This is a series I’ve been bouncing off of since Tales of Destiny hit western shores back in the 90s. Of the three games considered the high-water marks by longtime fans (Symphonia, Vesperia and Abyss), I only made it past the halfway point in Abyss; the other two bored me to death by the 10 hour mark. I can’t ever seem to see past the tropes, mediocre soundtracks and bland stories.

So imagine my surprise at discovering that Tales of Berseria (and to a lesser extent, Zestiria) is one of the best JRPGs this side of Falcom’s Legend of Heroes franchise. I’m actually a little shocked it’s part of the core “mothership” series considering the significantly darker, revenge-at-all-costs tone and its eclectic cast of anti-heroes, which in my opinion is the finest the Tales games have ever produced. I really can’t overstate how well-written and developed this group of misfits actually is; not a single arc is fumbled or neglected if you're willing to put the effort in to see them through. I grew to love them so much that I’m actually a little sad to leave them behind as I move on to a new adventure. The battle system is typically brilliant, bolstered this time around by an awesome mechanic that allows you to tackle two groups of enemies together if you can bunch them up on the map before initiating the fight. This allows you to both clear maps at a quicker pace and gain levels significantly faster thanks to the massive exp yields these brawls produce. Hell, Motoi Sakuraba even woke up enough to contribute a few songs you may actually remember when you turn the game off. And finally, I’m happy to report that unlike the other Tales titles on Steam, this one runs beautifully at 60fps.

That said, there’s one potentially major issue that needs to be addressed. Quite unlike Zestiria, which at times felt needlessly overloaded with maps and dungeons and activities, Berseria seems very small in scope with a few dozen areas you’ll be visiting and revisiting and re-revisiting across its 50+ hour playtime. If a lot of backtracking bothers you, this may not be the game for you. I was so enamored with the cast that it didn't grate as much as it might have otherwise, but by the last ten hours I was getting pretty tired of visiting the same two major port towns every time I’d sit down to play.

In all, though, I had such a blast that I’m going to retroactively explore some of the other Tales installments to see if I judged them a little too harshly. If they're even half as fun as Berseria, it'll be more than worth it. Highly, highly recommended!

This is a series I’ve been bouncing off of since Tales of Destiny hit western shores back in the 90s. Of the three games considered the high-water marks by longtime fans (Symphonia, Vesperia and Abyss), I only made it past the halfway point in Abyss; the other two bored me to death by the 10 hour mark. I can’t ever seem to see past the tropes, mediocre soundtracks and bland stories. So imagine my surprise at discovering that Tales of Berseria (and to a lesser extent, Zestiria) is one of the best JRPGs this side of Falcom’s Legend of Heroes franchise. I’m actually a little shocked it’s part of the core “mothership” series considering the significantly darker, revenge-at-all-costs tone and its eclectic cast of anti-heroes, which in my opinion is the finest the Tales games have ever produced. I really can’t overstate how well-written and developed this group of misfits actually is; not a single arc is fumbled or neglected if you're willing to put the effort in to see them through. I grew to love them so much that I’m actually a little sad to leave them behind as I move on to a new adventure. The battle system is typically brilliant, bolstered this time around by an awesome mechanic that allows you to tackle two groups of enemies together if you can bunch them up on the map before initiating the fight. This allows you to both clear maps at a quicker pace and gain levels significantly faster thanks to the massive exp yields these brawls produce. Hell, Motoi Sakuraba even woke up enough to contribute a few songs you may actually remember when you turn the game off. And finally, I’m happy to report that unlike the other Tales titles on Steam, this one runs beautifully at 60fps. That said, there’s one potentially major issue that needs to be addressed. Quite unlike Zestiria, which at times felt needlessly overloaded with maps and dungeons and activities, Berseria seems very small in scope with a few dozen areas you’ll be visiting and revisiting and re-revisiting across its 50+ hour playtime. If a lot of backtracking bothers you, this may not be the game for you. I was so enamored with the cast that it didn't grate as much as it might have otherwise, but by the last ten hours I was getting pretty tired of visiting the same two major port towns every time I’d sit down to play. In all, though, I had such a blast that I’m going to retroactively explore some of the other Tales installments to see if I judged them a little too harshly. If they're even half as fun as Berseria, it'll be more than worth it. Highly, highly recommended!