is so beautiful, how dare Bandai Namco create such a beautiful character and not give her more screen time!!! Anyway with the same scenario as Artorius, Sere would accompany Artorius on their DLC adventure to play out their scheme. Sere would play almost exactly like Lillah. Flame oriented with the possible ability or armatization with Artorius. While Artorius does the physical fighting Seres would use her spell casting artes to provide her Master some back up. Her unfortunate down side being her strict elemental cap of fire only.

Number Three: Niko

Niko is actually a fairly important character in Berseria, as she is the wirst one to bring up the topic of “because I want to” to Velvet. Niko is a kind joyful and girly character with a love for animals and a hopeless romance. I was so surprised Niko didn’t join/meet up with Velvet on her journey. With the Tales games I have played, the main character usually ends up on a journey with someone from their home town. For example: Sorey and Mikleo, Lloyd and Colette/Genis, Jude and Milla, Yuri and Flynt. I thought that was cliche in the Tales series so being used to that trend i thought that Niko would follow suit, but boy was I wrong! (Fun Fact: When I saw a picture of Eleanor i thought she was a grown up Niko). So for Niko I have an idea that could have made sense. I had the idea that Niko could have avoided being turned into a demon or caught by demons by following her dreams and running away to be with her lover in Tallisin. After hearing word of what happened to Aball, she could have remembered Velvet and tried to be like her, perhaps even training to be an exorcist/soldier to make humanity safe again. Her weapon would probably be a sword but her main purpose would be healing. In Berseria there isn’t really a strictly Priest/Priestess Class so I think Niko would fit that space perfectly. She would be similar to Estelle from Vesperia in the sense that her elemental specialty is “light” and healing, she would also have a lot more healing artes than just one or two, including the use of ressurection. After reuniting with Velvet I think she would have difficulty taking in the fact that her best friend is alive, but i believe she would believe Velvet’s story and join her to take revenge on Artorius.

Number Two: Teresa Linares

I was so so so sure that Teresa was going to join our team… I was so sure that we’d save Oscar, and the she would get Oscar to join us for the sake of the people. I was so sure that when she crashed onto our ship and was kicked out of the Abbey, she would join us. What the actual ♥♥♥♥, Bandai Namco..? You don’t understand I was so unprepared for the murder of Oscar and Teresa that I put Velvet as a sub because I was angry with her. I’M STILL MAD AT VELVET! I find that due to Teresa’s circumstances of birth and her love for Oscar, that she would have to train extra hard to make sure she would always protect him and his innocence. The drive to save her brother would have motivated her to join up with Velvet to smite Artorius so her brother would be able to de-armatize since at the time, armatization was an unstable process. Teresa is also more like by the public than Oscar, if Artorius was plotting to eradicate humanity, I’d think she would step up to protect the world and face a common enemy with Velvet. Teresa would also have a great oppertunity to talk with Phi, to understand what free will is and how she technically has none. Free will was a huge part of Berseria and I believe Teresa would benefit the most from this idea. Anyway, if Grimoire was a good mage, then Teresa would be the perfect mage! Therion Teresa or human both would work for the character use i have for her. As a human Teresa could be a healer mage, basically along with healing artes she would have the ability to use magic artes with an elemental favouritism to “light” magic. Her Mystic arte wouldn't be one that is offensive, i think it would be a huge healing arte, kind of like Estelle's healing mystic arte. Teresa was huge missed opportunity in my opinion… but this.. This wasn’t the worse… there is one that, I am still so peeved about…

Number One: Oscar Dragonia

Little brother identity, a monotonous voice, bravery, nobility and the name “Oscar”, Oscar became my favourite character the instant I saw him and due to his unique design compared to to other exorcists, his similarity to Sorey while armatized with Dezel and his youthfulness, I thought he would join us further down the line. Boy oh boy was I wrong! Oscar is actually a sweet person that cares about his sister and is selfless to the point of willingly going through with becoming a test subject for a new arte. I feel so bad for this character and i cried when him and Teresa died. Oscar reminds me of Flynt Scifo, though his relationship with Velvet is much more hostile, it’s quite similar to Yuri and Flynts. Anyway for Oscar I had an interesting idea but unfortunately it would be rather over powered. Similar to Velvet’s therion mode i think OScar could have an armatized mode where he becomes what we know as “Failed Oscar” in this mode his combat style would be equivalent to that of Sorey’s wind armatization. While in regular mode, Oscar’s skills would be fast hitting artes, with artes like Sword Rain or Shell Splitter. Something that was emphasized in the “anime” was his incredible speed and reflex, knowing this I’d also say his counter attacks would be his most powerful moves. As for why on earth he would join the Lord of Calamity, I feel like he’d owe it to them for saving him and protecting his sister. Communicating Artorius’ true intentions to Oscar could sway him to fight for our heroes, especially if Eleanor would have spoken with Teresa, more before hand. Being better acquainted people like Phi and Eleanor, it’s possible that Oscar would be able to break out of his monotonous shell as I find he is more poker-faced than Laphicet when he was just Malak number two. I could think of so many hilarious scenes with Oscar, which include: Rokurou trying to get him to drink or Teresa getting angry at the team for making sexual innuendos. I feel the most exciting possibility is Oscar having a rivalry with Velvet than being her enemy, as it would make him grow stronger as a character.

So those are my top ten characters I wish were playable. Tales of Berseria was a rather so forgive me if I said anything incorrect, I did my best to research as much as possible to state my points. I hope you enjoyed this post and if you agree or disagree feel free to tell me your opinions!

P.S. I also posted this on the Tales of Amino app so if you want a cool community to chat about Tales things then by all means join up with us.

[Vento Aureo]

No love for Zaveid? i know he's playable in Zestiria, but given his relationship with Eizen and the group, i really wished he could've joined the party in Berseria

[Hikkichaos]

I wish Moana was playable.

Moana the LOLItree.

[Kuugenthefox]

With model swapping you can get them /kind/ of playable.
It's not the same of course, even remotely, but the visual aspect is nice at least.

Well, everyone but Niko. I don't think Niko is included in the model table.

[LuckiestMaid]

Originally posted by Kuugenthefox:

With model swapping you can get them /kind/ of playable.
It's not the same of course, even remotely, but the visual aspect is nice at least.

Well, everyone but Niko. I don't think Niko is included in the model table.

i know there is a mod but that doesn't count :P

[LuckiestMaid]

Originally posted by SteelBallRun:

No love for Zaveid? i know he's playable in Zestiria, but given his relationship with Eizen and the group, i really wished he could've joined the party in Berseria

i didn't include Zavied because he was a playable character in Zestiria