Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
Encyclopedia
Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage, released in Japan as , is a hack & slash
action video game
for the Dreamcast based on the popular Berserk
manga
by Kentarō Miura
. It takes place anywhere between volumes 22 and volume 23 of the Berserk manga; right after Guts and Puck depart for Elfhelm with Casca, but before Farnese, Serpico and Isidro catch up with them. The music is composed by Susumu Hirasawa
, who also composed the anime series' music.
Released around the same time as Shenmue
, Sword of the Berserk is notable for its early use of quick time event
s (QTE). It used these to determine the different non-linear paths the player would take, depending on whether they succeed or fail in pressing the displayed button quickly enough during a QTE, allowing different ways to complete the game.
. It grows underground in a nearby town, and has small arms and legs. It will scream as if in pain when uprooted, killing all who hear it directly.
Balzac asks Guts to retrieve its heart from the Great Tree, and Guts sets off to get it with the idea it can also cure Casca of her madness. On the way, Guts combats the Mandragorans until Nosferatu Zodd arrives. Guts asks him what Griffith's plans are, but Zodd insists on fighting. Guts beats Zodd before Zodd departs and Guts later gets the Mandragora's heart. When he returns to the town, Guts learns the truth; that Balzac only wants to use the heart to become a more "advanced" version of a Mandragoran himself. Guts then decides to rid the town of both the Mandragora and the tyrant leader of the town, Balzac. Guts makes his way through the castle, past the Mandragorans and the castle's knights to Balzac and the Mandragoran heart. Balzac reveals that he used the sample of the Mandragoran heart already on his wife, who is also going through a very similar trauma that Casca is suffering from. Balzac then takes a sample of the Mandragoran heart and transforms into a Mandragoran zombie. Guts then proceeds to "kill" Balzac, as well as the final Mandragoran, which takes hold of Casca and ironically, finds the cure back in that same room where Guts was told to get the heart. There, for a brief moment, Casca regains her sanity and is able to speak with Guts about how she had a bad dream before reverting back to her former speechless self. In his desperation, Balzac manages to grab the Behelit and sacrifices his wife and transforms into an Apostle-Mandragoran hybrid. Guts finally kills off Balzac for good and wishes Rita farewell as he walks off onto another journey, in the end the Skull Knight appears and consumes the Behelit which leads onto volume 23 of the manga series.
Voice Director:
English cast:
, who did most of the music for the Berserk anime, composed all of the game's soundtrack. He also performs the Forces 2 opening theme as well as the ending theme Indra with his own vocals, like in his solo work. The 2000 Berserk calendar and collector stickers were included in the first-pressing limited edition.
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
action video game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
for the Dreamcast based on the popular Berserk
Berserk (manga)
is a manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired world, the story centers around the characters of Guts, an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kentarō Miura
Kentaro Miura
is a Japanese manga artist best known for his popular dark fantasy manga, Berserk.-Life and notable works:Kentarou Miura was born in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1966. He is left-handed. In 1976, at the early age of 10, Miura made his first manga, entitled Miuranger, that was published...
. It takes place anywhere between volumes 22 and volume 23 of the Berserk manga; right after Guts and Puck depart for Elfhelm with Casca, but before Farnese, Serpico and Isidro catch up with them. The music is composed by Susumu Hirasawa
Susumu Hirasawa
is a Japanese electropop artist and composer.In 1972, he enrolled at . From 1972 to 1978, he performed in his first band Mandrake, a progressive rock group influenced by King Crimson and Yes. In 1979 he formed a New Wave synth-rock & techno-pop band called P-Model, along with two former members of...
, who also composed the anime series' music.
Released around the same time as Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
, Sword of the Berserk is notable for its early use of quick time event
Quick Time Event
In video games, a Quick Time Event is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game...
s (QTE). It used these to determine the different non-linear paths the player would take, depending on whether they succeed or fail in pressing the displayed button quickly enough during a QTE, allowing different ways to complete the game.
