#33
YoY: = My Rating: 9.1/10
I've been a huge fan of the Tales series since I first played Tales of Symphonia on the Gamecube with a few of my friends. Over the following almost 20 years I've played through five other games in the series, and for quite a long time my two favourites were Symphonia and Xillia. I loved their worlds, characters, and stories the most out of the entire series, and they are still wonderful games in my opinion. However, my favourite finally changed just last year, when I got around to playing Tales of Berseria.
One of the elements that instantly stood out to me from Tales of Berseria was its main character, Velvet Crowe. Unlike just about every other main character in the series, she was motivated almost entirely by vengeance against a person who is seen as just about everyone else in the world as a savior. In essence, in the eyes of the world, Velvet is the true villain of the story, labeled the Lord of Calamity, a moniker and role she eventually embraces. The story also takes things into some very dark and sad places at times, often because of Velvet and her rather shaky mental state. Other games in the series have taken dark turns in the past, but none of them have gone quite as far as Berseria (I haven't played every single game in the series, so there's that caveat).
The rest of the game, from its supporting cast, to the story, battle system, and music are also among the series' best in my opinion.
"Why do you think that birds fly?"
