While it maintains the broad strokes of what makes a Tales game like a quest of epic proportions, a ragtag group of comrades traveling long distances together, and a conflict against some form of lawmaking authoritative organism, it flips the script in regard to its characters. In previous installments we follow characters who represent the good in people. While Tales of Berseria follows characters with broken moral compasses. The characters in this game aren’t good, and they often lack virtue in the traditional sense of the word. They’re selfish, flawed people with questionable motivations who end up traveling together because it suits their individual purposes. This bold narrative choice allowed the writers to craft complex yet loveable characters with whom we relate from the dark, damaged, human part of our minds. In this list I’ll pay homage to my favorite 10 characters from this wonderful game.
10. Seres
We have Seres to thank for putting the events of the game in motion by releasing Velvet from her prison on Titania, and she has one of the coolest, and dare I say sexiest designs in the game. We might not get to spend a lot of time with her, but her origins, backstory and significance in Velvet’s and Arthur’s development as characters definitely earn this Malak a place on the list.
9. Teresa Linares
This praetor-rank exorcist begins as another obstacle in our way. A cruel master who treats Number 2 as nothing more than an unthinking, unfeeling robot. However over the course of the game her motivations come to light, revealing an interesting and complex character with more than soft spot for Oscar, her brother. Contrary to The Abbey’s philosophy of rationality over feelings, her only core motivation is her love for Oscar. Is it even possible to act with no feelings to fuel us?
8. Artorius Collbrande
The founder of The Abbey and the beacon of hope for mankind against the Daemons. Artorius, formerly known as Arthur, will stop at nothing to reach his goal of saving mankind from Daemonblight. Sacrificing children? Sure. Betraying your family? No problem. Turning humanity into unfeeling drones? If that’s what it takes to achieve peace. Artorius is so driven toward his objectives, it’s even admirable. However his persona is naught but a lie. While The Abbey teaches to subdue emotion and act following rationality, his whole motivation is the despair he feels from losing his wife and child. He harbors malevolence like everyone else, and it allows him to do horrible things in the name of curing Daemonblight. He just wants to save everyone. But do noble ends justify evil means?
7. Rokuro Rangetsu
Rokuro is a two-sided character. The whole “wandering swordsman” thing is a classic, and Rokuro’s personality really breathes fresh air into the party. He’s easygoing and even caring to his comrades, but he’s also a ruthless killer driven only by the desire to surpass his brother. He just likes a good fight and will disregard everything in favor of satisfying his desire. He’s another example of how low people will stoop to achieve their goals, and how their actions can end up defining them.
6. Shigure Rangetsu
Shigure, on the other hand, is the polar opposite to Rokuro. His foil, so to speak. While also focused on becoming a better swordsman and the thrill of the fight, he has a soul free of malevolence. Where Rokuro is fueled by a feeling of inferiority, Shigure is fueled by the pure desire of self-improvement. He’s devoted to his passion and emotions but doesn’t throw away his humanity to achieve them. He’s free by being virtuous, and that makes him an amazing and admirable character. While others will go to extreme lows to achieve what they want, Shigure shows us one can also rise above all in pursuit of just goals.
5. Laphicet (Number Two)
Laphicet has one of the most fleshed out character developments among the main cast. This has him going from a quiet child with no agency over his actions to a total badass willing to put life and limb on the line for those he loves. However what truly makes him such an important character in the story is how his presence among the damaged people of the party brings out the good, caring, and positive human emotions in them. He lets us see, from his perspective, how these characters don’t need to be defined by their malevolence. It’s from them, after all, that he learns what it is to be a person. And a noble one at that.
4. Eleanor Hume
If we want to talk about great character development in this game, we cannot ignore Eleanor. This exorcist of The Abbey begins her journey guided solely by the principles she was taught in this institution, while being motivated by her intense hate of Daemons (much like Velvet’s hate of Artorius). However as the story progresses she sees with her own eyes the lengths The Abbey is willing to go to achieve its objectives. That makes her reconsider her core values and widens her perspective. It makes her realize the world isn’t black and white, and by the end of the game she’s become a perfect middle ground between rationality and emotion. She carries with her the hope that in the future the world may walk a middle ground, not consumed by extremes. It’s a hope we can all relate to.
3. Velvet Crowe
Did you expect the main character to get the top spot? That’d be too easy! That said, Velvet definitely deserves to be among the best. She’s the personification of a life led by raw emotion, negative ones at that. She’s consumed by hate and is willing to do anything if it means getting revenge. Like Artorius, her character is all about whether the ends justify the means. However as the story moves forward we realize there is more to the ruthless therion. Deep inside her resentful exterior, the big sister she used to be remains dormant, and it awakens bit by bit as she relates to Laphicet and the rest of the group. Truly a great inspiring main character with amazing character development.
2. Magilou
Easily the most relatable character in the game, even if it isn’t readily apparent. Magilou is the one that spices things up. She makes the mood and delivers most of the punchlines in the game’s humor. She’s a powerful witch who shows no motivations other than amusing herself at first, but in the course of our playthrough we begin to understand it’s all just a façade. Magilou has never known a true family. She’s a lonely being in a harsh world. She looks for what she’s missing in Melchior, her abusive stepfather, but never gets it. She’s become a cynical person with no expectations of others because she can’t bear any more pain and disillusion. She is, like many people, fearful of the vulnerability that comes with feeling. And that makes her especially relevant in today’s world. It helps us connect to her, and that helps her earn the second place in this list.
1. Eizen
The Captain of Aifread’s pirates may not have much in the way of character development. But that’s because of who he is from the beginning of the game. He’s distinguished, cool, and really badass in a way only a pirate that barely knows how to swim can be. Eizen’s story is that of a man fighting fate. Once he realizes his company brings misfortune to those around him, he embarks on a quest at sea to fight misfortune by himself. He doesn’t let it keep him from enjoying life. Like other characters in the game, he has little respect for the laws and customs of the world. Instead choosing to live a virtuous life by his own standards. He navigates the eleven seas seeking adventure, living by emotion, and rejecting what the world has written for him. As anyone who’s played Tales of Zestiria knows, his story continues well beyond the end of Tales of Berseria. And he becomes a true legend of the world. Let us remember this man for what he is, for what he does, and not how he eventually meets his end. The beauty lies not in victory, but in the fight itself. Long live Eizen the Explorer.