Plot summary
After saving a traveling performer named Rita from bandits, Guts, Casca, and Puck come to a small castle town to rest. Upon arriving, they learn of a disease that transforms its victims into "Mandragorans", making them go berserk, killing people, even their loved ones, without thinking. As the story progresses, the ruler of the castle, Balzac, shows Guts a room in the castle where people infected with the disease are kept. Balzac says he's searching a supposed cure. Guts learns from Balzac that the disease comes from an unusual plant, the MandragoraMandrake (plant)
Mandrake is the common name for members of the plant genus Mandragora, particularly the species Mandragora officinarum, belonging to the nightshades family...
. It grows underground in a nearby town, and has small arms and legs. It will scream as if in pain when uprooted, killing all who hear it directly.
Balzac asks Guts to retrieve its heart from the Great Tree, and Guts sets off to get it with the idea it can also cure Casca of her madness. On the way, Guts combats the Mandragorans until Nosferatu Zodd arrives. Guts asks him what Griffith's plans are, but Zodd insists on fighting. Guts beats Zodd before Zodd departs and Guts later gets the Mandragora's heart. When he returns to the town, Guts learns the truth; that Balzac only wants to use the heart to become a more "advanced" version of a Mandragoran himself. Guts then decides to rid the town of both the Mandragora and the tyrant leader of the town, Balzac. Guts makes his way through the castle, past the Mandragorans and the castle's knights to Balzac and the Mandragoran heart. Balzac reveals that he used the sample of the Mandragoran heart already on his wife, who is also going through a very similar trauma that Casca is suffering from. Balzac then takes a sample of the Mandragoran heart and transforms into a Mandragoran zombie. Guts then proceeds to "kill" Balzac, as well as the final Mandragoran, which takes hold of Casca and ironically, finds the cure back in that same room where Guts was told to get the heart. There, for a brief moment, Casca regains her sanity and is able to speak with Guts about how she had a bad dream before reverting back to her former speechless self. In his desperation, Balzac manages to grab the Behelit and sacrifices his wife and transforms into an Apostle-Mandragoran hybrid. Guts finally kills off Balzac for good and wishes Rita farewell as he walks off onto another journey, in the end the Skull Knight appears and consumes the Behelit which leads onto volume 23 of the manga series.
Voice Director:
- Kris ZimmermanKris ZimmermanKris Zimmerman is a voice director, casting director, talent coordinator, and voice actor. She is also sometimes credited as Kris Zimmerman Salter.-History:Zimmerman is most known for directing the English voices for the Metal Gear Solid series...
English cast:
- Michael Bell- Guts
- Cam ClarkeCam ClarkeCameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
- Puck - B. J. Ward- Casca/Erica
- Paula TisoPaula TisoPaula Tiso is an American voice actress who is best known as the English voice of Lulu in Final Fantasy X and its sequel.She also has voiced many TV and radio commercials and promos....
-Rita/Annette - Susan Blakeslee- Duneth’s Wife
- Paul EidingPaul EidingPaul Eiding is an American voice actor, voice instructor, and actor, perhaps best known as the voice actor behind Perceptor in the original Transformers cartoon, Roy Campbell in the Metal Gear series, the narrator in Diablo, Judicator Aldaris in StarCraft, and Max Tennyson in Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien...
- Duneth/Gyove - Earl BoenEarl BoenEarl Boen is an American actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known as criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the Terminator series...
- Balzac - Peter LuriePeter LuriePeter Hill Lurie is an American television personality, Sports anchor and voice actor who has worked in several television shows, movies, and dubbed anime, since the mid-1990s. He is well known as the voice of Vulcan Raven in the Metal Gear Solid video game series, and the Marvel Comics...
- Zodd
Audio
was released on December 15, 1999 by Marine Entertainment. Susumu HirasawaSusumu Hirasawa
is a Japanese electropop artist and composer.In 1972, he enrolled at . From 1972 to 1978, he performed in his first band Mandrake, a progressive rock group influenced by King Crimson and Yes. In 1979 he formed a New Wave synth-rock & techno-pop band called P-Model, along with two former members of...
, who did most of the music for the Berserk anime, composed all of the game's soundtrack. He also performs the Forces 2 opening theme as well as the ending theme Indra with his own vocals, like in his solo work. The 2000 Berserk calendar and collector stickers were included in the first-pressing limited edition.
External links
- Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage at GameRankings