This game was fascinating. I wouldn't call it a "good" game, but there were ideas in place that were cool enough for me to want to keep playing. I don't regret the time I spent playing it, I guess?
From what I understand, this was the first Berserk-related thing to be officially localized - before the manga was published by Dark Horse Comics, and before the 1997 anime was dubbed into English. Considering it takes place after the Golden Age - after what happened to Casca - the setting must've seemed so bizarre to those unfamiliar with Berserk. And at the time, that would've been a LOT of people, save those that were reading scanlations on late 90's internet.
The game has an original story written by Miura himself, and it has some cool ideas, but its self-contained nature doesn't really give way to anything interesting in the long run. I recall one moment involving Casca that got to me, but I won't spoil it. The cutscenes (as well as the abundance of them) also really make it apparent just how important Miura's detailed, impactful artwork was to the story in pretty much every regard. The animations in this game are so stiff, gliding between keyframes with no tweening and no sense of stillness. It's awkward to watch characters move in this game. I also didn't HATE the English dub... but it wasn't great, and it's inconsistent in how they refer to Guts, sometimes calling him Gatsu for some reason. I guess they didn't feel like re-recording lines?
The core combat is pretty solid, even if it IS a little janky and lacks the depth of something like Devil May Cry in hindsight. I was definitely more forgiving, seeing as the game was released before all of the defining 3D action games were released. Combining light and heavy attacks feels pretty good, and Guts has a few moves that can juggle enemies and spice up combat. His Arm Cannon feels AMAZING to use. It completely decimates enemies you hit it with, but you have to use it sparingly. I'm not a huge fan of how the iconic Dragonslayer feels somehow both weightless and stiff to swing around, but I eventually got used to it. I also find it ambitious how the results of the quick-time events can lead to branching paths in levels; apparently, this was one of the first games of its kind to do something like that. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
My biggest issues with combat stem from the claustrophobic level design and the unbalanced difficulty. It seems obvious, but swinging a giant sword around in a corridor results in you smacking it against walls a LOT, unless you're in your special mode. I have no idea why they designed the game like this. The difficulty is a huge issue as well when it comes to boss fights; this game clearly lacked extensive testing.
The game is also paced very strangely, being a 2-3 hour game comprised of 50% cutscenes and 50% game, with save points only being after an episode ends, NOT when the game says "clear." It's a little unclear how saving works when you want to beat the game over multiple sessions, and could potentially result in you losing progress if you try to load your save. Saving itself just sucks in this game; you have to quit the game to save, and then load your game from the options menu when you come back, and I sure hope you know where you are ACTUALLY allowed to continue from, otherwise you're gonna be replaying a few combat sections.
It's hard for me to really enjoy this game as a whole. I appreciate elements of it for sure, and I had some fun tearing enemies apart for a while, but I don't consider it worth anyone's time other than EXTREMELY curious Berserk fans.
From what I understand, this was the first Berserk-related thing to be officially localized - before the manga was published by Dark Horse Comics, and before the 1997 anime was dubbed into English. Considering it takes place after the Golden Age - after what happened to Casca - the setting must've seemed so bizarre to those unfamiliar with Berserk. And at the time, that would've been a LOT of people, save those that were reading scanlations on late 90's internet.
The game has an original story written by Miura himself, and it has some cool ideas, but its self-contained nature doesn't really give way to anything interesting in the long run. I recall one moment involving Casca that got to me, but I won't spoil it. The cutscenes (as well as the abundance of them) also really make it apparent just how important Miura's detailed, impactful artwork was to the story in pretty much every regard. The animations in this game are so stiff, gliding between keyframes with no tweening and no sense of stillness. It's awkward to watch characters move in this game. I also didn't HATE the English dub... but it wasn't great, and it's inconsistent in how they refer to Guts, sometimes calling him Gatsu for some reason. I guess they didn't feel like re-recording lines?
The core combat is pretty solid, even if it IS a little janky and lacks the depth of something like Devil May Cry in hindsight. I was definitely more forgiving, seeing as the game was released before all of the defining 3D action games were released. Combining light and heavy attacks feels pretty good, and Guts has a few moves that can juggle enemies and spice up combat. His Arm Cannon feels AMAZING to use. It completely decimates enemies you hit it with, but you have to use it sparingly. I'm not a huge fan of how the iconic Dragonslayer feels somehow both weightless and stiff to swing around, but I eventually got used to it. I also find it ambitious how the results of the quick-time events can lead to branching paths in levels; apparently, this was one of the first games of its kind to do something like that. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
My biggest issues with combat stem from the claustrophobic level design and the unbalanced difficulty. It seems obvious, but swinging a giant sword around in a corridor results in you smacking it against walls a LOT, unless you're in your special mode. I have no idea why they designed the game like this. The difficulty is a huge issue as well when it comes to boss fights; this game clearly lacked extensive testing.
The game is also paced very strangely, being a 2-3 hour game comprised of 50% cutscenes and 50% game, with save points only being after an episode ends, NOT when the game says "clear." It's a little unclear how saving works when you want to beat the game over multiple sessions, and could potentially result in you losing progress if you try to load your save. Saving itself just sucks in this game; you have to quit the game to save, and then load your game from the options menu when you come back, and I sure hope you know where you are ACTUALLY allowed to continue from, otherwise you're gonna be replaying a few combat sections.
It's hard for me to really enjoy this game as a whole. I appreciate elements of it for sure, and I had some fun tearing enemies apart for a while, but I don't consider it worth anyone's time other than EXTREMELY curious Berserk fans.