Sword of the Berserk Guts Rage
Sword of the Berserk: Guts’ Rage is an action game with phenomenally good graphics but overly simplistic gameplay. You fill the shoes of the main character, Guts, and spend most of your time smiting foes with his seven-foot monster of a sword, Dragon Slayer.
Some levels provide the best hack-and-slash gaming to be found anywhere, but usually Sword of the Berserk is more cheap than challenging. We certainly felt rage when boulders began falling on Guts’s head at random during one level and the designers took great pains to populate most of the levels with dozens of tiny ankle-biting enemies that are nigh impossible to hit. Unfortunately the lack of combat moves, weapon upgrades, or anything else that could have spiced up gameplay makes Sword of the Berserk far more tedious than it should be for gamers.
What really distinguishes this game from other gore games is the eloquent integration of storyline-enhancing cut-scenes that are gorgeously rendered with the game engine. There is over an hour of noninteractive story line to sit through–so many scenes that this almost qualifies as an interactive movie. If mindless combat and a compelling story sound appealing, Sword of the Berserk is what you’ve been waiting for. Parents should note that this game is particularly violent, and may not be suited for young children. –T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- Beautiful graphics
- Gory, visceral combat
- Outstanding production values
Cons:
- Repetitive gameplay
- Level design sometimes cheap
User Reviews
4 Stars One of the best Hack n slashers for the Dreamcast
Sword of the Berserk continues the adventure of Gutts. Before I say anything I like to note that this is based on one of my favorite animes BERSERK. This game may not make much of sence unless you read the manga or watch the Anime.
The story is in this is one of the best and it is also one of the best storylines in the berserk series. What’s great about Sword of the Berserk is characters such as Zodd and Puck are in it which make this game really really cool. The ending credits is a little suprising too. If you loved the Anime then You’ll love the game
The graphics in Sword of the Berserk are just Amazing. Everything is detailed and well made. I especially love the way they made Gutts look. And his Dragon Slayer looks better then ever. The level desighn is great as all the walls and trees ect are all greatly detailed. It’s one of the best looking Dreamcast game out there.
The gameplay is pretty good for about 20 mintues then it gets old but it never looses it’s touch. It is pretty frustrating later in the game but you will get the hang of it. The boss battles are laughably easy unless you battle Zodd in hard mode which is a pain in the ass then that is a different story.
The sound in this game is one reason I gave it a star. The sound and music is superb. Very great and ranks up with the anime soundtrack. I especially love the Forces mix song for this game.
The story in Sword of the Berserk is one of the best like I said before. You will love it especially if you love Berserk such as myself. It’s just great.
Now I have another complaint about this game. It’s a bit too short. You could beat the game less then 3 hours if you skip the cutscenes and everything. In other words..
Pros
Gameplay
Graphics
Music
Control
Cons
Way to short
get’s frustrating
Gameplay gets kina boring later on
Boss battles are too easy except for Zodd
And That Is why I rank one of my Favorite Anime/manga into a video a game, a
3.5 out 5 Still it’s a great game ruined by easy bosses lengh and other things.
By the way for anyone who has an imported PS2 there is a New Berserk game for PS2 which is 10 times better then Sword of the berserk Which alot of you fans should check out.
Lates
5 Stars Awesome and addicting game!
If you’ve seen the show and read the manga, or even if you haven’t, this game is one you have to play!! Its like another episode of the anime. And its so fun to watch the characters in 3-D, and to play as Gattsu!! This story is during the Millenium Soldier series of the manga, and happens after the Great Eclipse in the anime series. The game is really satisfying to play as you hack and slash up monsters, at least I think it is. Hee hee it gives me a feeling of POWER!! Lol. Plus the story is just so awesome, the cut scenes are cool and make the game like a movie, and the music is so great, ! Its by the same music producer for the anime, Hirasawa, and the opening and ending songs are incredible!! Can you tell that I am completely obsessed with Berserk? If you haven’t seen the anime, then get it and if you haven’t read the manga well then get that too. 
Gattsu is my most favorite anime character of all, his character is just so deep!! And he looks so cool in 3-D!! Just buy the game, anime, and manga, I promise you’ll love it!!
4 Stars Whee.
The game is over-all pretty good.. But I have to agree that it’s very repetitive.. It’s fighting, Fighting.. And more fighting.
Which is all well and good for those of you who like the hack and slash games.. But for all the others, There’s not much to do.
It’s one level of killing directly followed by another. (No store strolling or walking around town.)
As a loyal obsesser and fan of Berserk I would deffinately say to buy it, But don’t be dissapointed when you find it’s rather boring. ^-^
3 Stars You’ll spend more time watching CGI than playing
This game is fun, but let’s make something clear: this game has a LOT of FMV cut scenes. You will spend half the time playing by watching the plot develop.
Don’t get me wrong, the plot is well-conceived, but in my opinion, Eidos should have kept the flow of action higher. The actual gameplay is good, though it can get repetitive, but don’t by this on hype alone. I would recommend it only for fans of the manga and diehard action-gore fans.
