Tales of Berseria remains one of the most distinctive entries in Bandai Namco’s long‑running series, shaped by a darker emotional core and a cast driven by conviction rather than idealism. Revisiting it nearly a decade later offers a rare chance to look beneath the surface of a fan favourite and understand how its ideas, tools and creative decisions were shaped by the era that produced it. This interview With the Tales of IP’s General Producer, Yusuke Tomizawa explores what the team discovered when returning to the original project files, how they approached modernising a game with such a defined identity, and why preserving its tone mattered as much as updating it for new hardware.
Adam Riley, Director at Cubed3: When you reopened the original Berseria project files, what was the most revealing or unexpected insight about how the game was originally built – something only visible from the inside?
Yusuke Tomizawa, Tales of IP’s General Producer: Since the original release was still fairly recent, it wasn’t exactly unexpected or shocking. It had been built using a mix of in‑house tools, and we could sense the developers’ determination to improve development efficiency at the time. However, when porting the game, it took time to understand all the rules and structures behind it, and some aspects proved quite challenging.
Adam Riley: Berseria marked a tonal shift for the series. Looking back now, how do you see it in relation to the Tales games that came before it, and what does that say about where the franchise was creatively at the time?
Yusuke Tomizawa: I believe there were two major improvements compared to previous Tales of titles:
- The series’ first female protagonist and a darker world focused on Velvet’s journey of vengeance;
- A highly flexible combat system built around free‑flowing combo actions.
Additionally, I believe Berseria was the final Tales of title of the PS3 era, marking a period in which the series aimed to rebuild itself while incorporating these new developments.
Adam Riley: Were there any artistic or technical decisions from the 2017 release that you now view differently — not as limitations, but as deliberate expressions of the game’s identity that needed to be preserved?
Yusuke Tomizawa: Tales of Berseria not only shares the same world setting as Tales of Zestiria but has also been developed by building on its development environment and design philosophy. Whilst Tales of Zestiria focused on ‘seamless’ gameplay as a next-generation challenge, we realised during its development that this required significant effort beyond the core priorities of character appeal and engaging combat. Consequently, whilst fully appreciating the benefits of ‘seamless’ gameplay, we have designed the specifications for Tales of Berseria to strike a better balance. We have also balanced the scale of the field and other factors to reflect the immersive gameplay and the charm of the “Tales of” series, which allows players to explore the world and enjoy its diverse scenery. The idea of using 3D characters for skit scenes had been proposed since the development of “Tales of Berseria” and even before that. Whilst cost considerations were certainly a factor, we believe that utilising a variety of visual styles such as 3D and 2D allowed us to leave room for the player’s imagination, whilst also helping to convey the light and shadow of *Berseria* through the unique expressive qualities of 2D.
Adam Riley: Berseria’s systems were ambitious for their time. Did revisiting them reveal mechanics that simply needed stronger hardware or modern presentation to be appreciated properly?
Yusuke Tomizawa: Although this isn’t strictly a gameplay feature, it was not possible to take screenshots in the original version of Tales of Berseria. Since the remastered version allows players to capture screenshots freely, we would be delighted if you shared your favourite scenes with others.
Adam Riley: Conversely, were there elements you deliberately resisted updating because altering them would change the game’s character or the rhythm of its storytelling?
Yusuke Tomizawa: We believe that Tales of Berseria’s darker theme of ‘emotion and reason’ was intentionally woven into both the game’s systems and its world from the very beginning. As part of the remaster project, our guiding principle has been to preserve the original gameplay experience while making the game more accessible on modern consoles. For that reason, we chose to prioritise and retain the feel of the original version.
Adam Riley: Velvet’s arc remains one of the most thematically charged in the franchise. Did revisiting her story with modern tools reveal nuances or intentions that weren’t fully captured in the original release?
Yusuke Tomizawa: Since we chose to respect the experience of the original version and preserve it as it is, there are no significant changes to the story’s nuances or intentions in the remastered edition.
Adam Riley: Berseria often uses colour, shadow and environmental framing as narrative tools. How did you approach updating these elements without altering the game’s emotional geography?
Yusuke Tomizawa: In order to faithfully recreate the graphics of that era, simply upscaling the post-processing would have presented various challenges, such as sharpening unintended areas and spoiling the original atmosphere of the title. Furthermore, not only is the engine different from that of the original, but the rendering capabilities of the platform have also changed. To overcome these various factors, which differ from the original, and to render character models and other elements more beautifully, we proceeded with great care to ensure that the upscaling preserved the best qualities of the original visual filters.
Adam Riley: The Tales series has evolved significantly since Berseria, especially in terms of pacing, presentation and combat. Were there aspects of post‑Berseria titles that you considered influential enough to inform decisions in the remaster, even subtly?
Yusuke Tomizawa: The original Tales of Berseria was released in 2016 (in Japan), nearly ten years ago. As a result, it had several clear limitations, including the absence of features that are now considered standard in modern games. Specifically, it lacked auto‑save, subtitles during combat, and the option to switch audio languages. To address these issues, and to ensure that as many players as possible, whether they experienced the original or not, can enjoy the game comfortably on modern consoles, we prioritised adding various remastered features while preserving the core experience of the original version.
Adam Riley: The Tales catalogue includes several Japan‑only releases, such as the Tales of the World titles. Did Berseria Remastered spark internal discussions about revisiting those games, either for preservation or for finally bringing them to a global audience?
Yusuke Tomizawa: We don’t have anything to share on this topic.
Adam Riley: Finally, if Nintendo reached out to work with you on a “Tales of Mario” RPG, would the idea excite you, and do you have any thoughts on what that hypothetical idea could look like?
Yusuke Tomizawa: We don’t have anything to share on this topic.
