Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage

"A game that only a true Berserk fan can appreciate..."

Gameplay 6/10

This is a hack and slash game which remains true to its manga/anime roots. If you don't like hack and slash games, then this game is not for you, sadly enough many other reviewers on this game are giving it low ratings for this reason. That, I will never understand. That's like complaining why there are no RPG elements in a sports game... Well, moving on.

Major flaw #1 of the gameplay. The fighting system. A lot of the weapons are really useless. You'll find yourself using the Dragonslayer 99% of the time. There is the cannon from Gatsu's mechanical arm, but unfortunately you only get a limited amount of ammo (about 2 or 3 per stage) and you'll want to save it for the bosses (unless you beat the game in Hard Mode and get infinity everything). The other things, like the mortar, arrows, and fists are all useless.

Major flaw #2 of the gameplay is that there is not enough of it. This game would have been much better if it was a 4 GD-ROM game, rather than a measely 2 hour 1 GD-ROM game. I mean, without a guide, you could literally beat it in 2 hours if you skip all the cutscenes which make up about 75% of the game.

Major flaw #3 of the gameplay is the Dragonslayer itself. Those damn walls! The walls are so unbelievably annoying. It gets frustrating as hell while fighting in cramped up places. Enemies who stay next to walls will be a daunting task to get rid of as you'll hear clanks and wanks left and right. When you get into Berserk mode, that's when walls become no problem. If they had simply allowed this same animation when not in Berserk mode, it would've made the gameplay a hells a lot better and less frustrating.

The last major flaw are the fixed camera angles which changes depending on where you are headed. It's not really a major flaw, but it's there and it's worth mentioning. It really only bothers you a few times here and there in the game. Nothing to get annoyed about though.

Audio 10/10

The audio and video is where the game really shines. It's disappointing that this crew is not the crew they are using to do the voiceovers for the American DVD release of the anime. When 75% of the game are cutscenes, the voices BETTER be good! This game delivers. The music is straight from the series, so right then and there you know it's epic and awesome. The voiceovers rival that of the Soul Reaver series. Sound effects are amazing, this is the reason why you'll probably keep playing, to keep hearing that gushing/slashing sound when the Dragonslayer makes contact with the enemy.

Video 10/10

Wow, that's the only word I can describe it with. It does justice to the anime. The environments are dark and gritty, everything really maintains what the series is all about. The bosses vary from big to bigger. This is art in motion. There are only a few games like this that come to mind that could truly be considered art, Jet Set Radio and Heretic II to name the few.

Story 10/10

If you have no inkling whatsoever of what the Berserk series is, then you should not be playing this game, let alone be reviewing its plot. You'll be lost in the haze. You need to watch the anime and read up a lot on the manga if you really want to appreciate the intricate and epic story that's in here. Put it this way, the manga has well over 20 volumes at this point, this game was based off of only 1 volume off of the myriad available. This is really a game for the fans and no one else, reviewing it as otherwise would just be plain wrong (which again, many reviewers seemed to have done). Now if you watch the anime and end up hating it (which is pretty difficult to do since it is one of the best), then stay clear of this game because it represents the anime to a tee.

I mean, as a fan of the series, it's really disappointing to see all the ignorant reviews saying, ''Dragonslayer is a ripoff of Cloud's sword!'' Because the manga and the volume Gatts receives the Dragonslayer in was interwoven lightyears before Final Fantasy VII was even released! But alas, ignorance sucks. So again, I must warn you, if you can't or don't want to get the anime and read up on the manga, do not get this game!

Replayability 5/10

There's not much to see here. The Puck mini-game isn't worth doing Easy Mode. The only reason one would want to play this game more than once is to beat Hard Mode in order to get infinity ammo so you can play the game back and beat it in 30 minutes using the cannon. Which BTW is FUN AS HELL!!!

Rent or Buy?

If you're a fan of hack and slash and/or are a fan of the manga/anime, there's no doubt you need to get this game. It needs to be in your collection.

Overall 9/10

Why the high grade despite the many flaws? Because the game is really fun as hell despite all of its flaws, even though the fun only lasts for such a short period. And as a fan of the anime/manga series, it's pretty cool to see a future ''Arc'' in the manga and play through it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/26/02, Updated 07/26/02