{"id":524274,"date":"2026-03-07T08:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T08:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/524274\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T08:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T08:25:12","slug":"tales-of-berseria-remastered-is-a-competent-yet-unnecessary-remaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/524274\/","title":{"rendered":"Tales of Berseria Remastered is a competent, yet unnecessary remaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve admittedly never been a huge fan of the Tales series, or even played the original Tales of Berseria when it released back in 2017, so this review is going to be its own little tale of two takes, if you wish.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, Tales of Berseria is actually a really competent and surprisingly engaging action RPG that is carried by its engaging story and characters, and is worth checking out for fans of this franchise and even the genre. On the other hand, however, its remastered nature feels more like a sidestep of sorts.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s a more polished experience as far as resolutions and textures are concerned, there\u2019s not much more to this package that you wouldn\u2019t have found in 2017, or at the very least, on the previous generation.<\/p>\n

That Fateful Scarlet Night<\/p>\n

Tales of Berseria Remastered\u00a0serves as a direct prequel to Tales of Zestiria\u00a0and is set 1000 years before the events of Zestiria. The broader context of this world of the Holy Midgand Empire, including multiple references from Tales of Zestiria, including certain characters and locations, and while that will be lost on most newcomers, there\u2019s still something to enjoy.<\/p>\n

Players take control of protagonist Velvet Crowe, a young girl who was, along with her brother Laphicet, saved by her brother-in-law Artorius when her village was attacked by demonlike creatures known as the Daemons. These creatures only attack on what is known as a Scarlet Night, and seven years later, Artorius sacrifices Laphicet to a ritual during the next Scarlet Night, and aims to take Velvet too. Luckily, Velvet escapes and becomes imbued with the Daemons powers in the form of a Therion, otherwise described as a cool new demon arm that can essentially absorb Daemons themselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n

The story does take a bit of time to get going, but what follows is a relatively straightforward and engaging tale of revenage, as Velvet swears to find and take down Artorius for good. But for what it\u2019s worth, I had plenty of fun with Tales of Berseria\u2019s story. It\u2019s a pretty lengthy one too, clocking in at around 40 or so hours, filled with plenty of tense moments and emotion. Thankfully, Velvet is a really cool character who takes her motives in her stride and doesn\u2019t really mean to justify them to anyone else around her, which adds a nice amount of flair and depth to her quest.<\/p>\n

Velvet will also meet and acquire a gang of allies on her way to revenge, and I really had fun with them, too. They\u2019re all unique and interesting, and most of the game\u2019s writing gives them some really emotional and poignant spins on their approach to revenge, violence and family. It carries most of the narrative\u2019s weight, and succeeds for almost the entire time, short of warming up to each character. Overall, without spoiling too much, I weas surprsiedw ith how deep Tales of Berseria actually went at times, and impressed with the results.<\/p>\n

Punches in Bunches<\/p>\n

Tales of Berseria Remastered\u2019s general gameplay comes in the form of its real-time combat, as you chain combinations of strikes together to take out groups of enemies. It\u2019s part Dynasty Warriors in terms of its pacing, and part Final Fantasy XII in regards to its enemy encounters, timing and choosing attacks and even a variety of upgradeable skills and abilities.<\/p>\n

While you\u2019ll mainly control Velvet, you\u2019ll also be able to take party members into battle, each with their own unique skills and abilities. That being said, most of the combat boils down to mashing those combinations, with each atytacks seeming.ly assigned to a face button. I say seemingly, because early on, Tales of Berseria Remastered makes it seem like each of the four face buttons are respobnsiovle fdor a random assortment of attacks.<\/p>\n

I tried to slow down the pace to see which button did what, as attacks are labelled on screen. But even then, I could swear that after pressing two distinctly different face buttons, I just did the same attack twice.<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of areas to explore through a series of interconnected hubs and dungeons, but I think these environemnts to a decent job at giving you areas to explore, and collectibles to track down. The game\u2019s dungeons, however, feel like a mixed bag, simply because they\u2019re repetitive and uneventful, asking you to fight the same waves of enemy types and solve the same puzzles, with minimal exploration. The combat carries it at times, but not nearly enough.<\/p>\n

Along the way, Velvet will also gain Acerites, or Potentites, which allow you to upgrade your abilities and skills, including the perks and statistics of gear you may find on your travels. The New Game+ mode does allow this system to continue long after your first run, with specific boosts added to the Grade Shop that were previously inaccessible in your first playthrough. As gear can also be shared between party members, you\u2019ll get a decent run with the variety here, and always feel like encounters are helping you become slightly more powerful with each passing hour.<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n

Between combat, exploration, and upgrading Velvet and the gangs abilites and gear, however, there\u2019s not really much more to it. In that sense, I must admit that I stuck around for the game\u2019s outright narrative and writing, and felt that for as long as the game is, it just didn\u2019t develop enough new systems to keep things feeling fresh.<\/p>\n

Look the Part<\/p>\n

While I had never played the original Tales of Berseria,\u00a0I did go out of my way to research and compare the additions and upgrades of Tales of Berseria Remastered, and I am still left scratching my head. From what I can see, Tales of Berseria Remastered has adjusted the running speed, which helps you get around faster, gives players unlimited fast travel opportunities and new boosts in the Grade Shop. As far as outright upgrades are concerned, that\u2019s really it.<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n

Textures look a little more detailed and resolutions sharper, but nothing about this jumps out at you, if you don\u2019t have both this remastered version and the original version side by side. If you popped the original version of this game into my PS5 Pro, I\u2019m afraid I could not tell you which version of this game I was playing. And I think that\u2019s the biggest issue, leaving me to question if this constitutes a fair remaster. At the very least, it does come to Xbox Series X\/S and Nintendo Switch for the first time, so there is that.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Overall, Tales of Berseria Remastered is a competent action RPG that is boosted immensely by its engaging story and memorable characters. While the gameplay can wear a little thin at times, there is a decent amount to do throughout your 40-50 hours.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Tales of Berseria Remastered might not feel as essential to casual or returning fans, given its limited upgrades, which at times feel a little disappointing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"
\nTHREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)<\/p>\n

Highlights: Fantastic story of revenge; Awesome band of supporting characters
Lowlights: Repetitive combat mechanics that succumb to button mashing; Remastered content feels relatively shallow
Developer: D.A.G. Inc.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
Platforms:\u00a0PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Available:\u00a0Now<\/p>\n

Review conducted on PlayStation 5 Pro with a pre-launch code provided by the publisher.<\/p>\n

Featured header image also provided by the publisher.<\/p>\n


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