4 Stars You want mindless action? You got it.
I first played Berserk back in 2000, shortly after getting into the comics and animated series. I had Berserk fever, and the game did much justice to the legacy. Not only was it fun, but the production values were all there. Graphics were great, the soundtrack was flat out awesome, gameplay was addicting, and it left me wanting for more. So why did I only give it 4 stars? I really didn’t want to give anything Berserk 4 stars (except maybe some of those iffy figures I’ve seen over the years), but truth be told, this game is 1/3 gameplay, 2/3 movie. There are cutscenes. Lots of them. Not to the point where it gets annoying, but with so many cutscenes, I was left wondering why there wasn’t as much action as there was. Don’t get me wrong though, there’s a lot to slash through in the game. The levels are challenging and long, and some of the boss fights require dozens of tries.
The game begins pratically where the animated series left off, right after the God Hand sacrifices. As for the comics, I’m not 100% sure what volume this takes place after. Nevermind that though. A caravan of circus-like performers is stopped by a group of bandits. Who just so happens to show up? Guts does. The bandits are about to have some fun with Rita, the only female in the wagon, and Guts won’t allow it of course. The first fight in the game is intense. The one-man killing machine Guts takes out handfuls of bandits single handedly (no pun intended unless you laughed). Using his 7′ long, 1.5′ wide, 4″ thick sword- The Dragonslayer, he’s able to make quick work of anything. But that’s not all you have at your arsenal. You carry grenades, unlimited throwing knives, the hand auto-crossbow (also unlimited), healing powder, and of course- the hand cannon. This thing takes out enemies like Nancy Carrigan’s knee. After it’s all over, Guts and his companions Puck and Caska go along with Rita and her crew to the city where they’re performing. But Rita’s partner isn’t feeling too well. He transforms into a monster, and attacks everyone. Once more, Guts ends it. The king of the town sees what’s happened, and takes Guts to his castle, where we find out that there’s a problem in the city. Why are people turning into monsters? Who’s allowing it to continue? And what about Caska- is she going to be cured? You’ll find out as you play.
Gameplay’s pretty simple. You have two kinds of basic attacks: normal slash and heavy slash. You can make combos, some being more effective in other situations than others. Though jump attacks always take out enemies quickly. Your other weapons like the daggers and auto-crossbow are weak, but are helpful in that they stun the enemy temporarily for you to get closer. Of course, there’s a block move, which is pretty cool- Guts holds up his sword and gets behind it. A lot of the enemies here take much more damage than those did in the comic and show, which was a little odd. But it’s always fun to cut stuff up here. And after attacking enough enemies or getting hit, your Berserk meter fills up, and you enter Berserk mode. Guts’ strength and speed raise drastically here, and can dispatch enemies much faster. There’s one minor problem with it- it happens automatically. So if you just killed off every enemy in an area and this kicks in, you’re going to be wasting your Berserk mode walking to the next area. Also included are some Shenmue-like QTE moments. There are very few of them, and if you fail to hit the button at the right moment, you just get stuck in a more difficult area of the stage. I need to mention boss battles too, as some of them were rediculous. Zoddo in particular. Yeah, I know he’s essentially the most bad-ass antagonist in the series, and no one stands a chance against him save the Skeleton Knight, but the fight with him takes a long, long time. After knocking his health down to 3/5, it started to regenerate. What…the hell. Trust me, Zoddo shows why no one’s been able to defeat him here. Beating the game on Easy and/or Normal unlocks a mini-game with Puck. Beating it on Hard unlocks an unlimited ammo mode. Want to breeze through with unlimited arm cannon shots? Now you can. And really, it doesn’t get old surprisingly. Oh, one more thing. This game follows a couple of laws of realism. As in, using The Dragonslayer in a small corridor isn’t a good idea, as it will clang against walls. No, you don’t get a freebie and the sword goes through walls like most action games would have it. Find a way around this.
The graphics, for their time, were great. Character models look just as they should, and a lot of fine details are there. Just check out Guts’ weapon belts and his mechanical arm. Levels have tons going on in the background if you pay attention, and there’s -never- any slowdown. The music is done by Susumu Hirasawa, the same guy who did the music in the show, so you can expect it to be great. The main theme is even a remix of Forces. Awesome. My favorite track though, is the music that plays as you fight Zoddo. I want to say that it starts with either a violin or bagpipes. The music is just plain eerie in the first few seconds, then gets right down to business. Sound effects are very painful. Hearing The Dragonslayer tear through bandits and infected villgers made me cringe the first time. As did anytime an arrow struck flesh. Very classy. And the voice acting? Some of the finest in gaming history. Guts sounds like he should, Puck’s voice actord did a fantastic job, and Balsac’s is very familiar, and I’m sure you’ve all heard him before. Yeah, the voices are in English, and there’s no way around it, but should that matter? The voices are top notch, as is the acting. And if both of those are there, then there aren’t any problems.
Sword of the Berserk is still one of my favorite Dreamcast games, and still fun to play 5 years later. If you can manage to find it in good condition, don’t hesitate. While the cutscenes are plentiful compared to the action, there’s replay value. Something rare in action games at that time. And of course, we can expect more of the same, only even better with the upcoming ps2 game if it ever sees a US release.
