Can i start with this game?

[AmitD]

Do i need to play previous "Tales" games before i can play Berseria? or is it fine to start with Berseria?

[Kerobe]

Almost all tales of games are standalone games (a bit like Final Fantasy).

The only thing with Berseria, it's just in the same universe than Zestiria (before the story of Zestiria) and there are some connections but the game isn't mandatory.
If you really want to know about Zestiria, you can watch the anime after playing Berseria (since there are some spoilers)

[AmitD]

Originally posted by Kerobe:

Almost all tales of games are standalone games (a bit like Final Fantasy).

The only thing with Berseria, it's just in the same universe than Zestiria (before the story of Zestiria) and there are some connections but the game isn't mandatory.
If you really want to know about Zestiria, you can watch the anime after playing Berseria (since there are some spoilers)

so it doesnt really matter which tales game i choose to play first correct?

[Kerobe]

You can start with Berseria or any other tales of games, it doesn't really matter

[マーキュリアス]

Originally posted by Kerobe:

Almost all tales of games are standalone games (a bit like Final Fantasy).

The only thing with Berseria, it's just in the same universe than Zestiria (before the story of Zestiria) and there are some connections but the game isn't mandatory.
If you really want to know about Zestiria, you can watch the anime after playing Berseria (since there are some spoilers)

I disapprove of that last bit.

Zestiria anime and Zestiria the game are two different things, that try to achieve thing differently.

One is more light hearted and the other eventually turns dark.

[Kerobe]

yes but it's an alternative if someone doesn't want to play Zestiria (which is not that good)

[Araragi Koyomi]

well the better ones aren't even on steam, i wanna say "yet" but who knows, so if you were to start with one go with Berseria. Tales of Z had a'lot of problems on launch that i am not sure have been patched, this one had some Ai issues that i think were addressed. Vesperia is known to be their greatest work (story wise) but i slightly disagree as far as problems go i don't think there were any launch problems.

[AmitD]

Originally posted by Azathoth:

well the better ones aren't even on steam, i wanna say "yet" but who knows, so if you were to start with one go with Berseria. Tales of Z had a'lot of problems on launch that i am not sure have been patched, this one had some Ai issues that i think were addressed. Vesperia is known to be their greatest work (story wise) but i slightly disagree as far as problems go i don't think there were any launch problems.

From what i heard most people fav Tales game is Vesperia so idk which one to start with.

[Giro]

Knowing Zestirias lore can enhance Berseria a lot, so I do recommend at least watching the Zestiria game beforehand, but it isn't required.

However, Zestiria in my opinion is not nearly as good as Berseria or many other Tales games. Its not atrocious, but it may be a slog if you're only playing it to play Berseria.

The Zestiria anime is a lot better than the game, but it takes a dump on the events of the game, many of which are extremely important, which will probably make it not suffice as a Zestiria game alternative.

Tldr; if you're willing to put up with a game with mixed likes and diskikes, play Zesitira first. If you like it, great, if you dont, move on to Berseria.

[『teokboki』]

If you've never played either before then I'd start with Berseria to help you become acquainted with the mechanics. I tried Zestiria and the explaination and tutorial was a nightmare...

[マーキュリアス]

Originally posted by Kerobe:

yes but it's an alternative if someone doesn't want to play Zestiria (which is not that good)

Again, I strongly disagree with this statement. The anime and game are so radically different, they could be officially accepted as two different stories that happens to have the same characters.

(Game only) The main protagonist starts his journey thinking highly of the world but as the course of the story progress, he learns and accepts that there are several terrible things in the world.

In Zestiria's defense, It does implement some real human issues that is symbolized in "Malevolence" / This is different than Berseria (Because Berseria was actually afraid to re-introduce these issues.) Where do you draw the line between someone being pure / evil? It's hinted by the priest and cardinal. -- I bring this up because these issues are omitted in the anime. Along with the party literally discussing how suicide could seem like a "good" option to some. And let's not forget how many times the main antagonist tried to commit suicide.

It's very hard to make a consistent story with these elements cause it's impossible to draw the line. / Though, there are other inconsistency in the story, that could have been avoided.

The anime however is basically sunshines and rainbows.

Berseria is a good starting-point. There are several better entries in the series, though. Symphonia / Abyss / Phantasia / (-) Vesperia (Shame only two these are steam ports.) But are all much better story-wise in my opinion.

Which story would be better overall, I would say, Abyss > Phantasia > Symphonia > Vesperia.

[Simon]

I like Zestiria quite a lot despite it shortcomings. At least is better than the anime, because the anime is inconsistent with the game's lore, which doesn't match up that well with Berseria's lore.

However, Zestiria is not a good Tales game to start with if you are new to the franchise, because the gameplay has some complex stuff that are a bit hard to understand.

[Dregora]

You can start with any you find appealing. If the title is different, it's not a sequel in the sense that it has direct consequences to each other. I believe only Symphonia and Xillia have the honor of having actual sequels.

But you can honestly start with any, just a matter of preference. They're all decently similar anyway in terms of combat. Ofcourse newer titles are more modern/faster, but most tales games are quite good.